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ABSTRACT: Background: Quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) changes in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with interferon-α (IFN-α) have previously been reported. However, whether IFN-α-induced depression is related to changes in qEEG during IFN-α treatment remains unclear. Method: Fifty chronic hepatitis C patients were enrolled and IFN-α was administered intramuscularly at 9 × 10 IU daily for the first 4 weeks and then 3 times a week for the next 20 weeks. Serial EEGs obtained before and at 4 weeks after treatment were assessed. The absolute power for each frequency band was determined using qEEG techniques. Differences in the rate of change in absolute power for each of 6 frequency bands (δ, θ, θ, α, α and β) were assessed between patients with and without major depression using the Mann-Whitney U test. When significant differences in the rate of change in absolute power for each frequency band were observed, differences in the rate of change were also assessed between patients with and without psychological complications using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Major depression due to psychological complications during IFN-α treatment was reported in 10 out of 50 patients. In the θ band, the difference in the rate of change was demonstrated to be significant (p = 0.0036). Moreover, at the central, frontal, parietal, and temporal locations, the rates of change were also significantly different. Conclusion: In IFN-α-treated chronic hepatitis C patients who were diagnosed with major depression, qEEG changes were more obvious and widely distributed.
Neuropsychobiology 01/2013; 67(2):122-6. · 2.67 Impact Factor
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Masahiro Suzuki,
Sakae Takahashi,
Eisuke Matsushima,
Masahiko Tsunoda,
Masayoshi Kurachi,
Takashi Okada,
Takuji Hayashi,
Yohei Ishii,
Kiichiro Morita,
Hisao Maeda,
Seiji Katayama,
Ryuzou Kawahara,
Tatsui Otsuka,
Yoshio Hirayasu,
Mizuho Sekine,
Yoshiro Okubo,
Mai Motoshita,
Katsuya Ohta,
Makoto Uchiyama, Takuya Kojima
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ABSTRACT: In our previous studies, we identified that exploratory eye movement (EEM) dysfunction appears to be specific to schizophrenia.
The availability of a biological marker specific to schizophrenia would be useful for clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Consequently, we performed the discriminant analysis between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics on a large sample using
the EEM test data and examined an application of the EEM for clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. EEM performances were recorded
in 251 schizophrenics and 389 non-schizophrenics (111 patients with mood disorders, 28 patients with neurotic disorders and
250 normal controls). The patients were recruited from eight university hospitals and three affiliated hospitals. For this
study with a large sample, we developed a new digital computerized version of the EEM test, which automatically handled large
amounts of data. We measured four parameters: number of eye fixations (NEF), total eye scanning length (TESL), mean eye scanning
length (MESL) and responsive search score (RSS). These parameters of schizophrenics differed significantly from those of the
other three groups. The stepwise regression analysis selected the TESL and the RSS as the valid parameters for discriminating
between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics. In the discriminant analysis using the RSS and TESL as prediction parameters,
184 of the 251 clinically diagnosed schizophrenics were discriminated as having schizophrenia (sensitivity 73.3%); and 308
of the 389 clinically diagnosed non-schizophrenic subjects were discriminated as non-schizophrenics (specificity 79.2%). Based
on our findings we believe that the EEM measures may be useful for the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia.
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 04/2012; 259(3):186-194. · 3.49 Impact Factor
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Masahiro Suzuki,
Sakae Takahashi,
Eisuke Matsushima,
Masahiko Tsunoda,
Masayoshi Kurachi,
Takashi Okada,
Takuji Hayashi,
Yohei Ishii,
Kiichiro Morita,
Hisao Maeda,
Seiji Katayama,
Tatsui Otsuka,
Yoshio Hirayasu,
Mizuho Sekine,
Yoshiro Okubo,
Mai Motoshita,
Katsuya Ohta,
Makoto Uchiyama, Takuya Kojima
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ABSTRACT: Many psychophysiological tests have been widely researched in the search for a biological marker of schizophrenia. The exploratory eye movement (EEM) test involves the monitoring of eye movements while subjects freely view geometric figures. Suzuki et al. (2009) performed discriminant analysis between schizophrenia and non-schizophrenia subjects using EEM test data; consequently, clinically diagnosed schizophrenia patients were identified as having schizophrenia with high probability (73.3%). The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of schizophrenia patients who were identified as having schizophrenia on EEM discriminant analysis (SPDSE) or schizophrenia patients who were identified as not having schizophrenia on EEM discriminant analysis (SPDNSE).
