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Biomedical subjects

D Reiss

Publications and source records attributed to D Reiss.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Bulimia nervosa: a 5-year follow-up study.

Fifty patients with bulimia nervosa were followed up for a minimum length of 5 years. Standardized interviews, observer-rated instruments and self-rated questionnaires were employed both at entry and at completion of the follow-up period. After tracing, the positive response rate was 72%; one patient had died. At the time of follow-up 31% of those traced had made a complete recovery and 25% still fulfilled diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa. Judged on behavioural symptoms 47.2% of responders had a 'good' outcome. Good outcome was associated with fewer social problems, higher social class, and a significant improvement in eating attitudes at follow-up. All outcome groups reported a reduction of interference by symptoms in other areas of life, and an improvement in mood state. No factors, including those described in previous studies, were identified which predicted outcome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The family's conception of accountability and competence: a new approach to the conceptualization and assessment of family stress.

Clinicians and researchers have a strong interest in understanding how families respond to stress. Often, they begin their analyses by attempts to estimate the seriousness or magnitude of the stressful events impinging on the families they observe. Until now, they have relied on two strategies. First, they attempt to develop objective or external indicators of the magnitude of the stress of the events. The problem here is that the family's own perceptions and experiences are not properly weighted. The second strategy depends heavily or exclusively on the family's perceptions of the events. However, these perceptions are often a product of the family's efforts to cope with the stress since the organization and perception of meaning in events is a fundamental part of family coping. Thus, this approach cannot disentangle the stress inherent in the events from the family's efforts to cope with it. This article explores a third alternative. The social community in which the family lives often provides a coherent frame of meanings for most events. It not only defines the magnitude of the event but it also defines how accountable the family is for producing the event in the first place. A method for assessing these community frameworks is presented. Initial results suggest that there is not only a coherent community framework attributing magnitude and family accountability to a large number of stressful events impinging the family but, also, that these community attributions are embedded in a community concept of family development.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1991

Genetics and psychiatry: an unheralded window on the environment.

Two recent reviews in the American Journal of Psychiatry and the British Journal of Psychiatry reported on progress in understanding the genetics of psychiatric disorder. Both reviews focused on this progress as a prelude to psychiatric diagnostics and therapeutics based on molecular biology. Neither review recognized that the latest data in behavioral genetics support environmental causes for abnormal development and psychopathology as much as they support genetic causes. Moreover, these genetic data point clearly to a type of environmental cause with central importance: the environment that is specific or unique to each sibling in a family.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Depression, perception of illness and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease.

A role of depression in affecting outcome in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) has been suggested but few have assessed psychological parameters and medical factors thought to influence survival simultaneously and prospectively. To assess whether depression or perception of illness influences survival in patients treated for ESRD, we prospectively evaluated fifty-seven patients with ESRD treated with hemodialysis (HD, n = 43) or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD, n = 14). Patients were interviewed and completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Illness Effects Questionnaire (IEQ). An ESRD severity coefficient was used to measure chronic illness severity. A cognitive item subset of the BDI (CDI) was used as an additional measure of depression. One and two years later, records were examined to determine survival. When initial results of the assessment of survivors and non-survivors were compared, at one year follow-up, there were no differences in mean age, duration of dialysis, severity scores, BDI or IEQ scores. The initial mean CDI scores in the group of non-survivors, however, were significantly greater than the scores in the survivor group. At two year follow-up, CDI scores were significantly different between groups, and were significant in a hazards regression. Disease severity, age and duration of dialysis were also significantly related to mortality at two year follow-up. We conclude cognitive depression is an important, early, indicator of grave prognosis in patients treated for ESRD. Early recognition of and therapeutic efforts directed toward the treatment of depression might modify outcome in ESRD patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Addison's disease.

Addison's disease is an uncommon endocrine condition manifested by a variety of nonspecific symptoms, such as malaise, anorexia and nausea. Symptoms usually do not occur until most of the adrenal gland has been destroyed. Autoimmune disease has surpassed tuberculosis as the primary cause of Addison's disease. Nevertheless, tuberculosis still accounts for a significant proportion of cases. The rapid adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test is useful for identifying adrenal insufficiency. Maintenance therapy consists of hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1990

Patient, family, and staff responses to end-stage renal disease.

The course of a chronic illness is composed of discrete developmental phases, which influence the relationship of the patient to the care-giving system, and the tasks required of patients, families, and medical staff. Family characteristics may influence medical outcome. Compliance may be a critical factor in mediating the biological response to social phenomena. The relationship of the patient to his or her family and the health-care system may change dramatically through the developmental phases of the chronic disease. The case of a patient with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) illustrating these concepts is presented.

