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1. How is psychotherapy training perceived by psychiatric trainees? A cross-sectional observational study in Europe

   Gargot T., Dondé C., Arnaoutoglou NA., Klotins S., Marinova P., Silva R., Sönmez E., EFPT Psychotherapy Working Group

   European Psychiatry – Elsevier

   Abstract: Background: Current recommendations on psychotherapy training for psychiatric trainees in Europe are available from the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) and the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). Despite trainees’ high motivation and the acknowledged effectiveness of psychotherapy, recent studies have shown a significant lack of training. No study so far has focused on a large European sample. Methods: From 2013 to 2015, the EFPT conducted an online cross – sectional survey among psychiatric trainees and early career psychiatrists from 22 European countries. Results: Out of 572 respondents, 92% considered psychotherapy important for their professional ide ntity, 90% wanted to practice psychotherapy after their training. Respondents were interested in a great variety of psychotherapies. Almost half underwent psychotherapy training, a third did not have any training experience in psychotherapy. Less than one half had access to supervision. Only 9% were satisfied with the level of funding of their psychotherapy training. Although recommendations of the EFPT and UEMS are widely recognised, they are not implemented consistently. Conclusions: There is a large mismatch between the high motivation of respondents to train in psychotherapy and the actual training opportunities available. The EFPT strongly supports initiatives that can improve psychotherapy training. We believe that wider availability of high – quality online learning resources for trainees, as well as international collaborations between psychiatry training associations and psychotherapy associations could be a step in the right direction to bridge this gap.

   http://www.europsy-journal.com/article/S0924-9338(17)32901-2/fulltext

   2. Polyneuropathy and myopathy in beta-thalassemia major patients

   P. Nemtsas, M. Arnaoutoglou, V. Perifanis, E. Koutsouraki, G. Spanos, N. Arnaoutoglou, P. Chalkia, D. Pantelidou, A. Orologas

   Annals of Hematology – Nature Springer

   The thalassemias are the most common single gene disorder in the world. Nowadays, the average life expectancy of patients in developed countries has increased significantly, while, there was an increase of complications. We aimed to investigate peripheral neuropathy and myopathy in this patient group using a neurophysiological study. We performed nerve conduction studies and electromyography of upper and lower extremities on 36 beta-thalassemia major (β-thal) patients. The electrophysiological findings were correlated with demographic data and laboratory parameters of the disease. Patients with β-thal present polyneuropathy or myopathy at (50%). Polyneuropathy was detected in (38.9%) and myopathy in (27.8%), while polyneuropathy and myopathy were present at (16.7%) with an overlap of the diseases in 1/3 of the patients. There was not a statistically significant correlation of polyneuropathy and myopathy with age, sex, splenectomy, nor with respect to laboratory parameters, hemoglobin, and ferritin. However, there was a statistically significant correlation of polyneuropathy and myopathy with iron overload, as recorded by the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart and the liver. Our findings suggest that iron overload plays a key role in the pathogenesis of polyneuropathy and myopathy in β-thal patients, and performing heart and liver MRI for the prediction of such lesions in an annual basis is warranted.

   https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00277-018-3251-7

   3. Cognitive tests for the detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the prodromal stage of dementia: meta‐analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies.

   Alexandre Breton, Daniel Casey, Nikitas A. Arnaoutoglou

   International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry – Willey

   Introduction -Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is regarded as a prodrome to dementia. Various cognitive tests can help with diagnosis; meta‐analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies would assist clinicians in choosing optimal tests. Methods – We searched online databases for ‘mild cognitive impairment’ and ‘diagnosis’ or ‘screening’ from 01/01/1999 to 01/07/2017. Articles assessing the diagnostic accuracy of a cognitive test compared to standard diagnostic criteria were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed. Bivariate random‐effects meta‐analysis was used to evaluate sensitivity and specificity.  Results – Eight cognitive tests (ACE‐R, CERAD, CDT‐Sunderland, IQCODE, Memory Alteration Test, MMSE, MoCA and Qmci) were considered for meta‐analysis. ACE‐R, CERAD, MoCA and Qmci were found to have similar diagnostic accuracy, while the MMSE had lower sensitivity. Memory Alteration Test had the highest sensitivity, and equivalent specificity to the other tests. Discussion – Multiple cognitive tests have comparable diagnostic accuracy. The Memory Alteration Test is short and has the highest sensitivity. New cognitive tests for MCI diagnosis should not be compared to the MMSE.

   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gps.5016  

   or

   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30370616

   4. Dementia with Lewy bodies — from scientific knowledge to clinical insights.

   Nikitas A. Arnaoutoglou, John T. O’Brien & Benjamin R. Underwood

   Nature Reviews Neurology – Nature Springer

   Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the underlying aetiology of 10–15% of all cases of dementia and as such is a clinically important diagnosis. In the past few years, substantial advances have been made in understanding the genetics and pathology of this condition. For example, research has expanded our knowledge of the proteinaceous inclusions that characterize the disease, has provided an appreciation of the role of disease-associated processes such as inflammation and has revealed an association between DLB and genes such as GBA. These insights might have broader relevance to other neurodegenerative conditions and are beginning to be translated into clinical trials. In this Review, we provide clinical insights for the basic scientist and a basic science foundation for the clinician. We discuss the history of the condition; the definition of DLB; the relationship between DLB and other neurodegenerative conditions; current understanding of the pathology, genetics, clinical presentation and diagnosis of DLB; options for treatment; and potential future directions for research.

   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-018-0107-7

   or https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30559465

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-psychogeriatrics/article/color-perception-differentiates-alzheimers-disease-ad-from-vascular-dementia-vad-patients/57D871E93BF9072A812972514DA9310A

         6. Can we really teach Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with a Massive Open Online Course?

         T Gargot, NA Arnaoutoglou, T Costa, O Sidorova, N Liu-Thwaites, …

          European Psychiatry, 1-6 (2020)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/can-we-really-teach-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-with-a-massive-open-online-             course/C99F2EB713C057EBF75B2A71DEF90F74

7. Efficacy of a dementia intensive support (DIS) service at preventing admissions to medical and psychiatric wards:

Judy S. Rubinsztein , Catherine Hatfield , Liam High, Ramesh Krishnan, Nikitas A. Arnaoutoglou et. al.

8. Effectiveness of treatment for 6813 patients with mental health conditions in Cambridgeshire: a cross-sectional study

Nathan J. Dean, Nikitas Arnaoutoglou  and Benjamin R. Underwood

BJPsych Open (2020)