Comparison of Psychiatric and Clinical Profiles Between People Who Use Synthetic Cathinones and Methamphetamine: A Matched Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Synthetic cathinones are the most used novel psychoactive substances in Taiwan because they exhibit psychoactive effects similar to those of methamphetamine, inducing acute psychosis, violence, and self-harm. However, the differences in the clinical characteristics of patients with synthetic cathinone and methamphetamine intoxication admitted to psychiatric emergency departments (EDs) remain unclear. METHODS: This study recruited patients with stimulant intoxication who were admitted to a psychiatric ED from April 2019 to May 2020. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and psychopathological data were collected through face-to-face interviews and evaluated. Immunoassay tests and liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry were performed to detect substances in urine specimens. The patients were matched by sex and age (in 5-year intervals). The associations between the 2 groups and physical complications were analyzed through logistic regression. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients with synthetic cathinone intoxication were identified and matched with 48 patients with methamphetamine intoxication. The 2 groups exhibited similar clinical severity of psychotic symptoms and high risks of violence and self-harm. Both groups were predominated by unmarried patients, unemployed patients, and habitual smokers and drinkers. However, family histories of substance use and criminal records were less prevalent among the patients with synthetic cathinone intoxication, but they had a higher rate of physical complications (odds ratio, 8.55; 95% confidence interval, 2.15-34.03), compared with patients with methamphetamine intoxication. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients intoxicated with methamphetamine, those intoxicated with synthetic cathinones may have similar tendencies toward psychosis, violence, and self-harm but higher risks of physical complications, which are prioritized in psychiatric EDs.

The relation between second-generation antipsychotics and laxative use in elderly patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate factors associated with concomitant laxative use among elderly patients with schizophrenia, discharged on second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), from two large public psychiatric hospitals in Taiwan. METHODS: Elderly patients with schizophrenia who were discharged between 2006 and 2019 and received SGA monotherapy at discharge were included in the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with regular laxative use at discharge. The Cochrane-Armitage trend test was used to evaluate whether significant time trends existed for rates of laxative use at discharge. RESULTS: A total of 2591 elderly patients with schizophrenia were discharged during the study period, and 1727 of 2591 patients who met the inclusion criteria were included for analysis. Of these 1727 patients, 732 (42.4%) also received concomitant laxatives. Female gender, mood stabiliser use and concomitant diabetes mellitus were found to be associated with increased laxative use. Among SGAs, clozapine was associated with the highest rate of laxative use, followed by zotepine, quetiapine, olanzapine and risperidone. Additionally, risperidone, amisulpride, aripiprazole, paliperidone and sulpiride were associated with comparable rates of laxative use. Laxative use rates grew over time from 30.8% in 2006 to 46.6% in 2019 (z = 4.83, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Laxative use is common in elderly schizophrenia patients treated with SGAs. In cases of clinically significant constipation, switching to an SGA with a lower risk for constipation, or discontinuing the use of mood stabilisers should be considered, if clinically feasible.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Healthy Lifestyle Psychoeducation for Smoking Reduction in Acute Psychiatric Inpatients: A Cluster-Randomized Parallel Study.

BACKGROUND: Effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapies in acute psychiatric inpatient settings remains under-researched. The aim of this study was to compare effectiveness and acceptability of 3 different forms of nicotine replacement therapy in achieving smoking reduction among acute psychiatric inpatients. METHODS: This cluster-randomized, parallel study compared effectiveness and acceptability of nicotine inhalers, nicotine gum, and nicotine patches for smoking reduction in the acute psychiatric inpatient setting. The primary outcome was the exhaled breath carbon monoxide (CO) level change from baseline at weeks 4 and 8. Secondary outcomes included changes in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and psychiatric symptom severity. RESULTS: Three hundred ten inpatients on the acute care wards were randomly assigned to nicotine inhalers (n = 184), gum (n = 71), and patches (n = 55). Only the nicotine inhaler group showed statistically significant reduction in CO level from baseline at both weeks 4 and 8 (P < 0.001 and P = 0.032, respectively). The nicotine inhaler and the patch group showed significant decrease in nicotine withdrawal symptoms from baseline at both weeks 4 and 8. Meanwhile, the nicotine inhaler and the gum group showed significant decrease in psychiatric symptom severity from baseline at both weeks 4 and 8. Post hoc comparisons revealed that the inhaler group had a greater decrease in psychiatric symptom severity compared with the patch group. CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine inhalers may be an effective choice for smoking reduction in acute psychiatric inpatient settings given its significant effects on CO level, withdrawal symptoms, and psychiatric symptom severity, particularly during the first 4 weeks of treatment.

