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Biomedical subjects

Michael Kroll

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Kroll.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Subjective quality of life of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most frequent diagnosis in psychiatry. Patients with OCD suffer from obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior, which impact their everyday life negatively. OBJECTIVE: Subjective quality of life (QoL) in patients with OCD was examined and compared to the general German population and to patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Seventy-five patients, aged 21-72, with OCD (ICD 10 F42.0-F42.2) were recruited from the outpatient clinic for anxiety disorders at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Leipzig. By means of the WHOQOL-BREF, QoL was assessed in patients with OCD in a representative sample of patients with schizophrenia and in a sample of the general population of Saxony/Germany. RESULTS: Compared with the general population, QoL in patients with OCDs was lower in all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. Unexpectedly, QoL in patients with OCDs was lower in the domains "psychological well-being" and "social relationships" when compared with schizophrenia patients. CONCLUSIONS: OCD has a substantial adverse effect on patients' subjective QoL, which may be even greater than the adverse effect of schizophrenia. Therefore, it will be necessary to include interventions in the treatment of OCD aimed at improving residual deficits in psychosocial functioning and QoL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Quality of life of relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects the lives of both patients and their relatives. Clinical observations suggest that family members of patients with OCD are involved in the patients' rituals, often impairing their own everyday life. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the quality of life (QoL) of relatives of patients with OCD with that of the general German population. METHODS: Seventy-four relatives (29 parents, 33 spouses, 8 children, and 4 siblings) of patients with OCD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision F42.0-F42.2) were recruited from the outpatient clinic for anxiety disorders of the University of Leipzig Department of Psychiatry. The WHOQOL-BREF, a self-administered questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization, assessed QoL. These findings were compared with the QoL of a representative sample of the general German population. RESULTS: Compared with that of the general population, the QoL of relatives of patients with OCD was significantly lower in the domains physical well-being, psychologic well-being, and social relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Obsessive-compulsive disorder has an adverse effect on the subjective QoL of relatives of patients with OCD. Therefore, these findings suggest that professionals working with relatives must focus not only on the care given to persons with an illness but also on their relatives' situation and personal QoL.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

[Subjective quality of life of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder compared to the general population].

BACKGROUND: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) not only suffer from obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but also the disorder is associated with impaired social functioning, which impact their everyday life negatively. OBJECTIVE: Subjective quality of life (QoL) in patients with OCD was examined and compared to the general German population. METHODS: 75 patients with OCD (ICD-10 F42.0-F42.2) were recruited from the outpatient clinic for anxiety disorders at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Leipzig. Patients showing psychiatric co-morbidity were excluded. By means of the WHOQOL-BREF, QoL was assessed in patients with OCD and in a sample of the general population of Saxony/Germany. RESULTS: Compared with the general population, QoL in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders was lower in all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. CONCLUSION: OCD has a substantial adverse effect on patients' subjective QoL. Therefore, it will be necessary to include interventions in the treatment of OCD aimed at improving residual deficits in psychosocial functioning and QoL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[Efficacy and safety of a herbal drug containing hawthorn berries and D-camphor in hypotension and orthostatic circulatory disorders/results of a retrospective epidemiologic cohort study].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Korodin Herz-Kreislauf-Tropfen, a herbal drug containing D-camphor (CAS 76-22-2; 2.5 %) and a liquid extract of fresh hawthorn berries (97.3%), has been used since many years for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension. The combination as well as its constituents were tested in clinical trials against placebo with healthy volunteers and patients using tilt-tests. The objective of this study was to investigate efficacy and safety of the drug under the conditions of medical practice in comparison to other drugs admitted for this indication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was performed as an epidemiological retrospective cohort study in 46 medical practices in Germany. In the practices the files were reviewed for patients who were treated between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2002 for orthostatic hypotension. Included in the study were all patients who were treated either with the test drug or a control drug containing etilefrine, oxilofrine, midodrine, norfenefrine or dihydroergotamine and who met the inclusion criteria. The data of the files were coded, transferred to case report forms and augmented by the physician's statements about symptoms and success. Effect criteria were the improvement of symptoms and change of blood pressure during treatment. The correctness of the data was controlled using anonymous copies of the files. A total of 490 patients (399 in the test-group and 91 in the control group) between 11 and 102 years were included in the study. To correct heterogeneities in baseline conditions, treatment results were adjusted by regression and stratification to equal baseline conditions using the propensity score. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratio for improvement was 5.6, the adjusted mean increase of the systolic blood pressure the 2-fold compared to the control group. The difference was highly significant and did not depend on age or initial blood pressure. In the test group two adverse events were observed which had no relation to the medication; in the control group one reversible event with a probable relation to the medication was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The test drug was proven as effective and safe in the treatment of orthostatic hypotension in medical practice for all age groups and independent of the initial blood pressures.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

HIV-related Hodgkin's disease with central nervous system involvement and association with Epstein-Barr virus.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is a rare occurrence in the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related Hodgkin's disease (HD). We report the clinical course of a patient with HIV infection who developed systemic HD, mixed cellularity subtype, later complicated by leptomeningeal involvement. The patient died from his illness, and autopsy was performed. Examining the brain lesion, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) presence was demonstrated in Reed-Sternberg cells by immunohistochemistry using an EBER probe for EBV RNA. This is the second case report in the English literature of HD involving the CNS in an HIV-positive individual, and the first demonstrating EBV presence. Extranodal presence of Hodgkin's disease in patients with HIV infection is probably related to immunosuppression, and physicians treating this illness should be alert to the potential of unusual sites of involvement.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[The presentation of depression in German daily newspapers].

OBJECTIVE: According to results of the latest research, the state of knowledge of the German population regarding depressive disorders has improved during the last years. The question arises to what extent the print media have contributed to this development. METHOD: All editions of three German dailies--Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and Bild Zeitung (BZ)--published in the first months of each quarter in 1990 and 2000 were analysed. All articles that were identified using the search key *depress* were included. A full text search was carried out, except for the editions of SZ and FAZ from the year 2000 which are available on CD-ROM. Using a coding system specifically designed for this study, a quantitative content analysis was carried out taking into consideration both formal and contents-related aspects. RESULTS: None of the three newspapers investigated helps to promote better understanding of depressive disorders. A comparison between 1990 and 2000 shows that there has been no development towards a more adequate representation of depression in any of the dailies examined. When aspects of the illness are mentioned it is mostly in the form of speculations over etiological factors. Rarely published articles that are rather confusing for lay people mostly report details taken out of their context. The term "depression" is often used metaphorically. Among the few descriptions of people with depression, negative aspects prevail. CONCLUSION: The image of depression as a serious mental illness can hardly be developed by reading the newspapers investigated. The improvement in lay people's state of knowledge cannot be attributed to a more adequate representation of depression in the daily newspapers examined.

Depressive Disorder↗