rating scale ; Schizophrenia ; Singapore ; Hospitals

OBJECTIVES: Deficit schizophrenia (DS) constitutes a disease separate from non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS). The aim of the current study was to compare the quantitative EEG and low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) imaging between DS and NDS. METHODS: This study was performed by 32 channels EEG for 42 schizophrenia patients who we categorized into DS and NDS using proxy instrument deficit syndrome (PDS). We performed the absolute power spectral analyses for delta, theta, alpha, low beta and high beta activities. We compared power spectrum between two groups using Independent t-test. Partial correlation test was performed with clinical parameters. Standardized LORETA (sLORETA) was used for comparison of cortical activity, and statistical nonparametric mapping (SnPM) was applied for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: DS showed significantly increased delta and theta absolute power in fontal and parietal region compared with NDS (p<0.05). Power spectrum showed significant correlation with 'anergia' and 'hostility/suspiciousness' subscale of brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS)(p<0.05). sLORETA found out the source region (anterior cingulate cortex/limbic part) that delta activity was significantly increased in DS (p=0.042). CONCLUSIONS: DS showed different cortical activity compared with NDS. Our results may suggest QEEG and LORETA could be the marker in differentiating between DS and NDS.
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Magnets ; Naphthalenesulfonates ; Proxy ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) has recently been developed to improve measurement of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. We performed a multi-center study to validate the Korean version of the CAINS (CAINS-K) and explore potential cultural variation. METHODS: One hundred eighty schizophrenia patients diverse in demographic and illness profile were recruited from four centers in Korea. Along with the CAINS-K, the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), a self-report measure of behavioral inhibition and activation (BIS/BAS) and neurocognitive tasks were administered to verify external validities. RESULTS: The CAINS-K showed high internal-consistency (0.92) and inter-rater reliability (0.77). Exploratory Factor Analysis replicated a two-factor structure of the original scale including motivation/pleasure and expression deficits dimensions. Korean patients tended to report lower pleasure compared to American patients in the prior study. The CAINS-K showed an adequate convergent validity with the SANS, negative symptoms of the BPRS, and BAS. A divergent validity was supported as the CAINS-K showed zero or only weak correlations with other symptoms of the BPRS, depression from the CDSS, and neurocognitive tasks. CONCLUSION: The CAINS-K demonstrated high internal consistency and adequate external validities, and is expected to promote studies on negative symptoms in Korean patients with schizophrenia.
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Depression ; Humans ; Korea ; Pleasure ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychopathological features such as depression and anxiety in schizophrenics with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) as well as the severity of OCS according to duration of schizophrenia. METHODS: We randomly selected sixty four inpatients with schizophrenia. We classified the patients into two groups (OCS group, non-OCS group) according to the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Clinical and demographic features were evaluated. To assess OCS, Y-BOCS were performed. The Korean version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(K-PANSS), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Korean version of the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (K-CDSS), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were conducted. Independent t-test and chi-square test were conducted to compare the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the duration of schizophrenia and the Y-BOCS score. RESULTS: The Y-BOCS, K-CDSS, and BAI scores were higher in the OCS group. There was a significant correlation between the duration of schizophrenia and the Y-BOCS score. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety and depression symptoms were severe in the OCS group. In addition, the results of this study indicate that the longer duration of schizophrenia, the more severe the OCS. Therefore, the evaluation of OCS in schizophrenics should be accompanied by treatment intervention.
Anxiety ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Depression ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Schizophrenia*

