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- Humble, Mats B., 1952-
(författare)
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder, serotonin and oxytocin : treatment response and side effects
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a prevalence of 1-2 %, frequently leads a chronic course. Persons with OCD are often reluctant to seek help and, if they do, their OCD is often missed. This is unfortunate, since active treatment may substantially improve social function and quality of life. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) have welldocumented efficacy in OCD, but delayed response may be problematic. Methods to predict response have been lacking. Because SRIs are effective, pathophysiological research on OCD has focussed on serotonin. However, no clear aberrations of serotonin have been found, thus other mechanisms ought to be involved.Our aims were to facilitate clinical detection and assessment of OCD, to search for biochemical correlates of response and side-effects in SRI treatment of OCD and to identify any possible involvement of oxytocin in the pathophysiology of OCD.In study I, we tested in 402 psychiatric out-patients the psychometric properties of a concise rating scale, “Brief Obsessive Compulsive Scale” (BOCS). BOCS was shown to be easy to use and have excellent discriminant validity in relation to other common psychiatric diagnoses.Studies II-V were based on 36 OCD patients from a randomised controlled trial of paroxetine, clomipramine or placebo. In study II, contrary to expectation, we found that the change (decrease) of serotonin in whole blood was most pronounced in non-responders to SRI. This is likely to reflect inflammatory influence on platelet turnover rather than serotonergic processes within the central nervous system.In studies IV-V, we found relations between changes of oxytocin in plasma and the anti-obsessive response, and between oxytocin and the SRI related delay of orgasm, respectively. In both cases, the relation to central oxytocinergic mechanisms is unclear. In males, delayed orgasm predicted anti-obsessive response.
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| 2. |
- Pelto-Piri, Veikko, 1959-
(författare)
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Ethical considerations in psychiatric inpatient care : The ethical landscape in everyday practice as described by staff
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis focuses mainly on the general ethical considerations of staff and not pre-defined specific ethical problems or dilemmas. The aims of this thesis were: first, to map ethical considerations as described by staff members in their everyday work in child and adolescent psychiatry as well as in adult psychiatry; second, from a normative ethical perspective, examine encounters between staff and patients; and third, to describe staff justification for decisions on coercive care in child and adolescent psychiatry. The material in the three first studies comprised ethical diaries written by staff in 13 inpatient clinics. The fourth study included all the medical records of patients who were admitted to coercive care during one year in child and adolescent psychiatry in Sweden.In a final analysis, combining all the four studies, three staff ideals were identified: being a good carer, respecting the patient’s autonomy and integrity and having good relations with patients and relatives. Staff often felt that the only reasonable way in many situations was to act in a paternalistic way and take responsibility, but they considered it to be problematic.Four main themes were identified as ethical considerations. These were the borders of coercion, the emphasis on order and clarity rather than a more reciprocal relationship with patients, a strong expectation of loyalty within the team, and feelings of powerlessness, mostly in relation to patients.I have identified four challenges for inpatient psychiatry. First, formal and informal coercion in inpatient care raise ethical concerns that also can be emotionally difficult for staff. Second, the professional role and care needs to be redeveloped from providing routinised care to providing more individualised care. Third, staff often worry about how patients manage their life after discharge, indicating that patients need better support. Fourth, staff also need support; they often experience feelings of being alone with their thoughts about ethical difficulties at work. Future research could contribute in the mapping of ethical considerations, in helping to develop, implement and evaluate methods for managing these issues in psychiatric settings, and to develop the normative ethical language so that it is more relevant to the clinic reality.
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