bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The biochemical basis of relapse and drug response in schizophrenia: review and hypothesis
Authors: Van Kammen Daniel P. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThis review of the literature suggests that antipsychotic drug response is determined by dopamine (DA) turnover and norepinephrine (NE) activity prior to treatment. The data suggest that NE modulates the DA system. Drug-free psychotic patients with relatively increased DA and NE activity, including release, are more likely to be treatment responsive, while patients who show evidence of enhanced DA and NE activity during treatment with antipsychotic drugs are likely to relapse soon after neuroleptic withdrawal. Basal release of DA and NE is decreased and associated with residual positive and negative symptoms. Improvement during neuroleptic treatment is associated with decreases in DA and NE phasic or stimulus induced release. The variable response to antipsychotic drugs is most likely to be a result of dysregulated DA and NE release, i.e. under state-dependent control, rather than evidence of a heterogeneous aetiology. Because catecholamines regulate gain, signal-to-noise ratio and gating in the brain, this model allows for environmental factors to interact with biochemical state and drug treatment. The author proposes that impaired homeostasis of NE and DA in schizophrenia causes instability in NE and DA neuronal firing and release, presumably related to mechanisms down-stream from the receptors, such as G proteins. This instability of catecholamine release may explain the observed variability in clinical states and drug response in schizophrenia.
Dysphoric mood and symptomatology in schizophrenia
Authors: Norman Ross M. G. , Malla Ashok K. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe relationships between depression, anxiety and positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia were examined in a study of 95 schizophrenic patients who were receiving out-patient care. Various measures of depression and anxiety showed a pattern of interrelationships which suggested that they were measuring a general state of dysphoria rather than separate dimensions of anxiety and depression. Dysphoria was found to be more reliably related to level of positive symptomatology than to negative symptoms.
Talents and preoccupations in idiots-savants
Authors: O'Connor Neil , Hermelin Beate 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe question was asked whether a diagnosis of autism or a tendency to repetitive behaviour and preoccupation with a restricted area of interest, were crucial features of idiot-savant talents. Answers by caretakers to a questionnaire on these topics revealed that autistic and non-autistic savants resembled each other closely in preoccupation but differed from controls matched for IQ and diagnosis. In addition, the mentally handicapped showed fewer repetitive tendencies than did autistic controls. It is concluded that independent of diagnosis, preoccupations and repetitive behaviour appear to be closely associated with the manifestation of idiot-savant talents.
Does recurrent depression lead to a change in neuroticism?
Authors: Duggan Conor F. , Sham Pak , Lee Alan S. , Murray Robin M. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe hypothesis that recurrent or chronic depressive illness produces a long-term change in neuroticism was examined in a sample (N = 34) from a consecutive series of 89 depressed patients admitted to the Maudsley Hospital in 1965/6. The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) was administered at the time of the index illness both when the patients were depressed and on recovery, and then again at follow-up 18 years later. The change in the neuroticism (N) score over the 18-year-period was compared in good and poor outcome groups defined variously by a global rating of outcome, frequency of episodes, extent of subsequent hospitalization and the presence or absence of subsequent chronicity. The mean N score for the sample as a whole did not change significantly over the 18 years, and no differential change in the N score was observed between any of the good and poor outcome groups. Thus, the hypothesis was not supported.
Subjective response to neuroleptics and outcome in schizophrenia: a re-examination comparing two measures
Authors: Hogan T. P. , Awad A. G. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe schizophrenic patient's early psychological response to neuroleptic treatment has been demonstrated to be a significant predictor of treatment response. The validity of the construct of subjective response is evaluated by comparison of two measures. Fifty-five recently admitted and unmedicated schizophrenic patients were randomly allocated to chlorpromazine or haloperidol. Subjective responses at 24 and 48 hours as assessed by two different scales, the Van Putten & May scale and the self-administered Drug Attitude Inventory, were strongly correlated with outcome at three weeks. Early emergence of extrapyramidal symptoms was not related to subjective response, but dysphoric patients had a greater incidence of EPS by the end of treatment than did non-dysphoric patients. The two measures showed high concordance in identification of early drug dysphoria.
