bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
One‐month prevalence of mental disorders in the United States and sociodemographic characteristics: the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study
Authors: Regier D. A. , Farmer M. E. , Rae D. S. , Myers J. K. , Kramer M. , Robins L. N. , George L. K. , Karno M. , Locke B. Z.
Published: August 2007

The associations between the one‐month prevalence rates of mental disorders and sociodemographic characteristics were investigated for 18571 people interviewed in the first‐wave community samples of all 5 sites in the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Epidemiologic Catchment Area program. Men were found to have a significantly higher rate of cognitive impairment than women after controlling for the effects of age, race or ethnicity, marital status and socioeconomic status. Marital status was one of the most powerful correlates of mental disorder risk: the odds of separated or divorced people having any NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule disorder were twice that of married people after controlling for age, gender, race or ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The odds of those in the lowest socioeconomic status group having any Diagnostic Interview Schedule disorder was about 2.5 times that of those in the highest socioeconomic status group, controlling for age, gender, race or ethnicity and marital status. For all disorders except cognitive impairment, race or ethnicity did not remain statistically significant after controlling for age, gender, marital status and socioeconomic status.
A controlled study of dawn simulation in subsyndromal winter depression
Authors: Norden M. J. , Avery D. H.
Published: August 2007

In a randomized, cross‐over design, 16 subjects with recurrent autumn‐winter symptoms but without major depression were treated with 4 days of dawn simulation consisting of a gradually increasing illuminance over 45 min peaking at 100 lx (slow dawn) and with 4 days of a light rapidly increasing over a 4 s period to 100 lx (rapid dawn). The slow dawn was significantly better than both baseline and the rapid dawn in improving subjective measures of energy, mood, social interest, productivity, quality of sleep and quality of awakening.
A twin study of DSM‐III‐R anxiety disorders
Authors: Skre I. , Onstad S. , Torgersen S. , Lygren S. , Kringlen E.
Published: August 2007

The prevalence of anxiety disorders was studied in a sample of 20 monozygotic (MZ) and 29 dizygotic (DZ) co‐twins of anxiety disorder probands. A comparison group of co‐twins of 12 MZ and 20 DZ twin probands with other non‐psychotic mental disorders was also studied. All subjects were personally interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R Axis I (SCID‐I). Panic disorder was significantly more prevalent in co‐twins of panic probands. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was more prevalent in co‐twins of GAD probands with a history of mood disorder (NS). Post‐traumatic stress disorder was significantly more prevalent in co‐twins of anxiety probands and was more prevalent in MZ than in DZ co‐twins. The prevalences of social and simple phobia were equal in co‐twins of anxiety and comparison probands. For both panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder the MZ:DZ concordance ratio was more than 2:1. The results support the hypothesis of a genetic contribution in the etiology of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and post‐traumatic stress disorder. The hypothesis that simple and social phobia are mainly caused by environmental experiences was also supported.
Atrial natriuretic peptide and arginine vasopressin secretion in schizophrenic patients
Authors: Ohsawa H. , Kishimoto T. , Shimayoshi N. , Matsumura K. , Tahara K. , Kitera K. , Higashiura N. , Noriyama Y. , Matsumoto H. , Hirai M. , Ikawa G.
Published: August 2007

Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured in 15 patients with schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorders and 15 healthy volunteers during oral water loading at 20 ml/kg. In the patient group, plasma AVP was secreted even when plasma osmolality was below 270 mosmol kg, although the sensitivity of AVP secretion response to osmolality was lower than in the controls. The ANP level was higher in the group of patients than in the controls. There was a negative correlation between plasma ANP and osmolality in the patients. We speculate that the volume expansion caused by inappropriate AVP secretion stimulated plasma ANP release and that the natriuresis resulting from the elevated plasma ANP level might contribute to hyponatremia.
Post‐dexamethasone cortisol levels and computerized tomographic findings in manic patients
Authors: Mukherjee S. , Schnur D. B. , Lo E.‐S. , Sackeim H. A. , Cooper T. B.
Published: August 2007

The relations of post‐dexamethasone cortisol levels to computerized tomography (CT) scan findings of lateral and third ventricle size and cortical sulcal prominence rated separately for frontal and parieto‐occipital distributions were examined in 15 manic patients. Failure to suppress endogenous cortisol after a dexamethasone challenge was associated with larger third ventricles, but not to any of the other CT scan measures.
Premenstrual changes: are they familial?
Authors: Glick H. , Endicott J. , Nee J.
Published: August 2007

To investigate the potential familial component in premenstrual changes, 80 pairs of sisters were assessed with the Premenstrual Assessment Form, a retrospective measure, and the Daily Ratings Form, a prospective measure, for physical, behavioral and mood changes during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Sisters were not found to be concordant for premenstrual changes on measures derived from either procedure, a finding contradictory to previous reports in the literature as well as to our own prior research.
Short‐term and intermediate‐term outcome in adolescent eating disorders
Authors: Steinhausen H.‐C. , Seidel R.
Published: August 2007

