Search

Background: The hypomania checklist-32 (HCL-32) is a widely used questionnaire developed for identifying hypomanic components in patients with a depressive episode. Measuring and screening previous hypomanic symptoms in individuals without any definite history of depressive episode would also be needed for early detection of bipolar disorders (BDs). This study aimed at testing the clinical utility of the HCL-32 for screening of BDs in the non-clinical population., Methods: Lifetime history of hypomanic symptoms was evaluated by using the HCL-32 in 220 patients with BDs and 313 non-clinical individuals. Sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) were evaluated for assessing the discriminatory power of the scale and its two sub-domains in screening BDs., Results: The mean HCL-32 total score was significantly higher in the Bipolar II disorder group compared to the non-clinical group (P < 0.001). Most of the items (10/12) of the irritable/risk-taking factor showed higher positive responses in patient groups. Items of active/elated factor showed mixed results. The HCL-32 total score and the active/elated factor score were not adequate for both BDs and its subgroups with AUC values of less than 0.7. The irritable/risk-taking factor score showed higher discrimination power, i.e. AUC for BDs, Bipolar I disorder, and Bipolar II disorder was 0.71, 0.67, and 0.75, respectively., Conclusions: The HCL-32 could not adequately distinguish BD patients from the non-clinical adult population. However, the current study identified items of irritable/risk-taking factor of the scale that could be useful in screening BDs in the general population.

Background: The neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene has been investigated as a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. A number of studies have also explored the genetic effect of NRG1 on cognitive deficits related to schizophrenia, and thus far generated inconsistent results. The current study aimed to determine whether genetic variations in NRG1 are associated with cognitive domains in schizophrenic patients and healthy individuals., Materials and Methods: Comprehensive neuropsychological tests composed of six cognitive domains were administered to 135 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and 119 healthy individuals. On the basis of previous reports of positive association, a total of four single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed. In testing the genotype effect on cognitive domains, we used repeated-measure analysis for six cognitive domain scores of each individual as repeated measurements., Results: An association of P-value less than 0.05 with at least one cognitive domain in patients and/or healthy individuals was observed for all of the single nucleotide polymorphisms. After applying the correction for multiple testing, the association remained statistically significant between rs6994992 and general cognitive ability (g) in the patient group and between rs2439272 and the 'working memory' domain in the group of healthy participants., Conclusion: This study suggests the involvement of NRG1 in the susceptibility for developing cognitive deficits in schizophrenic patients. For some cognitive domains, its genetic effect was also significant in generating interindividual variability within the normal functional range.