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Biomedical subjects

R Zarate

Publications and source records attributed to R Zarate.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Differential efficacy of olanzapine for deficit and nondeficit negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Atypical antipsychotic medications have generally been found to be more effective than conventional antipsychotics in the treatment of negative symptoms. Whether the benefits derived from the atypical agents are the result of improvements in primary versus secondary negative symptoms is unclear. The authors examined the effects of olanzapine on primary and secondary negative symptoms for patients with severe negative symptoms who did or did not have the deficit syndrome. METHOD: Thirty-nine outpatients with schizophrenia and severe negative symptoms were assessed for the presence of the deficit syndrome and entered into a 12-week, open-label study of olanzapine. Positive and negative symptoms, extrapyramidal side effects, quality of life, and level of functioning of the patients were assessed at baseline and endpoint. RESULTS: All 39 patients completed the 12-week protocol; 13 of the patients had deficit negative symptoms, and 26 had nondeficit negative symptoms. Patients who had nondeficit negative symptoms demonstrated improvements in positive and negative symptoms, level of functioning, and extrapyramidal side effects over baseline. In contrast, patients meeting criteria for the deficit syndrome improved significantly over baseline only in extrapyramidal side effects. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that olanzapine is efficacious for secondary negative symptoms in schizophrenia but fail to support the contention that olanzapine has a direct beneficial effect on primary negative symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Teaching psychiatric inpatients to re-enter the community: a brief method of improving the continuity of care.

OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the effects of a brief manualized treatment program that taught patients skills to re-enter the community and actively follow through with their own care. METHODS: A total of 59 recently admitted inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomly assigned to either the community re-entry program or an equally intensive regimen of occupational therapy. The community re-entry program consisted of eight 45-minute sessions conducted with groups of six to eight patients on a continuous, twice-a-day, four-day-a-week schedule. The effects were measured by a review of the records of aftercare services that patients received in the month after discharge from the inpatient facility. Patients' knowledge and performance of the specific material taught in the community reentry program was ascertained through assessments conducted before and after training. RESULTS: Results indicated that patients in the community re-entry program significantly improved their knowledge and performance of the skills taught in the sessions, compared with patients in the occupational therapy group. Community re-entry participants were also significantly more likely to attend their first aftercare appointment than were occupational therapy participants (85 percent versus 37 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Not only can patients learn relatively complex material during a brief typical inpatient stay despite the acuteness of their illnesses, but they can also meaningfully improve the continuity of their own care by participating in a brief and highly structured training program. The program fits well within the time and staffing constraints of typical inpatient facilities.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Comparison of efficacy of social skills training for deficit and nondeficit negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the efficacy of social skills training for individuals with schizophrenia who did or did not have the deficit syndrome. METHOD: Three subjects with the deficit syndrome and three with nondeficit negative symptoms received 12 weeks of social skills training. Social skills and negative symptoms were evaluated before and after training and at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia who did not have the deficit syndrome demonstrated significantly better social skills and lower negative symptoms both after training and at follow-up than did those who had the deficit syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Schizophrenic patients with nondeficit negative symptoms appear amenable to intensive social skills training, but schizophrenic patients with the deficit syndrome may have significant deficits in skill acquisition.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psychosocial treatment of phobia and panic disorders.

Intervention packages combining cognitive restructuring techniques and exposure exercises have become the psychosocial treatments of choice for panic, agoraphobia, and social phobia. Exposure and related desensitization techniques are the treatment of choice for all variants of simple phobia. Combining psychotropic medication and cognitive-behavior therapy suggests strategies that offer new opportunities for increasing the number of individuals with anxiety disorders who can be effectively treated with a biobehavioral approach.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1990

Situational exposure treatment versus panic control treatment for agoraphobia. A case study.

Situational in vivo exposure has been widely used in the treatment of agoraphobia. However, only a low to moderate proportion of individuals treated with this approach have shown a high level of therapeutic gain. The recent recognition of panic as central to the development and maintenance of a great many cases of agoraphobic avoidance suggests that treatments focused directly on panic may contribute to a more comprehensive approach to agoraphobia. The present single case demonstrates that whereas two modes of situational exposure produced only limited improvement an approach focused directly on panic had greater effectiveness. The specific effects of the treatment components within the panic control package are analyzed in detail.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Evaluating the capacity to work of the mentally ill.

This study explored the relationship between psychiatric symptomatology and the functional capacity to work. Subjects were diagnosed using DSM-III criteria and were grouped into categories of psychotic or nonpsychotic, and disabled or nondisabled, in regard to adjudication for mental impairment from the Social Security Administration (SSA). There were significant relationships between disability status and work capacity, in the direction of better performance for the nondisabled subjects. This finding reflected concordance between the evaluation procedure used in the study and the SSA's disability determination process. There was considerable overlap in work performance among subjects, however, suggesting that a functional assessment of work capacity might improve disability determination in certain cases. Results suggested that these work assessments might be as short as one or two days.

Disability Evaluation↗
PubMed1987

Providing independent recreational activities to reduce stereotypic vocalizations in chronic schizophrenics.

We evaluated the effects of minimally supervised, independent recreational activities on stereotypic vocal behavior in two chronic schizophrenic patients. In baseline sessions, subjects were observed during unstructured free time in the psychiatric ward. In treatment sessions, therapists presented preferred recreational materials (magazines, models, and art projects), verbally prompted on-task behavior every 20 min, and, in one condition, administered contingent tokens. Independent recreational activities reduced medium-rate self-talk in one subject and high-rate mumbling in a second subject by 60%-70%. Results were the same with or without contingent tokens. Apparent self-maintaining characteristics of these vocal responses are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Emphysematous cystitis. A propos of a case].

A case of emphysematous cystitis in a diabetic patient is reported. The disease was discovered and diagnosed on radiological findings. Emphysematous cystitis occurs in diabetic patients after a urinary tract infection by gas producing microorganisms, especially if there is an obstacle on the urethra or cervix. Radiological changes may be transient and may disappear under antibiotic therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

[Determination of femur neck anteversion by echography].

Assessment of femoral neck anteversion by ultra sound. A new technique of measuring femoral neck anteversion by U.S. is described. The use of a phase array real time equipment allows a quick and easy measurement. The authors point out that this technique is easy and harmless.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

[Thymolipomas simulating cardiomegaly].

With reference to three personal observations, the authors discuss the problems raised by the diagnosis of thymolipomas, which are benign asymptomatic tumors discovered on a plain chest film and simulating cardiomegaly. On careful analysis of a high voltage plain chest film, the pulmonary vasculature can be detected through the cardiomediastinal opacity. Total body scan is also useful for establishing diagnosis before surgery.

Aged↗