Within a prospective longitudinal outcome study of the eating disorders with onset during adolescence, 26 former patients were reassessed at short‐term (19‐38 months) and intermediate‐term (48‐72 months) follow‐up periods. It was shown that the outcome was worse at short‐term follow‐up. In addition, the changes of diagnostic categories within the spectrum of the eating disorders were studied. It is concluded that outcome studies require repeated assessments to study the various patterns of course of the eating disorders.
Personality disorders in DSM‐III‐R as categorical or dimensional
Authors: Ekselius L. , Lindström E. , von Knorring L. , Bodlund O. , Kullgren G.
Published: August 2007

Despite the atheoretical approach of the DSM‐III‐R, the personality disorders have their roots in specific theoretical schools. Due to clinical tradition, analogies with Axis I and the tradition in psychiatry and medicine, the personality disorders are presented as categories although there is more empirical support for a dimensional approach. This study attempted to determine whether the separate personality disorders meet Kendell's criteria for distinct entities, i.e., bimodality with distinct points of rarity. None of the personality disorders met the criteria for a distinct disease entity. Instead, all of the personality disorders presented as continuous, dimensional personality traits present among healthy subjects and more pronounced in patients with mental disorders.
The test‐retest reliability of the Mini‐Mental State Examination in chronic schizophrenic patients
Authors: de Leon J. , Ellis G. , Rosen P. , Simpson G. M.
Published: August 2007

The test‐retest reliability of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) was explored in a sample of 22 inpatients suffering from chronic schizophrenia by DSM‐III‐R criteria. Patients were tested 4 times during a period of 4–6 weeks. The total score for serial sevens showed consistently significant reliability at about 0.7, and the total score for spelling displayed a lower reliability at about 0.4, which was of borderline significance. In this short period of time, 36% and 27% of the patients shifted between being demented and nondemented when the serial sevens and spelling, respectively, were used to calculate total scores. The MMSE should not be used to categorize schizophrenics as demented or nondemented in biological studies using relatively stable variables.
Emergence of depressive symptoms during treatment for panic disorder with specific 5‐hydroxytryptophan reuptake inhibitors
Authors: Fux M. , Taub M. , Zohar J.
Published: August 2007

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) have been established as effective drugs in the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. However, there are also reports that they can induce depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in patients. Eighty of 230 patients who met the DSM‐III‐R criteria for panic disorder received, during the course of treatment, fluvoxamine (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) at a dose level between 50–200 mg/day. The patients were clinically evaluated for a history of affective disorder and for the presence of affective symptoms before the treatment and for emergence of depressive symptoms during the treatment. Seven of the 80 patients (9%) developed symptoms of depression despite a good antianxiety response. Five of the 7 patients received fluvoxamine as second choice after tricyclic antidepressants (TCA). These patients had no history of affective disorder, and no symptoms of depression were present before the treatment with fluvoxamine. The depressive symptoms abated after the fluvoxamine was discontinued and TCA or clonazepam was prescribed. The depressive symptoms reappeared when fluoxetine was administered. None of these 7 patients developed depressive symptoms while treated with TCA or clonazepam. Among the 150 patients treated with TCA and benzodiazepines, not a single case of depression was seen in patients without a previous history of depression. These results suggest a vulnerability among some of panic disorder patients to noradrenergic‐serotonergic imbalance caused by SSRI, which has to be taken into clinical consideration.
Mental tiredness in the Lundby study: incidence and course over 25 years
Authors: Hagnell O. , Gräsbeck A. , Öjesjö L. , Otterbeck L.
Published: August 2007

The Lundby study is a prospective, epidemiological survey of mental health in a total population. When evaluating the material of 2550 individuals followed from 1947 to 1972, we found a large group with mental tiredness as the dominating symptom. Next to depression this was the most frequent diagnosis in the population. According to our concept of Tiredness, one third of the women ran a lifetime risk of developing a first‐ever episode of Tiredness, while the risk for men was one fifth. The incidence of Tiredness is described together with the total frequency of episodes. The course of mental illness starting with a first episode of Tiredness within the 25‐year investigation period shows that about one third of the men and half of the women relapsed into Tiredness or other mental illnesses, not infrequently with a serious outcome. However, most of the episodes of Tiredness lasted less than 2 years and were of milder impairment. We emphasize the importance of further investigations by means of epidemiological, clinical and neurochemical methods as regards the heterogeneous syndrome of mental fatigue.
Does prenatal influenza divert susceptible females from later affective psychosis to schizophrenia?
Authors: Takei N. , O'Callaghan E. , Sham P. C. , Glover G. , Murray R.M.
Published: August 2007

