[Guidelines of the Brazilian Medical Association for the treatment of social anxiety disorder].

Introduction: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder, usually with no remission, and is commonly associated with significant functional and psychosocial impairment. The Brazilian Medical Association (BMA), with the project named Diretrizes (Guidelines, in English), seeks to develop consensus for the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases. The aim of this article is to present the most important findings of the guidelines on the treatment of SAD, serving as a reference for the general practitioner and specialist.

[Guidelines of the Brazilian Medical Association for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of social anxiety disorder].

Objective: Social anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder. The condition has a chronic course usually with no remission and is frequently associated with significant functional and psychosocial impairment. The Brazilian Medical Association, with the project named Diretrizes ('Guidelines', in English), endeavors to develop diagnostic and treatment protocols for the most common disorders.

Social anxiety disorder women easily recognize fearfull, sad and happy faces: the influence of gender.

Background: It has been suggested that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are exaggeratedly concerned about approval and disapproval by others. Therefore, we assessed the recognition of facial expressions by individuals with SAD, in an attempt to overcome the limitations of previous studies.

Methods: The sample was formed by 231 individuals (78 SAD patients and 153 healthy controls).

Method for evaluating subjective states of awareness that accompany recognition: adaptation for use in Portuguese-speaking patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: Memory is composed of several systems and processes, and recognition can be accompanied by two subjective states of consciousness: autonoetic awareness, which characterizes conscious recollection; and noetic (or semantic) awareness, related to feelings of familiarity. The objective of this study was to describe the adaptation to Portuguese of an experiential procedure for investigation of states of awareness that accompany recognition.

Methods: Development of the material (word list and instructions permitting manipulation of the level of information processing); translation/adaptation of the original instructions to Portuguese; and application of the procedure in healthy volunteers and patients with schizophrenia.

Major depressive disorder in Latin America: the relationship between depression severity, painful somatic symptoms, and quality of life.

Background: We report on two multi-center, prospective, observational studies (H6U-BC-LRAG and H6U-BL-LRAH) to determine the clinical profile of Latin American outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the relationship between depression severity, painful somatic symptoms, and quality of life.

Method: Patients (n = 989) with MDD were classified according to the presence (SS+) or absence (SS-) of painful somatic symptoms using the Somatic Symptom Inventory (SSI). Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) quantified pain severity, HAMD17 and CGI-S determined depression severity, while the Quality of Life in Depression Scale (QLDS) quantified subjective well-being.