What drives the higher incidence of psychosis in London compared to Palermo?

Background: Incidence of psychosis seems to be lower in Italy than in other European countries (Tansella et al. 1991; Lasalvia et al. 2012, Tarricone et al. 2012); however there are no studies comparing the incidence of psychotic disorder in Northern and Southern Europe. Methods: Incidence and socio-demographic data on all psychotic patients presenting for the first time to the mental health services of Palermo were collected over a period of three years. Palermo incidence rates were compared to South London rates obtained from the AESOP study (Kirkbride et al 2006). South London rates were reanalyzed excluding people aged 16-17 years and substance related psychoses. Second generation migra…

P.0171 The independent and joint effect of the endocannabinoid system and daily cannabis use on the risk of psychosis

Cumulative social disadvantage and psychosis: findings from a southern Italy case-control study

Aim: There are consistent evidence suggesting that psychotic disorders are associated to social disadvantage and isolation in adulthood, and research suggested that they these are not simply a consequence of the functional impairment related to onset of the disease (Stilo et al., 2013; Morgan et al., 2008). To date only a few studies have investigated the impact of social risk factors on psychosis in Italy. This study aimed to replicate existing findings in a case-control sample from Southern Italy. Methods: 134 individuals presenting for the first time to mental health services of Palermo (Italy) with an ICD 10 diagnosis of psychosis and 175 population controls from Palermo (Italy) were en…

PREMORBID ADJUSTMENT AND CANNABIS USE IN FIRST-EPISODE-PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS. A CROSS-EUROPEAN CASE-CONTROL STUDY

The harmful effects of cannabis use and possible neuropsychological impairment associated with its use are a contentious topic of debate in both research and public health,as is thefact that cannabis use has been repeatedly shown to be a risk factor for the development of psychosis. Surprisingly, three different meta-analyses on cognition and cannabis, among schizophrenic patients, found better cognitive performance in patients with a lifetime use of cannabis (Potvin, Joyal, Pelletier, & Stip, 2008; Rabin, Zakzanis, & George, 2011; Yücel et al., 2012). This counterintuitive finding, coupled with the fact that most psychotic patients suffer from cognitive impairment (Reichenberg et al., 2009…

Cannabis consumption and the risk of psychosis

Summary Objectives: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug globally and its use has been linked to an increased risk for psychotic disorders. An association between cannabis consumption and psychotic symptoms was consistently reported by several studies. This case-control study aimed to widen the current findings about the impact of cannabis exposure on the risk of psychosis, by investigating the pattern of cannabis consumption in a sample of first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients compared to healthy controls. Material and methods: 68 individuals who presented for the first time to mental health services of Palermo (Italy) with an ICD-10 diagnosis of psychotic disorders and 74 hea…

Favorable outcome in open globe injuries with low OTS score

Purpose:.Open globe eye injuries can have profound social and economic consequences. Here, we describe two cases of war and outdoor activity open globe eye injury where, despite a low OTS score,.current microsurgical technology allowed for a favorable outcome.Case report 1: A 33-year-old Libyan soldier had been treated for an open-globe grenade blast trauma to his left eye, which showed light perception and OTS score 2..He had undergone a lensectomy and PPV with silicone oil tamponade. Surgical treatment included scleral buckling,.cornea trephination, tem-porary Eckardt keratoprosthesis, PPV revision, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and corneal grafting. Six months later, his VA was im…

P.0170 Distinct polygenic risk scores in clusters of psychotic subjects with different premorbid trajectories and current IQ

Perceived stigma in patients affected by psychosis: Is there an impact on relapse?

Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) considers stigma of mental illness as a crucial problem (WHO, 2001). Stigma contributes to the onset (Morgan et al., 2010) and the outcome of people affected by schizophrenia (Himan, 2015). Objectives To evaluate the perception of patients affected by psychotic disorders of being stigmatized by the community. Aims To compare the perception of stigma among subgroups of patients at different stage of their disorder. Methods Thirty-five patients affected by a first-episode of psychosis (FEP) and 96 patients affected by chronic psychosis were recruited. The Devaluation of Consumers Scale (DCS) and the Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale (DCFS)…

The Burdigalian GSSP: the missing tile to complete the Neogene interval of the Geological Time Scale

Astronomic forcing on the planktonic foraminifera assemblage in the Piacenzian Punta Piccola section (Southern Italy).

Numerical and experimental validation of a LiFePO4 battery model at steady state and transient operations

In the paper some of the battery models proposed in literature are analysed in order to predict the battery performance and, then, make sure that the Battery Management System (BMS) that is a key component to check and control the status of the batteries within their specified safe operating conditions, works in best conditions.

Does age of first cannabis use and frequency of use influence age of first-episode psychosis (FEP)?

Background: Cannabis is one of the most commonly used drugs among young people across Europe (EMCDDA data 2014), Moreover, it is one of the most abused illicit drugs among patients suffering from schizophrenia (Linszen et al., 1994) and, particularly, in patients at their first episode of psychosis (Donoghue et al., 2011). Furthermore, patients suffering from psychosis with a history of cannabis use have an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP) than those who never used it (Di Forti et al., 2013). We aim to investigate if the reported association between use of cannabis and AOP is consistent across to European samples with expected differences in pattern of cannabis use (i.e. age at first…

Numerical and experimental validation of a LiFePO<inf>4</inf> battery model at steady state and transient operations

In the paper some of the battery models proposed in literature are analysed in order to predict the battery performance and, then, make sure that the Battery Management System (BMS) that is a key component to check and control the status of the batteries within their specified safe operating conditions, works in best conditions. In fact to reach an extended battery lifetime and increase the reliability of the system, is necessary to guarantee an accurate evaluation of the state of the whole stack of batteries to track their operations. Therefore, an accurate battery model that captures the dynamics of the battery is required. Lithium batteries are in particular considered because of their h…