bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospital Admissions for Adverse Effects of Medicinal Agents (Mainly Self-Poisoning) Among Adolescents in the Oxford Region
Authors: Hawton Keith , Goldacre Michael
Published: August 2008

Hospital statistics for episodes coded as ‘adverse effects of medicinal agents' were used to study deliberate self-poisoning among people aged 12–20 years in the Oxford Region. Admission rates rose sharply from the age of 12 years, more so for females than males, up to the age of 16 years in females and 18 years in males. Analgesics, antipyretics and psychotropic drugs were the agents most commonly used by both sexes and accounted for three-quarters of all admissions. Admission rates varied from year to year, but increased overall between 1974 and 1979, notably among people under 16 years of age. Admissions for ‘adverse effects of medicinal agents' accounted for 4.7 per cent of all general hospital admissions among people aged 12–20 years.
Suicide in Chronic Schizophrenia
Authors: Roy Alec
Published: August 2008

A matched controlled study of 30 chronic schizophrenic suicides is presented. Eighty per cent were male and committed suicide at a mean age of 25.8 years after a mean duration of illness of 4.8 years. Significantly more of the suicides had a chronic relapsing schizophrenic illness; 23.3 per cent committed suicide while in-patients, and 50 per cent of the out-patients committed suicide within three months of discharge from in-patient care. Significantly more of the suicides had a past history of depression (56.6 per cent), were depressed in the last episode of contact (53.3 per cent), had their last admission for depression or suicidal ideation (55.2 per cent) and were unemployed (80 per cent).
Body Image Disturbance in Dysmorphophobia
Authors: Hardy G. E.
Published: August 2008

Two repertory grids relating to body image and interpersonal relationships were administered to dysmorphophobic, psoriatic and control subjects. Both dysmorphophobics and psoriatics expressed dissatisfaction with their body image and, in addition, dysmorphophobics were dissatisfied with their interpersonal relationships. The dysmorphophobic group were also less happy with their self-concept than the other two groups.
A Child is Charged with Homicide: His Family Responds
Authors: MacLeod R. J.
Published: August 2008

Established social ritual and practice such as exist to help one cope with illness or death are not available for coping with the experience of one's child being accused of murder.
Cancer and Depression: Cancer Presenting with Depressive Illness: An Autoimmune Disease?
Authors: Brown J. H. , Paraskevas F.
Published: August 2008

It is proposed that some cases of depressive illness in cancer patients may be caused by immunological interference with the activity of serotonin, one of the neurotransmitters thought to be implicated in depression. This interference could be mediated in two ways. Antibody induced against a protein released from cancer cells could, on the basis of cross-reactivity with CNS tissue, bind to receptors for serotonin and block them. Such primary antibodies could stimulate the production of anti-idiotypic antibodies, which would act as an alternative receptor for serotonin and reduce its synaptic availability.
The Psychoses of Epilepsy and the Functional Psychoses: A Clinical and Phenomenological Comparison
Authors: Toone Brian K. , Garralda Elena , Ron Maria
Published: August 2008

Sixty-nine patients, each with a combined diagnosis of epilepsy and psychosis, were compared with 53 patients with a diagnosis of functional psychosis. The epileptic affective patients often lacked convincing psychotic features; ECT and lithium were rarely prescribed; only three showed evidence of bipolarity. The epileptic schizophrenic patients were judged to have the better premorbid personality, experienced more paranoid delusions and delusions of reference, and showed less catatonic features than the functional schizophrenic patients. The course of the epileptics' illness was more variable.

The concept that the schizophrenia-like psychosis associated with epilepsy is a distinct nosological entity is supported, but not the suggestion of a relationship between affective psychosis and epilepsy.
Drift and Dangerousness Social Class Differences Between Acute Schizophrenics and Their Parents in Relation to Measures of Violence
Authors: Seeman Kenneth , Yesavage Jerome A. , Werner Paul D. , Becker Jacqueline M. T.
Published: August 2008

Socio-economic differences between schizophrenics on an acute in-patient unit and their parents were studied in relation to indices of dangerousness and of psychiatric status, It was found that, whatever their class of origin, a large proportion of patients had dropped in occupational attainment, relative to that of their parents, but that patients tended to be higher in education than their parents. Patients who had committed an assaultive act prior to admission were lower in social status than their parents.
Thiamine, Riboflavin and Pyridoxine Deficiency in Psychiatric In-Patients
Authors: Carney M. W. P. , Ravindran A. , Rinsler M. G. , Williams D. G.
Published: August 2008

One hundred and seventy-two successive admissions to a district general hospital psychiatric unit were examined. Routine psychiatric, drug and dietary histories were taken and signs of avitaminosis B specifically noted. Red cell transketolase (for thiamine deficiency), glutathione reductase (for riboflavin deficiency) and aspartate transaminase (for pyridoxine deficiency) were measured. Of the patients, 53 per cent were deficient in at least one vitamin, 12 per cent in more than one (30 per cent in thiamine, 27 per cent in riboflavin and 9 per cent in pyridoxine). Schizophrenics and alcoholics were significantly over-represented in those patients low in thiamine and in more than one vitamin. Patients with an affective disorder had low riboflavin and low pyridoxine. It is suggested that affective changes are characteristic of riboflavin and pyridoxine deficiency.
Neuropsychological and Computerized Tomographic Evaluations of Young Alcoholics
Authors: Lee Kirsten , Bech Per , Jensen Egill
Published: August 2008

