Schizophrenia, gender, and affect.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Affective Disorders, Psychotic↗
Biomedical subjects
M V Seeman
Publications and source records attributed to M V Seeman.
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↗
Shared psychotic disorder: a critical review of the literature.
OBJECTIVE: To search the literature to reassess the concept of shared psychotic disorder (SPD) using modern nosology and current biopsychosocial formulation. METHOD: Analyzing published case reports from 1942 through to 1993 that meet DSM-IV criteria for SPD according to patient age, sex, nature and duration of the relationship with the "primary", length of exposure to primary's psychosis, family psychiatric history, comorbidity, social isolation of the dyad, presence of hallucinations, delusional type, and the diagnosis of the primary. RESULTS: Findings revealed: 1. males and females were affected with equal frequency; 2. there was equal prevalence in younger and older patients; 3. the majority of shared psychoses (90.2%) were equally distributed among married couples, siblings, and parent-child dyads; 4. comorbid dementia, depression, and mental retardation were common; 5. hallucinations were common; 6. the majority of dyads (67.3%) were socially isolated. CONCLUSIONS: SPD probably occurs in premorbidly disposed individuals in the context of social isolation which is shared with a psychotic person.
Adolescent↗
Neural networks and schizophrenia.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Arousal↗
Schizophrenia: D4 receptor elevation. What does it mean?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Animals↗
Reducing the dose of depot neuroleptics in stable schizophrenia.
In order to determine the safety of reducing maintenance neuroleptic dose in long-term ambulatory schizophrenia, a step-wise depot reduction study was carried out on patients over a six month period. Doses were reduced by 1/8 of original approximately every two months for a total of three reductions. At the end of dose reduction and at six month follow-up, relapse rate was calculated. Relapse in this study was defined as the clinical decision to either increase neuroleptic dose or to hospitalize. Approximately 50% of the patients relapsed. There was no association with life events as measured by the Paykel scale. Where relapse occurred, it was usually seen subsequent to the second dose reduction. Patients who survived dose reduction had been maintained for a significantly longer period on depot neuroleptics and tended to suffer from a form of schizophrenia which required the co-administration of antidepressants. The findings show that, for a population on long-term depot medication, the risk of symptom exacerbation after gradual step-wise neuroleptic reduction is 50%. The results help to delineate which patients will fall into that 50%.
Adult↗
Variation in symptom severity over the menstrual cycle of schizophrenics.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Current cannabis use and tardive dyskinesia.
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between substance abuse and tardive dyskinesia (TD) in 51 chronic, neuroleptic-treated, community outpatients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the presence of a clinical researcher, subjects completed a questionnaire on past and current alcohol and drug use, and provided information pertaining to variables which have, in the past, been implicated in the development of TD: smoking habits, caffeine consumption, and current neuroleptic dose. Subjects were also administered the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) in an interview format with either two or three trained raters present in the room. Consistent with previous reports, our results indicated a trend for females and older patients with a longer duration of illness to show elevated scores on the AIMS. In a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, however, cannabis use was found to correlate best with the presence of TD, out-ranking other putative factors.
Adult↗
Schizophrenia: impact of positive symptoms on gender social role.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted at one public and one private schizophrenia outpatient setting in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to study gender differences in social disabilities. Sixty-nine patients who fulfilled DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia were assessed by means of Brazilian versions of PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and DAS (Disability Assessment Scale). Males presented an earlier onset of the disease and were less likely to have ever married. With respect to social disabilities, males fared worse than females on three items of DAS: self-care, under-activity and work performance. The adjusted scores of Section 1 (Overall Behavior) and Section 2 (Social Role Performance) were submitted to multiple regression analysis using the variables of sex, age of onset, age at examination, educational level, number of psychiatric admissions and the total scores of the positive and negative syndromes. Three variables explained a substantial part (45%) of the variance of overall behavior. These three were sex, age at examination, and negative syndrome total score. The higher the negative syndrome total score, the greater the disabilities for both sexes. Three variables explained 38% of the variance of social role performance. These were sex, negative symptoms and an interaction between sex and positive symptoms. The higher the negative syndrome total score, the greater the role impairment, regardless of sex. In women, but not in men, we found that the higher the positive syndrome total score, the greater the impairment in social role performance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Activities of Daily Living↗
Schizophrenia: normal sequence in the dopamine D2 receptor region that couples to G-proteins. DNA polymorphisms in D2.