Objective: To determine the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, and use of the Reflexive Behavioral “Baah” Test and NHSRC Level 1 and Level 2 Questionnaires in detecting hearing impairment in rural health communities. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the rural health unit of five municipalities. Infants less than six months old were screened for hearing impairments using the OAE device (standard), the Reflexive Behavioral “Baah” test, and the NHSRC Level 1 and Level 2 Questionnaires. The “Baah” test and the filling out of the NHSRC Level 1 and 2 Questionnaires were done by trained health workers while OAE was done by an audiologist. Results: A total of 103 babies, with a mean age of 41.9 days at the time of testing and a male to female ratio of 1.02:1 (52 males and 51 females) were tested. A hearing impairment prevalence of 4.9% (5 out of 103) was noted. The “Baah” test showed to have a sensitivity of 60%, specificity of 97.96% and an accuracy rate of 96.12%. The NHSRC Level 1 and Level 2 Questionnaires showed sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rate of 40%, 67.35% and 66.02%, respectively for the former and 40%, 85.71% and 83.50%, respectively for the latter. Analysis of the complimentary use of the NHSRC Level 1 and Level 2 Questionnaires with the “Baah” test also showed no significant improvement to using the “Baah” test as a stand-alone screening tool with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 60%, 67.35% and 66.99%, respectively for the “Baah” test and Level 1 Questionnaire, and 60%, 83.67% and 82.52%, respectively for the “Baah” test and Level 2 Questionnaire. Conclusion The Reflexive Behavioral “Baah” test is a potentially accurate, sensitive, specific, and acceptable standalone hearing screening test to identify infants with higher risk of hearing impairment in the rural health community setting. On the other hand, the use of the NHSRC Questionnaires as a stand-alone or complementary tool for “Baah” is unnecessary as it results to more false positive and false negative results.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Infant, Newborn ; Audiometry ; Behavior Rating Scale

OBJECTIVETo assess the efficacy of family intervention in management of schizophrenic patients in China.

METHODSChinese databases CNKI, VIP, WANFANG, CBM and English databases OVID Medline, Science Direct, Web of science, EBSCO were searched systematically from inception to January 2015. Quantitative and empirical studies on the outcomes of social disability screening scale (SDSS), brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) of family intervention for Chinese schizophrenic patients were selected. The effect size was derived from the standardized mean difference (SMD), and meta-analysis was conducted to compare effects of family intervention by intervention types, time of intervention, durations of illness and severity of schizophrenia.

RESULTSThe study included 57 articles that met inclusion criteria. SDSS and PANSS scores revealed that the effect was positively associated with the length of intervention time (P<0.0001, P=0.0025); the effect of single family intervention was better than that of combined single and multiple family intervention (P<0.0001, P=0.0131); the effect was better for patients with severe conditions than those with less severe conditions (P<0.0001, P=0.0280). The SDSS showed that the effect was better for patients with shorter disease duration (P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that the long single family intervention would benefit to schizophrenic patients, particularly for severe patients with short disease duration.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine the association between serotonin-related gene polymorphisms and bipolar disorder in the Korean population. In addition, we sought to explore the relationship between the clinical characteristics of bipolar patients and serotonin-related gene polymorphisms. METHODS: Inpatients with bipolar disorder (n=103) and control subjects (n=86) were genotyped for 5HT2A 1438A/G, tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) 218 A/C, and TPH2 703G/T. We divided patients with bipolar disorder into two groups according to the presence of psychotic symptoms. The severity of their symptoms was measured using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the genotype distributions or allelic frequencies in the three serotonergic polymorphisms between patients with bipolar disorder and normal controls. There were significant differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the 5-HT2A -1438A/G polymorphism between the psychotic mania group and the non-psychotic mania group (genotype: chi-square=7.50, p=0.024; allele: chi-square=5.92, p=0.015). However, after Bonferroni correction this signifact difference disappeared. We did not find significant differences in the genotype distributions or allelic frequencies in the TPH1 218 A/C and TPH2 703G/T polymorphisms between the psychotic mania group and non-psychotic mania group. CONCLUSION: We failed to found the statistically significant association between three polymorphisms and bipolar disorder. However, there was a trend towards association between 5-HT2A -1438A/G polymorphism and psychotic symptom in bipolar disorder. Future research should seek to clarify this association.
Bipolar Disorder ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Serotonin ; Tryptophan Hydroxylase

