Clerkship students' use of a video library for training the mental status examination.

Aim: Fewer patient encounters and diminished bedside teaching pose a challenge to medical students' opportunity to learn during clinical clerkships in psychiatry. Videos can be used for close examination of signs and symptoms and to increase engagement and recall. A video library holding recordings of psychiatric patients with mental status examinations were prepared. We explored the students' use of this library during their clerkships.Methods and materials: The video library was introduced to three rotations of medical students and made accessible on hospital computers. Four students volunteered as key informants and were followed daily throughout the clerkship by the first author, using the ethnographic method of participant observation. At the end of the clerkship, group interviews were conducted with each rotation of students, including the key informants. Twelve students participated in the study. Field notes taken during participant observation and the transcribed interviews were merged in a thematic analysis.Results: The analysis reveals the students' autonomous and arbitrary use of the video library. Creatively extending the use of the videos, they scheduled their video sessions according to their individual needs. The students furthermore blended experiences gained from the library and in the ward, thus coping in various ways with the shortcomings of the video library.Conclusions: The medical students felt they benefited from the simplified learning situation offered by the video library. Their frequent shortcuts through the videos during sessions highlighted weaknesses in the feedback and reflection processes occasioned by the library.

Variability between psychiatrists on domains of the mental status examination.

Background: The Mental Status Examination (MSE) is a core element of the psychiatric assessment. To investigate the current level of psychopathological knowledge, the reliability of the MSE can be used as a proxy as it is based on descriptive psychopathology.Methods: Three psychiatrists wrote their MSE based on 27 video recordings. The variability and inter-rater agreement were evaluated using an agreement scale from 1 to 5, made by several psychiatrists. The agreement was analysed by mean values, stratified mean values and Cronbach's alpha.Results: The total agreement had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 (p < 0.000). The grand mean of variability was 4.1 (SD = 0.8). The domains with the highest variability were Attitude (Est. = 3.5, SD = 0.9), Affect (Est. = 3.8, SD = 0.8) and Motor activity (3.7, SD = 0.9). The videos with the highest variability were #2 (Est.=3.3, SD = 1,1) and #21 (Est. = 3.6, SD = 1.1).Conclusions: The overall reliability of the MSE based on Cronbach's alpha was good and the mean variability was low. This indicates that the MSE performed by three psychiatrists is reliable. The main reason for variability was due to individual interpretation and discrepancies in literature. The literature-driven variability could possibly be reduced by approaching national tradition to international practise. The individual variability maybe reduced by increasing the opportunities for clinical group rating.

E-Library of Authentic Patient Videos Improves Medical Students' Mental Status Examination.

OBJECTIVE: During psychiatric rotation, clerkship students must learn the clinical skill of recording an accurate Mental Status Examination (MSE). The authors built a video e-library consisting of 23 authentic patient videos that were accessible on a secure website during the rotation period, aimed at assisting students' acquisition of MSE skills. METHODS: The authors conducted a prospective case comparison study investigating the impact of the video e-library as "add-on" intervention, on acquisition of MSE skills, as measured by a test consisting of three videos with adjoining forced choice questionnaires. Eighty-five clerkship students had instructions and access to the video e-library whereas 82 did not. A group of clinicians, unfamiliar with the video e-library, was also subjected to the new MSE skills test and they served as a reference group. Outcome was defined as scores of MSE skills measured by the purpose made MSE skills test and entailed evaluation questions on the students' use of the e-library. RESULTS: The MSE skill test score differed between the three groups, and the clinicians scored higher than both student groups (clinicians mean score (M) 12.6; p < 0.001). However, the students with video access scored higher compared to students without access (M 10.7 versus M 9.9, p = 0.04). The e-library was appreciated by the students as helpful (83.6%) and they used it not only for practicing the MSE but also for observation of interviewing techniques. CONCLUSION: The e-library with video vignettes of authentic patients strengthens MSE skills as "add-on" to the psychiatric rotation, and evaluations by the students were positive.

Decreased gene expression of neuropeptide Y and its receptors in hippocampal regions during ethanol withdrawal in rats.

Ethanol withdrawal is associated with neuronal hyperexcitability and increased hippocampal glutamate release. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) appears to play an important role in regulation of hippocampal neuronal excitability by inhibiting glutamate release. Expression of NPY and its receptors Y1, Y2, and Y5 was studied in hippocampal areas of rats during ethanol withdrawal after repeated intragastric ethanol administration for 2 or 4 days using in situ hybridization. Withdrawal was associated with decreased hippocampal expression of NPY and each of its receptors, particularly Y2, after 2 and/or 4 days of ethanol compared to control rats. These data suggest that the hippocampal NPY system is downregulated during ethanol withdrawal and these neuroadaptational changes could play a role in mediating withdrawal hyperexcitability.

