bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cycloid psychosis: an investigation of the diagnostic concept
Authors: Cutting J. C. , Clare A. W. , Mann A. H. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisSeventy-three patients with the features of ‘cycloid psychosis’, adopted from Perris and Leonhard, were identified from case records. Information concerning background, presenting illness and follow-up was compared with that from the case-records of patients with schizophrenic, affective and schizoaffective psychoses. The characteristic features of ‘cycloid psychosis’ were a female predominance and a remittent course. The ‘cycloid’ group resembled the conventional groups in some respects, but differences from schizophrenic, affective and, to a lesser extent, schizoaffective groups were also striking. The factors which might account for the apparent independence of the ‘cycloid’ group from other diagnostic categories are discussed.
Endocrine changes and clinical profiles in depression: II. The thyrotropin-releasing hormone test
Authors: Calloway S. P. , Dolan R. J. , Fonagy P. , De Souza V. F. A. , Wakeling A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThirty-one (43%) of 68 patients with primary depression were found to have a blunted thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). Increased thyroid activity, as measured by the free thyroxine index (FTI), was present in 16 (24%) of the patients. Patients with blunted responses had a higher mean FTI level than those with normal responses. Patients with blunted responses were significantly more likely to exhibit the symptoms of depersonalization, derealization and agitation. There was no clear association between blunting and any particular diagnostic category of depression.Patients with blunted responses and high FTI values were more likely to report significant long-term environmental difficulties than patients with blunted responses and normal FTI values. It is suggested that there may be more than one mechanism responsible for blunting of the TSH response in depressed patients. In some patients blunting may be due to negative feedback from increased output of thyroid hormones, possibly released as part of a stress response. In other patients blunting may be due to a different mechanism, possibly involving pituitary gland dysfunction. These mechanisms would not necessarily be mutually exclusive in any one patient.
Depression following withdrawal from long-term benzodiazepine use: a report of four cases
Authors: Olajide Dele , Lader Malcolm 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisDepression following withdrawal from long- or short-term use of benzodiazepines is not uncommon, yet it is under-reported in the benzodiazepine withdrawal literature. Four cases of depressive illness supervening during benzodiazepine withdrawal are reported. Depression may, it is suggested, be an integral part of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.
The psychobiology of minor head injury
Authors: Montgomery E. A. , Fenton G. W. , McClelland R. J. , MacFlynn G. , Rutherford W. H. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISTwenty-six consecutive admissions to an accident and emergency unit with minor head injury were examined. This was defined as a head injury warranting brief in-patient overnight stay but with a post-traumatic amnesia of less than 12 hours. Each patient had a neurological examination, a post-traumatic symptom check list completed, EEG power spectra analysis and auditory brain stem-evoked potential recordings, and a four-choice reaction-time measurement. These assessments were repeated six weeks later. Six months after the head injury a symptom check list was completed and four-choice reaction time measured again. Post-traumatic symptoms are persistent in half of all patients at six weeks and six months follow-up. The EEG power spectra showed a significant change in theta power between the first recording and the second one at six weeks, with relative reduction being noted. Approximately half of all the patients had significant delays in brain stem conduction time at day 0. There was a trend towards a decrease in brain stem conduction time at six weeks, though in almost half the brain stem conduction time still remained abnormal at six weeks. Head-injured patients had prolonged choice reaction times at day 0 with serial improvement between then and six months, though the values at six weeks were still significantly longer than healthy controls. It is suggested that these findings reflect both cortical and brain stem damage following minor head injury, the brain stem damage being more persistent. There appear to be three patterns of recovery, half recovering within six weeks, a minority persisting over six months with persisting brain stem dysfunction and less than a third showing an exacerbation of symptoms with no evidence of brain stem dysfunction, the exacerbation being possibly a consequence of psychological and social factors.
Determinants of somatization in primary care
Authors: Bridges K. , Goldberg D. , Evans B. , Sharpe T. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThis study explores possible determinants of somatization in primary care. Hypotheses were tested on samples of ‘somatizers’, ‘psychologizers’ and controls recruited by epidemiological procedures. Although ‘somatizers’ were found to be similar to ‘psychologizers’ in many respects, they were (i) less depressed; (ii) reported lower levels of social dissatisfaction, social stress and less dependence on their relatives; (iii) more likely to have an unsympathetic attitude towards mental illness and less likely to consult a doctor about psychological symptoms, and (iv) more likely to have received medical in-patient care as an adult before they had consulted their doctor with their current illness. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research.
