Rate of OCD and sub-threshold OCD in bipolar disorder patients with first depressive episode.

Evidence indicates that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) co-occurs with bipolar disorder (BD) at a higher rate than in the general population. Although there is a preliminary indication of a predominant aggregation of OCD in BD patients with bipolar depression (BP-D), no explicit evaluation has previously been undertaken. Using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis-I disorders and appropriate rating scales, seventy-three BD patients experiencing their first depressive episode were screened for OCD and subthreshold OCD.

CD247, a novel T cell-derived diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for detecting disease progression and severity in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: We have previously shown that chronic inflammation results in immunosuppression associated with CD247 downregulation in T lymphocytes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is known to be associated with chronic inflammation. We therefore sought to examine CD247 expression levels in patients with T2DM and to assess whether it can serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for disease complications and outcomes.

The effect of reboxetine co-administration with olanzapine on metabolic and endocrine profile in schizophrenia patients.

Rationale: We previously demonstrated that the addition of the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine attenuates olanzapine-induced weight gain. Using the same study sample, we also sought to determine whether reboxetine's weight-attenuating effect was accompanied by a beneficial effect on metabolic and endocrine parameters relevant to antipsychotic-induced weight gain and obesity.

Method: Blood samples at baseline and at the end of the 6-week trial were available for 54 participants who participated in previous double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of reboxetine (4 mg BID) addition to olanzapine-treated schizophrenia patients.

Age matters: Young T lymphocytes offer better protection from myeloma proliferation.

Background: The incidence and growth of cancer has been reported to increase with age and/or impaired T lymphocyte function.

Results: Consistent with these observations, we found that a monoclonal serum immunoglobulin (mIgG2b), rarely detectable after the injection of 5T33 murine multiple myeloma (MMM) cells into 3-4 month old wild-type C57BL/6 mice was seen more frequently in 18-20 month old wild-type C57BL/6 mice and in 3-4 month old Rag1-deficient C57BL/6 mice. These observations were confirmed and extended using more sensitive assays such as quantitation of splenic mRNA specific for the canonical 5T33 monoclonal IgG2b produced by 5T33 myeloma cells and the most sensitive assay, photon-imaging of mice injected with 5T33 cells, stably transfected with fire-fly luciferase gene (5T33L cells), which emit photons after the injection of luciferin.

Reducing antipsychotic-induced weight gain in schizophrenia: a double-blind placebo-controlled study of reboxetine-betahistine combination.

Rationale: Combination treatment with reboxetine, a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and betahistine, a histamine H1 receptor agonist/H3 antagonist, was developed to produce complementary action in CNS pathways regulating appetite and body weight. In the present placebo-controlled study, we evaluated whether a reboxetine-betahistine combination attenuates olanzapine-induced weight gain in schizophrenia patients.

Method: Forty-three inpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenic disorder participated in a randomized double-blind study.

Age-of-onset of schizophrenic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in patients with schizo-obsessive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are prevalent, persistent, clinically significant phenomena in schizophrenia. To facilitate the understanding of their temporal interrelationship, we assessed age-of-onset of schizophrenic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms among 133 patients admitted to Tirat Carmel Mental Health Center (Israel) during the years 1999-2010 who met DSM-IV criteria for both schizophrenic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The mean age-of-onset of the first clinically significant OCS was significantly earlier than the mean age-of onset of the first psychotic symptoms.

Effect of the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine on cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia patients: an add-on, double-blind placebo-controlled study.

The noradrenergic (NE) system mediates cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia patients, and the NE transporter represents a putative target for cognitive enhancing therapy. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study we evaluated the effect of add-on reboxetine (4 mg/day), a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (NRI), co-administered with atypical antipsychotic olanzapine (10 mg/day) on cognitive functioning in DSM-IV schizophrenia patients. The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics battery and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test were used to assess selective cognitive functions at baseline and endpoint (6 weeks).

Obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions in schizophrenia patients with comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients also exhibit obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS). We sought to determine whether the revealed symptom dimensions in OCD exist in schizophrenia patients with comorbid OCD. One hundred and ten patients who met DSM-IV criteria for both schizophrenia and OCD were recruited.

Clinical characteristics of schizotypal-related obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In this study we compared 15 patients with DSM-IV obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) and 31 non-SPD OCD patients. OCD-SPD patients had poorer insight, more negative symptoms, lower functioning, more antipsychotic augmentation and more first-degree relatives with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. A distinct clinical phenotype of OCD associated with SPD should be considered when investigating etiopathogenetic mechanisms.

Awareness of illness and insight into obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) have been revealed in a substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients. We sought to evaluate insight into OCS in schizo-obsessive patients. We evaluated insight into OCS and awareness of schizophrenia, using the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS) and the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD), respectively.

Neurological soft signs in schizophrenia patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a prevalent and clinically significant phenomenon in schizophrenia patients. Both schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are considered to be neurodevelopmental disorders sharing dysfunctional frontal-subcortical circuitry. Using the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), the authors assessed neurological soft signs in 59 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for both schizophrenia and OCD.

Attenuating effect of reboxetine on appetite and weight gain in olanzapine-treated schizophrenia patients: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Rationale: Search for safe and effective strategies to diminish weight gain associated with second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) is imperative. In the present study, we sought to replicate our preliminary findings, which indicated that coadministration of the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine attenuates olanzapine-induced weight gain.

Materials And Method: Fifty-nine patients hospitalized for first-episode DSM-IV schizophrenic disorder participated in this randomized double-blind study.

Preferential aggregation of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in schizophrenia patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: To validate a complex association between schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Method: We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders to compare the rate of OCD spectrum and additional Axis I disorders in 100 patients who met criteria for both schizophrenia and OCD, non-OCD schizophrenia (n = 100), and OCD (n = 35).

Results: There was a robust between-group difference in the number of patients with one or more OCD spectrum disorders (schizo-obsessive n = 30, compared with schizophrenia n = 8; P = 0.

Acute otitis media and mastoid growth.

Conclusions: This study implies that the hypothesis that acute otitis media (AOM) in infancy inhibits the growth of the mastoid system cannot be accepted.

Objective: To establish a relationship between AOM in children and their mastoid pneumatization development.

Patients And Methods: Lateral Schüller mastoid radiographs (LMRs) were measured in two groups of children at ages 2-11 years.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in bipolar disorder patients with first manic episode.

Background: Evidence indicates that obsessive--compulsive disorder (OCD) co-occurs with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) at a higher rate than in the general population. The inflated rate of comorbidity may result from chronic illness, antipsychotic therapy or treatment-seeking behavior. To control for these factors we evaluated the prevalence of OCD in patients with first-episode acute mania who met DSM-IV criteria for BD-I, and compared them with our previously reported group of first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Low-dose mirtazapine: a new option in the treatment of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. A randomized, double-blind, placebo- and propranolol-controlled trial.

Background: Preliminary evidence indicates a beneficial effect of serotonin 2A (5-HT(2A)) receptor antagonists in antipsychotic-induced akathisia (AIA). We investigated the antiakathisia effect, safety, and tolerability of low-dose mirtazapine, an agent with marked 5-HT(2A) antagonism.

Methods: In a 7-day double-blind trial, 90 antipsychotic-treated patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for AIA were randomly assigned to mirtazapine (n = 30; 15 mg), propranolol (n = 30; 80 mg), or placebo (n = 30).

Familial aggregation of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and obsessive-compulsive associated disorders in schizophrenia probands with and without OCD.

A substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients also has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To further validate the clinical validity of a schizo-obsessive diagnostic entity, we assessed morbid risks for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and OC-associated disorders in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia probands with and without OCD. Two groups of schizophrenia probands [with OCD (n = 57) and without OCD (n = 60)] and community-based controls (n = 50) were recruited.

