1,720,993 research outputs found

    Iatrogenic comorbidity in childhood and adolescence: New insights from the use of antidepressant drugs

    No full text
    The term "iatrogenic comorbidity" refers to unfavorable modifications in the course of an illness, with regard to its characteristics and responsiveness, which may be related to previous treatments. Some iatrogenic adverse events arising from either pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy cannot be subsumed under the traditional rubric of adverse effects and require careful evaluation. Children and adolescents are generally more likely to experience adverse health consequences after drug treatment. The use of antidepressant drugs in this age group may cause potential long-term detrimental effects, such as mood elevation that does not subside when drugs are discontinued and may predispose to the development of a bipolar disorder. The concept of iatrogenic comorbidity in children and adolescents has heuristic value in weighing potential benefits and risks associated particularly with psychotropic treatments

    Behavioral Toxicity Revisited: Iatrogenic Comorbidity in Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment

    No full text
    In 1968, DiMascio and Shader provided a conceptual framework for behavioral toxicity of psychotropic drugs (ie, the pharmacological actions of a drug that, within the dose range in which it has been found to possess clinical utility, may produce alterations in mood, perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor functions that limit the capacity of the individual or constitute a hazard to one's well-being). A drug effect such as sedation or motor stimulation may be considered adverse for one patient and yet therapeutic and desired for another patient; within the same patient, it may be of value at one stage of one's illness and adverse at a later stage. The concept of behavioral toxicity encompasses adverse events that may be limited to the period of drug administration and/or persist long after their discontinuation. These latter phenomena can be subsumed under the rubric of iatrogenic comorbidity. Behavioral toxicity may ensue with any type of medical drug. Examples related to antidepressant drug use (onset of suicidality and aggression, switching from unipolar to bipolar course, withdrawal phenomena upon discontinuation, postwithdrawal persistent disorders) are discussed. Consideration of potential vulnerability to adverse events including behavioral toxicity should be placed in the context of the benefits that treatment may entail

    Discriminating the Presence of Psychological Distress in Patients Suffering from Psoriasis: An Application of the Clinimetric Approach in Dermatology

    No full text
    Psoriasis is a chronic dermatologic disease that negatively impacts physical and mental health of patients as well as their social and work life. The aim of this study is to illustrate, by a clinimetric approach the differences in psychological distress and well-being between patients with mild and moderate to severe psoriasis. Seventy patients with psoriasis were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I), the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR), along with the following self-report instruments: the Symptoms Questionnaire (SQ), the Psychological Well-being scales (PWB) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Illness severity was evaluated using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). While no differences were reported between groups in terms of psychiatric diagnoses, patients with greater severity (PASI >10) presented higher rates of demoralization (61.5%) and Type A behavior (53.8%) than subjects with mild severity (17.5% and 21.1%, respectively). Patients with moderate/severe psoriasis also reported impaired levels of psychological well-being in terms of lower autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth and purpose in life. Furthermore, according to TCI, patients with severe psoriasis reported greater harm avoidance and lower self-directness than individuals with milder psoriasis levels. Overall results highlighted the need in psoriasis care of a more comprehensive psychological and psychosomatic assessment not limited to the customary psychiatric diagnostic criteria

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

    Full text link
    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

    Full text link
    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

    Full text link
    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Benzodiazepines as a Monotherapy in Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review

    No full text
    Background: The aim of this paper was to perform a systematic review and, when feasible, a meta-Analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) which used benzodiazepines (BZD) as a monotherapy versus placebo, antidepressant drugs (AD), or both. Methods: Keyword searches were conducted for identifying RCT comparing BZD and AD, and/or placebo in the treatment of depression, using electronic databases from their inception up to April 2017. We selected reports of RCT in which BZD were compared to AD and/or placebo in the treatment of adult patients with a primary diagnosis of depressive disorder or anxious depression. When feasible, data were subjected to meta-Analysis. Results: A total of 38 studies met the criteria for inclusion and were then included in the systematic review. Only 1 study concerned a newer AD, fluvoxamine. For the meta-Analysis, we submitted data on response rate from 22 RCT, considering BZD versus placebo (8 comparisons) and BZD versus tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) (20 comparisons). There was a lack of significant differences as to response rate between BZD and placebo, as well as between BZD and TCA. Analysis of individual studies disclosed that, in more than half of the studies comparing BZD to TCA and/or placebo, BZD were significantly more effective than placebo and as effective as TCA. Conclusions: BZD are a therapeutic option in anxious depression and there are no indications that AD are preferable. There is a pressing need for RCT of adequate methodological quality and follow-up comparing BZD to second-generation AD and placebo in anxious depression

    Withdrawal symptoms after serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor discontinuation: Systematic review

    No full text
    Background: Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) are widely used in medical practice. Their discontinuation has been associated with a wide range of symptoms. The aim of this paper is to identify the occurrence, frequency, and features of withdrawal symptoms after SNRI discontinuation. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct a systematic review. Electronic databases included PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and MEDLINE from the inception of each database to June 2017. Titles, abstracts, and topics were searched using a combination of the following terms: "duloxetine" OR "venlafaxine" OR "desvenlafaxine" OR "milnacipran" OR "levomilnacipran" OR "SNRI" OR "second generation antidepressant" OR "serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor" AND "discontinuation" OR "withdrawal" OR "rebound." Only published trials in the English language were included. Results: Sixty-one reports met the criteria for inclusion. There were 22 double-blind randomized controlled trials, 6 studies where patients were treated in an open fashion and then randomized to a double-blind controlled phase, 8 open trials, 1 prospective naturalistic study, 1 retrospective study, and 23 case reports. Withdrawal symptoms occurred after discontinuation of any type of SNRI. The prevalence of withdrawal symptoms varied across reports and appeared to be higher with venlafaxine. Symptoms typically ensued within a few days from discontinuation and lasted a few weeks, also with gradual tapering. Late onset and/or a longer persistence of disturbances occurred as well. Conclusions: Clinicians need to add SNRI to the list of drugs potentially inducing withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation, together with other types of psychotropic drugs. The results of this study challenge the use of SNRI as first-line treatment for mood and anxiety disorders

    Gender Differences in Psychological Well-Being and Distress During Adolescence

    No full text
    Differences between boys and girls have been found in terms of psychological well-being and distress. Girls report lower level of psychological well-being and higher psychological distress
    corecore