The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the mood of an alcoholic contributed to the impairment on intellectual tests. The Marke-Nyman Temperament Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 37 male alcoholics. It was found that there were no significant differences in personality or mood between intellectually impaired and intellectually intact subjects.
Treatment, Training, Care or Control?
Authors: Steinberg Derek
Published: August 2008

Are more adolescent in-patient places needed? This has been the recommendation of a number of national and local working parties (Ministry of Health, 1964; Royal Medico-Psychological Association, 1965; Association for the Psychiatric Study of Adolescents, 1975; Court, 1976; Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976) and it would be echoed by many exasperated doctors and social workers up and down the country to whom the local adolescent unit seems always full or too selective. At present there are some 30–40 adolescent units scattered throughout the U.K. sometimes 50 miles apart, and they vary considerably in their treatment policies and therefore in the sort of young person they admit (e.g. see Warren, 1952; Turle, 1960; Allchinet al, 1967; Berg and Griffiths, 1970; Evans and Acton, 1972; Bruggenet al, 1973; Wardle, 1974; Framrose, 1975; Perinpanayagam, 1978; Wellset al, 1978; Bedford and Tennant, 1981). They have tended to become specialised in one direction or another in order to develop reasonably coherent management systems for their turbulent clientele, so that in any given area one or other category of disturbed adolescent is likely to be left out, leaving many professional workers more conscious of what is missing in residential services than what is being done.
The Response of Out-Patient Opiate Addicts to the Provision of a Temporary Increase in their Prescribed Drugs
Authors: Gossop Michael , Strang John , Connell P. H.
Published: August 2008

Addicts who use illicit drugs despite receiving a maintenance prescription present a difficult management problem for drug dependence clinics. This study looks at a small group of such addicts and at their response to the provision of a temporary increase in their prescribed opiates. The results indicate that this increase led to a reduction in illicit drug use and to improvements in social functioning. These and other findings are discussed. It is suggested that clinics should be more prepared to consider such temporary increases, but the need for careful monitoring and for the involvement of more than one member of the treatment team is stressed.
Paranoia Revisited
Authors: Munro Alistrair
Published: August 2008

The modern conceptualization of paranoia depends largely on the work of Emil Kraepelin. After him, German psychiatry concentrated on detailed descriptions of psychopathology in paranoid states, but there were few diagnostic or therapeutic advances till lately. A revival of interest is apparent, but this may be stultified by inaccurate criteria for paranoid disorders in DSM III, whose influence, at least in North America, appears assured for a considerable time.
Comparison of Electroconvulsive Therapy with Imipramine in Endogenous Depression: A Double Blind Study
Authors: Gangadhar B. N. , Kapur R. L. , Kalyanasundaram S.
Published: August 2008

Electroconvulsive therapy was compared with imipramine in the treatment of endogenous depression in a double blind randomized controlled trial. Both treatments produced equally significant improvement which was equally maintained till the end of six months. However ECT produced its effects quicker with lesser subjective side effects to the patient. ECT did not cause any organic brain dysfunction as assessed at the end of three and six months.
Unipolar vs. Bipolar Mania: A Review of 247 Patients
Authors: Pfohl Bruce , Vasquez Ned , Nasrallan Henry
Published: August 2008

Previous studies attempting to support unipolar mania as an entity distinct from bipolar disorder, have produced conflicting results. The present study reports on a chart review of 247 patients admitted to the University of Iowa with a history of at least one manic episode; 87 of these had apparently never experienced a depression. A subgroup of 92 patients, who met DSM III diagnostic criteria and had a history of at least two episodes of affective disorder, were also examined. There were few clinically meaningful differences between patients with unipolar mania and bipolar disorder on demographic, symptomatic, or familial variables. An earlier report that unipolar manics were more likely to be male and have a family history of unipolar depression was not confirmed. Unipolar mania is not supported as a separate entity from bipolar disorder.
The Dexamethasone Suppression Test as a Discriminator among Subtypes of Psychotic Patients
Authors: Rothschild Anthony J. , Schatzberg Alan F. , Rosenbaum Alan H. , Stahl Julie B. , Cole Jonathan O.
Published: August 2008

Plasma Cortisol levels examined at 16.00 hours after dexamethasone in 31 controls and in 34 psychotic patients with various diagnoses, suggests that the ranges of such levels may help to discriminate among subtypes of psychotic patients. They were significantly higher in the unipolar depressed psychotic group than in control subjects or in psychotic patients with bipolar depression or schizophrenia. Moreover, the distribution of values differed between groups. Whereas 8 of 14 psychotic patients with unipolar depressive illness had post-dexamethasone Cortisol values ≥ 14 μg/dl, none of the remaining psychotic patients had similarly high values. Implications of these data are discussed.
The Relation of Childhood Separation Experiences to Adult Depressive and Anxiety States
Authors: Tennant Christopher , Hurry Jane , Bebbington Paul
Published: August 2008

