Personality dimensions and neuropsychological performance in first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia and by affective psychosis

Several studies have found a significant increase in the prevalence of some personality disorders in the first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia; other studies have found subtle neuropsychological deficits in these relatives. However, little is known about the specificity of the personality traits reported or about the relationship between these traits and the neuropsychological deficits. One hundred first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia (AS) and 88 first-degree relatives of affective psychotic (APA) patients completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire which measures extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism. They were also administered the National Adult Reading Test (NART), the Trail Making Test (TMT) and a Verbal Fluency Test (VFT). In the AS group, the male relatives scored significantly higher on the psychoticism scale than the male relatives in the APA group. There were no significant differences in personality between female relatives of the 2 patients groups. In the AS group, the NART scores were superior when the psychoticism scores were lower and the TMT performance was better when the extraversion scores were higher. These results seem to indicate some specificity as well as sex differences of the psychoticism dimension. Moreover, the relationship between the personality dimensions and the neuropsychological performance could indicate that psychoticism increases vulnerability to schizophrenia whereas extraversion decreases it.     

Evaluation of a self-management programme for congestive heart failure patients: design of a randomised controlled trial

Background  

Congestive heart failure (CHF) has a substantial impact on care utilisation and quality of life. It is crucial for patients to cope with CHF adequately, if they are to live an acceptable life. Self-management may play an important role in this regard. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of the 'Chronic Disease Self-Management Program' (CDSMP), a group-based cognitive behavioural programme for patients with various chronic conditions. However, the programme's effectiveness has not yet been studied specifically among CHF patients. This paper presents the design of a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effects of the CDSMP on psychosocial attributes, health behaviour, quality of life, and health care utilisation of CHF patients.     

Premorbid IQ in patients with functional psychosis and their first-degree relatives

Numerous studies have found deficits in premorbid IQ in schizophrenic patients, but it is not clear whether this deficit is shared by (a) patients with other functional psychoses, and (b) relatives of these patients. Ninety-one schizophrenic patients, 66 affective psychotic patients (29 schizoaffective and 37 manic or depressed), and 50 normal control subjects were administered the National Adult Reading Test (NART) which provides an estimate of premorbid IQ. The NART was also completed by 85 first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients and by 65 first-degree relatives of affective psychotic patients. After adjustments were made for sex, social class, ethnicity and years of education, schizophrenic patients had significantly lower premorbid IQ than their relatives, the affective psychotic patients and controls. Manic and depressed patients had significantly lower NART scores than their first-degree relatives, but schizoaffective patients did not, and neither group differed significantly from controls. There was no significant difference in premorbid IQ between patients who had experienced obstetric complications (OC+) and those who had not (OC-). Both OC+ and OC- schizophrenic patients differed significantly from their relatives, but the disparity was greatest between OC+ patients and their relatives. Relatives of OC+ schizophrenic patients had significantly higher IQ than relatives of OC- schizophrenic patients.     

Localized muscular mucormycosis in a child with acute leukemia

Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection of childhood, occurring mainly in patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and malignancies. The fungus seldom grows in culture and confirmation of the diagnosis depends on histologic examination of infected tissues. To date, the reported natural history of the disease has been rapid progression and a fatal outcome. Therefore, the importance of early diagnosis by tissue biopsy and early treatment with surgical debridement and systemic antifungal therapy cannot be overemphasized. The pulmonary system is the most common site for mucormycosis in patients with leukemia. We report what we believe to be the first successfully treated case of isolated muscular mucormycosis occurring in a child with biphenotypic acute leukemia. The diagnosis was made promptly by tissue examination at the time of surgical debridement. The patient was also given systemic amphotericin-B therapy.      

Metabolic effects of growth hormone treatment: an early predictor of growth response?

Fourteen children receiving one year of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment underwent measurement of serial changes in body composition (measured by skinfold thickness, bioelectrical impedance, and H2(18)O dilution), resting energy expenditure (REE, estimated by ventilated hood indirect calorimetry), and total free living daily energy expenditure (TEE, measured by the doubly labelled water technique). Mean height velocity increased from 4.9 to 8.6 cm/year after six months of treatment. Fat free mass (FFM) increased more during the first six weeks (24.4 g/day) than from six to 26 weeks of treatment (6.8 g/day); fat mass decreased by 7.2 g/day and 1.1 g/day respectively. The six week increase in REE (kJ/day) was maintained after six months of treatment, though expressed per kilogram FFM (kJ/kgFFM/day), returned to pretreatment values by three months. Height velocity increases at six months correlated with six week changes in fat mass measured by skinfold thickness and REE, though use of this relationship to predict growth response in individuals is limited by the wide 95% prediction intervals. No significant changes in growth, body composition, or energy expenditure were observed between six and 12 months of treatment, in either patients who had initially responded well to treatment or those who were poor initial responders to treatment and who had their dose of rhGH doubled after six months.     

