bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Recent Trends in Suicide Amongst the Young
Authors: McClure G. M. G. 
Published: August 2008

SummarySuicide is rare under 14 years but thereafter increases with increasing age, with males predominating. The suicide rate for 15–19 year olds in England and Wales has increased since the nineteen fifties for both males and females, with a recent substantial rise in males. There has also been an increase in the small number of female suicides aged 10–14 years between 1941–50 and 1971–80. In younger age groups there is a higher proportion of undetermined deaths compared with officially recorded suicides, and this category has recently increased disproportionately in the young. The number of deaths by poisoning with solids or liquids recorded as suicide, accidental poisoning or undetermined poisoning has increased markedly in young people, and the relationship between the three groups might repay investigation.
Estimating Suicide Risk Among Attempted Suicides
Authors: Pallis D. J. , Gibbons J. S. , Pierce D. W. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryWe predicted that the closer the resemblance of attempted suicide to completed suicide, the greater the risk of patients later killing themselves after an unsuccessful attempt. Using two risk scales, one of 6 and the other of 18 socio-demographic and clinical items, weighted according to their value in discriminating between suicides and attempted suicides, and a rating of intent to die during the index suicide attempt, we followed up 1263 attempted suicides for two years. Ten of the twelve suicidal deaths in the first year occurred in patients scoring in the top quartile on the 6-item scale; and among high-risk scorers there was an excess of those defined as ‘failed suicides' at the index attempt. The 18-item scale was superior to the shorter one, but both scales were improved by taking into account the rating of intent-to-die. The potential value of these findings is discussed in the light of some inherent problems of predicting suicide in the clinical setting.
Comparison of Delinquent Boys and Girls in Group Homes and Factors Associated with the Outcome
Authors: Kashani Javad H. , Daniel Anasseril E. , Reid John C. , Sirinek Alan J. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryOne hundred boys and girls who were placed in two group homes by court order were studied. The girls were admitted mostly for status offences while the boys were admitted for offences to property and persons. Over half of the sample had an immediate family member who had committed a serious crime. This group differed in several ways from the group with no family history of crime. When the outcome of the entire sample was investigated, it was found that there are some indicators that could be used as predictors for the outcome in a delinquent population. This could have a definite clinical application.
The Ventricular System in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Pandurangi Anand K. , Dewan Mantosh J. , Lee Seungho Howard , Ramachandran Tarakad , Levy Benjamin F. , Boucher Michael , Yozawitz Allan , Major Leslie , Pandurangi Anand K. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryTwenty-three chronic schizophrenic patients and 23 controls, all males between 20 and 40 years of age, were evaluated by CT scan. The lateral, third and fourth ventricles, the Sylvian fissures, and the largest sulcus from each of the frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes, were measured in order to determine whether the previously reported ventriculomegaly in schizophrenics was perhaps due to a disturbance of CSF flow or to atrophy, two common causes of ventricular enlargement. We found that in the schizophrenic group the third and fourth ventricles and both Sylvian fissures were significantly enlarged, but not the lateral ventricles or cerebral sulci. Our data suggest that these ventricular changes are not due to a disturbance of CSF flow or to cerebral atrophy. Other possible explanations are discussed.
Comparison of Borderline Personality Subcategories to Schizophrenic and Affective Disorders
Authors: Andrulonis Paul A. , Vogel Naomi 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThis clinical research report identified 4 subcategories of the hospitalized borderline personality disorder: developmental, affective disorder, attentional deficit/learning disabled, and organic. Developmental and affective disorder subcategories are predominantly composed of females, while males are overly represented in the attentional deficit/learning disabilities subcategory. Comparison of the borderline patients with schizophrenic and affective disorder control groups supports the hypothesis that the borderline personality disorder is a diagnostic entity distinct from schizophrenia, but perhaps not from affective disorders.
Symptoms of Emotional Distress in a Family Planning Service: Stability over a Four-Week Period
Authors: Winokur Andrew , Winokur Denise F. , Rickels Karl , Cox Deborah S. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe 25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL–25) was used on two occasions four weeks apart to identify self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients attending a family planning service. Only 28 per cent of patients classified as anxious to start with remained so four weeks later, but 62 per cent of those with high depression scores and 74 per cent of those with high depression and high anxiety scores maintained significant levels of depression. The implications of these findings for routine screening are discussed.
The Effect of Mianserin on Alpha-2 Adrenergic Receptor Function in Depressed Patients
Authors: Charney Dennis S. , Heninger George R. , Sternberg David E. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryRecent clinical investigations have shown that long term treatment with the tricyclic antidepressants desipramine and amitriptyline reduces the sensitivity of the alpha-2 adrenergic autoreceptor. In order to determine whether the tetracyclic antidepressant mianserin also has this action, the effect of clonidine, an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, on plasma levels of the norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenlethyleneglycol (MHPG), blood pressure, and patient-rated sedation were measured in fifteen depressed patients before and during mianserin treatment. Postsynaptic alpha-2 adrenergic receptor function was assessed by measuring the growth hormone response to clonidine before and during treatment. Mianserin had little or no effect on the ability of clonidine to lower plasma MHPG and blood pressure, and to increase sedation and growth hormone secretion. The findings of this investigation indicates that long term mianserin treatment does not produce significant subsensitivity of the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor and suggests that a reduction in alpha-2 adrenergic autoreceptor sensitivity is not a necessary action for all effective antidepressant treatments.
A Neuroendocrine Study of Stereotactic Sub-Caudate Tractotomy
Authors: Corn T. H. , Honig A. , Thompson C. , Bridges P. K. , Bartlett J. R. , Checkley S. A. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe growth hormone and hypotensive responses to clonidine have been measured in six drug free severely depressed patients before, and at two weeks after, the surgical procedure of stereotactic sub-caudate tractotomy. The responses were unaltered two weeks after operation, by which time a small clinical improvement was evident. These findings are discussed in relation to central a adrenoceptor functions in depression, and the effect upon this of antidepressant treatment.
Economic Losses Associated with Chronic Mental Disorder in a Developing Country
Authors: Westermeyer Joseph 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThis study was undertaken in a society without psychiatric services to assess the economic losses associated there with major mental disorder. Such data are important in assessing the cost/benefit of services for major mental disorders.A survey was conducted in 27 representative villages of Laos, each containing about 200–300 people; 35 mentally ill subjects were identified. Data were obtained on expenditure for treatment, loss of productivity, and other economic losses (eg., destruction of property); demographic data and clinical rating scales were also obtained, and compared with economic variables.The data show wide variability in expenditures for treatment, but losses of productivity were consistently high; acute losses, while impressive due to their suddeness and obvious wastefulness, were comparatively small relative to others. Demographic data were not associated with loss in productivity. Certain psychopathological parameters, ie., more psychopathology, less productivity, were inversely correlated with productivity. Psychosocial function scales were strongly and directly correlated with productivity.
Psychological Response to Amputation as a Function of Age and Time Since Amputation
Authors: Frank Robert G. , Kashani Javad H. , Kashani Soraya R. , Wonderlich Stephen A. , Umlauf Robert L. , Ashkanazi Glenn S. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryMuch of what is known about the psychological response to amputation is derived from studies of veterans. Most recent amputees come from a different group; they are typically older and have experienced medical problems prior to their amputation. In order to investigate the effects of age and time since amputation on psychological response, 66 amputees were assessed by the Symptom Checklist-90, Beck Depression Inventory and interviewed. When classified by time since amputation and by age, the results indicate that older amputees exhibited less depression and fewer psychological symptoms: in contrast, younger amputees evidenced increased depression and psychological symptomatology the longer the time since their amputation.
