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The main objective of presenting the case series is that despite dramatic symptomatic response by intra venous lorazepam or electro convulsive therapy irrespective of primary diagnosis in catatonia cases some cases remain difficult to treat by conventional treatment. Here, we present five catatonia cases who did not respond to conventional treatment even when treated for primary psychiatric diagnosis along with treatment for catatonia. They ultimately responded partially or completely to clozapine only, which explains the multi-factorial causation of catatonia syndrome as postulated by different scientific research.

Original paper Background Significant cognitive impairment has been considered a core characteristic of schizophrenia. Though many studies have reviewed the phenomenon, only a few Indian studies have investigated this aspect. Aims To compare the functioning of six cognitive domains of patients with chronic schizophrenia with an age, sex and education matched control group and to assess the association of socio-demographic and clinical correlates with cognitive functioning. Methods Nine different neuropsychological tests were administered to assess the different cognitive domains. These were administered to 47 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 29 healthy controls. Results Patients with schizophrenia performed poorly in the areas of processing speed, verbal learning, verbal working memory and visual working memory. We also found that negative symptoms predict poor performance in speed of processing and verbal working memory. Increased age was a predictor of better verbal fluency. Family history of schizophrenia in first degree relatives is a predictor of poor verbal working memory. Conclusions The findings suggest that patients with chronic schizophrenia show selective cognitive impairment. The study failed to show any impairment in the area of concentration and executive function, though patients needed more time and intermittent verbal prompts to reach a level of performance equivalent to controls. Negative symptoms were found to affect cognitive performance while age was associated with better verbal fluency performance.

The unabated exploration and exploitation of natural resources to feed unbridled human consumption hand in hand with the progress of civilization has rendered the earth and its environment quite unlivable for its occupants. For this, the business houses whose procurement and production processes have been at the root of this cycle of degradation need to 'humanize' their operations enough, to ensure sustainability. While many glowing examples of new-age entrepreneurs going back to nature to respond to the sustainability agenda exist, the case of Mitticool Private Limited has been highlighted in this paper.