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Biomedical subjects

C G Fichtner

Publications and source records attributed to C G Fichtner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Similar or disparate brain patterns? The intra-personal EEG variability of three women with multiple personality disorder.

Quantitative EEG was used to assess the intra-personal variability of brain electrical activity for 3 women diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Two separate control groups (within-subject and between-subject) were used to test the hypothesis that the intra-personal EEG variability between 2 alters would be less than the interpersonal EEG variability between 2 controls, and similar to the intra-personal EEG variability of a single personality. This hypothesis was partially supported. In general, the 2 EEG records of a MPD subject (alter 1 vs. alter 2) were more different from one another than the 2 EEG records of a single control, but less different from one another than the EEG records of 2 separate controls. Most of the EEG variability between alters involved beta activity in the frontal and temporal lobes.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Open trial of nefazodone for combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Fourteen combat veterans completed a 9-week open trial of nefazodone for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Overall PTSD symptoms as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) showed a modest but statistically significant decrease with nefazodone treatment. Decreases in CAPS reexperiencing and avoidance, but not hyperarousal symptoms, approached statistical significance. Anxiety decreased significantly, and there were trends toward decreased depression and anger on structured assessments. This study adds to the clinical evidence that nefazodone may be helpful for the management of PTSD symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A self-assessment program for multidisciplinary mental health teams.

OBJECTIVE: The authors describe a self-assessment training program for multidisciplinary mental health teams that was developed in a public multihospital system, the process of implementing the training at a state psychiatric hospital, and a measurement instrument, the Scale for Leadership Assessment and Team Evaluation (SLATE), which they have used for self-assessment of multidisciplinary teams and which is currently being studied. They assessed whether changes in team self-assessments could be seen after the training program. METHODS: A total of 102 mental health professionals from 12 inpatient units representing the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work, and occupational and activity therapy completed the SLATE before and after participation in a training program that consisted primarily of team self-assessment in the context of treatment planning sessions. The training program included structured feedback, didactics, consultation, and videotaping of sessions. Aggregate data were used to compare mean item scores for the SLATE overall and for its four subscales (team, psychiatrist, participation, and treatment plan) at baseline and after the training. RESULTS: Scores increased significantly for the overall SLATE and for all four subscales, indicating improved team functioning in the areas addressed. The increase in mean score was greatest for the subscale that assessed the leadership of the psychiatrist. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment planning sessions can be used successfully by multidisciplinary mental health teams to examine team functioning in various areas in a self-assessment model. Participation in a training program that included videotaping of sessions, consultation, and structured attention to team functioning was associated with improved ratings of team functioning.

Case Management↗
PubMed2000

Psychological assessment, treatment, and outcome with sex offenders.

The frequency and impact of sexual offenses have led to the recent enactment of sexual "predator" laws. Such laws are intended to reduce sexual violence through treatment and involuntary confinement. Sixty years ago, similar laws identifying "sexual psychopaths" were enacted and, in many states, eventually repealed for multiple reasons; among those reasons was an inability to demonstrate that treatment had any significant impact on recidivism. That inability forced us to reexamine, among other issues, the population(s) which undergo treatment, the outcomes that are used to measure treatment effectiveness, and the processes that constitute treatment itself. Those issues are considered in this paper through a review of treatment programs based on psychodynamic, behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral theories. Although the evidence is sparse, it is fair to conclude that the latter have been found to be effective. We call for dynamic measures, effective treatments, and the resources necessary for both developments.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2000

Psychiatric leadership and the clinical team: simulated in vivo treatment planning performance as teamwork proxy and learning laboratory.

Leadership is an important consideration at many levels within behavioral healthcare systems. The authors developed a training program in a large public hospital system that focused on psychiatric leadership and clinical team functioning. In a learning laboratory format, they used videotaped patient simulations as a stimulus for multidisciplinary treatment planning sessions. Structured self-assessments were performed using a preliminary Scale for Leadership Assessment and Team Evaluation (SLATE). Videotaping the sessions provided an additional team self-assessment tool. Other educational activities supplemented the sessions, and teams proposed steps for transferring their learning to other units. The authors emphasize that leadership must foster team learning, which involves developing adaptive capacities and applying them to new clinical situations.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2000

Computerized monitoring of valproate and physician responsiveness to laboratory studies as a quality indicator.

