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Evaluation of patients with self-induced water intoxication and schizophrenic disorders (SIWIS).

The complications of water intoxication are well documented in the medical literature. Less well appreciated is the frequent appearance of self-induced water intoxication in patients with schizophrenic disorders. Six such patients are described and compared with the findings in the literature. Nonedematous, nonhypovolemic hyponatremia is the invariable biochemical abnormality in this syndrome and its multiple causes are discussed, including the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis. Severe hyposthenuria (urinary specific gravity 1.003 or less) is the silent biological marker that always antedates the complications of self-induced water intoxication and schizophrenic disorders (SIWIS). While recognizing that all patients with polydipsia do not go on to develop water intoxication, this biological marker provides the means to detect patients who may be destined to develop SIWIS; early recognition may prevent the major complications of this syndrome.

Adult↗

Comments on a study by Wolf, Siwy, Korchev and Spohr published in Cell. Mol. Biol. Lett. 4 (1999) 553-565.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the non-linear electrical current-voltage characteristic of porous track-etched poly(ethylene terephtalate) membranes, reported by Wolf, Siwy, Korchev and Spohr in Cell. Mol. Biol. Lett. 4 (1999) 553-565, is very similar to that observed with cross-linked polyelectrolyte gel membranes with negatively charged fixed ionic groups (cation exchange membranes). This similarity was overlooked by the authors. The physics of the current-voltage behaviour of cation exchange membranes is fairly well understood. Experiments are proposed with the aim of finding out whether the physics causing the non-ohmic current voltage characteristic is the same for both types of membranes.

Cations↗

Summary and conclusions from the SIWI Young Professionals Workshop--the possibilities and threats of globalisation!

The Young Water Professionals Symposium discussed the nature of globalisation as it affects water and water professionals. Globalisation processes can either encourage or cure the problems of scarcity and marginalisation. Different levels of development and rates of progress reinforce the need for diverse thinking to tackle these local variations within the global context. A significant aspect is a change in roles and responsibilities for the water professional - to be less confined to the purely technical and more cooperative across traditional boundaries. To enable water professionals to fulfil these new roles education must be transformed and intellectual barriers overcome. In this way globalisation processes can be made to work for water security for the new century.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

Summary and conclusions from the SIWI seminar for young water professionals water and sustainable development--how to ensure development without compromising sustainability?

There is a need to create a balance between development and conservation in order to find a way to mitigate the conflicting interest of water for society, the environment and the economy. Apart from finding a solution to this there is a need to get the mesaage across to the decision makers. How do we make good ideas permeate policy and translate into concrete programs? The Young Water Professionals gave their view through presentations and discussions. It was argued that the answer was not to be found only in environmental science but also in the political and social arena. It was argued that the sanctioned discourse is a powerful force in water allocation and management. How can a balance be struck? Many argued for a unique design of a policy for the whole catchment, acknowledging ecology and existing institutions. Furthermore, many argued in favor of building on existing institutions and steward groups for sustainability and increase their adaptive capacity.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

Summary and conclusions from the SIWI Seminar for Young Water Professionals Drainage basin security--implications of virtual water trade and agricultural subsidies at regional, national and local levels.

This is a summary of the Young Water Professionals Seminar involving more than 50 young people from all over the world working with water. The presentations and following discussion were very lively and were about how subsidies and trade barriers imposed by the developed countries are influencing the income-generating capacity of millions of people in the developing world. Even though this is a very complex issue not easily resolved during the seminar it was also clear that there are some fundamental problems that need to be addressed. The importance of looking for solutions at different levels (i.e. local, regional, national) was highlighted as well as the policy of double standards, preaching free trade but only for the benefit of overdeveloped countries themselves. Further it was discussed how to achieve basin security through food security, and managing water for food security. The conclusion was that win-win solutions would be made if agricultural subsidies were to be completely removed.

Agriculture↗

Summary and conclusions from the SIWI seminar for young water professionals food and urban security--breaking the urban/rural division in water management.

At the Seminar for Young Water Professionals, a group of young people from different parts of the world met to discuss and debate: the interface between the urban and rural environment--how can water management see to the interest of both the farmer and the urban citizen; how the spatial boundaries within water resources management will develop in the future due to changing population patterns. Three key themes crystallized during the day: the challenges of the urban/rural interface, the need for new boundaries in water resources management and the importance of site-specific, appropriate solutions in relation to water re-use.

Cities↗

Patient perceptions of self-induced water intoxication.