The relation of childhood separation experiences to adult depression, anxiety and ‘general psychological morbidity’ was assessed in a random population survey. Four causes of separation were examined in each of three age groups: childhood illness, parental illness, parental marital discord and wartime evacuation. Childhood separations occurring up to five years of age bore no relation to depression, anxiety nor to incidence of morbidity generally. From five to ten years of age, separations caused by parental illness and marital discord were related to morbidity, and in the latter instance were more likely to cause depression than anxiety. From 11 to 15 years, only separations due to parental illness were related to morbidity generally.
The Presentation of Mental Illness in Mentally Retarded Adults
Authors: Wright Elaine Catherine
Published: August 2008

A survey of 1507 mentally handicapped adults in a long-stay hospital, three-quarters of whom were severely subnormal, led to the identification of 42 (2.8 per cent of the total group) with a current typical affective illness. Non-verbal criteria were used so that such conditions could be recognized at any level. Schizophrenia could be diagnosed only on verbally expressed symptoms and was found in 27 (1.8 per cent) of the patients, none of whom was preverbal in mental level. Forty-one (2.7 per cent) had an atypical affective illness superimposed on an early childhood psychosis. Half of these patients were preverbal, so that the pattern of their illness was particularly difficult to recognize.
Suicide in Psychiatric In-Patients
Authors: Copas J. B. , Robin Ashley
Published: August 2008

Suicide risks for psychiatric hospital in-patients may be described by empirical relationships that take account of sex, length of admission and diagnosis. Risks are highest in males, in the first week of admission, and in depressed patients. Hospital suicide rates do not follow the same pattern as those for the general population and it is suggested that this effect may be the result of current selection procedures. The standard mortality ratio, which compares hospital with general population suicides, has remained unchanged over fifty years.
Autumn Incidence of Suicides Re-examined: Data from Finland by Sex, Age and Occupation
Authors: Näyhä Simo
Published: August 2008

The seasonal variation in suicides in Finland during the period 1961–1976 was examined using individual records from 16, 312 death certificates and time-series analysis. De-trended figures show that suicides are usually concentrated in early summer but a secondary rise in the late part of the year is noted, particularly in females, among those aged 15–24 years and in the highest and lowest (i.e. unknown) social classes. In modern occupations (technical, administrative, clerical, sales and service work) suicides usually occur in late autumn. It is suggested that the original seasonal peak in suicides lies in spring–summer, while the autumn peak is of later origin and typical of those living in a man-made environment.
Verbal Memory Tasks Showing No Deficit in Schizophrenia—Fact or Artefact?
Authors: Calev Avraham , Monk Andrew F.
Published: August 2008

Schizophrenics show a deficit in a variety of verbal memory tasks, except recognition memory, and incidental learning when recall is preceded by an ‘orienting task’ which ensures effective encoding. These two exceptions provide experimental evidence for the currently prevailing theory that it is a defect in effective encoding which is responsible for the observed schizophrenic verbal memory deficit. The present review concludes that these two exceptions are probably artefacts of unmatched tasks, and cannot be used to support the theory.
Parental Representations of Schizophrenics and their Association with Onset and Course of Schizophrenia
Authors: Parker Gordon , Fairley Michael , Greenwood Jim , Jurd Stephen , Silove Derrick
Published: August 2008

The view that schizophrenics have been exposed to a parental style of low care and overprotection was assessed in a case-control study of 72 schizophrenics using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) which measures perceived parental characteristics. Those who assigned one or both parents to the low care/overprotection group had an earlier age of initial hospitalization, and in nine months following hospital discharge were more likely to be readmitted. The PBI is a simple measure capable of predicting schizophrenic relapse.
Dangerous Episodes occurring around the Time of Discharge of Four Chronic Schizophrenics
Authors: Stein George S.
Published: August 2008

Four patients with severe drug resistant chronic schizophrenia all committed a dangerous act around the time of their discharge from hospital. Discharge from a long stay ward may be an important life event and might therefore be expected to be associated with some depression. Detection of depression among vulnerable schizophrenics may be important if suicide or other dangers are to be prevented.
An Expanding ‘Stage Army’ of Long-Stay Psychiatric Day-Patients
Authors: Pryce I. G.
Published: August 2008

Contacts of patients with a large urban day hospital over a decade were analysed in respect of the long-stay population, its patterns of contact and rate of discharge. Two-thirds had been attending continuously for 2–17 years, and a third for 1–2 years; 60 per cent of the latter were readmissions. The majority were admitted more than once and there was great variation in their pattern of contact. The population's growth over the decade was due to a slow average admission rate of 1–2 long-stay patients per fortnight, and an even slower rate of discharge. More men than women attended, especially in the age range 25–44; at the end of the decade the number of long-stay men was still increasing.
CT Scanning in Senile Dementia
Authors: Naguib Mohsen , Levy Raymond
Published: August 2008

