Prof. Giuseppe Tavormina, MD, Psychiatry, Italy

President of Psychiatric Studies Centre, Italy
General Secretary of European Depression Association, Belgium
Senior Research Fellow of BCMHR in collaboration with University of Cambridge, UK

Bipolar disorder and mixed states: what does the notion of mixity mean?

Abstract:
The notion of “mixity” of the dysphoric phases of the bipolarity includes the most insidious symptoms of the bipolar spectrum of mood disorders (Akiskal H, 2005): the overlapping between depression-restlessness-irritability-grief-tension-anxiety can cause worsening of the mood disorders and in the most acute phases may cause increased risk of major behavioural disruption including murder and suicide. The “mixity” is a dynamic notion describing the presence of overlapping symptoms of mixed states, in a increasing intensity level (Tavormina G, 2016 – Tavormina G, 2019). The early utilization of the rating scale on mixed states, “GT-MSRS”, which can demonstrate the level of “mixity” of the mood disorder, can prevent this (Tavormina G, 2014; Tavormina G, 2015). Very often patients with bipolar disorders received a correct diagnosis after on average 25 years of illness. (Akiskal-Benazzi, 2005; McCombs JS et al, 2007; Tavormina G, 2018); the clinicians find great difficulty in making a correct diagnosis of the mood disorders which they are assessing, above all when mixed states are present (Tavormina G, 2018). Mixed states occur in an average of 40% of bipolar patients over a lifetime (Akiskal H et al, 2000); when considering bipolarity the notion of the “mixity” becomes the conceptual reference point of the diagnostic process (Tavormina G, 2019).

Speaker: Professor Paul Cumming, BSc, MSc, PhD, Switzerland

Visiting Professor, Chief Researcher, ICERN, Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia
Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Adjunct Professor, School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Molecular Brain Imaging of Huntington’s disease

Abstract:
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating genetic disorder caused by elongation, misfolding and neurotoxic aggregation of the elongated N-terminal polyglutamine (polyQ) in the mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein. Early efforts in molecular brain imaging of HD depicted the spatial pattern of reduced cerebral metabolism in positron emission tomography (PET) studies with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Other PET studies emphasized the characteristic degeneration of medium spiny striatal projection neurons expressing high levels of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors and adenosine A2 receptors. PET studies with markers for microglia activation reveal the pattern of neuroinflammation in parts of the basal ganglia of HD patients. Recent preclinical work has targeted more specific markers such as mHTT aggregates with [11C]CHDI-180R and synaptic density with [11C]UCB. Identification of the most sensitive marker of early degenerative changes would serve as an objective endpoint for studies of disease modifying treatments.

Associate Professor Svetlana Kopishinskaia, MD (Hons), PhD (Neurology), Russia

Leading Expert, ICERN, Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Neurorehabilitation, Kirov State Medical University, Kirov, Russia; JSC «First Genetics», Skolkovo, Moscow, Russia European Academy of Neurology Member, British Academy of Neurology Member, European Huntington’s Disease Network Member

Huntington’s disease as a multi-system disorder

Abstract:
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a steadily progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene consisting of an excessive number of CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) repeats (McColgan & Tabrizi, 2018; Mills et al., 2020). The disease has an autosomal dominance inheritance mechanism with complete penetrance, and manifests in progressive motor, cognitive and mental impairments, which lead to worsening disability and decreased life expectancy (McColgan & Tabrizi, 2018). Many years preceding the onset of HD motor symptoms, a range of systemic non-motor manifestations appear, including weight loss, skeletal muscle atrophy, impaired glucose tolerance, osteoporosis, heart failure, gastrointestinal pathology, testicular atrophy, sleep disturbances, circadian cycle disorders, autonomic disturbances, and increased energy metabolism (Epping et al., 2016). These early HD manifestations are clinically very important, as they reduce the patient’s quality of life, correlate with the progression of motor symptoms, and can independently lead to mortality. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent literature on systemic non-motor symptoms of HD, which may eventually present targets for the development of new methods for diagnosis and treatment of these symptoms.

Greetings from the ICERN Web-Library of Neuropsychiatry Team (March 31st, 2021)

Dearest Professors, Colleagues, Researchers, Educators, Doctors, Students! = Dear Friends!

We are happy to welcome you at the first page of our Book chapter of the ICERN which describes the WEB-library of Neuropsychiatry.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Chancellor of Samara State Medical University Prof. Alexander Kolsanov, Vice-Chancellor on Science Prof. Igor Davydkin and Vice-Chancellor on Education Prof. Elena Avdeeva for full support of this important educational project.
This project aims its perspectives for bilingual, module and hybrid model education which is valuable today and will be definitely developed in the nearest future.
We believe that the audience of educators, researchers, doctors and students, at least, in the countries of our International team, will benefit from this educational content.
Every last Wednesday of the month, except July and August, we plan to invite two speakers, one Russian and one Foreign, who will deliver lectures on their field of expertise in psychiatry, neurology and applied neurosciences.
Our special thanks go to Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Kopishinskaia who is a brilliant neurologist and the main author of this idea.
We are honored to collaborate with our Faculty who represent WPA Section on Evidence based Psychiatry, Program MSc on Clinical Mental Health AUTh, Department of Neurology of Kirov State Medical University, First Genetics Lab Skolkovo from Moscow, Russia, Centre of Psychiatric Studies, Italy and Association of University Teachers of Psychiatry from UK.
Gratitude to all members of our Organizing Committee!
It’s our pleasure to read this first page today together with you all and introduce Professors who support the project together with our International team – ICERN, SamSMU. Join us!

On behalf of the team, Daria Smirnova, MD, PhD (Psychiatry), ICERN-Director Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia