Using Neurofeedback as an Alternative for Drug Therapy in Selected Mental Disorders

The prevalence of mental disorders was studied in a representative sample of 85-year-old living in Gothenburg, Sweden, (n=494). All subjects were examined by a psychiatrist, whose diagnoses were defined according to the DSM-III-R criteria. In the sample, the prevalence of dementia was 29.8%, and of any other mental disorder was 24.3%. Psychotic disorders were present in 4.7%, depressive disorders in 12.6%, and anxiety disorders in 10.5%. Anxiety disorders were more common in women than in men. Of all subjects, 42.5% used a psychotropic drug (men 30.1%, women 47.6%, p<0.001), 34.2% used anxiolytic-sedatives, 14.0% used antidepressants, and 5.7% used neuroleptics. Women used significantly more anxiolytic-sedatives and antidepressants than did men. Of those with no mental disorders, 29.1% used a psychotropic drug. Although the prescription of psychotropic drugs was high, only one fifth of those with depressive disorders received antidepressant drug therapy and one tenth of those with psychotic disorders received neuroleptics.

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Drug therapy for people with mental disorders in the view of nursing professionals

Escola Anna Nery ◽

10.1590/2177-9465-ean-2017-0294 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Camila Bonfim de Alcântara ◽

Fernanda Carolina Capistrano ◽

Juliana Czarnobay ◽

Aline Cristina Zerwes Ferreira ◽

Tatiana Brusamarello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Qualitative Research ◽

Data Analysis ◽

Drug Therapy ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Mental Disorder ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Psychosocial Care ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Nursing Professionals

Abstract Objective: To identify the perception of nursing professionals about drug therapy for people with mental disorders. Methods: An exploratory qualitative research was carried out in four Psychosocial Care Centers of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Data, collected from January to March 2015 using an individual semi-structured interview applied to 56 nursing professionals, were submitted to qualitative data analysis and interpretation as proposed by Creswell. Results: The data were organized into three thematic categories: drug therapy improves the life of the person with a mental disorder; negative and positive consequences related to drug therapy; and drug therapy as one of the resources needed to treat mental health. Conclusion: Nursing staff perceive the importance of medications as a resource to treat people with mental disorders as psychotropic drugs minimize he acute symptoms of disorders and improve living conditions when associated with other therapeutic resources.

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Fuzzy boundaries and tough decisions in psychiatry

10.1093/med/9780198722373.003.0007 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Hanfried Helmchen

Keyword(s):

Drug Therapy ◽

Side Effects ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Medical Knowledge ◽

Psychiatric Diagnoses ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Condition Versus ◽

Normal Behavior ◽

Disease Condition

In the field of mental disorders the boundaries between mental normality and disease are often blurred. Psychiatrists, being aware of the instrumental nature of psychiatric diagnoses, try to deal with these blurred boundaries by stipulating strict definitions of clinical categories, by operationalizing diagnoses, and by using evidence-based methods of production and algorithmic application of medical knowledge. However, the clinical uncertainties can only partially be reduced by these means, because the physician always has to consider the individuality of the patient as well as to find a helpful solution to the dilemma of not treating a treatable but only probable or even only possible disease condition versus treating a variation of normal behavior against the risk of obtaining unwanted side effects of drug therapy or stigmatization. As is shown in the chapter, subthreshold mental disorders provide illuminating illustrations of these limits of medical standardization.

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Psychological evaluation of patients with a thyroid nodule before and after surgical treatment

Medicinski pregled ◽

10.2298/mpns0210401c ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 55 (9-10) ◽

pp. 401-405 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zorica Caparevic ◽

Vladimir Diligenski ◽

Dragos Stojanovic ◽

Gradimir Bojkovic

Keyword(s):

Drug Therapy ◽

Surgical Treatment ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Thyroid Nodule ◽

Psychological Disorders ◽

Psychological Evaluation ◽

Before And After ◽

Long Time ◽

Group 2 ◽

Group 1

Introduction Association between endocrine and mental disorders has been recognized a long time ago, as well as their mutual dependence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological structure of patients with thyroid nodule before and after surgical treatment. Material and methods In order to establish the type and degree of psychological disorders, we have examined 60 patients with thyroid nodule before and after surgical treatment by using DSM-IV classification of mental disorders and psychological instruments: semi structured psychiatric interview, MMPI, Zung Depression Scale and a list of panic symptoms. Patients with nonautonomous ("cold") nodules presented as euthyroid, and those with autonomous ("hot") nodules (after a period of drug therapy if they were hyperthyroid), required surgery. After a period of drug therapy two groups of patients were compared: group 1- euthyroid with "cold" nodules and group 2 - euthyroid with "hot" nodules. Before surgical treatment both groups under went psychological evaluation. Group 2 presented with: anxiety, depression and panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (72%, 46%, 28%) while group 1 presented with following results: 48%, 23%, 14% respectively. After surgical treatment patients from group 1 presented with psychologic disorders in less than 1%. Discussion and conclusion In some physical disorders, psychologic factors contribute directly or indirectly to the etiology, in others, psychologic symptoms are the direct results of a lesion affecting neural or endocrine organs. One of the key etiological factors is often a short-time or long-time stress and its direct consequence is altered functioning of various hormonal systems. Unexpected high percentage of psychological disorders in patients with thyroid disorders suggests that psychological evaluation before and after surgical treatment is unavoidable for good assessment and choice of treatment. These patients need psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment.

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Reductionist thinking and animal models in neuropsychiatric research

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18001231 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicole M. Baran

Keyword(s):

Animal Models ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Developmental Genetic ◽

Term Study ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Mechanisms Of Plasticity

AbstractReductionist thinking in neuroscience is manifest in the widespread use of animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. Broader investigations of diverse behaviors in non-model organisms and longer-term study of the mechanisms of plasticity will yield fundamental insights into the neurobiological, developmental, genetic, and environmental factors contributing to the “massively multifactorial system networks” which go awry in mental disorders.

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Assessing Mental and Behavioral Disorder Impairment: Overview of Sixth Edition Approaches

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2008.novdec01 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Norma Leclair ◽

Steve Leclair ◽

Robert Barth

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorders ◽

Behavioral Disorders ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Behavioral Disorder ◽

Behavioral Impairment ◽

Central Nervous System Damage ◽

Brain Functioning ◽

Sixth Edition ◽

Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽

Mental And Behavioral Disorders

Abstract Chapter 14, Mental and Behavioral Disorders, in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, defines a process for assessing permanent impairment, including providing numeric ratings, for persons with specific mental and behavioral disorders. These mental disorders are limited to mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychotic disorders, and this chapter focuses on the evaluation of brain functioning and its effects on behavior in the absence of evident traumatic or disease-related objective central nervous system damage. This article poses and answers questions about the sixth edition. For example, this is the first since the second edition (1984) that provides a numeric impairment rating, and this edition establishes a standard, uniform template to translate human trauma or disease into a percentage of whole person impairment. Persons who conduct independent mental and behavioral evaluation using this chapter should be trained in psychiatry or psychology; other users should be experienced in psychiatric or psychological evaluations and should have expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and behavioral disorders. The critical first step in determining a mental or behavioral impairment rating is to document the existence of a definitive diagnosis based on the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The article also enumerates the psychiatric disorders that are considered ratable in the sixth edition, addresses use of the sixth edition during independent medical evaluations, and answers additional questions.

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