Variant GADL1 and response to lithium therapy in bipolar I disorder.

BACKGROUND: Lithium has been a first-line choice for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders to prevent relapse of mania and depression, but many patients do not have a response to lithium treatment. METHODS: We selected subgroups from a sample of 1761 patients of Han Chinese descent with bipolar I disorder who were recruited by the Taiwan Bipolar Consortium. We assessed their response to lithium treatment using the Alda scale and performed a genomewide association study on samples from one subgroup of 294 patients with bipolar I disorder who were receiving lithium treatment. We then tested the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that showed the strongest association with a response to lithium for association in a replication sample of 100 patients and tested them further in a follow-up sample of 24 patients. We sequenced the exons, exon-intron boundaries, and part of the promoter of the gene encoding glutamate decarboxylase-like protein 1 (GADL1) in 94 patients who had a response to lithium and in 94 patients who did not have a response in the genomewide association sample. RESULTS: Two SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium, rs17026688 and rs17026651, that are located in the introns of GADL1 showed the strongest associations in the genomewide association study (P=5.50×10(-37) and P=2.52×10(-37), respectively) and in the replication sample of 100 patients (P=9.19×10(-15) for each SNP). These two SNPs had a sensitivity of 93% for predicting a response to lithium and differentiated between patients with a good response and those with a poor response in the follow-up cohort. Resequencing of GADL1 revealed a novel variant, IVS8+48delG, which lies in intron 8 of the gene, is in complete linkage disequilibrium with rs17026688 and is predicted to affect splicing. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variations in GADL1 are associated with the response to lithium maintenance treatment for bipolar I disorder in patients of Han Chinese descent. (Funded by Academia Sinica and others.).

Time to Discontinuation of Second-Generation Antipsychotics Versus Haloperidol and Sulpiride in People With Schizophrenia: A Naturalistic, Comparative Study.

PURPOSE: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the time to discontinuation (TTD) of the first- (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). METHODS: In total, 918 treatment episodes of patients with schizophrenia, initiated on one of the investigated drugs on an outpatient basis during 2004-2006, were entered into the study. The primary outcome was the duration of the investigated treatment episode. Discontinuation was defined when either patients were admitted or the investigated drug had been stopped for more than 28 days. We used the Cox proportional hazard model to compare hazards of discontinuations among 8 SGAs versus 2 FGAs (haloperidol and sulpiride). The follow-up period was up to 18 months. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, clozapine had the highest rate of continuous treatment in the primary analysis: clozapine, 40.6%; olanzapine, 23.4%; aripiprazole, 22.9%; amisulpride, 21.9%; zotepine, 21.3%; sulpiride, 17.0%; risperidone, 12.8%; quetiapine, 12.5%; haloperidol, 10.6%; and ziprasidone, 10.4%. Compared with haloperidol, 5 SGAs had significantly longer TTD (adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals): clozapine (0.403, 0.267-0.607), olanzapine (0.611, 0.439-0.849), aripiprazole (0.570, 0.407-0.795), amisulpride (0.680, 0.487-0.947), and zotepine (0.687, 0.497-0.948), but only clozapine had significantly longer TTD compared with sulpiride (0.519, 0.342-0.786). The sensitivity analysis showed similar results. IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggested that SGAs or FGAs are not homogeneous groups. Clozapine has the highest rate of continuous treatment among SGAs, and haloperidol is not the representative drug for all FGAs. Furthermore, antipsychotics dropout rate is high in naturalistic situation. A good service model needs to be constructed to enhance antipsychotic treatment adherence of people with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia patients discharged on antipsychotic polypharmacy from a public psychiatric hospital in Taiwan, 2006-2021.

