[The problem of "middle cases". Psychopathologic and nosographic evaluation]. / Il problema dei "casi a mezzo". Valutazione psicopatologica e nosografica.

A group of 246 psychotic patients diagnosed on the basis of DSM III R was compared to standard parameters in order to define the so-called "middle cases". A group of 12 patients who matched these parameters was thus obtained independently of the initial diagnosis. This group was then compared with two other groups of similar sizes made up of schizophrenic patients and patients suffering from major depressive disorders respectively; neither of the latter groups corresponded to the above mentioned standard parameters. This comparison revealed a substantial equi-distance between the three groups, thus confirming the inadequacy of a method of classification into categories when applied to such a complex and articulated field as psychosis.

[Changes in family perception in a group of chronic alcoholics in treatment]. / Modificazione dei vissuti familiari in un gruppo di alcolisti cronici in trattamento.

By means of the Symbolic Drawing of the Family Life Space and Social Adjustment Scale, administered to a group of alcoholics under treatment with Hudolin's method, it is possible to evidence a definite improvement in subjective perception of family relationships. General Social Adjustment of these patients also is better than that of a group of non-treated alcoholics. This improvement in subjective perception of family relationships is less relevant than that in other relationships explored.

[Nosographic and psychodynamic problems of autoeviration. Presentation of 5 cases]. / Problemi nosografici e psicodinamici della autoevirazione. Presentazione di cinque casi.

After a review of literature data about autoeviration, with a particular interest in the proposed diagnostic criteria, 5 cases observed in Tuscany in the last twenty years are presented. Five patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, with the presence of command auditory hallucinations. The presence of schizophrenic patients confirms the literature data. The Authors underline, on the other hand, the presence in their group of patients who express ideas of guilt which can be connected with sexual transgression; cases of this kind could therefore be an ideal model for the clinical and psychopathological study of psychotic, affective and dissociative symptom integration. In the second part having underlined the difficulties of this kind of research because of the disturbing characteristics of this kind of conduct, diagnostic criteria and some aspects of the psychiatric disorders are presented. The Authors emphasize the importance of a wider interest in this kind of cases particularly regarding the patient's personal history and his family dynamics.

[Body illness and changes in verbal communication. Study of the alexithymic phenomenon in somatic disease]. / Il corpo malato e le modificazioni della communicazione verbale. Studio del fenomeno alessitimico nella sofferenza somatica.

The Schalling--Sifneos Personality Scale was administered to several groups of subjects (patient suffering from chronic hepatitis or from ulcerative colitis, patients undergoing chronic periodic haemodialysis, encephalopathic patient and healthy subjects) in order to assess the presence of alexithymia in healthy subjects, in patients suffering from chronic organic pathologies and in psychosomatic patients. The results obtained permit one to distinguish the psychosomatic patients from other groups of subjects: compared to healthy subjects, patients suffering from ulcerous rectocolitis obtained higher average scores, while compared to patients suffering from other organic pathologies their scores showed a wider scatter. A distinction is therefore proposed between primary alexithymia, of a distinctive cognitive-affective kind which predisposes towards psychosomatic pathology, and secondary alexithymia which is associated with stressful situations, such as illness, and which is essentially defensive in origin.

[Schizoaffective psychoses: review of nosographic concepts and longitudinal clinical study]. / Le psicosi schizoaffettive: revisione dei concetti nosografici e studio clinico longitudinale.

A through review of the literature relating to the schizoaffective psychoses was undertaken; the considerable variety of criteria used for diagnosis accounts for the diversity of the results obtained by various researchers. In order to identify a homogeneous group of schizoaffective patients, four parameters, on which the literature is in agreement were formulated. These have enabled us to isolate 27 schizoaffective subjects and to compare them with two control groups: 25 cases of schizophrenia and 26 cases of maniac-depressive psychosis. On the basis of the symptomatological and social variables considered (age of onset, cultural level, social adaptation, family history, early and recent events, response to short-term pharmacological treatment, symptomatology during the observation period), we believe that we are able to distinguish schizoaffective subjects from both schizophrenic and dysthymic subjects.