Health benefits of a physical exercise program for inpatients with mental health; a pilot study.

The positive effect of exercise on human health and the relationship between physical activity, health, and wellbeing are well studied and extensively documented in the literature. However, considerably less attention is devoted to the impact of exercise on mental health and wellbeing for people experiencing a mental illness, in general, and in particular for inpatients in the mental health care system. Here, we determine the clinical feasibility and effects of short-term (up to three months) vs long-term (up to six months) group-based exercise program for inpatients with chronic mental health. Changes in psychiatric symptoms, well-being, empathy, and physiological fitness factor (e.g., fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, hemoglobin A1C, and BMI) were monitored before, during and following the physical exercise program. Here, we demonstrated that long-term physical activity improved negative symptoms, but not positive symptoms, while improvement in the severity of the illness as measured by the BPRS questionnaire was found to be independent of the training time. We additionally showed that the empathic ability of patients who exercised for more than three months was significantly improved as compared to the other experimental groups. No significant differences were found in wellbeing, mood, satisfaction, and functioning between exercise groups and the control group. Furthermore, physical activity did not improve any of the physiological parameters that were measured in this study. Together, these data indicate that exercise for at least 3 months seems to improve the overall patient mental state, but not his or her physiological parameters, while improvement in negative symptoms and patient's empathy may occur only after a long-term physical exercise activity.

Valnoctamide as a valproate substitute with low teratogenic potential in mania: a double-blind, controlled, add-on clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Valproic acid's well-known teratogenicity limits its use in women of childbearing age. Valnoctamide is an analog of valproate that does not undergo biotransformation to the corresponding free acid. In mice, valnoctamide has been shown to be distinctly less teratogenic than valproate. Valnoctamide is an anticonvulsant, and we hypothesized that valnoctamide is antimanic. METHODS: We performed a double-blind, five-week, add-on, controlled trial of valnoctamide in mania. Patients were treated with risperidone at doses of the physician's discretion. Valnoctamide or placebo was begun at doses of 600 mg/day and increased to 1200 mg after four days. Weekly ratings by a psychiatrist blind to the study drug were conducted using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI). RESULTS: Fifteen valnoctamide patients and 17 placebo patients completed at least one post-baseline week and were included in data analysis. In all efficacy measures valnoctamide was more effective than placebo as an add-on to risperidone, using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with time as the within-subject factor. Two-way ANOVA showed a significant effect of time (p < 0.001) and significant interaction between treatment and time (YMRS: p = 0.012; BPRS: p = 0.007; CGI: p = 0.003). Differences between valnoctamide and placebo were significant from week 3 to week 5. CONCLUSION: Valnoctamide could be an important valproate substitute for women of childbearing age with bipolar disorder who may become pregnant.