Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
 18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Animal data indicate that serotonin (5-HT) is a major neurotransmitter involved in the control of numerous central nervous system functions including mood, aggression, pain, anxiety, sleep, memory, eating behavior, addictive behavior, temperature control, endocrine regulation, and motor behavior. Moreover, there is evidence that abnormalities of 5-HT functions are related to the pathophysiology of diverse neurological conditions including Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, akathisia, dystonia, Huntington's disease, familial tremor, restless legs syndrome, myoclonus, Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, and dementia. The psychiatric disorders of schizophrenia, mania, depression, aggressive and self-injurious behavior, obsessive compulsive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, substance abuse, hypersexuality, anxiety disorders, bulimia, childhood hyperactivity, and behavioral disorders in geriatric patients have been linked to impaired central 5-HT functions. Tryptophan, the natural amino acid precursor in 5-HT biosynthesis, increases 5-HT synthesis in the brain and, therefore, may stimulate 5-HT release and function. Since it is a natural constituent of the diet, tryptophan should have low toxicity and produce few side effects. Based on these advantages, dietary tryptophan supplementation has been used in the management of neuropsychiatric disorders with variable success. This review summarizes current clinical use of tryptophan supplementation in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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PMID:L-tryptophan in neuropsychiatric disorders: a review. 130 30

Lithium is the recommended treatment for the prophylaxis of bipolar affective disorder. The drug is also effective in the prophylactic treatment of recurrent unipolar depression, although many psychiatrists prefer to use antidepressant drugs for this indication. The efficacy of lithium is well established in the short term treatment of mania, although neuroleptic drugs are required at the start of treatment for more severely disturbed patients. Lithium augmentation of antidepressant drugs is increasingly popular for the treatment of resistant depression. It is now common practice to maintain serum lithium concentrations in the range 0.5 to 0.8 mmol/L, which is generally as effective as higher concentrations while reducing the incidence of adverse effects and intoxication. Some individuals may nevertheless require higher serum concentrations. Most adverse effects such as tremor and gastrointestinal upset are usually minor and often transient. There is no good evidence of nephrotoxicity with long term treatment, but persistent polyuria can occur. Hypothyroidism, with or without goitre, can occur uncommonly during long term lithium therapy. Prescribers should be alert to, and patients should be educated about, the predisposing factors and early symptoms relating to lithium intoxication. Specialist mood disorder clinics can facilitate safer and more effective lithium treatment.
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PMID:Lithium. Current status in psychiatric disorders. 769 9

The use of alternative medicines is increasing world-wide and in Israel. These drugs, considered by the Ministry of Health as food supplements, are to be obtained at pharmacies and health stores and are being sold freely, without any professional advice. Many of the herbs are used by patients to treat psychiatric disorders. These herbs have a pharmacological activity, adverse effects and interactions with conventional drugs, which can produce changes in mood, cognition, and behavior. We present the most commonly used herbal drugs, and discuss their safety and efficacy in psychiatric practice. Hypericum--used as an antidepressant and as an antiviral medicine, was reported in 23 randomized clinical trials reviewed from the MEDLINE. It was found to be significantly more effective than placebo and had a similar level of effectiveness as standard antidepressants. Recent studies almost clearly prove that this herb, like most of the conventional antidepressants, can induce mania. Valerian--is used as an anti-anxiety drug, and reported to have sedative as well as antidepressant properties. In contrast to the significant improvement in sleep that was found with the use of valerian, compared to placebo, there are several reports on the valerian root toxicity. This includes nephrotoxicity, headaches, chest tightness, mydriasis, abdominal pain, and tremor of the hands and feet. Ginseng--another plant that is widely used as an aphrodisiac and a stimulant. It has been associated with the occurrence of vaginal bleeding, mastalgia, mental status changes and Stevens-Johnson syndrome after it's chronic administration. It has interactions with digoxin, phenelzine and warfarin. Ginkgo--in clinical trials the ginkgo extract has shown a significant improvement in symptoms such as memory loss, difficulties in concentration, fatigue, anxiety, and depressed mood. Long-term use has been associated with increased bleeding time and spontaneous hemorrhage. Ginkgo should be used cautiously in patients receiving aspirin, NSAIDs, anticoagulants or other platelet inhibitors. Health care professionals can no longer ignore the widespread use of alternative medicines and cannot continue with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Clinicians should ask the patients about their use of herbs in a non-judgmental way, and should document the patient's use of these drugs. Finally, we must be more aware of the side effects and the potential drug interactions of these herbs, and advise our patients to avoid long term use of these drugs due to lack of information regarding the safety of these medicines.
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PMID:[The safety of herbal medicines in the psychiatric practice]. 1154 87

