Paliperidone palmitate in non-acute patients with schizophrenia previously unsuccessfully treated with risperidone long-acting therapy or frequently used conventional depot antipsychotics.

PALMFlexS, a prospective multicentre, open-label, 6-month, phase IIIb interventional study, explored tolerability, safety and treatment response in adults (n = 231) with non-acute but symptomatic schizophrenia switching to flexibly dosed paliperidone palmitate (PP) after unsuccessful treatment with risperidone long-acting injectable therapy (RLAT) or conventional depot antipsychotics (APs). Treatment response was measured by change in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score from baseline (BL) to last-observation-carried-forward (LOCF) endpoint (EP). Safety and tolerability assessments included Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS) total score and treatment-emergent adverse events. Significant reductions in mean PANSS total score were observed for all groups (-7.5 to -10.6; p ⩽ 0.01 [BL to LOCF EP]). After switching to PP, more than 50% of all patients achieved ⩾20% and one-third of RLAT-treated patients even achieved ⩾50% improvement in PANSS total score. Across groups, there were significant improvements (p < 0.05) in symptom severity as measured by Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S; trend for improvement with RLAT; p = 0.0568), subjective well-being, medication satisfaction, and patient functioning with PP. PP was generally well tolerated. Clinically relevant benefits were observed in non-acute patients with schizophrenia switched from RLAT or conventional depot APs to PP.

Depression, anxiety levels and general psychological profile in Behçet's disease.

BACKGROUND: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disease with unknown etiology. Until today, the role of emotional stress and the real incidence of psychiatric symptoms in this disease have not been clarified yet. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the general psychological profile of the patients diagnosed as having BD as well as their depression and anxiety levels in order to investigate the psychiatric aspects of this disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with BD and 17 patients with chronic plaque-type psoriasis who made up the control group were examined by the Beck Depression (BDI), Beck Anxiety (BAI) and Brief Symptom Inventories (BSI). RESULTS: The mean BDI score of the BD group was 11.69 +/- 6.93, and the corresponding value was 9.11 +/- 7.34 for the psoriasis group. The mean BAI score of the BD group was 21.39 + 13.68 and this level was 12.41 +/- 10.70 for psoriasis patients. The mean BSI score of the BD group was 61.30 +/- 43.66 and it was 30.41 +/- 28.77 for the control group. The mean BDI, BAI and BSI scores of the patients diagnosed as having BD were significantly higher than those of the control group (F = 0.234, F = 0.508, F = 0.549 and p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: BDI, BAI and BSI scales are useful to evaluate the psychiatric aspects of BD. The results of our study revealed that the collaboration of a dermatologist and psychiatrist is essential for the follow-up of patients with BD.

Stress and skin diseases in musicians: evaluation of the beck depression scale, general psychologic profile (the brief symptom inventory [BSI]), beck anxiety scale and stressful life events in musicians.

We had previously investigated skin problems of musicians (N = 117) working in a professional orchestra. The results of this survey suggest a significant incidence of occupational and stress-related skin problems in musicians such as hyperhydrosis, lichen planus, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and urticaria. It was thought that emotional factors exacerbate their problems [6]. This article discusses the importance of psychiatric consultations in dermatologic problems.

Clozapine-induced myoclonic seizures and valproic acid.

Within a 3-year period, in 220 patients receiving clozapine, we observed myoclonic seizures in two who had no previous epileptic history. Seizures appeared at the titration phase at relatively low doses, and resolved with the addition of valproic acid, allowing further increases of the clozapine dose to therapeutic levels.

Suicide attempts among Turkish psychiatric patients.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of those who attempt suicide in an Islamic country, the effect of religion on suicide attempts, and the frequency of DSM-III-R diagnoses in suicide attempters referred to the Gazi Medical School Psychiatry Department. METHOD: Medical records of 185 cases of suicide attempts were reviewed. RESULTS: There was a predominance of single, female subjects. Students, housewives, and employees represented the 3 largest groups. Drug overdose was the most common method of suicide attempt, and the most common DSM-III-R diagnosis was depression. The rate of repetition of suicide attempt was 43.3%. CONCLUSION: Suicide is one of the major problems among Turkish psychiatric patients, although the Islamic religion strongly disapproves of it.