bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reality Orientation and Dementia: A Controlled Trial of Two Approaches
Authors: Hanley I. G. , McGuire R. J. , Boyd W. D.
Published: August 2008

Classroom Reality Orientation was investigated with a sample of dements drawn from a psychogeriatric hospital and an old people's home. Treatment effects were examined on a range of cognitive and behavioural measures, and compared with the effects of a specific behaviourally directed orientation training in the ward. Class RO improved cognitive functioning but not behaviour, irrespective of degree of dementia. Highly significant behavioural change was demonstrated for ward behaviour orientation training and this technique is not only cheaper but has potential in managing dements.
The Reliability and Validity of Two Assessment Scales in the Elderly Mentally Handicapped
Authors: Smith A. H. W. , Ballinger B. R. , Presly A. S.
Published: August 2008

The Clifton Assessment Schedule and the Shortened Stockton Rating Scale were administered to 38 elderly, mentally handicapped patients. Inter-rater reliability was high and the CAS was found to be a useful measure of cognitive ability. The tests measure different features of patients, but both correlated significantly with estimated levels of independence.
Depression in Children Admitted to Hospital for Orthopaedic Procedures
Authors: Kashani Javad H. , Venzke Randy , Millar Edward A.
Published: August 2008

One hundred children between the ages of 7 and 12 admitted to a hospital for orthopaedic procedures were studied to determine the frequency of depression, according to the DSM III diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. Of the total sample, 23 showed evidence of depression. Loss of interest or pleasure was the most frequent symptom. Significantly more parents of these depressed children were themselves found to have adjustment or emotional problems. The authors emphasize the importance of paying special attention to this high risk group of child patients because of their propensity to depression and other emotional disorders.
Growth Hormone and other Responses to Clonidine in Patients with Endogenous Depression
Authors: Checkley S. A. , Slade A. P. , Shur E.
Published: August 2008

The growth hormone response to clonidine was significantly less in 10 drug-free patients with endogenous depression than in 10 normal subjects who were individually matched with the patients for age and sex. The hypotensive and sedative effects of clonidine in the two groups were similar. The findings may indicate a defect at central a adrenoceptors at least in neuroendocrine systems.
Neuropsychiatric Disturbances following Brainstem Lesions
Authors: Trimble Michael R. , Cummings Jeffrey L.
Published: August 2008

Two patients are described who developed behavioural changes following brainstem injuries. Both patients had neuro-ophthalmological signs indicative of lesions of the rostral brainstem, which were confirmed by CT scanning. It is suggested that the behavioural changes were related to interruption of nearby limbic, hypothalamic and reticular structures.
Psychotherapy with Depressed Outpatients: Patient and Process Variables as Predictors of Outcome
Authors: Rounsaville Bruce J. , Weissman Myrna M. , Prusoff Brigitte A.
Published: August 2008

This paper evaluates the predictive power of two classes of variables which are thought to be related to psychotherapy outcome: patient characteristics assessed at the start of treatment and process characteristics of the psychotherapy. The treatment was Short Term Interpersonal Psychoatherapy which was performed with ambulatory patients during a major depressive episode as defined by Research Diagnostic Criteria. Univariate correlations indicate that patients with generally healthier functioning on the Prognostic Index received better ratings on measures of psychotherapy process and experienced greater improvement in depressive symptoms and social functioning. However, in a multiple regression analysis, patient characteristics accounted for 64 per cent of the variance in treatment outcome, while psychotherapy process variables were not predictive of outcome.
Vulnerability Factors and Depression in Men
Authors: Roy Alec
Published: August 2008

In a matched controlled study of 71 depressed men, parental loss before 17 years, poor marriage, and unemployment were found to be vulnerability factors associated with depression in men.
School Phobia: A Therapeutic Trial with Clomipramine and Short-Term Outcome
Authors: Berney T. , Kolvin I. , Bhate S. R. , Garside R. F. , Jeans J. , Kay B. , Scarth L.
Published: August 2008

A double-blind trial failed to demonstrate any significant short-term effects of clomipramine in doses recommended for use in general practice (in addition to the usual range of psychotherapeutic help) in the treatment of children with school refusal and neurotic disorder. Patterns of improvement were also studied for the sample as a whole irrespective of treatment. Neither age nor sex were significantly related to improvement, except on one behavioural measure where girls initially did better than boys. In addition, it was found that there was a rapid relief of depression but neurotic symptomatology tended to persist.
Five Exhibitionists and a Method of Treatment
Authors: Snaith R. P. , Collins S. A.
Published: August 2008

Five consecutive patients referred to a psychosexual clinic are described to illustrate the diversity of aetiology and pathology, and the need for a range of treatment techniques. Three patients responded to a cognitive-behavioural therapy which is described, and one to antidepressive drug treatment.
Post-Influenzal Depression
Authors: Sinanan Kenneth , Hillary Irene
Published: August 2008

A prospective study was carried out on post-influenzal depression. Four hundred patients presenting with psychiatric illness for the first time took part. The results show that there is no correlation between depressive illness and the demonstration of influenza antibody titres, an indication of recent influenza infection.
Are Young Women who Attempt Suicide Hysterical?
Authors: Goldney Robert D.
Published: August 2008

Young women who had attempted suicide did not score in a more hysterical manner than women in a comparison group when assessed by the Hysteroid-Obsessoid Questionnaire. Those who made suicide attempts resulting in little physical harm more often demonstrated hysterical traits than those whose attempt involved a serious threat to life. However, even in those subjects the majority did not score in an hysteroid manner, and they certainly scored in a less hysteroid manner than subjects of the comparison group.

