Room-temperature ferromagnetism of all-epitaxial ß-Fe-Ge/diamond-Ge/ß-Fe-Ge trilayers.

We report on the first all-epitaxial ferromagnet/inorganic semiconductor/ferromagnet hybrid heterostructure that exhibits (i) a Ge barrier of diamond crystal structure, (ii) room-temperature ferromagnetic electrodes and (iii) very smooth interfaces. Both bottom- and top-Fe-Ge electrodes exhibit tiny in-plane magnetic anisotropies dominated by a magnetocrystalline contribution of six-fold symmetry originating from the hexagonal symmetry of the B82 (Ni2In) ß-Fe-Ge phase. A key result is the absence of any magnetic coupling between these soft-magnetic electrodes for Ge barrier thickness as low as ~2.5 nm, which allows us to easily tune the parallel and antiparallel magnetic alignments by applying suitably small magnetic fields. This confirms the beneficial use of H-surfactant in order to drastically reduce the roughness of the Ge barrier, as revealed by our scanning tunneling microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements. This new all-epitaxial ferromagnet/semiconductor hybrid system appears, therefore, to be a promising candidate for the realization of magnetic tunnel junctions with a single crystal semiconductor barrier that are fully compatible with Si-based technology.

Consensus on the Practical Use of Amisulpride, an Atypical Antipsychotic, in the Treatment of Schizophrenia.

Clinical expectations in schizophrenia treatment have greatly increased since the introduction of new atypical antipsychotics, but the choice of therapeutic strategy has become more complex and reference guidelines are scarce. This paper summarizes the consensus of a broad range of professionals after long-term commercialization in France of an atypical antipsychotic, amisulpride. Participants were from psychiatric hospitals, private clinics, out-patients settings and research; all were experienced with the drug. Discussions focused on the practical use of amisulpride, as, in addition to the double-blind trials information, it may be useful for psychiatrists of other countries to intuitively understand the therapeutic properties of amisulpride. The topics selected include acute psychotic episodes, short- and long-term follow-up, feasibility of treating the initial phase, the elderly and switching treatments. The French experience emphasizes the central role of amisulpride as a first-line treatment of schizophrenia.

[New antidepressant multicenter study in hospitalized patients: quinupramine (author's transl)]. / Etude multicentrique hospitalière d'un nouvel antidépresseur: la quinupramine.

Quinupramine is a novel and original antidepressant due to its selective and specific affinity for central muscarinic receptors and the lack of subsequent metabolites. These properties enable its use at low doses i.e. tablets and ampoules are dosed at 2.5 mg. A multi-centre trial with quinupramine was conducted in 25 hospital centers, involving 364 patients suffering from all types of depression, of which more than a third constituted by endogenous depression. The results indicated genuine antidepressant activity with notable achievement of manic swing. Its profile appears to be balanced with simultaneous improvement in mood disorders, psychomotor inhibition and insomnia. The onset of activity is rapid (about 8 days in half the cases). Tolerance was considered to be very good, while minimal side-effects only very rarely warranted corrective treatment. Quinupramine appears to be equally active as the reference antidepressants and is particularly well tolerated.

[Carpipramine in psychoses]. / La carpipramine au cours des psychoses.

A survey of 131 psychotic subjects treated with carpipramine and a synthesis of the Japanese, German and French publications about this drug were done. The most valuable results were obtained in hebephrenics and in depressed schizophrenics. Carpipramine has a definite desinhibitory action against motor retardation, lack of energy, ideo-motor slowliness and blunting of the affect. At low doses, paranoid schizophrenics become worse. The emerged delusional and anxious phenomena, can be avoided by using higher doses. This drug possesses two kinds of effects: antidelusional and desinhibitory actions. If it does not seem to be a true antidepressant, Carpipramine proves useful in deficits of the psychomotor tone, which were resistant to antidepressant drugs.

[A new psychotropic drug: carpipramine, intermediate compound between 2 therapeutic classes]. / Un nouveau médicament psychotrope: la carpipramine, composé de transition entre deux classes thérapeutiques.

An open clinical study was conducted with carpipramine in 100 hospitalized subjects presenting various mental disorders. The therapeutic results on symptoms were assessed both as a whole and with the help of a rating scale. Doses varied from 50 to 400 mg per day. Carpipramine seems to be particularly efficient on schizophrenias, 66 cases of which were tested. The best results were observed in hebephrenic forms and depressive syndroms during the illness; in these indications, carpipramine exerts a clear psychomotor stimulating activity which is useful in decreasing indifference, apathy and ideomotor slowness. Schizophrenias with paranoid delusions or depersonalization anxiety tend to be somehow aggravated. Carpipramine does not seem to be a true antidepressant despite its desinhibitory properties. The compound proves useful in deficits of the psychomotor tone such as those occuring in psychasthenia or the deficit syndrom which follows withdrawal from opiates. Clinical and biological tolerances seem to be excellent and extrapyramidal side effects are exceptional. Carpipramine may be considered as a strongly desinhibitory neuroleptic agent which bears some resemblance to antidepressants because of its psychoanaleptic effect. The authors raise the question of possible antipsychotic properties in higher doses in relation to pharmacological data and a bipolar, antipsychotic and predominantly desinhibitory, therapeutic action.