The incidence of risperidone-induced amenorrhea has not been well known. Since conven tional antipsyrchotics-induced amenorrhea may be due to the hyperprolactinemia associated with the block of dopamine D2 receptor, it seems justified to expect that risperidone having the affinities far dopamine and serotonin receptor also may induce the hyperprolactinemia and the amenorrhea. We report the case of risperidone-induced amenorrhea in a premenopausal woman with schizophrenia. The amenorrhea of the patient would be related to the hyperprolactinemia. Clinicians should be vigilant to the possible reaction in their female patients with schizophrenia.
Amenorrhea* ; Dopamine ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperprolactinemia ; Incidence ; Prolactin ; Receptors, Dopamine D2 ; Risperidone ; Schizophrenia* ; Serotonin

We report a 48-year-old female with typical symptoms of Huntington's disease, including involuntary movement, cognitive dysfunction and psychiatric symptoms such as personality change, emotional instability, persecutory ideation and depression, but without family history. The diagnosis of HD was confirmed a repetitive DNA sequence(CAG) amplification on HD locus by PCR and pAGE in this case. The DNA analysis showed that she had an allele with 43 repeat units, in the size range seen in HD chromosomes. So we reported this case with literature review.
Alleles ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Dyskinesias ; Female ; Humans ; Huntington Disease* ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

A major application of hypnosis in the legal setting has been for the investigative purpose of refreshing recollection of witnesses and victims of crimes. There were some positive results with this hypnotic technique in a case of the taxi driver who had transported the victim of rape. The driver was able to recall some of numbers and letters in the license plate on the car that the rapists had. This recollection contributed investigators for the arrest of them. Hypnosis would be used in the generation of hypotheses to be corroborated by independent evidence. This report recommended that careful guidelines similar to the ones outlined by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis would be followed.
Crime ; Humans ; Hypnosis* ; Licensure ; Memory ; Rape ; Research Personnel

Chronic fatigue syndrome has been recency reconceptualized as a bio-psycho-social disorder. Although the up-to-date pathophysiological hypothesis of this disorder in Europe & America is based on viral origin, no medical therapy has been proven effective in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors report a case with chronic fatigue syndrome treated successfully with combined psychotherapy and antidepressant. Emphasizing the effectiveness and utility of the psychiatric treatment, we also review the related literatures about the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Americas ; Europe ; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic* ; Humans ; Psychotherapy

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate 1) sleep changes after antidepressant(dothiepin) treatment, and 2) sleep variables which seem to be associated with clinical response in the depressed patients. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 16 patients who fullfilled the criteria for major depression by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,(4th edition). Their sleep was recorded using polysomnography at the baseline and after one week and three weeks of dothiepin treatment. All subjects were further interviewed using Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) to rate the severity of their depression. High response to the drug was defined as a reduction of more than 50% of the HRSD score. Result : The results were as follows : 1) Depressed patients after dothiepin treatment showed more total sleep time(p=0.019), shorter sleep latency(p=0.05), less awake time(p=0.033), more sleep efficiency(p=0.018), more stage 2 sleep(p=0.002), less REM time(p=0.000), and longer REM sleep latency(p=0.004) than before treatment. 2) There were no differences in sleep variables between those who received 1 week and 3 weeks of dothiepin treatment except of th shortening of sleep latency after 3 weeks(p<0.05). 3) Depressive symptom scores on HRSD were reduced after 1 week and 3 weeks of dothiepin treatment as compared with the baseline. 4) High responers showed a tendency of increased wake time(p=0.054), while their stage 4 sleep decreased after 1 week of dothiepin treatment as compared with the low responders(p=0.0136). Conclusions : These results suggest that sleep of the depressed patients after dothiepin treatment tends to be nomalized and sleep chages seem to appear early in the treatment phase. In addition, clinical response might be associated with greater wake time at the baseline and lesser atage 4 sleep 1 week of dothiepin treatment.
Depression ; Dothiepin ; Humans ; Polysomnography ; Sleep, REM

OBJECTIVES: Family, twin and adoption studies indicate that genetic factors play a crucial role in the etiology of schizophrenia. However, mode of inheritance of schizophrenia is uncertain, and genes for schizophrenia have not yet been identified despite extensive studies due to the complexity of the genetics of schizophrenia. Currently, 5HT2A receptor gene has attracted considerable interest as a susceptibility gene of schizoph,enia since the 5HT2A receptor has been known as one of the major target sites of atypical neuroleptics. We conducted an association study of T102C polymorphism in the 5HT2a receptor gene in Korean schizophrenic patients using PCR-RFLF method. METHODS: Two hundered and fifty biologically unrelated schizoprenic patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria from Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital affiliated with Catholic University of Korea were recruited for our study. The patient group consisted of 123 male and 127 female subjects, aged 30.1+/-9.3years. The controls were volunteers for DNA library of Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital withoyt family history of psychiatric or neurologic illness. The control group consisted of 124 males and 112 females, aged 23.6+/-3.7year. Amplified genomic DNA was digested by MspI. The significance of genetic association of the polymorphism was estimated by the logisitc regression anlysis and ANOVA using SPSS 7.5. RESULT: The allele frequencies and the genotypic distribution 5HT2a receptor gene were not significantly different between the patient and control group. In addition the allele frequencies and the genotypes of 5HT2a receptor gene were not significantly associated with subtype of schizophrenia. However, negative symptom score according to genotype show significant differenence(F=3.828 df=2 P=0.023). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that even if the development and subtype of schizophrenia may not beassociated with T102C polymorphism of 5HT2A receptor in Korean population, T102C polymorphism may be associated with the severity of negative symptom.
Antipsychotic Agents ; DNA ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Gene Library ; Genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Schizophrenia* ; Volunteers ; Wills

