Cycloid psychoses are not part of a bipolar affective spectrum: results of a controlled family study.

BACKGROUND: Whereas a growing body of evidence suggests that cycloid psychoses have to be separated from schizophrenic psychoses, their relations to bipolar affective disorder are less clear. To further clarify this issue a controlled family study was undertaken. METHODS: All living and traceable adult first-degree relatives of 45 cycloid psychotic, 32 manic-depressive and 27 control probands were personally examined by an experienced psychiatrist blind to the diagnosis of the index proband. Data about not traceable relatives were collected by the "Family-History"-Method. A catamnestic diagnosis was established for each of the 431 relatives blind to family data. Age-corrected morbidity risks were calculated using the life-table method. RESULTS: Relatives of cycloid psychotic patients showed a significantly lower morbidity risk for endogenous psychoses in general and manic-depressive illness compared to relatives of patients with manic-depressive illness. The familial morbidity risk for cycloid psychoses was low and did not differ significantly in both proband groups. Relatives of cycloid psychotic patients however did not differ significantly from relatives of controls regarding familial morbidity. LIMITATIONS: Our time-consuming methodical procedure implicated a relatively small number of participants due to restricted personnel resources. The restriction to hospitalised probands could possibly cause a limited representativity of the study sample. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that cycloid psychoses are aetiologically different from manic-depressive illness and could not be integrated into a spectrum of bipolar affective disorders. The findings provide further evidence for a nosological independence of cycloid psychoses.

[Effect of systolic blood pressure on the location of visual field defects in upper and lower visual half-fields in patients with chronic simple glaucoma]. / Einfluss des systolischen Blutdrucks auf die Lage der Gesichtsfeldausfälle in oberer und unterer Gesichtsfeldhälfte bei Patienten mit Glaucoma chronicum simplex.

In earlier studies we found that visual field defects occur more frequently in the lower half of the visual field and that low systolic blood pressure occurs more frequently in low-tension glaucoma (stage II) compared to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) (stage II). We wanted to find out whether visual field defects in the lower half of the visual field point to insufficient perfusion of the optic nerve head due to low blood pressure. We therefore examined the visual fields of 153 eyes of 153 patients with POAG and regulated IOP with program 31 or 33 of the Octopus perimeter 201. With program Delta the loss per test point in the upper and lower hemifield was calculated. The mean systolic blood pressure was calculated for each patient from the blood pressure recordings during the observation time and over a long-term follow-up period (3-19 visual field examinations during a period of 1-8 years). With the Delta program we decided case by case whether the visual field showed a tendency to deteriorate or not. An asymmetry in the mean loss per test point between the two visual hemifields in a relation of 2:1 or more was found in 71 eyes out of 153. In the upper hemifield 50 out of 71 patients had two times greater loss per test point than in the lower hemifield. These patients showed a mean systolic blood pressure of 158 +/- 37 mmHg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Cycloid psychoses as atypical manic-depressive disorders. Results of a family study]. / Sind zykloide Psychosen atypische manisch-depressive Erkrankungen? Ergebnisse einer Familienuntersuchung.

BACKGROUND: Whereas a growing body of evidence suggests that cycloid psychoses have to be separated from schizophrenic psychoses, their relations to bipolar affective disorder are less clear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a controlled family study, we recruited 46 patients with cycloid psychosis (CP), 33 with manic-depressive illness (MDI), and 27 controls. Three hundred fifty-six of 389 living first-degree relatives were personally examined by experienced psychiatrists blinded to the diagnosis of the index proband. RESULTS: The relatives of CP patients showed significantly lower morbidity risk of functional psychoses than relatives of patients with MDI in Kaplan-Meier life table calculation. The morbidity risk for functional psychoses in relatives of patients with CP did not differ significantly from that in relatives of controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CP are etiologically different from bipolar affective psychoses and cannot be integrated into the spectrum of bipolar affective disorders. The findings provide further evidence for a nosological independence of CP.

[Quantification and progression of the visual field defect in glaucoma without hypertension, glaucoma simplex and pigmentary glaucoma. A clinical study with the Delta Program of the 201 Octopus perimeter]. / Quantifizierung und Progredienz des Gesichtsfeldschadens bei Glaukom ohne Hochdruck, Glaucoma simplex und Pigmentglaukom. Eine klinische Studie mit dem Programm Delta des Octopus-Perimeters 201.