A three-year follow-up of psychiatric morbidity in urban and rural primary care
Authors: Seivewright Helen , Tyrer Peter , Casey Patricia , Seivewright Nicholas 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISFollow-up by examination of medical and psychiatric records was carried out on 357 patients with conspicuous psychiatric morbidity in two general practices three years after clinical and personality assessment using structured interview schedules. One practice was an inner-city urban one and the other was rural. Full follow-up data over the 3-year period was available for 301 patients (84 3%). After three years patients with personality disorder and those in the urban practice had greater morbidity, more contacts with all levels of the psychiatric service and more psychotropic drugs, particularly benzodiazepines. Despite this increased morbidity, the number of consultations with the general practitioner for psychiatric illness was no higher in the urban group and those for medical illness were significantly higher in the rural one. The implications of the findings are discussed with particular reference to developments in community psychiatric care.
Computer diagnosis of depression and anxiety: the Stirling County Study
Authors: Murphy Jane M. , Neff Raymond K. , Sobol Arthur M. , Rice Joseph X. , Olivier Donald C. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA computer programme (DPAX) was constructed for a longitudinal study of psychiatric epidemiology in Stirling County (Canada). It identifies disorders involving the syndromes of depression and anxiety based on responses given in structured questionnaire interviews. The programme follows a diagnostic algorithm that uses criteria for: (1) essential features; (2) number, frequency, and pattern of associated symptoms; (3) impairment; and (4) duration. The programme reproduces case evaluations provided by psychiatrists, as conveyed by a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 98%.
Classification of severe school attendance problems
Authors: Berg Ian , Casswell Geraldine , Goodwin Alison , Hullin Roy , McGuire Ralph , Tagg Gill 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisSixty-four children taken to court for failure to attend school were reliably classified into 4 groups, according to whether they exhibited the features of ‘school refusal’ and/or ‘truancy’. About a fifth of them were found to exhibit ‘school refusal’; a third showed ‘truancy’; less than a sixth exhibited both ‘school refusal’ and ‘truancy’ combined; and over a third had the characteristics of neither condition. Differences between these categories were found in manifestations of psychiatric disturbance and in responsiveness to a court adjournment procedure.
Systematic observation and clinical insight – are they compatible? An experiment in recognizing family interactions
Authors: Eisler I. , Szmukler G. I. , Dare C. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisClinical descriptions of families are often viewed as being too subjective for systematic scientific inquiry. This study examines the extent to which independent observers can recognize statements made about family interactions. These statements were of a type which clinicians dealing with families would make and comprised observations with varying levels of inference. A special method was devised to test a number of specific hypotheses concerning the processes of clinical observation. The results show that such descriptions are recognizable as being made about a particular family even when this involves discriminating between clinically similar families. Some of the implications of these results for observational research are discussed.
Psychophysiologic disorders: a critical appraisal of concept and theory illustrated with reference to the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Authors: Latimer Paul 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe concept of psychophysiologic disorders and the major theories invented to account for such disorders are critically reviewed. The Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) serves to illustrate the application of each theory and provides a vehicle for their appraisal. The tendency to think of ‘physical’ and ‘psychological’ as separate entities rather than separate languages has led to attempts to make a categorical distinction between disorders caused by ‘psychological’ factors and those caused by ‘physical’ factors. Some of the theories developed to account for psychophysiologic disorders are unscientific and none can adequately account for all the features of IBS. It is concluded that the concept of psychophysiologic or psychosomatic disorder is outmoded.
A comparative psychiatric assessment of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and muscle disease
Authors: Wood G. C. , Bentall R. P. , Göpfert M. , Edwards R. H. T. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe psychiatric status of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (N = 34) and muscle disease (N = 24) attending a general medical clinic was studied. Among fatigue patients 14 (41·2%) were cases and a further 9 (26·5%) were subcases of psychiatric disorder as defined by CATEGO. A variety of diagnoses was found. Significantly fewer of the muscle patients had a psychiatric disorder with 3 (12·5%) being cases and 1 (4%) a subcase. The relative risk of psychiatric disorder in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome compared to patients with muscle disease was 3·3:1.
Psychiatric morbidity in young adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
Authors: Mayou Richard , Peveler Robert , Davies Beverley , Mann Jim , Fairburn Christopher 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISPsychiatric disorder and sub-threshold psychological distress were more common in 113 young men and women with insulin-dependent diabetes living in a defined area than in comparable general population samples. Twelve per cent of men and 19% of women were classified by the PSE as psychiatric ‘cases’. Forty per cent of women and 47% of men reported at least one major social problem; effects of diabetes on everyday activities were common.There were associations between medical and social variables. The clinical implications are discussed.
