Objective: To explain relatively common phenomenon of laughing during sleep and help to better define criteria for differentiating between physiological and pathological sleep-laughing.Methods: Observational study of patients who underwent a sleep assessment in a referential tertiary health facility.Results: A total of ten patients exhibited sleep laughing, nine of whom had episodes associated with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Also, in one of the patients sleep-laughing was one of the symptoms of REM sleep Behaviour Disorder, and in another patient sleep-laughing was associated with NREM sleep arousal parasomnia.Conclusion: The collected data and review of literature suggests that hypnogely in majority of the cases presents as a benign physiological phenomenon related to dreaming and REM sleep. Typically, these dreams are odd, bizarre or even unfunny for a person when awake. Nevertheless, they bring a sense of mirth and a genuine behavioural response. In a minority of cases, sleep-laughing appears to be a symptom of neurological disorders affecting the central nervous system. In these patients the behavioural substrate differs when compared to physiological laughing, and the sense of mirth is usually absent.

To systematically review the recent studies which examined the co-occurrence and relationships between anxiety disorders and personality disorders. The prevalence rates of personality disorders in patients with anxiety disorders are high, with 35% in posttraumatic stress disorder, 47% in panic disorder with agoraphobia and generalized anxiety disorder, 48% in social phobia, and 52% in obsessive-compulsive disorder. There is a high rate (39%) of the DSM cluster C personality disorders among individuals with anxiety disorders. Moreover, anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in samples of people with personality disorders, especially borderline personality disorder (80-84.8%). Personality disorders co-occurring with anxiety disorders have a number of clinical implications, including an increased risk of suicide, greater severity of anxiety disorders, and negative impact on the treatment outcome of anxiety disorders. It is important for the clinicians to look for possible personality disorders among patients with anxiety disorders. Further studies need to ascertain how best to treat individuals suffering from both anxiety disorders and personality disorders and focus on the issue of causality when these conditions co-occur.

Personality traits significantly influence the development, persistence, and treatment outcomes of substance use disorders. Despite increasing addiction rates among women, sex-specific research remains limited. This study explores the relationship between addiction type and personality traits among inpatient women addicted to alcohol and opioids. A cross-sectional design included three groups: 80 women with alcohol addiction, 80 with opioid addiction, and 80 healthy controls. Participants completed the Revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-5-R) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). One-way ANOVA assessed group differences, and canonical discriminant analysis predicted group affiliation. Women with opioid addiction showed a distinct and maladaptive personality profile on both inventories compared to women with alcohol addiction and healthy controls, whereas women with alcohol addiction more closely resembled controls. According to Cloninger’s model, opioid-addicted women scored significantly higher on Novelty Seeking and Self-Transcendence, and lower on Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness (p < 0.001). Within the Five-Factor Model, they also scored higher (p < 0.001) on Neuroticism and lower on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness compared to alcohol-addicted women. Personality differences were more pronounced between women with opioid versus alcohol addiction than between alcohol-addicted women and healthy controls.

Introduction There were many studies that compare the efficacy and tolerability of different medications in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but there are no published studies that compare the efficacy of duloxetine and pregabalin in patients with GAD. Objectives 1) to investigate the efficacy of duloxetine versus pregabalin and 2) to investigate the tolerability and safety of duloxetine versus pregabalin in patients with GAD in daily clinical practice. Method the study was conducted as a prospective, observational study. The study sample consisted of patients diagnosed with GAD. Patient therapy was based on the use of duloxetine or pre gabalin. If clinical evaluation indicated that there were indications for the use of Benzodiazepine anxiolytics the pharmacological treatment included these medications. Monitoring the effectiveness of treatment included monitoring the change in score on the GAD-7 questionnaire, as well as monitoring the occurrence of side effects. Results the sample included 105 patients. Patients had an average of high intensity of anxiety symptoms at the beginning of treatment - GAD-7=17.36 (SD=2.98). In all patients individually, the GAD-7 total score was impaired and the arithmetic mean of the difference score was 7.46 (SD=2.27) points. Patients in the duloxetine-treated group had a decrease in the total GAD-7 score, and the arithmetic mean of the difference score was 7.12 (SD = 1.91) points, and for the pregabalin-treated patients, the arithmetic mean of the total GAD -7 score scale was just over 8 points. Patients treated with duloxetine had statistically significant symptoms of GAP - 11.31 (SD-3.14) vs pregabalin 8.71 (SD-4.02), but there was no statistically significant difference in GAD-7 scores after one month of treatment compared to the study group (p = 0.172). Conclusion the results of the present study indicate that duloxetine and pregabalin have proven to be successful drugs in reducing the overall GAD-7 score in patients with GAP during the initial treatment period. Based on this, it can be concluded that duloxetine and pregabalin are successful drugs for the treatment of patients with GAP in the initial treatment period.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was a mathematician, philosopher, and scholar, whose work set a foundation for modern science. Among other interests, he focused on locating the "core and the seat of the soul" and concluded that the pineal gland was such a structure. Recent scientific findings validate Descartes' deep interest in pineal gland, appreciating its role as part of the circadian rhythm system. On the other hand, the biographical information suggests that Descartes had an aberration of the circadian rhythm (delayed sleep phase). Coincidentally, this meant that one of the most important things in his private life and one of the most significant areas of his research intersected in an overlooked way.

Introduction: In schizophrenia patients the lateral ventricle enlargement has mostly been reported in relationship with smaller cortical and/or subcortical brain volumes; and it has been observed that ventricular system growth may be a consequence of the smaller caudate nucleus volume., Bicaudate parameters have been used in the Alzheimer dementia and Huntington's chorea diagnosing in order to evaluate brain changes and the enlargement of the lateral ventricles. Subjects and methods: This study has been carried out on 140 patients out of which 70 patients (30 men and 40 women) who met the ICD 10 criteria for schizophrenia and 70 healthy controls (30 men and 40 women) matched on sex and age with the studied group. All of them underwent direct caudatometry and volume computation based on MRI scans. Results: Except for the bicorporal line, for all the parameters were obtained the statistically highly significant differences between the examined and control groups. Significant correlation was established for the majority of bicaudate parameters and volumes of the caudate nuclei and lateral ventricles. Discussion: Enlargement of the lateral ventricles is one of the most frequent MRI finding in schizophrenia patients. Ventricles are enlarging gradually and frontal horns are more affected than other parts. The increased volumes of the caudate nuclei signalized that ventricular enlargement is not the consequence of the caudate atrophy. Conclusion: Bicaudate parameters are reliable parameters for the quick orientation in order to assess the enlarged ventricles in schizophrenia patients.