Because dopamine (DA) D2 receptors are a target in neuroleptic therapy and have been found to be elevated in schizophrenia, the human DA D2 receptor gene was examined for possible abnormalities in schizophrenia. Moreover, since D2 receptors in psychosis have a reduced coupling to D1 receptors, the cytoplasmic third loop of D2 was chosen for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, since this region is essential for coupling to G-proteins. This region also contains exon 5, which is expressed in the long form of D2, but not in the short form of D2. In eight schizophrenia cases, this region had normal exon sequences (exons 4, 5 and 6), and normal sequences at its intron-exon junctions. However, exon 6 contained three DNA polymorphic base changes, and introns 4 and 5 revealed three missing bases and two polymorphic base changes, none of which would be expected to alter the D2 receptor protein in schizophrenia.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Auditory hallucinations in women and men.
The total population of a community schizophrenia registry sample yielded information about the relative lifetime frequency of hallucinations in women and men. Whereas hallucinations in non-auditory modalities were equally distributed between the two sexes, auditory hallucinations were significantly more common in women. These results will be considered in relation to the existing literature on hallucinations and gender.
Adult↗
Schizophrenia and AIDS.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Long-term psychiatric treatment.
Is long term psychiatric care superfluous? Can it be provided by non medical therapists? This paper examines this question from the perspective of one patient who was in therapy for 20 years.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
The role of estrogens in schizophrenia gender differences.
The male/female differences that have been described in schizophrenia are important because they may ultimately shed light on factors that mediate the expression of schizophrenic illness. The hypothesis of this article is that estrogens, either directly or indirectly, modify symptom expression and account for many of the observed gender differences. The role of sex hormones is divided into organizational and activational effects. Organizational effects take place during a critical period in fetal life and put a permanent stamp on the developing brain. Activational effects are the direct influences of circulating hormones that appear when hormonal levels rise, and wane when hormonal levels drop. Because levels of sex hormones in adult women fluctuate during the menstrual cycle, cyclic effects of high and low female hormones may induce specific responses by the adult female brain. All these effects have implications for genetic, environmental, pharmacological, neurocognitive, clinical, and epidemiological research in schizophrenia.
Adult↗
Chronic schizophrenia: a risk factor for HIV?
Chronic mental patients may constitute a previously unrecognized high-risk group for the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus. This paper briefly reviews the literature on sexual awareness, sexuality, substance abuse, and schizophrenia, and addresses the problems of implementing sex education programs for chronic mental patients. Although problematic, such preventive programs are urgently needed.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Tardive dyskinesia: a five year follow-up.
A group of chronic schizophrenic patients receiving prolonged treatment with neuroleptics was assessed in 1978 at an outpatient clinic to determine the prevalence of Tardive Dyskinesia. Those with TD were reassessed after two and five years with regard to change in TD severity. The Smith scale was used every time and, on the last assessment, the AIMS scale and videotaped interviews were added. Because of the high attrition rate, results, though interesting, cannot be generalized.
Adult↗
Resistance to specialized services for AIDS patients within psychiatry.
Despite the opportunity of helpful intervention, palliation, and prevention in the form of psychosocial counselling, specialized services for AIDS patients and individuals-at-risk have met with resistance within psychiatry. Resistance can be understood as a reaction to the nature of the illness and its demographics. It can also be understood as an outgrowth of current psychiatric practice and theory, especially as it pertains to homosexuality.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Prenatal gonadal hormones and schizophrenia in men and women.
Prenatal gonadal hormones organize human brains in sexually dimorphic patterns which are subtly different from each other. These subtle differences, in interaction with the environment, may be responsible for the somewhat different expression of schizophrenic illness in the two sexes.
Animals↗