These results are in accord with the small literature using standardised assessments, and do not support the clinical view that young women who attempt suicide exhibit marked hysterical traits.
Post-traumatic Psychiatric Disturbances: Patterns and Predictors of Outcome
Authors: Keshavan M. S. , Channabasavanna S. M. , Reddy G. N. Narayana
Published: August 2008

A prospective follow-up study of 60 randomly selected cases of closed adult civilian head injuries was conducted for three months from the time of head injury to assess the frequency, patterns, and factors related to posttraumatic psychiatric disturbances.

Eighty per cent of the cases had a neuropsychiatric disturbance as assessed at 1½ months. The commonest was post-concussional syndrome (43 per cent). The extent of social dysfunction was directly related to the severity of head injury. However, the total number of symptoms (largely subjective) correlated highly with pre-traumatic neuroticism. The inter-relatedness of organic and personality factors in the post-traumatic syndrome, and their predictive value, are discussed.
Guided Mourning for Morbid Grief: A Controlled Study
Authors: Mawson D. , Marks I. M. , Ramm L. , Stern R. S.
Published: August 2008

During 2 weeks on a waiting list 12 patients with morbid grief did not improve significantly. They were then randomly allocated either to guided mourning treatment, in which they were encouraged to face cues concerning their bereavement or to control treatment in which they were asked to avoid such cues. Each treatment comprised six 1½ hour sessions over 2 weeks. At week 4 guided mourning patients had improved significantly more than had controls on 3 measures, with a supportive trend on 4 measures. Improvement though modest was maintained to 10–28 weeks follow-up. Control patients did not improve significantly or show any trend to do so.
Cyclone ‘78 in Sri Lanka—The Mental Health Trail
Authors: Patrick V. , Patrick W. K.
Published: August 2008

A longitudinal study of psychological disturbance in the affected population in Sri Lanka after the cyclone disaster of 1978 was carried out. The post-cyclonic stress identified among the rural communities after their return to the same destroyed environment was studied. Symptoms tended to be early or delayed in appearance. The degree of unpreparedness is postulated as the cause of the former. Group cohesiveness and feelings of community tended to delay the manifestation of symptoms. Realization of losses, family needs, and continued habitation in damaged homes acted as reminders and reinforcers. Morbidity continued to affect over half the population one year later. Early intervention within community settings after such disasters is recommended.
A Pilot Study of the Mechanism of Action of Desipramine
Authors: Checkley S. A. , Slade A. P. , Shur E. , Dawling S.
Published: August 2008

To test the hypothesis that desipramine alters α adrenoceptor function in depressed patients, the effects of clonidine upon growth hormone sedation and blood pressure have been measured in depressed patients before and after treatment with desipramine. After three weeks of treatment the hypotensive and sedative effects of clonidine were inhibited in all patients even though plasma desipramine concentrations at this time varied from 42 to 560 μg/l. Growth hormone responses to clonidine were enhanced in five of the six patients but this effect was not statistically significant. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that in these patients desipramine altered α adrenoceptor function: other explanations are discussed.
Management of Suicidal Behaviour
Authors: Morgan H. Gethin
Published: August 2008

A wide range of risk-taking behaviours may be associated with serious damage to the self although not consciously related to a wish for self-destruction: car driving and chronic alcoholism are two examples. Here, however, suicidal behaviour will be taken to refer only to that motivated by a conscious and deliberate aim to destroy the self. There is much evidence that prevention of suicide is a feasible proposition. The majority of suicides make contact with helping agencies in the few weeks prior to their death, they declare their intentions in a variety of ways and they tend to be recognizably unwell. It is just not true that most suicides decide to end their lives without declaring their intention to others. It is therefore important to acquire skills in recognizing and reaching out to those at risk in such a way that hope is rekindled and help accepted.
Psychiatric Interviewing Techniques: I. Methods and Measures
Authors: Rutter M. , Cox A.
Published: August 2008

An account is given of the overall strategy and measures used in a three-phase study of styles and techniques employed in the initial diagnostic interviews with the parents of children referred to a child psychiatric clinic. The measures of interview style included interviewer activity and talkativeness, directiveness, types of questions and statements, interventions designed to elicit or to respond to feelings, and non-verbal qualities. The informant's response and the interview ‘outcome’ were assessed through measures of the quantity and quality of factual information obtained, and of the extent of expression of emotional feelings by the informant. Good inter-rater reliability was achieved with most measures. Some difficulties were experienced in achieving comparable thresholds for the recognition of expressed emotions.
Sexual Dysfunction and Psychiatric Morbidity in Patients Attending a Clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Authors: Catalan Jose , Bradley Maggie , Gallwey John , Hawton Keith
Published: August 2008

Patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) were interviewed to estimate the presence of sexual dysfunction, and the GHQ-60 was used to measure psychiatric morbidity. Over one-fifth of the males and more than one-quarter of the females were experiencing sexual dysfunction problems, and the majority of them would have liked further help for their problems. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are made for dealing with these patients.
Comparison of Clients Assigned to In-patient and Out-patient Treatment for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
Authors: Skinner Harvey A.
Published: August 2008

This study examined characteristics of 296 alcohol and/or drug abuse clients assigned to either (1) in-patient programmes, (2) out-patient programmes, or (3) a lower cost primary care alternative. Multivariate analysis indicated that clients admitted for in-patient care reported greater alcohol consumption and associated problems, fewer community supports and more severe symptoms such as depression and anxiety. They tended to be more frank about their problems while defence mechanisms were more apparent in clients admitted to out-patient and primary care programmes. In general, out-patients ahd more favourable prognostic indicators, such as higher social stability and lower level of alcoholic involvement. The differences among treatment programmes were alongquantitative dimensionsof problem severity. In particular, the alcohol dependence syndrome was a major discriminating dimension.
The Choice of Career of Consultant Psychiatrists
Authors: Brook Peter
Published: August 2008

All consultants in general psychiatry appointed in Britain between 1 October 1975 and 30 September 1978 were sent a questionnaire asking about their training and adequacy of experience before making a final decision. Over a quarter of the respondents were women, of whom a third had trained part-time. Family circumstances and availability of part-time posts were important determinants. Overseas graduates formed another quarter. For many psychiatry was not their first love but availability of posts and status were important factors in choice of career. Many consultants felt they lacked experience in the subspecialties within psychiatry.
Identification of the Endogenous Depressive Syndrome Based on the Symptoms and the Characteristics of the Course
Authors: Matussek P. , Söldner M. , Nagel D.
Published: August 2008

Using a sample of 198 depressed patients (145 female, 53 male) retrospective histories of the illnesses were collected during a depression-free interval, based on a catalogue containing 38 symptom items and the course of the depression (including the interval personality). A cluster analysis on persons and items filtered out an endogenous depressive item profile, corresponding with the clinical syndrome of patients diagnosed as endogenous depressives in the clinics, although determined without reference to the clinical diagnoses. Our study supports many results from earlier multivariate statistical studies. We consider our data to be an essential contribution towards the establishment of a multiaxial clinical picture.
Some Familial and Clinical Characteristics of Female Suicidal Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Birtchnell John
Published: August 2008

The study compares 72 female psychiatric patients who had a history of suicide attempt with 122 who had neither attempted nor contemplated suicide. Of these 194 women, 128 had experienced the death of their mothers before the age of 11, but the proportions of early bereaved and not early bereaved who were suicidal were similar. Not even the events which followed bereavement affected suicidal behaviour, but the suicidal patients tended to come from larger sibships. Poor quality of the marriage and, for the early bereaved only, having three or more children related significantly to suicidal behaviour. The suicidal women were significantly more often described as dependent. Suicidal behaviour was not differentiated on the endogenous/neurotic depressive dichotomy but it was significantly related to severity of depression.
Social Relationships, Adversity and Neurosis: An Analysis of Prospective Observations
Authors: Henderson Scott
Published: August 2008

The effect of deficiencies in social relationships has been studied prospectively in a community sample. In the half who were exposed to the higher level of adversity, these deficiencies explained 30 per cent of the variance in neurotic symptoms four months later. They explained only 4 per cent in those with lower adversity. Contrary to expectation, it was not the lack of relationships, but perception of these as being inadequate under adversity, which had by far the stronger predictive power. This may mean that actual conditions in the immediate social environment are not important for neurosis. Instead, intrapsychic and personality factors may have a much stronger effect.
Psychiatric Interviewing Techniques III. Naturalistic Study: Eliciting Feelings
Authors: Hopkinson K. , Cox A. , Rutter M.
Published: August 2008

A naturalistic study was undertaken of 36 video and audio-taped interviews undertaken by 7 different psychiatric trainees. The interviews studied were those conducted in the ordinary course of clinic work for diagnostic and therapeutic planning purposes by trainees when first seeing the parent or parents of a child newly referred to a psychiatric clinic. It was found that a variety of rather different interview techniques seemed to facilitate emotional expression. These included a low level of interview talk with few interruptions, a high rate of open rather than closed questions, direct requests for feelings, interpretations and expressions of sympathy. The issue of how far these associations reflected causal influences is discussed.
The Incidence of Cognitive Disabilities in the Siblings of Autistic Children
Authors: August Gerald J. , Stewart Mark A. , Tsai Luke
Published: August 2008

