Experiencias psicóticas e ideación suicida en adolescentes / Psychotic experiences and suicidal behavior in adolescents / Experiências psicóticas e ideação suicida em adolescentes

Objetivo: Determinar la asociación entre experiencias psicóticas y trastornos mentales no psicóticos en población general. Metodología: Estudio de prevalencia analítico con fuente de información secundaria en población general de 15 a 65 años seleccionados de modo aleatorio por muestreo probabilístico. El instrumento de recolección de la información fue el CIDI (por su sigla en inglés), que realiza diagnóstico de 23 trastornos mentales según criterios DSM-IV (por su sigla en inglés). Se evaluaron variables sociodemográficas, clínicas psiquiátricas y seis experiencias psicóticas (alucinaciones e ideas delirantes) como variable principal. El estudio primario fue aprobado por el Comité de Investigación y de Ética Universitario. Se consideró significancia estadística valor de p<0.05. Se calcularon como medidas de asociación OR con su IC95%. Resultados: Se evaluaron 2 072 personas, el 1.85% presentó experiencias psicóticas, de los cuales el 53.3 % eran mujeres, y el 44.4 %, adolescentes. Hubo asociación entre experiencias psicóticas e ideación suicida (OR 3.51, IC95% 1.49-8.29]), ser adolescente (OR 2.29, IC95% 1.24-4.22]) y pertenecer al régimen contributivo de salud (OR 0.34, IC95% 0.18-0.63). Conclusiones: Los jóvenes y aquellas personas con ideación suicida tuvieron mayor probabilidad de reportar experiencias psicóticas. Dentro del intento global por comprender mejor para actuar de forma más efectiva frente al comportamiento suicida especialmente en la población más joven, una mejor comprensión del papel que desempeñan las experiencias psicóticas (EP) puede ser de ayuda.

Objective: To determine the association between psychotic experiences and non-psychotic mental disorders in the general population. Methodology: Analytical prevalence study with secondary information source applied in the general population aged 15 to 65 years old, randomly selected by probabilistic sampling. The instrument for collecting the information was the Composite International Diagnosis Interview (CIDI), which diagnoses 23 mental disorders according to the DSM-IV criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Sociodemographic and psychiatric clinical variables were assessed, but the main variable evaluated consisted in six psychotic experiences (hallucinations and delusions). The primary study was approved by the University Research and Ethics Committee. The p-value <0.05 was the threshold for statistical significance. OR and its 95% CI were calculated as association measures. Results: 2072 people were evaluated, 1.85% presented psychotic experiences, of which 53.3% were women and 44.4% were adolescents. An association was found between psychotic experiences and suicidal ideation (OR 3.51, 95% CI [1.49-8.29]), being an adolescent (OR 2.29, 95% CI [1.24-4.22]) and belonging to the contributory health system (OR 0.34, 95% CI [0.18-0.63]).Conclusions: Young people and those with suicidal ideation were more likely to report psychotic experiences. Within the overall attempt to better understand in order to act more effectively in the face of suicidal behavior, especially in the younger population, a better understanding of the role of psychotic experiences (PE) can be of help

Objetivo: Determinar a associação entre experiências psicóticas e transtornos mentais não psicóticos na população em geral. Metodologia: Estudo analítico de prevalência com fonte secundária de informação na população geral de 15 a 65 anos, selecionada aleatoriamente por amostragem probabi-lística. O instrumento de coleta de informações foi o CIDI (por sua sigla em inglês), que faz o diagnóstico de 23 transtornos mentais de acordo com os critérios do DSM-IV (por sua sigla em inglês). Variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas psiquiátricas e seis experiências psicóticas (alucinações e delírios) foram avaliadas como a variável principal. O estudo principal foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética e Pesquisa da Universidade. A significância estatística foi considerada um valor de p <0,05. Eles foram calculados como medidas de associação OR com seu IC 95%. Resultados: foram avaliadas 2.072 pessoas, 1,85% apresentaram experiências psicóticas, sendo 53,3% mulheres e 44,4% adolescentes. Houve associação entre experiências psi-cóticas e ideação suicida (OR 3,51, IC 95% 1,49-8,29]), ser adolescente (OR 2,29, IC 95% 1,24-4,22]) e pertencer ao regime contributivo de saúde (OR 0,34, 95 % CI 0,18-0,63). Conclusões: Jovens e aqueles com ideação suicida foram mais propensos a relatar ex-periências psicóticas. Na tentativa geral de compreender melhor como agir de maneira mais eficaz diante do comportamento suicida, especialmente na população mais jovem, pode ser útil uma melhor compreensão do papel das experiências psicóticas (TP).

