No abstract available.
Heart* ; Thoracic Surgery*

No abstract available.
DNA* ; Flow Cytometry* ; Gestational Trophoblastic Disease*

OBJECTIVES: In previous researches the measure of quality of life was assessed either by the subjective experience only or by the objective assessment only, but there have been few studies done using both of these measures and the relationship between these two sides. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the subjective experience and the objective assessment of the quality of life in schizophrenic patients and to find out whether the self-rating of these patients is reliable. Also, the relationship between the assessment of the quality of life and the psychopathology of schizophrenia was investigated. METHODS: The subjects are 48 out-patients, from either Yongdong Severance Hospital or Seoul Paik Hospital, whose diagnosis were schizophrenia according to DSM-IV. The standardized Korea version of Quality of Life Scale(K-QOLS) was used for evaluating the objective assessment of quality of life, while both the Korean modification of the Scale to Measure Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptic treatment(KmSWN, 2000) and the Satisfaction of Life Scale(SOL) was used in the evaluation of subjective experience of satisfaction of life. The psychopathology of each patient was assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS). The patient underwent all the scales on the same day, and the relationship between each scale were analysed by the Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The results came out that the total score of PANSS showed negative correlations with the total score of K-QOLS, especially the negative subscale score and the general psychopathology subscale score was correlated more significantly. The total score of KmSWN showed no correlations with neither the total score nor the positive/negative subscale score of PANSS, but the general psychopathology subscale score showed negative correlations with KmSWN significantly. The score of K-QOLS, reflecting the objective assessment, and the score of KmSWN, reflecting the subjective experience, showed positive correlations with each other. But the total score of SOL, reflecting the subjective experience also, showed no correlations with K-QOLS. The score of KmSWN showed positive correlations with the subdomains of interpersonal relations and intrapsychic foundation of K-QOLS, but did not correlate with occuaptional role and daily acitivities. Especially the emotional regulation, the subdomain of KmSWN showed positive correlations with the subscales of K-QOLS. And the subjective and objective quality of life scale both showed negative correlations with the duration of illness and dosages of drugs. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that the more severe the psychopathology, the lower the objective quality of life in out-patients with schizophrenia, and the more severe the general psychopathology, the lower the subjective quality of life. The positive relationships between the subjective measure and the objective measure in quality of life were also proved, suggesting that the self-rating of these patients is reliable. The longer the duration of illness and the higher the dosages of drugs, the lower the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.
Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Korea ; Outpatients ; Psychopathology* ; Quality of Life* ; Schizophrenia* ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVES: Suicide is one of the most common causes of deaths in correctional institutions. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of suicide attempts and its related psycho-social factors in correctional institutions. METHODS: This study examined the characteristics of 101 suicide attempts from 2006 to 2007 in the two regional correctional headquarters. Thirty-seven male inmates (43 suicide attempts) and 40 matched controls were included in interviews and reviews of personal records. Psychiatric illnesses were examined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and medical outcomes of their suicide attempts with the Lethality Scale of Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies. RESULTS: Over a half of suicide attempts occurred in solitary cells and the most common method was hanging. Medically, 70% of the suicide attempts were more than severe. Poor social support, a lifetime history of suicide attempts, and incarceration were associated with suicide attempts. Additionally, psychiatric illnesses were more likely to increase the risk of suicide. CONCLUSION: This study implies that mental health issues and monitoring systems are important to reduce suicides in the correctional system. Regular checks and management of suicide risk and mental illness are crucial to prevent suicide in correctional institutions.
Cause of Death ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health ; Risk Factors ; Suicide

No abstract available.
Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Emergencies*

OBJECTIVE: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinically heterogeneous disorder with a bimodal pattern in age onset and treatment outcomes. This study attempted to ascertain the importance of the age factor for a better phenotypic precision. Therefore, the authors compared adult OCD patients with an early symptom onset to adult OCD patients with a later symptom onset. METHODS: One hundred sixty five patients with OCD were evaluated with semistructured interviews;79 with symptom onset before the age of 17 (early onset group) and 86 with symptom onset after the age of 17 (late onset group). The two groups were analyzed in terms of Y-BOCS (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale) scores and demographic data including clinical variables. RESULTS: Early onset group has more comorbidity of tic disorder and lesser of depression and anxiety disorder than late onset group. Early onset group showed more family history of tic disorder than late onset group. The treatment response to SSRI is relatively declined after 18 months of initiation in early onset group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that age at onset may be an important factor in subtyping OCD. Early onset group may have more biological and familial tendency that might be differentiate the two groups.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Age of Onset ; Anxiety Disorders ; Comorbidity ; Depression ; Humans ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder* ; Tic Disorders

