Non-adherence to psychotropic medication assessed by plasma level in newly admitted psychiatric patients: Prevalence before acute admission.

Aims: Non-adherence or partial adherence to psychotropic medication is found in 18-70% of patients. Many previously used methods for the assessment of adherence (e.g.

Hippocampal neurogenesis and antidepressive therapy: shocking relations.

Speculations on the involvement of hippocampal neurogenesis, a form of neuronal plasticity, in the aetiology of depression and the mode of action of antidepressive therapies, started to arise more than a decade ago. But still, conclusive evidence that adult neurogenesis contributes to antidepressive effects of pharmacological and physical therapies has not been generated yet. This review revisits recent findings on the close relation between the mode(s) of action of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a powerful intervention used as second-line treatment of major depression disorders, and the neurogenic response to ECT.

[Reliability and concordance validity of a German version of the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS-D)].

Objective: The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) is the most widely used assessment tool for severity of manic symptoms in bipolar patients. While the original English version has been translated to various different languages, a validated German translation of YMRS has not yet been available.

Methods: We translated the original English version to German (YMRS-D) and tested its use in clinical practice in 81 manic inpatients at two different psychiatric hospitals in Austria.

Propofol and methohexital as anesthetic agents for electroconvulsive therapy: a randomized, double-blind comparison of electroconvulsive therapy seizure quality, therapeutic efficacy, and cognitive performance.

Background: Propofol is often used as an anesthetic agent for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Whether the relatively short seizure duration, resulting from the medication, deteriorates the seizure quality and therapeutic outcomes, or whether propofol might be associated with small but significant post-ECT cognitive impairments, is still a subject of controversy. The purpose of our study was to test these hypotheses in comparison with methohexital.

Paroxetine with pindolol augmentation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in depressed in-patients.

Pindolol, a 5-HT1A autoreceptor antagonist, given in combination with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may enhance and/or accelerate the therapeutic efficacy of SSRIs. Fifty patients, meeting ICD-10 criteria for major depressive disorder or bipolar depression, were enrolled in our randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. One group received paroxetine plus pindolol (2.

Influence of age and gender on risperidone plasma concentrations.

There is limited information on gender- and age-specific effects on plasma concentrations of risperidone and its active metabolite, 9-hydroxyrisperidone. The present study investigated dose- and weight-adjusted plasma concentrations of risperidone and its metabolite in three age groups (45 years, 45-60 years, over 60 years). Gender-specific differences were examined in the whole sample and for the premenopausal subgroup.

Electroconvulsive Therapy in Acute Life-Threatening Catatonia with Associated Cardiac and Respiratory Decompensation.

A 61-year-old white female patient with known endogenous depression developed acute life-threatening catatonia. Associated cardiac and respiratory insufficiency prevented drug therapy. The patient was successfully treated with ECT.