Pre- and postgraduate education in international health--secondary publication.

The aim of this article is to provide information about possibilities for medical students and doctors to obtain knowledge about international health. Increasing globalisation requires knowledge about international health in such a way that Danish doctors are able to diagnose and treat patients, regardless of the patient's nationality and ethnic background. Denmark has a global responsibility towards low and middle income countries to increase the standard of health. Increased knowledge and research in these countries are important both at an undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Basal ganglia volumes in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients before and after short-term treatment with either a typical or an atypical antipsychotic drug.

The present study examined basal ganglia volumes in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with either a specific typical or atypical antipsychotic compound. Sixteen antipsychotic drug-naive and three minimally medicated first-episode schizophrenic patients and 19 matched controls participated. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with either low doses of the typical antipsychotic drug, zuclopenthixol, or the atypical compound, risperidone. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained in patients before and after 12 weeks of exposure to medication and in controls at baseline. Caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens, and putamen volumes were measured. Compared with controls, absolute volumes of interest (VOIs) were smaller in patients at baseline and increased after treatment. However, with controls for age, gender and whole brain or intracranial volume, the only significant difference between patients and controls was a Hemisphere x Group interaction for the caudate nucleus at baseline, with controls having larger left than right caudate nuclei and patients having marginally larger right than left caudate volumes. Within patients, the two medication groups did not differ significantly with respect to volume changes after 3 months of low dose treatment in any of the VOIs. Nevertheless, when medication groups were examined separately, a significant volume increase in the putamen was evidenced in the risperidone group. The altered asymmetry in caudate volume in patients suggests intrinsic basal ganglia pathology in schizophrenia, most likely of neurodevelopmental origin.

Delayed early proprioceptive information processing in schizophrenia.

It was first suggested that disordered proprioception was a core feature of schizophrenia by Sandor Rado in 1953. Using a recently designed proprioceptive event-related potential paradigm based on a change of load, we studied 12 unmedicated male out-patients with schizophrenia and 24 controls. In the patients, the early contralateral parietal activity was delayed and later central activity had increased amplitude, but gating was unaffected. The results could be understood within the "deficiency of corollary discharge" model of schizophrenia but not within the "filtering" theory. Further studies, including psychiatric controls, are necessary to verify the specificity of the abnormality.

The prefrontal cortex in the Göttingen minipig brain defined by neural projection criteria and cytoarchitecture.

In an attempt to delineate the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the Göttingen minipig brain the distribution of reciprocal thalamocortical projections was investigated using anterograde and retrograde tracing techniques and evaluated in relation to the specific cytoarchitectonic organization. Tracers were visualized using standard immunohistochemistry or evaluated in vivo using manganese (Mn2+) as an MRI paramagnetic tracer. The in vivo tract tracing turned out to be very sensitive with a high correspondence to the histological labelling. Tracers injected into the mediodorsal thalamus labelled the medial and rostral pole of the frontal lobe as well as the anterior cingulate, anterior insular and dorsomedial frontal cortices. Subsequently, the reciprocity and specificity of these connections were tested from injections into the traced frontal cortices indicating that the PFC has cortical connections to different parts of the MD nucleus. Although the granular layer IV, characteristic of primate PFC could not be identified, both cytoarchitectonic and connectional data suggests that the Göttingen minipig has a structurally divided prefrontal cortex. Stereological estimates of PFC volume showed that the Göttingen minipig PFC constitutes about 24% of the total neocortex volume and 10% of the total brain volume.

[Undergraduate and postgraduate education in international health]. / Prae- og postgraduat uddannelse i international sundhed.

The aim of this article is to provide information about possibilities for medical students and doctors to obtain knowledge about international health. Increasing globalisation requires knowledge about international health in such way that Danish doctors are able to diagnose and treat patients, regardless of the patient's nationality and ethnic background. Denmark has a global responsibility towards low and middle income countries to increase the standard of health. Increased knowledge and research in these countries is important both at an undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The postnatal development of cerebellar Purkinje cells in the Göttingen minipig estimated with a new stereological sampling technique--the vertical bar fractionator.

