Current understanding of mental disorders is based upon “biopsychosocial model”. Research also suggests what biological changes take place in a particular disorder as well as nature of risk which arises from psychol...Current understanding of mental disorders is based upon “biopsychosocial model”. Research also suggests what biological changes take place in a particular disorder as well as nature of risk which arises from psychological, social and environmental conditions. However it remains unclear how these psychosocial and environmental risk factors interact with biological factors which lead to clinical syndromes. This paper examines interrelationship of psychosocial and environmental risk and biological changes observed in mental disorders and tries to identify the possibility of a pathway of the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders. The review aims to demonstrate that significant advances in the fields of psychosocial, cultural, anthropological and neurobiological research provide novel insights into the etiology of mental disorders. There are neurochemical, functional and structural neurobiological, neurocognitive, immunological findings and findings from gene-environment interaction that appears promising. However these findings are in an isolated manner. Comprehensive studies examining major biological changes together in relation to psychosocial risk factors are lacking. Every individual reacts differently to the same environmental risk while there tends to be similarities in individual outcome in response to such stressors. The findings though robust independently, remain very preliminary to suggest a sequential trajectory for developing a clear pathway for pathogenesis. It is currently unclear whether there is a differential psychopathological impact of psychosocial stressors in different cultures despite the extensive variability both between and within major social groups and societies. Further research investigating modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors in context of prevailing socio-economic conditions is urgently needed to plan effective interventions.展开更多
Disulfiram remains a viable option as a treatment for alcohol dependence and has been shown in recent studies to be successful in treating patients with alcohol dependence in a manner that is superior to both naltrexo...Disulfiram remains a viable option as a treatment for alcohol dependence and has been shown in recent studies to be successful in treating patients with alcohol dependence in a manner that is superior to both naltrexone and acamprosate. It is also useful in dual diagnosis patients and those with co-morbid cocaine and alcohol dependence. Although disulfiram’s mechanism of action in alcohol dependence was long thought to be its effects as a psychological deterrent, more recent studies have uncovered potential anticraving effects as well. Recent reviews exhort to the importance of supervised disulfiram therapy in highlighting many of the potential and unique benefits of disulfiram. The present article will review the major clinical trials of disulfiram spanning nearly 60 years. It also discusses the usage of disulfiram across diverse populations along with monitoring for compliance and various adverse effects that may be encountered. The paper also reviews certain studies on long acting disulfiram therapy, recent comparative trials of disulfiram and its use in alcohol dependence. The review concludes with the role of disulfiram in the present day and long-term pharmacotherapy of alcohol dependence along with future research needs in this area.展开更多
Objective: To determine if there is a significant rise in serum prolactin (PRL) in acute psychosis related to disease process and weather there is a significant gender difference in the level of PRL and its correlatio...Objective: To determine if there is a significant rise in serum prolactin (PRL) in acute psychosis related to disease process and weather there is a significant gender difference in the level of PRL and its correlation psychopathology. Procedure: Naturalistic study involved 60 consenting outpatients and inpatients in a tertiary psychiatric setting. Patient base was comprised of men (n?= 30) and women (n?= 30) with 83% in the age range of 21 - 40 years old. All subjects had confirmed first episode diagnosis set forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Patients were drug free and drug na?ve. Standardization for control was done using 15 control PRL samples obtained from healthy individuals. Methodology involved assessment by radioimmunoassay, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale at day 1, 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks. All patients were treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. Results: Serum PRL was elevated on baseline in 75% of first episode psychosis schizophrenia, yet found to have a negative correlation to psychopathology at base week 3 and week 6 samples. Conclusions: Elevated serum PRL is not a potential indicator of acute schizophrenia. Levels are higher in females than in males, yet females respond better to treatment at a lower dose than males.展开更多
There has been a revolutionary advance in the treatment and management of schizophrenia from a clinical aspect yet the social and functional outcomes remain poor. Cognitive function is impaired in schizophrenia and sh...There has been a revolutionary advance in the treatment and management of schizophrenia from a clinical aspect yet the social and functional outcomes remain poor. Cognitive function is impaired in schizophrenia and shows various domains of dysfunction like verbal memory, processing speed and working memory. It is also known to be a factor associated with poor outcome in schizophrenia. Resilience is a new concept psychobiological concept which is defined as individual’s ability to adapt swiftly to adverse life events and bounces back to normalcy. Resilience has genetic, neurobiological, neurochemical and psychological underpinnings. It is the ability to effectively deal with psychosocial stressors and appears to be one of the many factors associated with favourable outcomes in schizophrenia. Besides several neurobiological abnormalities associated with resilience, neucognitive functions are of particular interest. Persistent psychosocial stressors also lead to significant neurobiological changes which may be synergetic to poor outcome due to cognitive changes. Though there has been extensive research in the field of cognitive function in schizophrenia, the trajectory of its pathway of poor outcome remains undetermined. Resilience being a protective factor may be one of the psychobiological functions which modulate the effect of neurocognition on the outcome of schizophrenia. There has been some success with interventions aimed at improving cognitive function in schizophrenia whether pharmacological or non pharmacological. In this paper, we discuss a hypothesis that resilience may be a “linkage” between cognition and outcome. There is a need for interventions aimed at increasing resilience in patients with schizophrenia and we hypothesize giving evidence that this may in turn improve outcome and neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia.展开更多