We examined the relationship between influenza epidemics and the number of schizophrenic and affective psychotic individuals born each month between 1938 and 1965 in England and Wales. Increased death rates from influenza were followed 5 months later by a significant increase in schizophrenic births and a concurrent fall in the number of births of affective psychotic individuals. When the sexes were examined separately, both the positive effect of influenza on schizophrenic births and its negative effect on affective psychotic births were evident for females but not for males. Furthermore, during February to June in high influenza years, there was an inverse relationship between the number of female schizophrenic and affective psychotic births. The explanation for these surprising findings may be that prenatal exposure to influenza impairs the neurodevelopment of some females with a predisposition to affective psychosis, in such a way that their later illness shows schizophrenic rather than affective features.
Changes in the frequency distribution pattern of body weight in patients with major depression
Authors: Shioiri T. , Kato T. , Murashita J. , Yamada N. , Takahashi S.
Published: August 2007

To compare the frequency distribution of body weight of the depressed patients with that of a standard group and to evaluate the change in distribution during treatment, body weight was measured in 106 depressed inpatients with major depressive disorder as defined by DSM‐III criteria both on admission and on discharge. The body weight distribution in the depressed patients skewed towards a high frequency of lower weights on admission but shifted to the normal pattern on discharge. In women, this tendency was more obvious and was statistically significant. The body weight distribution in the depressed patients with melancholia maintained high frequencies of lower body weight on discharge, while that in those without melancholia did not, suggesting that there could be a difference in the pattern of body weight distributions between those with endogenous and nonendogenous depression. Three tricyclic antidepressants examined (imipramine, clomipramine and desipramine) did not seem to have the side effect of pathological weight gain in the frequency distribution pattern.
Prospective evaluation of the serotonin syndrome in depressed inpatients treated with clomipramine
Authors: Lejoyeux M. , Rouillon F. , Adès J.
Published: August 2007

The serotonin syndrome, induced by serotoninergic agents, includes confusion, agitation, myoclonus, diaphoresis, tremor and diarrhea. The authors prospectively evaluated all these symptoms in 38 depressed inpatients fullfilling DSM‐III‐R criteria for major depression. Sixteen (42%) of 38 patients presented at least one symptom of serotonin syndrome. In 14 cases tremor and myoclonus occurred simultaneously, and 10 patients presented at the same time tremor plus myoclonus, diaphoresis and shivering. Except for 2 patients, symptoms were transient, lasted less than 1 week and disappeared with the pursuit of treatment.
Risperidone versus perphenazine in the treatment of chronic schizophrenic patients with acute exacerbations
Authors: Høyberg O. J. , Fensbo C. , Lingjærde O. , Sloth‐Nielsen M. , Salvesen I. , Remvig J.
Published: August 2007

Risperidone (RIS), a new neuroleptic with 5‐HT2‐ and dopamine D2 receptor‐blocking properties, was compared with perphenazine (PER) in a double‐blind, multicentre, parallel‐group study in 107 chronic schizophrenics with acute exacerbation. RIS 5‐15 mg or PER 16–48 mg daily was given for 8 weeks. Psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression. Seventy‐eight patients completed the trial; there was an equal number of dropouts on both drugs. The mean daily dose at endpoint was 8.5 mg RIS and 28 mg PER. The reduction in total PANSS score to endpoint did not differ significantly, although there was a tendency in favour of RIS. The number of patients with predominantly negative symptoms who showed at least 20% reduction in total PANSS score was significantly larger in the RIS group. Furthermore, the number of patients showing at least 20% reduction in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score (BPRS being a subscale of PANSS) was significantly larger in the RIS group. The hostility cluster of BPRS improved more on RIS than on PER in the endpoint analysis. The overall prevalence of side effects was fairly similar in the two groups.
Psychiatrists’ religious attitudes in relation to their clinical practice: a survey of 231 psychiatrists
Authors: Neeleman J. , King M.B.
Published: August 2007

A total of 231 psychiatrists working in several London teaching hospitals were surveyed about their private religious attitudes and how these affected their reported clinical practice. Although only 27% reported a religious affiliation and 23% a belief in God, 92% felt that psychiatrists should concern themselves with the religious concerns of their patients. Although the psychiatrists who were religious were more likely to make referrals to religious leaders or to disclose their own beliefs to patients, contrary to reports from the United States there was no evidence that psychiatrists’ private religious beliefs had an important influence on their clinical practice.
Spirit possession and healing among Chinese psychiatric patients
Authors: Kua E. H. , Chew P. H. , Ko S. M.
Published: August 2007

This is a study of the illness behaviour of 100 Chinese psychiatric patients referred consecutively to the psychiatric unit of a general hospital in Singapore. More women than men felt that their illness was due to spirit possession; but belief in possession was not related to educational status. Thirty‐six patients or their relatives had consulted a traditional healer before going to the hospital. Duration of illness, sex and educational status were not associated with the tendency to seek help from the traditional healer; there was also no significant difference between psychotic or neurotic patients. The majority of depressed patients (72%) presented with somatic complaints of chest discomfort, headache and abdominal discomfort. Somatization was not related to the educational level or sex of the patients.
Fini Schulsinger's contribution to psychiatric research in genetic epidemiology
Authors: Strömgren E.
Published: August 2007

