Mortality among long-stay patients with schizophrenia during the setting-up of community facilities under the Yuli model.

Over the past 15 years, Yuli Veterans Hospital (YVH) in Taiwan has developed the Yuli model to reform long-stay care for psychiatric patients. The development of the Yuli model could be divided into pre-early (1998-1999), early (2000-2006) and late (2007-2008) periods according to the setting-up of the community facilities. In the pre-early period, a vocational rehabilitation program was established for psychiatric patients in YVH.

A systematic review of combination therapy with stimulants and atomoxetine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, including patient characteristics, treatment strategies, effectiveness, and tolerability.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to systematically review the literature on stimulant and atomoxetine combination therapy, in particular: 1) Characteristics of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) given combination therapy, 2) treatment strategies used, 3) efficacy and effectiveness, and 4) safety and tolerability.

Methods: Literature databases (MEDLINE(®), EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Citation Index Expanded, and SciVerse Scopus) were systematically searched using prespecified criteria. Publications describing stimulant and atomoxetine combination therapy in patients with ADHD or healthy volunteers were selected for review.

Genetic and environmental influences on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in healthy adolescents: a twin/sibling study.

This study aimed to estimate the relative contributions from genetic and environmental factors to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) performance, a widely used measurement for assessing frontal lobe function. Participants included 350 pairs of twins (257 MZ and 93 DZ) and 47 same-sex sib-pairs, aged 12-16 years, systematically recruited from junior high schools in Taipei. A computerized version of the WCST was administered for each participant and its nine indexes were used for subsequent analysis.

Effects of DRD2/ANKK1 gene variations and clinical factors on aripiprazole efficacy in schizophrenic patients.

Objectives: Aripiprazole, a novel antipsychotic agent, acts as a partial agonist at dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2). We investigate whether its efficacy is predictable by DRD2/ANKK1 gene polymorphisms and clinical factors in Han Chinese hospitalized patients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia.

Method: After hospitalization, the patients (n=128) were given aripiprazole for up to 4 weeks.

Concomitant use of lamotrigine and aripiprazole increases risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome?

Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a severe and potentially life-threatening cutaneous reaction associated with lamotrigine. The incidence of developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome during lamotrigine therapy is low. On the basis of the glutamate and dopamine neuron dysregulation hypothesis in schizophrenia, we propose new strategies for the treatment of schizophrenic patients using a glutamate system stabilizer lamotrigine as an adjunctive treatment for the poor responders of a dopamine system stabilizer, aripiprazole.

The Taipei Adolescent Twin/sibling Family Study I: behavioral problems, personality features, and neuropsychological performance.

The present study aimed to investigate genetic and environmental influences on behavioral problems, personality features, and neuropsychological performance among adolescents in Taipei, Taiwan. Between 1996 and 1998, with the assistance of the Twin Association and junior high schools in Taipei City, we solicited a list of twins from 51 junior high schools in Taipei. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the twins enrolled in these schools were obtained.

Orally disintegrating olanzapine for the treatment of a manic patient with esophageal stricture plus chronic pharyngitis.

An orally disintegrating tablet formulation of olanzapine (ODT olanzapine) is designed to dissolve rapidly upon contact with saliva. We describe a manic patient who has an esophageal stricture and chronic pharyngitis, two conditions that impede the swallowing of medications. She was successfully treated for her mania with this orally disintegrating formulation.

Genetic and environmental influences on schizotypy among adolescents in Taiwan: a multivariate twin/sibling analysis.

This study aimed to examine the relative contribution of genes and environment to psychometrically measured schizotypy and the causes for the covariation between different dimensions of schizotypy in a total of 330 pairs of twins and 36 same-sex sib-pairs aged 12-16 and systematically recruited from junior high schools in Taipei. Twins' zygosity was determined by a combination of DNA typing and physical similarity. Schizotypy was measured using the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS) as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and its three factors (Cognitive-perceptual Dysfunction, Disorganization, and Interpersonal Dysfunction).

Employment experience in relation to alcohol, tobacco, and betel nut use among youth in Taiwan.

The aim of this study is to assess the association linking employment experience with alcohol, tobacco, and betel nut involvement among youth in Taiwan. In 2004, an outreach program was conducted during weekdays to recruit youth sample in seven major geographic regions. A total of 5886 youth aged 12-18 years drawn from 26 cities or towns were assessed by a two-page anonymous self-administered questionnaire, including sociodemographic characteristics, employment-, development-, and drug-related experiences.

A school-based twin study of handedness among adolescents in Taiwan.

This study aimed to evaluate whether twinning might influence handedness and the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to handedness in a total of 321 pairs of twins, 36 same-sex sib-pairs, and 1020 singletons, aged 12-16 and systematically recruited from the junior high schools in Taipei. Twins' zygosity was determined by a combination of DNA typing and physical similarity. The direction and consistency of handedness in twins did not differ from that seen in singletons.

A twin study of competence and behavioral/emotional problems among adolescents in taiwan.

This work reports on a study to evaluate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to both competence scales and behavioral/emotional syndromes as assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A total of 279 pairs of twins and same-sex sib-pairs aged 12-16 years were recruited from 51 junior high schools in Taipei City, Taiwan. Twins' zygosity was determined by a combination of DNA typing and physical similarity.