5,612 research outputs found
Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorder: a comparitive study in patients with alcohol dependance, schizophrenia and normal controls
Thesis(DMed (Psychiatry))--
University of Stellenbosch, 2007.Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (also known as alcohol hallucinosis) is a
complication of alcohol abuse that requires clinical differentiation from alcohol
withdrawal delirium and schizophrenia. Although extensively described, few
studies utilized standardized research instruments and brain-imaging has thus
far been limited to case reports. The aim of this study was to prospectively
compare four population groups (ie. patients with alcohol-induced psychotic
disorder, schizophrenia, uncomplicated alcohol dependence and a healthy
volunteer group) according to demographic, psychopathological and brainimaging
variables utilizing (i) rating scales and (ii) single photon emission
computed tomography (SPECT). The third component of the study was
designed to investigate the (iii) effect of anti-psychotic treatment on the
psychopathology and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) before and after six
weeks of treatment with haloperidol. Effort was made to ensure exclusion of
comorbid medical disorders, including substance abuse. The study provides
further supportive evidence that alcohol-induced psychotic disorder can be
distinguished from schizophrenia. Statistically significant differences in rCBF
were demonstrated between the alcohol-induced psychotic disorder and other
groups. Changes in frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, thalamic and
cerebellar rCBF showed statistically significant negative correlations with
post-treatment improvement on psychopathological variables and imply
dysfunction of these areas in alcohol-induced psychotic disorder. The study
was unable to distinguish between pharmacological effects and improvement
acccomplished by abstinence from alcohol.Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch Universit
Accurate measurement of ^{13}C - ^{15}N distances with solid-state NMR
Solid-state NMR technique for measureing distances between hetero-nuclei in
static powder samples is described. It is based on a two-dimensional
single-echo scheme enhanced with adiabatic cross-polarization. As an example,
the results for intra-molecular distances in -crystalline form of
glycine are presented. The measured NMR distances ^13 C(2) - ^15 N and ^13 C(1)
- ^15 N are 1.496 0.002 \AA and 2.50 0.02 \AA, respectively.Comment: 12 page
Self-induced water intoxication : a case report
CITATION: Emsley, R. A. & Taljaard, J. J. F. 1988. Self-induced water intoxication : a case report. South African Medical Journal, 74:80-81.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaA 19-year-old female schizophrenic with self-induced water intoxication is described. Factors of pathogenic significance included primary polydipsia and non-maximal urinary diluting capacity.Publisher’s versio
Psychiatric disorders and general medical conditions: implications for the clinician
Patients with severe mental illness have higher than expected prevalence rates of co-morbid general medical conditions, particularly metabolic and cardiovascular disease. They are also at increased risk of contracting HIV. Conversely, these and other
medical disorders also increase the risk of developing mental disorders. Mental illness and general medical conditions have mutually adverse effects on long-term outcome. This interaction of diseases contributes significantly to the excess morbidity in and
higher than expected standard mortality ratios for patients with mental illness. As medical practice becomes more specialized and arguably compartmentalized it may increasingly fail to integrate health care for patients with severe mental illness. In this paper
we discuss the high co-morbidity of mental illness with other medical disorders as well some of the potential mechanisms involved. We furthermore argue that the bidirectional relationship between mental and medical disorders should be considered in the
planning of treatment for either group of disorders. The central role of the psychiatrist in co-ordinating and integrating the health care of patients with severe mental illness is emphasized.African Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 11 (1) 2008: pp. 18-2
Quantum information processing using strongly-dipolar coupled nuclear spins
Dipolar coupled homonuclear spins present challenging, yet useful systems for
quantum information processing. In such systems, eigenbasis of the system
Hamiltonian is the appropriate computational basis and coherent control can be
achieved by specially designed strongly modulating pulses. In this letter we
describe the first experimental implementation of the quantum algorithm for
numerical gradient estimation on the eigenbasis of a four spin system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Accepted in PR
The usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid tests for neurosyphilis