Panic Symptoms after Inhalation of Carbondioxide
Authors: van den Hout Marcel A. , Griez Eric 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe effects of inhaling a mixture of 35 per cent carbon dioxide and 65 per cent oxygen on the occurrence of panic symptoms defined by the DSM III, was investigated. Compared to a placebo (air), carbon dioxide produced more panic symptoms. If carbon dioxide inhalation was preceded by intake of a beta-blocker (60 mg propranolol), less symptoms occurred than if preceded by a placebo. The results are compared with earlier reports on the effects of lactate infusion. It is argued that panic disorders can be conceptualized as a fear of internal (panic) sensations and that inhalation of a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen may constitute an effective exposure treatment.
A Comparison of Lenient and Strict Operant Conditioning Programmes in Refeeding Patients with Anorexia Nervosa
Authors: Touyz S. W. , Beumont P. J. V. , Glaun D. , Phillips T. , Cowie I. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe present paper compares a lenient and a strict operant conditioning programme in refeeding patients with anorexia nervosa. Sixty-five consecutive in-patients participated in the study. We found no significant difference in the rate of weight-gain between the two treatments. There were, however, a number of practical advantages in using the more lenient programme: it was more economical of nursing time, and patients were more accessible to psychotherapy. The programme was also more acceptable to the patients.
The Relationship between Cognitive Function and Liver Function in Alcoholism
Authors: Everett P. S. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThirty alcoholic patients were investigated for evidence of impaired hepatic function and deficits in cognitive functioning, to see if there was any significant relationship between these two complications of alcoholism. Forty-seven per cent had abnormal γ-glutamyl transpeptidase levels, and 63 per cent had abnormal results on the Category test. Only one significant correlation coefficient was found, between one parameter of hepatic function and one of cognitive function. Possible explanations for this (negative) correlation are discussed, and the value of further study is suggested.
Brain-Type Creatine Phosphokinase Serum Levels Before and After Ect
Authors: Webb M. G. T. , O'Donnell M. P. , Draper R. J. , Horner B. , Phillips J. P. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryBrain-type creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme (CPK BB) was measured by radioimmunoassay in the serum of 31 depressed patients undergoing bilateral ECT. Samples were taken shortly before and at one hour, two hours, and six hours following ECT. ECT did not cause a significant alteration in serum CPK BB concentration during the six hours following the treatment. Similarly, there was no difference in mean pre-ECT concentration of serum CPK BB between patients receiving the first ECT of their current admission and those receiving subsequent treatments. These findings do not support suggestions that ECT causes alteration in permeability of the blood-brain barrier, nor that it causes detectable brain injury.
Facial Affect Recognition in Schizophrenia is there a Differential Deficit?
Authors: Novic Josh , Luchins Daniel J. , Perline Richard 
Published: August 2008

SummarySeveral studies have suggested that schizophrenics have a deficit in their ability to recognize the affect expressed in photos of human faces. In this study, the performance of 17 chronic schizophrenics was compared to that of 17 controls on both a test of facial affect recognition and a control task involving facial recognition. Compared with controls, chronic schizophrenics tended to perform more poorly on the test of facial affect recognition, but this difference was eliminated when facial recognition was entered as a covariate. When all test items, including those with poor reliability and discriminatory power, were included in the analysis the schizophrenics showed a significant deficit in facial affect recognition which persisted even when facial recognition was used as a covariate.
Amnion's Horn or Hippocampal Sclerosis without Epilepsy in Mental Handicap
Authors: Sylvester P. E. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryNeuropathological examination of the brain of eight adult mentally handicapped patients showed mesial temporal sclerosis. Three patients had cerebral palsy, one had Down's syndrome, three were retarded, and one had an unspecific mental handicap. Although there was a suspicion of fits in most patients, temporal lobe epilepsy was not diagnosed in life.