Individual components of cognitive disability were assessed in the siblings of 41 autistic probands and compared with similar measures from a control group of siblings of Down's syndrome individuals. The results showed a significant familial clustering of cognitive disabilities in the siblings of autistic probands. These cognitive impairments included disturbances in expressive and receptive language, specific learning disabilities, and varying degrees of mental subnormality.
Psychiatry in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Authors: Liu Xiehe
Published: August 2008

Psychiatry in traditional Chinese medicine had a long evolution, but is now under re-evaluation. Modern psychiatry in China is based on Western psychiatry, and has a history of less than one hundred years since the first lunatic asylum was set up in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1898 (1, 2, 3) and the first generation of Chinese psychiatrists was trained by an American psychiatrist, Dr Lyman, in Peking Union Medical College, in the 1930s. The present paper is a brief introduction to psychiatry in traditional Chinese medicine.
An Ultrasound Technique for the Measurement of Tardive Dyskinesia
Authors: Resek George , Haines John , Sainsbury Peter
Published: August 2008

A simple and portable ultrasound system, using a transducer attached to a pair of spectacles, to measure disorders of facial movement is described and applied to the measurement of tardive dyskinesia. Product-moment coefficients of correlation for the split-half and test-retest assessments of reliability in 20 patients were 0.96 and 0.93 respectively. Concurrent validity was confirmed by assessing the consistency between ultrasound scores and time-sampled scores based on video films (Pearson r = 0.86). Serial measurements of tardive dyskinesia over five months revealed striking individual consistency.
Facial Electromyography as a Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Depression
Authors: Carney Robert M. , Hong Barry A. , O'Connell Michael F. , Amado Henry
Published: August 2008

Electromyograms (EMGs) from the corrugator, zygomatic and splenius capitis muscle sites and Beck depression inventory scores were obtained from 21 depressed in-patients shortly after admission and after two weeks in hospital. Contrary to the result of a previous study by other investigators, significant covariation between depressive symptoms and corrugator EMG levels was not seen. However, consistent with a second finding of the previous study, initial corrugator EMG levels were shown to be significantly predictive of treatment outcome. Further, initial EMG from the zygomatic was also found to predict changes in depression. The explanation is unclear and further research is needed.
Schizophrenics Fully Remitted on Neuroleptics for 3–5 years—To Stop or Continue Drugs?
Authors: Cheung Hung K.
Published: August 2008

A double-blind comparison between benzodiazepines and neuroleptics was carried out for 1 ½ years on 30 schizophrenics who had hitherto continuously received neuroleptics and remained apparently in full remission for at least 3–5 years. The benzodiazepine-group had a significantly higher relapse rate than the neuroleptic-group, meaning that we cannot stop neuroleptics for these patients yet. Three possible reasons for this are (1) demand of the natural course of the illness, (2) the fact that the patients agreed to stay in therapy for so long may signify a need for therapy, (3) some of the relapses on stopping neuroleptics may be ‘withdrawal psychosis' after prolonged neuroleptic therapy. If withdrawal of neuroleptics is really needed, however, it may be considered for a subgroup of female patients whose illness started after the age of 40.
Identity Alterations and Prognosis in Schizophrenia
Authors: Yarden Paul E. , Raps Charles S.
Published: August 2008

Delusions of altered personal identity were studied over a four-year period in 53 young schizophrenic in-patients divided into 13 with persistent delusions, 16 with fleeting delusions and 24 with no delusions of identity alteration at first examination. The three groups were clinically otherwise comparable. Follow-up showed that those with persistent delusions of altered identity had a poor prognosis and deteriorating course.
Psychiatric Effects of Alternate Day Steroid Therapy
Authors: Cordess Christopher , Folstein Marshal , Drachman Daniel
Published: August 2008

The prevalence of emotional disorder in a total of 72 patients suffering from myasthenia gravis or from peripheral neuromuscular disorders was assessed, using the General Health Questionnaire and Present State Examination.

Approximately half the patients were being treated with an alternate day regime of prednisone, receiving high dosage one day and low the next. Emotional disorder was found to be less prevalent among these patients than among patients not on steroids. The significance of the finding is discussed.
Platelet Monoamine Oxidase Activity in Acute Schizophrenia: Relationship to Symptomatology and Neuroleptic Medication
Authors: Owen Frank , Bourne Rachel C. , Crow Timothy J. , Johnstone Eve C. , Fadhli Adnam A.
Published: August 2008

Platelet MAO activity was assessed in 35 schizophrenics during a trial of the isomers of flupenthixol. Enzyme activity was unrelated to severity of symptoms, the presence of delusions, hallucinations or thought disorder or to negative symptoms. In a few patients MAO activity fluctuated widely with time, but in the group of patients on medication there was a slow decrease in enzyme activity which was significant after 28 days of treatment. Enzyme activity after 14 days' drug treatment was still correlated with activity before treatment, but after 28 days this significant correlation disappeared. Slow effects of neuroleptic drugs on platelet MAO activity may explain previous findings of reduced activity of the enzyme in schizophrenia.
Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Bilingualism: A Brief Review
Authors: Hughes G. W.
Published: August 2008

