SYMPOSIA

Poster Presentations
[PP-051] Ref. No: 199
Aripiprazole treatment for the choreoathetoid movements and psychotic
symptoms of Huntington’s disease: A case report
Sevinç Ulusoy, İzgi Alnıak, Kasım Fatih Yavuz, Tuğba Kara
Bakirkoy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry and Neurology, Istanbul, Turkey
E-mail: tugbakara111@yahoo.com
Introduction: Huntington’s Disease, that is caused by CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the IT15 gene located on the short
arm of chromosome 4, is an autosomal dominant, progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and
psychopathological symptoms (1). The disease is accompanied by a variety of psychiatric disorders and its incidence rates range from 33
to 76%. Although depression is the most common accompanying psychiatric disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, irritability
and manic and psychotic symptoms may be associated with Huntington’s Disease (2).
In this case report, we discuss the effectiveness of aripiprazole on the motor and psychiatric symptoms of a patient with Huntington’s
disease, who had psychotic symptoms.
Case: Two years ago, psychotic symptoms developed in addition to existing neurological symptoms in a fifty-year-old patient who was
known to have had Huntington’s disease for twenty years.
After one month of 30 mg/day aripiprazole treatment for a diagnosis of ‘Psychotic Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition’, a
significant decline was observed in the motor and psychotic symptoms that had been present at the beginning of the disease.
Discussion: Although the pathogenesis of the Huntington’s disease has not been exactly solved, the glutamatergic and dopaminergic
systems with striatal neurodegeneration are thought to be responsible for the clinical signs of the disease (3).
By the consideration of this process it is conceivable that aripiprazole, which is used in the treatment of psychosis and chorea, may be a
well-tolerated agent for its effects on the negative and positive symptoms with low metabolic and extrapyramidal side effects.
Key words: Aripiprazole, choreoathetoid movement, Huntington’s disease
References:
1. Walker FO: Huntington’s disease. Lancet 2007; 369:218–228
2. van Duijn E, Kingma EM, van der Mast RC: Psychopathology in verified Huntington’s disease gene carriers. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2007, 19:441-8.
3. Paoletti P, Vila I, Rife´ M, et al: Dopaminergic and glutamatergic signaling crosstalk in Huntington’s disease neurodegeneration: the role of p25/ cyclin-dependent
kinase 5. J Neurosci 2008; 28:1090–1101
Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology 2011;21(Suppl. 2):S152
[PP-052] Ref. No: 189
Acute effects of Bacopa monnieri on mood in healthy young adults
Chris Neale, Sarah Benson, Con Stough, Andrew Scholey
Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia
E-mail: chrisneale02@gmail.com
Objectives: Previous research has identified that Bacopa monnieri (BM) improves aspects of cognitive functioning such as attention,
speed of information processing and verbal learning with chronic dosing (300mg daily). To date there have been no reports of acute
neurocognitive benefits of BM where acute testing has been evaluated; only one known study has reported on acute Bacopa measures[1].
It is possible that in this previous study the cognitive instruments were not demanding enough to detect acute effects. This study is the
first acute dose ranging study of BM using multi-tasking cognitive assessment and measurement of mood.
Methods: Seventeen healthy young adults took part in this double-blind, placebo-controlled three-period crossover study. They were
administered 300 mg BM, 600 mg BM, or a matching placebo on different days with a seven-day washout period between visits. The
treatment order was determined using a Latin Squares design. Following baseline assessment, participants were administered the day’s
treatment and further assessment took place 1 h and 4 h later. The assessments included the Purple multi-tasking framework (MTF) and
the Bond-Lader mood visual analogue scales (administered before and after each 20 min MTF session). The MTF is a 20 minute framework
where participants are required to complete four tasks simultaneously. Tasks include Stroop, maths, tracking and working memory.
Results: There was a significant, dose-dependent effect of treatment on ratings of alertness favouring the 600 mg treatment at both
S152 Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol: 21, Supplement: 2, 2011 - www.psikofarmakoloji.org