The Effects of Non-Prescribing of Anxiolytics in General Practice: II. Factors Associated with Outcome
Authors: Catalan Jose , Gath Dennis , Bond Alison , Martin Pauline 
Published: August 2008

SummaryFactors associated with psychiatric outcome were examined in a series of 87 patients who had presented in general practice with new episodes of minor affective disorder. Two outcome measures were used: (i) Status on Present State Examination (PSE) seven months after initial consultation; (ii) prescribing of psychotropic medication between one-month and seven-month follow-up assessments. Outcome according to the PSE was significantly associated with: worse measures of psychiatric state (General Health Questionnaire, Profile of Mood states) and of social functioning (SAS-M) at initial consultation and one month later; and with persistent anxious or depressed mood during the follow-up period; but not with life events. During the follow-up period 20 patients received at least one psychotropic prescription; they were significantly associated with worse initial GHQ scores, consumption of tobacco and non-prescribed medication, and initial anxiety. A sub-group of 11 patients received multiple psychotropic prescriptions; they were significantly associated with the same initial measures, and also with poor outcome measures (psychiatric and social).
The Occurrence of Secondary Affective Disorder in an In-patient Population with Severe and Recurrent Affective Disorder
Authors: Stancer Harvey C. , Persad Emmanuel , Jorna Thecla , Flood Christine , Wagener Diane K. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryOne hundred and eighty nine consecutive in-patients with treatment-resistant affective disorder were administered the Renard Diagnostic Interview to determine whether the 45 with secondary affective disorder (SAD) differed from the 144 with primary affective disorder (PAD). The SAD group, including 15 subjects with bipolar disorder, had an earlier mean age of onset of depression and contained more unmarried individuals. The total secondary group could not usefully be differentiated by assessment of clinical symptoms or discriminating analysis of social and clinical variables. While the present study of a severely depressed population does not lend itself to generalisability, this combined sample does have characteristics of patients used in biological investigations. No significant inter-group discrimination was found to support a previous assumption that identification of a prior psychiatric disorder provides the most suitable mechanism for selecting a population for research in affective disorders.
A Comparison of the Growth Hormone Responses to Clonidine and Apomorphine in the Same Patients with Endogenous Depression
Authors: Corn T. H. , Hale A. S. , Thompson C. , Bridges P. K. , Checkley S. A. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe growth hormone responses to clonidine (1.3 μg/kgm) and apomorphine (0.005 mg/kgm) have been measured in 8 drug free patients with endogenous depression. In these patients the growth hormone responses to clonidine were significantly smaller than to apomorphine. As these doses of clonidine and apomorphine have previously been reported to cause similar growth hormone responses in normal subjects, these findings support the hypothesis of a defect in the adrenergic but not the dopaminergic regulation of growth hormone in patients with endogenous depression.
A Consensual Validation of Schizoid Personality in Childhood and Adult Life
Authors: Cull Ann , Chick Jonathan , Wolff Sula 
Published: August 2008

SummaryLife histories and interview descriptions of 23 young men diagnosed as schizoid in middle childhood and adult life and of 20 control subjects not given this diagnosis were presented for diagnostic rating to two independent general psychiatrists. Agreement about the presence or absence of schizoid personality was good. It is concluded that, in the case of boys, the syndrome of schizoid personality in childhood (Asperger's syndrome) corresponds to or is subsumed by the more general clinical picture psychiatrists have of schizoid personality in adult life, and that our original use of this diagnostic label for the youngsters we described was not idiosyncratic.
Psychophysiological Changes during Pharmacological Treatment of Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Zahn Theodore P. , Insel Thomas R. , Murphy Dennis L. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryTwelve patients with obsessive compulsive disorder were studied with psychophysiological measures during a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled drug trial. Significant clinical improvement followed six weeks of treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine, but was not evident after an equal period of treatment with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) clorgyline. Compared to placebo, both drugs reduced skin conductance indices of baseline arousal, but only clomipramine reduced skin conductance and heart rate responses to loud tones and tonic and phasic skin conductance responses in a two-flash discrimination task. This suggests that reductions in autonomic responses to important and/or aversive stimuli may be critical to clinical improvement in obsessive compulsive disorder.