Effects of a few food diet in attention deficit disorder

Seventy-eight children, referred to a diet clinic because of hyperactive behaviour, were placed on a 'few foods' elimination diet. Fifty nine improved in behaviour during this open trial. For 19 of these children it was possible to disguise foods or additives, or both, that reliably provoked behavioural problems by mixing them with other tolerated foods and to test their effect in a placebo controlled double blind challenge protocol. The results of a crossover trial on these 19 children showed a significant effect for the provoking foods to worsen ratings of behaviour and to impair psychological test performance. This study shows that observations of change in behaviour associated with diet made by parents and other people with a role in the child's care can be reproduced using double blind methodology and objective assessments. Clinicians should give weight to the accounts of parents and consider this treatment in selected children with a suggestive medical history.     

Effect of deprivation on weight gain in infancy

Weights were retrieved from child health records for an annual cohort of 3418 children, aged 18–30 months, to explore the relationship between deprivation and weight gain. Their level of deprivation was classified, using census data for their area of residence, as affluent (11%), intermediate (69%) or deprived (20%). Children from deprived areas were smaller at all ages with a widening gap: by one year of age, they were three times as likely as affluent children to be below the third centile for weight. The thrive index, a measure of the degree of centile shift, showed a slight gain over the first year in affluent and intermediate children, while in deprived children it decreased ( p = 0.001). Deprived children were 2.2 times more likely than intermediate children to have failure to thrive, as manifest by subnormal thrive index values ( p = 0.00008). Unexpectedly, children from affluent areas also showed slightly increased rates. We suggest that this may be explained by higher rates of breast feeding in affluent areas.     

Uterine leiomyomas in the infertile patient: preoperative localization with MR imaging versus US and hysterosalpingography

Eleven women with a history of infertility and uterine leiomyomas underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the pelvis prior to myomectomy. Nine also underwent preoperative pelvic ultrasonography (US), and ten underwent hysterosalpingography. All studies were interpreted prospectively by independent observers. With each imaging modality, the location (one of 11 anatomic segments), size, and appearance of detected uterine leiomyomas were determined and compared with surgical and histologic findings. Among the nine patients who underwent both MR and US, the sensitivity (85%) and accuracy (94%) of MR imaging for abnormal segments was significantly better than that of US (sensitivity = 69%, P = .015; accuracy = 87%, P = .043). For the ten patients who underwent both MR and hysterosalpingography, the sensitivity (91%) and accuracy (96%) of MR imaging was better than that of hysterosalpingography (sensitivity = 18%, P = .0005; accuracy = 72%, P = .0005). The specificities of the three modalities did not significantly differ (100%, 97%, and 98% for MR, US, and hysterosalpingography, respectively). These data suggest that MR imaging is superior to US or hysterosalpingography for preoperatively locating uterine leiomyomas.     

Cardiac MRI in Congenital Heart Disease – Our Experience

A significant recent advance that has occurred world over in the continuously evolving field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) practice is the introduction of Cardiac applications. Cardiac MRI has moved to the centre stage of clinical management strategy by non-invasively imaging the structure as well as function of the heart. It has a wide range of specific applications such as delineation of morphological anatomy, quantification of flow and pressure across cardiac valve dysfunction, evaluation of myocardial function, assessment of infarcts, mapping coronary arteries and so on. Evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD) is an important application of Cardiac MRI since the morphological details of chambers, septum, defects and anomalous connections are depicted accurately. Besides, flow information across valves, chambers, outflow tracts and shunts are also provided. This article describes our experience in the use of cardiac MRI in congenital heart disease.Key Words: Cardiac MRI, Congenital heart disease, Cyanotic and Acyanotic heart disease     

Managing chronic hepatitis C acquired through intravenous drug use

We retrospectively reviewed the provision and uptake of hospital services for 253 current and ex-intravenous drug users with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Overall, 237 attended at least one clinic (mean age 32 years, 70% male, 43% on maintenance methadone); 81% had evidence of active viral replication and 137 agreed to a liver biopsy to assess disease severity. Of these 137, 24% had mild chronic hepatitis with a low risk of progression to cirrhosis, but 9% had cirrhosis (mean age 40 years, mean time since initial intravenous drug use 15.8 years). Only 50 of the 100 patients in whom antiviral therapy was indicated, commenced treatment; 18 (36%) have had a sustained virological response. The natural history or response to treatment of chronic HCV in those who acquire it through intravenous drug use is not different to that previously reported for post-transfusion HCV. However, a substantial proportion default from follow-up or decline further intervention. As intravenous drug use is now the main risk factor for acquisition of HCV, these data have implications for future delivery of care aimed at limiting the morbidity of chronic HCV, and limiting the spread of hepatitis C virus infection amongst intravenous drug users.