This study comprehensively examines self-induced water intoxication (SIWI) from a patient perspective including demographics, reasons for seeking fluids, patterns/behaviors of fluid seeking, and symptoms frequently experienced while in a state of SIWI. The subjects were 45 of an original convenience sample of 62 individuals with a serious mental illness (SMI), hospitalized in a long-term state psychiatric facility, who engaged in self-induced water intoxication. All participants were interviewed in a structured format to complete a 40-item Likert-type questionnaire developed for the study, titled the Self-induced Water Intoxication Questionnaire (SIWIQ). In the study, the majority of participants were smokers, and reported no past problem with alcohol. SIWI occurred more in males than females, and was more predominant in those participants who had longer hospital stays. Anger and vomiting were found to be the two most predominant symptoms experienced when excess fluid consumption occurred. Behaviors of drinking from the shower, the toilet, and one's own urine are consistent with findings of previous studies and illustrate the difficulty in keeping individuals with SIWI from fluids. Data show that participants with SIWI experience considerable anxiety and cognitive difficulties and express these as reasons for engaging in excess fluid consumption. Boredom, obtaining a high, and sad mood were also predominant reasons identified for excess fluid drinking. Significant relationships were found and discussed. The findings provide support for the position that SIWI represents an attempt at treatment by the dysfunctional individual and is pursued for anxiolytic effects and alleviation of boredom. The data support the idea of approaching the problem from a dysfunctional coping framework, realizing that SIWI is a very complex problem, needing examination and intervention at multiple levels, beyond exclusive focus on fluid control.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The relationship between self-induced water intoxication and severity of psychiatric symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical framework that proposed a relationship between severe psychiatric symptoms and self-induced water intoxication (SIWI) by using reliable and valid measures. Twenty of 28 community-dwelling individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) in the sample exhibited excess fluid consumption as reflected by a mean urine specific gravity of 1.003 mEq/L. The psychometric measures included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Self Deficit Syndrome Scale (SDSS), and the Spielberger State-trait Anxiety Scale (STAI From X-1). A significant relationship was found at p .01 between severity of psychotic symptoms and severity of SIWI and between severity of SIWI and psychopathology symptoms within the PANSS. Anxiety was higher in those with SIWI before fluid loading compared with those with less excess fluid intake (i.e., USG < 1.010), and anxiety decreased from morning to evening in those with SIWI compared with those who did not exhibit excess fluid intake. The findings revealed a strong relationship between SIWI and severe psychiatric symptoms, including psychosis and a broad range of psychiatric symptoms. The findings provided initial support for the proposed theory, and consideration needs to be given to the development of interventions to augment existing treatment of fluid control.

Adult↗

Death from self-induced water intoxication among patients with schizophrenic disorders.

Review of 60 consecutive records of patients who died before the age of 53 years in a state mental hospital revealed that 27 of those patients (45%) had a schizophrenic disorder. Of those 27 patients, five (18.5%) died of the complications of self-induced water intoxication and schizophrenic disorders (SIWIS). Clinical, laboratory, and autopsy features of those five SIWIS patients and of an additional five SIWIS cases obtained from the literature include psychosis, polydipsia, polyuria, severe hyposthenuria (specific gravity 1.003 or less), hyponatremia, seizures, coma, and cerebral and visceral edema. SIWIS characteristically develops during Arieti's third or "preterminal" stage (5 to 15 years after onset of psychosis) of schizophrenic disorders and it must be included in the differential diagnosis of unexplained death among psychiatric patients. As there are no pathognomonic SIWIS tissue changes, the pathologist must carefully integrate clinical, laboratory, and autopsy findings to arrive at the proper diagnosis. When premortem findings of polydipsia and hyponatremia are not available, evidence of antecedent severe hyposthenuria and postmortem vitreous humor hyponatremia of less than 120 mEq/1 are strongly supportive of the diagnosis of death due to SIWIS.

Adult↗

A conserved PIWI silencing complex detects piRNA-target engagement.

In animal germ cells, PIWI proteins use piRNAs to detect active selfish genetic elements. Base-pairing to a piRNA defines transposon recognition, but how this interaction triggers a defensive response remains unclear. Here, we identify a transposon recognition complex composed of the silkworm proteins Siwi, GTSF1, and Maelstrom. Biochemical and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) analyses show that extended piRNA-target pairing locks Siwi in a conformation that recruits GTSF1 and Maelstrom. Extended piRNA-target pairing is recognized by the N-terminal helix of Maelstrom and the first zinc finger of GTSF1, which act together to hold Siwi in an endonucleolytically active state. The resulting activated complex, termed Siwi&#x2217;, rapidly cleaves target RNAs and recruits the piRNA biogenesis factor Spindle-E. Structural predictions reveal related complexes in animals ranging from humans to sponges, indicating PIWI&#x2217; assembly is a conserved transposon recognition mechanism employed broadly across the metazoan kingdom.

Animals↗

White matter changes in dementia of Alzheimer's type. Biochemical and neuropathological correlates.

A correlative neuropathological-biochemical study was undertaken in order to characterize the selective incomplete white matter infarctions (SIWI) frequently found in dementia of Alzheimer's type. The brain tissue analysed represented white matter with incomplete infarction, complete infarcts and with histologically normal tissue, in cases with dementia, mainly of Alzheimer and multi-infarct type, in nondemented subjects with cerebral infarcts and in age-matched control cases. The biochemical results verify the existence of the white matter changes and agree on their regional distribution as they appear in the morphological analyses. The increasing severity of SIWI as assessed histologically was reflected in a proportional reduction of several biochemically quantified white matter components. The histological difference between incomplete and complete infarction was also expressed biochemically. Incomplete white matter infarction with and without associated complete infarcts were biochemically similar. The aetiological significance of the loss of different white matter components is discussed. The biochemical data support the concept of SIWI as being an independent white matter disorder of cerebrovascular, hypoperfusional/hypoxic origin.