Bereavement↗
PubMed1989

Putting the illness in its place: discussion groups for families with chronic medical illnesses.

A new psychosocial intervention for families and patients experiencing the chronic phase of a disabling medical illness is described. The intervention, a short-term, highly structured, psychoeducationally oriented, multiple-family discussion group (MFDG), was developed within the context of a clinical research program and has been successfully applied to a heterogeneous range of disabling medical illnesses. This report includes a detailed description of the treatment model, the format and content of group meetings, and initial clinical impressions regarding MFDG efficacy.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Defining a family heritage and a new relationship identity: two central tasks in the making of a marriage.

The roles of origin family environmental characteristics and couple consensus-building process within the development of marital relationships were examined prospectively in 16 premarital couples. Three important findings emerged. First, significant correlations were found between dimensions of origin family environment and the reported level of satisfaction within the couple's current relationship. Second, measures of the couple's ability to reach consensus concerning important interpersonal relationships appeared to be important mediators of the association between origin family environment and current relationship satisfaction. Third, important gender differences emerged that replicate and extend prior findings that portray women in the role of "relationship specialist" within their marriages. As a group, these findings were best explained by a developmental model of early marriage that envisions the young couple as facing two entwined tasks: to define both their family heritage and their new relationship identity. Overall, the importance of examining family-of-origin characteristics and consensus-building process as critical determinants of the fate of intimate relationships received strong support. The gender differences found in the literature reviewed, as well as the results of this study, have largely been overlooked by the theory and practice of family therapy. Efforts on both the research and theory construction fronts are needed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms whereby prior family experience is brought forward into current intimate relationships.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Bone and joint infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa: clinical aspects and treatment.

The occurrence of nine cases of Pseudomonas septic arthritis and osteomyelitis within a 12-month period may be considered an uncommon experience even in a large, tertiary referral center. These cases are reported here and the various clinical patterns and therapeutic implications associated with Pseudomonas bone infections are discussed. Epidemiologic serotyping of the isolated strains indicated that they do not represent a single nosocomial outbreak.

Arthritis, Infectious↗
PubMed1979

Diurnal variations of zinc, copper and magnesium in the serum of normal fasting adults.

Serum levels of copper, magnesium and zinc exhibit circadian rhythms in physiologically normal subjects eating normally. The same study was repeated with fasting subjects in order to determine the effect of daily food intake on these fluctuations. Blood samples were taken at 3 hour intervals, from 6 h to 18 h. Copper and magnesium no longer exhibit circadian rhythms in fasting subjects. In the case of zinc, however, a particularly interesting rhythm is observed, with a drop at 9 h and 15 h and an abrupt increase at 18 h.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The multiple family group as a small society: family regulation of interaction with nonmembers.

The authors observed the interaction of 18 families, each of which contained at least 1 adolescent, for a period of 55 weeks. They found that changes in either the parents' or the adolescents' group participation levels were quickly matched by comparable changes in the other generation, suggesting a continuously operating family control mechanism governing participation of members in interaction with nonmembers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Freedon of inquiry and subjects' rights: an introduction.

The author introduces the Special Section papers to follow, pointing out that two new issues have attached themselves to the issue of the physical safety and civil dignity of human subjects. One new issue is an emphatically legal defense of the concept of subjects' rights; the other is the evolution of political characterizations and caricatures of many forms of research.

Behavioral Research↗
PubMed1976

Personal needs, values, and technical preferences in the psychiatric hospital. A replicated study.

This study tests the hypothesis that staff and patients try to make their involvement in psychiatric hospitals personally gratifying by fashioning preferences for those specific therapeutic techniques that match or satisfy their personal values and needs. Results of questionnaire data, collected from a total of 397 staff and patients at two psychiatric hospitals at two different times, show two distinctly different combinations of needs, values, and technical preferences. In one, a preference for psychotherapy and somatotherapy correlates highly with a preference or need for structured, cautious, and rule-governed relationships. Underlying these preferences seems to be a common dimension emphasizing a technical attitude towards the psychiatric hospital with true healing provided only by a professional, scientific elite. A second combination shows high correlations between a preference for social therapy and a need for unstructured, open, and trusting relationships. A common dimension underlying these preferences seems to be a moral attitude that stresses the healing power of all human relationships. Treating institutions may be categorized according to whether the technical or moral attitude predominates.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