The Ankle-Brachial Index Is Associated with Cerebral β-Amyloid Deposition in Cognitively Normal Older Adults.

Background: Although ankle-brachial index (ABI), an indicator of atherosclerosis or arterial stiffness, has been associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), no information is yet available for its contribution to AD pathologies. We investigated the relationship between the ABI and in vivo β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and AD-specific neurodegeneration in cognitively normal (CN) elderly individuals.

Methods: A total of 256 CN elderly subjects who participated in the Korean Brain Aging Study for the Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease (KBASE), an ongoing prospective cohort study, were included.

Balance Deficit and Brain Connectivity in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Objective: We aimed to assess disturbances in postural and gait balance and functional connectivity within the brain regions controlling balance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: Thirteen children with ADHD and 13 age- and sex-matched controls were recruited. Gait balance was assessed by the difference in the center of pressure (COP) between the left and right foot, as well as the difference in plantar pressure between the left and right foot during gait.

Incidence and Course of Depression in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Objective: Depressive symptoms are common in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and they might influence the course and prognosis of AD. Depression could appear anytime in the course of the disease, and could either last considerably long or disappear easily. This study is intended to investigate the occurrence of depression in the course of AD and the risk factors of incidence.

Comparison of QEEG Findings between Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) without Comorbidity and ADHD Comorbid with Internet Gaming Disorder.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is often comorbid with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we compared the neurobiological differences between ADHD comorbid with IGD (ADHD+IGD group) and ADHD without comorbidity (ADHD-only group) by analyzing quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) findings. We recruited 16 male ADHD+IGD, 15 male ADHD-only adolescent patients, and 15 male healthy controls (HC group).

The comparison of temperament and character between patients with internet gaming disorder and those with alcohol dependence.

Background: The differences in prevalence, natural history, and disease progression between Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and substance use disorder contribute to the controversy over IGD as a diagnosis under substance-related and addictive disorders.

Aims: The purpose of the current study was to assess the temperament and character of subjects with IGD in comparison with those with alcohol dependence (AD).

Methods: Temperament and character were assessed using Cloningernt temperament and character inventory (TCI).

Opioid Analgesics and Depressive Symptoms in Burn Patients: What Is the Real Relationship?

Objective: Major burn injuries are strongly associated with both psychological trauma and severe pain, and opioids are the mainstay analgesics for the treatment of severe burn pain. The objectives of this study are to find the complex relationship between opioid dose, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the acute management of pain in burn patients.

Methods: The symptoms of depression and PTSD were assessed in 43 burn patients immediately following wound stabilization and 2 weeks after the initial evaluation.

Desynchronization of Theta-Phase Gamma-Amplitude Coupling during a Mental Arithmetic Task in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Introduction: Theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC) measurement has recently received attention as a feasible method of assessing brain functions such as neuronal interactions. The purpose of this electroencephalographic (EEG) study is to understand the mechanisms underlying the deficits in attentional control in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by comparing the power spectra and TGC at rest and during a mental arithmetic task.

Methods: Nineteen-channel EEGs were recorded from 97 volunteers (including 53 subjects with ADHD) from a camp for hyperactive children under two conditions (rest and task performance).

Virtual Reality Therapy for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: A Preliminary Investigation With Positron Emission Tomography/Computerized Tomography.

Objective: Virtual reality therapy (VRT) uses multimodal stimulation that includes visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory stimuli. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of VRT in treating subjects with alcohol dependence (AD) by evaluating changes in brain metabolism.

Method: The VRT protocol consisted of three steps: relaxation, presentation of a high-risk situation, and presentation of an aversive situation.

Correlation between gray matter volume in the temporal lobe and depressive symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Recent studies have suggested that depression might be an aggravating factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of the study was to compare depressive symptoms and gray matter volume between AD patients with comorbid depression and patients with dementia only. Forty-nine patients with AD, 57 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 50 healthy control subjects were assessed using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

Effects of antipsychotic drugs on the expression of synaptic proteins and dendritic outgrowth in hippocampal neuronal cultures.

Recent evidence has suggested that atypical antipsychotic drugs regulate synaptic plasticity. We investigated whether some atypical antipsychotic drugs (olanzapine, aripiprazole, quetiapine, and ziprasidone) altered the expression of synapse-associated proteins in rat hippocampal neuronal cultures under toxic conditions induced by B27 deprivation. A typical antipsychotic, haloperidol, was used for comparison.

A voxel-based morphometric study of cortical gray matter volume changes in Alzheimer's disease with white matter hyperintensities.

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) is commonly detected in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its role in cortical impairment is unclear. This study investigated the effects of WMH on gray matter (GM) volume in patients with AD. We consecutively enrolled 84 patients with AD and 35 normal controls, who underwent brain MRI and were then classified according to WMH grade, based on a combination of deep white matter hyperintensity (DWMH) and periventricular white matter hyperintensity (PVWMH).

Performance enhancement with low stress and anxiety modulated by cognitive flexibility.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare cognitive flexibility abilities, stress, and anxiety between starters and non-starter athletes.

Methods: A total of 30 male professional-soccer and 40 professional-baseball athletes were recruited. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Trail Making Test A & B (TMT A & B) were administered to assess cognitive flexibility during competition.

A Case of Very-late-onset Schizophrenia-like Psychosis.

This paper presents the case of a 67-year-old woman who visited the Psychiatry Department complaining of persecutory ideas and auditory hallucinations after a buccal cancer operation. On neuropsychological testing, she demonstrated paranoid psychosis and bizarre thoughts. Hospital admission was recommended for supportive care and treatment with antipsychotics.

