Psychological correlates of weight gain in patients with anorexia nervosa

Self-report measures of desired weight, eating attitudes, depressive mood and obsessional symptoms were obtained for anorexic patients upon admission to hospital, discharge and 1 yr follow-up. Eating attitudes and depressed mood were significantly improved at discharge and follow-up, but still remained within the clinical rather than the normal range. Severity of abnormal eating attitudes upon discharge was the main psychological factor significantly correlated with degree of weight maintenance at follow-up.     

Psychological features of patients with hypertension attending hospital follow-up clinics

A slightly modified Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire was given to 946 patients with hypertension who were receiving treatment at two hospital clinics. The response rate was 90%.Compared with previously published results for the general population the hypertensive patients scored significantly higher for free-floating anxiety, phobic anxiety and depression. Male hypertensive patients, but not female patients, also scored higher for obsession and hysteria.The high scores for hypertensive patients could not be closely correlated with any particular drug therapy with the possible exception of phobic anxiety and propranolol in women but not in men. There was a weak but statistically significant correlation between systolic blood pressure and both somatic complaint rate and phobic anxiety.     

LPA水平测定对妊娠期高血压患者的临床指导意义

目的观察LPA水平表达,并对其临床意义进行分析。方法入选近年来就诊于荔湾区第二人民医院的妊娠期高血压患者90例作为观察A组,同期选取30例正常晚期妊娠妇女为观察B组,未孕健康妇女30例为对照组,分别检测LPA水平,探讨LPA和妊娠期高血压的关系;妊娠期高血压孕妇根据病情程度分为妊娠期高血压组、轻度子痫前期组和重度子痫前期组,比较3组LPA水平。结果健康未孕妇女血浆LPA水均正常,正常晚期妊娠孕妇血浆LPA水平明显大于临界值,妊娠期高血压孕妇血浆LPA更高(P0.05)。血浆LPA水平随妊娠期高血压病情程度不断升高(P0.05)。结论妊娠期高血压患者LPA水平明显升高,随病情程度进展不断升高,LPA可能参与了妊娠期高血压的发生和发展过程,能够作为妊娠期高血压的诊断和预后评估的重要临床指标。     

Psychological correlates of psychogenic seizures

Abstract

Psychological correlates of psychogenic seizures were studied. The MMPI, Portland Digit Recognition Test (PDRT; a forced choice measure of motivation), disability status, Face-Hand Test, and Finger Agnosia were compared in 53 patients with medically intractable seizure disorders who underwent intensive EEG monitoring. Using conventional neurologic criteria, 64% had diagnoses of epileptic seizures (ES) and 36% had psychogenic seizures (PS). PS patients were significantly higher in number of somatoform MMPI profiles and likelihood of applying for financial benefits, and significantly lower on the PDRT. PS patients made more Finger Agnosia errors. Differences on the Face-Hand Test were of borderline significance. The results support the existence of multiple psychometric correlates of PS.     

Psychological correlates of sleep apnea

Relationships were examined between psychological and sleep variables in individuals with sleep apnea (n=72, 24 with hypertension; Respiratory Disturbance Index=15) and without sleep apnea (n=40, 16 with hypertension; respiratory disturbance index<15). Subjects were 32–64 years old, 100–150% of ideal weight, with no other major illness. For subjects with sleep apnea, depression, anger, and total mood disturbance correlated positively with deep sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, and/or hypoxemia. For subjects without sleep apnea, vigor correlated positively with sleep quantity and negatively with hypoxemia. When age, body mass, and hypertension were controlled, results changed little for subjects without sleep apnea; for subjects with sleep apnea, depression and total mood disturbance no longer correlated with sleep measures. Although various psychological measures correlate with sleep variables in sleep apnea subjects, many are explained by controlling age, body mass, and hypertension. Anger and vigor, however, remain associated with sleep variables.     

Clinical correlates of low serum carnitine levels in hospitalized psychiatric patients

Abstract

Objective. We sought to evaluate clinical correlates of low serum carnitine levels in hospitalized psychiatric patients. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 40 psychiatric inpatients identified to have low serum carnitine levels. Results. Cognitive impairment was present in 38 (95%) cases, frequently accompanied by imbalance, agitation and extrapyramidal symptoms. Valproate therapy was encountered in 28 (70%) patients. The dosage of valproate negatively correlated with total and free carnitine levels (P = 0.003 and 0.0136). Polypharmacy also affected carnitine levels, indicating additional modulatory effects on carnitine metabolism. We encountered a disproportionately high prevalence of mental retardation and dementia in association with hypocarnitinemia. Conclusion. We hypothesize that in the context of mental illness hypocarnitinemia may be associated with metabolic encephalopathy and cognitive impairment. As carnitine deficiency is a potentially treatable condition further studies are warranted.     

