Initial Seizure Threshold in Ultra-Brief Pulse Width Right Unilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy / 신경정신의학

Objectives@#The present study investigates the initial seizure threshold (IST) of an ultra-brief pulse width right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (UBP-RUL ECT) in Korean patients with mental disorders to identify its predictive factors for clinical improvement. @*Methods@#This study includes thirty patients who received 0.3-ms UBP-RUL ECT using upward titration to measure IST after the use of general anesthesia and muscle relaxation between December 2015 and June 2020. During the second session, the amount of charge that ranged between 500% to 600% of IST was applied as the stimulus intensity (SI). Demographic and clinical information was gathered from electronic medical records, and a stepwise variable selection was conducted to identify the relevant predictors of IST. @*Results@#The mean age of study subjects was 49.7±18.3 years, and 12 (40.0%) patients were male. The mean IST and SI were 31.6±17.2 mC and 176.0±98.5 mC, respectively, which did not differ between males and females. The mean scores of the Clinical Global Impression-severity and the Clinical Global Impression-improvement before and after acute ECT were 5.8±0.8 and 2.1±0.7, respectively. The age and anesthetic dose per body weight were significant predictors of IST. However, the IST and SI were not associated with clinical improvement. @*Conclusion@#The present study demonstrated that the IST distribution for UBP-RUL ECT in Korean patients with mental disorders was comparable to those reported in previous literature. The IST was associated with age and anesthetic dose.

Initial Seizure Threshold in Ultra-Brief Pulse Width Right Unilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy / 신경정신의학

Objectives@#The present study investigates the initial seizure threshold (IST) of an ultra-brief pulse width right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (UBP-RUL ECT) in Korean patients with mental disorders to identify its predictive factors for clinical improvement. @*Methods@#This study includes thirty patients who received 0.3-ms UBP-RUL ECT using upward titration to measure IST after the use of general anesthesia and muscle relaxation between December 2015 and June 2020. During the second session, the amount of charge that ranged between 500% to 600% of IST was applied as the stimulus intensity (SI). Demographic and clinical information was gathered from electronic medical records, and a stepwise variable selection was conducted to identify the relevant predictors of IST. @*Results@#The mean age of study subjects was 49.7±18.3 years, and 12 (40.0%) patients were male. The mean IST and SI were 31.6±17.2 mC and 176.0±98.5 mC, respectively, which did not differ between males and females. The mean scores of the Clinical Global Impression-severity and the Clinical Global Impression-improvement before and after acute ECT were 5.8±0.8 and 2.1±0.7, respectively. The age and anesthetic dose per body weight were significant predictors of IST. However, the IST and SI were not associated with clinical improvement. @*Conclusion@#The present study demonstrated that the IST distribution for UBP-RUL ECT in Korean patients with mental disorders was comparable to those reported in previous literature. The IST was associated with age and anesthetic dose.

Initial Seizure Threshold in Brief-Pulse Bilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to report the initial seizure threshold (IST) of a brief-pulse bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (BP-BL ECT) in Korean patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and to identify IST predictors. METHODS: Among 67 patients who received ECT and diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, we included 56 patients who received 1-millisecond BP-BL ECT after anesthesia with sodium thiopental between March 2012 and June 2018. Demographic and clinical information was gathered from electronic medical records, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of the IST. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 36.9±12.0 years and 30 (53.6%) patients were male. The mean and median IST were 105.9±54.5 and 96 millicoulombs (mC), respectively. The IST was predicted by age, gender, and dose (mg/kg) of sodium thiopental. Other physical and clinical variables were not associated with the IST. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the IST of 1-ms BP-BL ECT following sodium thiopental anesthesia in Korean patients was comparable to those reported in previous literature. The IST was associated with age, gender, and dose of sodium thiopental.