The data for the 251 schizophrenia subjects used in the previous discriminant-analytic study were analyzed, and the demographic or symptomatic characteristics of SPDSE and SPDNSE were investigated. As for the symptomatic features, a factor analysis of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) rating from the schizophrenia subjects was carried out.
Five factors were found for schizophrenia symptoms: excitement/hostility; negative symptoms; depression/anxiety; positive symptoms; and disorganization. SPDSE had significantly higher factor scores for excitement/hostility, negative symptoms and disorganization than SPDNSE. Furthermore, the BPRS total score for the SPDSE was significantly higher than that for the SPDNSE.
SPDSE may be a disease subtype of schizophrenia with severe symptoms related to excitement/hostility, negative symptoms and disorganization, and EEM parameters may detect this subtype. Therefore, the EEM test may be one of the contributors to the simplification of the heterogeneity of schizophrenia.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 02/2012; 66(3):187-94. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Antisaccadic eye movements, requiring inhibition of a saccade toward a briefly appearing peripheral target, are known to be impaired in schizophrenia. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated that patients with schizophrenia show diminished activations in the frontal cortex and basal ganglia. These studies used target fixation as a baseline condition. However, if the levels of brain activities at baseline are not compatible between patients and healthy subjects, between-group comparison on antisaccade-related activations is consequently invalidated. One possibility is that patients with schizophrenia may present with greater activation during fixation than healthy subjects. In order to examine this possibility, here we investigated brain activities associated with antisaccade in the two groups without using target fixation at baseline.
Functional brain images were acquired during prosaccades and antisaccades in 18 healthy subjects and 18 schizophrenia patients using a box-car functional magnetic resonance imaging design. Eye movements were measured during scanning.
In the patient group, the elevated activities in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and thalamus, normally seen in antisaccade tasks relative to saccade tasks, were no longer observed. Moreover, in normal subjects, activities in the DLPFC and thalamus were greater during the antisaccade task than during the saccade task. In patients, no such difference was observed between the two tasks, suggesting that these brain regions are likely to be highly activated even by a simple task such as fixation. In particular, the DLPFC and thalamus in patients were not activated at a level commensurate with the difficulty of the tasks presented.
From these results, it is suggested that schizophrenia entails dysfunctions in the fronto-striato-thalamo-cortical network associated with motor function control.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 05/2009; 63(2):209-17. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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Masahiro Suzuki,
Sakae Takahashi,
Eisuke Matsushima,
Masahiko Tsunoda,
Masayoshi Kurachi,
Takashi Okada,
Takuji Hayashi,
Yohei Ishii,
Kiichiro Morita,
Hisao Maeda,
Seiji Katayama,
Ryuzou Kawahara,
Tatsui Otsuka,
Yoshio Hirayasu,
Mizuho Sekine,
Yoshiro Okubo,
Mai Motoshita,
Katsuya Ohta,
Makoto Uchiyama, Takuya Kojima
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: In our previous studies, we identified that exploratory eye movement (EEM) dysfunction appears to be specific to schizophrenia. The availability of a biological marker specific to schizophrenia would be useful for clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. Consequently, we performed the discriminant analysis between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics on a large sample using the EEM test data and examined an application of the EEM for clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. EEM performances were recorded in 251 schizophrenics and 389 non-schizophrenics (111 patients with mood disorders, 28 patients with neurotic disorders and 250 normal controls). The patients were recruited from eight university hospitals and three affiliated hospitals. For this study with a large sample, we developed a new digital computerized version of the EEM test, which automatically handled large amounts of data. We measured four parameters: number of eye fixations (NEF), total eye scanning length (TESL), mean eye scanning length (MESL) and responsive search score (RSS). These parameters of schizophrenics differed significantly from those of the other three groups. The stepwise regression analysis selected the TESL and the RSS as the valid parameters for discriminating between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics. In the discriminant analysis using the RSS and TESL as prediction parameters, 184 of the 251 clinically diagnosed schizophrenics were discriminated as having schizophrenia (sensitivity 73.3%); and 308 of the 389 clinically diagnosed non-schizophrenic subjects were discriminated as non-schizophrenics (specificity 79.2%). Based on our findings we believe that the EEM measures may be useful for the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Archiv f ur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten 02/2009; 259(3):186-94. · 2.75 Impact Factor