Qigong reduced blood pressure and catecholamine levels of patients with essential hypertension

This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of Qigong as a non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension and evaluate the contribution of Qigong in the blood pressure (BP) reduction of essential hypertension patients. Fifty-eight patients volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly divided into either a Qigong group (n = 29), or a wait list control group (n = 29). In response to 10 weeks of Qigong, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and rate pressure product (RPP) were decreased significantly. There was a significant reduction of norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol, and stress level by the Qigong. These results suggest that Qigong may reduce BP and catecholamines via stabilizing the sympathetic nervous system. Therefore, Qigong is an effective nonpharmacological modality to reduce BP in essential hypertensive patients.     

Behavioral correlates of spontaneous hypertension

In addition to reviewing behavioral research which has used Okamoto's spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats, methodological and theoretical issues raised by the use of a genetically selected strain as a model of hypertension are discussed. Behavioral research in which SHR rats have been compared with normotensive strains suggests several consistent behavioral characteristics of SHR rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats are reported to be more active and to show less habituation to repeated testing when placed in a novel environment. In addition, SHR rats respond to a variety of noxious stimuli with high levels of behavioral and physiological arousal. While SHR rats have also been reported to be more aggressive and to learn more rapidly in active avoidance situations than do normotensive controls, interpretation of these differences is complicated by basal differences both in activity level and reactivity to stimulation. Controls used in research with SHR rats include both the foundation strain from which SHR were bred and animals in which hypertension has been experimentally induced. Inclusion of this latter control group provides a means of distinguishing behaviors which are consistently associatted with hypertension of a variety of origins from relationships only observed in SHR rats. Demonstrating an association between behavior and high blood pressure is only the first step in understanding the source of the covariation. Genetic and developmental analyses are necessary to distinguish among (1) a common genetic etiology of hypertension and the behavioral characteristic, (2) a sequential dependence between the development of hypertension and the behavioral characteristic or vice versa; and (3) random fixation at the time of selection for hypertension. While no definitive data are available to argue for a pleiotropic relationship (a common genetic etiology) between the behavioral characteristics of SHR rats and their hypertension, a sequential dependence between the amount of environmental stimulation during the “prehypertensive phase” and the level of adult blood pressure is suggested by two investigations.     

Behavioral correlates of spontaneous hypertension

In addition to reviewing behavioral research which has used Okamoto's spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats, methodological and theoretical issues raised by the use of a genetically selected strain as a model of hypertension are discussed. Behavioral research in which SHR rats have been compared with normotensive strains suggests several consistent behavioral characteristics of SHR rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats are reported to be more active and to show less habituation to repeated testing when placed in a novel environment. In addition, SHR rats respond to a variety of noxious stimuli with high levels of behavioral and physiological arousal. While SHR rats have also been reported to be more aggressive and to learn more rapidly in active avoidance situations than do normotensive controls, interpretation of these differences is complicated by basal differences both in activity level and reactivity to stimulation. Controls used in research with SHR rats include both the foundation strain from which SHR were bred and animals in which hypertension has been experimentally induced. Inclusion of this latter control group provides a means of distinguishing behaviors which are consistently associatted with hypertension of a variety of origins from relationships only observed in SHR rats. Demonstrating an association between behavior and high blood pressure is only the first step in understanding the source of the covariation. Genetic and developmental analyses are necessary to distinguish among (1) a common genetic etiology of hypertension and the behavioral characteristic, (2) a sequential dependence between the development of hypertension and the behavioral characteristic or vice versa; and (3) random fixation at the time of selection for hypertension. While no definitive data are available to argue for a pleiotropic relationship (a common genetic etiology) between the behavioral characteristics of SHR rats and their hypertension, a sequential dependence between the amount of environmental stimulation during the “prehypertensive phase” and the level of adult blood pressure is suggested by two investigations.     