Estructura factorial del Síndrome de Cotard: revisión sistemática de reportes de caso / Factor Structure of Cotard's Syndrome: Systematic Review of Case Reports

RESUMEN Introducción: El síndrome de Cotard es de rara aparición en la clínica psiquiátrica. Debido a esto, la información actual se basa principalmente en reportes y series de casos. Objetivo: Analizar las características psicopatológicas y la agrupación de los síntomas de los casos de síndrome de Cotard reportados en la literatura médica. Métodos: Se realizó en la base de datos MEDLINE/PubMed una búsqueda sistemática de la literatura de todos los casos de síndrome de Cotard reportados desde 2005 hasta enero de 2018. Se recolectaron variables demográficas y las características clínicas de cada caso. Se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio de los síntomas. Resultados: La búsqueda identificó 86 artículos, de los cuales 69 eran potencialmente relevantes. Luego de la revisión de los textos completos, se seleccionaron 55 artículos para la revisión sistemática, entre los cuales se hallaron 69 casos. En el grupo de más edad con síndrome de Cotard fueron más frecuentes los diagnósticos de depresión mayor (p < 0,001) y trastorno mental orgánico (p = 0,004). El análisis factorial exploratorio arrojó 3 factores: depresión psicótica, en la que se incluye a los pacientes con delirios de culpa (0,721), ideas suicidas (0,685), delirios de condena (0,662), delirio nihilista del cuerpo (0,642), depresión (0,522) y delirios hipocondriacos (0,535); delirante-alucinatorio, con pacientes que sufrían delirio de inmortalidad (0,566), alucinaciones visuales (0,545) y delirio nihilista de la existencia (0,451), y mixto, con pacientes que sufrían delirio nihilista de los conceptos (0,702), ansiedad (0,573) y alucinaciones auditivas (0,560). Conclusiones: La psicopatología del síndrome de Cotard es más compleja que la simple asociación con el delirio de estar muerto, ya que abarca una estructura factorial organizada en 3 factores.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Cotard's syndrome is a rare psychiatric condition. As a result, current information is mainly based on reports and case series. Objective: To analyse the psychopathological characteristics and the grouping of the symptoms of the Cotard's syndrome cases reported in the medical literature. Methods: A systematic review of the literature of all reported cases of Cotard's syndrome from 2005 to January 2018 was performed in the MEDLINE/PubMed database. Demographic variables and clinical characteristics of each case were collected. An exploratory factor analysis of the symptoms was performed. Results: The search identified 86 articles, of which 69 were potentially relevant. After reviewing the full texts, 55 articles were selected for the systematic review, in which we found 69 cases. We found that the diagnosis of major depression (P < 0.001) and organic mental disorder (P =0.004) were more frequent in the older group with Cotard's syndrome. An exploratory factor analysis extracted 3 factors: psychotic depression, in which it includes patients with delusions of guilt (0.721), suicidal ideas (0.685), delusions of damnation (0.662), nihilistic delusions of the body (0.642), depression (0.522), and hypochondriacal delusions (0.535); delusive-hallucinatory, with patients who presented delusions of immortality (0.566), visual hallucinations (0.545) and nihilistic delusions of existence (0.451), and mixed, with patients who presented nihilistic delusions of concepts (0.702), anxiety (0.573), and auditory hallucinations (0.560). Conclusions: The psychopathology of Cotard's syndrome is more complex than the simple association with the delusion of being dead, since it encompasses a factorial structure organised into 3 factors.