We evaluated effectiveness and predictors of response of gabapentin (GBP) as adjunctive treatment in a sample of 43 subjects with DSM-III-R bipolar disorder who were resistant to standard mood stabilizers. Diagnostic evaluation was performed by means of the Semistructured Interview for Mood Disorder. Clinical evaluation was performed at the beginning and end of the observation period by means of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Young Mania Rating Scale, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale. GBP was administered as an adjunctive treatment for an 8-week period in combination with other mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and neuroleptics. Mean dosage +/- SD at week 8 was 1270 +/- 561.4 mg (range, 600-2400 mg). Adjunctive treatment with GBP was well tolerated by almost all the subjects; only three patients had to interrupt treatment before week 8, two because of inefficacy and one because of the appearance of side effects (ataxia and irritability); in other patients, the most frequent side effects were sedation, irritability, tremor, ataxia or motor instability, and nausea. Eighteen (41.9%) of 43 patients who began treatment were considered responders. Mean total HAM-D score showed a significant reduction during the 8 weeks of treatment. Analysis of the various HAM-D dimensions showed that the anxiety-somatization factor was the one with the greatest change. Seventeen of the 18 responder patients remained in remission for a period ranging from 4 to 12 months without clinically significant side effects or adverse events. One patient had to interrupt GBP treatment and be administered neuroleptics because of the reappearance of manic symptoms. Regarding response predictors, logistical regression analysis showed that the presence of panic disorder and alcohol abuse was associated with positive response. The results of the present study replicate prior studies indicating that GBP is an effective and well tolerated treatment in a large proportion of bipolar patients who are resistant to traditional mood stabilizers. More specifically, this drug appears to have antidepressant and anxiolytic properties. What is new in the present report is the suggestion that the utility of GBP in resistant bipolar disorder resides in its effectiveness against comorbid panic disorder and alcohol abuse.
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PMID:Effectiveness of adjunctive gabapentin in resistant bipolar disorder: is it due to anxious-alcohol abuse comorbidity? 1245 58

The frequency, phenomenology, and risk factors of hallucinations and delusions were investigated in 64 consecutive inpatients with Parkinson's disease. Fifty patients were admitted to our hospital with symptoms related to Parkinson's disease: psychiatric problems 27 (psychosis 22; anxiety 2; depression 2; mania 1): motor symptoms, 20 (wearing-off 5; akinesia 4; freezing 4; postural instability 4; dyskinesia 2; tremor 2; dystonia 1), and sensory symptoms, 3. Fourteen patients were admitted with other medical problems (pneumonia 4; cerebral infarction 3; bone fracture 3; lumbago 2; seizure 1; cat bite 1). Totally 49 patients had psychiatric problems. Psychosis was present in 43 patients, dementia in 10, depression in 8, mania in 1, anxiety in 10, agitation in 6, stereotypy in 2, and hypersexuality in 2. Of the 43 patients with psychoses, 40 presented with visual hallucinations, 18 with auditory hallucinations, and 23 with delusions. To determine what the clinical correlates with the severity of psychosis were, we divided the patients into 3 groups: the severe group, 22 patients admitted because of psychotic symptoms; the mild group, 21 patients admitted because of problems other than psychosis but presenting psychotic symptoms; and the control group, 21 patients who had no psychotic symptoms. Incidences of auditory hallucinations and delusions were higher in the severe group as compared to the mild group. Patients in the severe group had higher Hoehn-Yahr stages, lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores, decreased H/M ratios of cardiac 123I-MIBG uptake, and lower frequencies of background activity on electroencephalograms. There were no differences in age at admission, age at onset of Parkinson's disease, duration of illness, amounts of levodopa and dopamine agonists received, Hamilton's depression rating scores, and brain MR findings, including atrophy and ischemic changes. Emergence of psychotic symptoms in parkinsonian patients appears to be clearly associated with impaired cognitive function. Therefore, it may be associated with the disease process itself. Terms such as dopaminomimetic or levodopa-induced psychosis may not be appropriate when describing psychosis in Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:[Psychoses in patients with Parkinson's disease; their frequency, phenomenology, and clinical correlates]. 1571 92

