World Journal of Biological Psychiatry最新文献

{"title":"Changes of laboratory parameters during olanzapine treatment in young people with anorexia nervosa: exploratory results from the OPEN study.","authors":"Can Xu, Rebecca Morris, Dominic Stringer, Olena Said, Ece Sengun Filiz, Ben Carter, Jessica Bentley, Janet Treasure, Ulrike Schmidt, Dasha Nicholls, Hubertus Himmerich","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2665627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2665627","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While olanzapine is recommended for promoting weight recovery in adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), its use in young people remains under-researched, necessitating the careful monitoring of blood-based laboratory parameters to manage the potential side effects of olanzapine.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In the OPEN feasibility study which tested olanzapine treatment over 6 months in young people with AN, 15 study participants (aged 12-23) adhered to olanzapine treatment for at least 16 weeks and had clinical blood-based laboratory parameters measured.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In an exploratory analysis, we found a mean increase of 0.06 x 10⁹/L in white blood cell count (WBC) (0.01, 0.11 95% CI) per week. Bilirubin decreased by 0.11 mg/dL (-0.19, -0.04 95% CI) per week, and serum albumin levels dropped slightly by 0.20 g/L (-0.29, -0.11 95% CI) per week. Electrolytes, liver enzymes, total cholesterol and triglycerides remained stable during treatment with olanzapine.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Whereas the increase in WBC and the decrease in bilirubin likely reflect nutritional rehabilitation, the reason for the albumin reduction is unclear. Thus, monitoring serum albumin during trials and clinical treatment for AN with olanzapine is advised.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147845218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inflammation and treatment strategies for suicidal behavior.","authors":"Chittaranjan Behera, Srishti Gupta, Richard Shelton, Yogesh Dwivedi","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2659772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2659772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Suicide is a major global health problem. Growing evidence shows that immune dysregulation and inflammation contribute to suicidality. This review summarises inflammatory mechanisms associated with suicidal behaviour and evaluates emerging therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A narrative literature review was conducted using a combination of keywords, including suicide, therapy, pharmacotherapy, and inflammation, with Boolean operators across PubMed and Google Scholar, emphasising risk factors and interventions aimed at reducing inflammatory activity and consequent suicidal behaviour.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Individuals with suicidal behaviour exhibit elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, tumour necrosis factor-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and chemokines in blood, CSF, and brain tissue. These markers alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, monoamine systems, and glutamatergic signalling. Inflammatory activation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase shifts tryptophan metabolism towards neurotoxic kynurenine metabolites, such as quinolinic acid, reducing serotonin and promoting NMDA-mediated excitotoxicity, potentially increasing impulsivity and acute suicidal ideation. Neuroinflammation also disrupts glutamate signalling through microglial/astrocytic dysfunction and altered Mammalian target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) pathways. Several immunomodulatory treatments - including lithium, ketamine/esketamine, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, cytokine antagonists, and kynurenine-pathway modulators - show promise in reducing inflammation-linked to suicidal risk.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Precision-based approaches integrating inflammatory biomarkers, genetics, and clinical profiles may help identify individuals most likely to benefit from immunomodulatory therapies, supporting more personalised, biologically informed suicide-prevention strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147787340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A decade of evidence linking gut microbiome dysbiosis to depression: a computational meta-analysis of mechanistic pathways: 2014-2024.","authors":"Ruhina Afroz Patel, Sanjay N Harke","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2660311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2660311","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The gut microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA) has been associated in the pathophysiology of depression; however, the expanding literature remains fragmented across metabolic signalling, immune-inflammatory pathways, stress physiology and dysbiosis outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Abstracts were retrieved from bibliographic databases (Lens.org, PubMed, DOAJ, Europe PMC) for studies published between 2014 and 2024 investigating associations between the gut microbiome and depression using 16S rRNA sequencing. Following text preprocessing, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was applied to identify latent thematic topics. Topic proportions were subsequently embedded using principal component analysis (PCA), t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE), and uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Topic modelling revealed distinct interconnected thematic domains within the gut microbiome depression literature, encompassing metabolic and short chain fatty acid pathways, immune inflammatory mechanisms, stress and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis regulation, probiotic and interventional work, microbial diversity and compositional metrics, neurochemical and neuroplasticity, developmental cohorts, and sequencing- or methodology-focused research.