OBJECTIVE: Despite numerous atypical antipsychotics (AAP) available, many patients with schizophrenia still experience lack of efficacy and persistent side-effects. Switching from one AAP to another with a different side-effect profile has become a common clinical strategy. We aimed to investigate effect of switching to amisulpride in patients who showed suboptimal effect and/or tolerability to current antipsychotics treatment. METHODS: This was a 6-week, prospective, multicenter, open-label, flexible-dose study in patients with schizophrenia. Switching to amisulpride was achieved using cross-titration within 7 days (day 1: 300 mg on day 1 then flexibly dosed 400–800 mg/day). The primary end-point measure was proportion of patients achieving improvement in clinical benefit at week 6 based on Clinical Global Impressions-Clinical Benefit (CGI-CB). Secondary endpoints included change in scores in CGI-CB, CGI-Severity (CGI-S), Subjective Satisfaction Scores (SSS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and Simpson and Angus Rating Scale. RESULTS: Among 37 patients switched to amisulpride, 76% completed study and 56.8% had clinical benefit measure by CGI-CB. CGI-CB and CGI-S scores showed significant improvement at week 6 compared to baseline (mean changes of CGI-CB and CGI-S scores: −1.7+1.0, p<0.0001 and −0.6±0.0, p=0.001, respectively). SSS scores also improved significantly (mean change: 2.1±2.6, p<0.0001). Mean weight of patients significantly lowered compared to baseline (mean change: −1.2±2.0, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Patients with schizophrenia who showed suboptimal efficacy or tolerability with their current antipsychotics and thereby switched to amisulpride resulted in clinical benefit in terms of both improved efficacy and tolerability. The small sample size limits generalizability of the study results.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Sample Size ; Schizophrenia

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the effects of environmental factors on depressive-like behavior and memory function during adolescence. We performed behavior tests in adolescent rats exposed to environmental enrichment, handling, and social deprivation for eight weeks. METHODS: Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control, environmental enrichment, handling, and social deprivation groups at the age of four weeks. RESULTS: In the forced swim test, the immobility time in the environmental enrichment group was decreased than that in the control group (p=.038), while the immobility time in the social deprivation group was increased than that in the control group (p=.035), the environmental enrichment group (p<.001), and the handling group (p=.001). In the Morris water maze test, the social deprivation group had an increased latency time than the control group (p=.013) and the environmental enrichment group (p=.001). In the passive avoidance test, the environmental enrichment group had an increased latency time than the control group (p=.005). However, the social deprivation group had reduced latency time than the socially housed groups (control: p=.030; environmental enrichment: p<.001; handling: p<.001). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that environmental factors play an important role in emotion and memory function during adolescence.
Adolescent* ; Animals ; Behavior Rating Scale ; Cognition ; Depression ; Humans ; Memory* ; Rats* ; Rats, Wistar ; Social Environment ; Water

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical applicability of cognitive evoked potentials (CEPs) to identify the cognitive disorder in cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). METHODS: The P3 latencies, amplitudes and latency to amplitude ratios (LARs) of CEPs were measured in 25 healthy controls and 35 patients with CVD. The association of CEPs with variables including age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), CVD types, loci of hemiplegic limbs, duration, education, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were also analyzed. RESULTS: 1) The P3 latencies (447.87+/-113.06 msec) and LARs (65.83+/-43.25) were prolonged in CVD (p<0.01), while the amplitudes (8.18+/-2.51 microV) were not changed. 2) The P3 latencies (537.31+/-101.14 msec) and LARs (94.89+/-46.44) in CVD with MMSE <24 were prolonged, and the amplitudes (6.45+/-1.98 microV) were reduced significantly (p<0.01, respectively), as compared with those in CVD with MMSE> or =24 (363.39+/-19.67 msec, 38.40+/-8.37 and 9.81+/-1.76 microV, respectively). 3) The BPRS and IADL in CVD with MMSE<24 were significantly (p<0.01) different from those in CVD with MMSE> or =24. 4) On analyzing the association of CEPs with variables in CVD, the P3 latencies were correlated positively with age, BPRS and IADL, while negatively with MMSE and DLFA. The amplitudes were correlated positively with MMSE, while negatively with age, BPRS and IADL. The LARs were correlated positively with age, BPRS and IADL, while negatively with MMSE. 5) On analyzing the association of CEPs with variables in CVD with MMSE> or =24, the P3 latencies were correlated positively with age, while negatively with MMSE. The amplitudes and LARs were not correlated with variables. 6) On analyzing the association of CEPs with variables in CVD with MMSE<24, the P3 latencies were correlated positively with BPRS, while negatively with MMSE. The amplitudes were positively correlated with age. The LARs were positively correlated with IADL. CONCLUSIONS: The P3 latencies and LARs of cognitive evoked potentials seemed to a useful clinical measures to assess cognitive disorders in CVD.
Activities of Daily Living ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Education ; Evoked Potentials* ; Extremities ; Humans