Encephale
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Because of their compilation of contrasted symptoms and their variable clinical presentation, mixed episodes have been withdrawn from the DSM. However, mixed states question not only the bonds between depression and mania, but also the distinction between bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. Indeed, doubts about the dichotomy introduced by Kraepelin between bipolar disorders and schizophrenia is as old as the nosolgy itself, as attest the later works of this author revealing his hesitations on his own classification. ⋯ The physician will therefore have to identify a pattern of signs, which will orient his assessment with no certainty. Thus, negative rather than affective or psychotic symptomatology appears to be useful in discriminating schizophrenia (or schizoaffective) disorders from mixed mania. However, a conclusion during this acute stage appears in definitive a formal exercise, first because the final diagnosis will only be ascertained once the symptoms are amended, and second because, according to our classifications, a mood episode, including mania and mixed mania, can be observed without ruling out the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
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Comparative Study
[French translation, validation and adaptation of the Stigma Scale].
People suffering from mental illness are exposed to stigma. However, only few tools are available to assess stigmatization as perceived from the patient's perspective. The aim of this study is to adapt and validate a French version of the Stigma Scale (King et al., 2007 [8]). This self-report questionnaire has a three-factor structure: discrimination, disclosure and positive aspects of mental illness. Discrimination subscale refers to perceived negative reactions of others. Disclosure subscale refers mainly to managing disclosure to avoid discrimination and finally positive aspects subscale taps into how patients are becoming more accepting, more understanding toward their illness. ⋯ Our results suggest that the 9-item French short version of the Stigma Scale is a useful, reliable and valid self-report questionnaire to assess perceived stigmatization in people suffering from mental illness. The time of completion is really short and questions are well understood and accepted by the patients.
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Comparative Study
[Female intimate partner homicide: clinical and criminological issues].
Female intimate partner homicide (FIPH) is a fatal complication of domestic violence. The aim of this study was to describe the socio-demographic, clinical and criminological characteristics of male perpetrators of FIPH and to compare them to the perpetrators of extrafamilial homicide and the perpetrators of intrafamilial homicide other than FIPH. ⋯ Identification of specific features of FIPH could contribute to the early identification of domestic violence at risk of becoming lethal and to the elaboration of preventive strategies.
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Review Comparative Study
[Blood-injection-injury phobia: Physochophysiological and therapeutical specificities].
Seventy-five percent of patients with blood-injection-injury phobia (BII-phobia) report a history of fainting in response to phobic stimuli. This specificity may lead to medical conditions remaining undiagnosed and untreated, incurring considerable cost for the individual and society. The psychophysiology of BII-phobia remains poorly understood and the literature on effective treatments has been fairly sparse. Aims of the systematic review: to synthesize the psychophysiology of BII-phobia and to propose a systematic review of the literature on effectiveness of different treatments evaluated in this indication. ⋯ We have explained the psychophysiology of BII-phobia, the understanding of which is required to study and validate specific techniques, in order to improve the prognosis of this disorder, which is a public health issue.
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After Operation Desert Storm which took place in Iraq from August 1990 to July 1991 involving a coalition of 35 countries and a 700,000 strong contingent of mainly American men, some associations of war veterans, the media and researchers described a new diagnostic entity: the Gulf War Syndrome (GWS). ⋯ The GWS exists: it is not an "imaginary illness" but a serious public health issue which has led to tens of thousands of complaints and swallowed up millions of dollars. To reply to human suffering, a new nosographic entity can spread through society taking the epidemic expression of a somatised disorder via identification, imitation and suggestion mechanisms. This possibility questions not only mental health but also the sociology and politics. It is necessary to inform the leaders and the general population of the possibility of this type of mass reaction, which can take the shape of a highly contagious complex functional syndrome.