Association Between the Serum Carnitine Level and Ammonia and Valproic Acid Levels in Patients with Bipolar Disorder.

Purpose: Valproic acid (VPA) is not only an antiepileptic drug but also a mood stabilizer for patients with bipolar disorder. Long-term VPA therapy can cause carnitine deficiency, which may result in an increase in the blood ammonia level, in patients with epilepsy. However, information about this effect in patients with bipolar disorder is limited.

Differences in etiological beliefs about schizophrenia among patients, family, and medical staff.

Objectives: To determine whether etiological beliefs are different among schizophrenia patients, their family, and medical staff.

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at five hospitals and one mental clinic and included 212 patients, 144 family members, and 347 medical staff other than psychiatrists. A questionnaire about the possible etiological causes of schizophrenia was used.

Successful treatment with tacrolimus of refractory pyoderma gangrenosum with pouchitis after restorative proctocolectomy for ulcerative colitis.

We describe herein a case of severe relapsed pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) concomitantly with severe pouchitis treated by tacrolimus. A 25-year-old woman had undergone proctocolectomy with construction of ileo-anal pouch surgery for refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). She first developed PG with refractory pouchitis, and infliximab (IFX) was administered to induce remission due to resistance to glucocorticoid therapy.

Delirium in hemodialysis predicts mortality: a single-center, long-term observational study.

Objectives: Delirium signifies underlying brain dysfunction; however, its clinical significance in hemodialysis remains unclear. In this study, we sought to determine whether the occurrence of delirium during hemodialysis was associated with higher mortality.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective, 10-year cohort study.

Attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials among depressed patients in Japan.

Background: Placebo-controlled clinical trials are the standard in the design of clinical studies for the licensing of new drugs. Medical and ethical concerns regarding placebo use still exist in clinical trials of depressed patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials and to assess factors related to the willingness to participate in such trials among depressed patients in Japan.