Aged↗

A review of disorders of water homeostasis in psychiatric patients.

Disorders of water homeostasis are common in psychiatric patients and include compulsive water drinking, the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), and the syndrome of self-induced water intoxication (SIWI). Although water intoxication was recognized nearly 70 years ago, the physiological basis of these disorders of water metabolism still remains elusive. This review will provide a historical overview, critique current studies on compulsive water drinking and SIWI, discuss possible etiologies, and present current approaches to treatment of these disorders. Because of the complexity of the subject, a review of normal water homeostasis and the SIADH will be included.

Drinking↗

Fatal self-induced water intoxication among schizophrenic inpatients.

Between 1986 and 1998, a review of 61 records of patients who died before the age of 53 years in eight psychiatric departments whose catchment area had a total population of 559,429 inhabitants revealed that 24 (39.3%) of those patients had a schizophrenic disorder. Of those 24 patients, one (4.17%; 95% CI: 0-21%) died from complications of self-induced water intoxication (SIWIS). Among the 37 remaining patients, two (5.4%; 95% CI: 0-18%) died from complications of SIWIS.

Adult↗

Serum sodium stabilizing effect of enalapril after standard water load in a patient with a history of self-induced water intoxication.

1. A 21 day prospective placebo controlled double blind cross over trial of enalapril was studied in a normonatremic patient with a known history of SIWI. 2. At the end of each prophylactic treatment, the patient was challenged with a water load of 20 ml/kg. 3. The mean serum sodium of 140.111 mmol/L on prophylactic enalapril was significantly higher than the 137.6 mmol/L on placebo (p = 0.0015). 4. After a water load, the mean serum sodium on enalapril was 137.6 mmol/L, compared to 133.833 mmol/L (p = 0.0015) on placebo.

Adult↗

How the asymmetry of internal potential influences the shape of I-V characteristic of nanochannels.

Ion transport in biological and synthetic nanochannels is characterized by such phenomena as ion current fluctuations, rectification, and pumping. Recently, it has been shown that the nanofabricated synthetic pores could be considered as analogous to biological channels with respect to their transport characteristics [P. Yu. Apel et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 184, 337 (2001); Z. Siwy et al., Europhys. Lett. 60, 349 (2002)]. The ion current rectification is analyzed. Ion transport through cylindrical nanopores is described by the Smoluchowski equation. The model is considering the symmetric nanopore with asymmetric charge distribution. In this model, the current rectification in asymmetrically charged nanochannels shows a diodelike shape of I-V characteristic. It is shown that this feature may be induced by the coupling between the degree of asymmetry and the depth of internal electric potential well. The role of concentration gradient is discussed.

Animals↗

Statistical and fractal analyses of rat prostate cancer cell motility in a direct current electric field: comparison of strongly and weakly metastatic cells.

The problems addressed here comprised (1) possible differences in galvanotactic properties of strongly versus weakly metastatic rat prostate cancer cells, with MAT-LyLu and AT-2 as examples, respectively; (2) quantitative description of the responses of the MAT-LyLu cells to direct current (dc) electric fields (EFs) of physiological strength (0.3-3 V/cm); and (3) voltage and time dependency of the cells' responses to the dcEFs. These issues were studied by application of statistical and fractal analyses of the cells' trajectories. The results showed that the MAT-LyLu cells responded strongly to the applied dcEFs by migrating towards the cathode. On the other hand, the galvanotactic response of the AT-2 cells was weak and towards the anode. Further studies of the MAT-LyLu cell motility in dcEFs of increasing strength showed that their response consisted of two voltage domains. Weaker fields (approximately 0.6 V/cm) induced "straightening" of the cells' trajectories without the cells showing a clear tendency to move along the applied field. Stronger fields (>0.6 V/cm) made the cells' movement oriented with respect to the direction of the applied field, without further changing the trajectories' structure. The results also showed that the cells do not perform a directed movement instantaneously after switching on a dcEF of 3 V/cm; approximately 30 min lapsed before the cells were able to fully follow the direction of the applied field. Possible biophysical bases and pathophysiological significance of the results obtained are discussed.

Animals↗

Cultured epidermal autografts: a life-saving and skin-saving technique in children.

The recent more widespread availability of cultured keratinocytes has increased their clinical applicability in pediatric surgical problems. In life threatening burns (3 patients) and in elective procedures (3 patients) we have used sheets of cultured epithelial autografts. Body surface area affected ranged from fifteen to 85%. Five patients were successfully treated in one grafting session and one required four sessions. Take of the cultured keratinocytes ranged from 75% to 95%. Follow-up as long as 30 months has shown the skin to be comparable to if not superior to conventional split thickness grafts. The use of cultured keratinocytes allows wound coverage without expansion of the affected body surface area seen with conventional split-thickness skin grafting. Although there is an initial delay in the preparation of the grafts, the overall results have been excellent and suggest the more frequent use of this method.

Adolescent↗