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Computational synthesis indicates that research on the gut microbiome depression axis is structured around multiple convergent mechanistic themes. This thematic landscape highlights dominant areas of mechanistic focus, providing a conceptual framework to guide future experimental design, mechanistic validation and translational research.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-28"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147787279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reduced pre-treatment isolated effective coherence between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex as a potential predictive marker for remission following repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depressive disorder.","authors":"Toshiyuki Shimizu, Shunichiro Ikeda, Tomonari Yamane, Banri Tsukuda, Shota Minami, Koji Katsura, Tomohide Kame, Yuki Kojima, Masafumi Yoshimura, Masaki Kato","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2651741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2651741","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Functional connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) has been implicated in the antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for major depressive disorder (MDD). It remains unclear whether effective connectivity between these regions is associated with remission. We examined adults with MDD who received high-frequency rTMS targeting the left DLPFC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This single-centre observational study analysed pre-treatment electroencephalography and clinical data of 30 patients. Directed connectivity between the DLPFC and sgACC in the alpha and theta bands was estimated using isolated effective coherence (iCoh) based on exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Baseline alpha-band iCoh values from the left DLPFC to the sgACC were significantly lower in the remission group (<i>p</i> = 0.010, Cohen's <i>d</i> = 1.05), yielding an area under the curve of 0.75 for discriminating remission. In the multivariable logistic regression, lower alpha-band iCoh independently associated with remission (odds ratio = 0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.02). No significant differences were observed in the theta band.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Lower pre-treatment alpha-band effective connectivity from the left DLPFC to the sgACC was associated with remission following rTMS, suggesting that iCoh-derived measures may be a candidate biomarker for personalised rTMS in depression.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147787266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Causal effects of gut microbiota on schizophrenia: deciphering profiles mediated by cerebrospinal fluid metabolites in the gut-brain axis.","authors":"Yang Yang, Tianqi Li, Weichao Jing, Wen Qin, Qiaorui Yang","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2658098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2658098","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, with growing studies indicating that the \"gutbrain axis\" may play a vital role in its pathophysiology. This study applied the bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis to systematically assess the causal relationships among gut microbiota, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites, and schizophrenia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Instrumental variables were selected from publicly available genome-wide association study datasets. Inverse-variance weighted method was employed as the primary statistical approach, complemented by sensitivity analyses, reverse MR and Steiger's directional test. Multivariable MR and MR Bayesian model averaging analyses were performed to further evaluate causality, and prioritize key taxa. Finally, blood metabolite datasets and enrichment analyses were used for validation and functional interpretation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After Bonferroni correction, 20 taxa exhibited borderline risk associations, while 8 taxa emerged as suggestive protective factors. Additionally, 11 CSF metabolites demonstrated weak positive associations with schizophrenia. No potential pleiotropy, heterogeneity, or reverse causality was detected. Mediation analysis identified 23 \"gut microbiota-CSF metabolites-schizophrenia\" pathways. <i>Klebsiella A</i> emerged as the principal taxon. Blood metabolites replication yielded no positive results. Enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment in the biosynthesis pathways of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings support causal links between specific gut microbiota, CSF metabolites, and schizophrenia, highlighting potential mechanisms within the gut-brain axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147730497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Healthy sleep, proteomic signatures, and incident depression: associations accounting for genetic risk in an adult cohort.","authors":"Shuyi Peng, Yannan Guo, Wanxin Wang, Guiyu Jiang, Qianyu Liu, Ciyong Lu, Xiali Zhong, Lan Guo","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2656652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2026.2656652","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We examined associations between healthy sleep patterns and incident depression, accounting for genetic susceptibility, identified related plasma proteins and their mediating role, and explored associations with brain structure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Among 