Long-Term Changes in Self-Report Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Patients with Schizophrenia Using Clozapine

This study explored long-term changes in self-report auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) among patients with schizophrenia taking clozapine. Forty-four patients who were evaluated more than twice and were above the mild severity category on the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ) were enrolled. The mean observation period was 492.5±350.1 days (median, 452 days). The mean total, physical, and emotional factor scores on the HPSVQ were significantly reduced from baseline to the final observations except for one item “interference with life,” which was not significantly reduced. Regarding the time-dependent longitudinal changes modeled using linear mixed-effect regression, the total and physical factor scores showed significant changes during the first year, but the emotional factor score did not satisfy a more stringent level of significance. Female gender was negatively associated with the reduction in total and physical factor scores. The duration of treatment with clozapine also had a negative relationship with the reductions in all three scores.

Combination of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Clozapine in Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and tolerability of the combination of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with clozapine-treated schizophrenia. METHODS: Patients with clozapine-treated schizophrenia during five years of pre-determined period were recruited from Electronic Medical Record. Clinical effects of acute ECT on psychotic symptoms were investigated. We also tried to identify predictive variables requiring maintenance treatment of ECT. RESULTS: Fourteen patients received ECT and clozapine and sixteen were treated with clozapine alone. In the ECT group, which could be refined as clozapine-resistance, PANSS total score was significantly reduced by 19.0±9.9 points, corresponding to a reduction rate of 18.5±8.3%. The clinical remission defined as 20% PANSS reduction criteria was achieved at 42.9%. The subscale factors were significantly reduced, among which the negative symptom was the least. There was no difference in demographic and clinical information between patients receiving and not receiving maintenance ECT, and not all patients seemed to need maintenance ECT if clozapine is continued. CONCLUSION: Combination of ECT and clozapine in patients with clozapine-resistant schizophrenia resulted in a rapid and substantial reduction of psychotic symptoms. Further studies are needed to improve the effectiveness and tolerability of ECT.

The Feasibility for Whole-Night Sleep Brain Network Research Using Synchronous EEG-fMRI / 수면정신생리

OBJECTIVES: Synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to explore sleep stage dependent functional brain networks. Despite a growing number of sleep studies using EEG-fMRI, few studies have conducted network analysis on whole night sleep due to difficulty in data acquisition, artifacts, and sleep management within the MRI scanner. METHODS: In order to perform network analysis for whole night sleep, we proposed experimental procedures and data processing techniques for EEG-fMRI. We acquired 6–7 hours of EEG-fMRI data per participant and conducted signal processing to reduce artifacts in both EEG and fMRI. We then generated a functional brain atlas with 68 brain regions using independent component analysis of sleep fMRI data. Using this functional atlas, we constructed sleep level dependent functional brain networks. RESULTS: When we evaluated functional connectivity distribution, sleep showed significantly reduced functional connectivity for the whole brain compared to that during wakefulness. REM sleep showed statistically different connectivity patterns compared to non-REM sleep in sleep-related subcortical brain circuits. CONCLUSION: This study suggests the feasibility of exploring functional brain networks using sleep EEG-fMRI for whole night sleep via appropriate experimental procedures and signal processing techniques for fMRI and EEG.

Antipsychotic-Induced Oculogyric Crisis and Paroxysmal Perceptual Alteration / 대한정신분열병학회지

During antipsychotic drug treatment, clinicians occasionally encounter sudden attacks of oculogyric crisis (OGC) and/or paroxysmal perceptual alteration (PPA) which occur mostly in the afternoon or early evening lasting for minutes to hours and are eventually remitted with rests or short sleep and/or medications such as benzodiazepines, anticholinergics and so forth. Moreover, these attacks are usually accompanied with psychiatric symptoms such as various modalities of hallucinations and illusions, delusions, obsessive thoughts, panic attacks, agitation as well as autonomic symptoms. These accompanying psychiatric symptoms can be perceived as a worsening of psychiatric symptoms if the clinician does not understand the symptoms due to the side effects of antipsychotic drugs, which may result in increasing the dosage of antipsychotics instead of reducing doses or switching to less offending drugs. On the other hand, patients could easily recognize the symptoms as the adverse effects of drugs. This literature review and case-series study is aimed to raise awareness of OGC and PPA by providing clinical cases and author's views with the literature reviews about concepts, recognitions and managements from the works of Japanese authors who first reported the clinical importance of these attacks, particularly PPA.