The postnatal development of total number and perikaryon volume of cerebellar Purkinje cells was estimated in the Göttingen minipig cerebellar cortex using a new stereological approach, the vertical bar fractionator. Data were obtained from the brains of five neonate and five adult female Göttingen minipigs. The total number of Purkinje cells ranged from 1.83 x 10(6) in the neonate to 2.82 x 10(6) in the adult Göttingen minipig. The number-weighted mean perikaryon volume of Purkinje cells increased concurrently from around 6,800 microm(3) in the neonate to 17,600 microm(3) in the adult. The study demonstrates that a pronounced postnatal neurogenesis in Purkinje cell number and perikaryon volume is part of the growth and development of the cerebellum in the Göttingen minipig. The Purkinje cells of the Göttingen minipig were found to be substantially large compared with human and represents the largest cells described hitherto from mammalian cerebella. The vertical fractionator is a new sampling technique, which allows the combination of a fractionator design on vertical bar sections excluding exhaustive sampling and bias from artificial edges. By design, the sections are perfect stereological vertical sections and provide the basis for unbiased estimates of total number of structural entities in the brain, including surface area, fibre length and particle volume.

Cognitive deficits and levels of IQ in adolescent onset schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Cognitive deficits have been found to be prevalent in early onset schizophrenia. Whether these deficits also characterise other early onset psychotic disorders to a similar degree is unclear, as very few comparative studies have been done. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the profile and severity of cognitive impairments in first-episode early onset psychotic patients who received the schizophrenia diagnosis to those diagnosed with other non-organic, non-affective psychotic disorders. The secondary purpose was to examine whether the profile of cognitive deficits, in terms of intelligence, executive functions, memory, attention and processing speed was global or specific. First-episode psychotic adolescents (N = 39) between the ages 11 and 17 years were included, 18 of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 21 with other non-organic, non-affective psychoses, using ICD-10 criteria. A healthy control group (N = 40) was included, matched on gender and age. Cognitive functions were assessed using WISC-III/R, the CANTAB battery, WCST, Trail Making B, fluency tasks, and Buschke's selective reminding task. A similar profile and level of impairment was found on measures of attention, executive functions, reaction time, and memory in the schizophrenic and psychotic adolescent groups. However, analyses of WISC-III factor profiles suggested that early onset schizophrenia patients may have more global IQ deficits than non-organic, non-affective psychoses when examined recently after illness onset. Compared to the deficits of adult schizophrenia described in the literature, the results suggest relatively spared simple reaction times in early onset patients.

The postnatal development of neocortical neurons and glial cells in the Göttingen minipig and the domestic pig brain.

The first mathematically unbiased estimates of neocortical cell numbers are presented from the developing pig brain, including a full description of tissue processing and optimal sampling for application of the stereological optical fractionator method in this species. The postnatal development of neocortical neurons and glial cells from the experimental Göttingen minipig was compared with the postnatal development of neocortical neurons in the domestic pig. A significant postnatal development was observed in the Göttingen minipig brain for both neuronal (28%; P=0.01) and glial cells (87%; P<0.01). A corresponding postnatal development of neurons was not detected in the domestic pig brain. The reason for this strain difference is not known. The mean total number of neocortical neurons is 324 million in the adult Göttingen minipig compared with 432 million in the domestic pig. The glial-to-neuron cell ratio is around 2.2 in the adult Göttingen minipig. Based on these results, the domestic pig seems to be a more suitable model for evaluating the effects of developmental insults on human brain growth and neuronal development than the Göttingen minipig.

Frontal dopamine D(2/3) receptor binding in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients correlates with positive psychotic symptoms and gender.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine extrastriatal dopamine D(2/3) receptor binding and psychopathology in schizophrenic patients, and to relate binding potential (BP) values to psychopathology. METHODS: Twenty-five drug-naive schizophrenic patients and 20 healthy controls were examined with single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) using the D(2/3)-receptor ligand [123I]epidepride. RESULTS: In the hitherto largest study on extrastriatal D(2/3) receptors we detected a significant correlation between frontal D(2/3) BP values and positive schizophrenic symptoms in the larger group of male schizophrenic patients, higher frontal BP values in male (n = 17) compared to female (n = 8) patients, and - in accordance with this - significantly fewer positive schizophrenic symptoms in the female patients. No significant differences in BP values were observed between patients and controls; the patients, however, had significantly higher BP in the right compared to the left thalamus, whereas no significant hemispheric imbalances were observed in the healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The present data are the first to confirm a significant correlation between frontal D(2/3) receptor BP values and positive symptoms in male schizophrenic patients. They are in agreement with the hypothesis that frontal D(2/3) receptor activity is significant for positive psychotic symptoms. Additionally, the data support a thalamic hemispheric imbalance in schizophrenia.

