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- Moreira-Almeida, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of Brazilian spiritist mediumship and dissociative identity disorder
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. - 0022-3018. ; 196:5, s. 420-424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the similarities and differences between Brazilian Spiritistic mediums and North American dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients. Twenty-four mediums selected among different Spiritistic organizations in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were interviewed using the Dissociative Disorder Interview Schedule, and their responses were compared with those of DID patients described in the literature. The results from Spiritistic mediums were similar to published data on DID patients only with respect to female prevalence and high frequency of Schneiderian first-rank symptoms. As compared with individuals with DID, the mediums differed in having better social adjustment, lower prevalence of mental disorders, lower use of mental health services, no use of antipsychotics, and lower prevalence of histories of physical or sexual childhood abuse, sleepwalking, secondary features of DID, and symptoms of borderline personality. Thus, mediumship differed from DID in having better mental health and social adjustment, and a different clinical profile.
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- Moreira-Almeida, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Diagnóstico diferencial entre experiências espirituais e psicóticas não patológicas e transtornos mentais: uma contribuição de estudos latino-americanos para o CID-11
- 2011
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Ingår i: Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria. - 1516-4446. ; 33 Suppl 1, s. 21-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract in Undetermined Contribuir para a validade da Classificação Internacional de Doenças-11ª edição no diagnóstico diferencial entre experiências espirituais/anômalas e transtornos mentais revisando artigos de pesquisa sobre o tema em psiquiatria e psicologia envolvendo populações latino-americanas e/ou produzidos por pesquisadores latino-americanos. Método: Pesquisa em bases de dados (PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and SciELO) por meio de palavras chave(possessão, transe, experiência religiosa, experiência espiritual, Latin*,Brazil) em busca de artigos com dados psicológicos e psiquiátricos originais em experiências espirituais. Também foram analisadas as referências dos artigos selecionados e autores na área foram contactados em busca de dados e referências adicionais. Resultados: Há evidências consistentes que experiências psicóticas e anômalas são frequentes na população geral e que em sua maioria não estão relacionadas a transtornos psicóticos. Frequentemente, experiências espirituais envolvem experiências dissociativas e psicóticas de caráter não patológico. Embora as experiências espirituais não estejam habitualmente relacionadas a transtornos mentais, elas podem causar sofrimento transitório e são frequentemente relatadas por pacientes psicóticos. Conclusão: Propomos algumas características que sugerem a natureza não patológica de uma dada experiência espiritual: ausência de sofrimento, de prejuízo funcional ou ocupacional, compatibilidade com o contexto cultural do paciente, aceitação da experiência por outros, ausência de comorbidades psiquiátricas, controle sobre a experiência e crescimento pessoal ao longo do tempo.
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- Moreira-Almeida, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Differences between spiritist mediumship and dissociative identity disorder on the basis of a structured interview
- 2007
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 50th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association. ; , s. 64-74
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To study the similarities and differences between Brazilian Spiritistic mediums and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) patients based on a structured psychiatric interview. The clinical and sociodemographic features of spiritist mediums enrolled in Brazilian spiritist centers were investigated in this study and compared with the scientific literature on DID patients. Despite the paucity of data regarding this issue, we hypothesized that mediums and DID patients, although sharing some dissociative experiences, would differ in that only the latter group would exhibit dysfunctionality and other indexes of psychopathology. Methods: We carried out an investigation with 115 mediums randomly selected from Spiritistic centers in São Paulo, Brazil. All mediums completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Self-Report Psychiatric Screening Questionnaire (SRQ) and the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS). In a second stage, we interviewed with the DDIS (Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule) all mediums with scores suggestive of a mental disorder (SRQ+ n=12) and a subset of mediums with scores indicative of no mental disorder (SRQ- n=12). DDIS data on this sample were compared with those of DID described in the literature. Results: The initial sample of 115 mediums was comprised of 76.5% women, mean age for the sample was 48.1 ± 10.7 years; 2.7% of the volunteers were currently unemployed; 52.2% were married; and 46% had a college degree. This sample exhibited a low prevalence of common mental disorders (7.8%) according to the Self-Report Psychiatric Screening Questionnaire (SRQ), and a sound level of social adjustment (1.85 ± 0.33) according to the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS-SR). The 24 selected mediums had an average age of 48.5 ± 11.7 years (range 27-72), 79.2% were female and 45.9% had a college degree. The Spiritist mediums were similar to published data on DID patients only with respect to female prevalence, high frequency of Schneiderian First-Rank Symptoms, and reports of anomalous experiences. However, as compared with individuals with DID, the mediums differed in having better social adjustment, low prevalence of mental disorders, lower use of mental health services, no use of antipsychotics, and lower prevalence of histories of physical or sexual childhood abuse, sleepwalking, imaginary childhood playmates, secondary features of DID, and symptoms of borderline personality. Conclusion: Mediumship in this sample differed from DID in having better mental health and social adjustment, and a different clinical profile.
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- Moreira-Almeida, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Differential diagnosis between non-pathological psychotic and spiritual experiences and mental disorders: a contribution from Latin American studies to the ICD-11
- 2011
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Ingår i: Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria. - 1516-4446. ; 33, s. 21-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To review research articles in psychiatry and psychology involving Latin American populations and/or produced by Latin American scholars to investigate the differential diagnosis between spiritual/anomalous experiences and mental disorders in order to contribute to the validity of the International Classification of Diseases towards its 11(th) edition in this area. Method: We searched electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and SciELO) using relevant keywords (possession, trance, religious experience, spiritual experience, latin*, Brazil) for articles with original psychiatric and psychological data on spiritual experiences. We also analyzed the references of the articles found and contacted authors for additional references and data. Results: There is strong evidence that psychotic and anomalous experiences are frequent in the general population and that most of them are not related to psychotic disorders. Often, spiritual experiences involve non-pathological dissociative and psychotic experiences. Although spiritual experiences are not usually related to mental disorders, they may cause transient distress and are commonly reported by psychotic patients. Conclusion: We propose some features that suggest the non-pathological nature of a spiritual experience: lack of suffering, lack of social or functional impairment, compatibility with the patient's cultural background and recognition by others, absence of psychiatric comorbidities, control over the experience, and personal growth over time.
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- Vieira, Natassia M., et al.
(författare)
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Jagged 1 Rescues the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Phenotype
- 2015
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Ingår i: Cell. - : Elsevier BV. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 163:5, s. 1204-1213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), caused by mutations at the dystrophin gene, is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. There is no cure for DMD and current therapeutic approaches to restore dystrophin expression are only partially effective. The absence of dystrophin in muscle results in dysregulation of signaling pathways, which could be targets for disease therapy and drug discovery. Previously, we identified two exceptional Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) dogs that are mildly affected, have functional muscle, and normal lifespan despite the complete absence of dystrophin. Now, our data on linkage, whole-genome sequencing, and transcriptome analyses of these dogs compared to severely affected GRMD and control animals reveals that increased expression of Jagged1 gene, a known regulator of the Notch signaling pathway, is a hallmark of the mild phenotype. Functional analyses demonstrate that Jagged1 overexpression ameliorates the dystrophic phenotype, suggesting that Jagged1 may represent a target for DMD therapy in a dystrophin-independent manner.
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