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Satoshi Kamei,
Akihiko Morita,
Naohide Tanaka,
Masato Matsuura,
Mitsuhiko Moriyama, Takuya Kojima,
Yasuyuki Arakawa,
Yoshihiro Matsukawa,
Tomohiko Mizutani,
Teiichiro Sakai,
Kentaro Oga,
Hitoshi Ohkubo,
Hiroshi Matsumura,
Kaname Hirayanagi
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ABSTRACT: We have observed alterations of quantitative (q)-EEG findings occurring in interferon (IFN)-alpha treated chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) patients, and found patient's age to be one factor influencing such EEG alterations. In the present study we evaluated the correlation between q-EEG alterations during IFN-alpha treatment and the severity of hepatitis based on liver biopsies.
A total of 102 CH-C patients underwent blind, prospective and serial q-EEG examinations. The IFN-alpha was administered under the same therapeutic regimen to all patients. Serial EEGs were obtained before, at 2 and 4 weeks, and at 2-3 days after the conclusion of treatment. The absolute powers of each frequency band in different periods were determined by q-EEG. Staging (of fibrosis) and grading (of inflammatory cell infiltration) were scaled according to Desmet's classification. We evaluated the relationship between q-EEG and scales of staging or grading.
Age distributions did not differ significantly among stages or grades. As the stage or grade increased, the alterations of EEG during IFN-alpha treatment became more pronounced, and significant (repeated-measures analysis of variances; both, p<0.0001).
Alterations of the EEG occurring during IFN-alpha treatment became pronounced with more severe pathological findings for CH-C. Alterations in the EEGs during IFN-alpha treatment should be carefully monitored in CH-C patients with severe pathological findings.
Internal Medicine 02/2009; 48(12):975-80. · 0.94 Impact Factor
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Seishin shinkeigaku zasshi = Psychiatria et neurologia Japonica 01/2009; 111(12):1469-78.
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ABSTRACT: Previous family, adoption and twin studies of schizophrenia have shown that genetic factors contribute significantly to the risk of schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate whether exploratory eye movement (EEM) abnormalities are related to the genetic markers linked to schizophrenia.
Twenty-three probands with schizophrenia, 23 of their healthy siblings (23 proband-sibling pairs), and 43 unrelated normal controls performed EEM tasks. Two parameters were measured: (i) number of eye fixations in responsive search (NEFRS) and (ii) responsive search score (RSS).
Abnormalities in NEFRS and RSS were more frequent in schizophrenia probands than in their unaffected siblings and in normal controls, and were also more frequent in the healthy siblings than in normal controls. Thus, the EEM test performances of the healthy siblings were intermediate between those of the probands with schizophrenia and those of normal controls.
Abnormalities of the EEM test parameters may be related to the genetic etiology of schizophrenia. The use of EEM parameters as an endophenotype for schizophrenia may facilitate linkage and association studies in schizophrenia.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 11/2008; 62(5):487-93. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Prior work found the APOL1, 2 and 4 genes, located on chromosome 22q12.3-q13.1, to be upregulated in brains of schizophrenic patients. We performed a family-based association study using 130 SNPs tagging the APOL gene family (APOL1-6). The subjects were 112 African-American (AA), 114 European-American (EA), 109 Chinese (Ch) and 42 Japanese (Jp) families with schizophrenia (377 families, 1161 genotyped members and 647 genotyped affected in total). Seven SNPs had p-values<0.05 in the APOL1, 2 and 4 regions for the AA, EA and combined (AA and EA) samples. In the AA sample, two SNPs, rs9610449 and rs6000200 showed low p-values; and a haplotype which comprised these two SNPs yielded a p-value of 0.00029 using the global test (GT) and the allele specific test (AST). The two SNPs and the haplotype were associated with risk for schizophrenia in African-Americans. In the combined (AA and EA) sample, two SNPs, rs2003813 and rs2157249 showed low p-values; and a three SNP haplotype including these two SNPs was significant using the GT (p=0.0013) and the AST (p=0.000090). The association of this haplotype with schizophrenia was significant for the entire (AA, EA, Ch and Jp) sample using the GT (p=0.00054) and the AST (p=0.00011). Although our study is not definitive, it suggests that the APOL genes should be more extensively studied in schizophrenia.