Long-Term Evolution of Metabolic Status in Patients with Schizophrenia Stably Maintained on Second-Generation Antipsychotics

OBJECTIVE: Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) increase the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Despite the risk of MetS, SGAs may have to be continued with change in some patients. The aim of this study was to trace the evolution of MetS in these patients. METHODS: Patients with schizophrenia who had been maintained on a fixed SGA regimen for more than a year were followed-up without changing the regimen. Metabolic indicators were evaluated at baseline and at follow-up. Prevalence, incidence and spontaneous normalization rate of MetS were estimated. Risk factors that might have influenced the evolution were scrutinized. RESULTS: A total of 151 subjects were included. During the mean observation period of 389.9±162.4 days, the prevalence of MetS was increased from 35.1 to 45.0%. The incidence rate was 29.6%, while the normalization rate was 26.4%, risk factors affecting incidence were age (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.03–1.17), baseline continuous values of metabolic syndrome risk scores (cMetS, OR=1.77, 95% CI:1.29–2.55) and baseline body weight (OR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.13). Normalization was influenced by age (OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.57–0.89) and baseline body weight (OR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.72–0.95). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MetS steadily increased with the continuous use of SGAs. However, individual difference was extensive and about a quarter of the patients were able to recover naturally without specific measurements.

Practical Considerations in Anesthesia for Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been recognized effective as primary or secondary treatments for major psychiatric disorders including depression and schizophrenia, as well as psychiatric emergency such as suicide, food refusal and catatonia, and so on. Medicines used in anesthetic induction for ECT, cause various reactions in autonomous, hemodynamic, and neuromuscular systems. The anesthetics also affect the duration, threshold, and intensity of seizures evoked with electric stimuli, and thus modify the seizure quality in ECT. Individual characteristics of age, sex, weight, comorbid physical disorders, and medications should also be considered for optimal clinical response after ECT. When preparing for anesthesia, adequate anesthetic agents and muscle relaxants, and rapid recovery should be carefully considered. We conducted a case-series study to address practical issues that are frequently encountered during ECT anesthesia with reviews of updated journals in order to provide practical helps to clinicians who are preparing ECT for their patients.

Psychotic Disorder Induced by Appetite Suppressants, Phentermine or Phendimetrazine: A Case Series Study

OBJECTIVES: A retrospective case series study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics of psychotic disorders induced by appetite suppressants, phentermine and phendimetrazine. METHODS: A retrospective electronic medical record review identified 5 admitted patients who had psychotic symptoms after taking phentermine or phendimetrazine. Clinical information was reviewed and summarized in each case. RESULTS: Hallucinations were reported in all cases, including auditory, visual, olfactory and somatic hallucinations. After discontinuation of phentermine or phendimetrazine, the symptoms rapidly improved with low dose of antipsychotics. Patients tended to have less prominent negative symptoms and higher insight into illness, and often showed depressive mood. These clinical characteristics were similar to psychosis induced by amphetamines. Two patients developed stimulant use disorder while using phentermine. CONCLUSIONS: These findings call for awareness of the risks associated with use of appetite suppressants. Prescription of phentermine or phendimetrazine should be accompanied by close monitoring of mental status, and suspicion for substance/medication-induced psychotic disorder.

Effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy Augmentation on Clozapine-Resistant Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective case series study of the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) augmentation on clozapine-resistant schizophrenia was conducted by EMR review. METHODS: Clozapine-resistance was defined as persistent psychotic symptoms despite at least 12 weeks of clozapine administration with blood levels over 350 ng/mL in order to rule out pseudo-resistance. Seven in-patients who were taking clozapine and treated with ECT were selected. We analyzed the psychopathology and subscales changed by ECT. RESULTS: The average number of ECT sessions was 13.4 (±4.6). Total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score was significantly reduced by 17.9 (±12.8) points (p=0.0384) on average, which represented a reduction of 25.5% (±14.3). 71.4% (5/7) of patients were identified as clinical remission, with at least a 20% reduction in PANSS score. PANSS reduction was associated with number of ECT sessions, stimulus level in the final session, and blood clozapine levels before ECT. However, the negative subscale on the PANSS were not reduced by ECT in any patient. We did not observe any persistent adverse cognitive effects. CONCLUSION: This study supports that ECT augmentation on clozapine-resistant schizophrenia reveals clinically effective and safe. Further research should be done involving a larger number of patients to investigate the effectiveness of clozapine/ECT combination therapy.

