Psychiatry in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: an overview of the current situation.

Objective: To review the current status of psychiatry in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Method: A group of psychiatrists from the region evaluated the status of psychiatry at the end of 2004 based on data from their countries and information available on WHO homepages.

Results: There is a shift from traditional in-patient facilities towards out-patient and community services as evidenced by a decreasing number of hospital beds.

Treatment of acute agitation in psychotic disorders.

Several psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, may be associated with symptoms of acute agitation and aggression. While drug treatment of agitation is often essential, non-pharmacological interventions, both environmental and behavioral, also play important roles in the complex management of agitated patients. The most extensively used psychotropic drugs are parenteral formulas of conventional antipsychotics and benzodiazepines.

Prevalence of and risk factors for tardive dyskinesia in a Xhosa population in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Objective: Despite prolonged use of antipsychotic drug treatment, the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in a Xhosa population has not been evaluated. This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence and identify possible factors, including antioxidant intake and smoking history, which may increase or reduce the risk of TD.

Method: One hundred two subjects who had been exposed to typical antipsychotic drugs for at least 6 months and were currently on an antipsychotic were screened for abnormal movements using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) rating scale.

Correlation algorithm and sampling techniques for estimating the signal-to-noise ratio of the electrocardiogram.

An algorithm, based on correlation techniques, is proposed for estimating the signal-to-noise ratio of very low frequency signals contaminated by white and flicker noise. Sampling techniques based on converting a single continuous signal into two time series that satisfy the requirements of cross-correlation functions are proposed. The algorithm has been tested on simulated data and the electrocardiogram transduced from ten patients.