Survivors from a group of 40 carefully evaluated subjects with senile dementia who had been scanned over two years previously were followed-up, re-scanned and given simple cognitive tests. Of the 12 survivors, 10 agreed to participate. These fell into two sub-groups: one who showed further deterioration in cognitive function and one who did not. The first sub-group showed an increase in ventricle-brain ratio while the second did not. Although the numbers were too small for clear statistical differences to emerge, there was a tendency for affective admixture to be a favourable prognostic indicator and low radiological attenuation density particularly in the right parietal region to be an unfavourable one.
The Competence and Reliability of a Witness in a Criminal Court: A Case Report
Authors: Gudjonsson Gisli H. , Gunn John
Published: August 2008

This paper deals with an aspect of the law relating to the use of a mentally handicapped victim as a prosecution witness in a criminal trial. Here the particular question was of the victim's competence to act as a witness, and the likely reliability, or otherwise of her evidence. The results of psychological testing were found to provide guidelines by which the court could distinguish between areas of the reliable and the unreliable in her evidence.
Binge Eating and Its Management
Authors: Fairburn Christopher G.
Published: August 2008

It is well recognized that bouts of uncontrolled and excessive eating (binges) occur in both a small proportion of patients who are overweight and in about 50 per cent of patients with anorexia nervosa. However, it has only recently been appreciated that many people who fall into neither category also have an eating disorder which is principally characterized by episodes of binge-eating. These people experience a profound and distressing loss of control over eating which results in a grossly disturbed eating pattern. Despite this, their body weight tends to lie within the normal range. The disorder has attracted various names including ‘the dietary chaos syndrome’ (Palmer, 1979), ‘the abnormal normal weight control syndrome’ (Crisp, 1979), ‘bulimia nervosa’ (Russell, 1979), and simply ‘bulimia’ (DSM III, 1980). The term bulimia nervosa is probably the most satisfactory since it conveys the links with anorexia nervosa and emphasises the central role of binge-eating. Russell (1979) proposed the following diagnostic criteria for this syndrome:
Changes in the Sentencing of Diminished Responsibility Homicides
Authors: Dell Susanne , Smith Alan
Published: August 2008

The majority of men convicted of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility used to receive hospital orders, but are now receiving prison sentences. A sample of offenders convicted between 1966 and 1977 was studied to see the reasons for the change. It was found that the make-up of the offender population did not change materially over the period, nor did the willingness of judges to make hospital orders. What changed was the pattern of treatment recommendations made by the examining doctors in their court reports.
The Relationship between Auditory Hallucinations and Spontaneous Fluctuations of Skin Conductance in Schizophrenia
Authors: Cooklin Ruth , Sturgeon David , Leff Julian
Published: August 2008

A sample was collected of schizophrenic patients exhibiting nonverbal signs of intermittent auditory hallucinations. A video-tape record was made for each of a session, during which the patient's skin conductance was monitored. Independent raters achieved reasonable agreement on the onset of periods of hallucinatory activity, as judged from non-verbal signs. The skin conductance tracing was scored independently for spontaneous fluctuations. In the 10 patients with satisfactory records the onset of hallucinatory periods was significantly (P <0.01) associated with a rise in the spontaneous fluctuation rate.
Response of Phobic Patients to Direct Computer Assessment
Authors: Carr Anthony C. , Ghosh Anindya
Published: August 2008

Computerized assessment which is objective, standardized and easily repeated has been shown to be acceptable to general psychiatric patients. Fifty-three subjects (43 phobics and 10 normals feigning phobias) showed no unusual apprehension in approaching this novel procedure; all were able to complete the computer interview. Furthermore, half of them claimed that they found the interview more acceptable and found it easier to communicate with the computer than with a clinician. Only nine patients preferred the clinician. The reasons for this are discussed.
Binge-eating and Self-induced Vomiting in the Community
Authors: Cooper Peter J. , Fairburn Christopher G.
Published: August 2008

This study examined by questionnaire the prevalence of binge-eating and self-induced vomiting among a sample of 369 consecutive attenders at a family planning clinic. 20.9 per cent reported current episodes of uncontrollable and excessive eating (‘binges’), 2.9 per cent currently induced vomiting as a means of weight control; and 4.9 per cent reported using laxatives. Binge-eating and self-induced vomiting were strongly associated with disturbed attitudes to food, eating, body weight and shape; and with psychiatric disturbance. Menstrual dysfunction was not associated with either body weight or binge-eating; it was however associated with psychiatric state. Applying conservative rules, 1.9 per cent appeared to fulfil diagnostic criteria for the recently described syndrome bulimia nervosa.
Marriage and Mental Illness
Authors: Birtchnell John , Kennard John
Published: August 2008

Two female psychiatric patient samples were examined—240 women, aged 20 or over, from North East Scotland; and 44, aged 40 to 49, from Chichester, West Sussex. There was also a Chichester community sample of 230 women of similar age-range.

The N.E. Scotland psychiatric patients with poor marriages broke down significantly earlier, and the delay between marriage and first breakdown was significantly shorter. This group also tended to have a neurotic rather than an endogenous type of depression.

