[Validation of tools for assessing the intelligence and the functional impairment of Papiamento speaking suspects]. / Validatie van testen voor intelligentie en beperkingen in het functioneren bij Papiamentstalige verdachten.

BACKGROUND: Although Antillean suspects in the Netherlands are often diagnosed as being intellectually impaired, there are no validated tests available Papiamento (the native language) for assessing intelligence or functional impairment. AIM: To validate the use of the GIT 2 (Groninger Intelligentie Test 2) and the Barkley Functioning Impairment Scale (BFIS) for Antillean defendants detained by the Judicial Service of the Caribbean Netherlands in Bonaire. METHOD: With the approval of the publishers, the GIT 2 and the BFIS were translated in Papiamento by two independent experts. The two translations were then re-translated into Dutch by two other independent experts. Defendants with both parents born in Bonaire who had been detained for at least 18 days by the Judicial Detention Centre of the Caribbean Netherlands (JICN) in Bonaire during the period 1 January 2013 until 1 July 2014 were examined with both tests. RESULTS: The Papiamento GIT 2 and BFIS tests were taken by 23 Bonairian defendants who had been detained in the JICN in Bonaire. The internal consistency and inter-item correlation of the tests were found to be satisfactory. The IQ of 95% of the participants was reproduced as a score between 79.2 and 96.8 points. In the BFIS the question about self-care was a particularly sensitive item. The use of drugs was associated with increased functional impairment. CONCLUSION: This study seems to be a promising first step towards the validation of the GIT 2 and the BFIS. Apparently, it has now become acceptable to use written Papiamento in assessment tools.

The course of tardive dystonia in Afro Caribbean patients, a population-based study: the Curacao extrapyramidal syndromes study: VII.

Tardive dystonia (TDt) is a severe side effect of long-term use of antipsychotics. Previous publications suggested that TDt persist but the results are distorted by referral bias. In a population-based nine-year follow-up study (one baseline, six follow-ups) of chronic psychiatric patients (N=194) on a Caribbean island, the course of prevalent and incident TDt was measured with the Fahn-Marsden rating scale. Of the 26 patients (mean age 53.3 yrs) with TDt at baseline, 64% recovered, 20% persisted, and in 16% the course was intermittent. The severity of baseline TDt was significantly higher in persistent cases versus those who recovered (t=3.01, P<0.008). Of the 27 incident cases (cumulative 9-year incidence: 16.1%; mean age 57.6 yrs), 80% recovered, 8% persisted, and in 12% the course was intermittent. Predominantly affected were hands, eyes (blepharospasm), neck and mouth. The natural course of TDt is better than previously suggested but severe cases tend to persist.

Intermittent neuroleptic treatment and risk for tardive dyskinesia: Curaçao Extrapyramidal Syndromes Study III.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the association between three lifetime medication variables (cumulative amount of neuroleptics, number of interruptions in neuroleptic treatment, cumulative amount of anticholinergics) and the occurrence and severity of tardive dyskinesia. METHOD: The study was conducted in the only psychiatric hospital of a well-defined catchment area (the Netherlands Antilles). For all patients who had a history of taking neuroleptics for at least 3 months and were currently using neuroleptics (N = 133, mean age = 51.5 years), the presence and severity of tardive dyskinesia were measured with the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale. RESULTS: Of the three lifetime medication variables, only the number of neuroleptic interruptions was significantly related to tardive dyskinesia. The risk of tardive dyskinesia was three times as great for patients with more than two neuroleptic interruptions as for patients with two or fewer interruptions. CONCLUSIONS: This finding supports the schizophrenia protocol of long-term neuroleptic treatment rather than targeted or intermittent neuroleptic treatment.

Cocaine as a risk factor for neuroleptic-induced acute dystonia.

BACKGROUND: A prospective study was conducted to test the hypothesis that cocaine use is a risk factor for neuroleptic-induced acute dystonia (NIAD). METHOD: The study sample consisted of a high-risk group for NIAD, males aged 17-45 years who had received high-potency neuroleptics within 24 hours of admission and had not used neuroleptics in the month prior to admission. Patients were excluded if they suffered from a neurodegenerative disorder or were exposed to anticholinergics, benzodiazepines, promethazine, carbamazepine, phenytoin, or levodopa during the study. Twenty-nine patients--9 cocaine users and 20 nonusers--entered the study, which lasted 2 years. Patients were followed for 7 days. RESULTS: Cocaine-using psychiatric patients developed significantly more NIAD than did nonusers (relative risk = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.4 to 13.9). CONCLUSION: Cocaine use is a major risk factor for NIAD and should be added to the list of well-known risk factors. The authors strongly suggest that cocaine-using psychiatric patients who are started on a regimen of neuroleptics should also be administered an anticholinergic for at least 7 days to prevent NIAD.

The inter-relationships of tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism, akathisia and tardive dystonia: the Curaçao Extrapyramidal Syndromes Study II.

A study of the four extrapyramidal syndromes (EPS), tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism, akathisia and tardive dystonia, was performed in the Netherlands Antilles, a well-defined catchment area with only one psychiatric hospital. The population under study (N = 194; mean age 53.1) was mainly Afro-Caribbean, and most patients were chronic. The severity of each EPS was measured with valid and reliable rating scales. The purpose was to study both the strength of the inter-relationships of EPS and the prevalence of combinations of EPS. The inter-relationships between the EPS were analyzed by means of logistic regression. The adjusted odds ratios between the various EPS revealed strong connections between the hyperkinetic syndromes (tardive dyskinesia, tardive dystonia and akathisia). Parkinsonism was found to be inversely related to tardive dyskinesia and to tardive dystonia. Almost 30% of the patients suffered from two or more EPS. The highest prevalence rates of combinations were: tardive dyskinesia combined with parkinsonism 12.9%, tardive dyskinesia combined with tardive dystonia 9.8%, and tardive dyskinesia combined with akathisia 5.2%. Our findings show a strong positive correlation between hyperkinetic forms of EPS. Furthermore, chronic psychiatric inpatients regularly suffer from combinations of EPS. Different treatment strategies are suggested for various combinations of EPS.

The prevalence of tardive dystonia, tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism and akathisia The Curaçao Extrapyramidal Syndromes Study: I.

A prevalence study of extrapyramidal syndromes was conducted among all psychiatric inpatients of the Netherlands Antilles (n = 194; mean age 53.1). The Netherlands Antilles are very suitable for epidemiological research as it is a well-defined catchment area with only one psychiatric hospital and a health care system based on western principles. In this mainly chronic population, the prevalence was measured of tardive dystonia, tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism and akathisia using respectively the Fahn-Marsden rating scale, the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale and the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale. The prevalence numbers were for tardive dystonia 13.4%, tardive dyskinesia 39.7%, parkinsonism 36.1%, akathisia 9.3% and pseudoakathisia 12.9%. The most important conclusions were: (1) The prevalence of tardive dystonia was higher than reported in most other studies and (2) extrapyramidal syndromes are very common in this predominantly Negroid population, with three out of four patients suffering of one or more extrapyramidal syndromes.