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Natalie Thomas, Caroline Gurvich, Jayashri Kulkarni Central Clinical School , Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCorrespondence: Natalie ThomasMonash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University, Level 4, 607 Street Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, AustraliaTel +61 39 076 5033Email natalie.thomas@monash.eduAbstract: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex psychiatric illness for which treatment poses a significant challenge due to limited effective pharmacologic treatments, and under-resourced psychological interventions. BPD is one of the most stigmatized conditions in psychiatry today, but can be understood as a modifiable, neurodevelopmental disorder that arises from maladaptive responses to trauma and stress. Stress susceptibility and reactivity in BPD is thought to mediate both the development and maintenance of BPD symptomatology, with trauma exposure considered an early life risk factor of development, and acute stress moderating symptom trajectory. An altered stress response has been characterized in BPD at the structural, neural, and neurobiological level, and is believed to underlie the maladaptive behavioral and cognitive symptomatology presented in BPD. The endocrine hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis represents a key stress response system, and growing evidence suggests it is dysfunctional in the BPD patient population. This theoretical review examines BPD in the context of a neurodevelopmental stress-related disorder, providing an overview of measurements of stress with a focus on HPA-axis measurement. Potential confounding factors associated with measurement of the HPA system are discussed, including sex and sex hormones, genetic factors, and the influence of sample collection methods. HPA-axis dysfunction in BPD largely mirrors findings demonstrated in post-traumatic stress disorder and may represent a valuable neuroendocrine target for diagnostic or treatment response biomarkers, or for which novel treatments can be investigated.Keywords: borderline personality disorder, hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis, trauma, stress

Cliff Richardson,1 Jai Kulkarni2 1University of Manchester, Division of Nursing Midwifery and Social Work, Manchester, UK, 2Specialized Ability Centre (Manchester), University Hospitals of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) occurs in 50% and 80% of amputees. Although it is often classified as a neuropathic pain, few of the large-scale trials of treatments for neuropathic pain included sufficient numbers of PLP sufferers to have confidence that they are effective in this condition. Many therapies have been administered to amputees with PLP over the years; however, as of yet, there appears to be no first-line treatment. Objectives: To comprehensively review the literature on treatment modalities for PLP and to identify the challenges currently faced by clinicians dealing with this pain. Method: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, British Nursing Index, Cochrane and psycINFO databases were searched using “Phantom limb” initially as a MeSH term to identify treatments that had been tried. Then, a secondary search combining phantom limb with each treatment was performed to find papers specific to each therapy. Each paper was assessed for its research strength using the GRADE system. Results: Thirty-eight therapies were identified. Overall, the quality of evidence was low. There was one high-quality study which used repetitive transcutaneous magnetic stimulation and found a statistical reduction in pain at day 15 but no difference at day 30. Significant results from single studies of moderate level quality were available for gabapentin, ketamine and morphine; however, there was a risk of bias in these papers. Mirror therapy and associated techniques were assessed through two systematic reviews, which conclude that there is insufficient evidence to support their use. Conclusion: No decisions can be made for the first-line management of PLP, as the level of evidence is too low. Robust studies on homogeneous populations, an understanding of what amputees consider a meaningful reduction in PLP and agreement of whether pain intensity is the legitimate therapeutic target are urgently required. Keywords: phantom limb pain, review, treatment, pain

Gunter De Win,1,2 Siska Van Bruwaene,3,4 Jyotsna Kulkarni,5 Ben Van Calster,6 Rajesh Aggarwal,7,8 Christopher Allen,9 Ann Lissens,4 Dirk De Ridder,3 Marc Miserez4,10 1Department of Urology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, 3Department of Urology, University Hospitals of KU Leuven, 4Centre for Surgical Technologies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 5Kulkarni Endo Surgery Institute, Pune, India; 6Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 7Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, 8Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; 9School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 10Department of Abdominal Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Background: Surgical simulation is becoming increasingly important in surgical education. However, the method of simulation to be incorporated into a surgical curriculum is unclear. We compared the effectiveness of a proficiency-based preclinical simulation training in laparoscopy with conventional surgical training and conventional surgical training interspersed with standard simulation sessions.Materials and methods: In this prospective single-blinded trial, 30 final-year medical students were randomized into three groups, which differed in the way they were exposed to laparoscopic simulation training. The control group received only clinical training during residency, whereas the interval group received clinical training in combination with simulation training. The Center for Surgical Technologies Preclinical Training Program (CST PTP) group received a proficiency-based preclinical simulation course during the final year of medical school but was not exposed to any extra simulation training during surgical residency. After 6 months of surgical residency, the influence on the learning curve while performing five consecutive human laparoscopic cholecystectomies was evaluated with motion tracking, time, Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills, and number of adverse events (perforation of gall bladder, bleeding, and damage to liver tissue).Results:The odds of adverse events were 4.5 (95% confidence interval 1.3–15.3) and 3.9 (95% confidence interval 1.5–9.7) times lower for the CST PTP group compared with the control and interval groups. For raw time, corrected time, movements, path length, and Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills, the CST PTP trainees nearly always started at a better level and were never outperformed by the other trainees.Conclusion: Proficiency-based preclinical training has a positive impact on the learning curve of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and diminishes adverse events. Keywords: laparoscopy, simulation, learning curve, transfer of skills

Jose Manuel Olivares,1 Manickam Thirunavukarasu,2 Jayashri Kulkarni,3 Hong Yan Zhang,4 Mingyuan Zhang,5 Fan Zhang61Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Meixoeiro, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, Vigo, Spain; 2Department of Psychiatry, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Tamil Nadu, India; 3Department of Psychiatry, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Vic, Australia; 4Department of Psychiatry, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 5Department of Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 6Medical Affairs, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical, Beijing, People's Republic of ChinaBackground: Nonadherence is a well-known problem among schizophrenia patients, among whom relapse is fivefold more likely, adversely affecting health, employment, and social functioning. The Spanish Adherencia Terapéutica en la Esquizofrenia (ADHES) survey was developed to determine the scope and causes of medication nonadherence in schizophrenia.Methods: The 20-question ADHES survey was distributed to 19,370 psychiatrists in 13 Asia–Pacific countries in January–April 2012, to ascertain psychiatrists' perceptions of antipsychotic medication adherence levels among their schizophrenia patients, reasons for partial/nonadherence, their preferred methods of assessing adherence, and strategies to improve adherence. Responses are reported as mean and range across countries.Results: Four thousand, six hundred sixty one psychiatrists (24% of recipients) completed the survey (highest contributors: People's Republic of China, 1854; India, 1616). Psychiatrists perceived that 56% (range, 30%-71%) of schizophrenia patients were non- or partially adherent to medication. Patients discontinue medication primarily due to lack of insight into their condition (mean, 37%; 1%–65%) and because patients consider medication unnecessary when feeling better (mean, 27%; 15%–68%). Over half of psychiatrists (mean, 55%; 42%–99%) assess medication adherence at every visit, almost exclusively (81%) by asking their patients, versus quantitative measures. One in three psychiatrists expressed their preference to switch to or add a long-acting antipsychotic to improve adherence (15%–82%).Conclusions: The substantial prevalence of partial/nonadherence to medication demonstrates that more proactive management of patients with schizophrenia is needed to improve adherence and thereby treatment outcomes.Registration: Registration of this study was not required.Keywords: schizophrenia, antipsychotic, APAC, survey, adherence