During the last 3 decades, intensive cooperation between researchers in Denmark and the United States has provided important new insights into the genetic and environmental causes of mental disorders. This cooperative work has been centred around the Psykologisk Institut at Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen, founded and directed by Fini Schulsinger, who has been the mediator of the very different kinds of research projects and who himself has also made important contributions to the understanding of nature‐nurture problems within psychiatry.
The Danish psychiatric register as a tool in epidemiology
Authors: Munk‐Jørgensen P. , Kastrup M. , Mortensen P. B.
Published: August 2007

The electronic part of the nationwide Danish Psychiatric Central Register is now almost 25 years old. In this period it has proved its high value in administration, planning, treatment of patients, and not least in psychiatric research. Due to its national coverage, the register makes it easy to conduct epidemiological studies, such as analysis of trends, register linkage research, identification of representative cohorts for further analysis and follow‐up studies of clinically identified cohorts. After many years of political turmoil, the register now seems to have assumed a more reasonable form, making allowance for both research interest and data protection. A proposed directive on the protection of medical data from the European Community may be a serious threat to the register and will probably eliminate all epidemiological and clinical research based on registers.
The role of sex and age in suicidal behavior
Authors: Bille‐Brahe U.
Published: August 2007

Danish suicide rates for the last 65 years and data from 1976–1979 and 1989–1990, respectively, on attempted suicide in a representative Danish area show that marked changes have taken place in the distribution by sex and age of suicides and suicide attempters. Relatively more women are now taking their own life and, although suicidal risk still increases by age, the high‐risk group also has come to include younger age groups. In contrast, relatively more men are attempting suicide, and the suicide attempters are getting older. Thus an equalization of the sexes has taken place, and the effect of age has become less pronounced. Both trends tally with the general trends in society.
The toxicity of drugs used for suicide
Authors: Crome P.
Published: August 2007

Death from suicidal drug overdose differs from other forms of suicide in that the drugs are often prescribed by the patient's physician. In 1987, 3 of the 12 most commonly taken drugs in completed suicide were antide‐pressants (dothiepin, amitriptyline and imipramine). Antidepressants account for approximately 15% of all drug overdoses. The differences in toxicity between antidepressants have been measured using fatal toxicity indices, which relate the number of deaths and the amount of drug prescribed. Results from the United Kingdom covering the years 1975 to 1986 have shown that older tricyclic antidepressants have a fatal toxicity index 5 to 8 times higher than that of new antidepressants such as mianserin. The limitation of barbiturate prescribing has been followed by a fall in deaths from these drugs. Hopefully in the future it might be possible either to prescribe less toxic antidepressants or to identify the patients at greatest risk of drug suicide and to prescribe for them the least toxic drugs.
A new self‐rating scale for depression and anxiety states based on the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale
Authors: Svanborg P. , Åsberg M.
Published: August 2007

Self‐assessment scales have long been used in psychiatric research even if their validity has often been questioned, one reason being poor the concordance of expert ratings. In clinical practice the use of rating scales is restricted, since they are considered to be time‐consuming and perhaps even to disrupt the clinician's rapport with the patient. In the present study, a self‐assessment scale, the CPRS Self‐rating Scale for Affective Syndromes (CPRS‐S‐A), was constructed by re‐phrasing in a self‐rating format 19 items from the original Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and covering depression, anxiety and obsessional symptoms. In a group of 30 patients with depression syndromes and anxiety syndromes, the CPRS‐S‐A and the original CPRS were both used on 2 occasions. The patient's Global Assessment of Functioning scores ranged from 30 to 76 (mean 58), which suggests a moderate severity of illness, as does the fact that the majority were outpatients. There was a high degree of concordance between the instruments for most items and for the scores on the subscales for both diagnostic groups (i.e., the Montgomery‐Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Brief Anxiety Scale, which are both subscales drawn from the CPRS). The time taken to complete the CPRS‐S‐A varied from 5 to 30 min (mean 19 min for depressive and 16 min for anxiety patients on the first occasion, 13 min for both groups on the second), and the self‐rating procedure was readily accepted by both groups of patients. The CPRS‐S‐A would thus seem to be a promising instrument for quantitative rating of symptoms in ambulatory patients, both in clinical practice and in research.
Twin concordance for congenital and adult‐onset psychosis: a preliminary study of the validity of a novel classification of schizophrenia
Authors: Corrigall R. J. , Murray R. M.
Published: August 2007

As a test of the hypothesis that the psychoses can be divided into congenital and adult‐onset forms, we applied operational criteria for these two disorders to the case summaries of 24 monozygotic and 33 dizygotic schizophrenic twin pairs. Our results indicate that the reliability and validity of this novel classification are comparable with the best of the existing systems and support further investigation of the hypothesis.
Mental disorders in patients with noncardiac chest pain
Authors: Alexander P. J. , Prabhu S. G. S. , Krishnamoorthy E. S. , Halkatti P. C.
Published: August 2007