Voxel-based morphometric study of brain volume changes in patients with Alzheimer's disease assessed according to the Clinical Dementia Rating score.

We evaluated the volume reduction of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in patients with an Alzheimer's disease (AD) assessment based on the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score. Patients with AD (n=61), with no subcortical WM ischemia, and healthy control patients (n=33) underwent T1-weighted spoiled gradient echo sequences, which were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. Global GM volume reduction was observed in patients with a CDR score of 1 or a CDR score of 2, and WM volume reduction was observed in patients with a CDR score of 2.

Cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer disease: do they provide more than symptomatic benefits?

Objective: This study aims to examine survival of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) receiving clinical efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) and to compare their survival with those of patients with AD who never received ChEIs and cognitively intact old psychiatric outpatients.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The retrospective cohort study used national mortality data provided by the Korean National Statistics Office and electronic database of 15 general hospitals on older patients who began outpatient treatment with psychiatric medications including ChEIs (N = 3,813). The authors controlled for confounding by using multivariate models and propensity scoring methods.

A preliminary study: novelty seeking, frontal executive function, and dopamine receptor (D2) TaqI A gene polymorphism in patients with methamphetamine dependence.

Introduction: Dopamine receptor polymorphisms have been associated with specific patterns of novelty seeking (NS) temperamental nature and frontal executive function. In addition, carriers of dopamine receptor type 2 (DRD2)-TaqI A1 have been hypothesized to be potentially vulnerable to addictive behaviors. In the present study, the association between dopamine D2 polymorphisms, NS, and frontal executive function was studied.

Depression like characteristics of 5HTTLPR polymorphism and temperament in excessive internet users.

Introduction: Excessive internet use (EIU) has been reported to be comorbid with depression and the manifestation of its symptoms. This study examines the characteristics of excessive internet users that are similar to those of patients with depressive disorders in terms of serotonin transporter gene expression and harm avoidance.

Methods: 91 male adolescents with EIU and 75 healthy comparison subjects were recruited.

Effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism on the cognitive stability and aggression in the first-onset schizophrenic patients.

We assessed catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism in 132 first-onset schizophrenic patients and 80 healthy controls. The relationship between COMT polymorphism and cognitive function, aggression and psychiatric symptoms was tested in the schizophrenic group. COMTL carrier had higher digit span score and lower similarity score than COMTH homozygote.

Putaminal gray matter volume decrease in panic disorder: an optimized voxel-based morphometry study.

Our study aimed to identify gray matter volume differences between panic disorder patients and healthy volunteers using optimized voxel-based morphometry. Gray matter volume was compared between 18 panic subjects and 18 healthy volunteers. Panic disorder severity scale (PDSS) and Zung self-rating anxiety scale (Z-SAS) were administered.

Effect of the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele on the efficacy and tolerability of galantamine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) epsilon4 allele on the efficacy and tolerability of galantamine treatment.

Methods: A total of 202 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease participated in a 16-week, prospective, multi-center, randomized, double-blind galantamine trial in a Korean population. Patients were assessed at baseline and after 4, 8 and 16 weeks of randomized treatment using the 11-item cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog/11), the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input (CIBIC-plus), the Disability Assessment for Dementia Scale (DAD), the Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD) and adverse events.

Comparison of efficacy and safety of milnacipran and fluoxetine in Korean patients with major depression.

Object: To compare efficacy and safety of milnacipran and fluoxetine in a population of Korean patients with major depression.

Research Design And Methods: The design was a multi-centre, randomised, comparative clinical study. Patients with major depression (DSM-IV diagnostic criteria) scoring over 17 points on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and over 21 points on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were recruited and randomised to receive milnacipran (50 mg/day increasing after 1 week to 100 mg/day) or fluoxetine (20 mg/day) for 6 weeks.

Genetic polymorphisms of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase, dopamine and serotonin transporters in familial and non-familial alcoholism.

One hundred and eleven male patients with alcohol dependence and 123 nonalcoholic healthy men were tested for the genetic polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and dopamine transporter (DAT1). There were significant differences in genotype frequencies of ADH2 C992G and A13543G SNPs between alcoholic patients with family history of alcohol dependence (familial) and alcoholic patients without family history (non-familial). Genotype and allele frequencies of ALDH2 G1951A SNP in familial or non-familial alcoholic patients differ from normal controls.

Scanning of genetic effects of alcohol metabolism gene (ADH1B and ADH1C) polymorphisms on the risk of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a multifactorial and polygenic disorder involving complex gene-to-gene and gene-to-environment interactions. Alcohol metabolism is one of the biological determinants that could significantly be influenced by genetic polymorphisms in alcohol-metabolism genes. These genetic polymorphisms are believed to influence drinking behavior and development of alcoholism.

Influence of the serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism on susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder marked by behavioral, physiologic, and hormonal alterations. The etiology of PTSD is unknown, although exposure to a traumatic event constitutes a necessary, but not sufficient, factor. Serotonergic dysfunction has been implicated in PTSD.

Changes of smoking behavior and serum adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, prolactin, and endogenous opioids levels in nicotine dependence after naltrexone treatment.

This study was done to evaluate the therapeutic effects of naltrexone on smoking behaviors and to measure the changing of brain substances for elucidating the mode of action by naltrexone. Twenty-five voluntarily participated healthy male smokers were randomly assigned to naltrexone group or placebo group for 2 weeks. In this study, naltrexone group showed significant reduction in daily cigarette consumption amount, the expiratory CO levels, brief questionnaire for smoking urge (B-QSU) score, and FTQ score.