Smoking is reported to be associated with depression and anxiety. The present study (a) examines these associations taking comorbidity into account, (b) investigates possible confounders, (c) examines how former smokers compared to current and never-smokers in terms of anxiety and depression, and if anxiety and depression decline by time since cessation. Participants (66%) aged 20–89 years in a population-based health survey (N = 60,814) were screened employing the HADS. (a) The association with smoking was strongest in comorbid anxiety depression, followed by anxiety, and only marginal in depression. Associations were stronger in females and younger participants. (b) Variables partly accounting for the association comprised somatic symptoms, socio-demographics, alcohol problems, and low physical activity. (c) Anxiety and depression were most common in current smokers, followed by quitters, and then never-smokers. No decline in anxiety or depression was found with time since cessation. Previous studies of associations between depression and smoking might have overestimated the association when ignoring comorbid anxiety.

The gene encoding catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme which regulates prefrontal cortex dopamine, contains a common functional single nucleotide polymorphism (val158met, rs4680 G/A), which accounts for part of the interindividual variance in performance during working memory tasks and also predicts personality traits.

We examined the relationship between the val158met polymorphism and cognitive function as well as personality traits in 522 healthy individuals (mean age: 24.75 years, SD = 5.84, mean years of education: 15.59, SD = 2.65).

COMT val158met genotype was related in allele dosage fashion to performance in an executive function test, with the met/met carriers scoring highest. Subjects carrying the met/met genotype also scored higher in the disorganization domain of the SPQ-B personality inventory.

Consistent with evidence from previous studies, higher dopamine availability of the met/met genotype enhances prefrontally mediated executive function in healthy individuals.

Furthermore, we replicated findings from a recent study whereby the COMT genotype also predicts disorganized personality features.

According to the aim of the Treaty of Rome from 1957 which postulated the free movement of workers throughout the European Union, the European Board of Psychiatry in the UEMS (European Union of Medical Specialists) carried out a comprehensive survey of training in psychiatry, including all member countries in order to evaluate the present state of training in psychiatry in each. The survey should indicate whether the training requirements [UEMS Section Psychiatry. Charter on training of medical specialists in the EU: requirements for the speciality psychiatry. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 1997;247(Suppl.):S45–7; UEMS Section Psychiatry. Charter on training of medical specialists in the EU: requirements for the speciality psychiatry. <www.uemspsychiatry.org/board/reports/Chapter6-11.10.03.pdf>; 2003 [last revision]] have had an impact on the actual conditions of training in psychiatry in the member countries. We gathered 22 questionnaires from 31 national representatives involved and 424 questionnaires completed by the chief of training and the representative of trainees at the responding training centres from 22 countries. The results give an overview about the practice of training in psychiatry in many European countries. While there are great differences between the training centres in different countries, apparent progress towards developing high standards in training in psychiatry has been made.

The proposed course targets a major international public health issue: the cause of death of about 100, 000 children and adolescents world-wide each year, suicide. It is the second leading cause of death in that age group in many European countries. There are over three million suicide attempts made by adolescents annually. Although genetic and family risk factors are highly associated with both suicide and with suicide attempts, the specific genetic alleles that transmit this vulnerability between generations have yet to be identified.

Some risk factors for teen suicide attempts and completion have been identified and will be discussed, including an Axis I psychiatric disorder (e.g. mood disorder), family discord, aggressive-impulsive traits and physical and sexual abuse. One key factor consistently associated with suicide and suicidal behavior and will get a special attention in the course is a family history of suicidal behavior. This is as strong a risk factor as major depression, and stronger than environmental factors such as abuse. Suicidal behavior runs in families, independently of axis I or II diagnosis. Gene-environment interaction models in children and families will be presented and discussed. We will propose a stress-diathesis model of suicidal behavior and a practical tool for risk assessment for the clinician.

