Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

Depressive and psychosomatic symptoms in twins with special reference to co-twin dependence.

Twin Res Hum Genet. 2010 Dec;13(6):559-66

Authors: Trias T, Ebeling H, Penninkilampi-Kerola V, Moilanen I

We analyzed depressive and psychosomatic symptoms in relation to co-twin dependence in 419 twins at the age of 22 to 30 years. Depressive symptoms were assessed, as previously, with Children’s Depression Inventory modified to be suitable for this age and reported as a total score and three subscales (low self-confidence, anhedonia and sadness) based on factor analysis as reported in a previous epidemiological study conducted in Finland. Items assessing nervous complaints and somatic symptoms were adapted from Finnish studies of juvenile health habits. Inter-twin dependence decreased with increasing age in both genders. Monozygotic twins, especially monozygotic females, reported most often to be dependent on their co-twin. When the symptom reporting was evaluated in relation to co-twin dependence, no relation was found between co-twin dependence and depressive symptom reporting. However, dependence-independence imbalance within twin pair was associated with elevated levels of depressive and psychosomatic symptoms, especially in twins who perceived themselves as dependent and the co-twin as independent. We conclude that there was no relation found between co-twin dependence and depressive symptom reporting in male and female twins except for the few imbalance cases, where most symptoms were reported by those dependent twins who felt their co-twin as independent.

PMID: 21142932 [PubMed - in process]

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Age of Onset and Sexual Orientation in Transsexual Males and Females.

J Sex Med. 2010 Dec 8;

Authors: Nieder TO, Herff M, Cerwenka S, Preuss WF, Cohen-Kettenis PT, De Cuypere G, Hebold Haraldsen IR, Richter-Appelt H

Introduction.  With regard to transsexual developments, onset age (OA) appears to be the starting point of different psychosexual pathways. Aim.  To explore differences between transsexual adults with an early vs. late OA. Methods.  Data were collected within the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence using the Dutch Biographic Questionnaire on Transsexualism (Biografische Vragenlijst voor Transseksuelen) and a self-constructed score sheet according to the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition, Text Revision) criteria of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and Gender Identity Disorder in Childhood (GIDC). One hundred seventy participants were included in the analyses. Main Outcome Measures.  Transsexual adults who, in addition to their GID diagnosis, also fulfilled criteria A and B of GIDC (”a strong cross-gender identification,”"persistent discomfort about her or his assigned sex”) retrospectively were considered as having an early onset (EO). Those who fulfilled neither criteria A nor B of GIDC were considered as having a late onset (LO). Participants who only fulfilled criterion A or B of GIDC were considered a residual (RES) group. Results.  The majority of female to males (FtMs) appeared to have an early OA (EO = 60 [77.9%] compared to LO = 10 [13%] and to RES = 7 [9.1%]). Within male to females (MtFs), percentages of EO and LO developments were more similar (EO = 36 [38.7%], LO = 45 [48.4%], RES = 12 [12.9%]). FtMs presented to gender clinics at an earlier age than MtFs (28.04 to 36.75). The number of EO vs. LO transsexual adults differed from country to country (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway). Conclusion.  OA has a discriminative value for transsexual developments and it would appear that retrospective diagnosis of GIDC criteria is a valid method of assessment. Differences in OA and sex ratio exist between European countries. Nieder TO, Herff M, Cerwenka S, Preuss WF, Cohen-Kettenis PT, De Cuypere G, Hebold Haraldsen IR, and Richter-Appelt H. Age of onset and sexual orientation in transsexual males and females. J Sex Med **;**:**-**.

PMID: 21143416 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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[Eating disorders in adolescents - what to look for?].

Acta Med Port. 2010 Sep-Oct;23(5):777-84

Authors: Bacalhau S, Moleiro P

Increase in the incidence and prevalence of Eating Disorders have made it increasingly important that Health Care Professionals be familiar with the early detection and appropriate management of this group of disorders.

PMID: 21144316 [PubMed - in process]

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Mediation Analysis in Psychosomatic Medicine Research.

