Dr. Lee Ho Ming, Edwin 李浩銘
MBChB (CUHK), MSc (CUHK), MRCPsych, FHKCPsych, FHKAM (Psychiatry)
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
Honorary Associate Consultant, Queen Mary Hospital & Kwai Chung Hospital
Director of Internal Affairs, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
Chairperson of Laboratory Committee, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
Department Representative, Medical Faculty Library Committee, University of Hong Kong
Department Representative, Faculty Information Technology Committee, University of Hong Kong
Vice-Chairperson of Knowledge Development & Transfer, Hong Kong Early Psychosis Foundation (EPISO)
Working Group Member, Early Assessment Service for Young People with Psychosis (EASY)
Executive Board Member, Asian Network of Early Psychosis
Editorial Board Member, East Asian Archives of Psychiatry
Secretary, Hong Kong Schizophrenia Research Society
Member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal
Email: edwinlhm@hku.hk
The HKU Scholars Hub Page address:http://hub.hku.hk/rp/rp01575
ORCID: 0000-0002-8909-0676
Biography
Edwin Lee is a Clinical Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Hong Kong. He specializes in the field of psychosis with major interests in 1) Psychopharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology, 2) Exercise and cognitive interventions, 3) Neurocognitive science and neuroimaging and 4) Stigma and social psychiatry.
In recent years, Lee has conducted a series of studies to investigate various metabolic effects of antipsychotics, including weight gain, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome in early and chronic psychosis people. These investigations have provided important information of the differential metabolic effects of antipsychotics and the current situation in Hong Kong, with long-term implications to our health care system.
In order to promote physical health in mental illness, his team collaborated with the University of British Columbia to explore the neurocognitive in additional to physical effect of yoga and aerobic exercise. It is the first study to demonstrate that yoga and aerobic exercise can improve the working memory and attention of female with early psychosis. This is an exciting novel finding as cognitive impairment is a core feature of psychosis, which pharmacological treatment has limited effect.
Furthermore, the improvement in cognitive functions was also evidenced in change of brain structural volume. Imaging studies have found structural brain abnormalities in different stages of psychosis and it is encouraging to show yoga and aerobic exercise can increase the hippocampal volume after 12 weeks. Analysis of the brain's amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) showed yoga can reduce ALFF in left precuneus, which plays a pivotal role in the intrinsic activity and self-consciousness when resting.
To transfer the knowledge to the community, Lee has participated in a series of public awareness events including press conferences, internet, news media, radio and TV.
In view of the benefit of yoga and aerobic exercise, his team collaborated with Hong Kong Early Psychosis Foundation (EPISO) to organize a territory-wide FitMind campaign to promote exercise in people with psychosis in Hong Kong. This meaningful campaign has received support from the Food and Health Bureau (HCPF Project No. 26120214), University of Hong Kong (Knowledge Exchange Funding 2014/15-44) and was awarded the Outstanding District Efforts Award in the 2016 HSBC Community Partnership Programme. Hundreds of people with psychosis have participated in FitMind and caregivers, NGOs and hospitals have also learnt about FitMind and adopted it in their activities.
FitMind has also been promoted in the community to encourage social integration. Through these community activities, the positive attitude towards mental health can be fostered to lessen the stigma associated with mental illness.
Lee has published over a hundred of papers in refereed journals, including Lancet, JAMA Internal Medicine, American Journal of Psychiatry, British Journal of Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine. He has presented regularly in international conferences, including invited lectures for the Japanese Society for Social Psychiatry and Korean Society of Schizophrenia Research. He also takes part in professional training and organized workshops to transfer knowledge to local health care professionals.
Prevalence of antipsychotic use in Hong Kong population (Adopted from AmJPsych)
Decreased ALFF in precuneus in yoga compared to control (Adopted from Schizophr Res)
Selected Publications
Psychopharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology
Lee EH*, Hui CL, Chan PY, Chang WC, Chan SK, Chen EY. Suicide Rates, Psychiatric Hospital Bed Numbers, and Unemployment Rates From 1999 to 2015: A Population-Based Study in Hong Kong. Am J Psychiatry. 2018 Mar 1;175(3):285-6. (IF 14.176)
Lee EH*, Hui CL, Lin J, Chang WC, Chan SK, Chen EY. Antipsychotic Treatment of Young Chinese Individuals From 2004 to 2015: A Population-Based Study in Hong Kong. Am J Psychiatry. 2016 Sep 1;173(9):939-40.(IF 14.176)
Lee EH*, Chow LY, Leung CM. Metabolic profile of first and second generation antipsychotics among Chinese patients. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Feb 28;185(3):456-8.
