OBJECTIVE: The abnormality of mismatch negativity (MMN) in schizophrenia is thought to be associated with perceptional disturbance and cognitive dysfunction. And the antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, ketamine, can induce anomalies of psychophysiology and cognitive function as those of schizophrenia. In order to explore the role of NMDA receptors on echoic memory system, MMN under ketamine administration was analyzed. METHODS: MMNs of Healthy 12 subjects under sub-anesthetic dose (0.65 mg/kg/hr) of ketamine administration in placebo-controlled design were recorded by 128 channel EEG. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) change was also evaluated. RESULTS: BPRS score was significantly increased by ketamine administration (t=-6.655, p<0.001). Ketamine induced significant decrease in MMN amplitudes (Fz, t=-2.572, p=0.026). Neither MMN amplitude under placebo administration nor MMN latencies under ketamine administration and placebo was changed significantly. CONCLUSION: Ketamine induced echoic memory dysfunction in healthy subjects, which is usually found in schizophrenic patients. Consequently, reduced glutamatergic activity in brain could be involved some early processes of the memory dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Brain ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Electroencephalography ; Glutamic Acid* ; Humans ; Ketamine* ; Memory* ; N-Methylaspartate ; Psychophysiology ; Receptors, Glutamate* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; Schizophrenia*

When a patient complains of gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and upper abdominal pain after ingestion of a substance such as a corrosive agent and certain drugs which can cause mucosal injury to the esophagus and stomach, we always keep in mind gastrointestinal injury and should perform an endoscopic procedure promptly and use the appropriate treatment. It is well known that common corrosive agents which can cause gastrointestinal injury are acidic and alkaline chemicals, and the common causative drug for gastrointestinal injury is NSAID. However, it is not well known that consuming hot food and drinks can cause gastrointestinal injury also. Up to now, there have only been a few case reports of esophageal mucosal injury due to the consumption of hot food and drinks. Gastric mucosal injury after ingesting hot food and drinks is rare and has not been reported often. So here, we report a case of gastric mucosal injury after ingesting a hot liquid diet via gastric feeding tube.
Abdominal Pain ; Diet ; Eating ; Enteral Nutrition ; Esophagus ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Nausea ; Stomach ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVES: Cholesterol interacts with serotonin and it has been found to be associated with some clinical symptoms of mood disorders. There is a paucity of data on first onset bipolar patients and from Asian population. In this study, we compared the total choelsterol (TC) level between the bipolar I patients with a single manic episode (BPSM) and the normal controls, and investigated the relationship between the TC level and treatment response in the BPSM. METHODS: Twenty-five BPSM and thirty normal controls were enrolled in this study. The pretreatment and posttreatment TC levels in the BPSM were measured and comapred to that of normal controls. Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) was used for assessing symptom severity in the BPSM. RESULTS: The TC level was significantly lower in the BPSM than in the controls. There were negative correlations between the YMRS scores and the pretreatment TC level in the BPSM. The posttreatment TC level was significantly higher than the pretreatment TC level in the BPSM. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the TC level can be changed after treatment in bipolar manic patients, although more studies involving different ethnic groups will be needed. Further longitudinal studies will be needed to examine the change of total cholesterol level according to the clinical course of bipolar disorder.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bipolar Disorder ; Cholesterol* ; Ethnic Groups ; Humans ; Mood Disorders ; Serotonin

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the overall effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive quetiapine in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder as a continuation therapy. METHODS: Twenty-three bipolar I patients participated and required to have quetiapine add-on treatment in combination with existing or new mood stabilizers. Clinical assessment was carried out using Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item, Simpson-Angus Rating Scale and Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale at baseline, 1, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. RESULTS: The YMRS and CGI decreased significantly from baseline to endpoint by 89.7% and 78.3%, respectively (p<0.0001 ; p<0.0001). Twenty-two patients exhibited at least 50% improvement on YMRS score by the end of the study. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that quetiapine may hold a promise as an adjunct in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorder* ; Depression ; Humans ; Prospective Studies* ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Quetiapine Fumarate

OBJECT: This study was designed to examine the association between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) -2518 polymorphism and major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Ninety patients with MDD and 114 healthy controls participated in this study. Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: Genotype and allele distributions in patients with MDD were significantly different from those of the controls. In particular, subjects with the allele A were found to have an increased risk of MDD. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that the MCP1 -2518 polymorphism may have a potential role for susceptibility to MDD in the Korean population and thus calls for consecutive studies in order to pile up the data with larger different ethnic background.
Alleles ; Chemokine CCL2 ; Depressive Disorder, Major* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Monocytes*