Madison to Manipal: A narrative review of modified assertive community treatment programs.

Background: Assertive community treatment (ACT) is a multidisciplinary, team-based approach providing comprehensive individualized care for the patients with various mental illness, has been adapted variably across the world in terms of patient-staff ratio, selection of patients, the pattern of service delivery and frequency of contact. We aim to review the extant literature on the modifications of ACT programs for severe mental disorders and their effectiveness.

Methods: Studies on modified ACT approaches for mental illnesses were searched in multiple databases.

Re-examining Psychometric Properties of Fertility Problem Inventory: A Clinic-Based Study from India.

Background: The fertility problem inventory (FPI) is one of the most widely used measures that tap the diverse psychological problems faced by infertile couples. Research on translated versions of FPI has also reflected its high clinical significance.

Aim: This research aimed to explore the psychometric properties and the clinical validity of the original 46-item FPI in an Indian sample.

Efficacy and safety of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (M-ECT) in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: A case series.

Background: Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is a substantial burden to patients, caregivers, and the treating team. There is a lack of robust evidence to support the efficacy of various pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures to augment clozapine in this population. When used in conjunction with clozapine or other combination antipsychotic regimens, maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (M-ECT) can be a potential therapeutic option in preventing symptom exacerbation in TRS.

Modified assertive community treatment program for patients with schizophrenia: Effectiveness and perspectives of service consumers from a South Indian setting.

Background: Schizophrenia is a disabling mental illness. Antipsychotic treatment in conjunction with comprehensive psychosocial rehabilitation services is essential in promoting functional recovery. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is an evidence-based approach in promoting recovery in schizophrenia.

Association between functional polymorphisms in serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and escitalopram treatment response in depressive patients in a South Indian population.

Purpose: Ethnicity plays a key role in deciding the direction of the association between serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms and treatment response of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The present study explored the association of 5HTTLPR and 5HTTLPR-rs25531 polymorphisms with the treatment response of escitalopram in South Indian patients with major depressive disorder.

Methods: A total of 148 depressive patients receiving escitalopram 10-20 mg/day were genotyped for 5HTTLPR and rs25531 polymorphisms.

Psychiatric Disorders in Women Seeking Fertility Treatments: A Clinical Investigation in India.

Fertility treatments began in several countries, including India, in the1970s. Despite various advancements in intra uterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF), empirical investigations on the psychological endurance and emotional tolerance of Indian women to such treatments are rather scarce. Thus, the aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Indian women seeking fertility treatments.

Distress in Infertile Males in Manipal-India: A Clinic Based Study.

Background: Being infertile comes as an overwhelming realization for couples trying to conceive. In consideration of rising rates of infertility worldwide, clinicians in India have also begun exploring this field for new possibilities, development and research. The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion and predictors of infertility specific stress in males diagnosed with primary infertility.

A Cross-sectional, Comparative Study of Insight in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Patients in Remission.

Aims: To study insight correlates in schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder in remission among out-patients attending the Psychiatry Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Settings And Design: In a cross-sectional, naturalistic study, adult patients with schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder in remission (n = 80; schizophrenia-40, mania-20, bipolar depression-20) were compared on insight measures and clinical correlates.

Materials And Methods: Scale to Assess the Unawareness of Mental Disorders (SUMD) was used as the main tool to assess current and past measures of insight.

Mirtazapine for antipsychotic-induced acute akathisia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials of mirtazapine for the treatment of antipsychotic-induced acute akathisia (AIAA).

Methods: Studies were identified using online searches of PUBMED/MEDLINE and Cochrane database (CENTRAL), along with websites recording trial information such as www.clinicaltrials.

Multiplex ligation-dependant probe amplification study of children with idiopathic mental retardation in South India.

Background: Mental retardation (MR) is a heterogeneous dysfunction of the central nervous system exhibiting complex phenotypes and has an estimated prevalence of 1-3% in the general population. However, in about 50% of the children diagnosed with any form of intellectual disability or developmental delay the cause goes undetected contributing to idiopathic intellectual disability.

Materials And Methods: A total of 122 children with developmental delay/MR were studied to identify the microscopic and submicroscopic chromosome rearrangements by using the conventional cytogenetics and multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis using SALSA MLPA kits from Microbiology Research Centre Holland [MRC] Holland.

Amantadine for olanzapine-induced weight gain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.

Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials of amantadine for the treatment of olanzapine-induced weight gain.

Methods: Studies were identified using online searches of PUBMED/MEDLINE and Cochrane database (CENTRAL), along with websites recording trial information such as ClinicalTrials.gov, Controlled-trials.

Study of the association of serotonin transporter triallelic 5-HTTLPR and STin2 VNTR polymorphisms with lithium prophylaxis response in bipolar disorder.

The 5-hydroxy tryptamine transporter (5-HTT) gene has been previously implicated in lithium response, but the roles of the triallelic 5-HTT linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) and variable number tandem repeats in the second intron [serotonin transporter intron 2 (STin2)] have not been reported. We examined these polymorphisms in 122 patients with bipolar I disorder, among which 49 patients were classified as good responders, 49 as nonresponders, and 24 as partial responders to lithium prophylaxis. We observed significant variation in the genotype frequencies of STin2 polymorphism among the response groups (P=0.

A cross-sectional comparison of disability and quality of life in euthymic patients with bipolar affective or recurrent depressive disorder with and without comorbid chronic medical illness.

Background: There are major health care implications of quality of life (QOL) and disability in long-standing disorders such as bipolar affective disorder (BAD) and recurrent depressive disorder (RDD).

Objectives: To compare the inter-episode QOL and disability in patients with the diagnosis of BAD or RDD in remission with and without comorbid chronic medical illness.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional assessments of the four groups were carried out.