The effect of famotidine addition on olanzapine-induced weight gain in first-episode schizophrenia patients: a double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study.

Olanzapine treatment is associated with substantial weight gain. In this double-blind placebo-controlled study we evaluated whether the H2 antagonist famotidine may prevent/attenuate olanzapine-induced weight gain. Fourteen first-episode DSM-IV schizophrenia patients were randomly allocated to receive either famotidine (40 mg/day, n=7) or placebo (n=7) in addition to olanzapine (10 mg/day) for 6 weeks.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and comorbidity in schizophrenia patients with and without obsessive-compulsive disorder: schizophrenic and OC symptoms in schizophrenia.

Background: Since a substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients has symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we sought to provide a phenomenological characterization of a schizophrenia subgroup with OCD.

Method: A consecutive sample of patients who met DSM-IV criteria for both schizophrenia and OCD (N = 55) was compared with 55 schizophrenia patients without OCD matched for age and number of hospitalizations. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric disorders (SCID-I), including a specific module for tic disorders based on DSM-IV criteria, Scales for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, Clinical Global Impressions scale, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression were used.

Efficacy of low-dose mirtazapine in neuroleptic-induced akathisia: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.

The nonselective serotonin (5-HT)-2A antagonists ritanserin, mianserin, and cyproheptadine were found efficacious in neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA). Mirtazapine is structurally and pharmacologically similar to mianserin, and the authors sought to determine its anti-NIA activity. Twenty-six neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of NIA received add-on mirtazapine (15 mg/day) or placebo for 5 days in a double-blind design.

Is secretory otitis media a single disease entity?

The outcome of 809 children who had middle ear effusion (MEE) was correlated with their age and medical history and the bacteriologic and cytologic findings of the MEE. Three groups emerged. Group A (n = 384) had a medical history of relatively recent acute otitis media (AOM) with a peak prevalence of 2.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescent schizophrenia patients.

Objective: The co-occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adult patients with schizophrenia has been increasingly recognized. However, the rate of OCD comorbidity in adolescent schizophrenia patients has yet to be systematically evaluated.

Method: The rate of DSM-IV OCD was evaluated in 50 adolescent inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Barotrauma vis-a-vis the "chronic otitis media syndrome": two conditions with middle ear gas deficiency Is secretory otitis media a contraindication to air travel?

We compared 17 patients (29 ears) with barotrauma with 171 patients suffering from "chronic ears" (secretory otitis media, atelectasis, or previously operated cholesteatoma). The patients with "chronic ears" were followed up prospectively, and none were found to suffer from barotrauma after flying on a commercial airplane. The mastoid pneumatization (seen on lateral mastoid radiographs) was significantly larger in ears with barotrauma, averaging 16.

Effect of the 5-HT2 antagonist mianserin on cognitive dysfunction in chronic schizophrenia patients: an add-on, double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Unlabelled: Preponderance of serotonin 5-HT2A antagonism over dopamine D2 blockade exerted by atypical antipsychotics may contribute to their cognitive-enhancing effect. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study we examined the effect of add-on mianserin (15 mg/day), an agent with marked 5-HT2A antagonism, on cognitive functioning in 30 chronic hospitalized DSM-IV schizophrenia patients stabilized on typical antipsychotics. The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) battery was used to assess learning, memory and sustained attention; Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) to assess executive function at baseline and endpoint (4 weeks).

Attenuation of olanzapine-induced weight gain with reboxetine in patients with schizophrenia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Objective: Since increased norepinephrine availability may account for the weight-reducing effect of appetite suppressants, the authors hypothesized that the addition of the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine may prevent or attenuate olanzapine-induced weight gain.

Method: Twenty-six patients hospitalized for first-episode DSM-IV schizophrenic disorder participated in the study. In addition to 6 weeks of treatment with olanzapine, 10 mg/day, patients were randomly allocated in a double-blind design to receive either reboxetine, 4 mg/day, (N=13) or placebo (N=13).