Biological Psychiatry 09/2008; 104(1-3):153-64. · 8.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Exploratory eye movement (EEM), P300 and reaction time (RT) tests may relate to the important parts of information processing in the human brain. Therefore the aim of the present study was to compare EEM, P300 and RT test data in schizophrenic and normal control groups to investigate whether schizophrenic patients have information processing abnormalities. In addition, the potential correspondence between the three tests was examined in order to investigate the information processing dysfunctions seen in schizophrenic patients.
The EEM, P300 and RT performances were recorded in 34 schizophrenic and 36 normal control subjects. Ten parameters were measured: four from the EEM test (number of eye fixations, total eye scanning length, cognitive search score and responsive search score [RSS]); two from the P300 test (amplitude and latency); and four from the RT test (simple reaction time, index of reaction time crossover [IRT-crossover], set index and coefficient of variation).
These parameters in the schizophrenic patients differed significantly from those in the control group. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the RSS and the IRT-crossover in the schizophrenic patients.
The present group comparisons (schizophrenia vs normal controls) are consistent with previous studies in that the abnormalities in EEM, P300 and RT tests in schizophrenic patients were able to be replicated. Moreover, based on the former psychological theory, it is reasonable to propose that the RSS is associated with the IRT-crossover. The present results may contribute to elucidation of the pathophysiological signature of schizophrenia.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 09/2008; 62(4):396-403. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Purpose: The study aimed to clarify any association between the development of a first psychotic episode and anticonvulsive drug therapy (AEDs) for epilepsy and to propose possible interventions to prevent the development of such psychoses.Methods: The subjects were 44 (20 male and 24 female) consecutive patients attending our clinic, who had epilepsy and current or previous psychotic symptoms. The psychotic symptoms were defined as delusions, hallucinations, or other productive symptoms or a combination of these under clear consciousness.Results: Three of the subjects had idiopathic generalized epilepsy, one had symptomatic generalized epilepsy, 22 had temporal lobe epilepsy, and 18 had non-temporal lobe epilepsy. At the time of the study, nine patients had been free of seizures for ≥3 years, six had experienced one or two seizures within the past 3 years, 12 had yearly seizures, and 17 had monthly seizures. Two groups could be distinguished: in 27 (61%) patients, the first psychotic episode was unrelated to changes in the AEDs, whereas in 17 (39%) patients, the development of psychoses showed a temporal relation with changes in the AED. The mean age (41.5 and 40.6 years), mean age at the onset of epilepsy (14.2 and 12.6 years), type of epilepsy, and seizure frequencies did not differ between the two groups. Although the number of AEDs prescribed at the time of onset of the first psychotic episode did not differ between the groups, phenytoin (PHT) or carbamazepine (CBZ) were most frequently used in the non-drug-related group, whereas zonisamide (ZNS) and phenobarbital (PB) were the most common treatments in the drug-related group. Among the nonDrug-related group, many of the patients developed psychoses with no temporal relation to changes in seizure frequency. Most of these were schizophrenia-like psychoses with a chornic course. Among the drug-related group, seven patients developed psychoses after starting an add-on therapy with a new AED, many of which were alternative psychoses characterized by delusional psychosis with remission. Six patients developed psychoses after abruptly discontinuing their AEDs. These were mostly postictal psychoses characterized by polymorphic psychosis and relapses. Four patients developed psychoses after taking overdoses of PHT or polypharmacy, half of which were schizophrenia-like psychoses with remission. Almost all patients in both groups were treated with psychotropic drugs during their psychotic episodes, but 59% of the nonDrug-related and 6% of the drug-related groups followed a chronic clinical course. Fifteen percent of the nonrelated group and 35% of the drug-related group relapsed with psychoses between 6 months and 5 years after remission of their first episode, and many of these did not receive psychotropic drugs as maintenance therapy. The fact that relapses in the patients in the drug-related group showed no association with changes in AEDs suggests that they may have been vulnerable to psychoses.Conclusions: Add-on therapy with a potential new AED, as well as abrupt discontinuation or overdoses of existing AEDs, may increase the risk of developing psychoses. Changing drug regimens gradually and maintaining compliance are crucial factors in preventing psychoses in patients with epilepsy.