Using computerized pharmacy, laboratory, and hospitalization data from a large state psychiatric hospital system, this study examined physician responses to laboratory studies obtained in the course of therapeutic drug monitoring. Computerized monitoring modules based on physician-developed guidelines identified out-of-range laboratory values and searched for appropriate corresponding physician responses within clinically driven, mathematically adjusted time frames. Valproate monitoring in four metropolitan hospitals showed that appropriate physician responses were associated with shorter hospital stays for patients and were predictive of length of stay in a multiple regression analysis (p<.001). After physicians received didactic feedback, the percentage of appropriate responses to low serum valproate levels increased.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Are sex offenders treatable? A research overview.

OBJECTIVE: Recent legislation in several states providing for civil commitment and preventive detention of sexually violent persons has stirred legal, clinical, and public policy controversies. The mandate for psychiatric evaluation and treatment has an impact on public mental health systems, requiring clinicians and public administrators to direct attention to treatment options. It is a common view that no treatments work for disorders involving sexual aggression. The authors examine this assumption by reviewing research on the effectiveness of treatment for adult male sex offenders. METHODS: MEDLINE was searched for key reviews and papers published during the years 1970 through 1998 that presented outcome data for sex offenders in treatment programs, individual case reports, and other clinically and theoretically important information. RESULTS: Although rigorous research designs are difficult to achieve, studies comparing treated and untreated sex offenders have been done. Measurement of outcome is flawed, with recidivism rates underestimating actual recurrence of the pathological behavior. Outcome research suggests a reduction in recidivism of 30 percent over seven years, with comparable effectiveness for hormonal and cognitive-behavioral treatments. Institutionally based treatment is associated with poorer outcome than outpatient treatment, and the nature of the offender's criminal record is an important prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Although treatment does not eliminate sexual crime, research supports the view that treatment can decrease sex offense and protect potential victims. However, given the limitations in scientific knowledge and accuracy of outcome data, as well as the potential high human costs of prognostic uncertainty, any commitment to a social project substituting treatment for imprisonment of sexual aggressors must be accompanied by vigorous research.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Dissociation of affect recognition and mood state from blunting in patients with schizophrenia.

The present study was designed to investigate the relationships between expression, perception, and experience of emotion in schizophrenic patients with and without affective blunting. Cognitive processing speed, emotional perception, and emotional experience were assessed in 25 schizophrenic patients grouped according to scores on a measure of overt emotional expression (Rating Scale for Emotional Blunting). Results showed dissociation of emotional expression from emotional perception and emotional experience. Blunted schizophrenic patients were no more impaired in the perception of emotion (Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity) than non-blunted schizophrenic patients. In addition, groups did not differ in intensity of emotional experience as quantified on the self-report of arousal state (Positive and Negative Affect Scales). Accuracy of perception and reported experience of emotion did not differ between groups as a function of emotional valence. Cognitive processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test; SDMT) was related to blunting score and to perception accuracy, although the SDMT did not differ between groups. Results are discussed in terms of a neuropathological basis for impairment of emotional expression.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Initiating clozapine treatment in the outpatient clinic: service utilization and cost trends.

OBJECTIVE: Clozapine has been shown to be a cost-effective treatment for refractory psychosis among patients started on the medication in a hospital setting. The study examined service utilization and costs associated with clozapine treatment initiated in an outpatient clinic. METHODS: Subjects (N=28) included adult patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who began their clozapine treatment at an urban community mental health center. Subjects' charts were reviewed for information on service utilization in the year before and after starting clozapine, using an intent-to-treat approach. Hospitalization information was cross-checked against the Illinois Department of Human Services database. Costs were computed for hospitalization, medication, community outpatient services, and housing. RESULTS: Subjects' mean rate of hospitalization was reduced by more than half during the clozapine treatment year, and the mean number of days in the hospital decreased by more than two-thirds, from 23.5 days to 7.6 days. Mean hospitalization costs were reduced by more than half. Mean annual costs of medication rose from $648 in the year before clozapine treatment to $6,760 during the clozapine treatment year. Cost increases for medication, community services, and housing led to a marginal increase in the total cost of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients initiating clozapine treatment on an outpatient basis showed a pattern of decreased hospitalization during the first year on clozapine. The cost savings associated with decreased hospitalization substantially, though not fully, offset the increased expense of clozapine during the first year of community-based treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Hypodensity of platelet serotonin uptake sites in posttraumatic stress disorder: associated clinical features.

