Biomedical subjects

R H Bouchard

Publications and source records attributed to R H Bouchard.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

[Dysmorphophobia (body dysmorphic disorder)].

This article reviews the historical and terminological origins of dysmorphophobia from Herodotus to today. It explains the differences pointed out by many authors, including the DSM-III-R, between body dismorphic disorder and delusional disorder somatic type, which are referred to as monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychoses in Europe. Epidemiological data, clinical characteristics and outcome are discussed. Explicative theories and neurobiological, developmental and analytical aspects of body image are presented. The association between body dismorphic disorder and other disorders is analyzed, and treatment possibilities are discussed. The authors suggest that body dismorphic disorder be classified with obsessive compulsive disorder, whatever the intensity of symptomatology, rather than with somatoform or delusional disorder, and treated with serotonin uptake inhibitors or neureptics that have been proven to be effective for the treatment of this disorder, such as pimozide.

Body Image↗

PubMed1992

The dimensional approach to clinical psychopharmacology: a polysemous concept.

The last decade has seen significant progress in the development and specific clinical application of selective psychotropes. The dimensional approach to clinical psychopharmacology views the behavioral targets of psychotropes as phenomena existing on a continuum and as components, in varying degrees, of most psychopathologies. The modern concept of dimension has been used in different contexts. In psychology it has a mathematical sense, whereas in biological psychiatry it is associated more with biological function. This paper reviews these two concepts and the recent models attempting to merge them into one. The heuristic value of the dimensional approach, as well as some of its pitfalls and new avenues of research, are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Corpus callosum agenesis and psychosis in Andermann syndrome.

Recent illustrations by cerebral magnetic resonance imaging of anomalies of the corpus callosum in schizophrenics have kindled renewed interest in this association. We studied 62 patients affected by the Andermann syndrome, a polymalformative familial syndrome combining frequent congenital corpus callosum agenesis, mental retardation, psychotic episodes, peripheral neuropathy, and some dysmorphic features. Twenty of 62 patients presenting with psychosis were compared with 20 nonpsychotic patients matched according to sex and age. The psychotic patients presented an atypical psychosis as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, beginning in postadolescence. No significant relationship was observed between corpus callosum agenesis and psychosis. However, a significant association between posterior fossa atrophy and psychosis was established in our study. Although there are limitations in using cross-sectional data for this purpose, the findings suggest an association between cerebellar anomalies and schizophrenialike syndrome and rule out an implication of developmental callosal defects in such psychiatric disorders.

Adolescent↗