J Formos Med Assoc
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Orexin-A levels are reportedly increased in antipsychotic (APD)-treated patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and have been associated with metabolic abnormalities. It is not clear whether the orexin-A elevation is related specifically to the drug (APDs) effect, which should be clarified by including a drug-free group for comparison, or related to drug-induced metabolic abnormalities. ⋯ With the inclusion of drug-free patients rather than healthy controls for comparison, we demonstrated that orexin-A is upregulated following APD treatment even after we controlled the potential effect from MS, suggesting an independent effect of APDs on orexin-A levels. Furthermore, the effect differed between APDs with dissimilar obesogenicity, i.e. less obesogenicity likely associated with higher orexin-A levels. Future prospective studies exploring the causal relationship between APDs treatment and orexin-A elevation as well as the underlying mechanisms are warranted.
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Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the second most common psychiatric comorbidity of epilepsy. GAD has a negative impact on seizure control, and it is underrecognized. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) questionnaire is useful for screening GAD in patients with epilepsy (PWE). This study aimed to validate the traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 for Taiwanese patients by obtaining data on adult PWE from our hospital. ⋯ The traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 is a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire for detecting GAD in Taiwanese PWE.
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Case Reports
Episodic weakness and axonal sensorimotor neuropathy caused by a mitochondrial MT-ATP6 mutation.
Episodic weakness is typically associated with a group of disorders so called periodic paralyses. Their major causes are mutation of ion channels, and have rarely been linked to mitochondrial disorders. ⋯ Acetazolamide may be responsive for episodic weakness, and supplements with l-carnitine with coenzyme-Q10 seem to be beneficial as well. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Taiwan which reveals episodic weakness and sensorimotor polyneuropathy as a unique phenotype of MT-ATP6 mutations.
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Patients with epilepsy have an increased risk of stroke. However, the detailed risk and characteristics of postepilepsy stroke have not been investigated. ⋯ Since the increased risk of stroke in epilepsy cohort peaked immediately after epilepsy diagnosis, early implementation of prevention strategies is considered.
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To evaluate the perioperative outcome of laparoendoscopic two-site myomectomy (LETS-M). ⋯ LETS-M using conventional laparoscopic equipment is a minimally invasive surgical method that is safe, effective, and easy to learn for managing uterine myoma. It is useful to achieve a favorable perioperative outcome with acceptable operation time.