Epilepsia 06/2008; 39(S5):59 - 60. · 3.96 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The development of attention function in children is still not sufficiently clear. Although it is difficult to objectively assess attention function, continuous performance tests (CPT) can be used to objectively assess cognitive function along with attention. The development of cognitive and attention functions was examined in children using a CPT.
A total of 541 healthy girls aged 5-12 years participated. Ten parameters were calculated: numbers of cancellations for either target stimuli (T-cancel) or non-target stimuli (N-cancel), numbers of omission errors (Omission) and commission errors (Commission), hit rate (Hit), false alarm rate (False), mean reaction time for correct response (RT), coefficient of variance for mean reaction time (CVRT), sensitivity index (d'), and lnbeta.
The parameters were divided into three types based on pattern of change. T-cancel, False, and Commission, which are related to inhibition of response, N-cancel, Hit, and Omission, which are related to inattention to stimuli, and CVRT, which is related to stability of processing time, exhibited significant change until 5 or 6 years of age. d', which is related to ability to discriminate between target or non-target, exhibited significant change until 8 years of age. RT, which is related to processing time, exhibited significant change until 11 years of age. lnbeta exhibited no significant differences among age groups.
These findings indicate that inhibition function, inattention to stimuli, and stability of processing time develop first. Discrimination ability subsequently increases based on these developments, and finally processing time is reduced.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 05/2008; 62(2):135-41. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Photic stimulation from 0.5 to 20cps flickers was given on 7 cases of portal-systemic encephalopathy. The triphasic waves were increased by the stimulation (mostly appearing synchronously with 2.0–3.5 cps of flicker) in all cases at least more than once in repeated EEG examinations.Bemegride activation was performed on three cases who had theta and alpha background activity with very poor delta waves. The triphasic waves increased in number remarkably in two cases and poorly in one.Based on these reactions to the photic stimulation and bemegride activation, it was suggested that the triphasic waves and epileptic discharges might have some similar mechanism in their production.(This study was presented at 18th annual meeting of Japan EEG Society, 1969
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 03/2008; 25(3):173 - 180. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We evaluated the vulnerability of central nervous system (CNS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using exploratory eye movement analysis and random number generation (RNG), and compared the tests in evaluating CNS vulnerability. Nineteen patients received the tests more than a month after SLE onset in nonpsychotic status. Exploratory eye movements were analyzed using an eye-mark recorder that detects corneal reflection of infrared light, and numbers of eye fixations were counted to calculate responsive search score (RSS). Using digits 0 through 9, 100 numbers were vocally generated at a random fashion. "Seriality score" was calculated from the recorded 100 numbers. RSS of SLE patients was similar to that of normal individuals, irrespective of neuropsychiatric lupus history. Seriality score of patients having a history of neuropsychiatric lupus was higher than that of never having it (p < 0.05). No relations were confirmed between RSS and seriality score. The current study suggested heterogeneous nature of SLE in CNS vulnerability when evaluating with seriality score, but not with RSS. There seemed to be a difference between exploratory eye movement analysis and RNG in evaluating CNS vulnerability. Each test seemed to evaluate different aspects of brain function.
