[Brain computed tomography scan nessecity before lumbar puncture in meningitis patients with more than 60 years age]

Central Nervous System [CNS] infections especially meningitis is a medical emergency that once suspected should be proved through Lumbar Puncture [LP] and cerebrospinal Fluid [CSF] analysis. On the other hand due to life - threatening complications such as brain herniation in the people older than 60, the procedure safety is debated. This study was done in order to determine the necessity of the Lumbar Puncture [LP] in the patients older than 60 years old who are suspected to meningitis. This descriptive study was done in Infectious Clinic of Imam Reza Hospital, Mashad, Iran from fall 2003 to fall 2005. 90 patients who were suspected to meningitis and undergone brain CT scanning and LP were studied. The results of patient's history, physical examination, demographic information, CT scanning and LP all collected in a questionnaire and analyzed by spss and statistics examinations. Among 90 patients suspected of meningitis who underwent Brain CT-scan and LP, 81 suffered from loss of consciousness, 2 were chronic course and 7 without clinical LP contraindication other than age. 75 had normal CT-scan and 15 had abnormal CT-scan, among which was no space occupying lesion with mass effect or midline shift. Final diagnosis was acute bacterial meningitis in 14 cases and aseptic meningitis in 7 cases and other causes of meningitis in 7 cases, Encephalitis in 1, and 61 cases other CNS infection. Despite other clinical contraindications for LP in most of the patients, in 75 cases. [83%] brain CT-scan was normal and in only 15 cases [17%] there was abnormal CT-scan among which none was a contraindication for LP [i.e space occupying lesion with mass effect or midline shift]. Therefore the role of "age over sixty" as an absolute indication for Brain CT-scan, regarding the existing medical facilities and conditions in our country, did not seem acceptable

[Optimism and stress appraisal: evaluation of two theoretical models in prediction of psychological adjustment]

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of optimism, and stress appraisal on coping and psychological adjustment based on Scheier and Carver's and Lazarus and Folkman's models.Five questionnaires [Life Orientation Test-Revised, Stress Appraisal, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale and General Health Questionnaire] were administered to 208 females and 147 males that were volunteer to university entrance examination. Comparative analyses indicated that optimists and pessimists differed significantly in secondary [but not primary] appraisal. Regression analyses indicated that optimism-pessimism and stress appraisal variables account for a significant amount of the variance in coping strategies and psychological adjustment. In whole results showed that both models can predict psychological adjustment, although situational variables [stress appraisal] have greater contributions than personal variables [optimism]

[ study of factor structure, validity, reliability and standardization of borderline personality scale [STB] in Shiraz University Students]

The borderline traits scale [STB] was developed at Oxford by Claridge and Broks [1984]. As outlined in detail in Claridge and Broks, STB scale was based on the criteria for borderline personality disorder, and was set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual -3rd edition [DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980]. Recently this scale was revised by Rawlings et al [2001]. In this study STB corresponded with DSM-IV-TR's criteria for borderline personality disorder. This scale represented one form of a more general 'borderline' condition, referring to unstable modes of interpersonal responding, including ambivalence and degree of control of emotional expression. This scale investigates borderline characteristics of normal population on the base of continuity view of psychotic characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate psychometric properties and standardization of borderline personality scale [STB]. A group of 749 normal participants [380 male and 369 female from collages of Shiraz University] and 60 patients [30 with schizophrenia and 30 with major depression disorders] took part in this research. Principal Component Analysis with promax rotation for STB, extracted three factors which were labeled hopelessness, impulsivity and stress related paranoid/dissociative symptoms factors respectively. However for this scale three other types of validity [concurrent validity, differential validity and correlation between subscales and the whole scale and among subscales] and three reliability [test retest, internal constancy and half splitting reliabilities] were reported. Based on these results, it was concluded that STB scale contain good psychometric properties in Iranian population and it be can used, as valid measure, in psychological and psychiatric researches. Finally the result of this study showed standardized information for STB with sample of 749 participants