Assessing the second-hand effects of a new no-smoking policy in an acute mental health trust.

To examine whether a new no-smoking policy in an in-patient mental health setting had any effects outside of smoking cessation. Our hypothesis stated that a forced smoking ban for in-patients may result in an increased susceptibility for clinical incidents, aggression and lower admission rates. All patients admitted to adult in-patient mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust were included in the analysis.

Anxiety can be a harbinger of early onset dementia.

We report an interesting case study of a 58-year-old woman who had early onsct dementis which initially presented with marked features of anxiety that masked her cognitive impairment. She was treated for anxiety for about 2 years. Her anxiety symptoms caused hindrance in detecting dementis at the early stage.

Fluoxetine treatment of selective mutism in pervasive developmental disorder.

We report the successful treatment of selective mutism in a child with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). There are several studies and case reports in which Fluoxetine has been reported effective in diminishing adult social anxiety and increasing speech in public settings. The literature is much smaller for children.

Elective mutism: A case study.

We report a case of persistent elective mutism in a young single woman. To our knowledge there has been no published study or case report of persistent elective mutism starting at the age of acquisition of language and persisting until she was 22.