Effects of ethnicity on sub-clinical PTSD and depressive symptoms, following exposure to missile attacks in Israel--a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to compare the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, major depression disorder (MDD)-related symptoms, and negative mood regulation capacities among Israeli Jewish and Arab children and their parents, all of whom had been exposed to recurrent missiles attacks during the Second Lebanon War. METHODS: Participants consisted of 28 Jewish and 14 Arab children (aged 4-18 years) and their parents. They were assessed by self-report instruments and a semi-structured interview (K-SADS-PL). RESULTS: Among children, PTSD and depressive symptoms were found to be interrelated. Parents' depression and mood regulation were found to be related to their children's PTSD and depressive responses. Both children's and parents' negative mood regulation capacities were inversely related to children's depressive and PTSD symptoms. Both Jewish and Arab children's scores on the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and on the PTSD Scale Symptoms Interview (PSS-I) showed significant levels of emotional distress following the missile attacks. However, Arab children reported significantly higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms in comparison to Jewish children. CONCLUSION: Ethnicity seems to be an important factor in children's responses to war-related events.

The significance of bradycardia in anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a life-threatening condition, with a significant risk for death, due to cardiovascular complications. It is characterized by abnormal eating behavior and has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders. It has been associated with bradycardia (a heart rate [HR] of less than 60 beats per minute) (up to 95%), hypotension, mitral valve prolapse, and heart failure. The diagnosis of AN can be elusive, and more than half of all cases are undetected. The purpose of this study was to raise and improve awareness to the possible diagnosis of AN in adolescent and young adult patients with weight loss displaying bradycardia and new cardiac disorders. Clinical characteristics, HR, and electrocardiographic data of 23 consecutive patients (20 females) with AN and of 10 young adults (8 females) without AN, between the years 2006 and 2009, were recorded and summarized. At presentation 16/23 (69.6%) showed HR < 50 bpm. The mean lowest HR of all patients was 44 ± 6 (range 26 to 68) bpm. No patient needed pacemaker therapy. Bradycardia in young adults, especially females with weight loss, should raise the possible diagnosis of AN, so it can be treated early in-time, and thus prevent premature death.

Intact sensory function in anorexia nervosa.

BACKGROUND: In anorexia nervosa (AN), taste and smell are believed to be anhedonic, hunger and pain are muted, and body-image distortion obscures wasting, which together facilitate self-starvation. However, the emphasis on these deficits may be biased because other sensory systems have been sparsely investigated. OBJECTIVES: Objectives of the study were to clarify whether these dysfunctions are specific or part of a pattern of sensory-perceptual deficits in AN patients and to test the gustatory senses dissociated from ingestion to clarify whether any deficit is sensory or affective. DESIGN: In 15 adolescent, first-episode, hospitalized, restrictive AN patients and 15 matched healthy controls who responded to gustatory stimuli (intensity and hedonics of 5 basic tastes and tastes and odors of foods and nonfoods), size estimation (manual and oral judgment of size and shape, kinesthesia, and body size and esthetics), cold pain, and auditory and visual processing were compared. RESULTS: AN patients did not differ on most tests, were better at odor recognition, were less successful in central auditory processing and oral assessment of size and shape, and may have been more sensitive to cold. Body-image dissatisfaction in AN patients was not related to dysfunctional size estimation. CONCLUSIONS: There is no systematic sensory-perceptual deficit in AN patients, and specifically, not in gustatory function. The few differences shown might be due to fear of food-related stimuli or comorbidity.