Connections among symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: a case series.

Theoretical, clinical, and empirical implications of the functional connections between symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are abundant. As such, four cases are presented here of men and women who met criteria for comorbid OCD and PTSD. All had been diagnosed with treatment-resistant OCD and were seeking treatment from an OCD specialty clinic or institute, all reported a history of traumatic experiences prior to the onset of OCD, and all appeared to demonstrate negative treatment outcomes.

Habit reversal versus supportive psychotherapy for Tourette's disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The authors investigated the efficacy of habit reversal for Tourette's disorder, which is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics.

Method: Thirty-two patients with Tourette's disorder were randomly assigned to 14 sessions of either habit reversal or supportive psychotherapy. Habit reversal consisted of awareness training, self-monitoring, relaxation training, competing response training, and contingency management.

Body mass, food and water intake, and activity of pregnant and lactating rat dams during 1.5-g centrifugation.

In the present study, we analyzed the relationship between body mass, food and water intake, and behavioral activity in pregnant and lactating rat dams exposed to continuous, 1.5-g centrifugation for 32 days. The period of centrifugation spanned from Gestational day (G) 11 of the rats' 22-day pregnancy until Postnatal day (P) 21, the time of weaning.

Effects of hypergravity on ovarian-hypophyseal function in antepartum and postpartum rats.

Background: Rats exposed to microgravity during the post-implantation phase of pregnancy had minimal alterations in ovarian and hypophyseal parameters during the antepartum and postpartum periods. In the current study, a similar parallel experimental design was employed to ascertain the effects of hypergravity on ovarian and hypophyseal function.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that hypergravity exposure during the post-implantation stage of pregnancy would not alter antepartum and postpartum ovarian and hypophyseal function.

Radically changing the research framework during a health geography study.

This paper focuses on the issue of how a research project can shift from a positivist to a nonpositivist framework. Specific attention is given to changes in research methods and philosophical paradigm that emerged while conducting a study on the replacement of immigrant physicians in rural America. In its original conceptualization, the study was expected to yield a simple, right answer.

Body mass, energy intake, and water consumption of rats and humans during space flight.

Alteration of metabolism has been suggested as a major limiting factor to long-term space flight. In humans and primates, a negative energy balance has been reported. The metabolic response of rats to space flight has been suggested to result in a negative energy balance.

A study of parallel implicit and explicit information processing in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: This study examined implicit sequence learning in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) under dual-task conditions. Frontal-striatal networks support implicit learning and are implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD. Neuroimaging data suggest that during implicit learning, OCD patients use neural systems normally active during explicit learning to compensate for striatal dysfunction.

Obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions as predictors of compliance with and response to behaviour therapy: results from a controlled trial.

Background: Recent factor-analytic studies in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) identified consistent symptom dimensions. Support for the validity of these dimensions comes from studies of psychiatric comorbidity, functional brain imaging, genetic transmission, and treatment response to medications. This study examined whether previously identified OCD symptom dimensions are associated with treatment compliance and response to behaviour therapy (BT) for OCD.

Double-blind study of high-dose fluoxetine versus lithium or desipramine augmentation of fluoxetine in partial responders and nonresponders to fluoxetine.

In a previous study, of 41 depressed patients who had not responded to fluoxetine 20 mg/day, 53% were treated with high-dose fluoxetine (40-60 mg/ day) and responded (i.e., their 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [HAM-D-17] score was <7) versus 29% and 25% of patients treated with fluoxetine plus lithium (300-600 mg/day) or fluoxetine plus desipramine (25-50 mg/day), respectively.

Survival and growth of developing rats during centrifugation at 2G.

We studied the effects of 2G hypergravity on the survival, body mass and growth of postnatal rats (Rattus norvegicus). Nursing litters comprised of either neonatal (Postnatal day [P]7) or pre-weanling (P14) rats and their mothers were exposed to 16 days of continuous centrifugation. All of the offspring survived and gained body mass, indicating that mothers nursed their young.

Hypergravity effects on pregnancy and parturition.

The events of mammalian parturition (labor and birth) were analyzed in Norway rats exposed to either 1.0-g, 1.5-g or 2.