Recent Trends for Optimization of Electroconvulsive Therapy / 신경정신의학

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective treatment not only for various mental disorders including depression, mania, and schizophrenia, but also for inadequacy and resistance to pharmacotherapy and the psychiatric emergences. The historical ups and downs of ECT treatment since its first introduction in 1938 were ended by the validation impacts of evidence-based medicine in the 1980s and by other clinical issues. Clinical research for the optimization of ECT to maximize therapeutic effects and to minimize adverse effects is ongoing to establish standardized procedures and educational programs through the ECT center. In addition, guidelines for ECT practices are also being developed for the clinical excellence of ECT practices in accordance with the recommendations of international organizations such as World Psychiatric Association and American Psychiatric Association. This article was prepared by reviews of the literature, direct observations of ECT practices abroad, and interviews with ECT experts around the world in order to enhance therapeutic effects with recently updated ECT practices under the belief that the most appropriate treatments should be provided to the patients in need.

Conceptualization of Soliloquy in Patients with Schizophrenia / 신경정신의학

Soliloquy is a significant symptom in schizophrenia and is usually regarded as being related to auditory hallucination. Elucidation of the psychopathology of soliloquy is incomplete. Soliloquy is also a normal human behavior that has multidimensional functions such as guiding internal cognitive processes and managing social interaction. In the young, soliloquy appears as egocentric speech and arises before maturation of the third-person perspective. Soliloquy has been regarded as indicative of an intermediary stage during the transformation of social speech into internalized thinking. Every thought process retains a social dimension because language itself is based on intersubjectively shared meanings, and internal thinking originates from interpersonal communication. Thus, soliloquy can be seen as a kind of thought process that accentuates the social dimension. This approach may help in understanding soliloquy in normal and pathological situations. Soliloquy was actively discussed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in European psychiatry. Since then it has received less attention and has been neglected as an academic concern, except in child developmental theory. Recently however, soliloquy has attracted more attention among neuroscientific researchers. To attain an advanced understanding of soliloquy, it is necessary to integrate the early European perception of soliloquy with current developmental theory. In this paper, we review past literature on the conceptualization of soliloquy and integrate those concepts into an explanatory framework. In addition, a case series and a discussion of the applicability of the explanatory framework are presented. Our results may help provide an insight into the contemporary understanding of soliloquy.

Multidimensional Relationship between Auditory Verbal Hallucinations and PANSS Factors of Psychopathology in the Patients with Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to examine the multidimensional relationship between auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) factors of psychopathology in the patients with schizophrenia. And we explored the differences between assessments to hallucination by the clinicians and patients. METHODS: 82 patients with schizophrenia who were assessed by the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ), Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale-Auditory Hallucination (PSYRATS-AHS), and the PANSS were recruited. Hwang's five-factor model of PANSS, items and total scores of hallucination scales, Kim's and Haddock's factor models of hallucination were applied to examine the correlations between psychopathology and AVHs. AVH-positive patients was 50 in PANSS-HPSVQ group and 24 in PANSS-PSYRATS-AHS. These two groups were separately analyzed. RESULTS: Among the five factors of the PANSS, negative and depression/anxiety factors were correlated with the total scores of HPSVQ and PSYRATS-AHS, and positive and autistic preoccupation factors were correlated only with the total score of PSYRATS-AHS. The activation factor was correlated with none of the total scores of HPSVQ/PSYRATS-AHS. These correlation patterns of a total score of HPSVQ/PSYRATS-AHS were same in the emotional factor of HPSVQ and physical factor of PSYRATS-AHS respectively. In the items which showed significant correlations, correlation coefficients of PANSS-PSYRATS-AHS group ranged between 0.406-0.755 and those of PANSS-HPSVQ ranged between 0.283-0.420. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that the psychopathological domains of schizophrenia were differentially correlated with AVHs and the assessment of AVHs by clinicians and patients showed substantial differences which should be integrated into the therapeutic interventions.

