Nightmares of refugees from Kurdistan.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Z Z Cernovsky
Publications and source records attributed to Z Z Cernovsky.
Psychiatric emergency rates during the Christmas season in the years 1991 to 1997.
We compared the number of psychiatric admissions from the emergency room during the Christmas season, defined as the rate for the month of December, with those in other months. The psychiatric emergency rates were recorded for each month over six consecutive years, 1991 to 1997. The average number of emergency patients in none of the 12 months differed significantly from any of the remaining months (ANOVA, p > .05). Our data and those of other authors do not support the clinical lore that Christmas season is associated with higher rate of psychiatric emergencies.
Emergency Services, Psychiatric↗
Lithium dosage and leukocyte counts in psychiatric patients.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate differences in leukocyte counts among patients treated with either lithium alone, antipsychotic medications alone, or a combination of both. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Long-stay psychiatric hospital. PATIENTS: Patients admitted between 1990 and 1993, and treated with lithium for at least 1 week and/or with antipsychotic medication for at least 2 weeks. Excluded from the study were those patients for whom complete blood counts at baseline and during therapy were not available, and those patients whose blood picture could primarily be accounted for by extraneous factors. Included in the study were 38 patients treated with lithium alone, 207 patients receiving antipsychotic medications alone, and 71 patients receiving both. OUTCOME MEASURES: Leukocyte, lymphocyte and granulocyte counts. RESULTS: Patients treated with lithium alone had significantly higher mean leukocyte and granulocyte counts than those treated with antipsychotic medication alone (analysis of variance, p < 0.05). None of the patients receiving lithium alone showed leukopenia. The dosage of lithium was significantly correlated with leukocyte count (r = 0.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.14 to 0.35, p < 0.001,) and granulocyte count (r = 0.27, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.38, p < 0.001), but not with lymphocyte count (r = 0.06, p = 0.286, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: Lithium therapy is associated with higher leukocyte and granulocyte levels in psychiatric patients. This leukocytotic effect of lithium may be dose dependent.
Adult↗
The relationship of catatonia symptoms to symptoms of schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationships of symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia to 77 symptoms relevant for diagnosing schizophrenia and to socioanamnestic variables. METHOD: Data from a sample of 112 Canadian patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) were evaluated via phi correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Forty-five (40.2%) of our 112 patients had catatonic symptoms, either at the time of this study or in the past. However, only weak correlations (phi < 0.31) to other symptoms relevant for diagnosing schizophrenia were found, and no significant correlations to socioanamnestic variables were found. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of catatonia appear to be independent of the key symptoms of schizophrenia.
Adult↗
Lüscher color preferences of Arctic Inuit and of southern Canadians.
A comparison of color preferences based on the Lüscher Color Test was made for 21 Inuit residing within the Arctic circle and those of 49 residents of Southern Canada. These two groups have been raised in radically different physical and cultural environments. We expected that such factors could influence color preferences; however, no statistically significant differences were found in relative preferences for blue, green, red, yellow, purple, brown, grey, and black for our data based on Lüscher's scoring and those on our own scoring system independent of Lüscher's theory and scoring.
Adult↗
Sensation Seeking Scales and consumer satisfaction with a substance abuse treatment program.
Satisfaction of 119 addicts with an addiction treatment program was measured by an 11 item satisfaction scale. The scale's internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = .75). The total satisfaction score was weakly but significantly correlated with Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking scales: Those with higher scores on the Boredom Susceptibility scale (i.e., those easily bored) reported less satisfaction, whereas those with higher scores on Thrill and Adventure Seeking scale (i.e., risk, adventure, and thrill seekers) reported higher levels of treatment satisfaction. Older patients were more satisfied with the feedback they received from their psychological tests and also with staff's respect for their rights.
Adolescent↗
Color preferences of borderline patients and of normal controls.
20 female patients who met the DSM-III-R criteria for the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and 23 normal female controls were asked to rank-order eight Lüscher color cards, at first with no specific use for the colors mentioned, then as a color for their own dress or jacket, then for their living room, and then as a color they would like their friend to wear. Very few statistically significant differences (p < .01, 2-tailed) between the groups were found. Borderline patients ranked more favourably than controls the use of black color for their living room (Pearson r = .51) and were less likely to favour grey color for this purpose (r = -.45). When no specific use for colors was mentioned, the borderline patients ranked red more favourably than the control group (r = .47). Within the normal control group, statistically significant differences between the ranks of the same color were noted depending on the particular use of the particular color.
Adolescent↗
Antisocial personality traits and patients' satisfaction with treatment for addiction.
The over-all satisfaction with treatment for addiction (sum of scores on 11 items of a questionnaire) by 50 addicts and their self-reported confidence in remaining abstinent were unrelated to scores on MMPI-2 scales (all classical clinical and validity scales, 15 content scales and 7 research scales) except to reports of shyness on the Social Discomfort Scale: patients characterizing themselves as shy gave the higher ratings of satisfaction with treatment (r = .33). We note that our previous finding using the MMPI-2, i.e., that less.socially responsible and more rebellious patients provided lower satisfaction ratings, was not replicated for this sample of addicts.
Adult↗
Symptom patterns in schizophrenia for men and women.
Differences on symptoms and anamnestic variables were studied in a sample of 112 Canadian patients (42 men and 70 women) who met DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia. Men were more often rated as providing unreliable information than were women. A smaller proportion of men than women showed spontaneous remissions (a return to premorbid level), and fewer men also displayed phasic changes in appetite, weight, or sexual activity. It is noteworthy that men and women did not differ on general indices of severity of illness such as the number of past hospitalizations or length of hospital stay. In contrast to numerous past studies, an earlier age of onset of the illness for men was nonsignificant.
