Editorial

The last issue of Pharmacotherapy in Psychiatry and Neu- rology in 2021 (3–4) contains three experimental papers, two review papers, and one case report. It begins with the experimental article from the De- partment of Psychiatric Genetics, Poznań University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), authored by Joanna Pawlak and Monika Dmitrzak-Węglarz. Its aim is to present data on the number of suicides in Poland in the peri- od between 2000 and 2020 and to analyse the changes in the number of suicides in the context of treatment with antidepressants. The analysis showed a high neg- ative correlation between the number of suicides and the following variables: the number of patients receiv- ing prescriptions for reimbursed antidepressants, also concerning the subgroup of patients under 18 years of age; the number of suicides and the number of patients at this age who were diagnosed with depression; the number of daily doses of the drug in reimbursed anti- depressants; the number of sick days issued to the pa- tient due to depression. However, in the 65–74 age group, the correlation between the number of suicides and the number of patients with prescriptions for reimbursed antidepressants was positive. The authors think that in regard to suicidal behaviour, the assessments should be made in various age groups. To prevent suicide, a deeper inspection of the effectiveness of the available antide- pressant treatment is necessary. The next two experimental papers concern neurobiol- ogy. In the first of them, coming from the Department of Adult Psychiatry, PUMS (Marcin Górniak et al.), the in- fluence of moderate physical activity (PA) on the changes in the BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and mBDNF (mature BDNF) concentrations in the plasma of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was assessed. The study included 32 people diagnosed with AD of mild or moderate severity, previously not physically active, 16 of whom started training in the form of Nordic walking. During the observation period in the entire study group (32 people) and in the group with MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) scores 19–23 points (15 people), a sig- nificant increase in the serum BDNF concentration was found. In the group of people with the late-onset disease (N = 27), a significant increase in the serum BDNF con- centration was found, regardless of PA, and a significant increase in the mBDNF concentration...


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