Comprehensive psychiatry
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Jul 2020
ReviewImportance of SARs-Cov-2 anosmia: From phenomenology to neurobiology.
Anosmia and hypogeusia, the inability or decreased ability to smell and taste, have been reported as common complaints in SARS-CoV-2 patients who were still in an asymptomatic phase. These impairments affect the ability to sense odors in foods and the environment, obviously affecting quality of life, related to social interactions and general well-being. ⋯ Psychiatrists, neurologists and physicians in general should be aware of this symptom presentation in order to avoid mistreatment, given that persistent olfactory dysfunction might increase the risks of nutritional deficit and lead to development of adjustment disorders. All clinicians should be aware that the presentation of SARS-CoV-2's symptoms goes far beyond respiratory and sensorial dimensions and involves psychosensorial and neurological dimensions; these clinical observations could shed light on the neurobiological substrates involved in COVID-19 disease.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Sep 2009
ReviewDevelopment of criteria for a diagnosis: lessons from the night eating syndrome.
Criteria for inclusion of diagnoses of Axis I disorders in the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) of the American Psychiatric Association are being considered. The 5 criteria that were proposed by Blashfield et al as necessary for inclusion in DSM-IV are reviewed and are met by the night eating syndrome (NES). Seventy-seven publications in refereed journals in the last decade indicate growing recognition of NES. ⋯ Night eating syndrome can be distinguished from binge eating disorder and sleep-related eating disorder. Four additional features attest to the usefulness of the diagnosis of NES: (1) its prevalence, (2) its association with obesity, (3) its extensive comorbidity, and (4) its biological aspects. In conclusion, research on NES supports the validity of the diagnosis and its inclusion in DSM-V.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Jul 2001
Review Comparative StudyComparison of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients with and without comorbid putative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders using a structured clinical interview.
Increasing attention has been paid to the possibility that a range of disorders, the putative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSDs), may share overlapping phenomenological and neurobiological features with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The development of a structured clinician-administered interview for the putative OCSDs (SCID-OCSD) is described. This instrument was used to investigate differences between OCD patients with a comorbid putative OCSD and OCD patients without a comorbid putative OCSD. ⋯ Our findings suggest that putative OCSDs have a relatively high prevalence rate in OCD patients. In addition, OCD patients with comorbid OCSDs differ with regard to certain demographic and clinical features. Further research, particularly genetic and neuroimmunological work, may ultimately be useful in validating the obsessive-compulsive spectrum.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Mar 2000
Review Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialHazardous alcohol use: its delineation as a subthreshold disorder, and approaches to its diagnosis and management.
The last 20 years have seen a significant paradigm shift in how we view alcohol misuse. The dichotomous model of "alcoholism" and "normal drinking" has now been replaced by the concept of a spectrum of disorders. In this new framework, "hazardous alcohol use" is defined as a repeated pattern of drinking that confers the risk of harmful consequences. ⋯ The findings from a series of World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative studies on brief interventions for hazardous alcohol use are described. This work has resulted in the development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) screening instrument, which can detect over 90% of hazardous drinkers in a range of settings, and the demonstration that 5 minutes' structured advice can reduce hazardous consumption by 30%. The later phases of this program of work have examined strategies to promote the dissemination of brief interventions for hazardous alcohol use throughout primary health care, and the nationwide, systematic, and sustained utilization of these interventions.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Mar 1999
ReviewFlashbulb memories and other repetitive images: a psychiatric perspective.
The term "flashbulb memory" was used by Brown and Kulik in 1977 to refer to the vivid recollections that humans may have of events considered to be of particular significance to the individual or group. These memories are described as having a photographic quality and as being accompanied by a detail-perfect apparel of contextual information (weather, background music, clothes worn, etc.) pertaining to the time and place where the event was first known. They may even evoke emotions similar to the ones felt upon hearing the news. ⋯ Psychiatrists, however, should consider flashbulb memories as being members of a broad family of experiences that include drug flashbacks, palinopsia, palinacusis, posttraumatic memories, and the vivid and haunting memories experienced by subjects with some forms of mental disorder (e.g., phobias, panic attacks, obsessional disorder, phantom-limb phenomena, and depressive melancholia). All of these experiences share clinical features such as paroxysmal repetition, sensory vividness, a capacity to trigger emotions, dysphoria, and a tendency for the rememberer to shift from the role of actor to that of observer and for the reminiscence to become organized in a stereotyped narrative. Some of these clinical phenomena are discussed, and the suggestion is made that seeking phenomenological and neurobiological common denominators to all of these experiences may be a superior research strategy versus studying flashbulb memories alone.