About 70% of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) patients have mental disorders as reported from Western countries. The phenomenon of somatization is considered to be aetiologically important in the genesis of NCCP. Though somatization is generally considered as more prevalent among non‐Western cultures, systematic studies of mental disorder among NCCP patients are rare from developing countries. Based on treadmill test, 54 male inpatients in a cardiology general ward in India were divided into a group having ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and another group of NCCP. A psychiatric interview was conducted blindly on these subjects with the help of a structured interview schedule, and DSM‐III‐R diagnosis was made. Sixty‐eight percent in the NCCP group and 27% in the IHD group had a mental disorder. The total number of subjects with a mental disorder, including panic disorder and major depression, were significantly more in the NCCP group. Mental disorders appears to be equally common among NCCP patients in developing countries also and detailed psychiatric assessment is warranted in patients with chest pain of non‐IHD origin.
Male suicides and alcohol consumption in the former USSR
Authors: Wasserman D. , Värnik A. , Eklund G.
Published: August 2007

A significant decline (34.5%) in the suicide rate occurred in 1984–1988 throughout the USSR. The decline was observed shortly after the introduction of strict restrictions on the sale of alcohol. We tested the hypothesis that the restrictive alcohol policy in the first years of perestroika (June 1985) caused the fall in suicide rates in the former USSR. Data on alcohol consumption, violent death caused by external injury and poisoning (n= 916,315), death due to accidental alcohol poisoning (n= 77,837), suicide (n= 192,305) and death undetermined whether accidentally or purposely (n= 54,253) were analyzed for all former Soviet republics for 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990. Men were chosen for the analysis, since men are more prone to abuse alcohol than women. Regression analysis with alcohol consumption as the independent variable and suicide rates and violent death rates as dependent variables shows that suicide and alcohol consumption were positively correlated as were violent death and alcohol consumption. In the republics with high alcohol consumption (Slavic and Baltic), suicide rates were also high. In the Caucasian republics, low alcohol consumption was associated with low suicide rates. For most republics, alcohol seems to explain more than 50% of suicides. Alcohol also has considerable explanatory value for violent death. Thus, a restrictive alcohol policy might be a way to reduce suicide and violent death.
SCL‐25 and recognition of mental disorders reported by primary health care physicians
Authors: Joukamaa M. , Lehtinen V. , Karlsson H. , Rouhe E.
Published: August 2007

A marked proportion of primary care patients have mental disorders and problems that remain unrecognized by the patients and their general practitioners. There is furthermore a great variation in the physicians’ ability to detect mental disorders. The aim of the present study was to find out the overall prevalence of mental disorders among patients receiving primary health care. The material consisted of 1000 randomly selected adult patients attending primary care facilities in Turku. The mental disorders were assessed by using the Symptom Checklist (SCL‐25) and by general practitioners. According to the SCL‐25, one fourth of the sample had a mental disorder. Only two fifths of them could be identified by the general practitioners.
Epidemiological and clinical correlates of familial and sporadic schizophrenia
Authors: Roy M.‐A. , Flaum M. A. , Gupta S. , Jaramillo L. , Andreasen N. C.
Published: August 2007

We studied 68 schizophrenic cases with a schizophrenic first‐degree relative (familial group) and 62 cases without such a family history (sporadic group). We compared them on: (i) clinical variables, including premorbid adjustment, age of onset and severity of symptoms; (ii) neural abnormalities, including abnormal involuntary movements, neural “soft” and “hard signs”; (iii) neuropsychological tests, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Continuous Performance Test and (iv) environmental risk factors, including winter birth and obstetrical complications. Sporadic cases were more likely to be born in winter and had more severe psychotic symptoms, but most analyses yielded no difference between the groups. Our results offer some support that sporadic schizophrenia is a more environmental subtype, but they also suggest that the familial vs sporadic distinction of schizophrenia has limited power to identify distinct subgroups.
Organic factors and the clinical features of late paranoid psychosis: a comparison with Alzheimer's disease and normal ageing
Authors: Förstl H. , Dalgalarrondo P. , Riecher‐Rössler A. , Lotz M. , Geiger‐Kabisch C. , Hentschel F.
Published: August 2007

