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Biomedical subjects

S Pfeifer

Publications and source records attributed to S Pfeifer.

210 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Demonic attributions in nondelusional disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Belief in demonic influence has repeatedly been described as a delusion in schizophrenic patients. The goal of this explorative study was to examine the frequency, as well as the psychodynamic and social functions of such beliefs in a sample of nondelusional patients. METHOD: The sample consisted of 343 psychiatric outpatients who described themselves as religious. In semistructured interviews they were asked to give their view of demonic causality of their illness. RESULTS: A high prevalence of such beliefs was not only found in schizophrenic patients (56%) but also in the following groups of nondelusional patients: affective disorders (29%), anxiety disorders (48%), personality disorders (37%) and adjustment disorders (23%). Belief in demonic oppression tended to be associated with lower educational level and rural origin, and was significantly influenced by church affiliation. CONCLUSIONS: Beliefs in possession or demonic influence are not confined to delusional disorders and should not be qualified as a mere delusion. Rather they have to be interpreted against the cultural and religious background which is shaping causal models of mental distress in the individual.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The biotransformation of the immunostimulant 3-(2-mercaptoethyl)quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (AWD 100-041)].

3-(2-Mercaptoethyl)quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-dione (1; AWD 100-041) is a substance with immunomodulating and immunorestorative activity. After p.o. administration in male Wistar rats at least 7 metabolites are formed and excreted in urine and faeces. The compounds were isolated and identified on the basis of UV and mass spectra. They are S-methylated structures in which sulfoxidation and ring-hydroxylation have been taken place. Four metabolites are also present as sulfate or glucuronide conjugates. The quantity ratio of the phase I to phase II metabolites amounts to 4:1. In the isolated perfused rat liver and rat hepatocyte culture 6 and 5 of the in vivo identified compounds are formed. The sequence of the metabolic pathways could be confirmed by in vitro experiments in which the incubation of synthetically prepared metabolites and the identification of generated biotransformation products were performed. In the lymphocyte and myeloma cell culture solely the disulfide of 1 is formed. After incubation of the S-methyl compound metabolites originate detectable also in vivo. Regarding the main ways of metabolism firstly 1 is attacked by methyltransferases forming the initial metabolite. After that oxidative processes take place leading to the formation of sulfoxides, sulfones as well as ring-hydroxylated compounds. A part of the ring-hydroxylated metabolites are conjugated.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Neurosis and religiosity. Is there a causal correlation?].

The interrelation between religiosity, mental health and psychopathology is reviewed on the basis of the current literature. Attributional labels, such as the German term "ecclesiogenic neurosis" are submitted to a critical reevaluation, and their validity as a construct is questioned. Neurotic symptomatology in religious patients has to be seen against the background of their underlying pathology, their biography, and the way in which they integrate religion into their life styles. The religiosity of a patient cannot be singled out as a causative and thus primary pathogenetic factor. Rather religion has to be seen as one forming element among others contributing to the content of a neurotic process. Therapists working with religious patients should try to understand the religious background of their patients in order to help them integrate their religiosity in a larger framework of therapeutic goals.

Adaptation, Psychological↗