concept and epidemiology of DHAT syndrome

Culture bound syndromes refer to prevalence of some syndromes in specific cultures. Dhat syndrome [semen loss related psychological distress] is a culture- bound entity seen in natives of Indian sub-continent. Due to its clinical significance, it has been included in ICD-10. It is suggested that such a perception is reflective of the unusual emphasis placed on the qualities of semen in ancient holy treatises. The clinical picture includes symptoms of hypochondriacal quality, with or without psychosexual dysfunction. The symptoms usually disappear if the misconceptions about semen loss are effectively dealt with proper sex education and relaxation exercises. It is expected that with increasing literacy and progress in sexual knowledge among the general population of this region, the syndrome will become less common

Panic disorder: a clinical study

This study is concerned with the clinical and demographic aspects of panic disorder. One hundred any fifty patients were interviewed in a private psychiatric clinic. They were diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria. The results showed that the prevalence of panic disorder among anxiety disorders is rather high [14.5%]. This study showed a certain pattern of association between panic disorder and the other diagnostic categories. Six subgroups were emerged. Namely panic disorder alone [17.3%], or panic disorder with one of the following psychiatric categories: agoraphobia [12%], social phobia [10.6%], depression [26%], simple phobia [15.3%] and generalized anxiety [18.6%]. The results confirm the comorbidity with other diagnostic categories. The results of comparison between the six sub-groups in relation to the severity of symptoms has failed to find differences among different diagnostic categories. However, the correlation between the severity of symptoms and precipitating factors was weakly supported. The Cognitive component of the study was discussed. Suggestions for future research were made

Comentários sobre medicina psicossomática / Comments on psychosomatic medicine

A medicina psicossompatica é entendida como a concepçäo da enfermidade enfocando a organizaçäo unitária do homem, uma totalidade biológica, psicológica, social e histórica. A psicanálise foi a ferramenta teórica essencial nesta visäo integrante. O autor aborda a visäo psicanalítica dos distúrbios psicossompaticos e tece comentários sobre as pertubaçöes hipocondríacas. Apresenta algumas idéias de angel Garma sobre as pertubaçöes psicossomáticas e esboça interessantes teorias de Joyce McDougall em torno do assunto. Aponta, por fim, em rápidos comentários, consideraçöes sobre as manifestaçöes psicossomáticas, hipocondríacas e conversivas