Few studies have examined the impact of epilepsy on the quality of life of older people, although epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders of old age. This study investigated the association of depression, seizure type and frequency and locus of control on health related quality of life in community dwelling adults aged over 60 years. Sixty-four participants were administered a...

Depressive personality disorder (DPD) is highly studied and common in clinical settings. Nevertheless, it is rife with controversies and often overshadowed by major depression and dysthymia with which it shares many similarities but also is clinically distinct. Possibly as a result, DPD is underdiagnosed and misunderstood in clinical care. Thus the goal of this practice review is to present a c...

BACKGROUND Cutaneous dysesthesia syndrome is a disorder characterized by chronic cutaneous symptoms without objective findings. Patients complain of burning, stinging, or itching, which is often triggered or exacerbated by psychological or physical stress. These symptoms may be manifestations of an underlying psychiatric disorder or may represent a type of chronic pain syndrome. OBSERVATIONS ...

BACKGROUND There is hardly evidence on maintenance treatment with antidepressants in primary care. Nevertheless, depression guidelines recommend maintenance treatment i.e. treatment to prevent recurrences, in patients with high risk of recurrence, and many patients use maintenance treatment with antidepressants. This study explores the characteristics of patients on maintenance treatment with a...

Two studies compared hemispatial bias for perceiving chimeric faces in patients having either atypical or typical depression and healthy controls. A total of 245 patients having major depressive disorder (MDD) or dysthymia (164 with atypical features) and 115 controls were tested on the Chimeric Faces Test. Atypical depression differed from typical depression and controls in showing abnormally ...

BACKGROUND In the last decade, there has been a surge of new clinical trials studying the impact of exogenous testosterone on mood. The results of these studies have been inconsistent. METHODS Meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials using common depression rating scales was performed. RESULTS Sixteen trials with a total of 944 subjects met selection criteria. Meta-analysis of data showe...

Depression can occur in association with virtually all the other psychiatric and physical diagnoses. Physical illness increases the risk of developing severe depressive illness. There are two broadly different mechanisms. The most obvious has a psychological or cognitive mechanism. Thus, the illness may provide the life event or chronic difficulty that triggers a depressive episode in a vulnera...

BACKGROUND There are only a few reports on issues related to patient transfer from medical and surgical departments to the psychiatric ward by the consultation-liaison psychiatry service, although it is a common practice. Here, we present a study assessing the factors that influence such transfers. METHOD We examined the demographic and clinical backgrounds of a group of patients transferred ...

BACKGROUND Out of 1705 patients hospitalised for various reasons in the 3rd Internal Medicine Department of the Regional General Hospital of Nikaea, in Piraeus, 146(8,5%) persons were admitted for drug intoxication between November 1999 and November 2000. METHODS On average, these persons [male 50(34,2%)--female 96(65,8%)] were admitted to the hospital within 3.7 hours after taking the drug. ...

BACKGROUND In geriatric psychiatry assessment scales are often used in clinical praxis in the diagnostic work-up of mental disorders. AIM To assess whether the state part of the STAI is useful as a case-finding instrument of mental disorders. MATERIALS AND METHOD Data came from 70 non demented geriatric in-patients in stable clinical condition. Mean age was 83.3 years (range 64-96), and 74....