Neuropsychiatrie symptoms as the only acute manifestation of a stroke in the left hemisphere. Case report / Alteraciones neuropsiquiátricas como única manifestación de accidente cerebrovascular en hemisferio izquierdo. Reporte de caso

ABSTRACT We report the case of a 60-year-old female patient with a history of hypertension and dyslipidemia, who suddenly presented with a clinical picture of emotional lability, disorientation, complex visual hallucinations and persecutory delusions. There were no associated neurological findings in her initial physical examination. At a local hospital she was initially diagnosed with late-onset bipolar disorder and a manic episode with psychotic features, then referred to the mental health unit, where nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of the brain revealed an acute ischemic stroke in the territory of the left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) with haemorrhagic reperfusion to the occipital cortex. Complete and spontaneous resolution of her clinical condition was achieved after approximately 15 days.

RESUMEN Se presenta el reporte de caso de una mujer de 60 anos de edad con antecedente de hipertensión arterial y dislipidemia, quien presenta cuadro clínico de inicio súbito consistente en labilidad emocional, desorientación alopsíquica global, alucinaciones visuales complejas e ideación delirante de tipo persecutorio, sin hallazgos neurológicos asociados en el examen físico inicial. Se enfocó en hospital local como un trastorno bipolar de inicio tardío con episodio actual maníaco con características psicóticas y es remitida a unidad de salud mental. Posteriormente hallazgos de resonancia magnética nuclear (RMN) cerebral revelaron una lesión correspondiente a ataque cerebrovascular (ACV) isquémico agudo en territorio de la arteria cerebral posterior (ACP) izquierda con reperfusión hemorrágica a nivel de corteza occipital. Se alcanzó una resolución espontánea completa de su cuadro clínico en un curso aproximado de 15 días.

A hermeneutic analysis of delusion content from the casebooks of the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum, 1890­1907

Background and objectives: This study sought to investigate the content of the delusions recorded in the casebooks of the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum as a means to explore how the colonial context shaped or influenced psychopathology. To this end, the study aimed to (1) identify the sociopolitical events of the time period that were reflected in the delusion content presented by the patients and (2) pinpoint discernible patterns in the delusion content based on the race and gender of the patient. The study was delimited to the period of Dr T.D. Greenlees' tenure as medical superintendent, 1890­1907. Methodology: The study sampled the casebook records of 400 patients. A qualitative analysis of the casebooks was followed by adopting a Gadamerian approach to hermeneutics. The analysis drew upon the clearly articulated method and step-by-step approach for Gadamerian hermeneutics outlined by Fleming, Gaidys and Robb. Results: The sociocultural and political events of South Africa during the turn of the 20th century had a marked influence on the content of the patients' delusions. The South African War (1899­1902), the rinderpest epidemic of 1896­1898, diamond mining in Kimberley and the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand were common features in the delusion content. Moreover, there is evidence of discernible patterns in the content of the delusions based on the race and gender of the patients. Conclusion: The study identified how the colonial context influenced the delusional content presented by the patients of the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum. Of key significance is the fact that the study retrieved themes in the delusional content presented by black subjects that were silenced, omitted or censored from psychiatric texts published during colonialism

Characteristics of Delirium in Patients with Hearing Disturbances / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have delineated the relationship between hearing disturbances and the prevalence or characteristics of psychotic symptoms; however, most of those studies focused on psychiatric patients and not general inpatients. Delirium has a high incidence among general inpatients, and patients with delirium are easily affected by psychotic symptoms that lead to irritable behaviors. This study examined the relationship between hearing disturbance and psychotic symptoms among patients with delirium. METHODS: At the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, this study examined 27 inpatients who had both delirium and hearing disturbances between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018, and 146 inpatients at the Asan Medical Center who had delirium but no hearing disturbances between July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. This study investigated whether the two groups showed differences in the prevalence and characteristics of delirium symptoms, particularly psychotic symptoms. In addition, the correlation between clinical characteristics of delirium and the recommended dosage of antipsychotics was analyzed in patients who had been diagnosed with delirium and had hearing disturbances. RESULTS: Compared to inpatients who only had delirium, those who had both delirium and hearing disturbances had a significantly higher prevalence of hallucination and delusion. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of psychotic symptoms, such as hallucination and delusion, was higher in patients who had both delirium and hearing disturbances, which is in line with the results from previous studies on psychiatric patients. Physicians should focus on improving communication with such patients by employing non-verbal communication methods.

