Amitriptyline and Sexual Function: A Systematic Review Updated for Sexual Health Practice.

Amitriptyline is an old drug but is still prevalently used as the first-line treatment for a variety of common diseases. Surprisingly, knowledge of sexual risks with amitriptyline comes from only one clinical trial and several case reports from three decades ago. In the current study, a systematic review of the literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) related to amitriptyline and sexual dysfunction (SD) was performed.

Topiramate-associated sexual dysfunction: A systematic review.

Introduction: Sexual pharmacotoxicity renders patients with epilepsy at a risk for sexual dysfunction (SD). This study is aimed to analyze the relationship between sexual function and topiramate to avoid topiramate-associated SD.

Methods: A systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines was performed to elucidate any SD occurrence in patients receiving topiramate.

Psychiatric symptoms and leptin in obese patients who were bariatric surgery candidates.

Objective: There is a significant relationship between obesity and common mental symptoms (depression and anxiety symptoms). But the association between depression (or anxiety symptoms) and serum leptin is still unclear and controversial, despite the growing body of evidence supporting the existence of "leptin resistance" in obese persons. So we investigated whether common mental symptoms, obesity, and the interactive effect of these two factors have a relationship with leptin in obese patients who were candidates for bariatric surgery.

Association of VNTR polymorphisms in the MAOA promoter and DRD4 exon 3 with heroin dependence in male Chinese addicts.

Objective: To explore the involvement of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) promoter and exon 3 of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene in heroin addiction modulate the vulnerability of individuals to heroin addiction.

Methods: Eight hundred and ninety-four male heroin addicts without other psychiatric disorders, were recruited as subjects. Another community 180 males were selected randomly as controls.

MAOA gene polymorphisms and response to mirtazapine in major depression.

Background: Polymorphisms in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene may influence treatment outcomes in major depression disorder (MDD).

Objective: To investigate the association of MAOA genetic polymorphisms and response to mirtazapine in patients with MDD.

Method: Fifty-eight adult patients in Taiwan who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria for MDD were given mirtazapine for 7 weeks and evaluated on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 49 using the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD).

Maximally efficient two-stage screening: Determining intellectual disability in Taiwanese military conscripts.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to apply a two-stage screening method for the large-scale intelligence screening of military conscripts.

Methods: We collected 99 conscripted soldiers whose educational levels were senior high school level or lower to be the participants. Every participant was required to take the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) assessments.

Purple urine bag syndrome in nursing homes: ten elderly case reports and a literature review.

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is a rare occurrence, in which the patient has a purple-colored urine bag following urinary catheterization for hours to days. Most of authors believe it is a mixture of indigo (blue) and indirubin (red) that becomes purple. Previous study showed that PUBS occurred predominantly in chronically catheterized, constipated women.