The identification of clinical predictors of clozapine response in schizophrenics might be helpful to make a selection of the patients for clozapine treaolent, and could also be useful to diminish the incidence of agranulocytosis, an unpredictable and potentially lethal side effect of clozapine. This study was designed to identify the characteristic symptoms which can predict a good response to clozapine in schizophrenics before or in early stage of clozapine treatmnet. The results were summarized as follows. First, while twenty four patients who had a reduction of 1 point or greater in CGI scores from baseline to six-week clozapine treatment were defined as clozapine responders, seventeen patients without such a change were defined as clozapine nonresponders. The classification between the two groups was assessed to be valid statistically. Second, both baseline BPRS total scores and each score of 6 BPRS items such as anxiety, hostility, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, self-neglect, and excitement were significantly higher in the clozapine responders than in the clozapine nonresponders. Third, in the responders artier the second week of clozapine treatment, there was a significant reduction from baseline on the anxiety and unusual thought content item scores. In conclusion, several symptomatic factors could be regarded as clinical predictors of clozapine response in schizophrenics, including anxiety, hostility, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, self-neglect, and excitement as well as the severity of psychoticism.
Agranulocytosis ; Anxiety ; Classification ; Clozapine* ; Hallucinations ; Hostility ; Humans ; Incidence

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia suggest that negative syndrome can be characterized by specific impairments in visual information-processing. We examined the possibility of such cognitive impairments as a a trait marker of 'deficit' syndrome group characterized by persistent primary negative symptoms or schizophrenic patients as a whole. METHODS: The subjects were 35 schizophrenic patients in partial or full remission state and the controls were 25 volunteers screened for major mental illnesses in their 2nd degree relatives. The patients were divided into deficit & nondeficit groups based on Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome and they showed positive, depressive or extrapyramidal symptoms of minimal to mild degree. Performance on various cognitive tasks associated with visual information-processing was examined. RESULTS: Deficit and nondeficit groups showed no significant difference in age of onset, duration of illness, the severity of positive and depressive symptoms and dose of antipsychotics. Deficit group performed significantly less well than normal control group on Continuous Attention Test. Significant difference was found between the patients groups and normal control group on Vigilance Test, Signal-Detection Test, and in decision time of Reaction Unit Tests. There were no significant differences among three groups on the tasks of visual immediate memory, visual analysis, motor reaction, and fine motor control. No cognitive variable was correlated to duration of illness, the severity of positive and depressive symptoms, general psychopathology, and dose of antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that deficit syndrome might be characterized by the impairment of continuous attention to simple visual stimuli. Impaired vigilance to infrequent visual stimuli, selective auention to visual stimuli and delayed decision time in simple information-processing tasks which were not related to various clinical variables were suggested to be cognitive markers of schizophrenia.
Age of Onset ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Appointments and Schedules ; Depression ; Humans ; Memory, Short-Term ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia ; Volunteers

OBJECTIVE: We attempted to confirm the effects of the combined treatment of medication and parent training on the behavioral problems of referred ADHD children, the maternal behavior, and the parenting stress of their mothers. METHODS: Twenty-four children between the ages of 5 to 11 and their mothers were selected as subjects from Child Psychiatric Clinics of Hanyang University Hospital. Three groups were organized : combined treatment group of medication and parent training(N=6) ; wating list group(N=6) ; and medication only group(N=6). Methylphenidate(0.5-0.7 mg/kg/day) was prescribed for children. Mothers of the combined treatment group of medication and parent training and the wating list group attended the parent training once a week for nine weeks and a booster session 4 weeks later. Treatment outcomes were evaluated by comparing both treatment groups at pre- and post-treatment using the various rating scales. Especially the combined treatment group was followed up after 6 months to evaluate the stability of treatment effects. RESULTS: This study showed greater effectiveness of the combined treatment of medication and parent training relative to the medication only in decreasing the overall behavioral problems of ADHD children and the parenting stress of mothers as well as in increasing the desirable maternal behavior. In addition, these improvements were maintained at 6 month follow-up. CONCLUSION: The combined treatment of medication and parent training facilitated the behavioral improvement of referred ADHD children in several aspects.
Child* ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Maternal Behavior ; Mothers ; Parenting ; Parents* ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: In order to investigate Korean children's developmental friar-anxiety theme and it's nature, self-rating Fear-Anxiety Survey Schedule far children was designed and applied to general population. Reliability and validity of this scale were tested. METHOD: Korean version of Fear-Anxiety Survey Schedule for Children(FASSC) was administered to 365 elementary school children and 211 middle school adolescents. The self-rating scale was developed from Ollendick's Revised Survey Schedule for Children(FSSC-R). Some anxiety theme items were newly added and some overlapping FSSC-R items were deleted. Total 59-items questionaire form also was modified from 3-point degree checking forms to 3-point degree frequency ones. RESULTS: 1) FASSC turned out to be a better suNey tool than FSSC-R in relibility, concurrent validity, factor structure, and internal consistency. 2) Five subfactor scores by age and sex were consistent with previous known developmental change of fear-anxiety theme. 3) We considered that FASSC represented more friar-related aspect than the anxiety one, because FASSC total score decreased with age. CONCLUSION: For the purpose of applying survey schedule to clinical population and differentiation study between friar and anxiety, pure Korean version of Anxiety Survey Schedule for Children that containing only anxiety themes without fear ones.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Appointments and Schedules* ; Child* ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results