The aim of this study was to identify the factors associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy (APP), investigate whether APP could affect the risk of rehospitalization, and explore temporal trends in APP use. Schizophrenia patients discharged from the study hospital between 2006 and 2021 (n = 16,722) were included in the analysis. The logistic regression model was employed to determine the predictors significantly associated with APP use. Survival analysis was used to compare time to rehospitalization between APP and antipsychotic monotherapy (AMT). The temporal trend of APP use was analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage Trend test. In comparison with the patients (n = 10,909) who were discharged on AMT, those (n = 5,813) on APP were significantly more likely to be male gender, to receive LAIs, to take clozapine, to take anticholinergic agents, to have a greater number of previous hospitalizations, and to have a higher CPZ equivalent dose of antipsychotic prescription. The prescription rate of APP significantly increased from 18.4 % in 2006 to 44.9 % in 2021. Compared with AMT, APP was associated with more clozapine use, more LAI use, higher doses of antipsychotics, and an increased risk of rehospitalization. In addition, the prescription of APP continued to increase during the study period.

Antipsychotic prescription patterns and associated factors among the elderly with psychiatric illnesses.

Prescribing rate of antipsychotics in elderly patients with psychiatric illnesses has been increasing all over the world. However, there is a lack of research examining the use of antipsychotics at psychiatric hospitals. We aim to find out long-term trends in antipsychotic prescriptions and factors associated with the use of antipsychotics in the elderly population. All outpatient visits with patients aged over 65 years between 2006 and 2015 in a psychiatric hospital were included in the analysis. Demographic and clinical data, including patient age, sex, National Health Insurance status, psychiatric diagnosis and antipsychotic prescription, were retrieved through the electronic medical information system. In this study, we found that prescribing rate of antipsychotics has increased around 5.07% through the study period (from 57.25% in 2006 to 60.15% in 2015, P < 0.001). Among all antipsychotics, there was an increase in the use of second-generation antipsychotics with a simultaneous decline in the use of first-generation antipsychotics. Logistic regression analysis showed advanced age, female gender and certification for catastrophic illnesses were positively associated with the use of antipsychotics. Furthermore, patients most likely to be prescribed an antipsychotic were those with psychotic disorders, followed by dementia, and then affective or neurotic disorders. The results of this study were consistent with the worldwide trend of increasing prescriptions of second-generation antipsychotics among elderly patients with psychiatric illnesses. Despite the potential benefits of these medications on certain psychiatric symptoms, clinicians need to exercise due caution as they may also cause potentially serious side effects among the elderly population.

A single-blind, comparative study of zotepine versus haloperidol in combination with a mood stabilizer for patients with moderate-to-severe mania.

AIMS: Atypical antipsychotics are increasingly used in the management of acute mania. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of zotepine compared to haloperidol in combination with a mood stabilizer (lithium or valproate) for treatment of acute mania. METHODS: This was a multi-center, randomized, rater-blinded, parallel-group, flexible-dose study. Forty-five hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe manic, bipolar disorder (DSM-IV) were randomly assigned to a zotepine or a haloperidol 4-week treatment group. RESULTS: There was no significant between-group difference in the Young Mania Rating Scale total scores between the zotepine and haloperidol groups (-23.7 + or - 12.1 vs -22.3 + or - 11.0, respectively). The adverse events in both groups were mild to moderate. The haloperidol group reported a higher incidence of treatment-related adverse events, especially parkinsonism and akathisia, compared to the zotepine group. Serum uric acid decreased more in the zotepine group than in the haloperidol group. CONCLUSION: In combination with a mood stabilizer, zotepine appears to be as effective as haloperidol in treating moderate-to-severe mania in the acute phase, but has the advantages of lowering hyperuricemia and fewer extrapyramidal side-effects. Double-blinded studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to confirm these findings.

