ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Standard (qualitative) electroencephalography (EEG) is routinely used in the diagnostic evaluation of psychiatric patients. Quantitative EEG (qEEG) findings differ between patients with schizophrenia, patients with depression, but results are not consistent. The aim of our study was to determine the differences in qEEG parameters between patients with schizophrenia, patients with depression, and healthy subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 30 patients with schizophrenia, 33 patients with depression, and 30 healthy subjects. All study participants underwent standard EEG. Artifact-free 100-second epochs were selected from the recorded material and analyzed with Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) analysis. RESULTS: The results are presented as absolute spectral power values (µV2) of delta, theta, alpha, and beta components of the EEG spectrum. EEGs were recorded from 12 locations including Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, F7, F8, T3, T4, P3, P4, O1, and O2. In comparison with healthy subjects, patients with schizophrenia showed increased delta, theta, and beta activity and decreased alpha activity. Similar results were obtained in patients with depression, but in fewer regions. In patients with schizophrenia, delta power over Fp1, Fp2, F4, and F8 regions was increased in comparison with those in patients with depression. Interhemispheric asymmetry was found in patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects, but not in patients with depression. CONCLUSION: The finding that patients with schizophrenia differed from patients with depression in delta power values could be potentially used in differential diagnosis between schizophrenia and depression. The role of qEEG in clinical differentiation between these two mental disorders may be especially important in cases of negative-symptom schizophrenia.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Cortex/physiopathology , Depressive Disorder/physiopathology , Electroencephalography , Schizophrenia/physiopathology , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted , Adult , Delta Rhythm , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Fourier Analysis , Hospitalization , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Young AdultABSTRACT
Suicidal behavior is a major health risk in schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum cholesterol concentrations and some socio-demographic parameters in suicidal and non-suicidal men suffering from schizophrenia. Results of this study show that there were no differences in socio-demographic parameters between suicidal and non-suicidal schizophrenic patients but there was a difference in the level of cholesterol (lower in suicidal patients). Duration of untreated psychosis was higher in suicidal patients, which could means that suicidality is a process determined by many different factors including time of treatment. Suicidal patients in our study have been more seriously ill than non-suicidal (had higher scores on PANNS and HDRS-17) and we explained these findings by the fact of damage associated to higher time of non-treatment. Our results show that cholesterol has an important role in distinguishing suicidal from non-suicidal patients, which, if confirmed on a higher number of patients and in more studies, may be of considerable clinical significance. Clinical management of suicidal states is based on integrative approach and includes ensuring immediate safety, the use of psychosocial techniques to address depression and psychosocial stressors, and targeted pharmacotherapy for psychotic and depressive symptoms.
Subject(s)
Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic Psychology , Suicide/psychology , Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Blood Platelets/chemistry , Body Mass Index , Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale , Cholesterol/blood , Comorbidity , Control Groups , Croatia/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Schizophrenia/blood , Serotonin/analysis , Severity of Illness Index , Suicide, Attempted/psychologyABSTRACT
One of the central issues in the psychotherapy of suicidal patients is the countertransference. Key concepts in countertransference include projective identification, role-responsiveness and countertransference enactment. It is important to recognize that countertransference can be effective in understanding the emotional intensity of the suicidal person's internal world. There is a significant relationship between treatment outcome and the different countertransference feelings among the therapists. In this paper we have illustrated important factors for understanding psychiatrist's countertransference reactions when working with suicidal patients.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Borderline Personality Disorder/psychology , Countertransference , Mental Disorders/psychology , Mental Disorders/therapy , Professional-Patient Relations , Psychotherapy/methods , Suicide Prevention , Adaptation, Psychological , Borderline Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Borderline Personality Disorder/therapy , Defense Mechanisms , Humans , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Projection , Psychiatry/methods , Psychoanalytic Therapy , Psychotherapeutic Processes , Suicide/psychology , Transference, Psychology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Recent literature suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients are at an increased risk of suicidal behavior. The purpose of our study was to assess the impact of psychiatric comorbidity on suicidality (as assessed by SUAS) and relationship to combat exposure (as assessed by CES) in 277 veterans suffering from chronic PTSD. The diagnosis of PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity was confirmed according to DSM-IV criteria. Patients with PTSD and comorbidity had significantly higher scores (p<0.01) on the measures of suicidality and combat exposure than the groups without psychiatric comorbidity. These findings suggest that persons with PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity are at a higher risk of suicidal behavior. Therefore, on assessing suicide risk in PTSD patients attention should be paid to comorbidity factors, in order to reduce the risk of fatal complications.
