Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Treatment resistance occurs in a variety of psychiatric disorders and presents an ongoing challenge as we attempt to optimize treatments for our patients.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder with a variety of phenotypic expressions. Delineation of clinically distinct subtypes of the disorder may be valuable in predicting treatment response and resistance.

Psychological Therapies for Schizophrenia: Family and Cognitive Interventions

Biological Markers and the Future of Early Diagnosis and Treatment in Schizophrenia

Psychotic disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by positive symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorder; and negative symptoms, including mood symptoms, social withdrawal, and reduced motivation. Cognitive deficits also appear with psychotic disorders. Psychotic disorders rank 22nd in the World Health Organization's list of worldwide causes of disability. This ranking is adjusted for the relatively low lifetime prevalence rate for psychosis; the perceived burden of the disease on those affected with psychotic disorders, as well as their relatives and caregivers, is much higher.

DSM-IV-TR emphasizes that patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show a "instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts," and any five out of nine listed criteria must be present for the diagnosis to be made.

Because personality is shaped by experiences during childhood and adolescence, it is likely that mental disorders occurring during these years may have an influence on personality development.

A discussion of the epidemiology, assessment, diagnostic dilemmas, and treatment of avoidant personality disorder.

The prevalence and debilitating nature of some of the personality disorders has impeded the study of psychopharmacology in these conditions. However, important advances have been made in the last several years.

An examination of recent research on psychosocial treatments for personality disorders, including randomized controlled trials and empirically supported therapies as well as dialectical behavior therapy.

Dr Muller describes a case of a patient with a paranoid psychosis who clearly needs help, yet refuses treatment.

Although several clinical studies suggest that cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are associated with reduced stimulation of dopamine receptors in the prefrontal cortex, mounting evidence suggests that other monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems may also be involved. We provide an overview of neurotransmitters that hold promise as therapeutic interventions for the cognitive deficit in schizophrenia.

Are juveniles mature enough to receive the death penalty? No, according to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Medical, psychiatric, psychological and brain-imaging data all supported the decision to ban execution of juvenile death-row inmates.

Despite the fact that awareness of HIV and AIDS transmission is pervasive, risky sexual behavior has been increasing in many parts of the world in recent years, with a concomitant rise in new cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

There has been a significant shift from the view that personality disorder is untreatable; we do have treatments that have at least some efficacy and one of these is psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Evidence from randomized trials has shown that it is effective in treating borderline personality disorder, and follow-up studies confirm that the gains are robust.

Borderline personality disorder is a complex, disabling disorder. The chairperson for the American Psychiatric Association workgroup for the evidence-based practice guideline on its treatment gives an overview of this disorder's etiologies, neurobiology, longitudinal course and recommended treatments. Future directions for both treatments and research are also discussed.

Although the term borderline has been in clinical use since the late 1930s, it only became an official Axis II diagnosis in 1980 with the publication of DSM-III.

How does the role of culture affect disease presentation? The author reviews the impact of religion, ideology and upbringing on the epidemiology of OCD in Egypt.

Deficient omega-3 fatty acids can result in myriad pathological changes including altering the central nervous system. Their balance or imbalance changes receptor function, prostaglandin and cytokine production. Understanding the roles of these essential fatty acids is vital to remedying the fatty acid abnormalities found in a number of psychiatric disorders.

Although treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder has improved, a large percentage of patients do not respond to pharmacological therapy. What familial or comorbid factors might influence the outcome for these patients?

Neurofeedback, a way for patients to learn to create and maintain desirable brainwaves, may be an affective adjunct therapy for many psychiatric disorders. Which procedures are most effective, and what are the benefits and risks?

Neurofeedback, also called electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback or neurotherapy, is an adjunctive treatment used for psychiatric conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, phobic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, depression and affective disorders, autism, and addictive disorders (Moore, 2000; Rosenfeld, 2000; Trudeau, 2000).

At stake is whether the laws defining sanity can actually distinguish between those individuals who are evil and those who are mentally ill, and what role psychiatrists should play when the legal definitions make the difference between life and death. Also under the microscope is the value of forensic psychiatric testimony itself, and whether the message about mental illness is getting through to juries, judges and appellate justices.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is a common-and, frequently undiagnosed-psychiatric disorder. This article will focus on the symptoms, associated features, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prevalence, etiology and treatment of this illness.

Personality disorders are characterized by the presence of inflexible and maladaptive patterns of perceiving oneself and relating to the environment that result in psychosocial impairment or subjective distress. The enduring nature of the behaviors, their impact on social functioning, the lack of clear boundaries between normality and illness, and the patient's perception of the symptoms as not being foreign make this group of conditions more difficult to conceptualize than the more typical, episodic mental disorders.