[Complex therapy of schizophrenia].

Schizoprenia is not a consistent illness, but the symptoms free state do may achive with different methods. During the last fifty years the clinical psychopharmacology improved very quickly, but the psychotherapy and sociotherapy as well. The complex therapy of schizophrenia is a new method: the psychopharmacons together with psychotherapy (first of all with cognitive one), sociotherapy and psychiatric rehabilitation.

Comparison between genes of Alzheimer's disease and brain tissue of others.

We have examined samples from 14 donors that were prepared from 44 different anatomical regions of the brain. These samples were prepared both as frozen formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded. There were 310 frozen samples and 367 fixed samples.

Culturally-sensitive complaints of depressions and anxieties in women.

Background: Current classifications of Mental Disorders are centered on Westernized concepts and constructs. "Cross-cultural sensitivity" emphasizes culturally-appropriate translations of symptoms and questions, assuming that concepts and constructs are applicable.

Methods: Groups and individual psychiatrists from various cultures from Asia, Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe prepared descriptions of main symptoms and complaints of treatment-seeking women in their cultures, which are interpreted by clinicians as a manifestation of a clinically-relevant dysphoric disorder.

[Clinical observations with aripiprazole in schizophrenia].

The atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole was administered once a day by peroral dose--10-15 mg--in 103 schizophrenics; they were hospitalized or in day-hospital or outpatient department. During the simple blind clinical trial it was compared by 70 schizophrenics administered by haloperidol treatment (9-15 mg/day dose). The aripiprazole had good therapeutic effect at the positive and negative symptoms of acute schizophrenia, and at the other antipsychotic non-responder patients, and had no serious side-effects.

About the menopausal depression.

Background: According to studies performed in the last some years, several factors may increase the risk for depression during menopause to occur. Perimenopause, the period mostly associated an increase in the rate of depressive symptomatology, is characterised by decline of estrogen level. But the other changing reproductive physiology, as progesterone, inhibin level, CNS activity of gonadal steroids may have role in depression during menopause.

[Pharmacovigilance as new direction of research].

Pharmacovigilance: permanent collection and assessment of the safety data of the drug, in the interest of precise knowledge of the safety profile of the pharmacon; permanent collection of unexpected adverse drug reactions, effects on special patient populations, drug interactions, adverse drug reactions of long-term treatment, adverse drug reactions of long latency. Our study was performed under the tutelage of the Drug Safety Programme in Psychiatry (AMSP), 2004. We review the side effects occuring in the different organ systems; side effects during the use of antidepressive and antipsychotic therapy.

[About the curability of schizophrenia].

The curability of schizophrenia is not clear, but in this case report we describe a paranoid schizophrenic patient who has remained symptom-free during three decades of treatment with clozapine. During this time he has had a very successful career which points to the possibility of the long-term curability of schizophrenia. From his mother's side he inherited genes for multiple mental disorders and his psychosis started at age 27, after two years of therapeutic resistance he received clozapine and became symptom free.

Combined effect of promoter polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor and the serotonin transporter genes in heroin dependence.

Dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and serotonin transporter (SERT) gene polymorphisms were studied, as possible genetic risk factors for substance dependence. The case-control study involved a large cohort (n = 362) of healthy Caucasian population, and an initial sample of 73 substance dependent patients (including a subgroup of 53 heroin dependents). Improved methods were applied for genotype detection of the DRD4 polymorphisms (exon 3 48 bp VNTR; -521 C/T SNP and 120 bp duplication in the 5' flanking region) and the SERT gene polymorphisms (5-hydroxytriptamin transporter linked polymorphic region [5-HTTLPR] in the 5' flanking region and the intron 2 VNTR [STin2]).

The use of the synthetic enhancer substances (-)-deprenyl and (-)-BPAP in major depression.

There is still a great need for the development of antidepressants with a new pharmacological spectrum. The finding that phenylethylamine and tryptamine are endogenous enhancers of the impulse propagation mediated release of catecholamines and serotonin in the brain, and the development of synthetic mesencephalic enhancer substances opened the possibility to stimulate catecholaminergic and serotonergic neurons in the mesencephalon via a previously unknown mechanism. (-)-Deprenyl, a prototype of the phenylethylamine-derived synthetic enhancer substances, stimulates the catecholaminergic neurons in the brain but is almost ineffective on the serotonergic neurons.

[Schizoid psychosis during cannabis intake (case report)].

Unlabelled: Three young people developed psychosis during/ after cannabis intake. The 17-year-old male after only a few marihuana cigarettes, the 22-year-old patient after two years of addiction developed schizoid psychosis; the 20-year-old patient after six years of cannabis addiction had schizoaffective psychosis. The first two patients become symptom-free on the antipsychotics and during the drug-free period.

Clozapine maintenance therapy in schizophrenia.

Long-term pharmacotherapy with antipsychotic agents is an important aspect of the management of schizophrenia. In patients responsive to the chosen treatment, maintenance therapy is usually conducted by halving the drug dose that has proven effective during the acute phase. This strategy is suitable for maintaining remission; moreover, it can improve the patients' quality of life.

Agranulocytosis during clozapine therapy.

Granulocytopenia and agranulocytosis are considered among the most dangerous adverse effects of clozapine. During the last 15-year period, this atypical antipsychotic agent has been administered to 750 patients managed at the Emergency Psychiatry Services and Clinical Pharmacology Unit of the National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology (NIPandN; Budapest, Hungary). Granulocytopenia was ascertained in seven, whereas agranulocytosis was diagnosed in two patients of this population.