A Review of Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates of Successful Cognitive Aging

Normal aging causes changes in the brain volume, connection, function and cognition. The brain changes with increases in age and difference of gender varies at all levels. Studies about normal brain aging using various brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) variables such as gray and white matter structural imaging, proton spectroscopy, apparent diffusion coefficient, diffusion tensor imaging and functional MRI are reviewed. Total volume of brain increases after birth but decreases after 9 years old. During adulthood, total volume of brain is relatively stable. After 35 years old, brain shrinks gradually. The changes of gray and white matters by aging show different features. N-acetylaspartate decreases or remains unchanged but choline, creatine and myo-inositol increase with aging. Apparent diffusion coefficient decreases till 20 years old and then becomes stable during adulthood and increase after 60 years old. Diffusion tensor properties in white matter tissue are variable during aging. Resting-state functional connectivity decreases after middle age. Structural and functional brain changes with normal aging are important for studying various psychiatric diseases such as dementia, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Our review may be helpful for studying longitudinal changes of these diseases and successful aging.

The Preference Survey for Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics of Community-Dwelling Patients with Schizophrenia and their Caregivers / 대한정신분열병학회지

OBJECTIVE: The prescription rates of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are very low around 1% in Korea. This study was aimed to explore the preference of LAIs in patients with schizophrenia, who are currently living in community, and their caregivers. METHODS: The patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia by DSM-IV TR and were registered in the 31 mental health centers of Gyeonggi province and their caregivers were inquired the knowledge of the LAIs. The questionnaires contained information such as demographic characteristics, history of psychiatric treatment, and so on. RESULTS: About 5,318 were registered in 31 community mental health centers of Gyeonggi province in February 2012. The questionnaires of 614 patients and 365 caregivers were gathered from 20 community mental health centers. The mean ages (+/-SD) of patients and caregivers were 41.9 (+/-10.2) and 62.2 (+/-13.4) years old, respectively. 272 patients (44.6%) had experienced the discontinuation of medications without doctor's consent. 217 patients (35.9%) and 97 caregivers (27.1%) knew about the LAIs. The preference rates for LAIs were 35.2% and 46.8% for the patients and caregivers, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is still huge discrepancy between the preference and the real prescriptions of LAIs in community-dwelling patients and their caregivers, much higher than in those of hospital settings. This study suggests that both patients and caregivers registered in the community mental health centers have a strong commitment to live in the community. The obstacles against the benefits of LAIs need to be resolved.

The Relationship between Insight and Psychopathology in the Treatment of Schizophrenia with Acute Psychotic Episode / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: Lack of insight has been regarded as the key feature of schizophrenia since the era of Kraepelin. The relationship between insight and psychopathology has been known to be statistically modest and non-linear. The aim of this study was to investigate psychopathological factors influencing insight achievement during treatment of acute psychotic episodes in schizophrenia, using the Korean version of the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD-K) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). METHODS: Information on demographic characteristics, SUMD-K, and PANSS were collected from the medical records of patients who were admitted to the psychiatric ward of Dongguk University International Hospital from March 1, 2009 to February 28 and were diagnosed as schizophrenia by the DSM-IV TR 2010. A total of 29 patients met the inclusion criteria. The scores of total and sub-items of SUMD-K for both current and past illnesses were assessed at five weeks after hospitalization and the scores of total and five factors of PANSS were assessed on hospitalization and at five weeks after hospitalization, respectively, and the changes in score between two time points were calculated. Statistical analysis of the relationships between the various items of the SUMD-K and the clinical characteristics, the total and sub-scores of PANSS was performed using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis with stepwise variable selection. RESULTS: Total score and five factor scores of PANSS for hospitalization and PANSS changes did not show statistical correlation with SUMD-K. The total score of general items and awareness of mental disorder of SUMD-K at five weeks after hospitalization showed significant associations with duration of education, depressed and cognitive factors for current illness of PANSS at five weeks after hospitalization, respectively. In addition, depressed factor and cognitive factor of PANSS showed a significant association with awareness of social consequences and awareness of the achieved affect of medication, respectively. CONCLUSION: During treatment of acute psychotic episodes in patients with schizophrenia, various domains of psychopathology were differentially correlated with insight, which implied the multidimensional construct on a continuum. Conduct of further studies of neurobiological approaches underlying factors showing correlation with insight is needed.

