Parent Ratings of ADHD Symptoms in Chinese Urban Schoolchildren: Assessment With the Chinese ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Home Version.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ADHD RS-IV): Home Version and to explore parent ratings of ADHD symptoms in a large sample of urban schoolchildren in China. METHOD: Parents of a representative sample of 1,616 schoolchildren (aged 6-17) in 12 Chinese cities completed the ADHD RS-IV: Home Version. RESULTS: The Chinese ADHD RS-IV: Home Version demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, test-retest reliability, parent-teacher correlation, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Factor analysis revealed the DSM-IV two-factor model with "inattention" and "hyperactivity-impulsivity" dimensions, accounting for equal variances. Parent ratings revealed lower/similar scores for Chinese schoolchildren compared with the U.S. CONCLUSION: The ADHD RS-IV: Home Version is a reliable and valid ADHD rating scale in China. The factor structure is similar but not identical to the U.S. STUDY: Normative data reveal cultural differences in some aspects of the parent ratings of ADHD.

A randomized controlled trial of olanzapine improving memory deficits in Han Chinese patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia, in which memory impairment is a core deficit. The methods of positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), Wechsler memory scale-4th edition (WMS-IV) and event-related potential (ERP) were used to study the effects of olanzapine on the cognitive function in the first-episode schizophrenic patients. We performed multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial to study the cognitive functioning in Han Chinese first-episode schizophrenic patients in a 12-week treatment regime with olanzapine (129 cases) or placebo (132 cases). The results showed that (1) the patients with first-episode schizophrenia showed significant deficits in the long-term memory, short-term memory, immediate memory and memory quotient by WMS-IV assessment, and decreases the total scores, positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology by PANSS assessment; (2) olanzapine could significantly improve the PANSS scores including total scores, positive symptoms, negative symptoms and general psychopathology in the first-episode schizophrenic patients; (3) olanzapine could significantly improve the short-term memory, immediate memory and memory quotient in the first-episode schizophrenic patients; and (3) although the latencies of P(2), N(2) and P(3) were significantly prolonged, P(2) and P(3) amplitudes were decreased and the latencies of N(1) did not change, olanzapine did not influence any P(300) items in the first-episode schizophrenic patients. The data suggested that that olanzapine could improve cognitive process, such as memorizing and extraction of the information although there were many changes of cognitive functions in Han Chinese first-episode schizophrenic patients.

Comparison of the polymorphisms of androgen receptor gene and estrogen alpha and beta gene between adolescent females with first-onset major depressive disorder and controls.

This study was to elucidate the role of genetic variation in androgen receptor (AR) gene, estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and ER beta gene on first-onset major depressive disorder (MDD) in female adolescents. Results showed that AR gene in MDD group have shorter microsatellites' length, and ER beta gene have shorter microsatellites' length and higher rates of S alleles, SS, genotype, and lower rate of LL genotype than control group. The results suggest that shorter length of AR and ER beta gene microsatellites might influence the onset of MDD in female adolescents, a further elucidation of the mechanisms is warranted.