Psychotic Symptoms of Hashimoto's Encephalopathy: A Diagnostic Challenge

Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare and underdiagnosed neuropsychiatric illness. We present the case of a 17-year-old girl who was admitted to a tertiary-care psychiatric center with acute onset psychosis and fever. Her psychotic symptoms were characterized by persecutory and referential delusions, as well as tactile and visual hallucinations. Her acute behavioral disturbance warranted admission and treatment in a psychiatric setting (risperidone tablets, 3 mg/day). She had experienced an episode of fever with a unilateral visual acuity defect approximately 3 years before admission, which was resolved with treatment. Focused clinical examination revealed an enlarged thyroid, and baseline blood investigations, including thyroid function test results were normal. Abnormal laboratory investigations revealed elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) levels (anti-TPO of 480 IU/mL; anti-TG of 287 IU/mL). Results of other investigations for infection, including cerebrospinal fluid examination, electroencephalography, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were normal. She was diagnosed with HE and was treated with intravenous corticosteroids (methylprednisolone up to 1 g/day; tapered and discontinued after a month). The patient achieved complete remission of psychotic symptoms and normalization of the anti-thyroid antibody titers. Currently, at the seventh month of follow-up, the patient is doing well. This case highlights the fact that in the absence of well-defined clinical diagnostic criteria, a high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis of HE. Psychiatrists need to explore for organic etiologies when dealing with acute psychiatric symptoms in a younger age group.

Delusional Parasitosis in a Patient with an Infarction in the Territory of the Right Posterior Cerebral Artery

No abstract available.

Antipsychotics for patients with pain

Going back to basics prior to mentioning the use of antipsychotics in patients with pain, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definition of pain can be summarized as an unpleasant experience, composed of sensory experience caused by actual tissue damage and/or emotional experience caused by potential tissue damage. Less used than antidepressants, antipsychotics have also been used for treating this unpleasant experience as adjuvant analgesics without sufficient evidence from research. Because recently developed atypical antipsychotics reduce the adverse reactions of extrapyramidal symptoms, such as acute dystonia, pseudo-parkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dyskinesia caused by typical antipsychotics, they are expected to be used more frequently in various painful conditions, while increasing the risk of metabolic syndromes (weight gain, diabetes, and dyslipidemia). Various antipsychotics have different neurotransmitter receptor affinities for dopamine (D), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), adrenergic (α), histamine (H), and muscarinic (M) receptors. Atypical antipsychotics antagonize transient, weak D₂ receptor bindings with strong binding to the 5-HT(2A) receptor, while typical antipsychotics block long-lasting, tight D₂ receptor binding. On the contrary, antidepressants in the field of pain management also block the reuptake of similar receptors, mainly on the 5-HT and, next, on the norepinephrine, but rarely on the D receptors. Antipsychotics have been used for treating positive symptoms, such as delusion, hallucination, disorganized thought and behavior, perception disturbance, and inappropriate emotion, rather than the negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms of psychosis. Therefore, an antipsychotic may be prescribed in pain patients with positive symptoms of psychosis during or after controlling all sensory components.

Erector spinae plane block: an innovation or a delusion? / 대한마취과학회지

No abstract available.

Is There Any Association Between Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Dissociation and Psychotic Symptoms in Schziophrenic Patients?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the rates childhood traumatic experiences (CTEs) of schizophrenia patients and to examine relationship between childhood traumatic experiences, dissociation and psychotic symptoms. METHODS: One hundred schizophrenia patients who had 5 or 5 points below in Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and who were not in active psychotic episode and 50 healthy siblings who grew up in the same environment with the patients were included to the study. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV, Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), CGI-S, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28) applied to the patients. RESULTS: Childhood abuse subscales and DES scores were statistically higher in the patient group (p<0.001). We determined moderately significant positive correlation between CTQ-28 and DES. We determined moderately significant positive correlation between CTQ total scores and persecutory delusions, delusions of reference, ability to feel intimacy and closeness; relationship with friends and peers. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between persecutory delusions and CTQ-total, DES-total and all subscales of CTQ-28. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should inquire about CTEs to develop comprehensive formulations and treatment plans among schizophrenia.