39,702 depression-free UK Biobank participants, five healthy sleep factors, plasma proteomic profiles, polygenic risk scores (PRS) for depression, brain imaging, and covariates were assessed. Linear and LASSO regression identified sleep-associated proteins and constructed proteomic signatures. Cox proportional hazards models examined associations of sleep patterns and proteomic signatures with incident depression, adjusting for genetic susceptibility. Mediation analysis and brain structure correlations were also assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During a median follow-up of 14.5 years, 1,941 participants developed depression. After adjustment for covariates and PRS, higher overall healthy sleep pattern scores showed a dose-dependent reduced risk of depression (HR per 1-score increment = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.77-0.85). We identified 496 proteins linked to healthy sleep patterns and derived a composite signature of 181 proteins. This signature was inversely associated with depression risk across PRS groups, and mediated 15.8% of the sleep-depression association. The proteomic signature correlated with emotion regulation brain regions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Healthy sleep patterns and their plasma proteomic signature are associated with reduced depression risk, highlighting targets for prevention and mechanistic research.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147700475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) consensus statement on candidate biomarkers for anorexia nervosa.","authors":"Hubertus Himmerich, Johanna Louise Keeler, Joseph A King, Stefan Ehrlich, Lisa-Katrin Kaufmann, Cynthia M Bulik, Sarah Cohen-Woods, Tracey Wade, Howard Steiger, Linda Booij, Palmiero Monteleone, Giammarco Cascino, Alessio Maria Monteleone, Ulrich Cuntz, Ulrich Voderholzer, Selamawit Alemayehu Tessema, Yael D Lewis, Magnus Sjögren, Johannes Hebebrand, Jochen Seitz, Marta Tyszkiewicz-Nwafor, Olga Karpenko, Hiba Mutwalli, Sergueï O Fetissov, Isabelle Mack, Namrata Dhopatkar, Sabrina Mörkl, Carol Kan, Maria M Uribe, Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi, Nadine Abuobeid, Dimitrios Kapogiannis, Daniel Stein, Sevgi Bektas, Daniel J Müller, Philip Gorwood, Philibert Duriez, Chloé Tezenas du Montcel, Elżbieta Paszyńska, Susan L McElroy, Wiesława Dominika Wranik, Fernando Fernandez-Aranda, Philip S Mehler, Hana Papežová, Radka Roubalová, Petra Procházková, Rebecca Morris, Piotr Lewczuk, Christoph Hiemke, Michael Berk, Andreas Karwautz, Janet Treasure, Siegfried Kasper","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2626934","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2626934","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) consensus paper aims to summarise and evaluate the published study results on objectively measurable biological markers associated with anorexia nervosa (AN).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The relevant literature was reviewed by the WFSBP Task Forces on Eating Disorders and on Biological Markers, and a consensus regarding the significance of the published evidence was reached.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Candidate biological markers that have been associated with AN include clinical (e.g. body weight), molecular (e.g. genetic, epigenetic, hormonal, immunological, metabolomic), cellular (e.g. leukocytes), neuroimaging (e.g. structure, function, connectivity), digital, cardiac and neurophysiological parameters. Some clinical and laboratory parameters are risk markers in clinical practice. Biological markers have pathophysiological relevance in understanding the biological and metabolic pathophysiology of AN and its physical health consequences. Few studies have examined pharmacogenetics or therapeutic drug monitoring as tools to monitor and guide the treatment of AN.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Biological markers will hopefully soon enable clinicians to intervene earlier in a more targeted manner to mitigate treatment resistance. However, the current scientific basis for most biological markers are group comparisons only. Studies on sensitivity, specificity and the prognostic value of these markers are lacking.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"257-348"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147327976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risperidone-ISM^® effectiveness and tolerability in acute schizophrenia patients hospitalised due to a relapse: results from an international, prospective, non-interventional evaluation (RESHAPE study).","authors":"Christoph U Correll, Henrik Rohner, Savino Dimalta, Randi Susanne Göldner, Hans-Jörg Assion, Steffi Langner-Timm, Carmen Núñez Sande, Roberto Rodriguez-Jimenez, Miquel Bioque, Maximilian Gahr, Thomas Messer, Peter Falkai, Stephan Heres, Christopher Landry, Daniel Schöttle, Miquel Bernardo, Montserrat Caballero, Ana González-Pinto, Rosa Molina, Serafino De Giorgi, Giuseppe Maina, Antonio Vita, María Augusta Vieira Coelho, Joaquim Gago, Nuno Madeira, Luiz Dratcu, Saeed Farooq, Emilio Fernández-Egea, Sofia Pappa, Lourdes Anta Carabias, Sheila Sánchez-García, Javier Martínez-González","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2628198","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2628198","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the effectiveness, time to discharge, functioning, and tolerability of Risperidone-ISM^® in hospitalised patients with schizophrenia relapse.