Prof. A. Koschewnikoffs

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Prof. A. Koschewnikoffs

     

Neuromyotonia. A mild case.

A mild case of the syndrome of generalized, sustained, fine muscular twitchings and impaired relaxation after a vigorous contraction (but without a myotonic response), which is presumably due to peripheral motor nerve hyperactivity is described. In this case, generalized muscle stiffness, deformities of the hands and feet, excessive sweating and an increased basal metabolic rate were not present.     

Prof. Dr. Mark A. Smith

Obituary

Prof. Dr. Mark A. Smith     

Catatonia. A prospective clinical study.

We studied 55 patients admitted during 14 months to two inpatient psychiatric units of a municipal hospital who exhibited one or more of the catatonic signs of mutism, stereotypy, posturing, catalepsy, automatic obedience, negativism, echolalia/echopraxia, or stupor. Only four of the 55 patients satisfied our research criteria for schizophrenia, whereas over two thirds had diagnosable affective disorders, usually mania. The eight catatonic motor signs were nonspecific and homogeneously distributed among the various research diagnostic groups, with the number and type of individual signs unrelated to short-term treatment outcome. A favorable treatment response was shown for the entire catatonic sample, with two thirds markedly improved or in remission at the time of discharge. These findings are consistent with those of other investigators of the catatonic syndrome for the past 100 years.     

Harry A. laburt,M. D.

Psychiatric Quarterly -     

A structured diagnostic interview for hypochondriasis. A proposed criterion standard.

We developed a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-III-R hypochondriasis (SDIH) that is the first such clinician-administered instrument. The SDIH was administered to 88 general medical outpatients who scored above a predetermined cutoff on a hypochondriacal symptom questionnaire, and to 100 comparison patients randomly chosen from among those below the cutoff. Using the joint assessment method, interrater agreement on the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria was 88% to 97% and agreement on the diagnosis was 96%. Concurrent validity was suggested by a significant correlation between the interview and the primary care physicians' ratings of hypochondriasis. A measure of external validity was demonstrated in that several clinical characteristics thought to be ancillary features of hypochondriasis were significantly more prevalent in interview-positive patients than in interview-negative patients. Finally, the SDIH appeared to have discriminant validity in that patients diagnosed as hypochondriacal had several other clinical features that distinguished them from the patients who scored above the cutoff on hypochondriacal symptomatology, but failed to be diagnosed as hypochondriacal with the SDIH.