The diagnostic allocation and aetiological basis of paranoid psychoses with late onset is controversial. We examined the clinical features of patients with a diagnosis of paranoid psychosis and we compared their cranial computed tomography (CT) scans and electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings with findings from matched samples of patients with Alzheimer's disease and non‐demented elderly controls. During a 5‐year period, 81 patients (15 men and 66 women) with a diagnosis of paranoid psychosis and onset after age 50 were referred to our Institute. They represent 5.4% of the patients older than 50 admitted during the same period. More than half of these patients had first‐rank symptoms. The ventricles, anterior and sylvian fissures of the paranoid group were larger than in non‐demented controls but smaller than in Alzheimer's disease. The posterior dominant alpha EEG rhythm was slower than in normal ageing and faster than in Alzheimer's dementia. If paranoid patients with first‐rank symptoms were distinguished from the ones without, the former had less severe brain atrophy and faster posterior dominant rhythm, although they received higher doses of neuroleptics. This could be explained by the existence of at least 2 subgroups of late paranoid psychosis: late‐onset schizophrenia and organic paranoid syndrome, the former characterized by first‐rank symptoms and less severe brain atrophy, the latter by more severe EEG and CT scan changes with a closer resemblance to degenerative brain disease.
Immune‐inflammatory markers in schizophrenia: comparison to normal controls and effects of clozapine
Authors: Maes M. , Meltzer H. Y. , Bosmans E.
Published: August 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate immune‐inflammatory markers in schizophrenia and the effects of chronic treatment with clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic agent, on these variables. Toward this end, we measured interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), soluble IL‐6 receptor (sIL‐6R) and sIL‐2R in the blood of 26 normal controls and 14 schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with clozapine. The sIL‐2R and IL‐6 levels were significantly higher in younger (<35 years) schizophrenic subjects than in normal controls and older (≥ 35 years) schizophrenic subjects. The sIL‐6R levels were significantly lower in schizophrenic subjects than in normal controls. Chronic treatment with clozapine significantly increased the blood concentration of sIL‐2R; the increases in the latter were significantly related to the dose of clozapine but not to changes in severity of positive or negative symptoms. We conclude that: (a) schizophrenia in younger people is accompanied by increased IL‐6 and sIL‐2R secretion; and (b) subchronic treatment with clozapine increases sIL‐2R levels. Increased plasma sIL‐2R may be one mechanism by which neuroleptics exhibit their immunosuppressive effects.
A blinded, controlled evaluation of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia, as measured by standardized psychometric interview scales
Authors: Krag N. J. , Nørregaard J. , Larsen J. K. , Danneskiold‐Samsøe B.
Published: August 2007

The objective of the study was to evaluate the presence of psychopathology in fibromyalgia patients compared with a control group of other rheumatologic patients with pain. Forty‐nine fibromyalgia patients and 33 control patients were interviewed blinded, using standardized psychometric scales. Pain was scored on a visual analogue scale. Fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher than the controls on the Bech‐Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale, the Atypical Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. On the Newcastle Depression Scale there was no difference. In both groups a correlation was found between pain score and psychometric scoring. The fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher on pain than the controls. After correcting for this difference, the fibromyalgia patients still scored higher on anxiety and depression.
An analysis of the clinical features of familial schizophrenia
Authors: Murphy B. M. , Burke J. G. , Bray J. C. , Walsh D. , Kendler K. S.
Published: August 2007

Clinical features of familial schizophrenia were examined in 169 siblings from 80 families. Factor analysis of symptoms produced a negative symptom factor (affective flattening and negative thought disorder), a disorganization factor (inappropriate affect and positive thought disorder) and a reality distortion factor (delusions and hallucinations). The negative symptom factor correlated positively with duration of illness and poor outcome. The disorganization factor correlated positively with poor outcome and early age at onset. The only clear correlation between these factors and affective symptoms was a negative one between the negative symptom factor and mania. There were no significant gender differences in age at onset, factor scores or outcome. The implication of these findings in relation to recent research in the areas of psychopathology and epidemiology are discussed.
Psychosocial impact of Huntington's disease on Hong Kong Chinese families
Authors: Wong M. T. H. , Chang P. C. M. , Yu Y. L. , Chan Y. W. , Chan V.
Published: August 2007

Twenty‐eight asymptomatic relatives from 7 Chinese families with Huntington's disease (HD) received psychosocial assessment. One third of these subjects (n= 9) had symptoms of anxiety and depression that warranted a Present State Examination (PSE) diagnosis. One quarter of these subjects (n= 8) would contemplate suicide if their predictive testing indicated a high risk of having the disease. This suicidal risk was associated with a PSE diagnosis of depression and a stress‐coping repertoire with a high proportion of coping strategies of the avoidance type at the time of interview. Early and close liaison with these subjects for the detection of mental symptoms and provision of counselling on a balanced and positive coping style is essential.
Overdose rates in lithium‐treated versus antidepressant‐treated outpatients
Authors: Waddington D. , McKenzie I. P.
Published: August 2007

Our clinical experience that lithium is an agent used infrequently for self‐poisoning was investigated. The rate at which such overdoses occurred was determined from hospital records. A retrospective casenotes study then compared overdose rates in patients taking lithium versus patients on antidepressant medication. A low rate of lithium overdoses was identified, and this appeared to be due to patients on lithium rarely taking overdoses rather than their choice of agent.
Suicide in Denmark, 1922–1991: the choice of method
Authors: Bille‐Brahe U. , Jessen G.
Published: August 2007

The authors describe methods of suicide registered in Denmark during the last 70 years. The preferred method was initially hanging then later poisoning, first mainly with household gas, later with other agents, especially overdoses of medicine. In recent years there has, however, also been an increasing number of hangings, drownings and other methods of suicide, and there seems to be an increasing inclination towards selecting more violent methods. The Danes’ choice of method for committing suicide differ somewhat from that in the other Scandinavian countries; in particular, there have been far more cases of self‐poisoning in Denmark.
The longitudinal pattern of suicidal behaviour in borderline personality disorder: a prospective follow‐up study
Authors: Mehlum L. , Friis S. , Vaglum P. , Karterud S.
Published: August 2007

