Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyOxidative imbalance in obsessive compulsive disorder patients: a total evaluation of oxidant-antioxidant status.
Various psychological, social, genetic, biochemical, factors are to be involved in the etiology of OCD. Some molecules of free radicals are also found to play role in OCD. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no study, regarding the role of free radicals in the pathogenesis of OCD, from a general antioxidant aspect of view. Therefore, in this present cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess whether antioxidant-oxidant status is associated with OCD and can be used or not as a biological marker regarding that disorder. ⋯ Our study found an overall oxidative imbalance shifted towards antioxidant side in OCD which may be due to either a rebound phenomenon or chronicity of the condition.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Feb 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPlacebo and modafinil effect on sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea.
Previous studies have evaluated the effect of modafinil on residual excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) under effective CPAP treatment. Even though those trials also used placebo groups, we suppose that the placebo effect might influence the patients' response to modafinil. ⋯ In summary, our study confirms that modafinil used adjunctively with CPAP therapy improves subjective daytime sleepiness in patients with OSAS who were regular users of CPAP therapy but still experienced sleepiness. Moreover, it could help in the improvement of objective measures of behavioral alertness and reduce functional impairments. The usefulness of a blinded placebo period for systematic investigation of placebo role in studies based on subjective response is a point that should be considered in this type of drug trial.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Feb 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyOral risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine versus haloperidol in psychotic agitation.
Acute agitation is a common presentation in emergency departments and is often secondary to an underlying psychotic condition. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three second generation antipsychotics (risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine) versus haloperidol in the treatment of psychotic agitation for up to 72 h. ⋯ Our results show that in the clinical practice setting of emergency psychiatry olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine are as effective as haloperidol and better tolerated.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyLong-term perospirone treatment with a single dose at bedtime in schizophrenia: relevant to intermittent dopamine D2 receptor antagonism.
Perospirone, a serotonin 5-HT2A and dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, is metabolized to ID-15036 by CYP3A4 and the elimination half-life (T1/2) for the latter is longer than the former. The active metabolite ID-15036 is an 8-times weaker D2 antagonist than perospirone, although it has a high affinity for 5-HT2A receptor. ⋯ The mean level of perospirone at 11-15 h after a last dosing was much lower (0.49 ng/ml) than that of ID-15036 (2.89 ng/ml). These results show that a long-term perospirone monotherapy with a single dose at bedtime is effective for the maintenance treatment of chronic schizophrenia and also suggest the possibility that intermittent D2 receptor blockade may be sufficient for effective relapse prevention.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Feb 2008
Comparative StudyDisruption to social dyadic interactions but not emotional/anxiety-related behaviour in mice with heterozygous 'knockout' of the schizophrenia risk gene neuregulin-1.
Clinical genetic studies have implicated neuregulin-1 [NRG1] as a leading susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. NRG1 is known to play a significant role in the developing brain, which is consistent with the prevailing neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Thus, the emotional and social phenotype of adult mice with heterozygous 'knockout' of transmembrane [TM]-domain NRG1 was examined further in both sexes. ⋯ In the test of social interaction, aggressive following was increased in NRG1 mutants of both sexes, together with an increase in walkovers in female mutants. These findings elaborate the specificity of the NRG1 phenotype for the social rather than the emotional/anxiety-related domain. They indicate that NRG1 is involved in the regulation of reciprocal social interaction behaviour and thus suggest a putative role for NRG1 in a schizophrenia-related endophenotype.