Psychiatric Manifestation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Although its major manifestation is motor symptoms, resulting from the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, hallucination, delusion, apathy and anhedonia, impulsive and compulsive behaviors, and cognitive dysfunction, may also manifest in most patients with PD. Given that the quality of life — and the need for institutionalization — is so highly dependent on the psychiatric well-being of patients with PD, psychiatric symptoms are of high clinical significance. We reviewed the prevalence, risk factors, pathophysiology, and treatment of psychiatric symptoms to get a better understanding of PD for improved management.

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.

Relationship between Delusion of Theft and Cognitive Functions in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease

Although delusion of theft (DT) is the most frequent type of delusion in Alzheimer's disease (AD), its relationship to cognitive functions remains unclear. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between DT and cognitive functions in mild AD. Two hundred eighty-nine mild AD patients were enrolled in this study. These subjects were classified into three groups: patients with no delusions (ND, n=82), patients with paranoid delusions (PD, n=114) and patients with DT (n=93). Cognitive functions and their associations with the degree of delusion were compared among the three groups. The results showed that verbal Fluency scores were significantly lower in the PD group than in the DT and ND groups. Word List Recall scores were significantly lower in the DT group than in the PD and ND groups. Interestingly, delusion severity measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory delusion subscale correlated negatively with the Word List Recall scores in the DT group. In this study, we demonstrated that episodic memory functions in mild AD patients were associated with DT, but not with PD. Further studies might be needed to clarify the pathophysiology of delusions associated with AD.

Folie à deux / Case report: Folie à deux

JMCD, Sexo masculino, 19 años, soltero, sin hijos. Vive en Casas Compartidas de la Fundación Don Bosco. Examen Mental: Refiere que conversa con Dios en su corazón, y ahí siente el "fuego", pero no lo ve ni lo escucha. Dice tener la misión de predicar (sin mayor elaboración), y que no le gusta ninguna Iglesia. Discurso sin alteración del curso formal. Afecto de "templanza" forzada y superioridad. Al ingreso se agita y presenta postura antieconómica (también en el hogar: crucificado). Pone los ojos en blanco y parpadea rápidamente. Sin consciencia de enfermedad. Juicio de realidad alterado. Diagnósticos: Síndrome delirante lúcido. Folie à deux. Discusión: El trastorno de ideas delirantes inducidas, también conocido como Trastorno psicótico compartido o folie à deux es una condición poco común, caracterizada por síntomas psicóticos en 2 o más individuos que mantienen una relación cercana.

JMCD, male, 19 years old, single, childless. Live in shared houses of the Don Bosco Foundation. Mental examination: Refers conversing with God in his heart, and there he feels the "fire", but neither sees nor hears God. He claims to have the mission of preaching (without further processing), and he does not like any church. Speech without altering the formal course. Forced "temperance" affection and superiority. Agitation at Income and presents uneconomical posture (also at home: crucified). He rolls his eyes and blinks rapidly. Without awareness of disease. Reality trial actually altered. Diagnosis: Lucid delusional syndrome. Folie à deux. Discussion: The disorder of induced delusional thoughts, also known as shared psychotic disorder or folie à deux is a rare condition characterized by psychotic symptoms in 2 or more individuals who maintain a close relationship.

Delirium y Delirio / Delirium and delusion

Aunque algunos utilizan los términos "delirium" para referirse al enfermo con síndrome mental orgánico caracterizado por confusión y desorientación, y "delirio" para hablar de la alteración psiquiátrica en la cual el individuo tiene una creencia firme pero errónea, en realidad no existe una diferencia semántica entre ellos sino que corresponden a la forma en español (delirio) y la raíz latina (delirium) del mismo vocablo, por lo que son intercambiables.

Hypertension and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Drug-Naïve Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as anxiety, depression, and delusions affect up to 90% of all patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). NPS is associated with significant caregiver burden and patient distress. Given the severe burden of NPS in AD, it is critical to know potential modifiable risk factors of NPS in AD. This study explores the association between hypertension and NPS in patients with drug-naïve AD. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 149 patients with AD with (n=80) and without (n=69) hypertension. NPS were assessed using the Korean version of Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI). Affective, psychotic, and behavior symptom clusters were assessed separately. RESULTS: The total score of K-NPI was not significantly different between patients with AD with and without hypertension. Among K-NPI domains, scores of depression/dysphoria (p=0.045), anxiety (p=0.022), and apathy/indifference (p=0.037) were significantly higher in patients with AD with hypertension. Systolic blood pressure (BP) was associated with higher total K-NPI and affective symptom cluster scores. Diastolic BP was associated with affective symptom cluster scores. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that hypertension increases risk of specific NPS in patients with AD. Among NPS, hypertension was associated with affective symptom cluster.