Cognitive-behavior therapy for self-injurious skin picking. A case series.

Self-injurious skin picking is characterized by repetitive, ritualistic, or impulsive skin picking that leads to tissue damage and causes significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. Little is known about effective behavioral or cognitive-behavioral treatments for self-injurious skin picking. As described by Azrin and colleagues, habit reversal is a promising behavioral treatment for modifying nervous habits or tics.

Skin picking in German students. Prevalence, phenomenology, and associated characteristics.

Severe skin picking (SP) is a repetitive, intentionally performed behavior that causes noticeable tissue damage and results in clinically significant distress or impairment. To date, SP has received little attention in the psychiatric literature. This study was conducted to further investigate SP and its characteristics in a German student population.

Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder: impact on treatment outcome for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: The study tested the effect of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on behavior therapy outcome for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Method: Subjects were 15 patients with treatment-refractory OCD who were admitted consecutively to a short-term residential facility. Eight met DSM-IV criteria for comorbid PTSD.

Sexual dysfunction is common and overlooked in female patients with hypertension.

Our objective was to investigate sexual activity, behavior, dysfunction, and satisfaction in hypertensive women. Sixty-seven patients with a mean age of 60.4 years completed a detailed questionnaire.

Erectile dysfunction is a marker for cardiovascular complications and psychological functioning in men with hypertension.

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of cardiovascular complications in hypertensive patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). An anonymous questionnaire was mailed to 467 and received from 104 hypertensive male patients. Despite the low response rate of 22%, the following interesting findings could be observed: 70.

Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in a German college student sample.

The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) was investigated in a non-clinical sample. German college students (n=133; 73.7% female) completed self-report questionnaires assessing BDD, self-esteem, symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and skin picking.

Prospective long-term follow-up of 44 patients who received cingulotomy for treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: Long-term outcome associated with cingulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was prospectively assessed. Findings are reported for 18 patients previously described in 1995 and for 26 new patients.

Method: An open preoperative and follow-up assessment was conducted at multiple time points for 44 patients undergoing one or more cingulotomies for treatment-refractory OCD.

Symptom stability in adult obsessive-compulsive disorder: data from a naturalistic two-year follow-up study.

Objective: Little is known about the longitudinal course of symptoms in adult patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), although some evidence exists regarding symptom stability in children and adolescents. This study systematically investigated the temporal stability of individual symptoms and symptom dimensions of OCD in adult patients who were followed prospectively for 2 years.

Method: One hundred seventeen adult outpatients with OCD from three U.

The Skin Picking Impact Scale (SPIS): scale development and psychometric analyses.

The Skin Picking Impact Scale (SPIS) is a self-report instrument developed to assess the psychosocial consequences of repetitive skin picking. An initial 28-item scale was administered to 31 individuals with severe self-injurious skin picking and 78 individuals with non-self-injurious skin picking. Item difficulty levels and part-whole correlations resulted in a 10-item scale with good internal consistency.

Cerebral metabolic correlates as potential predictors of response to anterior cingulotomy for obsessive compulsive disorder.

Background: As interventions for severe, treatment-refractory obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), neurosurgical procedures are associated with only modest efficacy. The purpose of this study was to identify cerebral metabolic correlates as potential predictors of treatment response to anterior cingulotomy for OCD.

Methods: Clinical data were analyzed in the context of a retrospective design.

Home-based behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a case series with data.

The effectiveness of "home-based" exposure and response prevention was assessed in a series of 11 subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients received 24 treatment sessions in a range of natural settings and situations. Sixty-four percent of the patients responded to behavior therapy in these settings, and 36% achieved lasting improvements in their OCD symptoms.

Deposition and renal handling of urinary electrolytes from rats during spaceflight.

To study renal handling of urinary electrolytes from male Fisher 344 rats during spaceflight, waste pads were obtained from cages flown in space and from cages used for ground controls. Pads were obtained from cages in which animals were group-housed (n=6 animals/cage) (Animal Enclosure Module; AEM) for 12 days or individually housed (2 animals/divided cage) (Research Animal Holding Facility; RAHF) for 19 days. Pads were washed, and extracts analyzed for sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and creatinine concentrations.