Hysterical paralyses as disorders of action

Hysterical paralysis is an unusual diagnosis, requiring the physician to infer the intentional stance of the patient when the latter fails to act. This paper argues that the distinction between 'hysterical' and 'feigned' disorders cannot be currently justified on the basis of objective criteria. The physical 'signs' of hysterical paralyses are those of voluntary motor inconsistency. The patient fails to perform certain acts, whereas others, utilising the same muscle groups, are preserved. Hence, hysterical paralyses are essentially disorders of action, themselves the product of abnormalities of mind, 'will', or the intention to deceive (the 'self' or the 'other'). The role of the psychodynamic unconscious in the maintenance of hysterical paralyses is problematic; their maintenance requires the patient's conscious attention: They remit with sedation and distraction. Although functional neuroimaging studies of these symptoms have been preliminary, they may eventually reveal an objective pathophysiology of the disordered 'will', and a contrasting functional anatomy of the intentionally feigned symptom.     

Hysterical Paralyses as Disorders of Action

Hysterical paralysis is an unusual diagnosis, requiring the physician to infer the intentional stance of the patient when the latter fails to act. This paper argues that the distinction between ''hysterical'' and ''feigned'' disorders cannot be currently justified on the basis of objective criteria. The physical ''signs'' of hysterical paralyses are those of voluntary motor inconsistency. The patient fails to perform certain acts, whereas others, utilising the same muscle groups, are preserved. Hence, hysterical paralyses are essentially disorders of action, themselves the product of abnormalities of mind, ''will'', or the intention to deceive (the ''self'' or the ''other''). The role of the psychodynamic unconscious in the maintenance of hysterical paralyses is problematic; their maintenance requires the patient's conscious attention: They remit with sedation and distraction. Although functional neuroimaging studies of these symptoms have been preliminary, they may eventually reveal an objective pathophysiology of the disordered ''will'', and a contrasting functional anatomy of the intentionally feigned symptom.     

Hysterical aphonia--an analysis of 25 cases

Hysteria is a common neurotic disorder in psychiatric practice. Many of its conversion symptoms have not been studied in detail. In the present prospective study in a tertiary care teaching hospital, 25 cases of hysterical aphonia were analysed. There were 17 females and 8 males. Mean age of presentation was 18.4 years in females and 21.2 years in males. Majority of patients were literate upto primary class, belonging to joint family and had urban background. Duration of symptoms was within 2 weeks. Most common precipitating factor was stress of examination or failure followed by quarrels with peers or spouse. In 20% cases, cause was not known. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were found in 80% cases, the most common being mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (36%) followed by generalized anxiety disorder (20%).     

Hysterical traits and variability of mood in normal men.

In a study of 40 normal men it was found that self-ratings on variability of mood were positively correlated with self-ratings on hysterical traits. These results are similar to those found in normal women and lend support both to the validity of the concept of hysterical personality and to the idea that men and women experience fluctuations of mood in a similar way.     

Hysterical seizures: The role of sexual exploitation

The authors examine perceived sexual exploitation as the catalyst for hysterical seizures, with special attention to the emotional conflicts underlying the symptoms. In case studies of four adolescent girls exhibiting hysterical behavior, interviews uncovered a common pattern: an initial seizure that was immediately preceded by a sexually overt event perceived as exploitative; subsequent seizures precipitated by events that were sexually charged for the young women; and a fear of males in general.     

Traditional healing in a modern epidemic

Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together Against AIDS (THETA) is an organization that combines the approaches of traditional healers, who are culturally important to the populations that they serve, with that of modern doctors. The group was founded by members of Doctors Without Borders, and The AIDS Support Organization of Uganda. THETA has achieved an environment of mutual respect between these health care providers, and has conducted clinical evaluations to compare the outcomes of patients treated with traditional herbal remedies with the outcomes of patients using biomedical drugs. The phase one and two testing found comparable results between these two types of therapy. A 2-year project also supplemented the traditional methods of these healers with AIDS patient education and counseling skills. The follow-up of this project showed that the trained healers increased the focus of their educational campaigns to the community at large and welcomed affiliations with doctors and hospitals. THETA's long-term goals are to continue promoting acceptance of traditional medicine, fostering the partnership and flow of information between practitioners, investigating and assessing the efficacy of herbal treatments, and providing community support.     

A measles epidemic in a circumscribed community

A measles outbreak of 151 cases in a circumscribed rural community is documented. Attention is drawn to accuracy of vaccination documentation and the factors influencing uptake. The efficacy of the vaccine in the population of school children is estimated (both within the community at large and within the home of an affected person). A failure rate of 5-6 per cent was found.     

四川省某地级市艾滋病流行特征

目的:研究四川省某市艾滋病疫情的流行特征。方法:HIV/AIDS疫情数据来自2011年1月至2016年12月中国疾病预防控制信息系统。从艾滋病综合防治信息系统历史卡片数据库中下载数据资料,导入SPSS13.0。将HIV/AIDS病人依据时间先后分为A组合B组。A组为2011年1月至2013年12月病人,B组为2014年1月至2016年12月病人。采用描述流行病学方法分析艾滋病流行特征。结果:2011年1月至2016年12月,共发现HIV感染者1909例,AIDS病例925例。两组的差别具有统计学意义(P0.05)。HIV/AIDS男性高于女性,发病年龄主要集中在20~49岁之间,占62.86%。感染途径主要包括:性传播,血液传播(注射吸毒)和母婴传播。其中,性传播途径占绝大多数。结论:HIV和AIDS的发病率逐年升高的趋势,加强艾滋病检测网络的建设,针对性的艾滋病知识宣传,关注重点人群,对HIV/AIDS的预防具有重要价值。     

Traditional and virtual microscopy compared experimentally in a classroom setting

The technology known as virtual microscopy is now widely available to medical students. A number of medical school histology and pathology course directors, including those at the Eastern Virginia Medical School, are exploring the question of how best to make use of this new tool. The current study compared the efficacy of teaching and testing one unit of histology, bone and cartilage, using two technologies, namely, virtual microscopy and traditional microscopy. Additionally, the study examined whether low, moderate, high moderate, or high achieving students perform more effectively in any of the learning/testing formats. In a completely randomized block design, 96 first semester, first-year medical students were grouped by previous exam quartiles then subsequently randomly assigned to one of four groups. Using identical laboratory exercises with highly comparable slides for each experimental group, half of the subjects learned the exercise with traditional microscopy and half learned with virtual microscopy. Subjects were further randomly subdivided into virtual or actual testing groups. The authors found no significant differences in test scores when they examined effects by learning group or by testing group, nor were there significant interaction effects. Student performance evaluated by previous exam quartile was significant (P < 0.001). That is, students who had scored in a particular quartile on a previous test tended to score in the same quartile on the bone and cartilage test regardless of learning or testing method. In a short opinion survey, students were polled to evaluate their experience. Student preferences for both learning and testing method varied widely.