bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Medical Social Assessment of Admissions to Old People's Homes in Nottingham
Authors: Ovenstone Irene M. K. , Bean Philip T. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryA medical, psychiatric and social assessment was conducted on 272 residents admitted consecutively to local authority residential care for the elderly in Nottingham in the year ending 31st January 1978. A high level of medical and psychiatric pathology was discovered, in spite of frequent general practitioner contact in the community and recent hospital admissions. Few of the staff in the old people's homes were sufficiently qualified to deal with the medical and psychiatric conditions of the residents only a third of whom had been examined by a general practitioner during the month after admission. The social service provision in the community showed an uneven pattern and did not appear to have a direct relationship with the residents' requirements, 12 per cent of whom could have remained in the community had there been adequate social assessment and support. Only just over half were appropriately placed, and a further third should have been in the care of the hospital services.Recommendations for change are directed towards the provision of routine medical, psychiatric and social assessment of all potential residents by geriatricians and psychogeriatricians in close collaboration with social services in special local authority assessment homes.
Anorexia Nervosa: Some Observations on “Dieters” and “Vomiters”, Cholesterol and Carotene
Authors: Bhanji S. , Mattingly D. 
Published: August 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SummaryDespite the high prevalence of unipolar depression in the general population, few genetic studies are available on subtypes of unipolar illness. We evaluated morbid risks for depression, alcoholism and/or sociopathy in the relatives of early onset (before age 40) and late onset (after age 40) unipolar patients in a sample of 106 probands consecutively admitted to the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Unipolar patients with an early onset disease have a greater familial morbidity for depression, alcoholism and sociopathy than unipolar patients with a late onset disease. There is an excess of unipolar depression in female relatives of early onset unipolars when compared to late onset probands, regardless of the proband's sex. Alcoholism and sociopathy are also more prevalent in the relatives of early onset unipolars versus late onset probands. Our morbidity risk data show familial genetic differences between early and late onset forms of unipolar illness and partially confirm Winokur's concept of two subtypes of unipolar depression.
First Admissions of Native-Born and Immigrants to Psychiatric Hospitals in South-East England 1976
Authors: Dean G. , Walsh D. , Downing H. , Shelley E. 
Published: August 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

SummaryA representative sample of 105 women were assessed by Goldberg's Standardised Psychiatric Interview (SPI) on two occasions during pregnancy and twice more in the puerperium. Total SPI scores increased significantly after childbirth. Thirteen out of the sample had a severe postnatal depression and a further 17 women had milder depression, which in 15 lasted at least four weeks. Marked deterioration of their marital relationships was reported by the depressed women but no other social or obstetric characteristics of postnatal depression were found. Women with severe postnatal blues were particularly at risk of developing persistent depressive symptoms subsequently. The only two women referred to a psychiatrist had personality disorders rather than depressive illnesses.
Adolescents who Take Overdoses: Their Characteristics, Problems and Contacts with Helping Agencies
Authors: Hawton Keith , O'Grady John , Osborn Madeline , Cole Deborah 
Published: August 2008

