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Biomedical subjects

B Dahme

Publications and source records attributed to B Dahme.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

[Some psychological predictors for psychosis after open heart surgery (author's transl)].

In a study of postoperative psychosis after open heart surgery three psychopathological syndromes were identified which had different psychological predictors. Predictors of postoperative emotional disturbances are family problems and the lack of plans for the future, whereas patients with postoperative disorientations seem to have difficulties in their jobs and therefore feel distressed preoperatively. Predictors of the paranoid syndrome after the operation are: a high degree of fear in awaiting the operation and little confidence in the doctors. The social surroundings of these patients are often unstable and although they have no precise plans for the future they object to start working again after operation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1977

[Classification of psychopathological disorders after open-heart surgery (author's transl)].

A better discrimination of phenomenology and severeness of psychopathological disorders after open-heart surgery has been obtained: a) There is no equal distribution of degrees of severeness, a high correlation of severeness with duration of the disorders, a low correlation with age and no dependance of sex. b) Disorientation, clouding of consciousness and disorders of awareness arise earlier, delusions, hallucinations and paranoid ideas tentatively later after surgery. c) Three psychopathological syndromes have been identified. They appear in different frequency, intensity and can be combined.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

[Some somatic and psychological predictors of psychopathological disorders after cardiac surgery (author's transl)].

Some new predictors of postoperative psychosis in open-heart surgery have been identified in a multifactorial study of somatic and psychological factors: Somatic predictors are lower body weight, higher blood levels of urea nitrogen and creatinine, preoperative use of tranquilizers, especially in patients with double valve replacement or congenital heart disease and preoperative cerebral embolism in mitral valve disease. Bypass-time has not proved to be a valid predictor. Psychological predictors are distress provoked by severity and duration of illness, repeated delay of surgery as well as the manner of psychological coping with the illness.

Blood Urea Nitrogen↗
PubMed1975

[The effect of an antihypertensive drug during psychological stress. A double-blind study].

A sample of 20 patients suffering hypertension (with a moderate rise in blood pressure) was randomly divided into two treatment groups of equal size. The patients of one group received antihypertension treatment with the combination drug Briserin¿ (containing 0.1 mg reserpine, 5 mg clopamide, 0.5 mg dihydroergocristin/per tablet); the other patients who served as control group, received a matched placebo. After a fortnight's treatment, the responsiveness of both groups to five different psychologically stressing situations (those with cognitive and/or emotional overload) was tested. Analysis of covariance revealed clinically significant differences in the mean systolic and diastolic pressure scores of the two groups. The scores of the treatment group were lower not only under stress but also at rest. There was in interaction between rise of blood pressure under stress and kind of stress in the two groups, i.e., in situations with heavy emotional and/or cognitive load the differences in the pressure scores of the two groups were less substantial than in situations with a low or medium load. The treatment had no systematic effect on heart rate in this sample. In the treatment group reaction time, perceptual speed, and short-term memory were impaired as compared with the control group; but these differences did not reach a level of significance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effectiveness of relaxation training in reducing treatment-related symptoms and improving emotional adjustment in acute non-surgical cancer treatment: a meta-analytical review.

Cancer patients often have to deal with severe side effects and psychological distress during cancer treatment, which have a substantial impact on their quality of life. Among psychosocial interventions for reducing treatment-related side effects, relaxation and imagery were most investigated in controlled trials. In this study, meta-analytic methods were used to synthesize published, randomized intervention-control studies aiming to improve patients' treatment-related symptoms and emotional adjustment by relaxation training. Mean weighted effect sizes were calculated for 12 categories, treatment-related symptoms (nausea, pain, blood pressure, pulse rate) and emotional adjustment (anxiety, depression, hostility, tension, fatigue, confusion, vigor, overall mood). Significant positive effects were found for the treatment-related symptoms. Relaxation training also proved to have a significant effect on the emotional adjustment variables depression, anxiety and hostility. Additionally, two studies point to a significant effect of relaxation on the reduction of tension and amelioration of the overall mood. Intervention features of the relaxation training, the time the professional spent with the patient overall (intervention intensity) and the schedule of the intervention (offered in conjunction with or independent of medical treatment to the cancer patient) were relevant to the effect of relaxation on anxiety. The interventions offered independently of medical treatment proved to be significantly more effective for the outcome variable anxiety. Relaxation seems to be equally effective for patients undergoing different medical procedures (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, hyperthermia). According to these results relaxation training should be implemented into clinical routine for cancer patients in acute medical treatment.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Thought protocols before and after a psychological headache--treatment with imagery].

Cognitive changes accompanying a headache treatment with imagery strategies were investigated. 15 female and 6 male headache sufferers with migraine (6), tension-type headache (7) or both (8) wrote down their thoughts during 1-5 headache episodes, kept a headache diary and filled in several pain questionnaires before and after treatment. After treatment there were significantly more positive and less negative thoughts. Pain frequency, duration, medication intake intensity, catastrophizing and helplessness were reduced, self-efficacy was enhanced. Changes of thought protocol variables were correlated with treatment effects. The role of cognitive changes in the psychological treatment of chronic headache is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between cannabis use, schizotypal traits, and cognitive function in healthy subjects.

This research examined the relationship between cannabis use and schizotypal features. A sample of cannabis users (n = 20) was compared with a matched control group (n = 20). All participants were male students of the University of Hamburg. Subjects completed the Perceptual Aberration Scale and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. A Negative Priming procedure and the Trail Making Test were carried out. A urine sample was obtained from each subject. Cannabis users exceeded controls in schizotypy scores and showed impaired neuropsychological parameters. Only within the cannabis group schizotypy scores correlated with neuropsychological parameters. Furthermore, cannabis users reported more often high-risk factors than controls. These findings indicate that among cannabis users there is an increased number of subjects with schizotypal features; schizotypal subjects seem to be more likely to use cannabis than the general population. Therefore, cannabis use may be a vulnerability indicator for schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparison of controlled psycho- and pharmacotherapy studies in bulimia and anorexia nervosa].

Controlled studies of psychological, pharmacological and combined treatments for bulimia and anorexia nervosa were examined. Only studies with random assignment to treatment groups were included. Outcome criteria differed for anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The bulimia nervosa studies were evaluated in a meta-analysis. The results of the abstinence and reduction rates as well as the magnitude of the effects confirm the superiority of psychological approaches to pharmacological treatment with antidepressants. The few combined treatment studies suggest the same results as for psychological treatment alone. Longer treatment duration turned out to be a positive predictor for the effects of purging and depression. As far as anorexia nervosa is concerned, there is a general and significant lack of controlled treatment studies. Since almost all of the existing psychological and pharmacological treatment studies involve additional treatment elements, a clear assignment to the treatment categories is difficult.

Adolescent↗