Increased hexosaminidase activity in antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal side effects: possible association with higher occurrence in bipolar disorder patients.

Dystonic movements and Parkinsonism are frequently seen in gangliosidoses and these conditions have been reported to modify dopaminergic plasticity. We investigated whether the activity of hexosaminidase, a type-two ganglioside (GM2) degrading enzyme, correlates with drug-induced extrapyramidal system (EPS) side effects in psychiatric patients. We compared hexosaminidase activity in the lymphocytes of 29 EPS-positive patients, 13 EPS-negative patients, and 30 healthy volunteers.

[Quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: relations with cognitive functions and clinical symptoms].

Objective: To compare quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with that in healthy subjects and to relate quality of life to cognitive functions and the severity of clinical symptoms.

Methods: Twenty-three patients who met DSM-IV criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder and 22 healthy subjects were included in the study. Quality of life (Turkish Quality of Life Scale-Brief Form) and cognitive functions were investigated in all subjects.

Is quality of life associated with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia?

Background: The subjectively assessed quality of life of schizophrenia patients is mostly lower than healthy subjects, and cognitive impairment is an integral feature of schizophrenia. The aims of the present study were to compare the quality of life and neurocognitive functioning between the patients with schizophrenia and the healthy subjects, and to examine the relationships between quality of life and neurocognitive functions among the patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with schizophrenia (15 women and 23 men) and 31 healthy individuals (18 women and 13 men) were included in the study.

Effects of quetiapine on cognitive functions in schizophrenia.

Objective: All atypical antipsychotic drugs with complex pharmacology have been shown to improve some, but not all, domains of cognitive function, including quetiapine, i.e., the agent with the most rapid dissociation from dopamine receptors and a relatively weak serotonin antagonism.

A double-blind controlled study of adjunctive treatment with risperidone in schizophrenic patients partially responsive to clozapine: efficacy and safety.

Background: Several open trials and case studies have reported beneficial effects following the addition of risperidone for partial responders to clozapine. The purpose of this study was to carry out a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trial of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of adjunctive treatment with risperidone in patients with schizophrenia partially responsive to clozapine.

Method: In this 6-week double-blind study, 30 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia who had partial response to clozapine despite being treated for a mean of 32 months were randomly assigned to risperidone (N = 16) up to 6 mg/day or placebo (N = 14).