Introduction: Mental disorders constitute the most important risk factor for suicidal behaviour. Studies have found that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals are at increased risk for mental health problems, as a consequence of a hostile stressful environment.
IntroductionClassical homocystinuria (cystathionine beta synthase deficiency) is a rare autosomal recessive disease of methionine metabolism that causes accumulation of homocysteine in the blood and cysteine deficiency. It is characterized by intellectual disability, ectopia lentis, skeleton abnormalities resembling Marfan syndrome and thromboembolic episodes. The majority of patients have psychiatric disturbances as depression, behavioral disorders, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and, less commonly, bipolar disorder and psychosis.Objectives and aimsTo briefly review psychiatric disturbances in patients with homocystinuria and present a case report.MethodsLiterature research and analysis of patient's clinical data.ResultsA 22-year-old male was diagnosed with classical homocystinuria at age 4 due to intellectual disability and renal alterations. With aging, other problems emerged: epilepsy; postural tremor; dysesthesia; ectopia lentis; orofacial myofunctional disorder; asthma; and patellar instability. He went to a special education program. At age sixteen, he initiated Child Psychiatry consultations due to anxiety and behavioral changes, as difficulty in controlling impulses, establishing relationships and in the perception of the self. Nowadays, the patient is followed in psychiatric consultations, where he has demonstrated high difficulty to empathize. He is being treated with vitamin supplements; betaine; levetiracetam; clobazam; and propranolol, combined with a special diet.ConclusionsIt is not practical to screen every psychiatric patient for Homocystinuria, but this disease should be considered when there is a family history, early and/or acute onset, intellectual disability, atypical symptoms, unusual response to treatment, progressive cognitive change and other organic disturbances present in this disorder.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Previous research indicates that pet ownership and animal assistance in therapy and education may have a multitude of positive effects on humans, providing physical, physiological and psychological health benefits for patients. Animal-assisted Therapy is a goal-directed intervention, led by a specialized professional, in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. There are specified goals and objectives for each individual and measured progress. Literature has been cementing the idea that animals presence, spontaneous behaviors and availability for interaction may facilitate therapy. It has been demonstrated that interactions with a friendly animal can result in reducing levels of cortisol and increasing oxytocin, dopamine, endorphins and phenethylamine. Objectives and Aims: The authors aim to study Animal-Assisted Therapy regarding animal-human relation, characteristics of the animals, theoretical bases, definitions, types of therapies and results. Methods: It was conducted a review of the literature about Animal-assisted Therapy. Results and Conclusions: Recent research shows how interaction with animals can benefit individuals with a range of mental health issues, including affective disorders, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia and trauma. Scientific evidence on the effects is far from being consistent. It's necessary to conduct rigorous studies to prove the efficacy of Animal-Assisted Therapy, so it could become an empirically supported treatment. It's also important to standardize terminology and methodologies. Overall, Animal-assisted Therapy is an emergent field in mental health, and it can potentially be a very useful complement for the treatment of mental disorders.
IntroductionOver the last years, literature has dedicated increased interest to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental disorder that was initially included in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders in 1980. Trauma is any event that overwhelms the individual coping strategies. Patients with PTSD experience symptoms of hyper-vigilance, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, re-experiencing the trauma event, avoidance of stimuli related with trauma or exaggerated startle response. Mindfulness is the process of being aware, paying attention in the present moment, in a non-judgmental way. Research has been showing that mindfulness has positive effects on mental health.Objectives and aimsAssessment of eventual benefits of mindfulness in patients with PTSD.MethodsLiterature research.ResultsMany studies have reported on correlations between self-reported mindfulness and mental health. Literature suggests that mindfulness training can enhance life skills and its effectiveness is being studied in several mental disorders. Its positive effects on enhancing emotion regulation and decreasing anxiety, hyperarousal and depressive symptoms, led to investigation in the context of PTSD's treatment. Some studies show decreased perceived stress and post-traumatic avoidance symptoms and increased positive states of mind. Most studies reviewed were related with war veterans with PTSD and showed that mindfulness-based treatments could enhance their quality of life. Other results imply that mindful awareness alone may not be sufficient to help reduce symptoms.ConclusionsMindfulness based therapies could be useful on improving PTSD symptoms but, to assess its efficacy, further research is needed, in different samples of patients.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Paraphrenia was identified as a psychopathological entity characterized by chronic delirium, described next to schizophrenia, but with rich and fanciful elaborations, without social and cognitive impairment associated. Despite having been extensively described, paraphrenia fell into disuse. With this work, the authors intend to carry out a literature review on the concept of paraphrenia, since its first report to the extinction from the current practice of psychiatry. The term paraphrenia (para “near” phrenia “pathological mental state”) was first noted by Kahlbaum in 1863, who identified dementia and subdivided it into three types: “neofrenia”, “paraphrenia hebetica” and “senilis paraphrenia”). Magnan and Manager suggested the concept of “chronic hallucinatory psychosis” in 1963, while Kraepelin started jobs with similar characteristics, defining the concept of paraphrenia. Kraepelin distinguished dementia praecox from the later onset dementia, despite considering them closer to one another than any of them to paranoia. Paraphrenia would be characterized by less formal disturbances of thought and greater preservation of affection. In 1911, with “schizophrenia” expression, Bleuler broke with Kraepelin concept, as Mayer, who reviewed Kraepelin patients, concluding that more than half had progressed to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. At this time, paraphrenia was virtually abolished from the practice of psychiatry. Despite the observations made over the years, the concept of paraphrenia have revealed that the description proposal does not correspond to an isolated and distinct psychiatric condition, several times, in clinical practice we have encountered with patients presenting diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia but with the evolution of the disease showing no significant deterioration in several areas.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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