HTF9C gene of 22q11.21 region associates with schizophrenia having deficit-sustained attention.

OBJECTIVE: A region at chromosome 22q11.21 has been reported to potentially harbor a candidate gene for schizophrenia, ZDHHC8 (zinc finger, DHHC domain containing 8; also annotated as KIAA1292) in a number of studies. This finding has been replicated in Han Chinese, but not in other ethnicity-specific studies. For further support from within the Han Chinese ethnic group, we selected two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) located at the distal 5'-end (rs1633445; intron 10 of HpaII tiny fragments locus 9C, HTF9C) and the intron 4 (rs175174) of ZDHHC8 gene to test if these were associated with schizophrenia in a study sample of Taiwan. METHODS: A total of 218 schizophrenia families with at least two affected siblings participated in this study. These two SNPs were genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/localization ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Significant associations with schizophrenia were not shown from these two SNPs. After stratifying schizophrenia according to the deficit and the nondeficit of sustained attention assessed by the Continuous Performance Test, the rs1633445 showed significant association with schizophrenia in the presence of a deficit in sustained attention (P<0.04). CONCLUSION: SNP rs1633445 of the HTF9C gene may be associated with a deficit in sustained attention within schizophrenia, in a Taiwanese cohort. The deficit of sustained attention may be an endophenotype of schizophrenia, and warrants further study.

Efficacy and safety of paliperidone palmitate three-monthly formulation in East Asian patients with schizophrenia: subgroup analysis of a global, randomized, double-blind, Phase III, noninferiority study.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the efficacy and safety of paliperidone palmitate three-monthly (PP3M) formulation in an East Asian population with schizophrenia by subgroup analysis of a double-blind (DB), multicenter, noninferiority study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of 1,429 patients who entered the open-label (OL) phase, 510 were East Asian (China: 296 [58%], Japan: 175 [34%], South Korea: 19 [4%] and Taiwan: 20 [4%]). In the 17-week OL phase, patients received paliperidone palmitate once-monthly (PP1M) formulation on day 1 (150 mg eq.), day 8 (100 mg eq.) and once-monthly thereafter (50-150 mg eq., flexible). Following the OL phase, patients (n=344 East Asian) entered DB phase and were randomized (1:1) to PP1M (n=174) or PP3M (n=170). Primary efficacy endpoint was the percentage of patients who remained relapse free at the end of the 48-week DB phase, using Kaplan-Meier cumulative survival estimate. Secondary efficacy endpoints included change from DB baseline to endpoint in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression Severity, Personal and Social Performance scores and symptomatic remission. Additional assessments included caregiver burden and safety. RESULTS: A total of 285/344 (83%) randomized East Asian patients completed the DB phase. The percentage of patients who had a relapse event was similar on comparing PP3M (17 [10.2%]) to PP1M (20 [11.8%]), and also for Japan (PP3M: 9 [17.6%], PP1M: 13 [23.2%]) and China (PP3M: 6 [5.9%], PP1M: 7 [6.9%]). Mean change from baseline in secondary efficacy parameters was similar to the global population, regardless of treatment. Symptomatic remission was attained by 50% of the treated patients. Caregiver burden was significantly reduced (P<0.001) following treatment with PP3M/PP1M. Frequency of treatment-emergent adverse events in PP3M group during DB phase was greater in the East Asian subgroup (81%) than the global population (68%) and was higher in Japan (92%) than China (75%). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that PP3M is efficacious in the East Asian subgroup. Although treatment-emergent adverse events were slightly higher in the East Asian subgroup versus the global population, no new safety signals were identified.