Individuals who speak one or more languages in addition to English comprise a small but important proportion of the general population of this country. In most clinical situations, provided verbal communication is adequate, proficiency in a second language has little medical relevance. Studies of neuropsychiatric disorder in bilinguals and polyglots have, however, demonstrated that their cerebral organization and utilization of language is different to that observed in monolinguals. Such differences have important implications in the clinical presentation and management of neuropsychiatric illness in bilingual patients.
Field Dependence and the Differentiation of Affective States
Authors: Parkes Katharine R.
Published: August 2008

The extent to which anxiety, irritability and depression were differentiated as separate entities associated with characteristic patterns of somatic and cognitive symptoms by field dependent (FD) and field independent (Fl) normal female subjects was studied with the Hidden Figures Test and Unpleasant Emotions Questionnaire. In the Fl group the correlations between the three emotions were low and non-significant, reflecting a clear-cut differentiation in symptom configuration, as shown by psychiatrists. In the FD group the inter-correlations were significant and positive, corresponding to relatively poor symptom differentiation, comparable to that of a psychiatric patient group. This suggests that the cognitive style variable of field dependence may underly differences in symptom differentiation associated with psychiatrist/patient differences and, more generally, with social class and sex differences.
A Suicidal Family
Authors: Khin-Maung-Zaw  , Zaw K. M.
Published: August 2008

The familial incidence of affective illness is well documented. Many studies have shown identical twins to be highly concordant for affective illness (e.g. Price, 1968; Tsuang, 1977). Suicide is strongly linked with affective disorder. However, few cases of both twins committing suicide have been described, and the family reported here, in which several other members also committed suicide by violent means, is thought to be of considerable interest.
Propranolol in Schizophrenia
Authors: Peet M. , Bethell M. S. , Coates A. , Khamnee A. K. , Hall P. , Cooper S. J. , King D. J. , Yates R. A.
Published: August 2008

Fifty-three hospitalized chronic schizophrenic patients were treated with either propranolol, chlorpromazine or placebo in a double-blind randomized trial for up to three months. Propranolol in a usual dose of 640 mg/day, produced marked cardiovascular effects but no improvement in schizophrenic symptomatology relative to placebo. The effects of chlorpromazine were small and inconsistent.
The International Classification and the Diagnoses of English Psychiatrists 1968–1980
Authors: Kendell R. E.
Published: August 2008

The diagnoses given to samples of 1,000 first admissions to English mental hospitals in 1977 and 1980 were compared in order to find out how much influence the 9th revision of the International Classification and its glossary had had on the diagnostic habits of English psychiatrists since its introduction in January 1979. Although the differences between 1977 and 1980 diagnoses were modest they were greater than those found in an earlier comparison of 1968 and 1971 diagnoses, before and after the introduction of the 8th revision. Comparison of all four sets of diagnoses, from 1968 to 1980, revealed some serial changes in the categorization of depressive illnesses and a slowly increasing familiarity with the ICD. Although a higher proportion of diagnoses used the nomenclature of the ICD in 1980 than in previous years, this was mainly because the ICD had adapted itself to the habits of English psychiatrists rather than the other way about.
Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorder and Organic Brain Disease
Authors: Abrams Richard , Redfield Joel , Taylor Michael Alan
Published: August 2008

We used the Wechsler Adult Itelligence Scale (WAIS) to study a sample of patients with affective disorder (N = 52), schizophrenia (N = 17) and organic brain disease (N = 8). Schizophrenic patients had lower verbal, performance and full-scale IQs than patients with affective disorder, but were no different from those with organic brain disease. An individual WAIS subscale analysis showed that, compared with affectives, schizophrenics had relatively poorer performance on language than non-language tasks.

These differences were independent of age, sex, handedness, educational level or drug administration and are consistent with a variety of studies demonstrating significant cerebral dysfunction in carefully diagnosed schizophrenic patients.
Life Events and Hospitalization in Children: A Comparison with a General Population
Authors: Kashani Javad H. , Hodges Kay K. , Simonds John F. , Hilderbrand Ernest
Published: August 2008

This study compared life events in three groups: hospitalized psychiatric, hospitalized paediatric, and non-patient non-hospitalized children, all aged 7–12 years. The most common life event in each group respectively was moving to a new school district, hospitalization for physical illnesses, and outstanding personal achievement. The hospitalized children had a significantly greater number of life events and mean score of life events than that of the general population. The authors conclude that the study of life events alone is insufficient to infer a causal relationship between life events, onset of illness and hospitalization in children.
A Medical Social Assessment of Admissions to Old People's Homes in Nottingham
Authors: Ovenstone Irene M. K. , Bean Philip T.
Published: August 2008

A medical, psychiatric and social assessment was conducted on 272 residents admitted consecutively to local authority residential care for the elderly in Nottingham in the year ending 31st January 1978. A high level of medical and psychiatric pathology was discovered, in spite of frequent general practitioner contact in the community and recent hospital admissions. Few of the staff in the old people's homes were sufficiently qualified to deal with the medical and psychiatric conditions of the residents only a third of whom had been examined by a general practitioner during the month after admission. The social service provision in the community showed an uneven pattern and did not appear to have a direct relationship with the residents' requirements, 12 per cent of whom could have remained in the community had there been adequate social assessment and support. Only just over half were appropriately placed, and a further third should have been in the care of the hospital services.