To determine the usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests for syphilis at a large academic hospital, clinical and laboratory data on 644 patients in whom such testing was requested over a 12-month period were analysed. In 198 cases (31 %) the Treponema paJlidum haemagglutination (TPHA) screening test could not be performed because of insufficient fluid. Thirty-eight of the remaining patients were diagnosed as having active neurosyphilis. Examination of 22 files of patients who had a positive TPHA and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-Abs) test together with a negative CSF Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test revealed that other CSF measures indicating disease activity (CSF protein, cells or IgG index) were not utilised optimally. In 10 (45%) of these patients neurosyphilis was not diagnosed despite either abnormal or incomplete CSF biochemical analysis, indicating that if the CSF VDRL is used as the sole marker for disease activity, some cases of neurosyphilis are likely to be missed
Periprocedural antithrombotic management for lumbar puncture: Association of British Neurologists clinical guideline
Lumbar puncture (LP) is an important and frequently performed invasive procedure for the diagnosis and management of neurological conditions. There is little in the neurological literature on the topic of periprocedural management of antithrombotics in patients undergoing LP. Current practice is therefore largely extrapolated from guidelines produced by anaesthetic bodies on neuraxial anaesthesia, haematology groups advising on periprocedural management of antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants, and by neuroradiology on imaging-guided spinal procedures. This paper summarises the existing literature on the topic and offers recommendations to guide periprocedural antithrombotic management for LP, based on the consolidation of the best available evidence. ​. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Mental health literacy: focus on developing countries
Mental health literacy refers to knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management and prevention. This is a non-systematic review of published articles on mental health literacy in the general population and among
primary healthcare workers, in particular, in developing countries, sourced from Medline, PsychInfo and African Healthline databases (1990-2006). Our review of the literature suggests that public knowledge about mental disorders as medical conditions, and their evidence based treatment strategies, in developing countries may be generally poorly or inaccurately understood. The review also reveals that improving the mental health literacy among primary health care professionals is imperative. Poor mental health literacy can be an obstacle to providing treatment for those in need, and is of particular concern in low and middle-income countries where mental health services are already scarce. It is likely that strategies for improvement will need to be comprehensive and innovative, taking advantage of opportunities and meeting challenges faced in the developing world.African Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 11 (1) 2008: pp. 23-2
Crystal structure and substrate-induced activation of ADAMTS13
Platelet recruitment to sites of blood vessel damage is highly dependent upon von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWF platelet-tethering function is proteolytically regulated by the metalloprotease ADAMTS13. Proteolysis depends upon shear-induced conformational changes in VWF that reveal the A2 domain cleavage site. Multiple ADAMTS13 exosite interactions are involved in recognition of the unfolded A2 domain. Here we report through kinetic analyses that, in binding VWF, the ADAMTS13 cysteine-rich and spacer domain exosites bring enzyme and substrate into proximity. Thereafter, binding of the ADAMTS13 disintegrin-like domain exosite to VWF allosterically activates the adjacent metalloprotease domain to facilitate proteolysis. The crystal structure of the ADAMTS13 metalloprotease to spacer domains reveals that the metalloprotease domain exhibits a latent conformation in which the active-site cleft is occluded supporting the requirement for an allosteric change to enable accommodation of the substrate. Our data demonstrate that VWF functions as both the activating cofactor and substrate for ADAMTS13
Thermodynamic aspects of materials' hardness: prediction of novel superhard high-pressure phases
In the present work we have proposed the method that allows one to easily
estimate hardness and bulk modulus of known or hypothetical solid phases from
the data on Gibbs energy of atomization of the elements and corresponding
covalent radii. It has been shown that hardness and bulk moduli of compounds
strongly correlate with their thermodynamic and structural properties. The
proposed method may be used for a large number of compounds with various types
of chemical bonding and structures; moreover, the temperature dependence of
hardness may be calculated, that has been performed for diamond and cubic boron
nitride. The correctness of this approach has been shown for the recently
synthesized superhard diamond-like BC5. It has been predicted that the
hypothetical forms of B2O3, diamond-like boron, BCx and COx, which could be
synthesized at high pressures and temperatures, should have extreme hardness
- …