OBJECTIVE: Dopamine transporter is a key regulator of dopamine neurotransmission and is also the primary target of methylphenidate. This study tested the hypothesis that dopamine transporter (DAT) density in basal ganglia is a predictor of favorable methylphenidate (MP) treatment response. METHODS: 15 drug-naive boys with ADHD were included in this study (8 children: treatment responder, 7 children: treatment non responder). They were assessed with psychiatric interview, KEDI-WISC, K-ARS, ADS and CBCL. After then, they were performed [123 I]IPT SPECT. They were evaluated about treatment response after treatment with methylphenidate during 8 weeks. SPECT data reconstructed for the assessment of specific/nonspecific DAT binding ratio of the basal ganglia were compared between treatment responders and nonresponders. RESULTS: There were not significant differences in dopamine transporter density in basal ganglia between the two groups. CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that dopamine transporter density does not mediate the MP treatment response in a direct way.
Basal Ganglia* ; Child* ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins* ; Dopamine* ; Humans ; Methylphenidate* ; Synaptic Transmission ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Human personality traits have a considerable genetic component. Cloninger et al. were the first to postulate that certain personality traits, such as novelty seeking, are related to the dopamine neurotransmitter system. In this study, we investigated the associations between dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon III and dopamine transporter (DAT1) polymorphisms and personality traits. The DRD4 and DAT1 gene polymorphisms were genotyped in 214 healthy Korean subjects, whose personality traits were assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). There were no significant differences between scores of TCI temperament dimensions (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, and persistence) and DRD4 gene polymorphism. The DAT1 gene polymorphisms also showed no significant association with any of the temperament subscales of the TCI. These data suggest that DRD4 and DAT1 gene polymorphism may not associated with personality traits in a Korean population.
Temperament ; Receptors, Dopamine D4/*genetics ; *Polymorphism, Genetic ; Personality/*genetics ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; Female ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/*genetics ; Adult

We experienced one case of treatment of clozapine for neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia which was developed during low-dose risperidone treatment. The patient was a 22-year-old man with a 2-year history of schizophrenia. While he was taking 4-6 mg/d of Risperidone, he was capable of carrying a normal daily routine. But, after 11 months of taking risperidone(3 mg/d), dyskinetic movements had developed on his neck, trunk, and mainly on the right upper extremity. Simultaneously, his symptoms such as anxiety, persecutory delusion, and auditory hallucination were aggravated. Despite of adding the clonazepam(1 mg/d), no improvement of dyskinetic movements were observed. Then, we decreased the dose of risperidone and decided to switch the drug treatment from risperidone to clozapine. On admission, the total AIMS was 26 points (severe degree) and the total BPRS was 50 points. On the 9th day of the clozapine(100 mg/d) treatment, there were significant improvements in psychotic symptoms and dyskinetic movements(moderate degree). Then, we increased the dose of clozapine up to 350 mg/d on the 4th week. By then, the AIMS and the BPRS were 10 and 13 points respectively.
Anxiety ; Clozapine* ; Delusions ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Movement Disorders* ; Neck ; Risperidone ; Schizophrenia ; Upper Extremity ; Young Adult

The authors developed a computerized electroencephalography imaging system with an IBM PC AT. The EEG signals amplified with a 16 channel EEG machine were digitized at 51.2 Hz (512 samples per epoch). The shifted DC potential and 60Hz artificats were removed by a high pass filter and 60Hz notch filter. A window function consisting of a 10% cosine taper was obtained by weighting the points at either end of the epoch by a cosine bell. A fast Fourier transform was applied to every epoch and the power spectrum estimates were computed in 0.39 Hz steps. The activity estimates for the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands were computed by summimg adjacent values. The outline of the top-down maps was formed from a series of sagittal cuts, then 32 electrodes were placed on the map. A file was created which contained a table of weighting parameters for calculating the interpolated values for every point within the outline. Each weight was in inverse linear proportion to the distance of the pixel to the nearest four electrodes. The map was finally generated with computation of the spectral EEG in each pixel according to the weighting parameter. The functioning of this system was tested with a functional generator and a human subject.
Brain Mapping/methods ; *Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; Diagnostic Imaging ; *Electroencephalography ; Human ; *Microcomputers ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't