Meta-analysis of drop-out rates in randomised clinical trials, comparing typical and atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess antipsychotic medication in the treatment of schizophrenia, based on trial drop-out rates. METHOD: The studies included were randomised controlled trials that compared any of the four clinically best-established atypical antipsychotics (quetiapine, olanzapine, risperidone or clozapine) against either of two typical antipsychotics regarded as the gold standard (haloperidol or chlorpromazine). RESULTS: Meta-analysis indicated less risk of all-cause patient withdrawal from atypical medication trials where dosage was flexible, in both the short, relative risk (RR) 0.70 (95% CI 0.64-0.76), P<0.00001, and long term, RR 0.72 (0.65-0.80), P<0.00001. Similar results were observed for withdrawal due to adverse events, RR: 0.54 (0.41-0.72), P<0.0001. Nevertheless, the favourable effects of atypical medication disappeared in trials relying on fixed dosage. CONCLUSIONS: We detected a significant positive effect in terms of the outcome of treatment discontinuation for atypical versus typical medication, though only where the use of flexible rather than fixed doses (closer to an experimental control situation) was possible.     

Computed tomography of the brain in the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

Computed tomographic (CT) scans of the brain in a child with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome revealed enlargement of the ventricular system, hypoplasia of the cerebellum, and abnormal thickening of the gray matter, consistent with pachygyria. These findings have been previously noted in autopsies performed on patients with this disorder. We conclude that CT scanning is a valuable tool in the evaluation of children suspected of having the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.     

Effect of ischaemia on somatosensory evoked potentials in diabetic patients.

The nerve action potential at the elbow and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) at the scalp were recorded over 30 minutes of tourniquet-induced limb ischaemia in 10 diabetic patients and 10 controls. According to the SEP changes, an increased resistance to nerve ischaemia in diabetic patients was observed. The pathways involved in SEP conduction are discussed.     

Young men with high blood pressure report few recent life events

Men who had high, medium and low blood pressure at age 18 (compulsory screening for military service in Stockholm) were examined ten years later at age 28. Interviewers, having had no information regarding past or present blood pressure, interviewed them about life events experienced during the year preceding the examination. Men with high blood pressure at rest reported fewer life events for the past year than other men. Furthermore, high plasma adrenaline levels at rest were associated with few reported life events.     

Localization of epileptogenic foci using a simple reference-subtraction montage to document small interchannel time differences

We present a modified EEG montage that detects small interchannel time differences and assists in localizing the epileptogenic focus. Regions with apparently synchronous epileptic discharges are displayed simultaneously in referential and subtraction derivations. The subtraction derivation is a bipolar configuration of two regions of interest that are not necessarily adjacent. The referential derivation reveals the polarity, voltage, and morphology of the two discharges, and the subtraction derivation detects asynchrony; the combined reference-subtraction derivation thus indicates the region that is activated first.