SummaryIn a consecutive sample of 50 adolescents aged 13–18 admitted to hospital after taking overdoses, 90 per cent were girls. There were other clear differences between this sample and adolescents in general. Twenty-four per cent had visited their general practitioners in the previous week, and 50 per cent during the previous month. The most common difficulties preceding the overdoses were problems with parents, boy or girlfriends, and with school or work, including unemployment. A substantial proportion of the subjects had recent or current physical ill health. In the majority of cases the problems appeared to be transient so that one month later two-thirds of the adolescents had shown considerable general improvement. However, 14 per cent were referred to hospital for further self-poisoning or self-injury in the following year. The recent increase in the incidence of self-poisoning among adolescents suggests that more attention must be paid to this group in terms of both primary and secondary prevention.
Subsequent Deliberate Self-Harm in Patients Referred to a Psychiatrist: A Prospective Study
Authors: Myers E. D. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryOne thousand and five patients referred to a psychiatrist were questioned, during a routine clinical interview, about current and previous suicidal ideas and previous suicide behaviour; they were also specifically asked what made life worth living for them at that time. In a four-year case-record follow-up 102 patients (10.1 per cent) were found subsequently to have attempted deliberately to harm themselves. Such deliberate self-harm (DSH) was significantly associated with female sex, with age below 35, and with evidence of suicidal ideation and/or behaviour at the time of and/or before the initial referral. To the question, “What makes life worth living for you at the present time?” a significant number of subsequent self-harmers had answered ‘Nothing’ or ‘Not much’ while a significant number of subsequent non-self-harmers had answered “Spouse and children” or “Family”.The results suggest that the answers to questions about current and previous suicidal ideas and behaviour and perceptions of what makes life worth living may be useful in the prediction of deliberate self-harm.
Delirium and Dementia: Diagnostic Criteria and Fatality Rates
Authors: Rabins Peter V. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryMedically ill patients diagnosed at index admission as delirious, i.e., suffering cognitive decline and an altered state of consciousness, had higher fatality rates than demented, cognitively intact or depressed patients. At a one-year follow-up the death rate of those who had been delirious was still higher than that of demented patients. Delirious patients were more likely to have a diffusely slow EEG, tachycardia and hyperthermia and lower mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure. These results validate the distinction between delirium and dementia and the importance of alteration of consciousness as a defining characteristic of delirium.
Community Screening for Mental Illness: A Validity Study of the General Health Questionnaire
Authors: Benjamin Sidney , Decalmer Peter , Haran Dave 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe 60-item GHQ was validated in a community population by comparison with the CIS. The GHQ failed to identify nearly half of the psychiatric ‘cases' in this population. Those missed were similar to those detected except for greater chronicity of illness and more frequent social and interpersonal problems. The GHQ appears to be unsuitable as a screening instrument for mental illness in the community and the possible reasons are discussed. Principal components analysis resulted in a 15-item GHQ factor which, when used with Likert scoring, resulted in considerable improvement and failed to identify only 4 per cent of ‘cases'. It is suggested that this may provide a more satisfactory screening instrument.
Psychoses of Epilepsy: A Radiological Evaluation
Authors: Toone B. K. , Dawson J. , Driver M. V. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryComputerized axial tomography (CAT) scanning was carried out on 57 patients who had received a hospital diagnosis of psychoses associated with epilepsy, and 78 epileptic patients with psychiatric illness other than epilepsy. Abnormal scans were reported in approximately half of the cases in both groups. An excess of left hemisphere abnormality was noted in the psychotic group, but this was not significant. These findings failed to provide firm support for the hypothesis that lateralized structural damage to the cerebral hemispheres plays a major part in determining the specific pattern of associated psychotic illness.
Plasma Prolactin and Growth Hormone Levels in Manic Patients Treated with Pimozide
Authors: Cookson J. C. , Silverstone T. , Rees Lesley 
Published: August 2008

SummaryDuring two weeks' treatment of 11 manic patients with pimozide there was close correspondence between the timecourse of improvement in clinical ratings and the rise in plasma prolactin between the second and fourteenth day. There were no significant differences in growth hormone levels during the manic episodes compared to recovery. These findings are discussed in relation to the role of dopamine in the release of prolactin and growth hormone, and in the pathogenesis of mania.
Is there a Syndrome of Pure Hyperactivity?
Authors: August Gerald J. , Stewart Mark A. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryA comparison of hyperactive boys with and without associated conduct disorder was made to determine the validity of a narrowly defined concept of pure hyperactivity. Although clinical differences between the two sub-groups supported the diagnostic distinction, few differences appeared with respect to various possibly causal background factors. A small group of boys with pure hyperactivity was separated, however, on the basis of subnormal IQ scores. In contrast to the hyperactive boys with normal IQ, these boys showed a more serious history of developmental disturbances which appeared to be linked to organicity. It was concluded that pure hyperactivity is an elusive concept and probably defines a heterogeneous group of children whose primary problems are cognitive in nature.
Anxiety Management Training for Anxiety States: Positive Compared with Negative Self-Statements
Authors: Ramm Elizabeth , Marks Isaac , Stern Richard , Yuksel Sahika 
Published: August 2008

SummaryTwelve patients complaining of chronic free-floating anxiety, usually also with panic attacks, were assigned at random to treatment by six hour-long sessions of anxiety-management training, either with positive or with negative self-statements, given over six weeks. Patients in both treatment conditions improved, with a small trend favouring positive over negative self-instruction, especially at follow-up. It is unclear how much self-instruction, rather than therapeutic attention or mere passage of time, accounted for the bulk of the modest improvement obtained.