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Biomedical subjects

J Catalan

Publications and source records attributed to J Catalan.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Psychosocial and neuropsychiatric aspects of HIV infection: review of their extent and implications for psychiatry.

HIV infection in general and AIDS in particular, present a major challenge for the health services worldwide. The possibility of central nervous system effects of HIV infection has been known for some time, and information is now accumulating about the range of psychiatric disorders associated with it. This paper considers in detail the psychosocial and neuropsychiatric problems which can develop at the various stages of HIV infection, and discusses the implications for the mental health services in terms of provision of services, legal and ethical problems, and further research.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Alcohol misuse in patients attending a genitourinary clinic.

Two hundred male and 200 female attenders at a genitourinary clinic were studied to determine the prevalence of alcohol misuse. The CAGE Questionnaire was used to estimate the presence of probable alcohol misuse, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used to assess psychiatric morbidity. Over 18% of men and over 12% of women were found to be alcohol misusers as measured by the CAGE Questionnaire. Their characteristics are reported, and the implications of the findings considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

General practice patients on long-term psychotropic drugs. A controlled investigation.

In a health centre, 3.6% of the registered patients were found to have received at least one prescription for psychotropic drugs in each quarter of a year. These patients were mainly elderly and female. Psychiatric interviews were held with randomly selected index patients, and with matched controls. Most index patients reported taking psychotropic drugs for several years, mainly anxiolytics, antidepressants and non-barbiturate hypnotics, and mainly in low dosage. Index patients had much higher levels of psychiatric morbidity, as shown by the Present State Examination, history of specialist psychiatric treatment, and previous drug overdoses. In index patients the main diagnoses were neurotic depression and phobic disorder. Index patients reported more problems with finances and with social isolation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Genetic analysis of the hybridization zone between two subspecies Mus musculus domesticus and Mus musculus musculus in Bulgaria].

The hybrid zone between the two subspecies of mice Mus musculus domesticus and Mus musculus musculus, which has been studied extensively in Denmark, crosses Europe to the Black Sea through the Alps and the Balkans. Two hundred and seventy-nine animals were captured in 22 localities along a transect across the Balkans. The animals were characterized for seven diagnostic nuclear loci by protein electrophoresis and by restriction pattern analysis of their mitochondrial DNA. The nuclear data show a sharp transition between the two subspecies, most of the variations in allele frequencies (from 0.9 to 0.1) occurring within a 36-km section of the transect. The introgression varies from one locus to the other and is more pronounced, in terms of distance, in M. m. musculus territory. Mitochondrial DNA introgression is important but occurs in one direction only, i.e. from M. m. musculus to M. m. domesticus, while a cytoplasmic transfer from M. m. domesticus to M. m. musculus has been reported. A previous study showed that no Y chromosome introgression occurs. The different behaviour of these three types of markers could be due to the interaction between selection against hybrid genomes and meiotic recombination. Objectively, it would appear that the genes that can introgress are neutral or nearly so and have been separated from deleterious genes they were linked to by recombination. This could explain the differential introgression between autosomal loci. The mitochondrial and Y chromosomes undergo no or very little recombination and each is transmitted as a whole. Their degree of introgression is thus indicative of the intensity of selection resulting from the amount of functional differentiation between the two taxa, which seems to be strong for the Y chromosome and weak for mitochondrial DNA. We propose that the asymmetry of nuclear introgression is due to different population structures. As M. m. musculus is relatively less structured, the rapid spreading of introgressed genes would be favoured. Such a scheme, however, can hardly account for the unidirectionality of the mitochondrial flow, which could be due to sex-dependent behaviour.

Alleles↗
PubMed1986

The treatment of emotional disorders in general practice: psychological methods versus medication.

This paper describes three recent trials in which psychological methods were evaluated in the treatment of emotional disorders in general practice. In the first trial, brief counselling by the general practitioner was found to be as effective as anxiolytic medication, was welcomed by patients and did not increase demands on doctors' time. In the second trial (still in progress), in which treatment is aimed at emotional disorders of poor prognosis, problem solving treatment by a psychiatrist is being compared with control treatment by the G.P. The third trial evaluated an anxiety management programme provided by clinical psychologists in health centres; substantial reductions in anxiety occurred rapidly and were maintained at follow-up.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1985

Genes for skeletal muscle myosin heavy chains are clustered and are not located on the same mouse chromosome as a cardiac myosin heavy chain gene.

