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Biomedical subjects

I Modai

Publications and source records attributed to I Modai.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Environmental factors and admission rates in patients with major psychiatric disorders.

The aim of this study was to identify environmental factors that might correlate with the admission rate of patients with major psychiatric disorders. During the years 1988-90, 393 consecutive admissions (119 unipolar depressed patients, 211 schizophrenic patients, and 63 bipolar depressed patients) were monitored. Correlations were calculated between the mean daily admission rate for each month and monthly photoperiod, rate of change in photoperiod, mean temperature, mean relative humidity, and mean barometric pressure. It was found that the admission rate of bipolar depressed patients negatively correlated with monthly photoperiod, which means that during winter the admission rate of these patients increased.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psychological aspects of developmental endocrinopathies in adolescence.

Ninety-six adolescents referred to a pediatric endocrinology clinic were divided into eight groups according to degree of sexual maturity and height. Each adolescent was assessed by a psychiatric interview, a self-concept questionnaire, a human figure drawing test and a cognitive screening battery. The results showed a definite deleterious effect of growth retardation, but not sexual maturity, on self-concept. Sex of the adolescent did not affect the results. Cognitively there was no difference between groups. The psychological impact of short stature should be taken into consideration in the decision to utilize pharmacological or delay of puberty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Serum cholesterol levels and suicidal tendencies in psychiatric inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Cholesterol has been generally associated with suicide and aggression. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum cholesterol levels and suicide in psychiatric inpatients. METHOD: Data on age, sex, serum cholesterol levels, absence or presence of suicidal ideations, absence or presence of past suicide attempts, ethnicity, weight, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores, and physical illnesses were collected from 584 inpatient medical records. The patients were diagnosed by the authors according to the DSM-III-R criteria. Serum cholesterol levels were evaluated 24 to 48 hours after admission. The entire group and each diagnostic group were divided as follows: patients who had attempted suicide at least once, patients who expressed a suicidal wish or plan during hospitalization or the month before hospitalization, and patients who had neither made suicidal gestures nor expressed suicidal thoughts. Statistical evaluation was done using analysis of variance and chi-square test. RESULTS: Patients who had attempted suicide had significantly lower serum cholesterol than nonsuicidal patients (F = 4.68, df = 2, p < .01). Comparison on the basis of specific diagnoses revealed similar results in age- and sex-matched depressed patients (F = 4.02, df = 2, p < .01), but not in schizophrenic or bipolar patients. These results were not influenced by age, sex, ethnicity, weight, disease severity, or physical health. CONCLUSION: Our findings may imply that an association exists between cholesterol, suicide, and depression.

Cholesterol↗
PubMed1993

Computerized patient information system in a psychiatric unit: five-year experience.

A computerized psychiatric clinical application based on CLICKS program was developed, consisting of a network of 34 personal computers, run by Novell Netware version 3.11. It includes all clinical records and covers most of the administrative needs of the department; it may be used also in the outpatient clinics. Implementation of the system followed the stages of planning, record structuring, record programming, practice and operation. The system is favorably accepted by the patients, has several important advantages over pencil and paper record keeping, and although it is slightly more time-consuming, it improves record quality and departmental efficiency.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1993

Why and how to establish a computerized system for psychiatric case records.

Based on experience with successful implementation of an on-line computerized psychiatric case record system in a psychiatric hospital in Israel, the authors discuss the advantages of such systems and outline the process of converting paper records to computerized records. Computerized records can save time by automatically issuing routine reports, improve clinical practice, simplify quality assurance, and ease collection and analysis of data for research. The process of converting paper records to computerized records can begin with analysis of the hospital's reporting requirements and creation and pilot testing of structured paper forms with a multiple-choice format that is eventually incorporated into the computer program. The authors recommend an on-line computerized record system with direct input of data because such a system can be used for case audits and can generate reports, treatment plans, and medication orders without removing records from circulation. Other advantages include the system's usefulness in electronic communication within and outside the hospital.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1993

Clinical decisions for psychiatric inpatients and their evaluation by a trained neural network.

