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C Van Valkenburg

Publications and source records attributed to C Van Valkenburg.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Forty-year follow-up of United States prisoners of war.

The authors performed structured psychiatric examinations of 188 former prisoners of war (POWs). Sixty-seven percent had had posttraumatic stress disorder. Of those affected, 29% had fully recovered, 39% still reported mild symptoms, 24% had improved but had moderate residual symptoms, and 8% had had no recovery or had deteriorated. Presence of posttraumatic stress disorder was not significantly correlated with other mental disorders. Delayed onset was not seen. The findings confirm the DSM-III concept of and criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Chronic Disease↗

The relationship of histrionic personality disorder to antisocial personality and somatization disorders.

The authors examined the association of antisocial personality disorder, somatization disorder, and histrionic personality disorder, both within individuals and within families, in 250 patients. All three disorders overlapped considerably within individuals; the strongest relationship was between antisocial personality and histrionic personality. A high prevalence of antisocial personality was reported in the families of patients with somatization disorder but not in the families of patients with histrionic personality. The authors suggest that histrionic individuals develop antisocial personality if they are male and somatization disorder if female; moreover, all three conditions may represent alternative manifestations or different stages of the same underlying diathesis.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗

Chronic depressions. Part 2. Sleep EEG differentiation of primary dysthymic disorders from anxious depressions.

In this clinical, psychometric and polysomnographic study, primary dysthymics (N = 20) were compared with anxious depressives (N = 22), and non-psychiatric controls (N = 11). Beck and MMPI depression scores were similar in the two affective groups. Prominent insomnia occurred in 82% of the anxious group; hypersomnia was more characteristic of the dysthymic group. On night 1, the anxious group had the poorest sleep efficiency (P less than 0.001), while dysthymics had the highest REM% (P less than 0.05) and shortest REM latency (P less than 0.01). On night 2, differences tended to be minimized, although the number of awakenings was still high (P less than 0.05) in the anxious group, and REM% was highest (P less than 0.01) and REM latency shortest (P less than 0.01) in the dysthymics. These findings suggest that patients with primary anxiety disorders experience greater sleep continuity difficulties on the adaptation night. Despite significant clinical overlap in depressive symptomatology between the two groups, REM% and REM latency appear as sturdy psychophysiological markers in differentiating primary dysthymics and anxious depressives on both nights. These data suggest that distinct anxious depressive and subaffective dysthymic subtypes can be distinguished within the universe of the atypical depressions.

Adult↗

Depressed women with panic attacks.

Of a group of 288 depressed female inpatients, 43 (15%) had secondary panic attacks. Compared to other depressives, the subgroup with panic attacks had significantly higher frequencies of anorexia, weight loss, gastrointestinal disturbances, hypochondriasis, and psychomotor agitation, and significantly lower frequencies of melancholic symptoms, including loss of interest in usual activities, guilt feelings, delusional thinking, psychomotor retardation, and orientation or memory impairment. Patients with panic attacks were less likely to have a depressed parent and were more likely to be described as having been nervous, worrisome, sensitive, and sexually dysfunctional before the onset of depression. Phenomenologically, they resembled "anxious depressives" as described by other authors.

Adult↗

Determination of dopamine and its acidic metabolites in brain tissue by HPLC with electrochemical detection in a single run after minimal sample pretreatment.

A method, based on reverse-phase liquid-liquid chromatography, has been developed for the determination, in a single run, of dopamine (DA) and its acidic metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA), combined with electrochemical detection (ECD). If applied to brain tissue, sample pretreatment can be reduced to centrifugation, filtration and adjustment of pH and perchlorate concentration prior to introduction into the liquid chromatograph. The relation between the perchlorate (counterion) concentration of the mobile phase and the retention (k') of the amines is linear, as is the relation between the H+ concentration of the mobile phase and the retention of the acidic metabolites. This flexible phase system, combined with a simple and therefore reproducible sample pretreatment, warrants a high throughput of samples. The procedure offers good possibilities for routine analysis of catecholamines and their acidic metabolites in the picogram range. Some typical examples of the behaviour of this phase system and the electrochemical detector are presented and discussed.

