1,721,220 research outputs found
The use of tiagabine in affective disorders
No full textWe reviewed the available literature on the efficacy of a novel anticonvulsant, Tiagabine (TGB), in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Study results indicate that TGB does not represent a valid option in acute mania due its required slow, progressive titration. More rapid titration schemes may lead to severe complications. TGB may be an option as an adjunct long-term treatment approach in refractory patients, but further studies are clearly needed to support this
The clinical use of gabapentin in bipolar spectrum disorders
No full textBackground: with increasing awareness of lithium's limitations, several new anticonvulsants had been tested for their mood stabilisation during recent years. Among the innovative third generation mood stabilizing anticonvulsants, gabapentin (GBP) seems to have a broad spectrum of efficacy, although no certain data are available as to its efficacy and use in clinical practice. Accordingly, an extensive review on this subject has been carried out. Methods: A computer-generated search of the biomedical literature and abstract books of the more important scientific psychiatric congresses until June 2000 was undertaken to identify all pertinent case reports, case series and studies of GBP as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy in mood disorders. We identified 40 open-label studies on the use of GBP in at least 600 patients with bipolar disorder (BP), manic, depressed, or mixed episodes and unipolar depression and four controlled studies. Results: The 40 open-label studies and two of the controlled trials suggested that GBP may have a role as adjunctive agent in the treatment of patients with bipolar disorders particularly when complicated by co-morbid anxiety disorder or substance abuse. GBP is usually very well tolerated and has no pharmacological interference with other mood stabilisers. However, in the other two double-blind studies GBP has not been found to be efficacious in the treatment of refractory mania or refractory bipolar depression. Conclusions: Although failing to show clear antimanic efficacy in randomized trials, gabapentin still remains a clinically useful agent when it comes to combination treatment in refractory and co-morbid patients. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
Phenomenology of manic episodes according to the presence or absence of depressive features as defined in DSM-5: Results from the IMPACT self-reported online survey
No full textBackground The aim of this study was to describe the phenomenology of mania and depression in bipolar patients experiencing a manic episode with mixed features as defined in the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Methods In this multicenter, international on-line survey (the IMPACT study), 700 participants completed a 54-item questionnaire on demographics, diagnosis, symptomatology, communication of the disease, impact on life, and treatment received. Patients with a manic episode with or without DSM-5 criteria for mixed features were compared using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Patients with more than 3 depressive symptoms were more likely to have had a delay in diagnosis, more likely to have experienced shorter symptom-free periods, and were characterized by a marked lower prevalence of typical manic manifestations. All questionnaire items exploring depressive symptomatology, including the DSM-5 criteria defining a manic episode as "with mixed features", were significantly overrepresented in the group of patients with depressive symptoms. Anxiety associated with irritability/agitation was also more frequent among patients with mixed features. Limitations Retrospective cross-sectional design, sensitive to recall bias. Two of the 6 DSM-5 required criteria for the specifier "with mixed features" were not explored: suicidality and psychomotor retardation. Conclusions Bipolar disorder patients with at least 3 depressive symptoms during a manic episode self-reported typical symptomatology. Anxiety with irritability/agitation differentiated patients with depressive symptoms during mania from those with "pure" manic episodes. The results support the use of DSM-5 mixed features specifier and its value in research and clinical practice. © 2014 Elsevier B.V
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Modulation of neural cell membrane conductance by the herbal anxiolytic and antiepileptic drug aswal
Get PDFTo evaluate the effects of aswal on ionic fluxes and neuronal excitation, we performed extracellular and whole cell patch clamp recordings on CA1 pyramidal neurons of guinea pigs and Long-Evans rats. Aswal (100-250 mg/l) was administered systemically, and its effects on the rate of synchronized extracellular field potentials (EFP), membrane parameters, action potentials and postsynaptic potentials were recorded. The extracellular results obtained are consistent with calcium antagonistic properties. Intracellular recordings suggest that a direct sodium antagonistic effect as seen in many antiepileptic drugs plays no significant role. Further effects on ligand gated ion channels are discussed controversially. In summary, the cellular action of aswal appears heterogeneous with calcium antagonism playing a prominent role in counteracting excitation which may be a common feature in epilepsy and different psychiatric conditions as mood and anxiety disorder. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Lamotrigine in the treatment of schizoaffective disorder
Get PDFThere is accumulating evidence for the efficacy of lamotrigine in the treatment of bipolar disorder, including bipolar depression, both as monotherapy and in combination with sodium valproate. We present the cases of 3 female patients admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder who were treated with lamotrigine. While dosages up to 200 mg/day, resulting in serum concentrations of less than 5 mg/l, were only partially effective, 400 mg/day (with serum concentrations >10 mg/l) led to considerable mood stability, with complete remission from paranoid symptoms. We suggest that lamotrigine might be helpful in the treatment of schizoaffective disorder, probably with serum concentrations of more than 5 mg/l
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