[The knowledge of resident doctors on diagnostics, etiology and treatment of Wernicke encephalopathy].

Wernicke encephalopathy (we) is a severe, acute neuropsychiatric disorder caused by a deficiency in thiamine. There have been indications that we is undertreated, which can lead to the Korsakoff syndrome, delirium or death. Treatment according to protocol is simple and effective.

[A patient diagnosed with conversion disorder who did not respond to therapy].

A 61-year-old woman with a conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) was referred by her neurologist to the outpatient psychiatric clinic for medically unexplained somatic symptoms. She did not respond well to our treatment, which we initially related to a comorbid mood disorder. Eventually, a progression of both motor and cognitive symptoms were found to be consistent with corticobasal degeneration, a rare neurodegenerative disorder.

[Symptoms of lithium toxicity at therapeutic levels].

A 60-year-old woman was admitted to the medical psychiatric unit with neurological and psychiatric symptoms. She was being treated with a maintenance dose of lithium for bipolar I disorder. Lithium toxicity and manic state were both considered.

Association between COMT Val158Met genotype and EEG alpha peak frequency tested in two independent cohorts.

This study could not confirm the association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism (COMT) and electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha peak frequency (APF) in two independent cohorts of 187 (96 depressed and 91 healthy participants) and 413 healthy participants. If COMT and APF play a role in depression or antidepressant treatment response, they do not have a shared pathway. We emphasize the importance of publishing null-findings for obtaining more accurate overall estimates of genetic effects.

EEG alpha power as an intermediate measure between brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met and depression severity in patients with major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder has a large impact on patients and society and is projected to be the second greatest global burden of disease by 2020. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is considered to be one of the important factors in the etiology of major depressive disorder. In a recent study, alpha power was found to mediate between BDNF Met and subclinical depressed mood.