A Family Study of Bipolar II Disorder
Authors: Coryell W. , Endicott J. , Reich T. , Andreasen N. , Keller M. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryProfessional raters who were blind to proband diagnosis used the schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia (SADS-L) and the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) to evaluate 1, 210 first-degree relatives of 327 probands with primary major depression, participating in the family sub-study of the NIMH Collaborative Study of the Affective Disorders – Clinical Branch. Bipolar II probands were significantly more likely to have bipolar II relatives than were non-bipolar or bipolar I probands. Bipolar II probands were slightly more likely than non-bipolar probands and slightly less likely than bipolar I probands to have relatives with bipolar I illness. Similar patterns have emerged in two other recently reported family studies of bipolar II illness. Taken together, these data suggest heterogeneity among patients with bipolar II depression. Some appear to be genotypes for bipolar I illness, while a small proportion may be genotypes for non-bipolar illness. A third group, of undetermined size, may breed true.
Psychophysiological Responses of Schizophrenic Patients to High and Low Expressed Emotion Relatives: A Follow-up Study
Authors: Sturgeon David , Turpin Graham , Kuipers Liz , Berkowitz Ruth , Leff Julian 
Published: August 2008

SummaryMeasurements of skin conductance response frequencies (SCRf) were obtained from 30 acutely ill schizophrenic patients during a standardised videotaped interview, conducted with the patient's key relative present. Significant differences in SCRf's were demonstrated between patients whose relatives had high and low Expressed Emotion (EE) respectively. Patients at high risk of relapse were allocated either to a control or an experimental group, the latter being offered a number of social interventions in order to reduce the relative's EE and/or contact with the patient. Follow-up measurements were obtained on 19 patients nine months after discharge. Although social intervention was highly successful in reducing relapse rates, its effects did not appear to be directly mediated via SCRf, which was found to be independently related to relapse.
Psychotic Children with Hallucinations
Authors: Garralda M. E. 
Published: August 2008

SummaryIn a retrospective study, 20 psychotic children and adolescents with hallucinations were compared with 15 psychotic controls without hallucinations. In the former, auditory hallucinations predominated, which tended to be localised in the internal space of the child. Subjects with hallucinations had significantly more symptoms of depression and anxiety, more precipitants of illness and problems in reading ability. There was a trend for increased laconic speech in them. The findings suggest a link between hallucinations and mood and cognitive changes in children and adolescents with psychoses of late onset.
Depression, Weight Loss and the Dexamethasone Suppression Test
Authors: Coppen Alec , Harwood Janet , Wood Keith 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was carried out on 143 patients with a major depressive disorder, who were classified into those with a history of weight loss (n = 89) and those without (n = 54). Seventy-three per cent of patients with weight loss and 61% of patients without had an abnormal DST; this difference was not statistically significant. Of the patients receiving prophylactic lithium therapy, 13 were found to have changed their DST status on retesting after a period of 14 months, but there was no significant difference in their weight. It is concluded that weight loss is not a necessary condition for an abnormal DST in depressive illness.
Psychiatric Clinics in General Practice
Authors: Tyrer Peter 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe patients seen at five psychiatric clinics in general practice (GP) serving an urban population of 78, 200 are described, and their attitudes to the clinic compared with those for conventional out-patient clinics. The GP psychiatric clinics were strongly preferred, mainly because of their ease of access and absence of stigma; 19 per cent of the patients seen would not have attended a hospital clinic. The patients seen encompassed the entire range of psychiatric disorder, but most were treated in the clinic or by other members of the primary care team. It is concluded that GP psychiatric clinics offer a way of achieving better community psychiatry without any need for increased resources.