Cognitive deficit and the prediction of rehabilitation success in a chronic psychiatric group
Authors: Wykes Til , Dunn Graham 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThis paper describes the second stage (years 4, 5 and 6) of a prospective follow-up of a sample of chronic patients which was designed to investigate the in service use. It also tested the relative predictive power of variables which included demographic, symptomatic and behavioural factors as well as a novel reaction time variable which reflects response processing time.During the six years of the study 91% of the patients in the sample changed either the degree of their day and/or night care. Many moved to more independence but, a number did also become more dependent on psychiatric services. There were no differences in outcome between a schizophrenic group and patients with other diagnoses. These results suggest a level of flexibility in outcome even in a severely disabled chronic group.The main predictor of future service use at each stage of the follow-up for the whole group was chronicity at entry to the study. But, when the group was divided into schizophrenic patients and ‘others’, the response processing measure was a significant predictor of service use in the schizophrenic group and accounted for between 17% and 30% of the variance. For the ‘other’ diagnostic group, the age of the patient seemed to be the major determinant of care.The reaction time variable seems to be an extra class correlate of a strict diagnosis of schizophrenia. It may also be a stable or episodic vulnerability factor, but as well as these promising hypotheses, which have yet to be justified, this measure does seem to have pragmatic value in predicting outcome in a rehabilitation network.
Psychosocial correlates of clinical depression after psychiatric in-patient treatment: methodological issues and baseline differences between recovered and non-recovered patients
Authors: Veiel Hans O. F. , Kühner Christine , Brill Gerhard , Ihle Wolfgang 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISGeneral methodological and design issues in research on psychosocial outcome predictors of clinical depression are discussed, and the first stage of a study of discharged depressed in-patients is presented. It involved 115 recovered and 75 non-recovered such patients who were compared regarding stress factors, social support, personality and coping styles. While there were few differences between recovered and non-recovered patients with respect to stable personality traits, recovered patients were less likely to have had severe long-term life difficulties, and their coping style differed: it was characterized by more negative appraisals of stressful situations, greater problem avoidance, less palliative activities, and a lesser inclination to solicit social support. Whereas among women without partners, as well as men, non-recovery was also associated with less support from friends, in particular psychological-emotional support in crises, non-recovered women with partners had much more such support. The results are discussed with reference to the existing literature on outcome correlates of clinical depression.
Environmental risk factors for Alzheimer's disease: their relationship to age of onset and to familial or sporadic types
Authors: Henderson A. S. , Jorm A. F. , Korten A. E. , Creasey H. , McCusker E. , Broe G. A. , Longley W. , Anthony J. C. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISData from a case-control study of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were analysed in relation to age of onset and familial/sporadic status. The analyses were restricted to environmental exposures which might injure the brain. Later-onset AD was found to be positively associated with starvation/malnutrition and with nose-picking and negatively with analgesics, while earlier-onset was associated with physical underactivity and nervous breakdown more than 10 years before. Sporadic AD was associated with starvation/malnutrition and with head injury. These analyses merit replication in other large case-control studies of AD.
Measuring psychiatric disorder in the community: a standardized assessment for use by lay interviewers
Authors: Lewis Glyn , Pelosi Anthony J. , Araya Ricardo , Dunn Graham 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISMany of the standardized interviews currently used in psychiatry require the interviewer to use expert psychiatric judgements in deciding upon the presence or absence of psychopathology. However, when case definitions are standardized it is customary for clinical judgements to be replaced with rules. The Clinical Interview Schedule was therefore revised, in order to increase standardization, and to make it suitable for use by ‘lay’ interviewers in assessing minor psychiatric disorder in community, general hospital, occupational and primary care research.Two reliability studies of the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) were conducted in primary health care clinics in London and Santiago, Chile. Both studies compared psychiatrically trained interviewer(s) with lay interviewer(s). Estimates of the reliability of the CIS-R compared favourably with the results of studies of other standardized interviews. In addition, the lay interviewers were as reliable as the psychiatrists and did not show any bias in their use of the CIS-R. Confirmatory factor analysis models were also used to estimate the reliabilities of the CIS-R and self-administered questionnaires and indicated that traditional measures of reliability are probably overestimates.
The common cold, pattern sensitivity and contrast sensitivity
Authors: Smith Andrew P. , Tyrrell David A. J. , Barrow G. Ian , Higgins Peter G. , Bull Susan , Trickett Susan , Wilkins Arnold J. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISResults from two studies involving challenge with respiratory syncytial viruses showed that volunteers who developed colds were more sensitive to a visually distracting pattern presented prior to virus challenge than were volunteers who did not get a cold. Volunteers with sub-clinical infections reported more illusions after virus challenge than they had done before, whereas uninfected volunteers and those with colds tended to report fewer illusions on the second test. These effects did not occur when volunteers were challenged with either a coronavirus or rhinovirus. Overall, the results confirm that behavioural measures may be related to susceptibility to subsequent illness, and that viral infections may influence visual perception. They also show that the effects vary according to the nature of the infecting agent, which agrees with results from studies looking at other aspects of behaviour.
