Linkage analysis of psychosis in bipolar pedigrees suggests novel putative loci for bipolar disorder and shared susceptibility with schizophrenia.

The low-to-moderate resolution of linkage analysis in complex traits has underscored the need to identify disease phenotypes with presumed genetic homogeneity. Bipolar disorder (BP) accompanied by psychosis (psychotic BP) may be one such phenotype. We previously reported a genome-wide screen in a large bipolar pedigree sample.

A pedigree series for mapping disease genes in bipolar affective disorder: sampling, assessment, and analytic considerations.

A series of 57 extended pedigrees with high density of bipolar affective disorder is described. Ascertainment and diagnostic procedures are documented and simulation studies to assess statistical power are carried out. The pedigrees, obtained in the US and Israel, are comprised of 1508 adult individuals with best estimate consensus diagnoses (12-71 relatives per pedigree), 490 of whom (including 401 sib pairs) meet criteria for a conservative disease definition (bipolar disorder or recurrent major depression).

Psychosocial responses to traumatic physical disability.

Victims of traumatic physical disability experience disruptions of normal affective functioning. The sense of body image and body ego are altered in ways that are frightening or confusing to the patient. The subjective experience of time becomes present-oriented, with time moving slowly.

Day care for dementia patients: an analysis of a four-year program.

A day care program for patients with dementia was developed by the Burke Rehabilitation Center in 1979. Sixty-nine patients have taken part in the program, some for as long as three years. The majority of patients stay in the program for one to two years.