Who can benefit more from its twelve-week treatment:A prospective cohort study of blonanserin for patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND Blonanserin(BNS)is a well-tolerated and effective drug for treating schizophrenia.AIM To investigate which types of patients would obtain the most benefit from BNS treatment.METHODS A total of 3306 participants were evaluated in a 12-week,prospective,multicenter,open-label post-marketing surveillance study of BNS.Brief psychiatric rating scale(BPRS)scores were calculated to evaluate the effectiveness of BNS,and its safety was assessed with the incidence of adverse drug reactions.Linear regression was used to screen the influencing factors for the reduction of BPRS total score,and logistic regression was used to identify patients with a better response to BNS.RESULTS The baseline BPRS total score(48.8±15.03)decreased to 27.7±10.08 at 12 weeks(P<0.001).Extrapyramidal symptoms(14.6%)were found to be the most frequent adverse drug reactions.The acute phase,baseline BPRS total score,current episode duration,number of previous episodes,dose of concomitant antipsychotics,and number of types of sedative-hypnotic agents were found to be independent factors affecting the reduction of BPRS total score after treatment initiation.Specifically,patients in the acute phase with baseline BPRS total score≥45,current episode duration<3 months,and≤3 previous episodes derived greater benefit from 12-week treatment with BNS.CONCLUSION Patients in the acute phase with more severe symptoms,shorter current episode duration,fewer previous episodes,and a lower psychotropic drug load derived the greatest benefit from treatment with BNS.

Recovery of iron from copper slag by deep reduction and magnetic beneficiation

Aiming at recovering iron from high-iron-content copper slag, this article introduced a combination technol- ogy of deep reduction and magnetic beneficiation, investigated the iron recovery efficiency and optimized the technical conditions. When coke powder with 86wt% fixed carbon was used as a reductant, iron was successfully extracted from the copper slag. Under the optimized condition of the coke powder content of 14wt%, the calcium-to-silicon mass ratio （Ca/Si） of 0.2, the roasting temperature of 1300℃, the roasting time of 3 h, the grinding time of 20 min, and the magnetic field intensity of 61 kA-m-1, the iron recovery rate of the copper slag can reach 91.82%, and the extracted iron powder has an iron grade of 96.21%. With the characteristics of high iron grade and low impurity content, the extracted iron powder can be used as high-quality raw materials of weathering steel.

Antipsychotic Medications in Major Depression and the Association with Treatment Satisfaction and Quality of Life： Findings of Three National Surveys on Use of Psychotropics in China Between 2002 and 2012

Background： Optimizing treatment outcomes for depression requires understanding of how evidence-based treatments are utilized in clinical practice. Antipsychotic medications concurrent with antidepressant treatment are frequently used in major depression, but few studies have investigated trends and patterns of their use over time. This study aimed to examine the prescription patterns ofantipsychotic medications for major depression in China from 2002 to 2012 and their association with treatment satisfaction and quality of life （QOL）. Methods： A total of 3655 subjects with major depression treated in 45 Chinese psychiatric hospitals/centers nationwide were interviewed between 2002 and 2012. Patients＇ socio-demographic and clinical characteristics including psychopathology, medication side effects. satisfaction with treatment and QOL were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection. Results： The frequency ofantipsychotic use was 24.9% in the whole sample; the corresponding figures were 17.1%, 20.3%, and 32.8% in 2002, 2006, and 2012, respectively （χ^2 = 90.3, df= 2, P 〈 0.001 ）. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that patients on concurrent antipsychotics had significantly more delusions or hallucinations, longer illness duration, greater side effects, and more likely to be treated as inpatients and in major hospitals （i.e., Level-Ⅲ hospital）. Antipsychotic use was associated with lower treatment satisfaction while there was no significant difference with respect to physical and mental QOL between the antipsychotic and nonantipsychotic groups. Conclusions： Concurrent antipsychotic use was found in about one in four treated depressed patients in China, which has increased over a 10-year period. Considering the association of drug-induced side effects and the lack of patients＇ and relatives＇ satisfaction with antipsychotic treatment, further examination of the rationale and appropriateness of the use of antipsychotics in depression is needed.