Compulsive hoarding

Four cases of compulsive hoarding are described, all sharing the following characteristics: (1) onset in the twenties, (2) preoccupation with hoarding to the exclusion of work and family, (3) diminished insight, (4) little interest in receiving treatment, (5) no attempt to curb their compulsion. They do not show clear psychotic features. The implications of these characteristics for the diagnosis of hoarding are discussed.     

Do cancer patients fully understand clinical trial participation? A pilot study to assess informed consent and patient expectations

Background. Accepted practices of informed consent often result in suboptimal patient understanding of research studies.Methods. This pilot study aimed to assess trial-specific tailored materials, compared to a widely used generic booklet about clinical trials, randomly assigned to 118 candidates for cancer clinical trials. Study outcomes were: satisfaction with decision-making; satisfaction with materials; and subjective understanding of the clinical trial.Results. There were no major differences between groups. Participants rated tailored materials higher as a useful reference.Conclusions. Trial-specific materials hold utility for reference during clinical trials. Studies of informed consent are feasible, although important factors limit research.     

Assessment of alcohol and other drug use behaviors in health professions students.

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use behaviors of health professions students (HPS) were assessed by surveying both university-based HPS and other nursing programs in a Midwestern state in 1999. Response was 2,646 (56.4%) of surveyed students. Family history of alcohol-related and drug-related problems were reported by 39.8% and 13.9%, respectively, with 42.6% of respondents reporting one or both. Among nursing respondents, 48.1%, 19.2% and 51.1%, respectively, reported family problems with alcohol, drugs, or one or both. Past-year alcohol use was comparable to undergraduate college students (UCS) nationally (83%); heavy drinking, tobacco and recreational drug use by HPS were lower. Past year drug use was highest among medical students. Marijuana was the predominant illicit drug; medical students and males most often reported use. Health professions educational systems should proactively address student AOD prevention, education and assistance needs.     

Risk Factors for a First Febrile Seizure: A Matched Case-Control Study

Summary We conducted a matched casecontrol study to identify risk factors for first febrile seizures, with special emphasis on characteristics of the acute illness episode. Cases were identified through hospital emergency departments; controls were identified through outpatient clinics and emergency departments. Sixtynine children with first febrile seizures and no history of previous unprovoked seizures were matched for age (±6 months), site of routine pediatric care, and date of visit (±weeks) with 1 or 2 febrile controls who had no history of previous febrile or unprovoked seizures. Medical records for the index visit were reviewed, and parents were interviewed by telephone. Illness characteristics examined included height of temperature, type of underlying illness, contact with a physician during the illness but before the index visit, and use of acetaminophen or decongestants. Family history of febrile and of unprovoked seizures, sociodemographic characteristics, daycare use, and selected preand perinatal variables were also studied. On multivariable analysis, significant independent risk factors were height of temperature, history of febrile seizures in a firstor in a higher degree relative. Gastroenteritis as the underlying illness had a significant inverse (i.e., protective) association with febrile seizures. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was a marginally significant predictor of febrile seizures.     

After the Intensive Care Nursery Experience: Families' Perceptions of Their Well Being

This article describes family well being after a child's intensive care nursery experience. Thirty families of children who were graduates of intensive care nurseries participated in the study. Fifteen families of children with identifiable disabilities and 15 families of children with no identifiable disabilities were interviewed and completed standardized questionnaires. A comparison of family well being was done across three dimensions: the child's characteristics and caregiving needs, the family's support resources and needs, and the family's values and beliefs regarding their child's hospitalization and resulting special needs. Both groups of families had realized a renewed sense of meaning concerning family, children, and life itself due to their child's medical crises or disability. Families of children with disabilities, however, noted their financial concerns, burdens with their child's caregiving, and their difficulty in locating services for their child. These families' experiences underscore the need for a coordinated transition from the hospital to the community for the family and child.     

Universities as resources to state health agencies.

In a survey of the 50 State health agencies in the spring of 1992, officials were asked about their manpower and research needs in the specific areas of administration, behavioral and social science, education and information, environmental health, environmental protection, epidemiology, laboratory, law, occupational health, policy and planning, and statistics. In all, 40 agencies (80 percent) responded. Indepth telephone interviews to determine whether universities and schools and graduate programs in public health filled these needs completed the data collection process. Agency officials indicated that their resources were least adequate in environmental protection, behavioral and social science, and occupational health. They did not feel their research needs were being met. There was a general feeling that universities and schools and programs in public health have different agendas than State agencies and that practical solutions to the shortage of research resources are not forthcoming from these sources. Suggestions are made as to what can be done to improve relationships between those who train public health personnel and those who employ them.     

The potency of D-1 and D-2 receptor antagonists is inversely related to the reward value of sham-fed corn oil and sucrose in rats

Intraperitoneal injection of 50 micrograms.kg-1 of the selective dopamine D-1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, significantly decreased sham feeding of 6% and 10% sucrose solutions, but not sham feeding of 100% corn oil. Intraperitoneal injection of raclopride, a D-2 antagonist, elicited a significant dose-dependent (200-400 micrograms.kg-1) decrease in sham intake of both sucrose concentrations and corn oil at doses that did not increase the latency to sham feed or produce overt motor impairment. The rank order of inhibitory potency for both SCH 23390 and raclopride was 6% sucrose greater than 10% sucrose greater than 100% corn oil. In a second experiment, we found that in 2-bottle preference tests, the rank order of preference for these three liquids was 100% corn oil greater than 10% sucrose greater than 6% sucrose. Assuming that preference measured the relative reward value of the liquids, the potencies of the two antagonists were inversely related to the reward value of the liquid that was sham fed. This result supports but does not prove the dopamine hypothesis of the positive reinforcing effect of orosensory stimulation by nutrients. In addition, the differential selectivity of the two antagonists for different classes of nutrients suggests that normal sensory and/or hedonic processing of sham-fed sucrose depends on stimulation of both D-1 and D-2 receptors, but the normal sensory and/or hedonic processing of sham-fed corn oil depends primarily, perhaps exclusively, on stimulation of D-2 receptors.     

Body pain and treatment response in late-life depression.

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the influence of body pain on 1) time to treatment response and 2) suicidal ideation, in late-life depression. They hypothesized that higher levels of body pain would predict a longer time to and lower likelihood of response, and increased levels of suicidal ideation. METHODS: Subjects (N=187) were older adult outpatients (age > or =69 years), with current episodes of major depression, who were openly treated with paroxetine up to 40 mg daily and weekly interpersonal psychotherapy. Response was defined as 3 consecutive weeks of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression at < or =10. Body pain was measured with the Bodily Pain Index of the SF-36 quality-of-life assessment. Authors used survival-analysis models on the responder sample to test the effect of body pain on response, after controlling for severity of depression. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 75.4%. Nonresponders reported more severe pain at baseline. After covarying for severity of baseline depression, no effect was found for physical pain on time-to-response or degree of suicidality. Bodily pain remained stable during acute treatment for responders, independent of depression response to combination psychotherapy and antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Older adult patients with higher levels of physical pain can still respond to antidepressant treatment; however, reported bodily pain may be associated with a more difficult-to-treat depression.