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Biomedical subjects

J S Werry

Publications and source records attributed to J S Werry.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Child and adolescent (early onset) schizophrenia: a review in light of DSM-III-R.

Early onset schizophrenia (EOS) is defined as that beginning in childhood or adolescence (under 16 or 17). Studies of EOS are infrequent, and comparative adult figures not always available, but tentative conclusions may be drawn. EOS is more common in males; symptomatology is often undifferentiated; frequencies of homotypic family disorder, premorbid schizotypal personality, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities high; outcome poor but only slightly worse than in adults; response to psychotropic drug treatment probably similar though not properly tested; and confusion with psychotic bipolar disorder particularly common. Onset before language is developed presents special diagnostic difficulties. There are a few reports of autistic children developing schizophrenia but this requires replication. Differences from adult schizophrenia are more marked when onset is in childhood than in adolescence but all are quantitative rather than qualitative suggesting that the disorders are the same and that there should be no separate category for children or adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Predicting outcome in child and adolescent (early onset) schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Fifty-nine patients with DSM-III-R early onset (mean, 13.9 years) psychoses of schizophrenia (N = 30) or bipolar disorder (N = 23) were seen at follow-up (mean interval, 5 years; mean age, 19 years). About 50% of the variance in outcome was predictable using stepwise multiple correlation, which has the advantage of eliminating redundancy among variables and giving a quantitative estimate for each predictor. Abnormal premorbid adjustment/personality and degree of recovery after initial hospitalization were the substantial predictors in schizophrenia, whereas in bipolar disorder, they were premorbid adjustment and IQ. Other items such as diagnosis (bipolar or schizophrenia), symptoms, and gender predicted at too low a level to be useful clinically. Though psychosis is necessary for diagnosis, premorbid personality abnormality may be an indicator of an early onset, developmental type schizophrenia with poor prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Behavior of children with seizures. Comparison with norms and effect of seizure type.

Scores for 112 children aged 6 to 12 years, with well-controlled seizures and of average or higher IQ, were compared for problem behavior with established norms. As assessed on the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale, the group with seizures was comparable to the normative group on two subscales and superior on two others. In contrast, parents of children in the seizure group rated them as significantly worse on all six subscales of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. In a larger group of 133 children with seizures, from which this sample was selected, the relationship of age, sex, and seizure type to behavior problems was examined. Subjects with partial seizures were rated as slightly more aggressive and antisocial than those with generalized seizures. Findings were discussed in regard to differences in perception of behavior by parents and teachers and the possible relevance of seizure type to the expression of behavior problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Child psychiatric disorders: are they classifiable?

Classification of child (including adolescent) disorders is reviewed within six areas: requirements for a good taxonomy, current systems of classification for children, data-capture methods, reliability and validity, the link between child and adult disorders, and directions for future developments. While substantial progress has been made, there is a continuing need for comparisons of different systems, more systematic yet practicable data capture, proper psychometric analyses of criteria and categories, intensive studies of clinical validity, closer attention to the similarity of, and links between, child and adult categories, and better definition and targeting of those disorders with a serious outcome.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia occurring in childhood and adolescence has similar diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment ramifications as those noted with adult-onset schizophrenia. In assessing a child or adolescent suspected of having schizophrenia, care must be given to document DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria within the developmental framework of the patient's functioning, while thoroughly evaluating for other potentially confounding disorders or conditions. Antipsychotic therapy is the only specific treatment for schizophrenia, and should be a fundamental component with a multimodal treatment program that also addresses the psychological, social, and educational needs of the patient and his or her family. Strategies for medication management vary depending on several factors, including the stage of the disorder, noted or potential side effects, and the response of the patient to treatment, and need to be coordinated for the long term by a child or adolescent psychiatrist familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia in this age group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Childhood and adolescent schizophrenic, bipolar, and schizoaffective disorders: a clinical and outcome study.

Fifty-nine child and adolescent psychotic patients (mean onset age 13.9, range 7-17, 83% 13 + years) had history and outcome studied using diagnoses confirmed at follow-up after 1 to 16 years (mean, 5 years). There were no differences in sex ratio, socioeconomic status, age of onset, and symptoms, but bipolar patients (N = 23) were often misdiagnosed as schizophrenic, had a better outcome, and a 50% homotypic family history. Schizophrenic subjects (N = 30) were more abnormal premorbidly, and only 17% were well at follow-up. Schizoaffective disorder was unreliable, infrequent, and more severe. Premorbid adjustment and IQ were the best predictors of outcome. Differences from the adult disorders were only quantitative. Careful follow-up of psychotic patients is needed to detect diagnostic errors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Overanxious disorder: a review of its taxonomic properties.

The taxonomic properties of overanxious disorder are reviewed using the diagnostic criteria and other features listed in the DSM-III-R manual as a template. The data suggest that overanxious disorder is only a modestly reliable, distinct and valid taxon, and that adjustments to the diagnostic items and criteria and improved sources and methods of data capture are needed. Such changes should be on the basis of empirical data. Since these data are not yet extant, better psychometric-type studies are needed, coupled to assessments of validity. Recently, there has been a distinct increase in number and quality of studies. Although some adjustments are needed, to alter overanxious disorder too much in DSM-IV could make past studies of doubtful relevance and could force a fresh start instead of building on current knowledge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Sensory integration and teacher-judged learning problems: a controlled intervention trial.

Seventy-four children from 21 schools referred because of teacher-perceived learning difficulties and prescreened for sensory integration (SI) deficits were given tests of SI, reading, vocabulary, perceptuo-motor function and motor development, and their teachers rated their classroom behaviour. The results showed that the children suffered primarily from attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity, and from mild deficits of SI. They were then divided into two groups matched approximately for sex, school and degree of SI deficits. One group received no treatment while the other was given about 13 weekly SI sessions, each of 1 h duration. All children were then reassessed on the same set of measures. There were significant improvements with time in both treated and untreated groups on most measures except classroom behaviour. Only one measure showed a treatment effect, though this one was most reflective of SI theory.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1989

Behavior therapy with children and adolescents: a twenty-year overview.

A twenty-year overview of behavior therapy with children and adolescents is presented. The various techniques and their application to relevant major DSM-III-R categories are critically discussed. It is concluded that behavior therapy has made great progress and has proven applications in child and adolescent disorders but that its precise roles, comparative efficacy, and complementarity to other forms of psychotherapy and other treatments remain to be demonstrated. Much uncertainty stems from the relatively poor state of research in other forms of psychotherapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Behavioural effects of methylphenidate in 6-hydroxydopamine-treated neonatal rats.

Neonatal rats treated at 7 days of age with 6-hydroxydopamine show normal levels of activity during maturation, but less hyperactivity than normals do when additionally treated with methylphenidate hydrochloride between 14 and 22 days of age. Comparison of these results with those of other workers suggests that several experimental variables must be controlled precisely if reproducible results analogous to the disturbed behaviour of children with minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) are to be obtained.

Aging↗
PubMed1978

Psychiatric care in a general practice.

The morbidity and patient management in a small general practice in a suburb of Auckland was analysed over a period of three months, comparing medical and psychiatric cases. Psychiatric patients tend to be more often frmale, older (though not in the geriatric age group), make slightly greater demands on practice time and have somewhat more chronic illnesses, but these differences from medical patients are small and psychiatric patients do not form a major problem in practice in the community. The findings, while showing a slightly higher frequency of psychiatric patients, are otherwise comparable with those from other New Zealand studies.

Adolescent↗