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- Dalmau, A, et al.
(författare)
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Psychotic disorders among inpatients with abuse of cannabis, amphetamine and opiates. Do dopaminergic stimulants facilitate psychiatric illness?
- 1999
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Ingår i: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0924-9338. ; 14:7, s. 366-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have studied the occurrence of dual diagnoses (psychoses as well as abuse of either amphetamine, cannabis or opiates) during a 15-year period, among patients treated at Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of the study is to evaluate if the different drugs were coupled to different rates of psychiatric co-morbidity. During the period in question, 461, 425 and 371 different patients respectively had been admitted at least once due to dependency on amphetamine, cannabis and opiates. Approximately 30% of the patients with a pure abuse of amphetamine or cannabis and less than 6% of the opiate abusers had been diagnosed at least once with any of the psychoses studied. Comparing the frequency of psychoses among mixed and pure abusers of illegal drugs, with and without a concomitant abuse of alcohol, we found that the co-morbidity rate for mixed opiate abusers increased significantly from 7.2 to 20.2% when alcohol abuse was also present. For abusers of amphetamine and cannabis (both pure and mixed), no differences in co-morbidity rates were seen when an abuse of alcohol was added to that of the drugs. It is difficult to find an explanation for the significant difference between the co-morbidity of pure abuse of amphetamine or cannabis on the one hand and opiates on the other. In conclusion, our findings show that the distribution of psychotic illness is high among abusers of amphetamine and cannabis, in contrast to the generally lower co-morbidity among abusers of opiates. Although these findings are consistent with earlier studies that have shown a propensity for developing psychoses among abusers of amphetamine and cannabis, one should bear in mind that this study is based on inpatients, and is not necessarily representative for all abusers of the drugs in question.
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| 2. |
- Heilig, M, et al.
(författare)
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The dual-diagnosis concept used by Swedish social workers: limited validity upon examination using a structured diagnostic approach
- 2002
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Ingår i: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0924-9338. ; 17:6, s. 363-365
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A co-existence of chemical dependence and other psychiatric syndromes is commonly referred to as “dual-diagnosis.” This categorization is commonly made by social workers in several European countries assigned the primary responsibility for the care of drug and alcohol dependence. Here, we examined the validity of this categorization through systematic, structured patient evaluation following a minimum of 3 weeks of abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Less than one-third of patients originally labelled as suffering from “dual-diagnosis” by the social services did in fact obtain any Axis I DSM IIIR diagnosis, and less than half of the patients had any psychiatric diagnosis other than dependence. Syndromes commonly discussed in the context of self-medication, i.e., unipolar depression and anxiety syndromes, were not over-represented compared to a population sample, while chronic psychoses and bipolar syndromes were highly significantly more common. We conclude that the dual-diagnosis concept, unless substantiated through stringent diagnostic procedures by psychiatrically trained personnel, may be of questionable utility in caring for patients presenting with psychiatric symptoms and substance dependence. A systematic individual evaluation in an alcohol- and drug-free state of sufficient duration is necessary to obtain a basis for an adequate individual treatment plan.
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| 7. |
- Oxenstierna, G, et al.
(författare)
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Increased frequency of aberrant CSF circulation in schizophrenic patients compared to healthy volunteers
- 1996
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Ingår i: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0924-9338. ; 11:1, s. 16-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a previous cisternographic study of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation in schizophrenic patients, indications for disturbed flow dynamics were found in 10 of 30 subjects. In order to replicate and investigate the clinical and pathophysiological significance of this finding, 39 schizophrenic patients and 42 healthy subjects were examined with an improved method for measurement of CSF circulation. 99mTc-DTPA was injected intrathecally and the gamma cisternograms were evaluated blindly. Correlations between cisternography findings and age, duration of disease, previous hospitalizations, positive or negative symptomatology, exposure to neuroleptics, psychiatric family history, CT findings and CSF levels of protein, tryptophan and monoamine metabolites, were calculated. Seven of the patients showed abnormalities in the cisternograms with a slow or obstructed flow of CSF over the convexities (P < 0.01) whereas none of the healthy volunteers showed abnormalities. There were no correlations between disturbed CSF circulation in the patients and the clinical and biochemical parameters, thus the significance of the deviations, similar to other biological aberrations found in schizophrenic patients, is not known. Recent developments in magnetic resonance imaging offer new possibilities to further examine CSF circulation abnormalities in schizophrenia.
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| 8. |
- Andersch, S, et al.
(författare)
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A 15-year follow-up study of patients with panic disorder
- 2003
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Ingår i: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0924-9338. ; 18:8, s. 401-408
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPanic disorder (PD) is generally regarded as a chronic condition with considerable variation in severity of symptoms.AimsTo describe the long-term outcome of naturalistically treated PD.MethodsFifty-five outpatients with PD, who participated in a placebo-controlled drug trial of the efficacy of alprazolam and imipramine 15 years ago were reassessed with the same instruments used in the original study.ResultsComplete recovery (no panic attacks and no longer on medication during the last 10 years) was seen in 18% of patients, and an additional 13% recovered but were still on medication. Fifty-one percent experienced recurrent anxiety attacks whereas 18% still met diagnostic criteria for PD. The incidence of agoraphobia decreased from 69% to 20%. Patients with agoraphobia at admission tended to have a poorer long-term outcome according to daily functioning compared with patients without agoraphobia at admission, although both groups reported improved daily functioning at follow-up. Maintenance medication was common. No benzodiazepine abuse was reported.ConclusionPD has a favourable outcome in a substantial proportion of patients. However, the illness is chronic and needs treatment. The short-term treatment given in the drug trial had no influence on the long-term outcome.
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| 10. |
- Backlund, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying predictors for good lithium response - A retrospective analysis of 100 patients with bipolar disorder using a life-charting method.
- 2009
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Ingår i: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0924-9338. ; 24:3, s. 171-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Our aim was to investigate bipolar patients in order to test the validity of various outcome measures and to identify prognostic predictors for pharmacological treatment. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred patients were interviewed using a computerized life-charting program in a descriptive, retrospective analysis. The concept "Burden of illness" was defined as a combination of severity and duration of episodes. Response to treatment was defined as the difference in burden before and after treatment, a low burden during treatment, and freedom of episodes for at least 3 years after insertion of treatment. RESULTS: The absence of mixed episodes and a high initial burden predicted a good response measured as the difference in burden. If remission for 3 years or a low burden during lithium treatment was used, the absence of rapid cycling and of mixed episodes were the most important predictors. The severity of illness before treatment had no impact. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We suggest the use of absolute measures of severity during treatment as the most appropriate measure of the outcome. Furthermore, our data provide corroboration that treatment with lithium ameliorates the prognosis of the illness, but that mixed episodes and rapid cycling predict a poorer response to lithium.
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