While functional neuroimaging studies on attention and executive function in schizophrenia have reported several functionally aberrant cortical regions, less is known about the relationship of cognitive impairment and regional volume alterations. In order to investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and structural alterations, we studied healthy control subjects and partially remitted, medicated inpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and a standardised neuropsychological test battery. Schizophrenic patients showed reduced grey matter (GM) density in the bilateral temporal cortex, the left inferior parietal lobule, the cingulate gyrus and the left middle frontal gyrus. Reduced GM volume was additionally found in the left hippocampal gyrus and the right superior frontal cortex. Reduced white matter density was found in the posterior corpus callosum. Structure-cognition regression analyses revealed that decreased GM density of the left inferior parietal and the right middle temporal cortex was associated with worse performance during divided attention. Worse performance during the spatial span was associated with volumetric abnormalities of the hippocampal gyrus. These results indicate that regional abnormalities in brain structure may offer an account for some impaired cognitive domains in patients with schizophrenia, while other cognitive domains may remain relatively less affected by volumetric alterations.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder striking mainly young adults and leading to life-long disability in a substantial portion of the sufferers. On the other hand, substantial knowledge about its etiology and pathogenesis is still lacking. Therefore the European Science Foundation (ESF) sponsored a meeting of a panel of European experts on schizophrenia research to discuss the state of art and future perspectives of key topics in this area. The fields covered genetics, epidemiology, animal models, molecular neuropathology and imaging. This was a first step to establish a network of European groups dedicated to Schizophrenia research. The coming calls of the frame work program will be used to strengthen this network in order to achieve substantial progress in understanding and treating this devastating illness.

It is not clear whether patient's psycho-education enhances compliance to antipsychotic treatments and reduces the number of relapses. Here we investigated the impact of a new psycho-educational program (SOLEDUC®) on the one- and two-years rate of relapse (primary outcome measure) and a number of clinical assessments (secondary outcome measures). This was a multicentric French clinical trial (51 centers) of Phase IV, open, controlled, randomized, consisting in two parallel groups: the Soleduc group (N = 111) and the control group (N = 109). All subjects received a variable dose over the 2-year period of the same antipsychotic drug (amisulpride). Soleduc consisted of a 7-session program (1 h per session), presented three times (at baseline, 6-months and 12-months). Patients in the control group received a non-specific psychosocial training for an equivalent period of time. The models of Andersen-Gill (AG) and Prentice, Williams and Peterson (PWP) were used to analyze relapses. Patients in the Soleduc group attended 14.8 ± 6.1 sessions (mean ± SD), including 17 patients who never attended a session. Intent to treat analysis showed less patients relapsing in the Soleduc group as compared to the control group (21.6% versus 28.4% after 1 year and 84.4% versus 90.8% after 2 years), but the differences were not statistically significant. Relapse risk was significantly reduced for patients who followed at least 7 modules (p = 0.015 AG-test; p < 0.001 PWP-test). In conclusion, no significant differences in relapse rates were found between patients attending the Soleduc program and the control group. Attendance of at least 7 out of 21 program sessions was required to see a modest, but significant two-year relapse prevention in schizophrenia. Other well designed studies are required to evaluate the medical impact of patient's education programs.

We recently reported an association between TAAR6 (trace amine associated receptor 6 gene) variations and schizophrenia (SZ). We now report an association of a set of TAAR6 variations and clinical presentation and outcome in a sample of 240 SZ Korean patients. Patients were selected by a Structured Clinical Interview, DSM-IV Axis I disorders – Clinical Version (SCID-CV). Other psychiatric or neurologic disorders, as well as medical diseases, were exclusion criteria. To assess symptom severity, patients were administered the CGI scale and the PANSS at baseline and at the moment of discharge, 1 month later on average. TAAR6 variations rs6903874, rs7452939, rs8192625 and rs4305745 were investigated; rs6903874, rs7452939 and rs8192625 entered the statistical investigation after LD analysis. Rs8192625 G/G homozygosis was found to be significantly associated both with a worse clinical presentation at PANSS total and positive scores and with a shorter period of illness before hospitalization. No haplotype significant findings were found. The present study stands for a role of the TAAR6 in the clinical presentation of SZ. Moreover, our results show that this genetic effect may be counteracted by a correct treatment. Haplotype analysis was not informative in our sample, probably also because of the incomplete SNPs' coverage of the gene we performed. Further studies in this direction are warranted.

Sexual behavior is determined by a compelx interplay of pschosocial and biological factors. Evaluation of sexual disorders inlcudes an evaluation of psychosocial factors such as cultural influences, life history, individual psychodynamics, couple interaction patterns, life stage as well as biological factors such as current medications, medical illness, psychiatric illness and endocrinological status. Sexual fucntioning usually declines in woman during the menopausal transition and this decline is related to decling estradiol levels. In spite of this, the major factor predicting postmenaopausal sexual function is premenopausal sexual function and relationship with the sexual partner. THere has been minimal study of psychologicalfactors influencing male sexual desire. Intervention requies an integrated approach with equal consideration to numerous possible etiological factors.