Biomedical subjects

S Machizawa

Publications and source records attributed to S Machizawa.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Genetic and clinical correlates of season of birth of schizophrenics.

The genetic and clinical characteristics of 55 patients with schizophrenia and 138 control patients (with major psychiatric disorders), were studied in relation to the season of birth. The morbid risk (MR) of schizophrenia was significantly higher among relatives of the schizophrenic probands born in Spring than among those of the psychiatric controls born in the same season. The MR of schizophrenia was also significantly higher among relatives of schizophrenic probands born in Winter or Spring (6.9%) than in those of schizophrenic probands born in Summer or Autumn (0%). Among the schizophrenic cases, Winter births were marginally related to the paranoid subtype, whereas other clinical variables showed no clear relationship with the season of birth.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

[Borderline personality disorder].

Although Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) overlaps considerably with Major Depression, recent studies of biology, genetics and childhood trauma have demonstrated that there are substantial differences between the two disorders. It is suggested that their apparent relationship is rather nonspecific. In this paper, the author emphasizes that the core symptom of BPD is impulsiveness, which causes depressive symptoms and/or is induced by depressive episodes, forming a vicious cycle. Furthermore, in BPD patients, depressive symptoms are modified by impulsiveness, masochism, vanity, despair, and difficulties in interpersonal relationships. The author concludes that BPD is not a homogeneous but heterogeneous syndrome, classified into subtypes: depressive type, impulsive type, and identity diffusion type. Treatment needs to be considered according to these types.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗

PubMed1992

Diagnostic disclosure: a tale in two cultures.

Diagnostic communication between doctors and patients is thought to differ radically between Japan and Western countries. To understand diagnostic disclosure to psychiatric patients, a questionnaire with six case vignettes was sent to practising psychiatrists in Japan (N = 166) and North America (N = 112). While over 90% of both groups would inform patients with affective and anxiety disorders of their diagnoses, only 70% of North Americans and less than 30% of Japanese would similarly inform patients with schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorders. The Japanese preferred alternative was to give a vague alternative diagnosis such as neurasthenia. North Americans would discuss differential diagnoses with the patient instead. Nearly all in both groups would inform the family, but North Americans would do so only with patient consent. For disorders for which there are effective treatments, diagnostic disclosure is common to both cultures; when prognosis is uncertain or the diagnosis is feared, as in schizophrenia, culturally constructed views of patienthood govern disclosure practice.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Grading depression severity by symptom scores: is it a valid method for subclassifying depressive disorders?

Recent diagnostic criteria such as the DSM-III-R and the 10th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) have proposed that depression should be subcategorized according to severity. Among 75 inpatients with Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) major depressive disorder, the total number of criterion B items (N = 8) used as the measure of severity was validated against the global assessment scale (GAS) score for the worst week of the episode; the correlation between the two was r = -.232. This suggests that even if the total number of identified diagnostic items reflects a different aspect of severity, there should be caution about its use unless validated by further study.

Adult↗