No association of G72 and D-amino acid oxidase genes with schizophrenia.

The genes of D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) activator (DAOA or G72; 13q34) and DAAO (12q24) have been suggested as candidate genes and involved in the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor regulation pathway for schizophrenia. In order to evaluate the potential association of these two genes with schizophrenia in a Taiwanese sample, three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for DAAO (rs2111902, rs3918346, rs3741775) and eleven SNPs for G72 (rs3916965, rs3916966, rs3916967, rs2391191, rs3916968, rs947267, rs778294, rs3916970, rs3916971, rs778293, rs3918342) were genotyped by the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry method in 218 families (864 individuals) containing at least two siblings affected with schizophrenia. In SNP-based single locus association analyses, neither G72 nor DAAO showed significant association with schizophrenia. Additionally, a three-SNP haplotype in DAAO, and a four-SNP as well as a two-SNP haplotype in G72, showed no significant associations with schizophrenia. These results suggest that the DAAO and G72 genes are not susceptibility genes for schizophrenia in a Taiwanese sample.

Absence of significant associations between four AKT1 SNP markers and schizophrenia in the Taiwanese population.

AKT1 (V-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1) is a protein kinase isoform of AKT. Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms, rs3803300, rs1130214, rs3730358, rs2498799 and rs2494732, at the genomic region of AKT1 have been reported to be significantly associated with schizophrenia. We tested for the presence of these five single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a Taiwanese population by genotyping 218 co-affected schizophrenia families. Both single locus and haplotypes analyses showed no association of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms with schizophrenia. These findings fail to support AKT1 as a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia in the Taiwanese population.

A randomized controlled trial of risperidone and olanzapine for schizophrenic patients with neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of risperidone and olanzapine in schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia on treatment with first-generation antipsychotics. METHOD: We conducted a 24-week, rater-blinded, flexible-dose study. Sixty patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia (n = 58) or schizoaffective disorder (n = 2) met the DSM-IV research criteria for neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia and were randomly assigned to a risperidone or olanzapine group. The primary outcome was a comparison of the change in the total scores on the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) from baseline to study end point between the groups. The study was conducted from July 2000 to June 2004. RESULTS: The mean ± SD doses of risperidone and olanzapine from baseline to study end point were 1.9 ± 0.7 to 4.1 ± 1.4 mg/d and 8.1 ± 2.0 to 12.6 ± 5.4 mg/d, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in demographic data, severity of tardive dyskinesia, or psychotic symptoms between risperidone and olanzapine groups at baseline assessment. Both groups showed significant improvement in mean ± SD AIMS total scores (risperidone: −7.4 ± 6.9, P < .0001; olanzapine: −6.2 ± 8.0, P = .0002). However, there was a more statistically significant change in the slope of AIMS total scores in the risperidone group than in the olanzapine group (P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that olanzapine may not have better potential for tardive dyskinesia improvement than risperidone did. Double-blinded, fixed dose studies with a larger sample size on schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia from different ethnic groups are needed to confirm the results of our study. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT00621998

Evaluation of RGS4 as a candidate gene for schizophrenia.

Several studies have suggested that the regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) may be a positional and functional candidate gene for schizophrenia. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) located at the promoter region (SNP4 and SNP7) and the intron 1 (SNP18) of RGS4 have been verified in different ethnic groups. Positive results have been reported in these SNPs with different numbers of SNP combinatory haplotypes. In this study, these three SNP markers were genotyped in 218 schizophrenia pedigrees of Taiwan (864 individuals) for association analysis. Among these three SNPs, neither SNP4, SNP7, SNP18 has shown significant association with schizophrenia in single locus association analysis, nor any compositions of the three SNP haplotypes has shown significantly associations with the DSM-IV diagnosed schizophrenia. Our results fail to support the RGS4 as a candidate gene for schizophrenia when evaluated from these three SNP markers.