We have previously reported that binding to blood platelets of paroxetine, a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor which binds to 5-HT uptake sites, is decreased in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, we found a lower number of platelet 3H-paroxetine binding sites (Bmax) and a lower dissociation constant (Kd) for 3H-paroxetine binding in combat veterans with PTSD compared to normal control subjects. In the current study we assessed the relationship of platelet 3H-paroxetine binding to clinical features in 41 Vietnam combat veterans with SCID-diagnosed PTSD. The results indicated that Bmax of platelet 3H-paroxetine binding was negatively correlated with both state and trait anxiety, as well as with depressive and overall PTSD symptoms. However, there was no evidence that platelet 3H-paroxetine binding differed as a function of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses including major depression, other anxiety disorders, and substance abuse in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Neuropoiesis: proposal for a connectionistic neurobiology.

Given current assumptions about the biology of neural organization, some connectionists believe that it may not be possible to accurately model the brain's neural architecture. We have identified five restrictive neurobiological dogmas that we believe have limited the exploration of more fundamental correlations between computational and biological neural networks. We postulate that: 1) the dendritic tree serves as a synapse storage device rather than a simple summation device; 2) connection strength between neurons depends on the number and location of synapses of similar weight, not on synapses of variable weights; 3) axonal sprouting occurs regularly in adult organisms; 4) the postsynaptic genome directly controls the presynaptic cell via mRNA, rather than indirectly by the expression of NCAMs, reverse neurotransmitters, etc.; 5) dendritic spines serve a trophic function by controlling development of new sprouts via a process we term retroduction. We entertain an alternative formulation of a computational neural element that is fully consistent with modern neuroscience research. We then show how our model neuron can learn under Hebbian conditions, and extend the model to explain non-Hebbian, one-trial learning. This work is significant because by stretching the theoretical boundaries of modern neuroscience, we show how connectionists can potentially create new, more biologically-based neural elements which, when, interconnected into networks, exhibit not only properties of existing backpropagation networks, but other physiological properties as well.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Platelet paroxetine binding and fluoxetine pharmacotherapy in posttraumatic stress disorder: preliminary observations on a possible predictor of clinical treatment response.

Recent open clinical trials have found the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine to be beneficial in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. We have reported previously that the binding of a newer SSRI, paroxetine, to blood platelets is decreased in PTSD patients compared to normal control subjects. In the current study, pretreatment platelet paroxetine binding data were analyzed for ten Vietnam combat veterans who were treated clinically with fluoxetine for PTSD, diagnosed on the basis of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Specific binding of 3H-paroxetine is reported in terms of the dissociation constant (Kd) and the maximum density of binding sites (Bmax). Based on our previous findings we hypothesized that decreased platelet 3H-paroxetine binding would be associated with positive therapeutic response to subsequent treatment with fluoxetine. Global clinical improvement ratings, conducted blind to the biochemical data, were used to separate patients into five maximal responders and five partial responders. The results indicated that maximal responders had lower pretreatment Kd values (p = .016) and a trend toward lower pretreatment Bmax values (p = .075) than the partial responders. These preliminary findings may warrant further study of platelet SSRI binding as a possible predictor of SSRI treatment response in PTSD patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Hyperphagia and weight loss during fluoxetine treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To report the unusual coincidence of weight loss with increased appetite and food intake in a patient treated for depression on two separate occasions with fluoxetine. CASE SUMMARY: A 27-year-old woman experienced a modest weight loss during treatment for depression with fluoxetine. The weight loss was associated with a reported increase in daily caloric intake and consumption of a greater proportion of dietary fat than usual for the patient. The same patient was treated again with fluoxetine more than a year later and again experienced weight loss associated with an increase in appetite, caloric intake, and dietary fat consumption. DISCUSSION: Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that often is associated with a modest weight loss when used for the treatment of depression, although it also has been reported to have the opposite effects of weight gain and hyperphagia in some patients. The effects on weight usually are assumed to be the result of primary effects on appetite, but the discrepancy between the appetite and weight changes in this case challenges the applicability of that assumption in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of fluoxetine on appetite and weight may be mediated by partially distinct mechanisms and might conceivably involve a direct metabolic effect in some patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Paroxetine binding in the blood platelets of post-traumatic stress disorder patients.

Platelet serotonin (5-HT) uptake, as determined by 3H-paroxetine (PA) binding, was studied in 20 Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients and 20 normal controls. Kd (an inverse measure of affinity of 3H-PA binding to uptake sites) and Bmax (maximum number of 3H-PA binding sites) of 3H-PA binding were significantly decreased in PTSD patients as compared to normal controls. However, there was no difference in Kd or Bmax between PTSD patients with and without a diagnosis of major depression. The Bmax of 3H-PA binding was negatively correlated with state dependent anxiety score whereas Kd was positively correlated with the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD score. The role of serotonergic processes in the psychobiology of PTSD is discussed.

Adult↗