Recommendations for change are directed towards the provision of routine medical, psychiatric and social assessment of all potential residents by geriatricians and psychogeriatricians in close collaboration with social services in special local authority assessment homes.
Anorexia Nervosa: Some Observations on “Dieters” and “Vomiters”, Cholesterol and Carotene
Authors: Bhanji S. , Mattingly D.
Published: August 2008

Twenty consecutive cases of anorexia nervosa admitted to a general medical ward were found to consist of ten who reduced weight by means of dieting and ten who in addition employed self-induced vomiting. Clinical and biochemical differences between ‘dieters' and ‘vomiters' were less pronounced than those reported elsewhere. However, the ‘vomiters' had higher scores on the anxiety, somatic and depression subscales of the Crown–Crisp Experiential Index and lower serum carotene concentrations. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Physical Symptoms of Depression
Authors: Mathew Roy J. , Weinman Maxine L. , Mirabi Mohsen
Published: August 2008

The incidence of physical symptoms in depression was studied in 51 drug-free patients and in an age and sex-matched control group. Mean symptom intensity and number of symptoms were significantly higher in the patient than in the control group. The subjects' personality structure and relationships between their symptoms and degrees of depression and anxiety were examined using the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Of the variables studied, only theNscore of the EPI was shown to influence the symptoms significantly. The effect of such non-specific factors as age, gender, use of alcohol, coffee, tea, and cigarettes was also evaluated and found to be minimal.
The Meaning of Attempted Suicide to Young Parasuicides: A Repertory Grid Study
Authors: Parker Adrian
Published: August 2008

In an attempt to clarify the intentional aspect of parasuicide, constructs in response to a supposed crisis were elicited from a group of overdose patients, using the standard method of contrasting elements. In this case the elements were presented as a list of 11 alternative behaviours (including overdose and suicide) possible in such a situation. Using 9 of the most common constructs obtained, a repertory grid was administered to a second group of overdose patients and by computer analysis consensus group grids were obtained for patients scoring high and low on the Beck suicidal intent scale. These consensus grids showed that the low intent group perceived an overdose (in comparison to other alternative behaviours) as similar to ‘being alone and crying’ and ‘getting drunk’ and construed it almost exclusively as an escape from tension. In contrast the high intent group perceived overdose and suicide in quite similar terms. The data indicated that an overdose may have a respite function for low suicidal intent patients.
The Syndrome of Capgras
Authors: Todd John , Dewhurst Kenneth , Wallis Geoffrey
Published: August 2008

Three new cases of the syndrome of Capgras are presented. An unusual variant of the syndrome is recorded. It is contended that the definition of the syndrome should be widened to include impersonators who exhibit slight differences from the prototype, and that ambivalence and projection cannot explain all cases. The syndrome is critically reviewed.
The Interaction between Physical Illness and Neurotic Morbidity in the Community
Authors: Barquero J. L. Vazquez , Muñoz P. E. , Jaúregui V. Madoz
Published: August 2008

As part of an epidemiological survey of a rural community in the North of Spain we analysed the interaction between physical illness and neurotic morbidity using a two-phase cross-sectional analysis of a representative sample of the population over 15 years old. There was a very high prevalence of neurosis in the somatically ill (males—15.6 per cent, females—33.1 per cent) and much physical pathology in the group of neurotics (males—42.4 per cent, females—39 per cent). The personal characteristics of the sample, as well as some sociological factors like rural-urban way of life, educational level and social class, appear to influence the relationship between both types of illness. The neurotic morbidity of the somatic group comprised depressive, anxiety and hypochondriac types.
Have Multivariate Statistics Contributed to Classification?
Authors: Paykel E. S.
Published: August 2008

In the last twenty years many workers have applied multivariate statistical techniques to problems of classification in psychiatry. To what extent have the techniques resolved the problems? This personal view will attempt to appraise the current situation.
Attempted Suicide in Young Women: Correlates of Lethality
Authors: Goldney Robert D.
Published: August 2008

One hundred and ten young women aged 18 to 30 years who had attempted suicide by drug overdose were divided into three groups on the basis of the physical threat to life of their suicide attempt. Young women whose suicide attempts resulted in the greatest risk to life were more often unmarried or not in a de facto relationship; reported little use of alcohol; had had recent contact with a psychiatrist; had taken more than 20 tablets or capsules, most often antidepressants; and had a high degree of suicidal intent and hopelessness. Furthermore, there were trends for them to be of high socio-economic status; to have had less history of violence, both used and sustained; to more often demonstrate schizoid personality traits; and to report less death anxiety.
The Predictive Validation of a Suicide Intent Scale: A Five Year Follow-up
Authors: Pierce David W.
Published: August 2008