文摘Current understanding of mental disorders is based upon “biopsychosocial model”. Research also suggests what biological changes take place in a particular disorder as well as nature of risk which arises from psychological, social and environmental conditions. However it remains unclear how these psychosocial and environmental risk factors interact with biological factors which lead to clinical syndromes. This paper examines interrelationship of psychosocial and environmental risk and biological changes observed in mental disorders and tries to identify the possibility of a pathway of the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders. The review aims to demonstrate that significant advances in the fields of psychosocial, cultural, anthropological and neurobiological research provide novel insights into the etiology of mental disorders. There are neurochemical, functional and structural neurobiological, neurocognitive, immunological findings and findings from gene-environment interaction that appears promising. However these findings are in an isolated manner. Comprehensive studies examining major biological changes together in relation to psychosocial risk factors are lacking. Every individual reacts differently to the same environmental risk while there tends to be similarities in individual outcome in response to such stressors. The findings though robust independently, remain very preliminary to suggest a sequential trajectory for developing a clear pathway for pathogenesis. It is currently unclear whether there is a differential psychopathological impact of psychosocial stressors in different cultures despite the extensive variability both between and within major social groups and societies. Further research investigating modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors in context of prevailing socio-economic conditions is urgently needed to plan effective interventions.
文摘Disulfiram remains a viable option as a treatment for alcohol dependence and has been shown in recent studies to be successful in treating patients with alcohol dependence in a manner that is superior to both naltrexone and acamprosate. It is also useful in dual diagnosis patients and those with co-morbid cocaine and alcohol dependence. Although disulfiram’s mechanism of action in alcohol dependence was long thought to be its effects as a psychological deterrent, more recent studies have uncovered potential anticraving effects as well. Recent reviews exhort to the importance of supervised disulfiram therapy in highlighting many of the potential and unique benefits of disulfiram. The present article will review the major clinical trials of disulfiram spanning nearly 60 years. It also discusses the usage of disulfiram across diverse populations along with monitoring for compliance and various adverse effects that may be encountered. The paper also reviews certain studies on long acting disulfiram therapy, recent comparative trials of disulfiram and its use in alcohol dependence. The review concludes with the role of disulfiram in the present day and long-term pharmacotherapy of alcohol dependence along with future research needs in this area.
文摘Objective: To determine if there is a significant rise in serum prolactin (PRL) in acute psychosis related to disease process and weather there is a significant gender difference in the level of PRL and its correlation psychopathology. Procedure: Naturalistic study involved 60 consenting outpatients and inpatients in a tertiary psychiatric setting. Patient base was comprised of men (n?= 30) and women (n?= 30) with 83% in the age range of 21 - 40 years old. All subjects had confirmed first episode diagnosis set forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Patients were drug free and drug na?ve. Standardization for control was done using 15 control PRL samples obtained from healthy individuals. Methodology involved assessment by radioimmunoassay, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale at day 1, 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks. All patients were treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. Results: Serum PRL was elevated on baseline in 75% of first episode psychosis schizophrenia, yet found to have a negative correlation to psychopathology at base week 3 and week 6 samples. Conclusions: Elevated serum PRL is not a potential indicator of acute schizophrenia. Levels are higher in females than in males, yet females respond better to treatment at a lower dose than males.
文摘There has been a revolutionary advance in the treatment and management of schizophrenia from a clinical aspect yet the social and functional outcomes remain poor. Cognitive function is impaired in schizophrenia and shows various domains of dysfunction like verbal memory, processing speed and working memory. It is also known to be a factor associated with poor outcome in schizophrenia. Resilience is a new concept psychobiological concept which is defined as individual’s ability to adapt swiftly to adverse life events and bounces back to normalcy. Resilience has genetic, neurobiological, neurochemical and psychological underpinnings. It is the ability to effectively deal with psychosocial stressors and appears to be one of the many factors associated with favourable outcomes in schizophrenia. Besides several neurobiological abnormalities associated with resilience, neucognitive functions are of particular interest. Persistent psychosocial stressors also lead to significant neurobiological changes which may be synergetic to poor outcome due to cognitive changes. Though there has been extensive research in the field of cognitive function in schizophrenia, the trajectory of its pathway of poor outcome remains undetermined. Resilience being a protective factor may be one of the psychobiological functions which modulate the effect of neurocognition on the outcome of schizophrenia. There has been some success with interventions aimed at improving cognitive function in schizophrenia whether pharmacological or non pharmacological. In this paper, we discuss a hypothesis that resilience may be a “linkage” between cognition and outcome. There is a need for interventions aimed at increasing resilience in patients with schizophrenia and we hypothesize giving evidence that this may in turn improve outcome and neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia.