Severe Right Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis Mimicking Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Many kinds of degenerative, psychiatric, and cerebrovascular diseases can mimic behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. We present a 73-year-old woman who presented with apathy, inappropriate social behavior, and persecutory delusion. A neuropsychological examination revealed frontal/executive dysfunction with relative sparing of episodic memory. Magnetic resonance imaging and F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography produced normal findings. However, magnetic resonance angiography revealed severe right internal carotid stenosis. After carotid stenting, her behavioral symptoms disappeared and did not recur during an 18-month follow-up.

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Increased Risks of Progression from Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Dementia

OBJECTIVES: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in dementia and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They might be a predictor of progression to dementia. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NPS on the natural course in MCI. METHODS: 306 community-dwelling Korean elderly with MCI from local dementia center were assessed for NPS using Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Subjects were assessed again after more than a year from baseline. 52 subjects (17.0%) were progressed to dementia. We compared baseline NPI scores between stable and deteriorated groups. RESULTS: Subjects progressing to dementia had a significantly higher prevalence of NPS (45.3% vs. 65.4%) than subjects who remained stable. Delusion (2.8% vs. 9.6%), agitation/aggression (14.6% vs. 26.9%), depression (21.7% vs. 40.4%) and disinhibition (4.3% vs. 19.2%) were more common in deteriorated group. After adjustment for other variables, on logistic regression analysis, only disinhibition at baseline was shown to be a risk factor for progression to dementia (OR=4.88, 95% CI=1.37-17.36, p=0.01, R²=302). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that NPS in MCI may be a predictor of progression to dementia. NPS may be a useful item including delusion, agitation/aggression, depression, and disinhibition. To study course and nature of NPS may lead to better understanding of Alzheimer's disease.

Neurocognitive Model of Delusion: Two-Factor Theory

The underlying nature of delusions remains unclear despite their importance in psychopathology. Here we present a review of the neurocognitive model of delusions from a cognitive neuroscience viewpoint. There have been numerous reports on cognitive impairments in delusional patients, such as in their reasoning, attention, metacognition, and attribution biases. These findings have been incorporated into several cognitive models that aim to explain the formation, maintenance, and content of delusion. Although delusions are commonly conceptualized as beliefs, not all models make reference to models of normal belief formation. This review focused on two-factor theory models that make a distinction between factors that explain the content of delusions and those that explain their presence. This cognitive theory that includes the 'pragmatic pathology' of delusions can address both the phenomenology and treatment of delusion-related distress.

Factors Related to Medication Adherence in Outpatients with Schizophrenia under More Than 5 Years of Treatment / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the medication adherence rate and related factors in chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: A total of 65 (34 male and 31 female) outpatients with schizophrenia and with less than 5 years schizophrenia treatment were randomly selected to participate in the study survey. Medication adherence rate was evaluated by counting remaining tablets. The Korean version of Drug Attitude Inventory-10 (KDAI-10) was used to determine the subjective adherence rate. Adherence was defined as a patient taking more than 80% of their total prescribed medication. Positive KDAI-10 scores indicate good adherence. RESULTS: The rate of good adherence was 87.7%. Our analysis showed that an older age (r=0.323, p=0.009), longer duration of illness (r=0.296, p=0.017), employment (F=4.41, p=0.016), remaining married (F=5.26, p=0.008), and being supported by family members, especially spouse or siblings (F=3.02, p=0.025) were significantly associated with good adherence. Presence of symptoms such as delusion (p=0.033) and hallucination (p=0.032) were related to poor adherence. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that future study should investigate patient characteristics associated with medication adherence and analyze the clinician/patient alliance and its affect on adherence. The results also show that further studies might be useful in developing and validating measures of adherence, as well as in designing and evaluating interventions to improve adherent behaviors.