Investigating the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on the Addiction Relapse after Quitting

Background: Addiction is multi-dimensional medical problem and psychologic defects have a major role on its establishment. This study was designed to determine the effect of emotional quotient (EQ) on the rate of addiction relapse after quitting. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study on 22 to 51 year old subjects who were being treated at chemical dependency rehabilitation centers in Mashhad, Iran, during December 2012 to May 2013. For assessment of EQ, the Persian version of Bar-On EQ questionnaire was employed at first visit of each patient. During the rehabilitation therapy, the subjects were visited monthly. The data of patients were collected during the first 6 months post-quitting. Results: One-hundred sixty subjects were studied which 87% of them were men. Mean (SD) score of patients' EQ was 11.9 (2.8). The mean number of addiction relapses was 2.1 (2.8). Data analysis showed that there was a significant inverse correlation between EQ score and the number of relapses (r = -0.82, P = 0.05). In addition, it was found that the EQ score had a direct significant relationship with age (r = 0.33, P = 0.05). No significant correlation between type of abused substance and the number of relapses was found. Conclusion: EQ has a positive impact on preventing addiction relapse. Increasing EQ through educational programs can be used as a preventive measure for treating addict persons.   How to cite this article: Raisjouyan Z, Talebi M, Ghasimi Shahgaldi F, Abdollahian E. Investigating the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on the Addiction Relapse after Quitting. Asia Pac J Med Toxicol 2014;3:27-30

Comparative Study on the Effect of Risperidone and its Combination with Naltrexone in Pediatric Patients with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Clinical Trial Study

Background Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a syndrome associated with persistent impairments in communication skills, social interactions, and so forth. Given the approval of risperidone and naltrexone by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ASD cases and extant controversy concerning their pertained side effects, this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial with 2-treatment, 2-sequence, 2-period design was intended to evaluate the behavioral effectiveness of individual risperidone and its combination with naltrexone in autistic children aged 4-12 years old. Materials and Methods A total of30 autistic children were recruited in this study, and then equally assigned into groups A and B. The first group underwent co-treatment with risperidone and naltrexone, while group B was instructed to use placebo and risperidone for 8 weeks. After a washout period of two weeks, treatments were crossed over for another 8 weeks. The behavioral changes were assessed applying the childhood autism rating scale (CARS). Results There were five out of 30 cases at the risk of drop-out due to side effect in group A, while only three failed to complete the trial in group B. The effect size of the combined treatment was greater than the individual which was manifest in the total score of CARS, improved 4-week listening response, and 8-week general impressions. Conclusion According to the results, naltrexone can be a promising candidate for the management of behavioral symptoms in autism children

Seroepidemiological Study of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among Psychiatric Patients in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran

Background: Psychiatric patients have an increased risk of some infections like toxoplasmosis. Investigations on Toxoplasma gondii infection among psychiatric patients have been limited in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran. In this case-control study, prevalence of T. gondii was investigated by serological method. Methods: This case-control study was performed among psychiatric patients admitted to Avicenna Hospital in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran. Three hundred and fifty inpatients and 350 controls were examined in 2012-2013 for detection of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii in their blood sera by ELISA. Socio-demographic and clinical manifestations of the patients were obtained. Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies was found in 164 (46.85%) of 350 psychiatric inpatients and 120 (34.28%) of 350 controls. Seventeen (4.85%) of psychiatric individuals and 3 (0.85%) of control group were IgM+/IgG- indicating acute form of toxoplasmosis. There were no statistically significant differences between the case and control groups. In patient group, schizophrenic patients had the highest positive rate (46.28%) and bipolar mood disorder had the second most prevalent rate (20%). Of 162 schizophrenia patients, 65 (40.1%) had latent infection which was higher than that observed in controls. Conclusion: The prevalence of T. gondii infection among psychiatric patients suffering from schizophrenia was more in Mashhad, compared with control group

Efficacy of adding acupuncture to Methylphenidate in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent finding in children with behavioral issues. It has been shown that acupuncture, as a complementary medicine, may have some beneficial effects in ADHD treatment; however, the available evidence of its effectiveness are inadequate. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with ADHD. Methods: This double blind randomized sham controlled trial was conducted on patients with confirmed ADHD referred to Ibn-e-Sina Psychiatric Hospital, Mashhad, Iran between January 2017 and June 2017. Patients were randomly allocated into either an acupuncture (experimental group) or a sham acupuncture (control group). All patients received a standard treatment of 0.3–1 mg/kg of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) in 2 or 3 divided doses. Within 4 weeks the intervention group received acupuncture treatment 3 times a week. Sham acupuncture was used for the control group within the same duration as acupuncture group. The treatment outcomes were measured using home version of ADHD-rating scale (RS) and the Continuous Performance Test after 3 weeks. Independent-samples t-test, Pearson Chi-square test, and Paired-samples t-test were used for data analysis with SPSS version 16.0. Results: This study was conducted on 59 patients (52 males) with a mean age of 10.64 ± 2.46 years in two groups of experiment (n = 31) and control (n = 28). ADHD-RS total score was significantly more decreased in acupuncture group after 3 weeks (-6.29 ± 7.1 vs. -1.96 ± 6.7; p = 0.007). Also, the hyperactivity and impulsivity was significantly more decreased in the acupuncture group compared to the sham control group (-3.29 ± 3.7 vs. -0.45 ± 4.1; p = 0.005). Furthermore, acupuncture did not considerably change Omission error, Commission error, Reaction Time and Correct hit (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Our study showed that acupuncture can significantly improve the parent-report ADHD-RS. Nevertheless, it did not improve the attention deficit. We recommend further investigations with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up. The adverse effects of acupuncture on ADHD patients were not assessed in this study, but should be measured in future studies

Cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for essential tremor: A double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover, add-on clinical trial

BACKGROUND:There is controversial evidence about the effect of cerebellar low-frequency stimulation in patients with essential tremor (ET). OBJECTIVES:In this study we assessed safety and effectiveness of 1 Hz (low-frequency) cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on tremor severity in patients with essential tremor in a sham-controlled crossover trial. METHODS:A total of 23 patients assigned into two groups to receive either sham (n = 10) or rTMS (n = 13) treatment, with crossing over after a two-month washout period. Intervention consisted of 900 pulses of 1 Hz rTMS at 90% resting motor threshold or the same protocol of sham stimulation over each cerebellar hemisphere for 5 consecutive days. Tremor severity was assessed by Fahn-Tolosa-Marin (FTM) scale at baseline and at days 5, 12 and 30 after intervention. The FTM consists of 3 subscales including tremor severity rating, performance of motor tasks, and functional disability. Carry-over and treatment effects were analyzed using independent samples t-test. RESULTS:There was no significant improvement in the total FTM scores in rTMS compared to the sham stimulation on day 5 (p = 0.132), day 12 (p = 0.574), or day 30 (p = 0.382). Similarly, FTM subscales, including tremor severity rating, motor tasks, and functional disability did not improve significantly after rTMS treatment. Mild headache and local pain were the most frequent adverse events. CONCLUSION:Although cerebellar rTMS seems to have acceptable safety when used in ET patients, this study could not prove any efficacy for it in reduction of tremor in these patients. Larger studies are needed to evaluate efficacy of this therapeutic intervention and to provide evidence about the optimal stimulation parameters