Social Anxiety Disorder Comorbid with Schizophrenia: The Importance of Screening for This Under recognized and Under treated Condition.

Background: While the presence of comorbid anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder have been well described in schizophrenia, comorbid social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been less emphasized. The goal of this study was to examine the prevalence of SAD in our ambulatory population of patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A group of 50 outpatients with schizophrenia randomly selected from our public mental health outpatient population was evaluated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)-schizophrenia section, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS), the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF).

Treatment of sex offenders in Israeli prison settings.

The number of incarcerated sex offenders in the Israeli prison system has steadily increased during the past decade. While treatment of sex offenders is complex, treatment of those in prison seems to be more challenging. This publication presents major considerations and dilemmas, clinical as well as ethics-related, derived from the experience of the psychiatric division in the Israeli prison service in treating sex offenders in this special setting.

[Instruments for the assessment of violent behavior towards others among the mentally ill population].

Dangerousness is the propensity for performing aggressive and/or criminal acts. The tension between denying the liberty of a suspect and the necessity to protect the environment he/she threatens makes evaluation of the "extent of dangerousness" a significant factor in decisions regarding compulsory intervention and denial of rights. EvaLuation of dangerousness aims to protect the Life of the patient--prevent harm and defend public safety.

Schizophrenia sex offenders: a clinical and epidemiological comparison study.

While the incidence of criminal offense in individuals with schizophrenia does not necessarily differ from that of the normal population, in contrast, the rate of sexual crimes among individuals with schizophrenia is relatively low. Due to low numbers, description of sexual criminal behavior among schizophrenia patients remains relatively unexplored. In order to investigate clinical, socio-demographic and sexual factors associated with deviant sexual behavior in schizophrenia sex offenders we retrospectively compared a large subgroup of schizophrenia sex offenders with a group of schizophrenia patients incarcerated for other criminal behaviors and a group of sex offenders without schizophrenia.

The role of real-time computerized neuropsychological examination in forensic psychiatry practice.

Neuropsychological examination (NPE) is an important tool for evaluation of cognitive functioning in clinical and forensic situations. In forensic practice, NPE usually focuses on competency to stand trial, the mental state at the time of the offense, risk for future violence and malingering/aggravation issues. Real-time computerized NPE shows more accurate results than traditional pen-and-paper tests and provides quantitative data in a relatively standard format.

Quality of life of Israeli adults with borderline intelligence quotient and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The quality of life of 127 Israeli young adults diagnosed as having borderline intelligence quotient and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and living in community residences, was studied with respect to personal, disability and social ecology data. Overall, quality of life was associated with studying in inclusive education, total attention-deficit disorder symptomatology score, monthly income, participation in leisure activities and having a personal friend. Two significant predictors of quality of life were attention-deficit disorder symptomatology score and monthly income.

Digit Symbol Substitution test performance: sex differences in a Hebrew-readers' health population.

The Digit Symbol Substitution test is simple to administer and sensitive to individual differences related to cognitive performance. The present study evaluated sex-related differences in performance by a Hebrew reading sample. The test was administered to 275 men and 252 women (age range: 20-44 years).

Simple real-time computerized tasks for detection of malingering among murderers with schizophrenia.

It is our contention that computer-based two-alternative forced choice techniques can be useful tools for the detection of patients with schizophrenia who feign acute psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment as opposed to patients with schizophrenia with a true active psychosis. In our experiment, Visual Simple and Choice Reaction Time tasks were used. Reaction time in milliseconds was recorded and accuracy rate was obtained for all subjects' responses.

Stalking.

Stalking is a frequently reported crime. It has a strong impact on the lives and mental health of the victims. It is perpetrated by persons who often suffer from mental disorders.

Computerized neuropsychological examination of impulsiveness: A selective review.

There is a rapidly accumulating body of knowledge related to the neurobiology of impulsiveness from multidisciplinary neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies. This paper reviews recent research on impulsiveness in the context of neuropsychological theory and research. It has been emphasized that the controversy regarding the results of neuropsychological studies is related to different aspects of impulsiveness.

Quality of life of men and women with borderline intelligence and attention deficit disorders living in community residences: a comparative study.

The research studies the quality of life (QOL) of 127 men and women diagnosed as having a borderline IQ and ADHD living in two major residential programs of the Sharon region in central Israel in respect to their personal, disability, and social ecological variables. Core findings indicate that men and women differ significantly according to their educational background. Among those who studied in a regular educational environment, the main predictor of men's QOL is their monthly income, whereas the main predictor for women is their level of attention deficit symptoms.

The utility of the Visual Analogue Scale for the assessment of depressive mood in cognitively impaired patients.

Background: Early detection of depression in elderly demented patients may assist in adequate treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of Visual Analogue Scale for depression among demented and mild cognitively impaired elderly patients.

Methods: 157 Patients, aged from 65 to 92 years, in a memory clinic were divided into two groups according to scores on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE): Demented group (62 patients) with MMSE scores from 16 to 23, and Mild Cognitively Impaired group (MCI-95 patients) with MMSE scores from 24 to 29.

Aggression: the testosterone-serotonin link.

The relevance of central neurotransmission to aggressive and impulsive behavior has become more evident due to extensive research in humans and animals. Among other findings, there are abundant data relating low serotonergic activity--as measured by low cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, and a blunted response of prolactin to fenfluramine--to impulsive behavior. Many studies on testosterone activity show a relation between high plasma levels and a tendency towards aggression.