[How Can We Manage Skin Incision and Craniotomy for Avoidance of Postoperative Esthetic Concern?].

A successful microsurgical neck clipping of cerebral aneurysm is one of the milestones for neurosurgeons. However, a 'complete clip closure of aneurysm without neurological deficit' is not enough for the patient, as esthetic problems can occur several months after the surgery. In this paper, we describe a series of surgical tips concerning the surgical steps starting from skin incision to craniotomy to minimize the esthetic impact.

Augmentation index is related to white matter lesions.

The augmentation index (AIx) is a measure of pulse wave reflection from peripheral muscular conduit arteries, and is assumed to increase with stiffened arteries. A white matter lesion (WML) is generally regarded as a chronic ischemic lesion, which is associated with cerebral small-vessel arteriosclerosis. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effect of pulse wave reflection on the brain.

Comparing the influence of dopamine D₂ polymorphisms and plasma drug concentrations on the clinical response to risperidone.

Although several studies have reported that dopamine D₂ receptor (DRD2) polymorphisms affect the therapeutic efficacy of antipsychotics, other studies have suggested that the plasma drug concentration is related to the clinical response. Currently, there are no definitive data regarding which factor has greater clinical significance. Sixty patients with acute exacerbations of schizophrenia received 6 mg/d of risperidone for 4 weeks.

Association between plasma paroxetine concentration and changes in plasma brain‐derived neurotrophic factor levels in patients with major depressive disorder.

Recent studies have implicated brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathophysiology of depression and in the activities of antidepressant drugs. Serum BDNF levels are lower in depressed patients and increase in response to antidepressant medications; however, no studies have examined the association between plasma concentrations of antidepressant drugs and plasma BDNF levels. We assessed plasma BDNF levels and paroxetine concentrations in 45 patients with major depression who were being treated with paroxetine.

Clinical response to risperidone in relation to plasma drug concentrations in acutely exacerbated schizophrenic patients.

There are no data indicating a clear relationship between the clinical effect of risperidone and plasma drug concentration. In this study, 51 patients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia received 6 mg risperidone/day for 4 weeks. A clinical evaluation using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Udvalg for Klinicke Undersøgelser (UKU) side effect rating scale were performed at baseline and each week.

Augmentation of antidepressants with perospirone for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.

We examined the efficacy and tolerability of perospirone, a dopamine D2 and 5-HT2A receptor antagonist and a partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist, in the augmentation of antidepressant treatment of partially responding and nonresponding patients with major depressive disorder. Twelve patients with major depressive disorder and an incomplete or no response to different kinds of antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, milnacipran, or sulpride) monotherapy or polytherapy for 8 weeks or more were treated with perospirone augmentation in an eight-week, open-label study. Data were gathered from July 2006 to March 2008.

[Role of coil embolization and arterial injection in elderly subarachnoid hemorrhage patients: preliminary report].

With the recent advanced aging seen in society, the number of elderly patients with aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is increasing. We focused on current management of SAH in patients who were over 75 years old. From January 1st, 2004 to the end of June, 2007, we had treated 170 SAH patients including 39 who were over 75 years old.