Psychiatry

Aim: To assess serum Cu/Zn SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) concentration in children with ADHD and evaluate its possible relationship to Cu and Zn levels. Subjects and methods: Serum from 22 children with ADHD and 20 healthy control children without ADHD and 19 autistic children without ADHD were tested for Cu/Zn SOD using...

Background: Risperidone has been shown to be as effective as other atypical antipsychotic medications in the treatment of psychotic symptoms, but its effectiveness in refractory psychotic symptoms is unclear. Objective: In this paper, we aim to review the available evidence related to the use of risperidone in refractory schizophrenia. Methods: English language...

Since the publication of Leo Kanner’s seminal paper in 1943, there has been essentially no definitive light shed on the cause, prevention or cure of autism. It is our contention that the reason lies, at least in part, with the original psychiatric conceptualization of the condition and the subsequent acceptance...

The newest antidepressant, desvenlafaxine (DVS) was approved by the FDA in early 2008 and since then, has been available in the market for general use. DVS is dual acting, a serotonin-norepinepherine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). Like its parent compound, venlafaxine (VEN), DVS inhibits the neuronal re-uptake of both serotonin and norepinepherine...

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common disorder that is chronic, disabling, and often goes undiagnosed. Currently, four distinct classes of medications have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of GAD: benzodiazepines, serotonin and/or norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs), histamine H1 receptor blockers (hydroxyzine), and pregabalin. Pregabalin acts via binding to an...

Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is an endogenous metabolite of tryptophan. Studies have revealed increased brain KYNA levels in patients with schizophrenia. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a behavioral model for sensorimotor gating and found to be reduced in schizophrenia. Previous studies have shown that pharmacologically elevated brain KYNA levels disrupt PPI in...

Introductory Editorial by Dr Karna Dev Bardhan

A patient with a history of severe head injury 10 years ago regained ability to walk after years of being bound to a wheelchair. During the last psychiatric hospitalization, quetiapine was increased to therapeutic dose using a normal titration. As a result the patient developed dystonia of multiple muscle groups...

Stress-related diseases have been predicted to become major contributors to the Global Disease Burden within the next 20 years. Of these, depression is one of the principal identifiable sources of concern for public mental health, and has been hypothesized to be an outcome of prolonged stress. Examination of the hyper-responsiveness...

Objective: To explore the relationship between coping mechanisms and suicidal ideations among women who experience symptoms of postpartum depression. Design: This exploratory descriptive study used secondary data from a study of women who experienced symptoms of postpartum depression. Participants: Convenience and purposive sampling were used to obtain the community sample of...

Differences in the frequency of several somatic conditions have been tentatively reported between the diagnostic sub-groups of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of a database was used to test these preliminary findings. A sample of 1189 children diagnosed with autism (n = 267), Asperger syndrome (n = 210)...

The study’s purpose was to determine treatment outcomes for patients who present with drug use vs. those presenting with no drug use at admission to a psychiatric day treatment program. Consecutively admitted patients completed confidential interviews which included psychological distress and quality of life measures and provided urine specimens for...

With nearly one fifth of the population experiencing depression sometime during their lives, plus the recent finding that depression rivals smoking in its association with mortality, the search for effective pharmacological treatments for depression remains urgent. However, despite this heavy disease burden upon society, the various waves of antidepressants developed...

No abstract.

The paper is a review of the clinical use of risperidone, an antipsychotic introduced in the treatment of schizophrenia in 1994. Randomized controlled trials, naturalistic studies and extensive clinical experience have definitively shown strong efficacy and effectiveness of risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. On the...

Bipolar disorder is a common and serious illness usually requiring long term medication. We critically review the available evidence surrounding the increasing use of quetiapine, a second generation antipsychotic, in both the acute and maintenance phases of bipolar disorder. Large scale, randomized controlled data supports the use of quetiapine in...

Background and Methods: Anthroposophic treatment for anxiety disorders includes special artistic and physical therapies and special medications. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 64 consecutive adult outpatients starting anthroposophic treatment for anxiety disorders under routine conditions. Main outcomes were Anxiety Severity (physician and patient ratings 0–10), Self-rating Anxiety Scale...

Background: Bipolar disorder is a lifelong problem with imperfect available treatments. Recent research has shown potential benefit of nutritional treatment for mood symptoms. The goal of the current study was to determine whether adults with bipolar disorder reported treatment benefit from consuming a micronutrient formula. Methods: Self-report data were...

Introductory Editorial from Dr Jaswinder Kaur Ghuman, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724 U.S.A.

Stacey Cornish and Lewis Mehl-Madrona University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Eduard Maron1,2,3, Jakov Shlik4 and David J. Nutt5 1Research Department of Mental Health, The North Estonian Regional Hospital, Psychiatry Clinic, Tallinn, Estonia. 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. 3Estonian Genome Project, University of Tartu, Estonia. 4Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 5Department of Community...

Robert G Bota1, Timothy Dellenbaugh2, Andro Giorgadze3, Chadd K Eaglin4 and Cristina Davila1 1Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Missouri-Kansas City. 2Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Missouri-Kansas City. 3Psychiatrist, Middle Flint Behavioral Health Care, Americus, GA. 4Resident Psychiatrist, University of Hawaii. Abstract Objective: To assess...

Takeo Fujiwara1 and Cynthia Lee2 1Department of Health Promotion and Research, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan. 2Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, BC, Canada. Abstract Previous studies have suggested that altruistic behaviors for children and grandchildren (ABC) have a complex mechanism for psychiatric morbidity among...

Stefan Begré1, Tobias Lütgert1, Luca Remonda2, Roland Wiest2, Claus Kiefer2 and Roland von Känel1 1Department of General Internal Medicine, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital/ Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland. 2Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital/Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland. Abstract Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by disabling fatigue of...

Heimo Viinamäki, Heli Koivumaa-Honkanen1, Kirsi Honkalampi, Kaisa Haatainen, Tommi Tolmunen, Risto Antikainen, Jukka Hintikka Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital and University of Kuopio, Finland. 1Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oulu and Lapland Hospital District, Muurola Hospital. Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to explore variables...

Pilar Carrera, Amparo Caballero and Dolores Muñoz Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) Abstract: In this work we present two types of emotional message, negative (sadness) versus mixed (joy and sadness), with the aim of studying their differential effect on attitude change and the probability estimated by participants of...

Kathleen L. Davenport, Steven M. Julius and Paul W. Davenport Departments of Pediatrics and Physiological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Abstract: Magnitude estimation (ME) of inspiratory resistive (R) loads has been studied in asthmatic children. Some children have been reported to be...