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Biomedical subjects

M V Seeman

Publications and source records attributed to M V Seeman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Temporal horn enlargement is present in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Ventricular enlargement and temporal lobe volume deficits have been demonstrated in patients with affective disorder as well as those with schizophrenia. This study compares quantitative measures of temporal lobe, hemispheric, and ventricular volumes in a group of patients with chronic schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and seeks to determine if the groups can be differentiated on the basis of measured brain abnormalities. METHODS: A series of coronal magnetic resonance imaging sections were acquired and analyzed for each of 22 patients with chronic schizophrenia, 14 patients with bipolar disorder, and 15 community volunteers. Eleven regions of interest for each brain were defined, which included temporal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, hemisphere, lateral ventricle, third ventricle, and temporal horn measures. Tissue measures were obtained by tracing, and cerebrospinal fluid measures were obtained by fluid-tissue thresholding using specialized computer software. RESULTS: Both patient groups had significantly larger temporal horn volumes in comparison with the control group both before and after correction for intracranial volume. The two patient groups did not differ from each other or controls on any other tissue or fluid measure. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the findings of increased temporal horn volume in patients with schizophrenia and suggests that this structural abnormality does not differentiate the structural neuropathology of schizophrenia from that of bipolar disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

A human serotonin-7 receptor pseudogene.

Although the serotonin-7 receptor was cloned several years ago, its localization in brain tissues remains confusing because of the existence of a related expressed pseudogene, the sequence of which has not hitherto been reported. During the course of searching for related receptor genes, we also searched for this pseudogene to determine its sequence. Human genomic DNA was screened for dopamine and serotonin receptor-like genes, using the polymerase chain reaction method and degenerate oligonucleotide primers based on the similar sequences in the transmembrane-6 and -7 regions of the serotonin-5A, the serotonin-7, and the dopamine D2, D3 and D4 receptors. This resulted in one of the clones having a 115 bp fragment, of which 89% of the bases were identical to the transmembrane-6 and -7 regions of the serotonin-7 receptor sequence. The fragment was radiolabelled and used to screen a human fetal brain cDNA library. A novel cDNA clone of 1326 bp was isolated. Based on the nucleotide sequence, 88% of the bases in this sequence of the pseudogene are identical to the human serotonin-7 receptor coding sequence. However, compared to the serotonin-7 receptor DNA sequence, the pseudogene sequence has nucleotide deletions and insertions, resulting in frame-shifts and stop codons. It was concluded that this sequence represented a pseudogene related to the serotonin-7 receptor gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

A scale to measure the impact of a schizophrenic illness on an individual's self-concept.

This study was conducted to assess the reliability and validity of the Modified Engulfment Scale (MES) which measures the impact of schizophrenia on self-concept. The concept of engulfment offers a theoretical framework for understanding how a person's self-concept incorporates the experience of mental illness. In a homogeneous sample of 100 outpatients with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder increased engulfment was found to correlate positively with hopelessness and low self-esteem and negatively with self-efficacy. In addition, clinical findings revealed that increased levels of engulfment were associated with an earlier age of onset, a longer illness, a greater number of hospitalizations and decreased social adjustment. These results suggest that individuals with a more severe form of the illness are vulnerable to engulfment. The study results also show substantial evidence for the reliability and validity of the MES.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Quality of life measurement in schizophrenia: reconciling the quest for subjectivity with the question of reliability.

BACKGROUND: The patients' ability to appraise their quality of life in schizophrenia was studied by examining the reliability and the validity of self-rated quality of life estimates. METHODS: Sixty-three symptomatically stable patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) receiving maintenance treatment were evaluated over a 4-week period. The subjects were asked to appraise their quality of life at weekly intervals on a single item global quality of life measure, as well as the self-administered sickness impact profile. The patients' quality of life was also rated by a clinician using the social performance schedule and the global assessment scale of functioning; and clinical aspects such as the severity of psychotic symptoms, neurocognitive deficits, dose of medications, and side effects were documented with standardized measures. RESULTS: The results indicated that the patients' self-reports were highly consistent over the 4 weeks, and the quality of life ratings correlated significantly with the clinician's estimates. The patients' quality of life was predictably influenced by the severity of their symptoms, side effects, cognitive deficits and the dose of their antipsychotic medication, but the reliability of their reports was not materially affected by these factors. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that clinically compliant and stable patients with schizophrenia can evaluate and report their quality of life with a high degree of reliability and concurrent validity, implying that self-report measures are potentially useful tools in clinical trials and outcome studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Narratives of twenty to thirty year outcomes in schizophrenia.

This descriptive study objectively compares three decades in the life histories of women and men with schizophrenia treated continuously at one institution. On the basis of clinical observation, it was hypothesized that the first ten years of illness would be stormier for men, but that women would suffer more than their male counterparts as they began to approach the age of menopause. Eighty active patients with a current diagnosis of DSM-IV schizophrenia were identified. From this group, ten men and ten women, randomly selected, agreed to review and publication of their life stories in slightly altered form. These twenty patients and their current case managers were interviewed. Their medical records were reviewed and the course of selected predictor variables was charted on the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN) entry form. The entries on the CAN fluctuated markedly for most of the patients over the two to three decades of illness. Seven of the ten men were, as predicted, globally most severely ill during their first decade of illness and improved thereafter. By contrast, eight of the ten women appeared to suffer a relatively need-free first decade, followed by increasing disability over time. In this small group, which, because of the method of recruitment, excluded best and worst outcomes, factors such as onset age, duration of untreated prodrome, and early course of illness (as assessed by chart review) did not predict long-term outcome. On the other hand, substance abuse, social supports, and a family history of schizophrenia were more closely correlated with 20- to 30-year outcome status. The direct effect of female menopause on illness severity was not possible to gauge in this study, but alterations in hormones may have played a part in responsivity to family and social loss.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

A service for women with schizophrenia.