Prospective Associations between Physical Disorders and Insomnia in Elders / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the associations between physical disorders and prevalent/incident insomnia in a community dwelling older population. METHODS: 1,204 people aged 65 or over evaluated at baseline. Insomnia was defined as difficulty in initiation or maintenance of sleep on at least three nights per week over the last month. Reported physical disorders covering 11 common and generally chronic health problems were ascertained. Covariates included were age, gender, education, housing, past occupation, current employment, and depression. Of 879 without insomnia at baseline, 651 (74%) were followed 2 years later, and incident insomnia was evaluated. RESULTS: Prevalent insomnia was significantly associated with 10 of 11 physical disorders. Incident insomnia was associated with 2 physical disorders: eyesight problems and hearing difficulty. Both prevalent and incident insomnia were significantly associated with increased number of physical disorders. CONCLUSION: Certain physical disorders were comorbid and precipitating factors of insomnia in elders.

Efficacy and Safety of Long-term Aripiprazole Therapy in Patients with Schizophrenia, Schizophreniform Disorder, and Schizoaffective Disorder: A 52-week, Prospective, Open-label Study / 대한정신약물학회지

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the long-term efficacy, safety, and tolerability of aripiprazole in a large number of patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder in Korea. METHODS: This was an open-label, multi-center, single-arm, 52-week study of patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. Korean patients (N=300) experiencing either a first episode or recurrence participated in this study. The primary efficacy measure was the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score. Secondary efficacy measures included the PANSS positive and negative subscales, and the Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S). Safety was evaluated prospectively by recording treatmentemergent adverse events; measuring extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), vital signs, and body weight; and performing laboratory tests. RESULTS: Overall, 55 (18.33%) of the patients completed the entire 52-week study. Treatment with aripiprazole provided rapid and significant improvement in all of the efficacy measures. Comparing PANSS total scores, PANSS positive subscale scores, and CGI-S scores, first-episode patients showed significant improvement than the patients who had experienced at least one recurrence. There were no significant differences in the mean change of EPS during the study, except for akathisia at week 8 and a significant decrease in serum prolactin level in patients experiencing first and recurrent episodes. At the end of the study, the mean weight gain was 2.40 kg. CONCLUSION: Aripiprazole is effective and safe for patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder during a long-term, 52-week treatment. The result may be associated with the unique mechanism of aripiprazole. We have extended the findings of previous studies in the United States and other countries and demonstrated a similar effectiveness of aripiprazole for Korean patients.

Efficacy and Safety of Aripiprazole during Acute Treatment Phase in Patients with Schizophrenia, Schizophreniform Disorder and Schizoaffective Disorder: An 8-Week, Prospective, Open-Label Study / 대한정신약물학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of aripiprazole in patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder during acute treatment phase. METHODS: Prospective, multicenter, single group, and 8-week study was conducted in patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. A total of 300 patients were enrolled in the present study. The primary efficacy measure was the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score, and secondary efficacy measures were the PANSS positive and negative subscales scores, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) score. Treatment-emergent adverse events, extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), weight, vital signs, and laboratory tests were assessed as measures of tolerability and safety. RESULTS: Significant improvements in all efficacy measures were achieved by aripiprazole as early as 1-week and sustained through 8-week period. First-episode patients showed greater improvements in PANSS total, positive subscale score, and CGI-S score, compared with recurrent patients. Slightly increased akathisia (+0.32 from baseline score of Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale, p=0.033) and weight gain (1.15+/-3.44 kg, p<0.001) were observed by aripiprazole during 8-week acute treatment phase. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that aripiprazole was effective in acute treatment of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. In general, aripiprazole showed favorable safety and tolerability profiles, although clinicians needed to pay attention to the possibility of akathisia and weight gain by aripiprazole in first-episode patients during acute treatment phase.