Serum cholesterol levels and suicide: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was performed on studies exploring the link between low levels of serum cholesterol and increased risk of suicide. Follow-up studies found that those with lower cholesterol levels do have a tiny but statistically significant increased risk of completing suicide. Individuals who have attempted suicide in the past have lower cholesterol levels, especially if they used violent methods for suicide. Cholesterol lowering studies, however, did not lead to a significant increase in completed suicide.     

Psychotropic drugs for behavior disorder treatment in oligophrenic epileptics]

Forty-one patients were treated with promazine, a phenothiazine derivative, for an average of 266 days. The average daily dose was 200 mg. Thirty patients were treated with levomepromazine for an average of 115 days, the daily dose being about 130 mg. The two groups of patients were examined for their contactual, impulsive, and affective behavior before, during, and after treatment. The positive results obtained justify the use of the above-mentioned psychopharmaceuticals for the therapy of abnormal behavior of oligophrenic epileptics.     

Surgery of therapy-resistant pain due to peripheral nerve injury]

1. The forms of peripherally triggered or localized pains are differentiated: Local pain of a neuromatous character, propagated pain, sympathalgia, phantom pain, causalgia, and combined forms. 2. Surgical operations are performed locally, to the spinal cord, brain, and sympathicus, as well as by neurostimulation on all levels. 3. The areas of indication differ according to the localization of pain and its probable cause. 4. Serving the prevention of pain after peripheral nerve injuries are the particular topical treatment of a fresh injury, psychic guidance, specific aftercare and physiotherapy, elimination of pension payment problems, and optimum reintegration into normal working life]     

New anticonvulsant medication uses in bipolar disorder

Therapy of bipolar disorders is a rapidly evolving field. Lithium has efficacy in classic bipolar disorders whereas divalproex sodium and carbamazepine may have broader spectrum efficacy that includes non-classic bipolar disorder. In the last 10 years, a series of anticonvulsants have been approved for marketing in the United States. Gabapentin has indirect g-aminobuytric acid-ergic actions, is generally well tolerated, and appears to have anxiolytic, analgesic, and hypnotic effects. Lamotrigine has antiglutamatergic actions and is generally well tolerated (aside from rash in 1 in 10, and serious rash in 1 in 1,000 patients). Lamotrigine is indicated for maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder. Emerging evidence suggests lamotrigine may have utility in bipolar disorder patients with depression and treatment-refractory rapid cycling, as well as analgesic effects. Topiramate and zonisamide may allow both weight loss, while topiramate may have specific efficacy in bulimia, binge eating disorder, and alcohol dependence. Two small studies found oxcarbazepine had similar efficacy to lithium and haloperidol in acute mania. Phenytoin, an older anticonvulsant, may have adjunctive acute mania efficacy. Levetiracetam, a newer anticonvulsant, may be worth exploring and has minimal drug-drug interactions. None of these newer agents has been shown effective in a large placebo controlled trial for acute mania. Although the clinical profiles of these newer anticonvulsants do not appear to overlap markedly with divalproex and carbamazepine (except perhaps for oxcarbazepine), these novel agents may still offer important new options in relieving a variety of specific target symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder.     

Medical prerequisites for the rehabilitation of adult epileptics]

The rehabilitation of adult epileptics may be substantially improved by (1) having all patients suffering from attacks carefully examined by specialists; (2) perfecting methods of diagnosis with the goal of drastically reducing the number of inexplainable cases of epilepsy; (3) making further progress in therapy and improving the present methods of checking the results of treatment; (4) and removing prejudices against both epilepsy and epileptics.     

Serum calcium levels in Alzheimer's disease: A finding and an aetiological hypothesis

We report that lower serum Ca²⁺ levels are found in severely demented patients when compared with mildly affected individuals (P < 0.001) and we formulate an aetiological hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease based on the disruption of intraneuronal microtubular networks by low calcium levels and other forms of intraneuronal mechanical disruption. The findings are discussed in relation to Hendrickson's theory of the biological basis of psychometric intelligence.     

Epidemiology and psychopathology of epileptics in Bydgoszca Province registered between 1976 and 1980

In the years 1976-1980, the province of Bydgoszcz had a total of 2635 registered epileptics, or 0.37% of the entire population, over the age of 16. From these, 200 patients were randomly selected, and between 1983 and 1985 a complats clinical follow-up investigation was carried out. Among the most frequent mental disorders found were postparoxysmal twilight state (19.5%) and affective psychoses (11%), among the chronic disorders, dementia of varying intensity (26.5%). In contrast with previous investigations the present investigation made it possible to determine with precision the cause of epileptic attacks. The ratio was 61% to 31%.     

Correlation of morphologic findings (CT) with clinical and relevant EEG findings in adult epileptics

In the Brandenburg Epileptics' Center, 165 adult patients underwent computer tomography diagnosis in addition to the usual neuropsychiatric and EEG findings checklist. The findings were incorporated into the diagnosis of epilepsy. Results are discussed and it is suggested that the inclusion of cranial computer tomography in the diagnosis and the findings checklist would be an optimisation.     

Serum Lipids in Suicide Attempters

As other studies have shown possible associations of low serum cholesterol concentrations as well as serotonin and corticosteroid deviances with suicide or depression, the present study was undertaken to investigate the serum lipid levels in subgroups of suicide attempters. Serum lipids were determined in 72 suicide attempters. Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and plasma cortisol levels were measured, and dexamethasone suppression tests were performed. Hopelessness and suicidality were rated by the Hopelessness Scale (HS) and the Suicidal Intent Scales (SIS). The mean total serum cholesterol (TSC) level was 5.0 ± 1.2 mmol/L. We found no significant correlations between TSC and the monoamine metabolites. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed positive correlations with the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (r = 0.39, p = 0.04) and the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (r = 0.34, p = 0.07). The SIS and HS scales did not correlate significantly with serum lipids. “Violent” attempters showed somewhat higher serum lipid levels than “nonviolent” attempters. We found no significant differences in serum lipid levels between the diagnostic subgroups. Hence, we could not find much support for the hypothesis of associations between low cholesterol levels and decreased serotonin activity in the brain. However, this field merits further investigation.     

Serum creatine kinase activity in psychoses]

This is a report of the initial results of determinations of the creatine kinase activity in the serum of forty psychiatric and twenty-five neurological patients. A determination of the creatine kinase activity made in the first days of an acute endogenous psychosis invariably showed an increase in creatine kinase which returned to normal values after eight to fourteen days. Patients with residual schizophrenia, conditions of acute excitation accompanying psychopathy, and abnormal personality or circumscribed paranoid development showed creatine activity in the range of normal values. Alcoholics with incipient or strongly marked delirium tremens showed normal creatine kinase activity in those cases where the situation was not complicated by additional traumata or other accompanying diseases.