Comparing effectiveness of risperidone with first-generation antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

This naturalistic retrospective study aims to compare effectiveness of a second-generation antipsychotic medication, risperidone, with first-generation antipsychotic medications (haloperidol and trifluoperazine) in an Asian population with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. A total of 261 patients were assessed for time to discontinuation for any reason and specific reasons of discontinuation, controlling for baseline differences between groups. Some 90% of patients discontinued their antipsychotic medications before 18 months.

Effect of treatment on weight gain and metabolic abnormalities in patients with first-episode psychosis.

Objective: The aim of the present prospective and naturalistic study was to examine the effects of antipsychotic medication on weight and serum levels of lipids, glucose and insulin in first-episode psychosis patients.

Method: Fifty-six patients admitted to the Singapore Early Psychosis Intervention Programme participated in this study. They were assessed at baseline (i.

Metabolic risk factors in drug-naive patients with first-episode psychosis.

Objective: Metabolic risk factors, such as obesity, as well as abnormalities in glucose and lipid metabolism, have been shown to have an increased prevalence in patients with schizophrenia, especially in those treated with antipsychotic medication. However, studies looking at these abnormalities in drug-naive patients have been few in number and have yielded mixed results. The aim of our study was to look at the prevalence of some of the cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity and lipid and glucose abnormalities, in drug-naive patients with first-episode psychosis compared to healthy controls matched for age, gender, and ethnicity.

Chemical and rheological aspects of gel formation in the California Mastitis Test.

The rheological properties of the CMT gel were analysed. Data are presented to demonstrate that the gel is a non-homogenous, visco-elastic, non-Newtonian fluid with rheopectic, and rheodestructive behaviour. The fundamental chemistry of the CMT is reviewed and a modified theory of gel formation is presented.