The poor marriages of the Chichester psychiatric patients were, in the main, similar to those of the Chichester non-patients, but the patients demonstrated significantly more disturbance of sexual relationships, and their in-laws were significantly more disapproving.
Depression and the Accessibility of Memories
Authors: Fogarty S. J. , Hemsley D. R.
Published: August 2008

A group of depressed patients and a group of normal subjects were assessed on two occasions. On each they were required to recall past real life experiences associated with a series of stimulus words. Subjects were subsequently required to rate each experience for happiness and pleasantness. The depressives showed an increased probability of recalling sad memories; within this group there was a significant relationship between severity of depressed mood and the percentage of sad memories recalled. The extent of reduction in depressed mood from occasion 1 to occasion 2 was significantly related to the increase in accessibility of happy memories and the decrease in recall of sad memories. For those patients who improved between the two occasions there was a significant reduction in the probability of recall of a very unhappy memory. The results extend the previous findings on the effect of mood state on the accessibility of memories of differing affective tone. The findings are discussed in terms of context specific encoding and retrieval.
Corpus Callosum Thickness in Chronic Schizophrenia
Authors: Bigelow Llewellyn B. , Nasrallah Henry A. , Rauscher Frederick P.
Published: August 2008

In an effort at replication of the original report (Rosenthal and Bigelow, 1972) of increased callosal thickness in schizophrenic brains, the corpus callosum was measured in a blind study of 64 brains autopsied between the years 1972 and 1976. Diagnosis was established by independent chart review. The mean corpus callosum mid sections of 21 early onset chronic schizophrenic brains were found to have a significantly greater thickness when compared with 8 subjects with late onset schizophrenia, 13 patients with neurological diagnoses, or 14 patients with other psychiatric diagnoses. These studies, if independently confirmed, should provide an impetus for testing the hypothesis that some chronic schizophrenic patients have an illness associated with a pathological process in the corpus callosum.
Diabetes Mellitus, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia
Authors: Szmukler G. I. , Russell G. F. M.
Published: August 2008

Two patients are described with both anorexia nervosa and diabetes mellitus. In addition, both patients suffered from bulimic episodes. A third patient with bulimia is also described. All patients admitted to using their diabetes in a purposeful and direct way to pursue their morbid goal of weight loss. Management proved extremely difficult.
England: St George's Hospital Medical School, London
Authors: Crisp A. H.
Published: August 2008

I took up my present appointment at St. George's Hospital Medical School in 1967 and found myself with friendly colleagues and a tradition of undergraduate teaching of psychiatry extending back to the immediate post-war period. This tradition had also been expressed in the textbook Psychological Medicine, written and revised over successive years by Guttman, Curran and Partridge, and in more recent years by Peter Storey, currently a senior colleague here. The book is hallmarked by its clarity of expression and the richness of its clinical observation, and has for long been a favourite with both undergraduates and postgraduates.
Controlled Comparison of Aversive Therapy and Imaginal Desensitization in Compulsive Gambling
Authors: McConaghy Nathaniel , Armstrong Michael S. , Blaszczynski Alex , Allcock Clive
Published: August 2008

Twenty compulsive gamblers were randomly allocated, half to receive aversion-relief therapy and half to receive imaginal desensitization; both groups were followed-up for one year. Compared with those who received aversion-relief, gamblers who received imaginal desensitization reported a significantly greater reduction of gambling urge and behaviour; they also showed a significant reduction in trait anxiety at one year and in state anxiety at one month and one year following treatment. A high level of state anxiety at one month following treatment predicted failure to respond to treatment at one year in the subjects who received imaginal desensitization, but not in those who received aversion-relief. The relationship between reduction in anxiety and in gambling urge in response to imaginal desensitization was predicted from the theory that compulsive gambling is driven by aversive tension.
The Effect of the Use of the International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision: Upon Hospital In-Patient Diagnoses
Authors: Zigmond A. S. , Sims A. C. P.
Published: August 2008

This study compares the diagnostic terminology used for 592 consecutive discharges from a psychiatric unit before and after teaching psychiatric trainees the use of the ICD-9 classificatory system. The results show a marked increase in specificity of diagnostic labels, with a decrease of diagnoses with the term ‘not otherwise specified’, and an increase in the diagnoses of organic psychoses, paranoid and hebephrenic schizophrenia and depressive neurosis. The implications of this for training about diagnosis, clinical practice and recording of data for national statistics are discussed.
The DSM-III Concept of Organic Brain Syndrome
Authors: Fox Herbert A.
Published: August 2008

The shortcomings of the DSM-II classification of organic brain syndrome are described, including the limitation of the concept to the global brain disorders; the idiosyncratic use of the terms acute and chronic; and the unsatisfactory categories psychotic and nonpsychotic. Organic brain syndrome is defined according to DSM-III and the 10 separate brain syndrome categories are outlined. The diagnostic criteria for each category are listed and the general principles underlying the criteria are described. Finally, the goals of the authors' of DSM-III to enhance diagnostic reliability and validity are discussed and the impact of the new nomenclature is assessed.
Growth Hormone Responses to Apomorphine HCl in Schizophrenic Patients on Drug Holidays and at Relapse
Authors: Cleghorn J. M. , Brown G. M. , Brown P. J. , Kaplan R. D. , Dermer S. W. , MacCrimmon D. J. , Mitton J.
Published: August 2008

