Emotion recognition deficits among persons with schizophrenia: Beyond stimulus complexity level and presentation modality.

Studies have shown that persons with schizophrenia have lower accuracy in emotion recognition compared to persons without schizophrenia. However, the impact of the complexity level of the stimuli or the modality of presentation has not been extensively addressed. Forty three persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 43 healthy controls, matched for age and gender, were administered tests assessing emotion recognition from stimuli with low and high levels of complexity presented via visual, auditory and semantic channels.

Evaluating new types of tourniquets by the Israeli Naval special warfare unit.

Background: Extremity injuries, which accounts for 20% of all battlefield injuries, result in 7-9% of deaths during military activity. Silicone tourniquets were used, by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers, for upper extremity and calf injuries, while thigh injuries were treated by an improvised "Russian" tourniquet (IRT). This is the first study, performed in the IDF, comparing the IRT with Combat Application Tourniquets (CAT) and Special Operations Force Tactical Tourniquets (SOFTT).

The role of the precuneus in metaphor comprehension: evidence from an fMRI study in people with schizophrenia and healthy participants.

Comprehension of conventional and novel metaphors involves traditional language-related cortical regions as well as non-language related regions. While semantic processing is crucial for understanding metaphors, it is not sufficient. Recently the precuneus has been identified as a region that mediates complex and highly integrated tasks, including retrieval of episodic memory and mental imagery.

Enhanced left frontal involvement during novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia: evidence from functional neuroimaging.

The neural basis involved in novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia is relatively unknown. Fourteen people with schizophrenia and fourteen controls were scanned while they silently read novel metaphors, conventional metaphors, literal expressions, and meaningless word-pairs. People with schizophrenia showed reduced comprehension of both novel and conventional metaphors.

Postponing the morning dose of AEDs: effect on the epileptiform EEG activity.

Background: The effects of postponing the morning dose of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) before undergoing an electroencephalogram (EEG) on the likelihood of recording interictal epileptiform activity (IEA) in patients with epilepsy are unclear.

Methods: This was a prospective study on patients undergoing video-EEG monitoring. The 3-h recordings used for evaluation started at 08:00 am.

[Advanced imaging methods as a basis for more reliable classification and better treatment for patients with depressive symptoms--an example for conceptual change in the psychiatric diagnostic method].

The current editorial study focuses on the idea of using advanced imaging methods in order to better classify and treat patients with depression and other psychiatric illnesses. The editorial is based on the review of Heymann and Bonne, published in this issue of the journal, showing differences between bi-polar and uni-polar depression using functional neuroimaging methods. This example, although not applicable yet in clinical practice, is the basis for future advances in psychiatric classification, together with clinical subtyping, and more biological markers, including genetic profiling.

Speed-accuracy tradeoff in decision-making performance among pathological gamblers.

Background: Pathological gambling is classified as an impulse control disorder in the DSM-IV-TR; however, few studies have investigated the relationship between gambling behavior and impulsive decision-making in time-non-limited situations.

Methods: The subjects performed the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT). The MFFT investigated the reflection-impulsivity dimension in pathological gamblers (n = 82) and demographically matched healthy subjects (n = 82).

Patterns and prognostic value of troponin, interleukin-6, and leptin after pediatric open-heart surgery.

Purpose: Leptin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are inversely correlated and associated with decreased survival in critically ill patients. We investigated changes in leptin, IL-6, and troponin in children undergoing open-heart surgery, hypothesizing that IL-6 and troponin will increase after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and will be negatively correlated with leptin.

Patients And Methods: Serial blood samples were collected from 21 patients 24 hours before and up to 48 hours after surgery.

Neuropsychological mechanisms of Digit Symbol Substitution Test impairment in Asperger Disorder.

Our aim was to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms recruited by adolescents with Asperger Disorder (AD), in comparison to controls, and to detect the underlying mechanisms during the complex information processing required for the performance of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Male adolescents (n=23; mean age 15.1+/-3.

Refractive errors and schizophrenia.

Background: Refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia and amblyopia), like schizophrenia, have a strong genetic cause, and dopamine has been proposed as a potential mediator in their pathophysiology. The present study explored the association between refractive errors in adolescence and schizophrenia, and the potential familiality of this association.

Methods: The Israeli Draft Board carries a mandatory standardized visual accuracy assessment.

Psychiatric disorders related to menstrual bleeding among an ultra-orthodox population: case series and literature review.

The relationship between menstrual cycle and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been documented in the past and is related to sexual hormone changes. In the ultra-orthodox Jewish population menstrual bleeding is associated both with meticulous rituals of cleanliness and with stressful meanings related to sin, impurity and punishment. Those aspects of the menstrual cycle can be related to specific OCD symptoms among ultra-orthodox women.

Fibromyalgia among major depression disorder females compared to males.

The Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread pain and diffuse tenderness in specified locations. The literature clearly points out that FMS is more prevalent in females rather than males, and among patients with major depression disorder (MDD). The aim of the current study was to obtain a better conception of the linkage existing between depression, gender and FMS.

Relationship between childhood sexual abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorder: case control study.

Background: The psychiatric sequelae of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders, such as eating disorders, depression, posttraumatic-stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. This study examined the association of CSA and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adults.

Methods: Frequency of CSA was examined among 30 OCD patients and in two control groups: 17 patients with panic disorder (PD) and 26 non-psychiatric rheumatic patients (NPRP).

Anal dilatation versus left lateral sphincterotomy for chronic anal fissure: a prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND: Several surgical methods are accepted for the treatment of chronic anal fissure. The most popular are anal dilatation (AD) and left lateral sphincterotomy (LLS). The objective of the current study was to prospectively evaluate the results of these two procedures in terms of recurrence rate, complications and patient satisfaction.

Changes in blood lipid levels following silastic ring vertical gastroplasty.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Silastic Ring Vertical Gastroplasty (SRVG) operation on blood lipid levels in obese men and women during the first year following surgery.

Methods: 25 patients (11 men and 14 women) age 17-50 (mean 33 years) who suffered from morbid obesity (BMI >40, range 45.9+/-4.

Elevated serum homocysteine levels in male patients with PTSD.

It has been suggested that an elevated serum or plasma homocysteine level may be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Because depression is closely related to anxiety disorders, and because it has been suggested that stress may be associated with an elevated homocysteine level, we studied whether serum homocysteine levels are elevated in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Total serum homocysteine levels in 28 male patients with PTSD were compared to those of 223 healthy controls.

The etiology of some menstrual disorders: a gynecological and psychiatric issue.

Some menstrual disorders with distinct gynecological character such as amenorrhea or menometrorrhagia (MMR) may have psychogenic etiology. On the other hand, in menstrual psychosis (MP), a distinctly psychiatric disorder, the etiology is not necessarily psychogenic, but rather is hormonal-biological. We present 4 cases, one each of primary and secondary amenorrhea, MMR, and MP, respectively.

Premorbid behavioral and intellectual functioning in schizophrenia patients with poor response to treatment with antipsychotic drugs.

Introduction: Approximately one third of schizophrenia patients show partial or no response to pharmacotherapy. Despite intensive investigations, the phenomenological and biological characteristics of such patients are far from elucidated. This study examined the premorbid behavioral and intellectual functioning of schizophrenia patients who showed poor response to antipsychotic treatment.

Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder among medical personnel in Judea and Samaria areas in the years 2000-2003.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the incidence of acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among medical staff members serving in Judea and Samaria during 2000-2003.

Methods: The study population included 141 medics and 19 medical doctors who provided emergency medical treatment during 23 violent events. Information regarding the incidence of ASD and PTSD was abstracted from Israel Defense Forces mental health files, as was a history of previous exposures to similar events, personal acquaintance with the victims, being under fire during the event, number of victims killed and/or wounded in the event, and length of time in service.

High-dose vitamin B6 decreases homocysteine serum levels in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders: a preliminary study.

Unlabelled: Vitamin B6 plays an essential role in the normal functioning of the central nervous system. Normal homocysteine (Hcy) serum level is maintained by remethylation of Hcy to methionine by enzymes that require folic acid and vitamin B12 and by catabolism to cysteine by a vitamin B6-dependent enzyme. These findings may be consistent with the hypothesis that the vitamin B6 status may influence plasma Hcy levels.

Plasma homocysteine levels in female patients with eating disorders.

Objective: To examine plasma homocysteine, vitamin B(12), and folate levels in females with restricting and bingeing/purging eating disorders (EDs).

Method: Adolescent and adult female patients were compared to appropriate control groups with regard to plasma homocysteine levels.

Results: The plasma homocysteine level of the adult ED patients was higher than that of controls for all age groups examined.

Dopamine D2-like receptors and the antidepressant response.

Converging lines of evidence suggest a role for the mesolimbic dopamine system in the response to somatic antidepressant therapies. Here, we review evidence suggesting that antidepressant treatments of different types share the effect of increasing the sensitivity of dopamine D2-like receptors in the nucleus accumbens, clinical studies suggesting that activation of these receptors has antidepressant efficacy, as well as relevant imaging and genetic data on the role of this system in the antidepressant response. We then attempt to reconcile this data with evidence of a common target of antidepressant drugs in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding protein-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (CREB-BDNF) pathway in a model that suggests potential directions for future inquiry.

Impact of gastric banding on plasma adiponectin levels.

Background: Several endocrine abnormalities are reported in obesity. In an earlier study, we found that the changes in BMI following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) were associated with changes in hormone profiles such as insulin and proinsulin. In the current study, we explored the changes in plasma adiponectin levels in morbidly obese subjects who lost abundant weight following LAGB.