"Gilahari (lizard) syndrome" is it a new culture bound syndrome? - a case report.

Culture bound syndromes are generally limited to specific societies or cultural areas and are localized. Authors report a case which seems to be a new culture bound syndrome, has atypical presentation and difficult to categories but could be diagnosed as somatoform NOS (F-45.9). This syndrome is commonly called Gilahari (Lizard) among local public and considered to be very serious and fatal illness prevalent in areas of west Rajasthan. According to public a small swelling climbs from the back reaches to neck leading to obstruction of airways and followed by death, though after examination and investigation patient did not revealed any physical illness so is seems to be a new culture bound syndrome.

Psychiatric morbidity among patients attending cardiac opd.

One hundred patients were selected from the cardiology outpatient department by non-probability purposive method. Each patient was evaluated by a psychiatrist and a consultant cardiologist The informations were recorded in a self designed proforma. The Hindi version of Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire and modified adjective check list for type A and type B personality characteristics were administered. Seventy five percent of the patients were having psychiatric problems. The cardiac patients were having psychiatric problems. The cardiac patients were having predominantly type A personality characteristics. Panic disorder was the predominant diagnosis in the psychiatric patients and depression was the main diagnosis in cardiac patients. These patients presented with complaints of chest pain, palpitation, ghabarahat, weakness, increased sweating, hot and cold flushes, choking, breathlessness, decreased appetite.etc.in cardiac OPD.

A study of attributional style in depression compared with schizophrenic and normal patients.

Seligman and his associates have advocated a particular attributional style in depressive patients. The present study aimsat investigating attributional styles in depressive patients, in comparison to schiziphrcnic and non psychiatric medical patients. A matched sample of 30 depressive, 30 schizophrenic and 30 medical patients was selected from out-door and indoor facilities of psychiatric centre and S. M. S. Hospital, Jaipur. All the patients were administered Seligman's (1981) attributional sytle questionnaire.

Body image, hopelessness and personality dimensions in lower limb amputees.

A sample of lower limb amputees and equal number of matched surgical controls was studied on body image, hopelessness and personality dimensions using Fisher's Body Distortion Questionnaire (BDQ). Beck's Hopelessness Scale and Hindi PEN Inventory. Amputees had significantly higher mean scores on body distortion (x 27.86), hopelessness (x 14.08) and neuroticism (x 9.30) as compared to surgical controls. Furthermore they had significantly lesser scores on extraversion (x 11.26) in comparison to their surgical counterparts. No significant differences were found on psychoticism in the two groups. Psychological aspects of amputation have not received much attention. By and large, amputees are believed to have more difficulty in dealing with people than things. It is the loss of ability to relate psychologically, socially, sexually and vocationally that inhibits the amputees most.