Rapid development of hyponatraemic seizures in a psychotic patient
Authors: Grainger David N. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISA 60-year-old woman with a history of recurrent psychotic illness developed severe hyponatraemia after a short period of compulsive water drinking. The case provides a rare illustration of the rapidity of development of dangerously low levels of serum sodium. On discovery of mild hyponatraemia it is essential to repeat measurement of the serum sodium level should the patient's clinical condition change, in order to detect any further deterioration of serum osmolality which may result in severe and possibly fatal cerebral symptoms.
The seventeenth-century transformation of the hysteric affection, and Sydenham's Baconian medicine
Authors: Boss Jeffrey M. N. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisBefore 1600 the ‘hysteric affection’ was a paroxysmal ailment of women explained as primarily due to the condition or malposition of the womb. During the seventeenth century attention shifted from the womb to the brain. Then Thomas Sydenham's clinical method yielded a view of hysteria which comprehended a wide range of illness with a mental component, and which was related to the whole person. In the course of this paper the relation of the hysteric affection to witchcraft, demonic possession, St Vitus' dance (chorca), hypochondria and melancholy is also noted.
Physiological and pharmacological basis for the chemotherapy of enuresis
Authors: Stephenson J. D. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisEnuresis is a disorder of micturition occurring in the absence of an organic urinary tract lesion. To understand its possible causation, the mechanisms controlling micturition are described together with the possible sites of action of various anti-enuretic agents, particularly imipramine. It is concluded that further research into the central control of micturition is required before the precise actions of centrally-acting anti-enuretic agents can be elucidated. Knowledge of these may give insight into the nature of the defect causing enuresis.
The Eating Attitudes Test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa
Authors: Garner David M. , Garfinkel Paul E. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisData on the development of a 40-item measure of the symptoms in anorexia nervosa are reported. The scale (EAT) is presented in a 6-point, forced choice, self-report format which is easily administered and scored. The EAT was validated using 2 groups of female anorexia nervosa patients (N = 32 and 33) and female control subjects (N = 34 and 59). Total EAT score was significantly correlated with criterion group membership(r = 0·87, P < 0·001), suggesting a high level of concurrent validity. There was very little overlap in the frequency distributions of the 2 groups and only 7% of the normal controls scored as high as the lowest anorexic patient. Female obese and male subjects also scored significantly lower on the EAT than anorexics. Recovered anorexic patients scored in the normal range on the test, suggesting that the EAT is sensitive to clinical remission.
Attitudes of families to some aspects of Huntington's chorea
Authors: Barette Jeanne , Marsden C. D. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisOne hundred and fifty-three completed questionnaires received from families with a history of Huntington's chorea were analysed to discover their attitudes towards the disease. Of special interest were: (a) how and when they were first informed about their illness; (b) what effects the knowledge of the hereditary aspects of the disease had on them and on their children; and (c) their reaction to a possible future predictive test
Determinants of the ability of general practitioners to detect psychiatric illness
Authors: Marks J. N. , Goldberg D. P. , Hillier V. F. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis study of psychiatric illness among 4098 patients attending 91 general practitioners compares 2 methods of case identification: ‘conspicuous morbidity’ by the doctor's own assessments, and ‘probable prevalence’ by the patients' responses to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). In general, the latter gives somewhat higher estimates than the former, but there are wide variations in morbidity between practices. The ability of each general practitioner to detect psychiatric illness was measured by computing Spearman's correlation coefficient between his assessments and the GHQ scores of his patients. The mean correlation coefficient was +0·36, but the range was very wide (0·09–0·60).The first part of the study deals with various demographic characteristics of the patients themselves which are associated with an increased likelihood of the doctor detecting a psychiatric illness; such factors include unemployment, female sex, and marriages which have ended by separation, divorce or death.The second part of the study examines characteristics of the doctors themselves in an attempt to account for the wide variation between them in their ability to detect psychiatric illness. A research psychiatrist made detailed observations on 2098 interviews carried out by 55 general practitioners. Each doctor's verbal and non-verbal styles were recorded minutely, and in addition various global ratings were made. The doctors completed personality inventories and supplied details of training and professional background. It was possible to account for 67 % of the variance of correlation coefficient mainly in terms of 2 dimensions: ‘interest and concern’ and ‘conservatism’. The way in which the doctor interviews his patients is shown to be important, but there are interactions between interview style and the doctor's personality.