In nine schizophrenic patients on drug holiday, growth hormone (GH) response to apomorphine HCl 0.75 mg (APO) was compared with normal control data. Patients were tested at two month intervals for up to 14 months. Seven patients relapsed, and of these, five had exaggerated GH responses to APO at that time. Of these five, three had exaggerated GH responses to APO prior to clinical deterioration. Further work is required to determine whether this test can be a useful predictor of relapse.
Depression and the Newcastle Scale
Authors: Holden Neil L.
Published: August 2008

The results of 41 standardised dexamethasone suppression tests (DST) with the Newcastle Scale diagnostic weighting for endogenous depression correlated significantly (P <.001). Specificity of the DST was found to be 89 per cent, sensitivity 82 per cent and the diagnostic confidence for endogenous depression 94 per cent. This strongly supports the validity of the Newcastle Scale diagnostic weighting for endogenous depression.
Schneider's First Rank Symptoms—Prevalence, Diagnostic Use and Prognostic Implications
Authors: Radhakrishnan Janaki , Mathew Kuruvilla , Richard J. , Verghese Abraham
Published: August 2008

An evaluation of the prevalence of Schneiderian first-rank symptoms, and their diagnostic and prognostic value is described. 35.2 per cent of schizophrenic patients had first-rank symptoms. The presence of first-rank symptoms did not indicate either chronicity of illness or a poor outcome.
Observations on the Handedness Preferences of Patients with Personality Disorders
Authors: Standage K. F.
Published: August 2008

A new series of patients with personality disorders has provided an opportunity to extend to both sexes an earlier finding that personality disordered women tend to be mixed handed. Eighty-one subjects completed Annett's handedness questionnaire. The frequency of mixed hand preference in both sexes was similar to that found in the previous study, though deviations from consistent preference were small and dependent on the method used to classify handedness. The hysterical, antisocial and explosive personality types were particularly likely to have mixed handedness. These associations were reflected in small but significant trends among several psychometric variables.
Serum Concentration of Depot Neuroleptics in Tardive Dyskinesia
Authors: Fairbairn A. F. , Rowell F. J. , Hui S. M. , Hassanyeh F. , Robinson A. J. , Eccleston D.
Published: August 2008

Using radioimmunoassay techniques, serum levels of depot neuroleptics, fluphenazine and flupenthixol, were estimated in two groups of chronic schizophrenic patients with, and without, tardive dyskinesia. There were high correlations between drug dose and plasma concentration. There was no significant difference in dose-related serum levels of either drug between the groups.

The hypothesis that patients with tardive dyskinesia develop the syndrome because they do not metabolise neuroleptics as efficiently as those without the syndrome was not supported by the data.
Psychiatric Service Use in Salford
Authors: Wooff K. , Freeman H. L. , Fryers T.
Published: August 2008

Using data from the Salford Psychiatric Case Register, point-prevalence patterns of service use in Salford County Borough are compared for 1968 and 1978 with respect to type of care, age and diagnosis. In a declining population, overall point-prevalence ratios increased from 9.52 to 13.44/1,000 adults, due almost entirely to two extensive new services — “injection-only” nurse contact with out-patients, and community psychiatric nurse domiciliary contact. Their development has apparently hardly affected use of other services. The increase was similar in most age-groups and in the predominating diagnostic groups (schizophrenia and depression). Prevalence ratios for long-stay patients barely changed in total, and increased for those accumulated in a ten-year period, but there was an upward shift in age. Day care increased, but its contribution remained relatively small. The diagnostic distribution of social work contact changed, as community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) assumed domiciliary care of people with schizophrenia.
Effects of ECT and Depression on Various Aspects of Memory
Authors: Frith C. D. , Stevens Marilyn , Johnstone Eve C. , Deakin J. F. W. , Lawler P. , Crow T. J.
Published: August 2008

Seventy severely depressed patients randomly assigned to receive 8 real or sham ECT were further subdivided on the basis of degree of recovery from depression afterwards. In comparison to a non-depressed control group the depressed patients were impaired on a wide range of tests of memory and concentration prior to treatment, but afterwards performance on most of the tests had improved. Real ECT induced impairments of concentration, short-term memory and learning, but significantly facilitated access to remote memories. At 6 month follow-up all differences between real and sham ECT groups had disappeared. On the majority of tests the previously depressed patients now performed at the same level as the control group. There was some evidence that a subgroup of treatment-resistant patients (poor outcome after real ECT) were significantly more likely to complain of memory problems 6 months later.
A Review and Controlled Study of Cutaneous Conditions associated with Lithium Carbonate
Authors: Sarantidis Dimocritos , Waters Brent
Published: August 2008

This study compares the incidence of a variety of cutaneous conditions among 91 patients treated with lithium carbonate with the incidence of such conditions among 44 patients treated with other non-neuroleptic, maintenance medications. Data on cutaneous conditions and allergies were obtained using structured interviews, demographic data, medication histories and personal and family histories.