Psychosom Med. 2010 Dec 10;

Authors: Lockhart G, Mackinnon DP, Ohlrich V

This article presents an overview of statistical mediation analysis and its application to psychosomatic medicine research. The article begins with a description of the major approaches to mediation analysis and an evaluation of the strengths and limits of each. Emphasis is placed on longitudinal mediation models, and an application using latent growth modeling is presented. The article concludes with a description of recent developments in mediation analysis and suggestions for the use of mediation for future work in psychosomatic medicine research.

PMID: 21148809 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Natural memory beyond the storage model: repression, trauma, and the construction of a personal past.

Front Hum Neurosci. 2010;4:211

Authors: Axmacher N, Do Lam AT, Kessler H, Fell J

Naturally occurring memory processes show features which are difficult to investigate by conventional cognitive neuroscience paradigms. Distortions of memory for problematic contents are described both by psychoanalysis (internal conflicts) and research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; external traumata). Typically, declarative memory for these contents is impaired - possibly due to repression in the case of internal conflicts or due to dissociation in the case of external traumata - but they continue to exert an unconscious pathological influence: neurotic symptoms or psychosomatic disorders after repression or flashbacks and intrusions in PTSD after dissociation. Several experimental paradigms aim at investigating repression in healthy control subjects. We argue that these paradigms do not adequately operationalize the clinical process of repression, because they rely on an intentional inhibition of random stimuli (suppression). Furthermore, these paradigms ignore that memory distortions due to repression or dissociation are most accurately characterized by a lack of self-referential processing, resulting in an impaired integration of these contents into the self. This aspect of repression and dissociation cannot be captured by the concept of memory as a storage device which is usually employed in the cognitive neurosciences. It can only be assessed within the framework of a constructivist memory concept, according to which successful memory involves a reconstruction of experiences such that they fit into a representation of the self. We suggest several experimental paradigms that allow for the investigation of the neural correlates of repressed memories and trauma-induced memory distortions based on a constructivist memory concept.

PMID: 21151366 [PubMed - in process]

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Heart rate and blood pressure in the context of nutritional and psychological analysis: a case study.

Eur J Med Res. 2010 Nov 4;15 Suppl 2:217-23

Authors: Wilczynska A, De Meester F, Singh Ram B, Bargiel-Matusiewicz K

The disturbance of circadian variability helps predict, among others, the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. Circadian Hyper Amplitude Tension (CHAT) is a psychosomatic disorder related to an inappropriate lifestyle (including unbalanced diet, stress-inducing environment/development) and genetic factors. Blood pressure and heart rate are phenotypes characterized by rhythmic fluctuations over time under influence of environmental/developmental (incl. psychosocial) and genetic conditions. These cardio-/cerebro-vascular fluctuations result from otherwise largely distributed internal biological rhythms regulated via complex and intertwined neuro-hormonal systems.

PMID: 21147655 [PubMed - in process]

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Knowledge and Attitudes of GPs in Saxony-Anhalt concerning the Psychological Aspects of Bronchial Asthma: A Questionnaire Study.

Biopsychosoc Med. 2010 Dec 20;4(1):23

Authors: Reed MG, Adolf D, Werwick K, Herrmann M

ABSTRACT: Bronchial Asthma is a worldwide condition with particularly high prevalence in first world countries. The reasons are multifactorial but a neglected area is the psychological domain. It is well known that heavy emotions can trigger attacks and that depression negatively affects treatment outcomes. It is also known that personality type has a greater effect on disease prevalence than in many other conditions. However, many potential psychological treatments are hardly considered, neither in treatment guidelines nor in reviews by asthma specialists. Moreover, there is very little research concerning the beliefs and practices of doctors regarding psychological treatments. Using a questionnaire survey we ascertained that local GPs in Saxony-Anhalt have reasonably good knowledge about the psychological elements of asthma; a third consider it to be some of the influence (20-40% aetiology) and a further third consider it to be even more important than that (at least 40% total aetiology). Our GPs use psychosomatic counseling sometimes or usually in the areas of sport and smoking (circa 85% GPs), although less so regarding breathing techniques and relaxation (c40% usually or sometimes do this) However despite this knowledge they refer to the relevant clinicians very rarely (98% sometimes, usually or always refer to a respiratory physician compared with only 11% referring for psychological help).

PMID: 21171975 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Emotion and eating in binge eating disorder and obesity.

Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2010 Dec 20;

Authors: Zeeck A, Stelzer N, Linster HW, Joos A, Hartmann A

This study compares 20 binge eaters (BED), 23 obese patients (OB) and 20 normal weight controls (CO) with regard to everyday emotions and the relationship between emotions, the desire to eat and binge eating. Modified versions of the Differential Affect Scale and Emotional Eating Scale were used and the TAS-20 and Symptom-Check-List-27 administered to assess overall psychopathology and alexithymia. BED-subjects show a more negative pattern of everyday emotions, higher alexithymia scores and the strongest desire to eat, especially if emotions are linked to interpersonal aspects. The emotion most often reported preceding a binge was anger. Feelings of loneliness, disgust, exhaustion or shame lead to binge eating behaviour with the highest probability. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

PMID: 21174323 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Effect of rikkunshito on gastric sensorimotor function under distention.

Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2010 Dec 22;

Authors: Shiratori M, Shoji T, Kanazawa M, Hongo M, Fukudo S

Background  The herbal medicine rikkunshito is effective for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia. Although some basic studies on the effects of rikkunshito have been reported in rats, its effects on human gastric function have not yet been clarified. Psychosocial stress induces visceral hypersensitivity and elements of rikkunshito may reasonably affect or suppress this process. We conducted a study to verify the hypothesis that rikkunshito improves stress-induced gastric hypersensitivity and/or changes in gastric wall tone. Methods  Nine healthy volunteers (five males, four females) participated in the study. The counterbalanced regimen consisted of a 2-week period of oral administration of 7.5 g day(-1) rikkunshito, then a 2-week period without treatment. Fundic sensorimotor function was examined using a gastric barostat twice on the day after each period. Virtual reality stress was imposed during the measurements of gastric tone and electrocardiogram. Key Results  Stress induced a significant increase in heart rate (P = 0.041), gastric volume (P = 0.008), and phasic volume events (P = 0.049) and a decrease in sensory (P = 0.038), discomfort (P = 0.011), and pain (P = 0.041) thresholds of the stomach. Rikkunshito significantly reduced epigastric fullness (P = 0.037) and perceived stress (P = 0.034) following stimulation of the pain threshold, regardless of stress without the drug. Stress reduced gastric volume at the sensory threshold and increased anxiety at the discomfort threshold, and these responses were significantly inhibited by rikkunshito (P = 0.026, P = 0.022, respectively). Conclusions & Inferences  These findings suggest that rikkunshito may improve symptoms and impaired gastric accommodation under distention stimuli of the proximal stomach superimposed by stress.

PMID: 21175995 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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GPs’ experiences of managing non-specific neck pain–a qualitative study.

Fam Pract. 2010 Dec 22;

Authors: Wermeling M, Scherer M, Himmel W

BACKGROUND: Non-specific neck pain is a common complaint in general practice. Little is known about GPs’ experiences of managing non-specific neck pain. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study aims to elucidate GPs’ opinions on the cause, diagnosis and management of non-specific neck pain and their experiences with patients suffering from this complaint. METHODS: A purposive sample of 19 German GPs was interviewed. Analysis was guided by predefined research questions and the general principles of grounded theory. We condensed the data into three key themes. RESULTS: The first key theme was the aetiology of neck pain and the patients’ difficulty in accepting psychological explanations. GPs reported that their patients asked for definite and expensive forms of therapy. Though GPs preferred cost-efficient forms of therapy, fulfilment of patient expectations was the second key theme. Some felt that satisfying patient wishes may facilitate a trusting relationship so that psychological explanations or advice to adopt an active physical lifestyle would be accepted by patients more open-mindedly. The third key theme was the GPs’ view on orthopaedic surgeons. Sometimes specialist diagnoses helped to reinforce the GPs findings. But many GPs had doubts as to whether an orthopaedic surgeon could tackle psychosomatic aspects of this complaint. CONCLUSIONS: In the case of non-specific neck pain, GPs often feel confronted with patients that demand dubious therapies and fail to consider psychological influences. The prescription of non-evidence-based therapies or referrals does not necessarily reflect a lack of knowledge but the GPs’ strategic decision to improve the doctor-patient relationship.

PMID: 21177744 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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