Association between the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele and late onset of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The 32-bp deletion allele in chemokine receptor CCR5 has been associated with several immune-mediated diseases and might be implicated in schizophrenia as well. METHOD: The authors genotyped DNA samples from 268 schizophrenia patients and 323 healthy subjects. Age at first admission to a psychiatric hospital department served as a measure of disease onset. RESULTS: Patients and comparison subjects differed marginally in their genotype distribution, with a slightly higher frequency of the deletion allele seen in the patients. The authors found the deletion allele to be associated with higher age at first admission. After age at first admission was analyzed as a continuous variable, it was dichotomized using 40 years as the cutoff. With this approach the authors found that genotype distributions of patients with age at first admission above the cutoff (possible cases of late-onset schizophrenia) and healthy subjects differed significantly. This was reflected in an increased frequency of the deletion allele in the patient subgroup. Patients with ages at first admission below and above 40 years significantly differed in distribution of genotypes and alleles, with an overrepresentation of the deletion allele in the latter subgroup of patients. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele is a susceptibility factor for schizophrenia with late onset. Alternatively, the CCR5 32-bp deletion allele may act as a modifier by delaying the onset of schizophrenia without affecting the disease susceptibility.

No significant association of the 5' end of neuregulin 1 and schizophrenia in a large Danish sample.

Neuregulin 1 has been implicated as a susceptibility gene in schizophrenia. Several research groups have reported association with the 5' end of the gene although no causative variant has been reported. We have investigated whether there is association with the 5' end of the gene in Danish schizophrenia patients. We found that the at-risk haplotype initially reported in the Icelandic population was not found in significant excess (or = 1.4, p = 0.12). The haplotype structure in the Danish sample was similar to that of other reported in other Caucasian populations and highly different from that of Chinese.

Integrated treatment of first-episode psychosis: effect of treatment on family burden: OPUS trial.

BACKGROUND: The families of patients with first-episode psychosis often play a major role in care and often experience lack of support. AIMS: To determine the effect of integrated treatment v. standard treatment on subjective burden of illness, expressed emotion (EE), knowledge of illness and satisfaction with treatment in key relatives of patients with a first episode of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder. METHOD: Patients with ICD-10 schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (first episode) were randomly assigned to integrated treatment or to standard treatment. Integrated treatment consisted of assertive community treatment, psychoeducational multi-family groups and social skills training. Key relatives were assessed with the Social Behaviour Assessment Schedule (SBAS, burden of illness), the 5-min speech sample (EE), and a multiple choice questionnaire at entry and after 1 year. RESULTS: Relatives in integrated treatment felt less burdened and were significantly more satisfied with treatment than relatives in standard treatment. There were no significant effects of intervention groups on knowledge of illness and EE. CONCLUSIONS: The integrated treatment reduced family burden of illness and improved satisfaction with treatment.

Behavioral response to novelty correlates with dopamine receptor availability in striatum of Göttingen minipigs.

Behavioral response to novelty in rats has been linked both to dopamine transmission in the ventral striatum, and to propensity to self-administer psychostimulant drugs. In order to probe the relationship between behavioral response to novelty and dopamine systems we have developed a behavioral model for correlation with positron emission tomography (PET) of dopamine transmission in brain of Göttingen minipigs. In the present study, we measured exploration of a novel object by recording the number of contacts, and duration of contact with a novel object, in groups of six male and six female adult minipigs. We hypothesized that these novelty scores would correlate with the amphetamine-evoked dopamine release in ventral striatum, measured 2 weeks later in a PET study of the availability of binding sites for the dopamine D2/3 antagonist [11C]raclopride. There were significant correlations between duration of contact with a novel object and the amphetamine-evoked reductions in binding potential (DeltapB) in the left ventral striatum of the 12 animals; Comparison of results by gender revealed that the correlation was driven mainly by the male group, and was not present in the female group. We interpret these results to show that propensity to explore an unfamiliar object is relatively elevated in pigs with low basal occupancy of dopamine D2/3 receptors by endogenous dopamine, and with high amphetamine-induced occupancy of released dopamine in the male pigs.