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C Leal

Publications and source records attributed to C Leal.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Non-specific differences in neurocognitive performance in psychotic disorders?].

INTRODUCTION: In the last years, there has been a growing interest in the study of cognitive functioning, not only in schizophrenia but also in other psychoses and psychiatric disorders. Attention, memory and information processing deficits may have great relevance as predictors of social adjustment and quality of life. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: [corrected] We revised literature concerning comparative studies of neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia and affective disorders, mainly bipolar disorders. RESULTS: Studies analyzed show contradictory results. Some authors report a more global dysfunction or a more limited and concrete dysfunction in schizophrenia. However, most of the studies, especially those with homogeneous samples of psychotic affective disorders do not find any difference in cognitive functioning between schizophrenic and bipolar patients. DISCUSSION: Although some factors as sample selection, clinical state, course of the disorder, make difficult the interpretation of results, it would not exist specific deficits in any of the diagnostic groups studied.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of auditory hallucinations: the PSYRATS scale].

INTRODUCTION: Translate and adapt the PSYRATS scale for evaluation of auditory hallucinations to Spanish and study the psychometric behavior. METHOD: After being translated into Spanish, the scale was applied to a sample of 80 patients. All had a history of auditory hallucinations, 71 with Schizophrenia and 9 with schizoaffective disorder according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Demographic and clinical data were collected by a semi-structured interview, tape recording the sessions for every patient. For the reliability study, 27 patients of the sample were evaluated independently by the first four auhors of this paper. For the study of concurrent validity the results of this scale were compared with those of the Krawiecka scale in 60 patients of the sample. RESULTS: In the Spanish version, the 11 items were conserved with slight modifications in two of them. The scale showed high reliability with coefficients in the 11 items higher than 0.85. The concurrent validity showed high association between the hallucination item of the Krawiecka scale and the PSYRATS. In the factorial analysis four factors that explained 62% of the variance were obtained. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the PSYRATS (for hallucinations) is, to our knowledge, the first scale adapted to Spanish for the study of auditory hallucinations, showing excellent psychometric properties.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Impact of olanzapine on quality of life of patients with schizophrenia: one-year follow-up with the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire].

INTRODUCTION: Our objective is to present the impact on quality of life of long-term olanzapine treatment in a significant number of schizophrenics as determined by the Seville Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQLQ), an instrument that addresses the aspects that particularly affect these patients, and to evaluate the sensitivity of this instrument to the changes induced by this treatment. METHODS: Three hundred and seventy two patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia as per the ICD-10 classification were evaluated in a 1 year prospective study after switching to olanzapine. The SQLQ, Lehman's structured interview and short version of the discapacity assessment scale were used to evaluate patient's subjective experience; in addition, other instruments were used to evaluate psychopathology. RESULTS: Significant increases in the scores of the favorable scale and decreases in the unfavorable scale of the SQLQ were found. There were also significant improvements in quality of life as measured with Lehman's structured interview. This improvement continued until the end of the 1 year follow-up after switching to olanzapine. Both instruments show a good correlation. Changes in psychopathology were also remarkable, including the negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The SQLQ has proven to be a sensitive instrument to measure quality of life in schizophrenic patients treated with olanzapine. It focuses on aspects that are relevant for patients that were frequently overlooked by treating physicians. This drug has been proven to have a favorable subjective impact upon patients, besides improving psychopathology.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comorbidity on disorders with loss of impulse-control: pathological gambling, addictions and personality disorders.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the comorbidity of pathological gamblers, mainly in disorders with loss of impulse-control as addictions and personality disorders (PD). Also, to discuss addictive and impulsive characteristics of pathological gambling (PG), and their implications in prognosis and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Cross-sectional study on 162 patients with PG admitted for treatment in a specific residential unit. The SCID-I and II were used for the addiction and the PD diagnosis. For the diagnosis and evaluation of PG the SOGS, AGQ III and the Gambling Severity Index were also used. RESULTS: The 61.1 % of the patients presented some PD, where the cluster B ones (impulsive group) were more frequent, followed by C and A ones. 63.3% of patients had had in their lives substance dependence criteria, where alcohol dependence was the most prevalent. The presence of PD is related to the gravity of the addiction by the dependence to more than one substance (chi2=7.15; p<0.008). DISCUSSION: TP and substance-related disorders (SRD) are frequent comorbidities of the PG. Their co-presentation could mean worse prognosis of this patients. The PG as impulsive disorder could help to the understanding of the etiopathogenia of this disorder, but also of the prognosis. This hypothesis will add to the addictive one other treatment approaches that should be included in future studies of PG.

Comorbidity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Familial cancer of the breast].

Genetic, cultural and environmental factors are influences shared in familial breast cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of familial breast cancer and its association with social and clinical characteristics of women. A hospital-based descriptive study was made, and 300 patients with the diagnosis of breast cancer, made in 1992, were investigated. 17,4% of the women had a history of familial breast cancer. The presence of a positive history for familial breast cancer was associated with high social level for post-menopausal women. Age at diagnosis was older for women whose affected relative was their sister, not their mother. The need for the continuing efforts of epidemiologists, pathologists and geneticists to recognize the explanatory model of the disease is emphasized.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Inconsistent motor dominance in schizophrenic patients. Evidence in favor of neurodevelopmental changes].

INTRODUCTION: Motor left lateralization preference and lateralization inconsistencies have often been reported in schizophrenia and interpreted as an expression of a neurodevelopmental deficit in this disorder. However, the reported findings are contradictory and plagued by methodological errors. METHOD: The aim of this work is to examine functional motor lateralization preferences and lateralization inconsistencies in a sample on 78 schizophrenic patients by using a reliable method and comparing them with a nonclinical sample as a control group. We also study the potential associations between lateralization and several clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimage variables. RESULTS: No significant differences are found between schizophrenics and the control group in functional motor preferences. Other relevant finding are: absence of correlation between crural, ocular and hand preference; an association between the severity of negative symptoms and lateralization inconsistency; and an earlier clinical onset and a smaller brain volume in right-handed schizophrenics with ocular crossed lateralization as compared with right-handed schizophrenics with consistent ocular lateralization. CONCLUSION: These findings back up the hypothesis of a neurodevelopmental deficit in schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