A significantly greater proportion of the lithium-treated patients than the comparison patients reported a cutaneous condition which may have been secondary to treatment in that it developed for the first time after the medication or appeared to have been exacerbated by the medication. Among the lithium-treated patients, females were found to be significantly more likely to report a secondary cutaneous condition. This effect was found across the whole range of cutaneous conditions. Male lithium-treated patients on the other hand reported approximately the same rate of secondary cutaneous conditions as both male and female comparison patients. Possible reasons for this sexual effect on incidence are discussed.

The literature on cutaneous conditions which have been associated with lithium therapy is also reviewed.
Psychiatric Symptoms in Dermatology Patients
Authors: Hughes J. E. , Barraclough B. M. , Hamblin L. G. , White J. E.
Published: August 2008

The 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Goldberg, 1972) was administered to 196 consecutive new dermatology out-patients and 40 consecutive admissions to dermatology beds. Thirty per cent of the outpatients and 60 per cent of the in-patients obtained high scores, while half the high scorers in each group scored high on the Wakefield Self-Assessment Depression Scale (Snaith et al, 1971). These findings suggest that dermatology out-patients have a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorder than the general population, and dermatology in-patients a higher prevalence than general medical in-patients.

High GHQ scores were associated with (a) diagnoses of acne, eczema, psoriasis or alopecia; with (b) extensive lesions on exposed parts of the body; and with (c) the use of high potency topical steroid. We indicate other areas that might be profitably explored in a full-scale study.
Blink Rate in Psychiatric Illness
Authors: Mackintosh J. H. , Kumar R. , Kitamura T.
Published: August 2008

Twenty-three patients diagnosed as depressed and a matched group of normal subjects were interviewed on three occasions using standardised procedures. Their behaviour was quantified from video recordings. The results indicate that blink rate is increased in depression and falls to normal levels during treatment. The effect on blink rate was found to be independent of medication, but was related to the degree of improvement in the patients' condition. By contrast a sample of schizophrenic patients seen on one occasion showed a reduced blink rate which was probably a result of neuroleptic administration.
The Melancholia Scale and the Newcastle Scales
Authors: Bech P. , Gjerris A. , Andersen J. , B⊘jholm S. , Kramp P. , Bolwig T. G. , Kastrup M. , Clemmesen L. , Rafaelsen O. J.
Published: August 2008

The reliability of the total scores on three rating scales (Melancholia Scale and the two Newcastle Scales) and the algorithms leading to the Feighner, Research Diagnostic Criteria, and the DSM-III subtypes of depression have been compared. The degree of inter-observer agreements for the various item-combinations was significantly higher than would be expected by chance. The average agreement for each assessment system ranged from 80 to 93 per cent. This 7 to 20 per cent lack of total agreement probably reflects the limitation of clinical assessments including the influence of halo effects.
A Case of Recurrent Mania with Recurrent Hyperthyroidism
Authors: Corn Timothy H. , Checkley Stuart A.
Published: August 2008

The demonstration that an endocrine disorder can precipitate a specific mental illness would be an important step towards the development of much needed animal models of affective disorder. To this end we have sought and found evidence for a causal connection between Cushings syndrome and the apprearance of a depressive illness (Kelly et al, 1980 and 1983). Whether or not hyperthyroidism can cause a manic depressive illness is at present uncertain. Reported values for the incidence of depression in hyperthyroidism vary from 1–20 per cent (Bursten, 1961; Clower et al, 1969; Dunlap and Moersch, 1935; Johnson, 1928; Katzenelbogen and Luton, 1935; Kleinschmidt et al, 1956; Lidz and Whitehorn, 1949) and these are similar to estimates of the incidence of depression in a general population (Watts et al, 1964; Shepherd et al, 1966; Crombie, 1974; Brown and Harris, 1978). Similarly estimates of the incidence of hyperthyroidism in depressed patients are around 1 per cent (Bursten, 1961; Bluestone, 1957; Martin, 1963) which is also similar to the incidence of hyperthyroidism in the general population (Tunbridge et al, 1975). Finally in a population of patients with recurrent manic depressive illness, the eight observed episodes of hyperthyroidism striking during normal health were not apparently followed by any mental disturbance (Checkley, 1978). We now report upon a patient in whom two episodes of mania coincided with two episodes of hyperthyroidism and discuss the possibility that the two illnesses were related to each other.
Assessment of Outcome after Psychosurgery using The Present State Examination
Authors: Curson D. A. , Trauer T. , Bridges P. K. , Gillman P. K.
Published: August 2008