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Non-interventional, multicentre, prospective study of adults admitted for acute exacerbation of schizophrenia and treated with Risperidone-ISM^®. Effectiveness was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S) and 6-item Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-6) at days 8 (FU1), 28 (FU2), and 56 (FV). Functioning was evaluated with the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP), patient satisfaction with the Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Admission/discharge data and adverse events were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In 275 patients, significant reductions from baseline in CGI-S and PANSS-6 scores occurred as early as day 8, with continued improvement through day 56 (CGI-S: -1.4 and PANSS-6: -7.6; <i>p</i> < 0.0001), regardless of use of concomitant antipsychotics. Median discharge occurred 8 days after first Risperidone-ISM^® injection. PSP improved by 17.6 points at day 28. No new/unexpected safety information was reported; 4% discontinued due to related adverse events. At final visit, 78% reported satisfaction with treatment, and therapeutic alliance improved in 89.4% of participants.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Risperidone-ISM^® demonstrated rapid and sustained effectiveness, functional improvement, and favourable tolerability, enabling early stabilisation and discharge. Adding another antipsychotic provided no additional benefits. Results support Risperidone-ISM^® for treating acute schizophrenia relapse in real-world settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"361-378"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147285726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Levothyroxine mitigates autism-related behaviours in the maternally separated male mice possibly through manipulating hippocampal nitrite imbalance and neuroinflammation.","authors":"Fatemeh Rafiei, Hourivash Ghaderi, Hosein Amini-Khoei","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2631519","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2631519","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the progressively occurring neuro-developmental condition. There is a link between low concentrations of thyroid hormones during neonatal stage with ASD susceptibility. Neuroprotective effects have been reported for levothyroxine. We aimed to evaluate the effect of levothyroxine on autism-like behaviours in mice subjected to MS paradigm, focusing on its possible effects on hippocampal nitrite imbalance and neuroinflammation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-two mice were randomly allocated into four groups: including control group (normal saline (10 ml/kg)) and MS groups respectively treated with normal saline (10 ml/kg) or levothyroxine at doses of 0.625 or 1.25 µg/g BW orally for 2 weeks. Shuttle box, marble burying (MB), elevated plus maze (EPM) and three-chamber tests were performed. Nitrite levels and expression of genes related to neuroinflammation, including Tlr4, <i>Inos</i>, <i>Il-1β</i> and <i>Nlrp3,</i> were measured in the hippocampus.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Levothyroxine increased social interaction indexes in the three-chamber, enhanced passive avoidance memory in the shuttle box, increased time spent in open arms of EPM and reduced repetitive behaviours in the MB tests. Levothyroxine reduced the hippocampal nitrite level and expression of neuroinflammatory markers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Levothyroxine, maybe through attenuating of the hippocampal nitrite imbalance and neuroinflammation, mitigates autism-related behaviours in MS mice.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"379-391"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147291635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"tDCS effects on life engagement in schizophrenia: results from a double-blind sham-controlled trial.","authors":"Jacopo Lisoni, Gabriele Nibbio, Andrea Zucchetti, Mattia Ardesi, Francesco Bezzi, Rossella Alberti, Federica Frigerio, Paola Miotto, Giacomo Deste, Stefano Barlati, Antonio Vita","doi":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2636523","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15622975.2026.2636523","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Life engagement (LE) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), encompassing emotional, cognitive, social, and physical domains of functioning. While transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) significantly improved cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, its effects on LE remain unexplored. We investigated whether prefrontal tDCS could improve LE in schizophrenia by conducting post-hoc analyses of a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifty outpatients living with schizophrenia were randomised to receive either active or sham tDCS (15 weekday sessions, 2 mA, anode: left DLPFC; cathode: right orbitofrontal cortex). LE was assessed using the PANSS-LE, a psychometrically validated subscale derived from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Analyses examined within- and between-group changes, controlling for baseline symptom severity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both active and sham-tDCS groups showed significant within-group improvements in LE. However, between-group analysis revealed significantly greater reductions in PANSS-LE scores following active-tDCS, with large effect size (<i>d</i> = 0.97). Moreover, LE improvements were not influenced by baseline levels of negative, cognitive, depressive symptoms, nor by illness severity, suggesting the specificity of LE as a treatment outcome.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study provides preliminary evidence that prefrontal tDCS may enhance LE in schizophrenia, independently of core symptom domains, supporting the integration of PROMs in neuromodulation research.</p>","PeriodicalId":49358,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Biological Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"392-401"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147327899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}