Biomedical subjects

S Saarijarvi

Publications and source records attributed to S Saarijarvi.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Temporal stability of alexithymia over a five-year period in outpatients with major depression.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on alexithymia and depression has led to a controversy over whether alexithymia should be viewed as a state-dependent phenomenon or as a stable personality trait. The aim of this 5-year follow-up study was to examine the temporal stability of alexithymia in outpatients suffering from major depression. METHODS: The study population comprised 116 (49 male and 67 female) outpatients with major depression. Alexithymic features were assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the degree of depression with the Beck Depression Inventory. The patients were retested after a period of 5 years. RESULTS: Mean alexithymia and depression scores decreased significantly over the 5-year period. Alexithymia and depression were associated with each other, but the high test-retest correlations in the TAS-20 scores indicate relative stability of alexithymia. The three factors of alexithymia behaved differently. Difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings were associated with alleviation of depressive symptoms, whereas externally oriented thinking was not. CONCLUSIONS: Alexithymia seems to be related with the severity of depression in outpatients with major depression, but it also shows relative stability over 5 years. Our findings support the view that the alexithymia construct represents a stable personality trait, but is also a state-dependent phenomenon.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Prediction of positive placebo response among chronic schizophrenic outpatients.

We undertook this study to determine whether predictors of positive placebo response in chronic schizophrenic outpatients could be identified. Twelve placebo responders and 33 placebo nonresponders who participated in a parallel-group, double-blind, 12-week clinical drug trial were compared. No significant differences between the groups were found with regard to 16 anamnestic and symptom variables. To investigate further which variables at baseline predicted positive placebo response, a stepwise linear regression model was created. Of the seven variables entered into the model, only high scores in the positive domain of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (delusions, unusual thought content, grandiosity, and suspiciousness/persecution) at baseline predicted significantly positive placebo response (p = .0047). Because the onset of placebo response was gradual, the authors hypothesize that placebo response in chronic schizophrenia consists mainly of two ingredients: nonspecific psychotherapeutic effect caused by the several assessments carried out during the study, and regression toward the mean.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed1982

Relation between central cerebral atrophy, memory defects and prolactin secretion.

Concentrations of prolactin in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in serum were determined from 26 neurological patients with or without minor central cerebral atrophy. Neuropsychological memory tests also were performed on these patients. Twenty-eight neurological patients with peripheral nervous lesions and without endocrine dysfunctions served as controls for prolactin levels. Patients with central cerebral atrophy had significant loss of recall capacity, though they did not differ significantly from the normal population in their intellectual performances. CSF and serum prolactin levels in the patients with central cerebral atrophy and/or memory defects did not differ from the values obtained in the patients without cerebral atrophy. Thus, prolactin levels do not appear to reflect either central cerebral atrophy or memory dysfunctions, most likely due to the minor degree of neuronal atrophy around the third ventricle that occurs in patients with these findings.

Adult↗