The identification of comorbid disorders in migraineurs is important since it may impose therapeutic challenges and limit treatment options. Moreover, the study of comorbidity might lead to improve our knowledge about causes and consequences of migraine. Comorbid neuropathologies in migraine may involve mood disorders (depression, mania, anxiety, panic attacks), epilepsy, essential tremor, stroke, and white matter abnormalities. Particularly, a complex bidirectional relation exists between migraine and stroke, including migraine as a risk factor for cerebral ischemia, migraine caused by cerebral ischemia, migraine as a cause of stroke, migraine mimicking cerebral ischemia, migraine and cerebral ischemia sharing a common cause, and migraine associated with subclinical vascular brain lesions.
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PMID:Comorbid neuropathologies in migraine. 1676 30

Carbamazepine began to be studied in a systematic fashion in the 1970s and became more widely used in the treatment of bipolar disorder in the 1980s. Interest in carbamazepine has been renewed by (i) the recent US FDA approval of a long-acting preparation for the treatment of acute mania; (ii) studies suggesting some efficacy in bipolar depression; and (iii) evidence of prophylactic efficacy in some difficult-to-treat subtypes of bipolar illness. A series of double-blind controlled studies of the drug were conducted at the US National Institute of Mental Health from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. This review summarises our experience in the context of the current literature on the clinical efficacy, adverse effects and pharmacokinetic interactions of carbamazepine. Carbamazepine has an important and still evolving place in the treatment of acute mania and long-term prophylaxis. It may be useful in individuals with symptoms that are not responsive to other treatments and in some subtypes of bipolar disorder that are not typically responsive to a more traditional agent such as lithium. These subtypes might include those patients with bipolar II disorder, dysphoric mania, substance abuse co-morbidity, mood incongruent delusions, and a negative family history of bipolar illness in first-degree relatives. In addition, carbamazepine may be useful in patients who do not adequately tolerate other interventions as a result of adverse effects, such as weight gain, tremor, diabetes insipidus or polycystic ovarian syndrome. We review our clinical and research experience with carbamazepine alone and in combination with lithium, valproic acid and other agents in complex combination treatment of bipolar illness. More precise clinical and biological predictors and correlates of individual clinical responsiveness to carbamazepine and other mood stabilisers are eagerly awaited.
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PMID:Thirty years of clinical experience with carbamazepine in the treatment of bipolar illness: principles and practice. 1719 May 29

