Qualitative study to explore the perspectives and mental health experiences of first episode psychosis patients and their caregivers in North India.

Background: The onset of psychosis brings unfamiliar experiences that can be disturbing for patients and their caregivers. Few studies from India (only one from North India) have examined these experiences from the perspective of the patient and caregiver. We explored experiences of first episode psychosis (FEP) patients and their caregivers within a North Indian context.

Protocol-based assessment and management of first episode psychosis: Comparison of short and medium-term outcomes in psychopathology, quality of life, functioning and family burden across two sites in India.

Background: Standard assessment and management protocols exist for first episode psychosis (FEP) in high income countries. Due to cultural and resource differences, these need to be modified for application in low-and middle-income countries.

Aims: To assess the applicability of standard assessment and management protocols across two cohorts of FEP patients in North and South India by examining trajectories of psychopathology, functioning, quality of life and family burden in both.

Cell cycle abnormality is a cellular phenotype in OCD.

Abnormal indices of cell cycle regulation have been reported in multiple psychiatric disorders. Though reports specific to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are scant, numerous studies have highlighted partly common underlying biology in psychiatric disorders, cell cycle regulation being one such process. In this study, we therefore aimed to explore cell cycle in OCD.

Association of SLC1A1 gene polymorphism with obsessive compulsive disorder in a sample from southern India.

The glutamate transporter gene SLC1A1 has been shown to have an association with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) treatment response. One polymorphism (rs3056) in SLC1A1 has been associated with altered brain volumes in OCD. We investigated the association of this polymorphism with OCD and its relationship with various clinical parameters, including age of onset, disease severity, insight, factor analyzed symptom dimensions of OCD, and SRI treatment response.

BDNF gene and obsessive compulsive disorder risk, symptom dimensions and treatment response.

Aim: Genetic etiology of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been investigated extensively, with mixed results across candidate gene studies. The dimensional subtypes of OCD are shown to better correlate with brain imaging endophenotypes and thus could potentially enhance the power of genetic association. In this study, we perform a case control analysis of association of a single nucleotide polymorphism rs6265(Val66Met) in Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor gene, that has been previously implicated in a variety of psychiatric syndromes, and examine its association with symptom dimensions of OCD.

Benzodiazepine and "Z-Drug" Dependence: Data From a Tertiary Care Center.

Objective: To examine the clinical characteristics and course of benzodiazepine and �Z-drug� dependence in patients presenting to a tertiary deaddiction center in southern India.

Methods: Case files of 950 inpatients admitted between January 2007 and January 2014 who reported benzodiazepine or Z-drug use were reviewed. Patients (n = 170) with an ICD-10 diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of sedatives or hypnotics-dependence syndrome currently using substance (F13.

Correlates of Baclofen Effectiveness in Alcohol Dependence.

Alcohol dependence is a global concern. Baclofen has shown promise as an anti-craving agent but its efficiency remains to be settled. We reviewed 549 male cases diagnosed with alcohol dependence who received Acamprosate (201) or Baclofen (348).