An indigenous conceptualization of reactive depression in Trinidad
Authors: Littlewood Roland 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisWhile depressive reactions appear to be universal, until recently they have seldom been described outside Europe, probably because of their lack of exotic salience, but also because they are seldom identified locally as distinct entities. Where it occurs, such an identification reflects a local preference for the articulation of individual psychological notions, rather than universal moral imperatives. While the symptoms of reactive depression are recognized in rural Trinidad as a common experience, but not especially remarked, they are also identified by Afro-Caribbeans as a specific state, Tabanka, following the loss of a sexual partner to another. Tabanka is characterized by lassitude, anorexia, insomnia, feelings of worthlessness, anger, a loss of interest in work and other activities and, especially, by a preoccupation with the faithless one. It is said to be most common among married men and among the upwardly socially mobile, and to lead to heavy drinking and occasionally madness or suicide. The precipitation of Tabanka provokes hilarity rather than moral indignation, and its humour articulates an egalitarian and individualistic working-class attitude to marriage and social mobility. In contrast, Trinidadians of Asian or Venezuelan origin emphasize moral notions of honour and shame.
Some cognitive correlates of affective disorders
Authors: Robertson Graham , Taylor Pamela J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisSeventy-one men completed a battery of cognitive tests which were designed to reflect verbal analytic and non-verbal holistic functioning. Interest centred around pattern of response. Thirty men were suffering from an affective disorder and forty-one were well. All the men were in prison, the majority awaiting trial. The affective disorder group was subdivided into three categories: men who had a history of manic-depressive illness; a group of unipolar, psychotically depressed men; and men who were regarded as being depressed in reaction to circumstances. All three groups showed specific difficulty in dealing with spatial/holistic tasks, other factors being held constant. They were also found to differ in a number of other respects. The possible significance of these differences is discussed.
Description and measurement of concentration problems in depressed patients
Authors: Watts Fraser N. , Sharrock Robert 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisDepressed patients commonly complain of concentration problems, yet these have seldom been the focus of systematic investigation. A structured interview about concentration problems was administered to a group of relatively severely depressed patients. Problems in reading and watching television were the most common, and were highly correlated with each other. Direct report of the number of concentration lapses on a reading task was the most generally satisfactory task-performance correlate of complaints of reading/TV concentration problems. Evidence both from this task and from the interview suggests that depressive concentration problems may often be due to ‘mind-wandering’. The correlations with concentration problems with the severity and endogeneity of depression and with state anxiety were generally similar.
Carotid endarterectomy: does it improve cognitive or motor functioning?
Authors: Van Den Burg W. , Saan R. J. , Van Zomeren A. H. , Boontje A. H. , Haaxma R. , Wichmann T. E. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisIn a group of 20 patients who were to undergo endarterectomy for atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the internal carotid artery, the stenosis did not appear to have resulted in cognitive or motor deficits. Consistent with this finding, surgery could not be shown to have a beneficial effect on cognitive or motor functioning. Control data were supplied by 20 patients who underwent peripheral vascular surgery and 20 healthy subjects. The test-retest interval was 10 weeks.
Effects of the contraceptive pill on sedative responses to clonidine and apomorphine in normal women
Authors: Chalmers J. S. , Fulli-Lemaire I. , Cowen P. J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisIn normal women sedation following intravenous administration of the α2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine (1·3 μg/kg) was significantly greater following 3 weeks' continuous treatment with the combined contraceptive pill than at the end of the 7-day withdrawal period. In contrast, sedative responses to the dopamine agonist apomorphine (5 μg/kg subcutaneously) were decreased when subjects were taking the contraceptive pill. These findings are in agreement with animal experimental studies, indicating that oestrogen can alter α-adrenoceptor and dopamine autoreceptor sensitivity. Such interactions may be involved in the effects of female sex steroids on mood.
A study of variables associated with under-attendance at a psychiatric day centre
Authors: Bender M. P. , Pilling S. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis study examines the problems of client under-attendance at a psychiatric day centre. Demographic, psychiatric, psychometric and Semantic Differential measures were used. Several of these measures were significantly associated with under-attendance. Various methods are suggested for the identification of and reduction of the level of under-attendance.
Cerebrospinal fluid somatostatin in delirium
Authors: Koponen Hannu , Stenbäck Ulla , Mattila Esa , Reinikainen Kari , Soininen Hilkka , Riekkinen Paavo J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisCerebrospinal fluid somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (CSF SLI) was determined for 67 elderly patients who met the DSM-III criteria for delirium and for 19 age-matched controls. As a group, and also when subdivided according to the type of delirium, severity of cognitive decline or the type of central nervous system disease, the delirious patients showed significant reductions of SLI compared with the controls, together with a declining trend associated with increasing cognitive dysfunction. These findings are in accordance with previous observations that reduced CSF SLI is associated with diseases in which cognitive function is disturbed and they extend this finding to delirium.
