• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.263-277
• /
• 1998

Conventional high-dose antipsychotics tend to result in more side effects, negative symptoms and dysphoria, and at the same time lower the cognitive function which is already impaired in most schizophrenics. Florid psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive impairment greatly impede psychosocial performance and eventual reintegration into society. The reduction of symptom and the improvement of cognitive funtions and social skills are therefore central to the psychiatric rehabilitation process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dose-reduction effects of antipsychotics on chronic schizophrenics prescribed conventional high-dose antipsychotics more than 1,500mg equivalent of chlorpromazine. Fifty-one chronic schizophrenics who maintained high-dose antipsychotics for more than three months were randomly assigned to two groups : 20 patients comprised the dose-maintaining group and 31 patients made the dose-reduction group. Over a sixteen weekperiod Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS), Extrapyramidal Symptom(EPS), Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation(NOSIE-30), Continuous Performance Test(CPT), Quality of Life(QOL), and haloperidol/reduced haloperidol blood levels were determined at the base line and after 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 weeks to evaluate the dose reduction effects of high-dose antipsychotics. The results were as follows : 1) Dose-reduction is highly effective in reducing positive and negative symptoms, and general psychopathology. Effects were most prominent at 8, 12, 16 weeks. Among the dose reduction group, positive symptoms in positive symptom group and negative symptoms in negative symptom group were more reduced. 2 Extrapyramidal symptoms showed no significant difference between two groups. But the EPS was reduced time after time within two groups. 3) Hit rates of Continuous Performance Test, which indicate attentional capacity, increased significantly after dose reduction. 4) Haloperidol and reduced haloperidol blood levels decreased until the 4th week, after which they were constant. 5) Total scores of Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation were unchanged between the two groups. But among the indices, social interest and personal neatness were improved in the dose-reduction group and retardation was aggrevated in the dose-maintaining group. 6) Total quality of life scores were unchanged between two groups. But in the dose maintaining group, satisfaction scores of attention, autonomy, and interpersonal relationship decreased progressively. These findings suggest that the dose reduction of antipsychotics for chronic schizophrenics on programs of high-dose antipsychotics were effective. Dose reduction should therefore be implemanted to spread the rehabilitation and improve quality of life for chronic schizophrenics.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.40-60
• /
• 2004

Introduction：Research on attachment in view point of the developmental perspective which began in the 1940s progressed during several decades. Many investigators focused mother-child separation in early attachment studies, and moved to the relationship with childhood psychopathology. Recently attachment theory and research are moving forward along the intergenerational transmission of attachment patterns, and adolescents and adult mental disorders in the developmental perspectives. Methods：We surveyed the research papers through Medline search, attachment-related monographs, and review or original papers published in Korean journal. Results：Developmental attachment researches have demonstrated convincingly that insecure attachment in infancy is associated with attachment disorder; several childhood psychopatholgy, such as institutional care and adoption, aggression and behavioral problems, childhood anxiety disorders and depressive disorders, gender identity disorder and feeding disorder, and child abuse and maltreatment; peer relationship and social competency, and parental behaviors. Recently the methodological advances including the Adult Attachment Interview that systematically assesses the adults' recollections of the earlier parent-child relationship they experienced could move beyond attachment researcher's initial concern with infancy to consider attachment processes throughout the life span. We could find that the quality of attachment was associated with several mental disorders in adolescents and adults significantly. Conclusion：Attachment theory would have focused on more specific parent-child relationship than general parental behavior. Recent attachment theory underscores its evolutionary origins to promote development of infant and contribute to human survival in psychobiological bases. Advances in attachment research could unite interests in evolutional biology and developmental psychology in understanding early parent-child relationship, and apply to clinical issues concerning mental health throughout the life span.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.40-47
• /
• 2011

Objective : This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in schizophrenia, and the relationship among OCD, severity of psychopathology, and social function in stable patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods : We interviewed 138 symptom-stable inpatients who had been on a constant dose of antipsychotics for at least 1 month prior and diagnosed as chronic schizophrenia. Subsequently, patients were classified according to the existence of OCD as investigated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Further, all clinical and demographic data was investigated. To investigate potential interrelationships, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Korea-Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (K-PANSS), and the Korean Personal and Social Performance (K-PSP) were used. An independent ttest and Chi-square test were used to compare groups and a Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between the Y-BOCS and other clinical rating scales. Results : The prevalence of OCD in schizophrenia patients was 18.1%. Patients with schizophrenia and OCD exhibited significantly earlier onset of schizophrenia, more severe psychiatric symptoms, and lower personal and social performance ability as compared to those without OCD. There was no significant relationship among Y-BOCS, K-PANSS, and K-PSP. Conclusion : We found that comorbid OCD was relatively more frequent in patients with schizophrenia. An investigation involving larger samples of schizophrenia patients with OCD with respect to social function and thus, the effect on quality of life is required.