Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Volume 0, Issue 0, Page ???-???. Knop J, Penick EC, Nickel EJ, Mednick SA, Jensen P, Manzardo AM, Gabrielli WF. Paternal alcoholism predicts the occurrence but not the remission of alcoholic drinking: a forty-year follow-upObjective: To test the effects of father's alcoholism on the devel...

Background Impulsive aggression in adulthood is associated with disturbances in serotonergic function. In contrast, research examining this association in childhood has yielded inconsistent results.

Aims The current study examined the prospective relationship between serotonergic function measured in childhood and the later emergence of antisocial personality disorder.

Method Hormonal response to fenfluramine, an index of serotonergic function, was assessed in 58 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder between 1990 and 1997 when they were aged 7-11 years. Approximately 9 years later these individuals were evaluated for antisocial personality disorder.

Results Lower serotonergic responsivity assessed in childhood predicted the development of antisocial personality disorder (t (56)=2.25, P=0.028).

Conclusions These results provide a critical link between the child and adult literature on the covariation of impulsive aggression and serotonergic function and suggest a potential explanation for inconsistencies in the childhood literature.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Volume 0, Issue 0, Page ???-???. Sytema S, Wunderink L, Bloemers W, Roorda L, Wiersma D. Assertive community treatment in the Netherlands: a randomized controlled trial.Objective: Assertive community treatment is rapidly implemented by many European mental health services, but recently th...

Background Little is currently known about functioning and impairment during adulthood associated with the course of personality disorders.

Aims To investigate the association of personality disorder stability from adolescence through middle adulthood with measures of global functioning and impairment, using prospective epidemiological data.

Method A community-based sample of 658 individuals was interviewed at mean ages 14, 16, 22 and 33 years.

Results Individuals with persistent personality disorder had markedly poorer functioning and greater impairment at mean age 33 years than did those who had never been identified as having such disorder or who had a personality disorder that was in remission, after co-occurring Axis I disorders at age 33 years were taken into account. Remitted disorder was associated with mild long-term impairment. Adult-onset personality disorders, however, were also associated with significant impairment.

Conclusions Persistent and adult-onset personality disorders are associated with functional impairment among adults in the community. These effects are independent of co-occurring Axis I disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the microstructural integrity of whole-brain white matter by diffusion tensor imaging in first-episode, treatment-naive young adults with major depressive disorder. METHOD: Diffusion tensor imaging scans were obtained from 14 first-episode, treatment-naive young adult patients with major depressive disorder and 14 healthy comparison subjects. A voxel-based method was used to analyze the scans. RESULTS: The patient group exhibited significantly lower fractional anisotropy values than healthy comparison subjects in the white matter of the right middle frontal gyrus, the left lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, and the subgyral and angular gyri of the right parietal lobe. There were no regions of significantly higher fractional anisotropy values in patients compared with healthy comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that abnormalities of brain white matter may be present early in the course of major depressive disorder. They also support the idea that white matter lesions may disrupt the neural circuits involved in mood regulation and thus contribute to the neuropathology of major depressive disorder.