Connectivity biomarkers can differentiate patients with different levels of consciousness

ObjectiveIn the present study, we searched for resting-EEG biomarkers that distinguish different levels of consciousness on a single subject level with an accuracy that is significantly above chance.MethodsWe assessed 44 biomarkers extracted from the resting EEG with respect to their discriminative value between groups of minimally conscious (MCS, N = 22) patients, vegetative state patients (VS, N = 27), and – for a proof of concept – healthy participants (N = 23). We applied classification with support vector machines.ResultsPartial coherence, directed transfer function, and generalized partial directed coherence yielded accuracies that were significantly above chance for the group distinction of MCS vs. VS (.88, .80, and .78, respectively), as well as healthy participants vs. MCS (.96, .87, and .93, respectively) and VS (.98, .84, and .96, respectively) patients.ConclusionsThe concept of connectivity is crucial for determining the level of consciousness, supporting the view that assessing brain networks in the resting state is the golden way to examine brain functions such as consciousness.SignificanceThe present results directly show that it is possible to distinguish patients with different levels of consciousness on the basis of resting-state EEG.     

Psychosis-proneness correlates with expression levels of dopaminergic genes

Psychosis-proneness or schizotypy is a personality organisation mirroring individual risk for schizophrenia-development. Believed to be a fully dimensional construct sharing considerable geno- and phenotypal variance with clinical schizophrenia, it has become an increasingly promising tool for basic psychosis-research. Although many studies show genetic commonalities between schizotypy and schizophrenia, changes in regulation of gene expression have never been examined in schizotypy before. We therefore extracted RNA from the blood, a valid surrogate for brain tissue, of a large sample of 67 healthy male volunteers and correlated the activities of all genes relevant for dopaminergic neurotransmission with the positive schizotypy-scale of the O-LIFE. We found significant negative correlations regarding the expression of the genes COMT, MAOB, DRD4, DRD5 and FOS, indicating that increased schizotypy coincides with higher levels of dopaminergic dysregulation on the mRNA-level. Considering the advantages of this method, we suggest that it be applied more often in fundamental psychosis-research.     

Psychological correlates of monoamine oxidase activity in normals

This study replicates and extends earlier work by finding that low levels of platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity correlate with sensation seeking, high ego strength, positive affect, and high leisure time activity levels, somewhat similar psychological correlates also being found for plasma amine oxidase activity. Although there are several ways in which a schizophrenia/MAO relationship may exist and still be congruent with the present data, these results pose difficulties for theories which link low MAO activity levels specifically to schizophrenia. Nothing in the present findings, however, is incongruent with the possibility of an association between low platelet MAO activity and bipolar affective disorder.     

H型高血压患者血清B族维生素水平以及脑影像学变化的研究

目的 观察H型高血压患者血浆同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)及血清叶酸、维生素B12和患者脑白质的变化,为临床干预脑白质病变提供参考依据. 方法 选择大连市友谊医院神经内科、心内科自2010年4月至2011年3月收治的高血压患者110例(其中H型高血压组78例,单纯高血压组32例),选择同期健康体检者50例作为对照组,采用放射免疫分析法检测血浆Hcy及血清叶酸、维生素B12的水平,MRI检查并评价脑白质病变的级别. 结果 H型高血压患者m浆Hcy、血清叶酸、维生素B12水平高于单纯高血压组和对照组,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05);3组受试者脑白质病变级别的差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05),由平均秩次判断,脑白质病变在H型高血压组表现明显,其次为单纯高m压组、对照组. 结论 H型高血压患者血中叶酸、维生素B12水平下降,脑白质病变损害严重,可能与高Hcy血症有关.     

Cognitive and behavioral correlates of low vitamin B12 levels in elderly patients with progressive dementia.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in elderly persons, yet its role in dementia and psychiatric illness is unclear. The authors examined the relationship between vitamin B12 serum levels and cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. Community-dwelling elderly subjects (N=643) meeting NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable or possible Alzheimer disease (AD) underwent comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation and measurement of vitamin B12 serum levels. Thirty-seven subjects (5.7%) had low B12 serum levels (200 pcg/ml or less). Subjects with low B12 levels were significantly older and had significantly lower scores on the Mini-Mental State Exam and higher scores on the Blessed Dementia Scale, but not a different pattern of cognitive or behavior disturbances compared with the normal-B12 subjects. In AD, the prevalence of low vitamin B12 serum levels is consistent with that found in community-dwelling elderly persons in general but is associated with greater overall cognitive impairment.     

Psychological and educational correlates of strabismus in school children

The results of a study investigating the relationship of psychiatric and cognitive disorder with strabismus and its treatment in primary school aged children are reported. Results suggest that children with strabismus have a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorder, particularly an emotional disorder or psychosis. Subjects also had an increased risk of having educational problems and of exhibiting difficulties with tasks involving visual perception. Variables related to the nature and treatment of the strabismus did not appear influential in the development of the psychiatric disorder. Family disruption was significantly associated with both the presence of strabismus and emotional and behavioural problems in the children reported by parents and teachers.