Successful Schooling Rate and Satisfaction of the Inpatient Hospital School Participants among the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients in the Closed Ward

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this report is to identify the utilization of hospital school service during hospitalization among patients in their childhood and adolescence with psychiatric disorders. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical record of child and adolescent psychiatric who were hospitalized during March 2009 through October 2012. We compared the one-year successful schooling and outpatient follow up rate between users and nonusers of the inpatient hospital school service. The hospital schooling experiences of the users were investigated upon follow-up visits to the outpatient clinic. RESULTS: Sixty-three students received hospital school service during hospitalization among total 122 child and adolescent inpatients. Hospital school participants showed a significantly higher school reentry rate (61.9%) than non-participants (40.7%). However, there was no difference on follow up rate between the two groups. More than 60% of the 22 interviewed participants expressed an above-average level of satisfaction about hospital school service. CONCLUSION: Many patients with mental illness experience difficulty in receiving school education during treatment. That induces deterioration in disease, academic failure, poor social skills, low self-esteem, economic difficulties, and future job opportunities. The results of this study emphasize the importance of hospital school service and offer useful guidance for hospital school operation.

Augmentation of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Response by Repeated Administration of Methamphetamine in Rat / 대한정신약물학회지

OBJECTIVES: It was aimed to observe the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) response on methamphetamine challenge test in rats which were subjected to repeated administration of methamphetamine, and to investigate the mechanism(s) of changes in rCBF response in relation to the dopaminergic receptors and cyclic AMP. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received daily injections of methamphetamine (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) for 10 days, and were then allowed a 4-day drug-free period. Naive and methamphetamine-pretreated rats were challenged with topical application of methamphetamine on the surface of parietal cortex through a cranial window. The changes in rCBF were measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry. RESULTS: Acute topical application of methamphetamine dose-dependently increased rCBF with little effect on mean arterial blood pressure. The methamphetamine-induced increases in rCBF were significantly blocked by SCH23390, a D1-like receptor antagonist, but not by sulpiride, a D2-like receptor antagonist. Repeated administration of methamphetamine induced progressive augmentation of rCBF in response to the challenge of methamphetamine. Repeated administration of methamphetamine in combination with SKF38393, a D1-like receptor agonist, as well as with SCH23390 significantly attenuated the development of augmentation of rCBF response to methamphetamine. The augmentation of rCBF response was markedly inhibited by pretreatment with 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine, a specific adenylyl cyclase inhibitor, and Rp-cAMPS, a protein kinase A inhibitor, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, it is suggested that repeated administration of methamphetamine induces an augmentation of rCBF in response to the challenge of methamphetamine, and that D1-like receptor-mediated cyclic AMP plays a critical role in the development of augmentation of methamphetamine-induced rCBF response.

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy by Insulinoma: A Case of Persistent Abnormalities in Post-Operative EEG / 신경정신의학

Authors experienced a case of insulinoma which was initially misdiagnosed as idopathic temporal lobe epilepsy with automatism. This patients did not show other hypoglycemic symptoms except seizure. It has been reported that some of the patients with insulinoma are unaware of hypoglycemia and are at increased risk for seizures and coma. These patients would have normal glucose uptake in the brain and consequently no sympathoadrenal activation would begin, resulting in an awareness of hypoglycemia. It this case, abnomal EEG pattern consistent with a complex partial seizure remained after successful operation. Recent reports indicate that hypoglycemia is capable of killing neurons in the brain. An endogenous neurotoxin is produced and is released by the brain into tissue and cere-brospinal fluid. Endogenous excitotoxins produced during hypoglycemia may explain the tendency toward seizure activity often seen clinically. We suggest that persistent abnormalities of EEG in this case may be related to focal neuronal damage in hypoglycemia.