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Biomedical subjects

B L Low

Publications and source records attributed to B L Low.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Clinical evaluation of risperidone in Asian patients with schizophrenia in Singapore.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of risperidone in a group of Asian patients with schizophrenia in an 8-week open-label, prospective study. METHODS: Patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were recruited from Woodbridge Hospital. After a washout period, they were started on a 56-day trial of risperidone. Outcome was assessed with the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the clinical global impression scale (CGI) and the extrapyramidal symptom rating scale (ESRS). RESULTS: The mean daily risperidone dose at end point was 5.6 mg (range, 3 to 8 md/day). Mean PANSS scores were reduced significantly from 78 +/- 15.1 at baseline to 56.6 +/- 10.9 at end point. Seventeen patients (85%) who were treatment responders, showed at least a 20% reduction in total PANSS scores at end point while nine patients (45%) had a greater than 50% reduction in the total PANSS scores. According to the CGI scale, 85% improved at end point. The severity of extrapyramidal symptoms (mean ESRS scores) were significantly lower at end point than at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone was effective in the treatment of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Panic disorder in Singapore: clinical features and comparisons with generalised anxiety disorder.

Fifty-eight outpatients with panic disorder (PD) were examined to determine their clinical features in comparison with a cohort of 52 patients with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Both groups were of comparable age, sex, educational level, marital status and ethnicity. PD patients were more likely to complain of palpitations, breathlessness, chest pain, numbness, choking sensations and especially fear of dying. GAD patients tended to complain of feeling tense, insomnia, headaches, weakness, restlessness and muscle aches. PD patients had greater comorbidity especially with agoraphobia and depression. Contrary to other reports, there were more males than females in both groups but alcohol dependence and suicide attempts were relatively rare. PD symptoms seemed more distressing, caused more social and occupational disruption, led to more requests for medical investigations and earlier psychiatric consultations. These factors seemed to suggest that panic disorder is a more severe illness than generalised anxiety disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Treatment of kleptomania with fluvoxamine.

We report a patient fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for kleptomania who failed to respond to psychotherapy, behavioural therapy and pharmacotherapy with clomipramine, imipramine and lithium. He was successfully treated with the serotonergic agent fluvoxamine.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Outpatient treatment of bulimia nervosa: an illustrative case study.

The salient features of bulimia nervosa is highlighted. Essential principles of an effective outpatient treatment programme is illustrated using an uncomplicated case history. Cognitive, behavioural and psychodynamic principles are illustrated in the course of therapy. The treatment programme is short-term, can be effectively carried out by non-medical personnel under medical supervision and is therefore likely to be cost-beneficial compared to longer term psychotherapies for the treatment of this disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Eating disorders.

The main forms of eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia nervosa and obesity. The clinical features, aetiology, treatment and prognosis of anorexia and bulimia nervosa are described to highlight the similarities and differences between these two conditions. Both conditions affect predominantly the young female population with body image disturbance as one of the core symptoms. Whilst the body weight of anorexics are by definition low, most bulimics have normal or near normal body weight. Sufferers of anorexia nervosa tend to deny their illness while those with bulimia are often miserable and acutely aware of their eating difficulties. The aetiological factors in both conditions overlap to a large extent. The outcome of treatment for bulimia is reportedly better than that of anorexia nervosa. Obese people often become depressed and anxious as a result of low self-esteem causing them to seek psychiatric treatment. The severely obese who are placed on very low calorie diets may develop adverse emotional disturbances whilst weight gain may follow a major depressive illness or develop as a side effect of psychotropic medications. A subgroup of the obese population engage in frequent binge eating and preliminary criteria are being developed for this condition called "binge eating disorder". Behaviour therapy is the treatment of choice for obesity. Other forms of treatment include individual and group psychotherapy, use of appetite suppressants and in the severely obese, surgical methods.

Anorexia↗
PubMed1993

Clinical evaluation and serum concentration of zuclopenthixol acetate in psychotic Asian patients: a single-dose preliminary study.

Nineteen acutely disturbed psychotic Asian patients were treated with a single intramuscular injection of 50 mg of zuclopenthixol acetate in Viscoleo. Patients were assessed clinically before and after treatment using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Serum zuclopenthixol and the inactive geometric isomer trans(E)-clopenthixol were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography after intramuscular injection. All patients improved, with the BPRS being significantly reduced (p < 0.001) at 72 h after injection. Adverse effects were generally few. The mean +/- SEM serum zuclopenthixol concentrations at 24, 48, and 72 h were 19.9 +/- 2.8, 31.5 +/- 4.5, and 17.8 +/- 2.9 micrograms/L, respectively. trans(E)-Clopenthixol concentrations ranged from negligible to 39.5 micrograms/L. This study confirms that a single intramuscular injection of 50 mg is adequate for managing severely disturbed psychotic patients for the first 3 days. The serum zuclopenthixol concentrations attained in the Asian patients were higher than those reported in Caucasian psychiatric patients. In some patients, a considerable amount of zuclopenthixol had been transformed to trans(E)-clopenthixol.

Adolescent↗