The aim was to study the longitudinal course of suicidal behaviour and ideation in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared with patients with other diagnoses. Ninety‐seven patients (41 BPD, 33 other personality disorders, 23 no personality disorder) consecutively admitted to a day unit were given a prospective personal interview follow‐up with evaluations at admission, discharge and at follow‐up after 2–5 years. Even when controlled for Axis I disorders, BPD patients showed significantly more often a lifetime history of suicide attempts. BPD patients with a history of suicide attempts were more suicidal at index admission, continued to be so over the follow‐up period and differed systematically in an unfavourable direction from other BPD patients on the major outcome measures. BPD patients without suicidal behaviour had an outcome nearly as good as non‐BPD patients, and only 41% of them retained the BPD diagnosis at follow‐up. Suicidal behaviour and ideation are highly prevalent in BPD. These suicidal expressions are of an enduring nature and seem as a diagnostic criterion to enhance the predictive capacity of the BPD diagnosis.
Increased rates of depression: update of epidemiological findings and analytical problems
Authors: Fombonne E.
Published: August 2007

The evidence for an increased incidence of rates of depressive conditions, defined as depressed mood, depressive syndromes or depressive disorders, is reviewed. Findings from prospective studies, family genetic studies, community surveys, repeated cross‐sectional surveys, admission data and suicide statistics are summarized. Methodological problems and difficulties in the analysis and interpretation of these results are then summarized. Because converging results from studies conducted with various designs, sampling and measurement strategies are convergent, it is concluded that the increase over time of depressive phenomena is a plausible finding. However, its magnitude remains unknown and is probably smaller than sometimes claimed. Furthermore, studies have failed to demonstrate that the increase in rates was specific to depressive conditions. Finally, it is noted that these epidemiological enquiries have failed to provide cues on the possible mechanisms underlying these secular changes.
Validation of Danish case register diagnosis for schizophrenia
Authors: Löffler W. , Häfner H. , Fätkenheuer B. , Maurer K. , Riecher‐Rössler A. , Lützhøft J. , Skadhede S. , Munk‐Jørgensen P. , Strömgren E.
Published: August 2007

The ABC schizophrenia study aims at investigating sex differences in age of onset, symptoms and course of schizophrenic and paranoid disorders. For this purpose, we used case register data from Denmark and Mannheim and a directly examined sample of first admissions (ABC sample). The Danish case register sample included less clinical diagnoses of schizophrenia and more schizophrenia‐related disorders (acute paranoid reaction, paranoid states and borderline schizophrenia) than the Mannheim data (case register and ABC sample). The problem therefore was whether the two datasets are comparable and the results are valid. For this reason a randomized, stratified sample of 116 patients was drawn from the Danish case register sample. The case notes of these 116 patients were requested from the hospitals where the patients had been treated and analyzed by means of a scoring sheet based on the Interview for the Retrospective Assessment of the Onset of Schizophrenia (IRAOS). The use of operationalized diagnoses of the CATEGO program, based on PSE items, which are integrated in IRAOS, demonstrated that the samples of the Danish and the Mannheim case registers and the directly investigated ABC sample have comparable diagnostic distributions. Possible explanations for the differences between the clinical and the CATEGO diagnoses in the Danish case register may be the frequent use of diagnoses of borderline schizophrenia and reactive psychoses (previously called psychogenic psychoses), and above all a more narrow concept of schizophrenia; in Denmark, schizophrenia is diagnosed relatively late, i.e., after the presence of enduring negative symptoms, and thus mostly after the appearance of residual state. These diagnostic preferences may help to explain the fall in first admission rates for schizophrenia – above all in women – in Denmark and the low incidence rates of schizophrenia by first contact within the WHO determinants of outcome study. The earlier hospitalization of men could be replicated as well as the course of treatment (readmissions and discharges) of schizophrenic men and women over 10 years after first admission.
Emotional reactions to psychiatric patients
Authors: Holmqvist R. , Armelius B.‐Å.
Published: August 2007

In psychodynamic milieu treatment, the relations between patients and nurses are the main tools for understanding and helping the patients. For this reason, it is important to construct methods to follow the development of relations and to study characteristics of helpful and nonhelpful relations. In this article, a checklist with feeling words given to nurses and aides in psychiatric treatment facilities is presented and its measurement properties are described. The analysis showed that the checklist as a whole measures the amount of emotional arousal in a reliable way. The individual feeling words have acceptable variance. A factor analysis gave a limited number of factors that are clinically understandable. The checklist seems to be well worth further study.
Dyskinesia in mentally handicapped women: relationship to level of handicap, age and neuroleptic exposure
Authors: Farren C. K. , Dinan T. G.
Published: August 2007

The prevalence of dyskinesia in a randomly selected set of 61 mentally handicapped women with a range of diagnoses, levels of IQ and exposure to neuroleptics was assessed using the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale (AIMS). Overall, 64% of patients had dyskinesia on the AIMS. There was no correlation with neuroleptic exposure, although 43% of patients had been significantly exposed. There was no correlation between the presence of dyskinesia and the original handicapping diagnosis, and there was no increase in dyskinesia as the patients age increased. There was a significant increase in dyskinesia as IQ fell. This study backs the contention that there is a close association between cognitive impairment and movement disorder.
Predicting suicide attempts among adolescents
Authors: Pearce C. M. , Martin G.
Published: August 2007

