No abstract available.
Psychopharmacology*

No abstract available.
Psychopharmacology*

No abstract available.
Neurosciences* ; Psychopharmacology*

No abstract available.
Adolescent* ; Child* ; Humans ; Psychopharmacology*

Improvement of psychopharmacology resulted in changes in therapeutic target for patients with schizophrenia. Although the control of psychotic symptoms are considered to be the primary goal of treatment in schizophrenia, in recent years, functional recovery and improvement of quality of life (QoL) has been highlighted as the new therapeutic target. In this article, we reviewed the definition, assessment tools, and recent studies which have been done in Korea. QoL is complex and heterogenous concept, thus there have been no gold-standard measures for QoL. Standardization of assessment tools for Koreans has set the infrastructure for QoL researches in patients with schizophrenia. More researches are needed in this area, and it could provide information for the development of psychosocial program and systemic support for improving schizophrenic patient's QoL.
Humans ; Korea ; Psychopharmacology ; Quality of Life* ; Schizophrenia*

Recently, the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacolgy (KCNP) published an English language journal "Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience" for the purpose of international communications in the area of neuropsychopharmacology and related biological psychiatry. Historically, it is the first foreign language journal published in the Korean psychiatric society. This is writing to the background of publishing an English language journal in the perspectives of the limitations of Korean language journal and the international communications with researchers all over the world. The major concerns in publishing an English language journal are discussed. The future plan of continuously publishing "Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience" and some suggestions for the researchers who are going to submit manuscripts and to read this journal are described. We hope this is helpful for the publication of English language journal planning in the editorial committee of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association.
Biological Psychiatry ; Hope ; Psychopharmacology* ; Publications* ; Writing

OBJECTIVE: Patterns of clinical use of antipsychotics have changed greatly in the past decade. The authors' goal was to examine trends in the use of typical and atypical antipsychotic medications in a inpatient unit at a university hospital between 1997 and 2003. METHODS: We evaluated medication use in inpatients treated with antipsychotic drugs during Jan-Dec 2003 and compared the results with inpatients treated with antipsychotics in 1997. RESULTS: The distribution of psychiatric diagnosis in 2003 was different from that in 1997 (chi2=36.57, p<0.001). The proportion of patients with illness other than schizophrenia spectrum disorders was increased in 2003 (chi2=33.56, p<0.001). An atypical agent was prescribed for 193 (93.7%) patients in 2003, and there was significant increase in the proportion of patients receiving atypical antipsychotics (chi2=68.80, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study confirm that atypical antipsychotic medication have replaced typical antipsychotic medications for a wide range of diagnoses in Korea. We think it reflects the current progress of psychopharmacology and clinical complexity of antipsychotic treatment in a changing environment.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Korea ; Mental Disorders ; Psychopharmacology ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: The Korean College of Neuro psychopharmacology and the Korean Academy of Schizophrenia developed the Korean algorithm project for bipolar disorder to aid clinical decisions. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of Korean Medication Algorithm for Bipolar Disorder (KMAP-BP) in clinical settings in Korea. METHODS: A total of 126 bipolar patients were enrolled at 17 centers. Among them, 92 patients were treated according to the algorithm. All subjects were assessed over a 4-month period. Prescribing investigators were able to change the recommended treatment strategies of the algorithm if necessary. RESULTS: Overall ratings were favorable, with investigators stating that the overall quality of this algorithm was "good" or "no need to revise". Of manic patients, the majority (79%) showed treatment response (YMRS improvement > or =50%) at the first stage. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that this algorithm can be useful in clinical practices. However, some problems should be solved in the next version of KMAP-BP.
Bipolar Disorder ; Humans ; Korea ; Psychopharmacology ; Research Personnel ; Schizophrenia

Depressive disorders have many faces in clinical features, long-term course, prognosis, and the patients with depressive disorders are not homogeneous group. So, there have been many subtypes of depression suggested and described by clinicians and researchers. But, there is few evidences which support unique pathophysiology and clinical implication about each subtype. The treatment of various subtype of depression is not also specified according to scientific evidence. Nowadays, the rapid development of psychopharmacology and many new antidepressants are making it more possible for clinician to choose antidepressant according to the subtypes of depression and to the characteristics of patients. Therefore, we reviewed the clinical evidence of the treatment for various subtypes of depressive disorders and tried to recommend more efficient antidepressant treatment, although there is a few data for subtypes of depressive disorders. We concluded that the specific choice of antidepressant for each subtypes of depression is not yet possible, because the current subtyping of depression is not clear in many aspects, and the clinical trials have focused mainly in depression in a whole. From now on, more efforts is needed about the more specified subtyping and more specified treatment in order to get more efficacy, safety, and the satisfaction of patients with depressive disorders.
Antidepressive Agents ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Psychopharmacology

After publishing 2001 version of the Korean Medication Algorithm for Schizophrenia, the strategy of pharmacologic treatment for schizophrenia has been altered with the rapid advancement in the area of psychopharmacology. Currently, the feasibility of this algorithm has been evaluated. Guidelines require updating when significant new evidence appears. Recently, several guidelines of the treatment of schizophrenia including the APA practice guideline, the Expert Consensus Guideline Series and the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) Antipsychotic Algorithm for Schizophrenia were revised. In this review, the authors briefly discussed the problems and limitations of the Korean Medication Algorithm for Schizophrenia and presented the direction of future revision on the model of above-mentioned guidelines.
Consensus ; Drug Therapy ; Methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Psychopharmacology ; Schizophrenia* ; Texas