Clinical Rheumatology 02/2008; 27(2):237-40. · 2.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study examined the direct effects of short-term psychoeducation on relatives of inpatients with schizophrenia, with the goal of introducing this type of support program into standard care. The subjects were 46 relatives of inpatients with schizophrenia who attended three or four sessions of psychoeducation. Levels of anxiety and subjective burden and distress were measured before and after sessions using self-administered rating scales. In addition, levels of expressed emotion were also measured. Results showed that both state and trait anxiety on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were significantly lower after psychoeducational intervention than before intervention. In addition, subjective burden and distress reported by the family significantly decreased on the subscales for family confusion resulting from a lack of knowledge of the illness and anxiety about the future, subjective burden and depression resulting from the patient's illness, and difficulties in the relatives' relationships with the patient. Comparison of high and low expressed emotion families showed that the intervention was almost equally effective for the two groups. However, its effectiveness with regard to the subjective burden and depression experienced by the families was significantly greater among high expressed emotion families. The present study confirmed that family psychoeducation during hospitalization, even for a short period, is effective for all families, whether high or low expressed emotion. Moreover, the results suggested that the intervention may have a greater effect on emotional factors in high expressed emotion families than in low expressed emotion families.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 11/2006; 60(5):590-7. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To clarify the cognitive function of schizophrenia, the exploratory eye movement was investigated using S-shaped figures in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives. As a result, the exploratory eye movement has been found to be a biological marker that reflects a specific and trait factor of schizophrenia. Using the exploratory eye movement combined with brain functional imaging, the pathology of schizophrenia that the neural network centering on thalamus was damaged is being clarified. Moreover, the disease gene of schizophrenia may be discovered especially on the chromosome 22 using the exploratory eye movement as an endophenotype. In addition, the exploratory eye movement can be given as a powerful candidate of diagnostic tool for schizophrenia.
Seishin shinkeigaku zasshi = Psychiatria et neurologia Japonica 02/2006; 108(6):661-7.
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Tadao Arinami,
Tsuyuka Ohtsuki,
Hiroki Ishiguro,
Hiroshi Ujike,
Yuji Tanaka,
Yukitaka Morita,
Mari Mineta,
Masashi Takeichi,
Shigeto Yamada,
Akira Imamura, [......],
Tsukasa Koyama,
Hiroshi Yoneda,
Yasuyuki Fukumaki,
Hiroki Shibata,
Sunao Kaneko,
Hisashi Higuchi,
Norio Yasui-Furukori,
Yohtaro Numachi,
Masanari Itokawa,
Yuji Okazaki
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ABSTRACT: The Japanese Schizophrenia Sib-Pair Linkage Group (JSSLG) is a multisite collaborative study group that was organized to create a national resource for affected sib pair (ASP) studies of schizophrenia in Japan. We used a high-density single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assay, the Illumina BeadArray linkage mapping panel (version 4) comprising 5,861 SNPs, to perform a genomewide linkage analysis of JSSLG samples comprising 236 Japanese families with 268 nonindependent ASPs with schizophrenia. All subjects were Japanese. Among these families, 122 families comprised the same subjects analyzed with short tandem repeat markers. All the probands and their siblings, with the exception of seven siblings with schizoaffective disorder, had schizophrenia. After excluding SNPs with high linkage disequilibrium, we found significant evidence of linkage of schizophrenia to chromosome 1p21.2-1p13.2 (LOD=3.39) and suggestive evidence of linkage to 14q11.2 (LOD=2.87), 14q11.2-q13.2 (LOD=2.33), and 20p12.1-p11.2 (LOD=2.33). Although linkage to these regions has received little attention, these regions are included in or partially overlap the 10 regions reported by Lewis et al. that passed the two aggregate criteria of a meta-analysis. Results of the present study--which, to our knowledge, is the first genomewide analysis of schizophrenia in ASPs of a single Asian ethnicity that is comparable to the analyses done of ASPs of European descent--indicate the existence of schizophrenia susceptibility loci that are common to different ethnic groups but that likely have different ethnicity-specific effects.