The aim of the study was to explore the way psychiatric symptoms might influence independent psychiatric assessment of outcome one year after stereotactic subcaudate tractotomy. In a sample of 34 patients consecutively accepted for psychosurgery the results showed that both ‘good’ and ‘poor’ outcome groups improved overall. No patients were significantly worse and the symptoms which improved most were nervous tension, depressed mood and somatic anxiety. It was not possible to identify symptomatic predictors of outcome because the preoperative symptom profiles of both groups were so similar. The reason why symptomatic outcome is so variable despite a basically identical psychosurgical technique is discussed.
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Lateralized Hemispheric Dysfunction in Depression
Authors: Uytdenhoef P. , Portelange P. , Jacquy J. , Charles G. , Linkowski P. , Mendlewicz J.
Published: August 2008

Cerebral blood flow is known as an indicator of cerebral metabolism. Using the 133Xenon inhalation method, we studied the regional cerebral blood flow (r-CBF) in patients with different subtypes of depression and in remission. A left frontal hypervascularization and a right posterior hypovascularization were found in major depressives, compared to normal subjects, minor depressives, and normothymic bipolar patients. These results tend to confirm the existence of cerebral dysfunction in both hemispheres in major depression, as reported by other authors using different techniques.
Tactile-Evoked Potentials in Schizophrenia
Authors: Tress Kathleen H. , Caudrey David J. , Mehta Bharat
Published: August 2008

EEG potentials evoked by tactile stimulation of the forearm (tactile-evoked potentials or TEPs) were recorded simultaneously from both cerebral hemispheres in a group of schizophrenics and a group of healthy control subjects. Differences between the groups were found for the early waves of the TEPs: in the control subjects the first two positive waves (P25 and P50) and the first negative wave (N35) recorded from the hemisphere on the same side as the stimulation were slower (i.e. had longer latency) than those recorded from the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulation. This lateralization effect’ was not seen in the schizophrenic subjects. It was concluded that the TEPs recorded from the hemisphere ipsilateral to the stimulus were not being transmitted from the other hemisphere via the corpus callosum and must therefore have been transmitted via direct ipsilateral pathways from the periphery.

In a second experiment the drug pindolol was administered to schizophrenic subjects but differences in P50 latency between ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres were found equally in both drug and placebo groups. We also found slight evidence to suggest that the more severely ill the patient the more similar the TEP latencies recorded from the contralateral and the ipsilateral hemispheres.
A Controlled Comparison of the Effects of Social Skills Training and Remedial Drama on the Conversational Skills of Chronic Schizophrenic Inpatients
Authors: Spencer P. G. , Gillespie C. R. , Ekisa E. G.
Published: August 2008

This study compared the effects of social-skills training, remedial drama and group discussion on the conversation skills of chronic schizophrenic patients. After 16 one-hour treatment sessions only the social-skills training resulted in significant improvement, which was maintained at two-month follow-up. Although there was little evidence to support generalisation, the results are seen as indicating the usefulness of social-skills training in improving the performance level of chronic schizophrenic inpatients and in maintaining their social functioning. The implications for future rehabilitation practice are discussed.
Relationships between Measures of Direct and Indirect Hostility and Self-Destructive Behaviour by Hospitalized Schizophrenics
Authors: Yesavage Jerome A.
Published: August 2008

To test the hypothesis that suicidal and self-destructive behaviour correlate with subjective and objective measures of hostility and violence, these behaviours in hospitalized schizophrenics were correlated to self-report (Buss-Durkee) and observer-rated (Lion Scale) measures. Self-destructive acts were significantly correlated with six of the seven of the Buss-Durkee self-report hostility subscales. The observed measures of hostility and violence correlated with seclusion and with restraint as a self-protective measure. Neither the Lion nor the Buss-Durkee measures correlated with depression measures. Thus, our data indicate that self-destructive acts in hospitalized schizophrenics may be better predicted by feelings of anger and hostility than by depression, a finding with relevance for clinicians who treat schizophrenic patients.
Impulsiveness in Obsessive-Compulsive Patients
Authors: Hoehn-Saric Rudolf , Barksdale Vernon C.
Published: August 2008

Obsessive-compulsive patients with a history of poor impulse control were identified and compared with non-impulsive obsessive-compulsive patients. Although both groups reported comparable obsessive-compulsive symptoms, the impulsive group rated significantly higher on disturbances during childhood, which included learning problems, low frustration tolerance, poor interpersonal relationships and attention-seeking behaviour. The impulsive group also scored highly on the neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and reported a higher incidence of somatic symptoms. It appears that poor impulse control was related to disturbances which had already manifested themselves during childhood, while the obsessive-compulsive disorder was superimposed at a later time.
The Role of Perceived Parental Rearing Practices in the Aetiology of Phobic Disorders: A Controlled Study
Authors: Arrindell Willem A. , Emmelkamp Paul M. G. , Monsma Alie , Brilman Els
Published: August 2008

The perceived parental rearing practices and attitudes of social phobics, agoraphobics, height phobics and non-patient normal controls were investigated, employing the EMBU, an inventory for assessing memories of upbringing. Findings revealed that, as compared with the controls, social phobics and height phobics scored both parents not only as lacking in emotional warmth, but also as having been rejective and overprotective. Agoraphobics reported both parents as having lacked emotional warmth, but only their mothers as being rejecting. Interestingly, the perception of negative rearing practices of parents appeared to be stronger in height phobics than in either social phobics or agoraphobics.