To evaluate the possibility of an underlying dimension of organicity in borderline personality disorder (BPD), a carefully diagnosed group of borderline patients was assessed across a wide range of neuropsychological functions and then was compared to an age-and education-matched nonpatient control group. The BPD group had significantly lower Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores on the WAIS-R. The BPD group also was impaired significantly on motor skills, figural memory, complex visuomotor integration, social or interpersonal intelligence, and on a measure of susceptibility to interference. This pattern of deficits localized to the fronto-temporal regions and became more pronounced when a subgroup analysis was performed. This study suggests that subtle organic factors may be operative in some, but not all, BPD patients.
The clinical literature on borderline personality disorder (BPD) contains frequent references to problems these patients have with attention/concentration (M. Murray,
Depression and anxiety can adversely affect the course of chronic physical illnesses, increasing morbidity and mortality. The literature during the past year is reviewed for gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, pain, heart disease, diabetes, and pulmonary disease. Causes for this relationship are behavioral and biological. Behavioral factors in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders include unhealthy lifestyle choices, disrupted sleep, and poor adherence to medical regimens. Biological mechanisms include increased inflammatory response and disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
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