A comparative retrospective exploration of the profiles of patients in South Africa diagnosed with epileptic and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) have a high prevalence globally but the accurate diagnosis of this condition still remains a challenge. This is particularly the case in countries where there is scarce expertise and insufficient affordable medical facilities to which patients have access. The rate of PNES diagnosis in epilepsy units is typically within the range of 20 to 30%.

Reports of intimate touch: erogenous zones and somatosensory cortical organization.

Introduction: Erogenous zones have paradoxical response properties, producing erotic feelings from body surfaces distant from the genitalia. Ramachandran has suggested an intriguing neuroscientific explanation for the distribution of erogenous zones, based on the arrangement of body parts (such as the adjacent positioning of the genitals and the feet) in primary somatosensory cortex (S1). The present study represents the first systematic survey of the magnitude of erotic sensations from various body parts, as well as the first empirical investigation of the S1 theory of erogenous zones, by analysis of whether evaluations of erogenous magnitude from adjacent S1 sites tend to correlate.

Outcome of planned discharge from case management: a 3 year retrospective study.

Objective: To investigate the rates of relapse of mental illness in adults requiring acute intervention at a mental health service following a planned discharge process from community case management.

Method: A planned approach to identifying and facilitating patient discharge was identified and incorporated into clinical team reviews. Data regarding service contacts of all discharged patients were collected at 1 year and then 3 years following planned discharge and reviewed in detail.

Violence and abuse in psychiatric in-patient institutions: a South African perspective.

Institutionalisation of psychiatric patients was a prevalent treatment approach in the apartheid era of South Africa. Allegations of violence and abuse towards patients frequently arose during this time. The post-apartheid Department of Health prioritised improvements in mental health care by recommending, inter alia, deinstitutionalisation and reintegration of patients into the community.