Data from a published double-blind randomized trial comparing olanzapine versus haloperidol in acute mania were used to address the response and tolerability of Latin American patients. Primary efficacy end point was the remission rate (Young Mania Rating Scale score <or=12 and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score of <or=8). Patients were analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis. The mean modal doses (milligrams per day) were similar in Latin American (OL) (14.2; n = 51) and white (OC) (15.1; n = 120) patients treated with olanzapine, and in Latin American (HL) (7.1; n = 48) and white (HC) (8.5; n = 113) patients treated with haloperidol. At week 6, remission rates were similar among the OL and HL patients (64.7% vs. 68.8%) but were higher in the OC than in HC (49.2% vs. 32.7%; P = 0.012). Significantly more HL than OL patients experienced extrapyramidal symptoms such as akathisia and tremor. Tremor was significantly higher in HL than in HC patients, whereas a significant increase in the Barnes Akathisia Scale and Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale scores was observed in HC versus HL. Somnolence and weight gain were significantly higher in OL than in OC patients, and more OL and OC patients experienced weight gain in comparison with the HL and HC groups, respectively. The incidence of nonfasting glucose levels above normal levels did not statistically differ between groups. In conclusion, in contrast to our findings among white patients, the Latin American patients who have acute mania did not differ in overall response to olanzapine or haloperidol. The pattern of adverse events differed between treatment groups. Prospective clinical trials in Latin American bipolar populations are justified.
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PMID:Outcomes for Latin American versus White patients suffering from acute mania in a randomized, double-blind trial comparing olanzapine and haloperidol. 1741 34

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been approved by the FDA for use in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. Case reports and case series have reported significant psychiatric side effects in some individuals. The goal of this meta-analysis is to characterize the risks and benefits of DBS and to assess its possible use within the psychiatric setting. A search was conducted on PubMed, EBSCO, and PsycInfo in January 2006 that covered the time period 1 Jan 1996-30 Dec 2005. All identified articles were reviewed and those describing adverse events were further examined with a structured instrument. The initial searches yielded 2667 citations; 808 articles met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis; 98.2% of studies that specifically assessed motor function reported some level of improvement. Most reported side effects were device or procedure related (e.g., infection and lead fracture). The prevalence of depression was 2-4%, mania 0.9-1.7%, emotional changes 0.1-0.2%, and the prevalence of suicidal ideation/suicide attempt was 0.3-0.7%. The completed suicide rate was 0.16-0.32%. In conclusion, DBS is an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and essential tremor, and case reports suggest that major depression and OCD may also respond to DBS. Reported rates of depression, cognitive impairment, mania, and behavior change are low, but there is a high rate of suicide in patients treated with DBS, particularly with thalamic and GPi stimulation. Because of the high suicide rate, patients should be prescreened for suicide risk prior to DBS surgery. Additionally, patients should be monitored closely for suicidal behavior post-operatively.
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PMID:Psychiatric and neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with deep brain stimulation: A meta-analysis of ten years' experience. 1858 79

To determine the efficacy and tolerability of olanzapine/fluoxetine combination (OFC) compared with lamotrigine (Lam) for long-term treatment of bipolar I depression, this 25-wk, randomized, double-blind study compared OFC (6/25, 6/50, 12/25, or 12/50 mg/d, n=205) with Lam titrated to 200 mg/d (n=205) in patients with bipolar I disorder, depressed. A protocol-specified analysis of 7-wk outcomes was previously reported. Outcome measures included Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) (primary), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores. OFC-treated patients had significantly greater improvement than Lam-treated patients over 25 wk on CGI-S (p=0.008), MADRS (p=0.005), and YMRS (p<0.001) scores, and from baseline across visits from week 5 (titration complete) to the end of the study on CGI-S (p=0.043), MADRS (p=0.017), and YMRS (p=0.001) scores. Of patients in remission after the 7-wk acute phase, there was no significant difference between treatment groups in the incidence of relapse (MADRS >15, p=0.528). Rate of treatment-emergent mania was not significantly different by treatment (p=0.401). OFC-treated patients had more frequent (p<0.05) somnolence, increased appetite, dry mouth, sedation, weight gain, and tremor; Lam-treated patients had more frequent insomnia. There was a significant difference in incidence of treatment-emergent cholesterol > or = 240 (p<0.001) and in weight gain of > or = 7% (p<0.001) in favour of the Lam group. Patients with bipolar I depression had significantly greater symptom improvement over 25 wk on OFC compared with Lam. There was no treatment difference in incidence of relapse. OFC-treated patients had more treatment-emergent adverse events and greater incidence of weight gain and hypercholesterolaemia.
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PMID:Olanzapine/fluoxetine combination vs. lamotrigine in the 6-month treatment of bipolar I depression. 1907 15


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