The American Journal of Human Genetics 01/2006; 77(6):937-44. · 10.60 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Epileptiform discharges in 8 electrode waking EEGs at rest and during hyperventilation in 1,057 healthy children aged 6–12 years from an elementary school were studied: Epileptiform discharges, detected in 53 children (5.0%), consisted of centrotemporal spikes (37 cases), generalized spike ahd slow wave complexes (10 cases), occipital spikes (2 cases), frontal spikes (1 case), and a combination of multiple spike and slow wave complexes and focal spikes (2 cases). The occurrence of a positive past history of febrile convulsions was higher in children with epileptiform discharges (18.9%) than in those without epileptiform discharges (9.4%). Using the Rutter scales for teachers and parents, we compared the emotional and behavioral problems of children with epileptiform EEG discharges with those of children without epileptiform discharges. No statistically significant differences were noted, indicating that the emotional and behavioral problems existing are most probably coincidental and not directly related to the epileptiform discharges. A genetic basis for generalized epileptiform discharges was postulated because the occurrence of generalized discharges in siblings of probands with generalized discharges was higher (4 of 9, 44.4%) than the prevalence in all subjects. However, the occurrence of centrotemporat spikes in the siblings of probands with centrotemporal spikes was not higher (2/38, 5.3%) and an autosomaldominant genetic factor for centrotemporal spikes in waking EEGs of healthy children could not be confirmed.
Epilepsia 10/2005; 35(4):832 - 841. · 3.96 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In Japan, relatively little attention has been paid to atypical depression, which is defined as the presence of mood reactivity and two of four associated features: hyperphagia, hypersomnia, leaden paralysis, rejection sensitivity. The present study was undertaken to obtain detailed clinical information from patients with a diagnosis of atypical depression. We assessed clinical characteristics of each atypical feature, comorbidity of other psychiatric disorders, presence of a stressful life event, and underlying psychological stress in 39 psychiatric outpatients. We also examined the relationship of interpersonal sensitivity to each atypical feature. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Mean age of onset was 22 +/- 6, 74% were female, 20 patients (51%) had comorbid social phobia. Thirty (77%) had hyperphagia and 25 of these were women. Twenty (74%) had hypersomnia. Only seven patients reported daytime sleepiness and others (13) reported difficulty in staying awake due to lack of energy. Nineteen (49%) had leaden paralysis. Thirty-two patients (82%) had rejection sensitivity and this symptom correlated with scores of FNE (fears of negative evaluation), LSAS (Liebowits social anxiety scale) and Brief social phobia scale (BSPA). Seven patients reported disappointment in love as a stressful life event preceding the depressive episode. In patients with comorbid social phobia, loss of confidence due to hypersensitivity to rejection or criticism seemed to be the most important factor as a chronic psychologica stress. Seven patients met criteria for bipolar disorder and five out of seven had comorbid generalized social phobia. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings were discussed.
Seishin shinkeigaku zasshi = Psychiatria et neurologia Japonica 02/2005; 107(4):323-40.
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Satoshi Kamei,
Kentaro Oga,
Masato Matsuura,
Naohide Tanaka, Takuya Kojima,
Yasuyuki Arakawa,
Yoshihiro Matsukawa,
Tomohiko Mizutani,
Teiichiro Sakai,
Hitoshi Ohkubo,
Hiroshi Matsumura,
Mitsuhiko Moriyama,
Kaname Hirayanagi
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ABSTRACT: The authors recently observed alterations in the quantitative EEG findings in patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). However, the factors that influenced such EEG alterations remain unclear. The authors evaluated the correlation between QEEG alterations that occurred during IFN-alpha treatment and the age of 98 patients with chronic hepatitis C. These patients underwent blind, prospective, and serial quantitative EEG examinations. IFN-alpha was administered intramuscularly at 9 x 10 IU daily for the first 4 weeks and then three times per week for the next 20 weeks. Serial EEGs were obtained before, at 2 and 4 weeks, and at 2 to 3 days after the treatment. The absolute powers of each frequency band at different stages of the treatment were determined by QEEG. The ages of the patients were classified into five groups: 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and > or =60 years. The relationship between the alterations in power values and age was statistically evaluated. As the age of the patients increased, the alterations in power values for the slow waves, alpha 2, and fast waves during IFN-alpha treatment became more remarkable, and significant (repeated-measure analysis of variance; P < 0.0001). The alterations of EEG occurring during IFN-alpha treatment were marked in older patients.
Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 12/2004; 22(1):49-52. · 1.45 Impact Factor
