Open-label study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole and haloperidol in the treatment of pediatric tic disorders

Due to its unique pharmacodynamic properties of dopamine partial agonist activity, and its association with few and mild side effects, aripiprazole is a candidate atypical antipsychotic for patients with tic disorders. This open-label study compared the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole with haloperidol, a typical antipsychotic widely used to treat patients with tic disorders. Forty-eight children and adolescents with tic disorders were recruited from the outpatient clinic at South Korea and treated with aripiprazole (initial dose, 5.0 mg/d; maximum dose 20 mg/d) or haloperidol (initial dose, 0.75 mg/d; maximum dose, 4.5 mg/d) for 8 weeks. Treatment efficacy was measured using the yale global tic severity scale (YGTSS), and tolerability was measured using the extrapyramidal symptom rating scale (ESRS) and an adverse effects checklist. Total tic scores as measured by the YGTSS decreased over time in both groups (p < 0.001) without any significant differences between groups. ESRS scores were significantly higher in the haloperidol group during the 4 weeks after commencement of medication (p < 0.05). These results indicate that aripiprazole may be a promising drug in the treatment of children and adolescents with tic disorders. Further controlled studies are needed to determine the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole in these patients

Factors associated with chronic pain in patients with bipolar depression: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: While pain is frequently associated with unipolar depression, few studies have investigated the link between pain and bipolar depression. In the present study we estimated the prevalence and characteristics of pain among patients with bipolar depression treated by psychiatrists in their regular clinical practice. The study was designed to identify factors associated with the manifestation of pain in these patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (n=121) were selected to participate in a cross-sectional study in which DSM-IV-TR criteria were employed to identify depressive episodes. The patients were asked to describe any pain experienced during the study, and in the 6 weeks beforehand, by means of a Visual Analogical Scale (VAS). RESULTS: Over half of the bipolar depressed patients (51.2%, 95% CI: 41.9%–60.6%), and 2/3 of the female experienced concomitant pain. The pain was of moderate to severe intensity and prolonged duration, and it occurred at multiple sites, significantly limiting the patient’s everyday activities. The most important factors associated with the presence of pain were older age, sleep disorders and delayed diagnosis of bipolar disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain is common in bipolar depressed patients, and it is related to sleep disorders and delayed diagnosis of their disorder. More attention should be paid to study the presence of pain in bipolar depressed patients, in order to achieve more accurate diagnoses and to provide better treatment options

Elliptic Flow of Electrons from Beauty-Hadron Decays in Pb-Pb Collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

The elliptic flow of electrons from beauty hadron decays at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The azimuthal distribution of the particles produced in the collisions can be parametrized with a Fourier expansion, in which the second harmonic coefficient represents the elliptic flow, v2. The v2 coefficient of electrons from beauty hadron decays is measured for the first time in the transverse momentum (pT) range 1.3-6 GeV/c in the centrality class 30%-50%. The measurement of electrons from beauty-hadron decays exploits their larger mean proper decay length c\u3c4 48500 \u3bcm compared to that of charm hadrons and most of the other background sources. The v2 of electrons from beauty hadron decays at midrapidity is found to be positive with a significance of 3.75 \u3c3. The results provide insights into the degree of thermalization of beauty quarks in the medium. A model assuming full thermalization of beauty quarks is strongly disfavored by the measurement at high pT, but is in agreement with the results at low pT. Transport models including substantial interactions of beauty quarks with an expanding strongly interacting medium describe the measurement within uncertainties