A program for women with schizophrenia that combines inpatient, outpatient, and outreach services is described. The program was established at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto in 1995. Services include a comprehensive patient and family assessment, with subsequent recommendations to the treating clinician about differential diagnosis, psychopharmacologic and psychosocial treatments, and patient management during pregnancy and early parenthood. Other components of the program are home-based outreach services, substance abuse counseling, instruction of new mothers and parenting training, sex education, relationship-focused groups, and self-protection in an urban environment to prevent victimization. The clinic has established liaisons with pediatricians and gynecologists in the community to provide care to clinic patients. Linkages have also been established with agencies and facilities to fill gaps in the service spectrum, such as fitness programs and leisure activities and children's aid and protection.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Deficits in gray matter volume are present in schizophrenia but not bipolar disorder.

Studies using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging have provided strong evidence that patients with schizophrenia as a group have structural brain abnormalities, including enlarged ventricles and sulci as well as smaller cortical gray matter volumes. This study was undertaken to investigate whether the brain abnormalities found in schizophrenia could be distinguished from those seen in bipolar disorder. The MR scans of 23 patients with schizophrenia were compared to those of 17 healthy community volunteers and 14 patients with bipolar disorder. Images were processed using computer-based image processing techniques to generate quantitative measures of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter and white matter volumes. Compared to the community volunteers, the schizophrenia group had larger total CSF volumes while the bipolar group had larger ventricles. Smaller cortical gray matter volumes were found in the schizophrenia group, but not in the bipolar group. The schizophrenia group had regional deficits in gray matter volumes in comparison with both the community volunteers and the bipolar group. These findings suggest that the brain tissue abnormalities found in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may be distinguishable using MR imaging.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Relationship between the five-factor model of personality and unipolar, bipolar and schizophrenic patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine personality differences among three different Axis I disorders-recovered patients with unipolar depression (n = 62), euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (n = 34), and patients with schizophrenia in the residual phase of their illness (n = 41) using the five-factor model of personality (FFM). The dimensions of the FFM-Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Agreeableness (A), and Conscientiousness (C)-were measured with composite scores derived from the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). While no group differences emerged on N or C, the bipolar patients scored significantly higher on the Positive Emotion facet (subscale) of E than the unipolar patients. The schizophrenic patients scored lower on the Feelings, Values and Actions facets of O than did the unipolar and bipolar patients. The unipolar patients scored higher on A than the schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Psychopathology in women and men: focus on female hormones.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this overview is to examine male/female differences in psychopathology in light of the known effects of gonadal steroids, especially estradiol, on neural function. METHOD: The epidemiology of specific psychopathological syndromes is highlighted with respect to male/female differences and discussed against the backdrop of recent neuroendocrine findings. RESULTS: A number of differences between the sexes in rates of illness and course of illness are documented, with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and mood and anxiety disorders each illustrating slightly different hormone-mediated risks and buffers. CONCLUSIONS: Estrogens are neuroprotective with respect to neuronal degeneration, growth, and susceptibility to toxins. The cyclic fluctuations of estrogens and progesterone enhance the response to stress, which confers susceptibility to depression and anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Detecting feigned depression and schizophrenia on the MMPI-2.

Increasingly, investigations evaluating the effectiveness of the MMPI-2 in the assessment of malingering employ methodologies whereby research participants are asked to feigned specific disorders rather than just to "fake bad." Yet there is little research addressing the issue of whether different validity scales and indicators work differently in the detection of different feigned disorders. In this study the comparative effectiveness of a number of validity scales and indicators on the MMPI-2 to assess feigned depression and feigned schizophrenia were evaluated. Overall, the validity scales and indicators were better at detecting feigned schizophrenia than they were in detecting feigned depression, attributable, most likely, to closer familiarity with depressive experiences. The validity scales F, Fb, and F(p) best distinguish patients with schizophrenia from participants feigning schizophrenia, and F and Fb best distinguish patients with depression from participants feigning depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The perceived family burden scale: measurement and validation.

Findings in family burden research suggest that, in families with a mentally ill relative, patterns of family interaction develop in response to the onset of major mental illness and result from the burden experienced by family members in coping with illness. The present study focused on instrument development and validation of the Perceived Family Burden Scale (PFBS), a measure of those patient behaviors associated with schizophrenia and the impact of these behaviors on relatives. The PFBS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument which demonstrated greater predictive power for early symptomatic relapse in schizophrenia than another measure of family interaction, expressed emotion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The role of estrogen in schizophrenia.

This paper reviews 3 recent studies from different clinics correlating psychotic symptoms with phases of the menstrual cycle in women with schizophrenia. The aim of the paper is to focus on the estrogen protection hypothesis which would suggest that low estrogen phases correlate with more severe symptoms, and high estrogen phases correlate with less severe symptoms. Although the methodology of the 3 studies was different, the hypothesis was essentially upheld. High levels of estrogens protect against symptom exacerbations in women with schizophrenia. A corollary to this finding is that, for optimal efficacy and safety, neuroleptic doses could be reduced at certain times of the month and increased at others.

Adult↗