Variations in referral pattern to the psychiatric services by general practitioners
Authors: Robertson Norma C. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisReferral rates to psychiatric services in North-East Scotland by 147 individual urban and rural general practitioners were calculated. Among city doctors, the greater the number of years since qualification the more patients were referred. Single-handed city doctors also had very high referral rates. Subsequent interviews were conducted with 76 general practitioners. Topics covered included reasons for referral to psychiatric services. Psychotics, severely depressed patients, alcoholics and violent patients were the most frequently referred groups.
Illness behaviour and rehospitalization in bipolar affective disorder
Authors: Joyce Peter R. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisFifty hospitalized patients with bipolar affective disorder were interviewed on discharge from hospital. Over the subsequent 12 months, 36 of these patients were readmitted to hospital. Compared with the remainder, those readmitted had had more past hospital admissions and on interview were rated as being less able to recognize and respond to early symptoms of relapse and were less accepting of medication.
Multiple memory deficits in Alzheimer-type dementia: implications for pharmacotherapy
Authors: Kopelman Michael D. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis paper investigates the memory disorder of Alzheimer-type dementia by comparing the performance of Alzheimer patients on selected memory tests with that of Korsakoff patients and healthy controls. Alzheimer patients have deficits in both primary and secondary memory, and this finding is compared with that which pharmacological studies predict would occur on the basis of cholinergic depletion. The deficits in primary memory are unlikely to be accounted for in terms of cholinergic depletion, and provide a possible explanation for the disappointing results of trials of cholinergic replacement therapy in this disorder. On the other hand, the pattern of deficit in secondary memory is entirely consistent with that expected from cholinergic depletion.
Psychological correlates of coronary heart disease
Authors: Tennant Christopher C. , Langeluddecke Pauline M. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe Type A behaviour pattern and other measures of psychological traits and symptom states were assessed in 92 subjects (predominantly male) presenting for coronary angiography. These measures were correlated with three angiographic indices of coronary heart disease (CHD) severity and two clinical indices (angina and the duration of CHD). The only psychological measures associated with atherosclerosis (assessed by angiography) were indices of personality: Type A (the Jenkins Activity Survey), trait tension, trait anxiety and suppression of anger. It was concluded that these traits may have some role in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. None of the measures of psychological symptoms showed a significant association with angiography indices. However, depressive symptoms and expressed hostility were associated with the severity of angina and duration of heart disease. It was concluded that these affects are the consequences of the physical disability of CHD.
A comparison of the validity of two psychiatric screening questionnaires (GHQ-12 and SRQ-20) in Brazil, using Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis
Authors: De Jesus Mari Jair , Williams Paul 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) (Goldberg, 1972) and the Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) (Hardinget al.1980) were simultaneously validated against the criterion of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) (Goldberget al.1970) in three primary care clinics in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A comparison between the two screening instruments was carried out. The product-moment correlation between the two sets of scores was +0·72, and the validation coefficients for the GHQ-12 and the SRQ-20 were respectively: sensitivity 85% and 83%; specificity 79% and 80%; overall misclassification rate 18% and 19%.The two screening instruments were further compared by the application of Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis and, again, were found to be very similar in performance. The area under the ROC curve was 0·87 for the GHQ and 0·90 for the SRQ-20 (Z = 0·92, NS). Both psychiatric screening instruments were therefore found to be acceptably valid when assessed against the CIS in three primary care settings in Brazil.The application of ROC analysis to studies of this kind was feasible and straightforward. It was found to be superior to the conventional method of presentation of validity data. It is recommended that the application of ROC analysis to psychiatric screening studies be further utilized and explored.
Attentional deficit in the siblings of schizophrenics
Authors: Wood Rodger L. , cook Mark 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA study of attentional deficit in the relatives of schizophrenics and in a matched control group is reported, in which the relatives are found to have poorer scores on a vigilance test and on a choice reaction time test. It is concluded that this deficit points to one of the primary symptoms of schizophrenia, and suggestions for further research are made
Survival on home haemodialysis: its relationship with physical symptomatology, psychosocial background and psychiatric morbidity
Authors: Farmer C. J. , Bewick M. , Parsons V. , Snowden S. A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisAn entire group of 32 home dialysis patients from one hospital renal unit was assessed for psychiatric morbidity on a standardized interview of proven reliability. A rating of physical symptomatology and an enquiry into the childhood and psychosocial background were made at the same time. Psychiatric morbidity, physical symptomatology and a history of good relationships with both natural parents in childhood were inter-related. They were all related to survival on haemodialysis 3½ years later. Survival was also associated with a coping spouse and full-time employment or housework by the patient. These findings are discussed in the light of current concepts of the psychosocial setting for physical illness.