OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine the presence of caregiver fatigue among caregivers of patients with schizophrenia at Veterans Memorial Medical Center Department of Psychiatry for the period of 2008-2011. It also aimed to identify the association between demographic characteristics of the caregivers and the occurrence of caregiver fatigue.
METHODOLOGY: This is a cross­sectional study that employed a validated, self-administered questionnaire i.e. Caregiver Self-assessment Questionnaire, which consisted of 16 "yes/no" items and 2 global scale items designed to measure indices of emotional and physical distress. Subjects were also asked to provide their demographic profile to determine if there was an association between caregiver factors and caregiver fatigue. Subjects were selected thru simple random sampling. The values obtained were then analyzed using the Mann Whitney U Test and Kruskal Wallis Test with <0.05 level of significance.
RESULTS: From a total of 360 only 271 caregivers of schizophrenia patients consented to participate in the study Results revealed that 116 respondents or 41.8% for questions 1 -16 and 146 respondents or 53% for question 17 and 155 respondents or 57% for question 18 experienced "severe" level of fatigue. Caregiver factors that were associated with development of caregiver fatigue were: married status, college graduate, unemployed and caring for the undifferentiated type of schizophrenia. Caregivers alleviate their stress thru the help of family members then eventually turn to friends, neighbors, church and civic organizations while a few reported seeking support from all groups at the same time.
CONCLUSION: Most of the caregivers of patients with schizophrenia suffered from "severe" level of caregiver fatigue. Caregivers relied on the rest of their family members to alleviate their stress.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Schizophrenia ; Patients ; Fatigue ; Caregivers ; Psychiatry

This case aims to illustrate that Childhood-onset Schizophrenia may manifest with nonspecific symptoms initially and can be confused with other developmental disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Obsessive compulsive and related disorders are a collection of debilitating psychiatric disorders in which the role of glutamate dysfunction in the underpinning neurobiology is becoming well established. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a glutamate modulator with promising therapeutic effect. This paper presents a systematic review of clinical trials and case reports exploring the use of NAC for these disorders. A further objective was to detail the methodology of current clinical trials being conducted in the area. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library Database were searched for human clinical trials or case reports investigating NAC in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or obsessive compulsive related disorders. Researchers with known involvement in NAC studies were contacted for any unpublished data. RESULTS: Four clinical trials and five case reports/series were identified. Study durations were commonly 12-weeks, using 2,400-3,000 mg/day of NAC. Overall, NAC demonstrates activity in reducing the severity of symptoms, with a good tolerability profile and minimal adverse effects. Currently there are three ongoing randomized controlled trials using NAC for OCD (two adults and one pediatric), and one for excoriation. CONCLUSION: Encouraging results have been demonstrated from the few pilot studies that have been conducted. These results are detailed, in addition to a discussion of future potential research.
Adult ; Cysteine* ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Neurobiology ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

It has been more than a decade since the Committee on Standardization and Accreditation of Residency Training was renamed Board of Accreditation of the Specialty Board of Philippine Psychiatry (SBPP). The SBPP is composed of two bodies namely the Boards of Accreditation and Certification. These bodies are mandated to uphold the highest standards of accrediting psychiatry residency training programs (Board of Accreditation) and granting diplomate status to graduates of these programs (Board of Certification). Guided by the biopsychosocial and spiritual model of health, the Board of Accreditation remains steadfast in ensuring that psychiatry residency training programs continue to be relevant to current demands of mental health and psychiatric care in the country. In addition, it sees to it that these programs are in harmony with global standards. As psychiatry faces new challenges in the third millennium, certain innovations and iterations in the manner by which mental illnesses are diagnosed, treated, and prevented must be set in place. Through its Millennium Developmental Goals, the United Nations has declared that the achievement of gender equality is an effective way of combating disease. Mental health problems and psychiatric disorders are closely linked with gender-related issues. Yet, many residency training programs in the Philippines have not formally and systematically integrated gender sensitivity into their curricula. The same can be said of the concepts of religion and spirituality. Numerous researches have established the positive link between religion and spirituality and mental health.
Psychiatry ; Internship and Residency