Control over uplifts and hassles and its relationship to adaptational outcomes

The relationship of perceived control over daily uplifts and hassles to depression and restraint was examined in a sample of 140 middle-class sixth graders. Results indicated that greater control over uplifts was associated with better functioning and lower control over hassles with poorer functioning, even after partialing out the respective number of uplifts and hassles reported. Moreover, when directly compared, control over uplifts showed more powerful associations with adaptational outcomes than did control over hassles. In a separate analysis, the number of uplifts over which children reported high control showed opposite relationships to adaptational outcomes than did the number of uplifts over which children reported low control. A different pattern appeared for hassles. Although the number of hassles with low control was associated with poorer functioning, the number of hassles over which children had high control was unrelated to adaptational outcomes. The possibility that control operates somewhat differently for positive and negative events is discussed.This research was supported by a grant to the second author from the Stanford Center for the Study of Families, Children and Youth. The authors are grateful to Rachelle Hacket for data analysis, Tom Gehring for data collection, and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema for critical comments.     

Depression symptoms in movement disorders: comparing Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and essential tremor.

Depression is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and affects 30 to 50% of all patients. In contrast to the wealth of research on depression in PD, little is known about the occurrence of depression in other movement disorders. The primary objective of the current study was to determine whether the high prevalence of depression symptoms seen in PD is also found in other movement disorders, by directly comparing rates of specific depression symptoms and depression severity across PD, dystonia, and essential tremor (ET). Three hundred and fifty-four patients with PD, 83 patients with dystonia, and 53 patients with ET completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). We found no significant between-groups differences for depression severity, frequency, or endorsement of specific depression symptoms. Forty-eight percent of PD patients, 37.3% of dystonia patients, and 34% of ET patients were found to be at least mildly depressed (BDI score of 10 or higher). The most commonly endorsed symptoms were fatigability, difficulty with work, anhedonia, and sleep disturbance. Clinicians should be aware that depression is a frequent problem in dystonia and ET, in addition to PD, and inquire about depression symptoms in these patients so that they can be appropriately treated.     

Reliability and validity of a health-related quality of life battery for evaluating outpatient antidepressant treatment

This study was designed to evaluate the reproducibility, validity and responsiveness of a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) battery that was assembled for the evaluation of antidepressant therapy. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale was used to measure severity of depression. The HRQOL battery contained measures of energy and fatigue, social behaviour, cognitive function, home and work role function, and general well-being (i.e., health perceptions, life satisfaction) selected from previously developed and validated instruments. The clinical investigators and research nurses reported on difficulty in using the HRQOL battery. Most patients were able to complete the questionnaire without problems within 10 min. Reproducibility was very good with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.74 to 0.97. The HRQOL scales showed evidence of good concurrent validity. The scales were moderately correlated with MADRS scores (r=0.30–0.62). The magnitude of these correlations indicate that HRQOL scales are related to depression measures, but they are not alternative measures of depression. Changes in MADRS scores were associated with changes in all scales, except for work behaviour, indicating that improvements in depression ratings also resulted in improvements in health status and well-being. The HRQOL scales included in this study were found to be reliable, reproducible, and valid and no appreciable burden was placed on patients or investigators participating in the study. With the exception of the Work Behaviour scale, the HRQOL scales were very responsive to changes in depression severity. This brief HRQOL instrument can provide a comprehensive assessment of the outcomes of antidepressant treatment.This research was supported by a grant from Pfizer International.     

Lack of effect of a single dose of hydrocortisone on serotonin(1A) receptors in recovered depressed patients measured by positron emission tomography with [11C]WAY-100635.

BACKGROUND: Elevated cortisol levels might account for the reduction in central serotonin 1A (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT](1A)) receptor binding and function observed in patients with major depression. We tested this hypothesis by studying the effect of acute administration of hydrocortisone on 5-HT(1A) receptor binding potential (BP) in subjects recovered from depression. METHODS: We studied 14 subjects (8 male, 6 female) who had recovered from at least two episodes of major depression and had been euthymic and drug free for at least 6 months. Serotonin 1A receptor BP was measured by [(11)C]WAY-100635 in conjunction with positron emission tomography. Subjects were tested on two occasions in a double-blind, random-order, crossover design after administration of either hydrocortisone (100 mg orally) or placebo 12 hours previously. Positron emission tomography scans were analyzed with a region of interest analysis. RESULTS: Hydrocortisone treatment did not decrease 5-HT(1A) receptor BP either in the hippocampus, which was our a priori hypothesis, or in other cortical 5-HT(1A) regions; however, female subjects had a higher 5-HT(1A) receptor BP in certain brain areas compared with male subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These data are consistent with an earlier study in healthy volunteers and do not support the proposal that decreased 5-HT(1A) receptor BP in patients with acute major depression is a consequence of cortisol hypersecretion.     

