Cognitive performance of long-term institutionalized elderly patients with schizophrenia: A case control study.

Unlabelled: Cognitive impairment is inherent to the ageing process. Several studies suggest that patients with late-life schizophrenia have more marked cognitive impairment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive performance of elderly institutionalized patients with schizophrenia and institutionalized elderly control patients without neurological or psychiatric diseases, matched for age, educational level and institutionalization time.

Protein-source tryptophan as an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder: a pilot study.

Until recently, intact protein that is rich in tryptophan was not seen as an alternative to pharmaceutical-grade tryptophan because protein also contains large neutral amino acids (LNAAs) that compete for transport sites across the blood-brain barrier. Recent evidence indicates that when deoiled gourd seed (a rich source of tryptophan with approximately 22 mg/g protein) is combined with glucose (a carbohydrate that reduces serum levels of competing LNAAs) a clinical effect similar to that of pharmaceutical-grade tryptophan is achieved. Objective and subjective measures of anxiety in those suffering from social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder) were employed to measure changes in anxiety in response to a stimulus as part of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study with a wash-out period of 1 week between study sessions.

Screening for mental health problems among patients with substance use disorders: preliminary findings on the validation of a self-assessment instrument.

Objectives: We conducted a preliminary study on the validation of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) among patients seeking treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs).

Method: We assessed 76 patients with SUDs, using the PDSQ, followed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated.

Prevention of Alzheimer disease. Encouraging evidence.

Objective: To review the evidence regarding prevention of Alzheimer disease (AD) in order to highlight the role of family medicine.

Quality Of Evidence: Most of the evidence relating to prevention of AD is derived from observational (cross-sectional, case-control, or longitudinal) studies. Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is available only for blood pressure control and for hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women.

Dental care for the patient with bipolar disorder.

Chronic mental illness and its treatment carry inherent risks for significant oral diseases. Given the shift in treatment regimens from the traditional institutionally based approach to more community-focused alternatives, general dental practitioners can expect to see and be asked to treat patients with various forms of psychiatric disorders. One such group consists of patients with bipolar disorder (including type I bipolar disorder or manic-depressive disorder).

Breaking bad news and personality assessment.

Breaking bad news to seriously ill patients is an especially difficult and important part of patient education and counseling. Guidelines for breaking bad news have been previously presented, but this is the first report to address the personality of the patient in deciding how to break had news. A case study of a patient diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is presented.

Integration of psychiatric rehabilitation in the long-term management of schizophrenia.

Psychiatric rehabilitation has been found to be a worthwhile conceptual framework in the long-term management of schizophrenia. It involves both pharmacotherapy and various psychosocial treatments. Psychiatric rehabilitation allows the treatment team to organize a comprehensive therapy plan for patients.