A randomized, single-blind, comparison of venlafaxine with paroxetine in elderly patients suffering from resistant depression.

It is estimated that up to 45% of patients with depression do not have an adequate response to a first trial of antidepressant therapy with even higher reported rates for the elderly patients. To compare the efficacy and the tolerability of venlafaxine vs. paroxetine in elderly patients suffering from resistant major depression, who did not respond to at least two previous adequate trials of antidepressants.

Disordered eating in elderly female patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia.

Background: Data about the association between disordered eating and schizophrenia is limited and inconclusive. The aim of the present study was to evaluate disordered eating in elderly female patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia.

Methods: The Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) was completed by 30 female inpatients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia (mean age 70 +/- 6.

Effects of discontinuation of long-term anticholinergic treatment in elderly schizophrenia patients.

Anticholinergic medication (ACM) is frequently used in psychiatry to treat the side-effects of D2 blocking agents. However, ACM is not without adverse effects and, in the elderly, cognitive and memory impairments have been emphasized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of discontinuation of ACM on cognitive functions in a group of elderly chronic schizophrenia patients.

Active high-frequency vestibulo-ocular reflex and seasickness susceptibility.

Objectives/hypothesis: The vestibular autorotation test (VAT) examines responses to active head oscillations at frequencies between 2 and 6 Hz in the horizontal and vertical planes while the subject is fixating a visible target. At these frequencies, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is the main source of eye movement for ocular stabilization, although other visual and somatosensory information interacts with the response. Because the neural mismatch theory places emphasis on multimodal sensory interactions as the cause of motion sickness, using the VAT, which measures eye movements resulting from vestibular, visual, and, to a certain extent, proprioceptive information and depends on the conscious participation and cooperation of the subject, could be of advantage in evaluating individuals with differing susceptibility to motion sickness.