Dysphagia,an unrecognized handicap

The aim of this study was to examine whether esophageal dysphagia can be described as a handicap and to grade the severity of handicap as the discrepancy between the subject's own eating goals and his or her eating disability. The severity of the disability-goal-handicap (DGH) regarding dysphagia was expressed on a scale ranging from 0 to 48 points. Nineteen patients with dysphagia of differing causes were selected from a patient register at a laboratory for diagnostic procedures of the esophagus. The severity of handicap for the 19 patients was, on average, 33 points (range, 20–44). The DGH score correlated significantly with the patients' own evaluation of the severity of their dysphagia (p=0.008). The DGH scores did not differ markedly based on patient's sex, age, or cause of dysphagia. Patients who were operated upon because of dysphagia had significantly more points on the DGH scale prior to operation than patients who were not (p=0.001). Denial of dysphagia (N=18), concealment of dysphagia (N=18), and lack of confirmation by the patient's physician (N=15) were common but did not influence the severity of handicap as assessed by the DGH scale. It was shown that dysphagia affects all aspects of life as expressed by reduction in self-esteem (N=13), security (N=16), work capacity (N=8), exercise (N=7), and leisure time (N=6). Esophageal dysphagia may therefore be regarded as a handicap when assessed using the DGH code described in this study.     

高中生自我和谐与应对方式及其相互关系

目的了解高中生自我和谐、应对方式的特征及其相互关系,为开展心理健康教育提供依据。方法采用自我和谐量表及简易应对方式问卷,对755名高中生进行问卷调查。结果高中生总分和各因子分在性别、是否独生子女、城乡、文理科等方面差异均无统计学意义,自我和谐总分存在年级差异;积极应对和消极应对维度在性别、是否独生子女、城乡、文理科等方面差异均无统计学意义,消极应对维度存在年级差异。应对方式与自我和谐总分及分量表得分存在不同程度的相关。结论采用积极应对方式有助于促进高中生的自我和谐,而消极应对方式对自我和谐存在不利影响。     

Subjective bias in reports of poor work adjustment in depressed patients

Twenty-five depressed inpatients were asked to report their adjustment at work during the 4-month period preceding their hospitalization. Two separate reports were given: the first during the acute illness phase and the second one 10-28 days later, after symptomatic remission following standardized pharmacotherapy. Thirty-two percent more patient ratings showed absence of adjustment problems on the second report compared with the first. Significant differences between the 2 reports were found in 7 of the 9 items on the Structured and Scaled Interview to Assess Maladjustment, which is designed to assess specific aspects of maladjustment at work. The changes in the scores of maladjustment correlated with the changes in the scores of depressive symptoms, and 40% of the variation in maladjustment scores was accounted for by the pessimism item of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Much of the poor work adjustment reported by the acutely depressed patients thus seems to be caused by symptom-related subjective bias.     

抑郁症焦虑症状和焦虑症的抑郁症状

目的　探讨抑郁症和焦虑症的抑郁和焦虑症状的差异 ,为鉴别诊断提供依据。方法　使用HAMD和HAMA对5 5例抑郁症患者和 2 0例焦虑症患者进行评定。结果　 (1)抑郁症组绝大部分为中、重度抑郁 (92 .7% ) ,焦虑症组无一例为重度抑郁 ;(2 )抑郁症组的HAMD总分和除焦虑 /躯体化以外的因子分均显著高于焦虑症组 (P <0 .0 5或P <0 .0 1) ,(3)抑郁症患者和焦虑症患者的HAMD和HAMA评分均呈显著性正相关 (P <0 .0 0 1)。结论　HAMD总分有助于鉴别抑郁症和焦虑症。     

Animal study on the role of serotonin in depression

1. In our series of experiments the role of serotonin in human depression was studied by using animal models of depression.

2. The results of these studies support the hypothesis that some types of human depression may be primarily due to an excessive transmission of serotonin at the synapse.     

高频灰阶超声鉴别良恶性胸肌淋巴结

目的:评价灰阶超声在鉴别良、恶性胸肌淋巴结中的应用价值.材料和方法:研究对象为43枚乳癌患者的胸肌淋巴结,其中16枚为转移性胸肌淋巴结、27枚为非转移性胸肌淋巴结;另有19枚乳腺良性病变患者的胸肌淋巴结和22枚正常者的胸肌淋巴结作为对照组.使用仪器为HDI-3000型彩色多普勒超声诊断仪,配备5～12MHz宽频控头.运用超声测量胸肌淋巴结的长径、轮廓形态、长径-厚度比、髓皮质厚度比,作为鉴别良、恶性胸肌淋巴结的参数,比较良、恶性胸肌淋巴结在形态学上差异.结果:良、恶性胸肌淋巴结的长径、轮廓形态、髓皮质厚度比无显著性差异;恶性淋巴结长径-厚度比(1.7±0.4)明显低于良性淋巴结(2.0±0.5),P＜0.05.结论:灰阶超声在鉴别良、恶性胸肌淋巴结中具有一定的应用价值.