Survey of the relationship between internet addiction and social withdrawal (HIKIKOMORI) in Japan.

Purpose: The Internet was originally designed to facilitate communication and research activities.'However, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of the Internet in recent years for commerce, education, and entertainment, including video games. Internet addiction as.

[The Basic Act on Measures against Alcohol-related Health Harm and Role of General Psychiatrists--With focus on SBRIT and Deadly Triangle].

Japan has just enacted a national law for alcohol, that named "Basic Act on Measures Against Alcohol-related Health Harm". This article includes 5 topics; i) General psychiatrists have the roles and responsibilities in this law, ii) All psychiatrists need to know about alcohol-related health harm and alcohol-related problem, iii) Alcohol dependence is attributed to change of neurotransmitter in the brain, iv) Mood disorder is more likely to be complicated by alcohol dependence and/or hazardous drinking. Some of the patients with the above-mentioned complicated disease have alcohol-induced mood disorder, v) If the patient has alcohol-induced mood disorder, it will place priority on alcoholism treatment and will be important to quickly resolve with abstinence.

Influence of comorbid alcohol use disorder on treatment response of depressive patients.

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently also have alcohol use disorder (AUD) and they are more likely to experience symptomatic recurrence and resist treatment. How the two disorders interrelate has not yet been fully examined in Japanese subjects. The treatment response of 47 MDD patients was followed for 12 weeks.

[Treatment response of depressive patients with comorbid problem drink].

In this study, we investigated the impact of Problem Drink on depression. Forty participants with depression were divided into 2 groups: non-Problem Drinker (NPD) group (n = 22) and Problem Drinker (PD) group (n = 18) according to Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score (NPD < 12, PD > or = 12). Depression was assessed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview.

Consensus paper of the WFSBP task force on biological markers: biological markers for alcoholism.

Objectives: This article presents an overview of the current literature on biological markers for alcoholism, including markers associated with the pharmacological effects of alcohol and markers related to the clinical course and treatment of alcohol-related problems. Many of these studies are well known, while other studies cited are new and still being evaluated.

Methods: In this paper we first describe known biomarkers of alcohol-related disorders, review their features and the problems involved in their use.

[Lessons from addiction psychiatry].

In this paper, I would like to share my experience of helping to establish treatment systems for alcohol dependence in hospital and community settings during the period of relatively inadequate alcohol-dependence care in the 1970s. In the hospital-based treatment system, it was important to ensure that information on the patient's condition and course of treatment was shared with colleagues. It was also important to nurture the patient's compliance with treatment decisions, and involve family members in the treatment process.

Plasticity-related gene 1 is important for survival of neurons derived from rat neural stem cells.

Plasticity-related gene 1 (Prg1) is a membrane-associated lipid phosphate phosphatase. In this study, we first investigated the role of Prg1 in the survival of neurons derived from rat neural stem cells (NSCs) using small interfering RNA (siRNA). Prg1 knock-down decreased the cell number.

WITHDRAWN: Neuronal cell-type specific DNA methylation patterns of the Cacna1cgene.

The Publisher regrets that this article is an accidental duplication of an articlethat has already been published, http://dx.doi.org/10.

[A survey of alcoholics and their families on controlled drinking as a treatment goal: discussions on new treatment approaches].

Introduction: To encourage persons with alcoholism to seek treatment or to overcome denial is an important issue to be addressed in the treatment of alcoholism. Recognizing one's own addiction might be the first step in overcoming alcohol abuse. Abstaining from alcohol consumption was found to be the only effective treatment in Japan.

[Reduction in alcohol consumption: therapeutic goal in alcohol dependence treatment].

Mean per capita consumption of alcohol for Japanese adults has been gradually decreasing for more than15 years, while it still remains at a high level. It is pointed out that those who consume alcoholic beverages become more diversified and that the proportion of male drinkers tends to gradually decrease. On the other hand, it is estimated that the proportion of female drinkers, especially, young generation, remarkably increases.

Evaluation of annexin A5 as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease and dementia with lewy bodies.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) differs from other forms of dementia in its relation to amyloid beta peptide (Aβ42). Using a cell culture model we previously identified annexin A5, a Ca(2+), and phospholipid binding protein, as an AD biomarker. Plasma level of annexin A5 was significantly higher in AD patients compared to that in a control group.

Effects of atelocollagen on neural stem cell function and its migrating capacity into brain in psychiatric disease model.

Stem cell therapy is well proposed as a potential method for the improvement of neurodegenerative damage in the brain. Among several different procedures to reach the cells into the injured lesion, the intravenous (IV) injection has benefit as a minimally invasive approach. However, for the brain disease, prompt development of the effective treatment way of cellular biodistribution of stem cells into the brain after IV injection is needed.

Neuronal cell-type specific DNA methylation patterns of the Cacna1c gene.

Gene expression of the alpha-1 subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel, CACNA1C, is known to be complexly regulated. Because CACNA1C is not only a crucial gene in normal brain function but also a promising candidate risk gene for psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, elucidating the molecular basis of transcriptional regulatory mechanism will be critically important. Here we examined DNA methylation status of CpG islands and a CpG island shore on mouse Cacna1c in neuronal and non-neuronal nuclei, which were separated with a fluorescent activated cell sorting technique.

The study of cognitive characteristics in Asperger's disorder by using a modified Prisoner's Dilemma game with a variable payoff matrix.

Individuals with Asperger's Disorder (ASP) have difficulties in social reciprocity and in providing appropriate cooperative behavior. The Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) is a well-known model in game theory that illustrates the paradoxical disposition of interaction between two individuals with opposing interests, and may be a useful tool in the diagnosis of ASP in early childhood. In this study, we investigated the cognitive characteristics of ASP by using a modified PD game.

Hikikomori as a possible clinical term in psychiatry: a questionnaire survey.

Background: The word hikikomori, the abnormal avoidance of social contact, has become increasingly well-known. However, a definition of this phenomenon has not been discussed thoroughly. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the perception of hikikomori amongst health-related students and professionals and to explore possible psychiatric conditions underlying hikikomori.

[Promising therapy of neural stem cell transplantation for FASD model--neural network reconstruction and behavior recovery].

Objectives: It has been elucidated that psychiatric disorders are associated with impairment of the brain neural network. Reduction in brain size and hypoplasia of the basal ganglia and corpus callosum have been reported in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). It is believed that the formation of the neural network is influenced by alcohol exposure during the fetal period.

Rhotekin modulates differentiation of cultured neural stem cells to neurons.

Rhotekin is a downstream signal of Rho and is expressed in the central nervous system. However, the physiological role of rhotekin in the development of neural stem cells (NSCs) into neurons is unknown. In this study, we knocked down the expression of rhotekin protein with small interfering RNA (siRNA) in the NSCs and in neural differentiated cells and measured cell proliferation, differentiation, neurite length, and survival.

[Gender dysphoria in pervasive developmental disorders].

Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) are characterized by two essential symptoms: impairment in social interaction, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. PDD include autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, and PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). These three disorders are sometimes termed autism spectrum disorders.