Families of chronically mentally ill patients: their structure, coping resources, and tolerance for deviant behavior.

The attitudes of families toward caring for a mentally ill member in the home are explored through in-depth interviews with 105 families of chronically ill psychiatric patients from a public and a private hospital. Family readiness, defined as having the ability and the willingness to supervise the patient, was measured by the St. Paul Scale of Family Functioning and the Tolerance of Deviant Behavior Scale. Findings revealed a significant relationship between the respondent's belief in his or her ability to manage the behavior of the patient and willingness to accept the patient into the home as measured by tolerance for deviant behavior. No significant relationships were found between family resources, level of functioning, income, or community connectedness. Implications for practice and study limitations are discussed.

Treatment of experimental silicosis with antifibrotic agents.

We tested the efficacy of 2 antifibrotic agents, the proline analogue cis-4-hydroxy-L-proline (cHyp) and the lathyrogen beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), on experimental silicosis in hamsters. Silica (75 mg) was instilled intratracheally, and 3 months later lung hydroxyproline content, the volume density of silicotic nodules in lung parenchyma, fluid-filled lung pressure-volume curves, body weight and survival were measured. Animals were injected with cHyp, 200 mg/kg body weight, or BAPN, 150 mg/kg body weight, twice daily for 3 months. Hydroxyproline contents (mg/lung) at 3 months were: control, 0.8 +/- 0.1; silica, 1.4 +/- 0.1 (P less than 0.05 compared to control); silica-cHyp, 1.2 +/- 0.2; silica-BAPN, 1.4 +/- 0.1 (both NS compared to silica). The volume density of granuloma (% of surface area) was: silica, 0.7 +/- 0.1; silica-cHyp, 5.9 +/- 1.0; silica-BAPN, 9.7 +/- 1.5 (both P less than 0.5 compared to silica). There was no difference among the groups as assessed by lung pressure-volume curves. No toxic effects were produced on the skeletal system as assessed by bone hydroxyproline content and skeletal roentgenograms. Final body weights (g) were: silica, 114 +/- 5; silica-BAPN, 108 +/- 6; silica-cHyp, 88 +/- 7 (the latter P less than 0.05 compared to silica). Survival (%) was: silica, 62%; silica-BAPN, 34%, silica-cHyp, 28% (both P less than 0.05 compared to silica). These data show that cHyp and BAPN treatment did not prevent silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis, led to more extensive silicotic nodules, and were toxic. Both cHyp and BAPN have some efficacy in other models of fibrosis, and the observations in the present study could be specific to silicosis in the hamster.

Additional studies on side effects of melperone in long-term therapy for 1-20 years in psychiatric patients.

The present study reporting on continuous melperone treatment of hitherto longest duration recorded in literature was conducted in order to reveal side effects of long-term melperone therapy. 50 patients, 24 females and 26 males, aged 37-102 (average: 81 years of age) were treated with melperone (Buronil, Bunil, Eunerpan) for 1 to 20 years. In most patients, daily dosage varied from 10 to 300 mg, total dosage ranging from 6510 mg to 1 662 225 mg, avr. 203 923 mg. Diagnoses were as follows: senile dementia (14), organic dementia (9), arterio-sclerotic dementia (8), schizophrenia (17) and nonspecific psychosis (2). The patients were examined for clinical side effects including abnormal ECGs and ophthalmological diseases. Biochemical laboratory tests comprised sedimentation rate, haemoglobin, leucocytes, creatinine, alanine-aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase and bilirubin. The results were evaluated by a specialist in internal medicine and an ophthalmologist performed the examinations on the 20 patients who were able to cooperate. The conclusion was that no serious side effects were observed which could with any certainty be related to melperone therapy.

Additional studies on side effects of melperone in long-term therapy for 1 to 15 years in psychiatric patients.

The present study which reports on the hitherto longest continuous melperone treatment recorded in the literature, was conducted in order to reveal side effects of long-term melperone therapy. 17 female and 20 male patients, aged 33-97 years, most of them with the diagnoses: schizophrenia (11 patients), dementia organica (11 patients) and dementia senilis (11 patients) were treated with melperone (Buronil) in doses of 15--800 mg/day for 1 to 15 years. The patients were examined for clinical side effects, abnormal electrocardiograms and ophthalmological diseases as well as abnormal values in sedimentation rate, hemoglobin, leucocytes, creatinine, alanine-aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase and bilirubin. Also the thymol reaction was done. The electrocardiograms and laboratory investigations were controlled by specialists in internal medicine and the eye diseases by an ophthalmologist. We did not find any severe side effects which could be related with any certainty to melperone therapy.