Ninety-two consecutive treatment decisions regarding psychotic and depressed inpatients were evaluated by a trained neural network. Simultaneous evaluations according to the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Hamilton scale, and the neural network were performed. A 15-point decrease in the BPRS for psychotic patients or a 10-point decrease in the Hamilton scale for depressed patients was the cut-off point for treatment success. The neural network performed similarly to the clinicians. The combined clinician-network success rate reached 79% and was significantly higher than that for each alone. Clinicians and neural network disagreed on 62% of decisions made for depressed patients and on 55% of decisions made for psychotic patients. The proportion of agreement was lower in both diagnostic groups than expected by chance. However, the high success of the combined clinician and neural network decisions and the high rate of mutual disagreement may imply that a combined decision is fruitful.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1992

Blood levels of melatonin, serotonin, cortisol, and prolactin in relation to the circadian rhythm of platelet serotonin uptake.

Blood levels of melatonin, serotonin, cortisol, prolactin, and serotonin uptake by platelets were measured at 08:00, 14:00, 20:00, 02:00, and 08:00 hours in 10 healthy men who ranged in age from 27 to 35 years. The Km values of serotonin active transport by platelets were significantly correlated with melatonin blood levels. There were no other significant correlations. The secretion of steroid hormones and prolactin showed an increase at 02:00 hours; levels of prolactin decreased at 08:00 hours, but steroid levels continued to rise. This finding suggests either a direct effect of melatonin on serotonin active transport or the influence of the suprachiasmatic nucleus on serotonin uptake by platelets. It is also possible that there is a simultaneous decrease in serotonin uptake and decline from peak levels of melatonin due to the rise in steroid secretion.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Neuroendocrine response to trihexyphenidyl in depressed patients.

The effect of a single dose (10 mg P.O.) of trihexyphenidyl (THP) on plasma cortisol, growth hormone (GH), and immunoreactive beta-endorphin (ir-beta-EP) was studied in seven major depressed patients and seven controls. GH secretion was suppressed (34-41%) by THP in both groups. THP did not affect cortisol secretion in depressed patients and controls. An increase (18%; p less than 0.05) in plasma ir-beta-EP levels was detected in the healthy subjects only. The results of this study do not support the hypothesized altered responsiveness to anticholinergic provocation in major depression. The inhibitory activity of THP on GH secretion indicates the involvement of the cholinergic system in the regulation of GH release in humans.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Serotonin uptake by platelets of suicidal and aggressive adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

Thirty-four adolescent psychiatric inpatients were studied in order to find out whether there is a correlation between serotonin platelet uptake (SPU), suicidality and aggression. The patients were divided into four main diagnostic groups according to clinical data: borderline personality disorder, affective disorder (unipolar) including schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia and 'others'. These patients were also characterized by the quantitative symptoms profile from K-SADS scale (Children's Version of the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia) and by their behavior: aggression, suicide attempts and violent suicide attempts. In the schizophrenic group, a correlation was found between low Vmax values of SPU and aggressive behavior (p less than 0.05). In addition, in the 'other' group a correlation was found between low Vmax values of SPU and conduct disorder (p less than 0.05). On the other hand, in 'other' patients a correlation was found between low Km values of SPU and violent suicide attempt (p less than 0.05). It is noteworthy that the lowest (20-35%) Vmax values of SPU were found in the patients of the affective group as compared to values of the three other diagnostic groups. These findings are similar to those concerning unipolar depressive adults. It is assumed that there are less binding sites for serotonin on platelets of depressive adolescents than was suggested for depressive adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Kinetic values of active serotonin transport by platelets of bipolar, unipolar and schizophrenic patients at 2 and at 8 a.m. Preliminary report.

Serotonin active transport by platelets of psychiatric patients was determined at 2 and at 8 a.m. Kinetic values, Vmax and Km, of serotonin uptake by platelets of bipolar depressive patients at 2 a.m. were higher than those at 8 a.m. Contrary to that, the kinetic values, Vmax and Km, for unipolar patients at 2 a.m. were rather lower than the values at 8 a.m. Serotonin uptake kinetics by platelets of schizophrenic patients at 2 a.m. were similar to those at 8 a.m. The curves of serotonin uptake kinetics by platelets of bipolar patients at 2 and at 8 a.m. were different from those observed for platelets of unipolar and schizophrenic patients. The variability of the kinetics of serotonin uptake by platelets of the three groups of psychiatric patients may offer a clue to the heterogenicity of these disorders.

Aged↗