Animals↗

Clinical overlap among familial subtypes of unipolar depression.

Unipolar depressives (n = 288) were subclassified according to family history. Depression spectrum patients (DSD; n = 104) were defined as those with first-degree relatives suffering from alcoholism. Familial pure depression patients (FPDD; n = 86) were those with only depression in the immediate family, and sporadic depressive patients (SDD; n= 98) had negative family histories. An analysis was performed using index symptoms, precipitating events, and premorbid personality features. A positive family history was associated with greater premorbid personality difficulties. This pattern was highlighted when each was compared to SDD. DSD and FPDD could not be differentiated from each other. The differences between them and SDD could not be explained by the differing age distribution. Overall, the premorbid and index symptom differences were not striking enough to be clinically useful.

Age Factors↗

Schizophrenia-primary affective disorder discrimination. II. Where unclassified psychosis stands.

Cases of unclassified psychosis were assessed with a nine-variable diagnostic measure designed to discriminate schizophrenia and primary affective disorder. As a group, the unclassified cases occupied a midway position between and overlapping with cases of schizophrenia and primary affective disorder. Also, the mean discriminant-function score of the unclassified group was significantly different from the mean scores of the groups with affective disorder and schizophrenia, although one subgroup of unclassified cases was statistically indistinguishable from the group with schizophrenia. While this investigation was essentially unsuccessful in reclassifying unclassified psychosis, it demonstrates a method for reclassifying diagnostic groups. When this procedure is used in conjunction with follow-up and family studies, it provides a basis for modifying diagnostic criteria.

Adult↗

Mitral valve prolapse in anxiety neurosis (panic disorder).

Our purpose was to determine the incidence of mitral valve prolapse in patients with anxiety neurosis or panic disorder, with symptoms including recurrent anxiety attacks, dyspnea, palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, and paresthesias. Twenty-one patients and 20 age- and sex-matched normal controls were studied. Objective cardiac abnormalities were significantly (p < 0.05) more frequent in the patient group as compared to the control group; these comprised echocardiographic prolapse, ST-T abnormalities on resting ECG, premature ventricular contractions on exercise ECG, and the combination of echo prolapse with clicks/murmurs of exercise-induced PVC. We conclude that patients with anxiety neurosis or panic disorder may also have evidence of an organic abnormality--the mitral prolapse syndrome.

Adult↗

Exercise and anxiety neurosis: comparison of patients with and without mitral valve prolapse.

It has been hypothesized that mitral valve prolapse may account for a substantial number of patients who have symptoms of chronic anxiety neurosis. In a previous investigation, this hypothesis was confirmed in eight of 21 patients who had anxiety neurosis. In the present investigation, we reevaluated the hypothesis that persons with anxiety neurosis have impaired exercise ability by exercising 20 of the anxiety neurotics according to a standard treadmill exercise protocol. Compared with the control group, the anxiety neurotics required less exercise to achieve an equivalent heart rate and therefore their estimated maximum oxygen consumption was less, thus confirming the hypothesis. However, this difference was due entirely to the anxiety neurotics with mitral valve prolapse, and those without prolapse did not differ significantly from the controls. This suggests that impaired exercise tolerance in anxiety neurotics may be attributable to a subgroup of these patients with mitral valve prolapse.

Adult↗

Symptoms in veterans considering compensation claims.

The symptomatology of 56 male veterans considering compensation claims was compared to the symptomatology seen in 163 veterans not considering such claims. Antisocial behaviors, somatic/neurotic complaints, and persecutory ideas were all positively correlated with consideration of a claim. Although the symptom profile is consistent with diagnosis of antisocial personality, a correlation with this diagnosis was not established. Nonetheless, the clinical profile does suggest a link between noncompensable disorders and consideration of a claim. The implications of this finding for military and Veterans Administration psychiatry are discussed.

Adult↗

Baseline characteristics of pure depressive disease.

A chart review study of 86 females with pure depressive disorder (i.e., a diagnosis of depression plus a parental history of depression) is reported. Findings regarding family history of depressive illness are described. Clinically, the group is noted to be most homogeneous, various attempts at subdivision failing.

Age Factors↗