Five hundred patients who had completed a suicide intent scale after self injury were followed up over five years. Seven definite and six doubtful suicides occurred. The future suicides tended to have high scores on the scale for their original self injury episodes and had very high scores for the penultimate self injury before suicide. Discussion centres on the small number of suicides ascertained and on the use of the scale as a suicide predictor. A group of very high risk patients was identified by repeated use of the scale, and the suggestion is made that the scale might be used as part of a suicide prevention programme.
II. The TRH Test
Authors: Braddock Louise E. , Blake Isabel M.
Published: August 2008

Anterior pituitary response to TRH 200 μg i.v. was studied in ten chronic schizophrenic patients during long-term neuroleptic treatment. Nine patients had normal prolactin (PRL) response as compared with controls but in one the response was blunted; one patient had an exaggerated response. Prolactin increment was higher following TRH than haloperidol challenge. No growth hormone (GH) response to TRH was found and TSH responses were comparable to controls.
Nortriptyline Therapy in Elderly Patients: Dosage Prediction from Plasma Concentration at 24 Hours after a Single 50 mg Dose
Authors: Dawling S. , Crome P. , Heyer E. J. , Lewis R. R.
Published: August 2008

Ten depressed elderly female patients in hospital (mean age 82 years) received a single oral dose of 50 mg nortriptyline prior to commencing treatment with this drug. The nortriptyline concentration in a plasma sample obtained 24 hours afterwards was used to predict the daily dose required to achieve a steady-state concentration within the range of 50–150 μg.l-1. The mean daily dose prescribed was 50 mg (range 20–100 mg). These dosage regimes provided a mean observed steady-state nortriptyline concentration of 104 μg.l-1, with a range of 76–180 μg.l-1 (S.D. 30 μg.l-1). Use of this prediction test can prevent the development of toxic plasma concentrations and enhance the possibility of therapeutic success.
Juvenile Drug Abuse and Delinquency: Some Differential Associations
Authors: Kraus J.
Published: August 2008

Juvenile court histories were investigated of male and female juvenile drug offenders and of control groups of juvenile delinquents never charged with drug-related offences. On most of the parameters of drug-related and of other criminal offences, criminal involvement was greatest among opiate abusers, followed by those abusing sedatives, and then by cannabis abusers. However, this difference was less marked among females than among males. Involvement with crime not related to drugs was greater among delinquents abusing opiates and sedatives than among delinquent controls, while the criminality of delinquents abusing cannabis was less than that of the controls. There were significant differences between the patterns of offences of the four groups, which did not support the economic necessity hypothesis of crime among (at least juvenile) drug abusers. The findings were consistent with progression from soft to hard drugs, and with the view that where juvenile delinquency and drug abuse co-exist, the former tends to precede the latter. The association between juvenile drug abuse and delinquency seems to be accounted for by a common denominator of a sociopathic character development, rather than by some form of causal relationship between these two phenomena.
Morbidity Risks in Subtypes of Unipolar Depressive Illness: Differences Between Early and Late Onset Forms
Authors: Mendlewicz J. , Baron M.
Published: August 2008

Despite the high prevalence of unipolar depression in the general population, few genetic studies are available on subtypes of unipolar illness. We evaluated morbid risks for depression, alcoholism and/or sociopathy in the relatives of early onset (before age 40) and late onset (after age 40) unipolar patients in a sample of 106 probands consecutively admitted to the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Unipolar patients with an early onset disease have a greater familial morbidity for depression, alcoholism and sociopathy than unipolar patients with a late onset disease. There is an excess of unipolar depression in female relatives of early onset unipolars when compared to late onset probands, regardless of the proband's sex. Alcoholism and sociopathy are also more prevalent in the relatives of early onset unipolars versus late onset probands. Our morbidity risk data show familial genetic differences between early and late onset forms of unipolar illness and partially confirm Winokur's concept of two subtypes of unipolar depression.
Acromegaly and Depression
Authors: Margo A.
Published: August 2008

There is only a small literature on the psychiatric complications of acromegaly. Manfred Bleuler (1954) reported an acromegalic man who had blunted affect and apathy and suggested that this clinical picture represented a special variation of the endocrine psychosyndrome. Avery (1973) reported a further case of depression and anxiety in association with the illness. There are relevant reviews by Michael and Gibbons (1963), Beumont (1972), Labhart (1974) and Lishman (1978).
First Admissions of Native-Born and Immigrants to Psychiatric Hospitals in South-East England 1976
Authors: Dean G. , Walsh D. , Downing H. , Shelley E.
Published: August 2008