This study set out to investigate the utility of 4 often referred to behavioural antecedents of suicide attempts ‐ suicide ideation, plans, threats and deliberate self‐harm ‐ in the prediction of suicide attempts and the identification of suicide attempters and nonattempters among adolescents. A total of 156 male and 151 female students aged between 14 and 17 years (mean = 15.8) attending one randomly chosen metropolitan state high school completed a questionnaire concerning a number of aspects of suicidal behaviour. The findings indicated that suicide ideation, plans and threats, and deliberate self‐harm are associated with suicide attempting and that a combination of suicide plans and deliberate self‐harm present a particularly worrying mixture. Further, a composite index of suicidality was demonstrated to have some utility in the identification of suicide attempters and nonattempters. These findings add further weight of evidence to the suggestion that adolescents who enter the spectrum of suicide behaviours are at high risk of making a suicide attempt, although this requires further investigation in a prospective study.
Neuroleptic dose and schizophrenic symptoms
Authors: Peralta V. , Cuesta M. J. , Caro F. , Martinez‐Larrea A.
Published: August 2007

A study was conducted to survey the prescribing practices of neuroleptic doses in 100 consecutively hospitalized DSM‐III‐R schizophrenic patients. The relationship between doses and clinical and symptomatological variables was subsequently analyzed. Patients were evaluated through the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The peak mean dose in chlorpromazine equivalents was 1290 (range 250–7200). Haloperidol was the most commonly employed neuroleptic (67 patients). Neuroleptic doses were correlated with excitement, suspiciousness, hostility, uncooperativeness and poor impulse control. The neuroleptic doses administered in our hospital were similar to those found in other survey reports but higher than those recommended by the controlled dose‐response studies. The correlation found between neuroleptic doses and symptoms of disruptive behavior suggests that we employed high‐dose practices to treat the disruptive symptoms of schizophrenia. We concluded that it is useful to distinguish between the neuroleptic doses required to control the psychotic episode and those to treat the disruptive behavior.
The Australian multicentre double‐blind comparative study of remoxipride and thioridazine in schizophrenia
Authors: Keks N. , McGrath J. , Lambert T. , Catts S. , Vaddadi K. , Burrows G. , Varghese F. , George T. , Hustig H. , Burnett P. , Kerr K. , Zorbas A. , Hill C. , Stedman T. , Johnson G. , Leibert B. , Copolov D. , Mackenzie M. , Dillenbeck C.
Published: August 2007

A double‐blind, randomized study of parallel group design comparing remoxipride and thioridazine (dose range 150–600 mg/day of either drug) was undertaken at 11 Australian centres. A total of 144 patients (remoxipride = 73, thioridazine = 71) with DSM‐III‐R schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder commenced the study, and 89 patients (remoxipride = 45, thioridazine = 44) completed the 6 weeks of the trial. The mean daily doses at last rating were 404 mg (remoxipride) and 378 mg (thioridazine). Initial Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores decreased by a mean 8.7 points in both remoxipride and thioridazine groups. Equivalent treatment responses were also confirmed by Clinical Global Impression. During the study, sedatives or hypnotics were needed by 68% of the remoxipride patients and 51% of the thioridazine patients. Thioridazine was associated with more postural hypotension, drowsiness, increased sleep, headache, dizziness on rising, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction and weight gain, while remoxipride patients reported more insomnia. There were no differences between remoxipride and thioridazine on dystonia, hypokinesia, dyskinesia, rigidity and akathisia. The results indicate that remoxipride has similar antipsychotic efficacy to thioridazine but causes fewer side effects.
A family study of anxiety disorders: familial transmission and relationship to mood disorder and psychoactive substance use disorder
Authors: Skre I. , Onstad S. , Edvardsen J. , Torgersen S. , Kringlen E.
Published: August 2007

The prevalence of mental disorders in 76 first‐degree relatives (parents and nontwin siblings) of 33 subjects with anxiety disorder was compared with the prevalence of mental disorders in 45 first‐degree relatives of 20 subjects with mood disorder and 13 first‐degree relatives of 6 subjects with psychoactive substance use disorder. All subjects were personally interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R Axis I (SCID I). Interrater reliability was high for most diagnoses. Significantly more first‐degree relatives of subjects with anxiety disorder had panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder compared with relatives of probands with mood disorder. Significantly more female than male relatives of anxiety subjects suffered from anxiety disorders; there were no gender differences in the prevalence of anxiety disorders in relatives of mood and psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) subjects. The combination of anxiety and mood disorder was overrepresented in first‐degree relatives of subjects with the same type of comorbidity. In relatives of subjects with mixed anxiety and psychoactive substance use disorder, but no mood disorder, there was an overrepresentation of PSUD; mainly alcohol abuse or dependence.