The first choice group of psychotropic agents in schizophrenia is neuroleptics. However, this treatment is not effective in all patients and with every symptom. We summarize papers published on the role of antiepileptic drugs in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. We have searched the computer database system MEDLINE for relevant articles including reviews, reports of drug studies and case histories. Antiepileptic drugs can change symptoms of schizophrenia by their action on GABA-ergic neurotransmission or via anti-glutamatergic mechanisms. High doses of adjunctive benzodiazepines reduce positive symptoms, anxiety, and agitation. Carbamazepine is effective in affective symptoms of schizophrenia and influences violent behavior in psychotic patients. Its anti-kindling action may represent a promising treatment strategy for some patients with chronic course of schizophrenia. Valproate treatment leads to a decrease in positive symptoms as well as hostility. Lamotrigine is expected to influence the positive, negative, affective, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. New antiepileptics (e.g., gabapentin, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, vigabatrin) present a promise as potential adjuncts to neuroleptic treatment in resistant symptoms of schizophrenia.

For the first time, the present study explores pre-episodic disturbances, i.e. self-experienced vulnerability and prodromal symptoms, and related coping strategies preceding schizophrenic and depressive relapses. After complete recovery from the acute episode, 27 patients with recurrent schizophrenic and 24 patients with recurrent depressive episodes were assessed retrospectively for pre-episodic disturbances and related coping strategies with the “Bonn scale for the assessment of basic symptoms—BSABS”. All (100%) of the schizophrenic and 23 (96%) of the depressive patients showed pre-episodic disturbances. Patients with schizophrenia showed significantly more often an increased emotional reactivity and certain perception and thought disturbances. Depressive patients reported significantly more often an impaired tolerance to certain stress and disorders of emotion and affect. Sixty-three percent of the schizophrenics and 87% of the depressives reacted to pre-episodic disturbances with coping strategies. The pre-episodic disturbances in patients with schizophrenia could be described in terms of mild psychotic productivity, those in depressives in terms of mild depressive syndrome. Future studies will have to show if these findings can be replicated in first episode or initial prodromal state samples and if the assessment of mild psychotic productivity and mild depressive syndrome can be used for early diagnosis and early intervention in schizophrenia and depression.

Insight is a complex phenomenon that can be interpreted according to a dimensional model. Given the controversial data of insight in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), our study aimed to investigate insight in an Italian sample of patients with OCD by means of the specific item on the Yale–Brown obsessive–compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) and to explore the possible correlations between it and clinical features. One hundred and seventeen out-patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD and different comorbid psychiatric disorders were included in the study and assessed by means of the Y-BOCS, Hamilton rating scale for depression (HRSD) and the global clinical impression. The results showed that almost 50% of the patients had an excellent level of insight and 15% had a little or no insight. No correlation between levels of insight and clinical features was observed, except for a negative trend with the presence of somatic obsessions. In addition, a trend towards a lower level of insight was observed in those bipolar patients with a positive history of repeated manic or hypomanic episodes. Further studies seem to be necessary in order to establish whether or not OCD patients with poor insight represent a distinct sub-group of patients.

We investigated the associations between depression and serum testosterone levels in the elderly. There was no significant difference in the mean levels of the serum testosterone between the groups of patients and normals. For both groups, there was no significant correlation between testosterone and total depression scores or age.

A study was conducted to assess differences in psychotropic prescription (PP) in various non-psychiatric hospital settings. After adjustment for demographic, medical and psychological status, rates of PP were significantly lower for surgical, intensive care and outpatients and higher for geriatric patients than for patients in other settings, suggesting inadequate consideration of psychiatric problems in certain contexts, in particular intensive care units.