[Case of bonding disorder effectively treated by Naikan therapy].

The perinatal period is important for establishing the mother-to-infant bond. Especially, psychiatric disorders during this period, such as postnatal depression, significantly affect mother-to-infant attachment. Recently, the concept of "Bonding Disorder" has been proposed to identify attachment disturbances between mothers and infants.

[Intensive Naikan therapy for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder: clinical outcomes and background].

Object: Intensive Naikan therapy (INT) is used to treat irrational recognition, and to develop awareness of others and self-reflection. Several reports have also shown that INT is effective for treating anxiety disorders. The purpose of the present systematic study was to investigate the factors contributing to the efficacy and clinical outcomes of INT by assessing the background, psychological evolution, and treatment required after such therapy.

[A case of Addison's disease presented with depression as a first symptom].

This report describes a 52-year-old male patient with idiopathic Addison's disease presenting depression as a first symptom. His psychomotor inhibition, depressive mood, sleep disturbances, general fatigue, muscular pain, and arthralgia were considered to be due to intense work in a stressful environment. Neither his physician nor his orthopedist found any physical disease.

[Naikan therapy for prolonged depression: psychological changes and long-term efficacy of intensive Naikan therapy].

Objective: Many studies have shown that a considerable number of patients with prolonged depression are refractory to drug therapy or supportive psychotherapy. A few studies have shown the short-term effectiveness of intensive Naikan therapy for prolonged depression, but the long-term effects have not been reported. For other psychotherapies also, few studies have demonstrated their long-term effectiveness for prolonged depression.

[Efficacy of intervention with externalization therapy for eating disorders].

Externalization has been one of the effective methods in the fields of brief therapy, family therapy, and psycho-education in recent years. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of intervention with externalization at the first stage of therapy in 25 patients with eating disorders. The subjects consisted of 11 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 14 with bulimia nervosa (BN).

[The current situation of the internationalization of the Naikan therapy].

In Japan, there are 27 Naikan medical institutions in which are included 5 clinics, 5 general hospitals and 17 mental hospitals. As for Naikan meditation center, there are 32 places. Generally, Naikan medical institutions and Naikan meditation center coexist in Japan.

Diagnostic evaluation of 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activities and antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus and Coxiella burnetii in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome in Japan.

To investigate the association of viral infections with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), we assayed 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2-5AS) activities in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from CFS patients in Japan. These patients were diagnosed in two hospitals, H1 and H2, located in different areas of the country. The activities were detected in 19 (86%) and 7 (32%) of each of the 22 patients in H1 and H2, respectively, while they were detected in only four (11%) out of the 38 healthy controls.

Visual hallucinations as REM sleep behavior disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease.

To clarify whether visual hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, nocturnal polysomnographic variables were compared between a group with hallucinations (hallucinators, n = 14) and a group without hallucinations (nonhallucinators, n = 8). A multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) was performed on 3 hallucinators, and the content of dreams during daytime REM sleep was investigated. The efficacy of clonazepam, a standard treatment choice for REM sleep behavior disorders, was investigated in 8 hallucinators.

Relationships between serum magnesium levels and clinical background factors in patients with mood disorders.

We measured serum magnesium (Mg) levels in 71 in-patients and out-patients with mood disorders and in 30 healthy controls and investigated the relationships between serum Mg levels and clinical background factors. Serum Mg levels were found to be significantly higher in patients with mood disorders than in controls. Serum Mg levels showed no significant correlation with patient sex, age, diagnosed subtype and disease phase in the mood disorder group.