Myosin heavy chain (MHC) genes are expressed as several distinct isoforms in a tissue- and stage-specific manner; three skeletal muscle MHC isoforms appear sequentially during development. We have isolated cDNA clones, identified by RNA blot hybridization and by nucleotide sequence determination as coding for portions of the embryonic (pMHC2.2), perinatal (pMHC16.2A), and alpha(V1) cardiac (pMHC141 and pMHC101) MHC isoforms. These four probes and the adult skeletal MHC probe (pMHC32) have been used on Southern blots of genomic DNA to detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms defining the alleles for these genes in mouse species Mus musculus and Mus spretus. In this way, we followed the segregation of skeletal and cardiac MHC genes in 42 offspring resulting from an interspecies backcross. We found that the embryonic, perinatal, and adult skeletal MHC genes are clustered on chromosome 11 near the locus nude, the skeletal and cardiac MHC genes do not cosegregate, and the alpha(V1) cardiac MHC gene is located on chromosome 14 close to Np-1. This result is in contrast to that for other contractile protein genes such as the alkali myosin light chain and the actin multigene families, which are dispersed in the genome.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Biochemical diversity and evolution in the genus Mus.

Thirteen biochemical groups of wild mice from Europe, Asia, and Africa belonging to the genus Mus are analyzed at 22-42 protein loci. Phylogenetic trees are proposed and patterns of biochemical evolution are discussed, as well as the possible contribution of wild mice to the genetic diversity of laboratory stocks.

Alleles↗
PubMed1984

The effects of non-prescribing of anxiolytics in general practice. I. Controlled evaluation of psychiatric and social outcome.

Ninety one patients with new episodes of minor affective disorder were selected by their general practitioners as suitable for anxiolytic medication. Half the patients were allocated randomly to a drug-group (anxiolytic medication), and half to a non-drug group (brief counselling without anxiolytics). Psychiatric and social assessments were made (i) at initial consultation when treatment was started; (ii) one month later; (iii) seven months later. Before treatment the two groups were similar on all main variables. On the General Health Questionnaire, 85 per cent of patients were psychiatric cases before treatment, 40 per cent at one month and 30 per cent at seven months. Similar improvements were found with other measures of psychiatric state (Profile of Mood States; Present State Examination) and social functioning (SAS-M). Improvements were similar and parallel in the two groups. Neither group of patients increased their consumption of alcohol, tobacco or non-prescribed drugs. The non-drug group did not make increased demands on the doctors' time.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The effects of non-prescribing of anxiolytics in general practice. II. Factors associated with outcome.

Factors associated with psychiatric outcome were examined in a series of 87 patients who had presented in general practice with new episodes of minor affective disorder. Two outcome measures were used: (i) Status on Present State Examination (PSE) seven months after initial consultation; (ii) prescribing of psychotropic medication between one-month and seven-month follow-up assessments. Outcome according to the PSE was significantly associated with: worse measures of psychiatric state (General Health Questionnaire, Profile of Mood states) and of social functioning (SAS-M) at initial consultation and one month later; and with persistent anxious or depressed mood during the follow-up period; but not with life events. During the follow-up period 20 patients received at least one psychotropic prescription; they were significantly associated with worse initial GHQ scores, consumption of tobacco and non-prescribed medication, and initial anxiety. A sub-group of 11 patients received multiple psychotropic prescriptions; they were significantly associated with the same initial measures, and also with poor outcome measures (psychiatric and social).

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Presence of a male sterility factor, Hst-2, segregating in interspecies crosses. M. musculus L. x M. spretus Lastaste and linked to Mod-1, and Mpi-1 on chromosome 9].

F 1 hybrid males resulting from the interspecific cross Mus musculus L. X Mus spertus Lataste are sterile. The sterility depends on several independant genetic factors. Using a linkage analysis carried out with biochemical markers, we have been able to localize one of these designated Hst-2, close to Mod-1 on chromosome 9.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Domiciliary and out-patient treatment of self-poisoning patients by medical and non-medical staff.

In a study of domiciliary and out-patient treatment of self-poisoning patients, using a brief problem-orientated approach, it was found that domiciliary treatment resulted in much higher attendance rates but no difference in outcome. Patients who completed out-patient treatment had a better outcome than those who failed to attend treatment sessions. Completion of out-patient treatment was more frequent among higher social class patients. Domiciliary treatment may be more appropriate in some cases for married patients and for those of lower social class. Medical and non-medical staff proved to be equally effective therapists. Future research should be concerned with evaluation of alternative methods of provision of help and further identification of patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Sexual dysfunction and psychiatric morbidity in patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases.

Patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) were interviewed to estimate the presence of sexual dysfunction, and the GHQ-60 was used to measure psychiatric morbidity. Over one-fifth of the males and more than one-quarter of the females were experiencing sexual dysfunction problems, and the majority of them would have liked further help for their problems. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are made for dealing with these patients.

Adult↗