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Background: Around 40-50% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) suffer from obsessions and compulsions after receiving first-line treatments. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been proposed as a reasonable augmentation strategy for OCD. MBCT trains to decentre from distressful thoughts and emotions by focusing on them voluntarily and with consciousness. This practice develops alternative ways to deal with obsessions, which could increase non-reactivity behaviours and, in turn, reduce compulsions. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of MBCT to improve OCD symptoms. Secondly, it pursues to investigate which socio-demographic, clinical, and neurobiological characteristics mediate or moderate the MBCT response; and identify potential biomarkers of positive/negative response., Methods: This study is a randomised clinical trial (RCT) of 60 OCD patients who do not respond to first-line treatments. Participants will be randomised to either an MBCT program or treatment as usual. The MBCT group will undergo 10 weekly sessions of 120min. Principal outcome: change in OCD severity symptoms using clinician and self-reported measures. Also, participants will undergo a comprehensive evaluation assessing comorbid clinical variables, neuropsychological functioning and thought content. Finally, a comprehensive neuroimaging protocol using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging will be acquired in a 3T scanner. All data will be obtained at baseline and post-intervention., Discussion: This study will assess the efficacy of mindfulness in OCD patients who do not achieve clinical recovery after usual treatment. It is the first RCT in this subject examining clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging variables to examine the neural patterns associated with the MBCT response., Clinical Trials Registration: NCT03128749., (Copyright © 2022 Sociedad Española de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental (SEPSM). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: A high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) in anxiety-depressive disorders ranging from 30 to 67% has been described., Objective: This study aims to assess the presence and persistence of OCSs in an outpatient sample of subjects with anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as its relationship with recent life events (RLEs) and/or traumatic experiences (TEs)., Method: We conducted a prospective, observational, analytical study of 200 subjects with DSM-5 diagnoses of anxiety and/or depression. Participants were included by consecutive sampling and were evaluated at baseline and after 6-12 months (mean 8.5 months) of follow-up. The severity of the symptoms was assessed through the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HARS) and Hamilton Scale for the evaluation of depression (HRSD-17), and comorbidity was assessed through the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The Revised Inventory of Obsessions and Compulsions (OCI-R), the Recent Vital Changes Questionnaire (CVSV), and the Diagnostic Scale for Post-Traumatic Stress (PDS) were also administered., Results: 54% of the sample presented OCSs, and 30.5% presented one or more TEs throughout life. At the baseline visit, the presence of OCSs was associated with the severity of depressive symptoms (p=0.028), the presence of TEs (p<0.01), symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (p<0.01) and the number of RLEs (p<0.01). Response rate at follow-up was 38%, and persistence of OCSs was found in 60.5% of patients, independent of depressive or anxious symptoms, but was associated with the number of RLEs (p<0.01)., Conclusion: The presence of OCSs in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders is frequent and persistent. Anxious-depressive patients with a history of TEs and RLEs had higher OCS levels. These findings highlight the importance of early detection and the use of therapeutic strategies focused on resilience to stress and trauma., (Copyright © 2020 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: A high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) in anxiety-depressive disorders ranging from 30 to 67% has been described., Objective: This study aims to assess the presence and persistence of OCSs in an outpatient sample of subjects with anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as its relationship with recent life events (RLEs) and/or traumatic experiences (TEs)., Method: We conducted a prospective, observational, analytical study of 200 subjects with DSM-5 diagnoses of anxiety and/or depression. Participants were included by consecutive sampling and were evaluated at baseline and after 6-12 months (mean 8.5 months) of follow-up. The severity of the symptoms was assessed through the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HARS) and Hamilton Scale for the evaluation of depression (HRSD-17), and comorbidity was assessed through the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The Revised Inventory of Obsessions and Compulsions (OCI-R), the Recent Vital Changes Questionnaire (CVSV), and the Diagnostic Scale for Post-Traumatic Stress (PDS) were also administered., Results: 54% of the sample presented OCSs, and 30.5% presented one or more TEs throughout life. At the baseline visit, the presence of OCSs was associated with the severity of depressive symptoms (p=0.028), the presence of TEs (p<0.01), symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (p<0.01) and the number of RLEs (p<0.01). Response rate at follow-up was 38%, and persistence of OCSs was found in 60.5% of patients, independent of depressive or anxious symptoms, but was associated with the number of RLEs (p<0.01)., Conclusion: The presence of OCSs in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders is frequent and persistent. Anxious-depressive patients with a history of TEs and RLEs had higher OCS levels. These findings highlight the importance of early detection and the use of therapeutic strategies focused on resilience to stress and trauma., (Copyright © 2020 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Continuation and maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (c/m-ECT) is a therapeutic option after an acute ECT course. Although it is widely used, both duration and the outcome of patients when ECT-c/m is discontinued is not yet well established. The aim of the study was to evaluate the recurrence rate and associated clinical factors when c/m-ECT is discontinued., Materials and Methods: Retrospective evaluation of 73 patients who were discontinued from c/m-ECT. The minimum evaluation time was one year. The need of hospital admission or a new acute course of ECT was considered a relapse. The recurrence rate was calculated as a percentage and the estimated time to recurrence was analyzed through a survival analysis. Possible associations between clinical variables and recurrence were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox analysis., Results: Thirty-six patients (49.3%) relapsed: 61.1% of them relapsed during the first year after the c/m-ECT discontinuation (36.1% during the first 6 months). The estimated time to recurrence was 38.67 months. Fifty percent of patients who relapsed required a new acute course of ECT and 44.4% of them restarted c/m-ECT. Patients with an interval between sessions of less than one month and those with more previous episodes showed a higher risk of recurrence., Conclusions: The risk of recurrence should be considered before the discontinuation of c/m-ECT. After the discontinuation, almost half of the patients relapsed, most of them within the first year. Close monitoring should be conducted in these patients and the discontinuation is not recommended when it is administered at intervals between sessions of less than a month. Further studies are required to identify risk groups for relapse., (Copyright © 2019 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who require an acute course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have high relapse rates. Therefore, an effective maintenance treatment strategy needs to be established. Continuation and maintenance ECT (C/M-ECT) could be an adequate treatment option, although the lack of controlled studies has led to its usefulness being questioned. This review includes a detailed description of studies on the effectiveness/efficacy of ECT in MDD. Despite their methodological limitations, the results appear to support the idea that C/M-ECT would be a safe and effective alternative, especially in patients with severe and recurrent disease. Nevertheless, more controlled studies are needed to provide new evidence and allow a more accurate assessment of the efficacy, safety and pattern of use of C/M-ECT., (Copyright © 2012 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)