Wong AY, Wong IC, Chui CS, Lee EH, Chang WC, Chen EY, Leung WK, Chan EW. Association Between Acute Neuropsychiatric Events and Helicobacter pylori Therapy Containing Clarithromycin. JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Jun 1;176(6):828-34. (IF 16.54)
Exercise and cognitive interventions
Lee EH*, Hui CL, Chang WC, Chan SK, Li YK, Lee JT, Lin JJ, Chen EY. Impact of physical activity on functioning of patients with first-episode psychosis--a 6 months prospective longitudinal study. Schizophr Res. 2013 Nov;150(2-3):538-41.
Lin J, Chan SK, Lee EH*, Chang WC, Tse M, Su WW, Sham P, Hui CL, Joe G, Chan CL, Khong PL, So KF, Honer WG, Chen EY. Aerobic exercise and yoga improve neurocognitive function in women with early psychosis. NPJ Schizophr. 2015 Dec 2;1(0):15047.
Li YK, Hui CL, Lee EH, Chang WC, Chan SK, Leung CM, Chen EY. Coupling physical exercise with dietary glucose supplement for treating cognitive impairment in schizophrenia: a theoretical model and future directions. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2014 Aug;8(3):209-20.
Leung CM, Stone WS, Lee EH, Seidman LJ, Chen EY. Impaired facilitation of self-control cognition by glucose in patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled study. Schizophr Res. 2014 Jun;156(1):38-45.
Neurocognitive science and neuroimaging
Lee EH*, Hui CL, Chang WC, Chan SK, Lin J, Chen EY. Comparison of cognitive functions, pre-morbid conditions and clinical characteristics between brief psychotic disorder and schizophrenia. Psychol Med. 2016 Jul;46(9):2011-3.(IF 5.23)
Hui CL, Lee EH*, Chang WC, Chan SK, Lin J, Xu JQ, Chen EY. Delusional disorder and schizophrenia: a comparison of the neurocognitive and clinical characteristics in first-episode patients. Psychol Med. 2015 Oct;45(14):3085-95.(IF 5.23)
Lin J, Geng X, Lee EH*, Chan SK, Chang WC, Hui CL, Tse M, Chan CL, Khong PL, Honer WG, Chen EY. Yoga reduces the brain's amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in patients with early psychosis results of a randomized controlled trial. Schizophr Res. 2016 Nov 29. pii: S0920-9964(16)30550-3. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.11.040. [Epub ahead of print]
Ungvari GS, Goggins W, Leung SK, Lee EH, Gerevich J. Schizophrenia with prominent catatonic features ('catatonic schizophrenia') III. Latent class analysis of the catatonic syndrome. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Feb 1;33(1):81-5.
Stigma and social psychiatry
Lee EH*, Hui CL, Ching EY, Lin J, Chang WC, Chan SK, Chen EY. Public Stigma in China Associated With Schizophrenia, Depression, Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome, and Psychosis-Like Experiences. Psychiatr Serv. 2016 Jul 1;67(7):766-70.
Lee EH*, So HC, Chen EY. Admission Rates and Psychiatric Beds in Hong Kong, 1999-2014: A Population-Based Study. Psychiatr Serv. 2016 May 1;67(5):579.
Lee EH*, Ching EY, Hui CL, Lin JJ, Chang WC, Chan SK, Chen EY. Chinese label for people at risk for psychosis. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2015 Feb 26. doi: 10.1111/eip.12232. [Epub ahead of print]
Xiang YT, Yu X, Ungvari GS, Lee EH, Chiu HF. China's National Mental Health Law: a 26-year work in progress. Lancet. 2012 Mar 3;379(9818):780-2.(IF 39.207)
Grants and Awards
GRF (UGC), “A 6-week double-blind randomized controlled trial of transcranial direct current stimulation for cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia” (HK$765,364, 2017-2019, as PI)
NSFC (UGC), “Neurodevelopmental eflect of gene-environment interaction among early-onset schizophrenia patients: a combined genetic and neuroimaging approach” (HK$1,195,955, 2016-2019, as co-I)
HCPF (Food & Health Bureau), “FitMind Exercise for Improving Cognition: A Train-the-trainer Program for Mental Health Caregivers in the Community” (HK$299,940, 2013-2015, as PI)
HMRF (Food & Health Bureau), “Predicting treatment response in first-episode psychosis” (HK$999,680, 2014-2016, as co-I)
Commissioned Research (Food & Health Bureau), “The Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey 2010” (HK$7,655,308, 2010-2013, as co-I)