Adult↗
Regional differences in molecular cross-linking of periodontal ligament collagen of rat incisor, by polarizing microscopy.
Collagen, a naturally birefringent biopolymer and key structural component of the periodontal ligament (PDL), is altered substantially with regard to its molecular cross-linked structure by the dietary lathyrogen, beta-amino-proprionitrile (beta-APN). Our purpose in studying beta-APN-fed animals was to learn if the strength of birefringence of periodontal collagen, measured microscopically by the Senarmont compensator method, correlates with the molecular changes known to occur in these lathyritic animals, and to explore this technique for the periodontal ligament. Five experimental animals were fed a diet containing 0.25% beta-APN for two weeks, and 3 control animals were fed normal rat chow. Tissues were decalcified and the mandibular incisors were cut in cross section at 4 microns and stained with eosin Y. The Senarmont compensator, an attachment for the polarizing microscope, was used to measure phase retardation. Ten measurements were taken from each of the three sides (mesial, lateral and lingual) of the triangularly shaped incisor sections. The collagen fibers of the beta-APN-fed rats had lower values of phase retardation than the controls (p < 0.001), indicating reduced molecular organization. In addition, minor but significant regional differences were revealed, supporting the method for structural studies on the periodontal collagen.
Animals↗
Comparison of cyproterone acetate (CPA) and leuprolide acetate (LHRH agonist) in a chronic pedophile: a clinical case study.
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Administration, Oral↗
Fluphenazine treatment of DSM-III-R male schizophrenic patients among the Xhosa.
A comparison of fluphenazine decanoate depot injection used alone and fluphenazine decanoate with fluphenazine HCl i.m. was undertaken in South African Xhosa patients with schizophrenia diagnosed according to DSM-III-R. The combined treatment significantly shortened the length of hospital stay to a mean of 30.5 days from a mean of 40.7 days for the single therapy group. The combined treatment group also obtained significantly higher improvement ratings one week after the start of treatment than the single treatment patients.
Adolescent↗
Correlates of hysterical symptoms in schizophrenic patients.
The correlations of symptoms of hysteria with 87 symptoms relevant for diagnosing schizophrenia were examined in a sample of 112 patients (70 women and 42 men whose mean age was 38.1 yr., SD = 9.8) with DSM-III diagnosis of schizophrenia. Hysterical symptoms were recorded in 37.5% of the schizophrenics. No significant relationships (phi coefficients) were found to key symptoms of schizophrenia.
Adult↗
Are schizophrenic symptoms different in patients with higher education?
Ratings of 87 symptoms on a Canadian sample of 108 DSM-III schizophrenics (41 men, 67 women) were unrelated (point biserial coefficients) to their education. The only exceptions to this trend were weak correlations with ratings of apathy, insight, and of premorbid adjustment. Patients with higher education were less frequently labelled as apathetic (r = .28) or as lacking insight (r = .26) and their premorbid adjustment was better (r = .25). None of the symptoms traditionally considered as markers specific for schizophrenia was significantly related to education.
Adult↗
Some clinical and psychometric characteristics of primary and secondary premature ejaculators.
Patients with premature ejaculation (PE) were subdivided into primary (PPE), individuals who had suffered from PE since the beginning of their sexual lives, and secondary (SPE), those who developed the condition after years of satisfactory sexual functioning. PPEs differed from SPEs on a number of clinical and psychometric variables. Clinically SPEs were significantly more likely to manifest a coexisting erectile disorder, reduction in sex drive, and a decrease in arousal during sexual stimulation than SPEs. They were significantly less likely to report high levels of anxiety during coitus. Psychometrically, on the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory, PPEs were significantly more "impaired" than the SPEs as reflected by scores on the Symptoms and Satisfaction scales and the GSSI. They were significantly less impaired on measures of sex drive (e.g., Drive and Fantasy). On the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HRAS), the PPEs scored as significantly more anxious than the SPEs. The findings suggest that dichotomizing PE into PPE and SPE may be clinically useful, and may have etiologic treatment and prognostic implications.
Adult↗
Self-reinforcement scores of psychiatric inpatients and normal controls.
Heiby's 1982 self-reinforcement questionnaire (a measure of the ability to reward oneself selectively for constructive behaviors or efforts and to nurture a positive self-image by means of a supportive internal speech) was administered to 12 normal controls (psychiatric nurses), 11 paranoid schizophrenic patients (DSM-III--R), 8 bipolar patients currently manic (DSM-III--R), and 12 inpatients treated for substance abuse (DSM-III--R). No significant mean differences were found on analysis of variance. The means of the groups of psychiatric inpatients and of normal persons are comparable to means of other samples of normals, e.g., college students or factory workers, reported in the literature.
Adult↗
Intelligence and race: further comments on J. P. Rushton's work.
A review of some implications of J.P. Rushton's 1988 and 1990 work on racial differences in brain mass (size or weight) suggests that his comments do not constitute a viable scientific theory.
Black or African American↗
A comparison of borderline and schizophrenic patients for childhood life events and parent-child relationships.
Fifteen patients with DSM-III diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and 14 schizophrenics were administered two questionnaires by an interviewer blind to the diagnoses. The questionnaires were the Childhood Life Events and Family Characteristics Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. A scale to monitor denial was also included. Borderlines, when compared with schizophrenics, reported having significantly more childhood sexual and physical abuse, more early separation from their mothers, more paternal criminality, and also more paternal overprotection and less maternal care. When compared with normal population data, they received significantly less care and were significantly more overprotected by both parents.
Adolescent↗