Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2005

Background. There is a body of literature on metamphetamine psychosis dating back to the 1950's with a recent resurgence of interest following increase in use worldwide. Distinct similarities appear to exist between metamphetamine psychosis and schizophrenia. Aims. The aim of this paper is to critically review the literature on metamphetamine psychosis. Method. Searches on Medline, Psycinfo and Cochrane were undertak Read More

A growing body of evidence suggests that cytokines have a role in schizophrenia. Cytokines are involved in neurodevelopment, schizophrenic psychopathology, and neurodegeneration, and these processes are all part of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Cytokines modulate neuronal action, differentiation, and survival during neurodevelopment and are important factors in the processes of neurotoxicity and neurodeg Read More

Idiopathic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia (Gilbert's syndrome, GS) is a relatively common congenital hyperbilirubinemia occurring in 3-7% of the world population. It has been recognized as a benign familial condition in which hyperbilirubinemia occurs in the absence of structural liver disease or hemolysis, and the plasma concentration of conjugated bilirubin is normal. Recently, it was reported that unconjugated bilirubin had n Read More

Recent studies on animals and humans point to the possibility that environmental events might impact on genetic predisposition to abnormal reactions after CNS lesion, causing deviations in the natural course of brain maturation that may result in neuropsychiatric disorders. The literature on the genetic basis of obstetric complications risk is here summarized and linked to the large body of studies indicating perinatal and pr Read More

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors and environmental factors as well as a dysfunction in the glutamatergic neurotransmission contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Communication between neurons and glia is essential for axonal conduction, synaptic neurotransmission, and information processing, and thus is required for normal functioning of the nervous system during development Read More

The clinical outcome of patients suffering from schizophrenic psychoses has been considerably improved with typical antipsychotic drugs, however, up to 40 % of the cases show treatment resistant symptoms. Even therapy with atypical substances such as risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, sulpiride, amisulpride, and ziprasidone often fails in reaching complete remission due to resistant schizophrenic symptoms or dose-limiti Read More

Recent in vitro and in vivo studies reveal that mood stabilizers lithium and valproate activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways. The activations of the ERK and PI3K pathways are major signaling mechanisms by which neurotrophic factors modulate neurogenesis, neuronal growth and regeneration, neuronal survival, and synaptic plasticity. Like ne Read More

Suicidal ideation is not uncommon in the general population and is even more prevalent in psychiatric samples; however, most individuals who experience ideation will not attempt suicide and even fewer will complete suicide. Despite these discrepancies, the number of studies investigating risk factors for serious suicidal behavior (i.e., attempts and completions) is relatively small. We first review studies in the literature which Read More

Over the past half century, most studies investigating the neural substrates of drug addiction have focused on the mesolimbic dopamine reward circuitry. Yet recent evidence suggests a critical role for glutamate neurotransmission in addiction-related behaviors. Glutamate receptors, both ionotropic and metabotropic, are widely expressed throughout the central nervous system. Dissection of the role of individual glutamate Read More

Background. The majority of those suffering from anxiety or related disorders are outpatients, and presumably involved in daily activities such as driving a car. However, anxiolytic drugs may possess sedative properties that reduce alertness and produce sleepiness. Therefore, it must be questioned whether it is safe to drive a car when treated with these drugs. Methods. A MEDLINE literature search (keywords driving and Read More