Severe mental disorder in Afro-Caribbean patients: some social, demographic and service factors
Authors: Harrison Glynn , Holton Anthony , Neilson David , Owens David , Boot Daphne , Cooper John 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisForty-two consecutively identified Afro-Caribbean patients with a first episode of psychosis were compared with a similar group of non-Caribbean patients. A number of differences emerged, although the same proportion of patients in each group had symptoms for 6 months or more prior to psychiatric contact. Afro-Caribbean patients showed greater delay in seeking help, more ‘disturbance’ later in the course of their illness and were more likely to be admitted compulsorily. The social geography of the two groups suggests that the high rates of schizophrenia and related psychoses that we previously reported cannot be explained simply by differences in area of residence at the time of presentation.
A framework for the adaptation of psychological questionnaires for epidemiological use: an example of the Bortner Type A scale
Authors: Gallacher J. E. J. , Smith G. Davey 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA model for the systematic adaptation of psychological questionnaires for epidemiological use is presented. Application of the model is illustrated using variants of the Bortner Type A scale in a representative age/sex stratified sample of 256 persons. Through the application of the model the Bortner scale was adapted to compare the effects of scale direction, scale format and example position. Overall the Bortner scale was shown to provide robust measurement which was little affected by response rate, age, sex or by the adaptations of the scale. An association was found of sex with response rate. Interaction effects of sex and scale direction on mean Type A scores, and of example position and scale format on both response rate and Type A score variability were also found. In identifying critical aspects of questionnaire performance, and in providing a coherent framework for their interrelationship, the model acts as a guide to the systematic assessment of questionnaire performance. The use of this model will, therefore, facilitate greater confidence in the interpretation of questionnaire data in epidemiological studies.
Needs for care among the relatives of long-term users of day care: A report from the Camberwell High Contact Survey
Authors: MacCarthy B. , Lesage A. , Brewin C. R. , Brugha T. S. , Mangen S. , Wing J. K. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisWe report the results of a survey of the burdens and needs for items of care of 45 supporters of long-term users of psychiatric day care facilities in Camberwell. The supporters reported high levels of disturbed behaviour and low levels of self-care skills in the attenders. They were also subject to high levels of social and economic burden, not all of which could be attributed to the attenders' problems. The needs assessment identified a large number of unmet needs, although the supporters themselves were largely resigned to their situation and expressed little dissatisfaction with the services they were offered. The advantage of conducting this kind of assessment of supporters' needs as a routine part of clinical practice was discussed.
Thyroid dysfunction in institutionalised Down's syndrome adults
Authors: Kinnell H. G. , Gibbs N. , Teale J. D. , Smith J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis study of 111 institutionalised Down's syndrome subjects and 74 controls found a relatively low risk of hypothyroidism in both groups compared with certain other studies of Down's subjects, which found very high rates of thyroid hypofunction. However, the Down's syndrome group had a significantly raised risk of hypothyroidism (9%), hyperthyroidism (1·8%) and the presence of thyroid microsomal antibodies (29%) compared with the controls and with laboratory reference data. It is recommended that thyroid function testing should be routine in older Down's syndrome subjects, with special attention being given to the clinical status of those with microsomal antibodies present.
Isolation and characterization of a nuclear depressive syndrome
Authors: Grove W. M. , Andreasen N. C. , Young M. , Endicott J. , Keller M. B. , Hirschfeld R. M. A. , Reich T. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisWe investigated the nosology of endogenous depression by numerical taxonomy. Five hundred and sixty-nine patients diagnosed as having unipolar major depressive disorder in the NIMH Clinical Research Branch Program on the Psychobiology of Depression – Clnical were studied. Thirty-six symptoms which might distinguish endogenous from non-endogenous depressions were chosen from the literature. Patients' symptom profiles assessed by structured interview were grouped by two methods: aK-means improvement of Ward's method of cluster analysis, and a latent class algorithm. The methods produced very similar groups and several internal validity criteria suggested that the groups were not spurious. Cluster 1, ‘nuclear depression,’ included a nucleus of patients common to multiple definitions of endogenous depression. The non-nuclear group scored as less neurotic than the nuclear group on personality tests administered during the index episode. The groups do not differ in frequency, number or severity of reported life events prior to onset of the index episode. The nuclear group shows a poor prognosis on two-year prospective follow-up, greater disturbance on personality inventories, and increased heritability of depression in siblings.