In the past, birthplace has frequently been omitted in completing the Sheet, but in 1976, over 91 per cent of all first admissions to psychiatric hospitals in South-East England were analysed by birthplace, sex, age-group and marital status. First admissions for schizophrenia were five times the expected number for immigrants from New Commonwealth America (the West Indies), four times the expected number for immigrants from New Commonwealth Africa (mostly ethnic Asians) and three times the expected number from India. Immigrants from Pakistan and the remaining New Commonwealth Asian countries did not show a significantly higher than expected number of admissions for schizophrenia, and their first admissions for alcoholic psychosis and alcoholism, psychoneuroses and personality and behaviour disorders were significantly fewer than expected. First admissions for schizophrenia were also significantly more than expected among immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Poland, but not from Italy.
Language Dysfunction in Schizophrenia
Authors: Faber Raymond , Reichstein Michele Bierenbaum
Published: August 2008

Similarities between language disorders in aphasia and formal thought disorder in schizophrenia are explored in 24 schizophrenic, 5 manic and 5 depressed psychiatric in-patients, and 28 normal controls. Eight sub-tests from the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, a picture naming test and the Token Test were administered. Schizophrenics with formal thought disorder showed significant abnormalities compared to all other groups, particularly on the Token Test and the repetition of phrases test. These deficits are suggestive of language comprehension and repetition dysfunctions in a substantial minority of rigorously defined schizophrenics.
Anhedonia and Schizophrenia
Authors: Cook Mark , Simukonda Fredie
Published: August 2008

Data from Chapman's anhedonia and perceptual aberration scales are presented for groups of schizophrenics and hospital staff control subjects. Differences between the two groups are found for both anhedonia scales and for the perceptual aberration scale, but the difference for physical anhedonia is only marginally significant. The anhedonia scales do not differentiate between the two groups sufficiently well to be useful diagnostically.
The Impact of Social Skills Training within an Established In-Patient Treatment Programme for Anorexia Nervosa
Authors: Pillay M. , Crisp A. H.
Published: August 2008

The paper reports a controlled study of the impact of social skills training within a longer treatment approach to patients with anorexia nervosa. Under these circumstances social skills training was not found to be a very powerful form of intervention. Possible reasons for this are touched on.
Functional Tests of the Corpus Callosum in Schizophrenia
Authors: Jones Gareth H. , Miller Julian J.
Published: August 2008

The corpus callosum, a cerebral commissure of 200,000,000 fibres, is thickened in chronic schizophrenia and several neuropsychological and neurophysiological techniques have suggested poor links between the two cerebral hemispheres. The interhemispheric conduction time across the corpus callosum, measured in 12 schizophrenics, using the ipsilateral/contralateral latency differences of the early somatosensory evoked response, was found to be effectively zero. It is suggested that schizophrenia is a split-brain condition akin to agenesis of the corpus callosum, unrecognized through the use of compensatory ipsilateral sensory pathways.
Electroconvulsive Treatment in Great Britain
Authors: Pippard J. , Ellam L.
Published: August 2008

A survey of the practice of electroconvulsive treatment, ECT, in Great Britain was made during 1980–81 for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, supported by grants from the Department of Health and Social Security and the Scottish Home and Health Department. This paper is a summary of the main findings together with suggestions from the authors.
Electroconvulsive Therapy in a Rural Teaching General Hospital in India
Authors: Shukla G. D.
Published: August 2008

This paper analyses the pattern of use of and the response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in an Indian rural teaching general hospital between 1977 and 1980. ECT was used in 503 cases (14.3 per cent of 3,517). Three-quarters of the patients to whom it was given were schizophrenic, one-fifth depressed and 6 per cent suffering from post-partum psychosis. Though the treatment gave the best results in depression it was also effective in many schizophrenics and post-partum psychotics. The commonest side effect was memory impairment. Following unmodified ECT severe confusion and excitement were frequent while thrombophlebitis, bronchospasm, prolonged apnoea and peripheral circulatory collapse occurred only with the modified technique. The usefulness of ECT in developing countries like India is highlighted.
The Behavioural Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction
Authors: Hawton Keith
Published: August 2008

The past 12 years have witnessed the establishment of behavioural methods of treating sexual problems based on the principles developed by Masters and Johnson (1970). Such methods, with some modifications, have proved to be well suited to the needs of our health service (Bancroft, 1975). It is an expedient time to take stock with regard to the current situation in this field, particularly the extent to which treatment facilities are meeting patients' needs, the type of methods being used, and how successful they are. In view of the rapid developments that have occurred in sex therapy it is also appropriate to consider what are now the oustanding clinical and research needs in this area.
Prospective Study of the Psychiatric Disorders of Childbirth
Authors: Cox J. L. , Connor Y. , Kendell R. E.
Published: August 2008

A representative sample of 105 women were assessed by Goldberg's Standardised Psychiatric Interview (SPI) on two occasions during pregnancy and twice more in the puerperium. Total SPI scores increased significantly after childbirth. Thirteen out of the sample had a severe postnatal depression and a further 17 women had milder depression, which in 15 lasted at least four weeks. Marked deterioration of their marital relationships was reported by the depressed women but no other social or obstetric characteristics of postnatal depression were found. Women with severe postnatal blues were particularly at risk of developing persistent depressive symptoms subsequently. The only two women referred to a psychiatrist had personality disorders rather than depressive illnesses.