Visual field defects of stages I-IV, in 451 eyes of 451 glaucoma patients, were examined with the Octopus 201 perimeter: 83 patients with low-tension glaucoma (LTG), 316 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and 52 patients with pigmentary glaucoma (PG). Program 31 or 33 was used, with an eccentricity range of up to 30 degrees, 73 test points, and a 6 degrees grid. The mean total field loss (TL) as well as the mean loss per test point (TL/TP) in the 30 degrees field, in the field quadrants, and in the eccentricity ranges from 0-10 degrees, 10-20 degrees, and 20-30 degrees were calculated for each patient with Program Delta. In addition, for each visual field the quotient of total loss and of the number of disturbed test points was calculated, providing a measurement of the mean depth of the field defects. For definition and comparison of visual fields in the different glaucomas at identical stages of the disease according to the amount of TL, the 3 patient groups were subdivided into 4 stages of sensitivity loss: Stage 1: TL less than or equal to 100 dB; Stage 2: TL 101-400 dB; Stage 3: TL 401-800 dB; Stage 4: 801-1600 dB. The results of a comparison of eyes with LTG, POAG, and PG at the same stage of disease were as follows: I. Location of scotomas: 1. Defects more frequent in the lower field in LTG as compared to POAG in stage 2. 2. Defects more frequent in the upper than in the lower field in POAG. 3. Almost equal number of defects in the upper and lower halves in PG. 4. In all 3 glaucoma types the defects are more frequently found in the nasal than in the temporal half of the visual field. 5. In LTG and POAG of all stages the defects are most frequently found in the upper nasal and most seldom in the lower temporal quadrant. 6. In all glaucoma types the defects occur on average most frequently between 10 degrees and 20 degrees of eccentricity. 7. With increasing IOP in POAG the scotomas tend to be equally distributed in the upper and lower quadrants. II. Depth of scotomas: 1. Scotomas are deepest in LTG; they are less deep in POAG, and least deep in PG. 2. In PG the mean scotoma depth depends significantly on maximum IOP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Significance of raised intraocular pressure in glaucomatous visual field defects. A clinical study]. / Bedeutung des erhöhten intraokularen Drucks für den glaukomatösen Gesichtsfeldschaden. Eine klinische Studie.

1. 300 eyes of 300 patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) were examined with program 31 of the Octopus perimeter 201 and the amount of visual field loss (total loss) was quantified with program Delta. The total loss was correlated to the height of the maximum intraocular pressure (IOP max). There was no correlation in the interindividual comparison between IOP max and total loss. This shows the influence of IOP independent risk factors in POAG. 2. In an intraindividual comparison 108 eyes of 54 patients with POAG were examined under the question: Have eyes with the four times higher amount of visual field loss in one eye compared to the other, a significant higher IOP max in the eye with the more severe damage. The intraindividual comparison excludes cardiovascular risk factors, because they affect both eyes. So the difference in IOP can show better the damaging influence of IOP: Eyes with the higher amount of visual field loss showed a significant higher IOP max. This shows the impact of the elevated IOP is a risk factor in POAG. 3. 300 eyes of 300 patients with POAG were further examined under the question, whether the relation between the mean loss per test point in the upper half of the visual field in comparison to the mean loss per test point in the lower half of the visual field is different at different IOP max levels. 162 eyes with an IOP max of less than 30 mmHg and 75 eyes with an IOP max of 30 up to 36 mmHg and 63 eyes with IOP max of 37 and more mmHg were evaluated and the 3 groups were compared. With an increasing height of IOP max an increasing equal distribution of the visual field loss in upper and lower visual field half was found. High IOP results in a diffuse nerve fibre damage and more IOP-unindependent risk factors result in localized visual field damage. So there are at least two pathomechanisms in POAG.

[The effect of the menstruation cycle on manifestations of pychiatric diseases]. / Der Einfluss des Menstruationszyklus auf die Manifestation psychiatrischer Erkrankungen.

In the present study we investigated whether a correlation exists between menstrual cycle phase on the day of an acute psychiatric admission and diagnostic entities. Therefore we assessed the menstrual cycle phase in 155 women at the time of acute admission for any non-organic psychiatric disorder. A specific diagnosis according to ICD-10-criteria and to Leonhard's nosology was established without knowledge of the menstrual cycle phase. Independent of diagnosis and classification, the majority of patients (57%) was admitted during the pre-menstrual/menstrual period. Comparing the frequencies of admission before (increasing blood-estrogen-level) and after ovulation (decreasing blood-estrogen-level) we found using ICD-10 criteria there were no significant differences between affective psychoses (F3), acute polymorphous psychotic disorder (F23), schizophrenia/schizoaffective psychoses (F20 and F25) and patients suffering from neuroses or personality disorders (F4-F6). Applying Leonhard's criteria we found no significant differences between endogeneous psychoses and personality disorders and no significant differences between cycloid psychoses and affective psychoses or affective psychoses and schizophrenias as well. However, patients with cycloid psychoses were significantly more frequently admitted to hospital during the luteal-/menstrual phase than patients with schizophrenia (chi 2-Test, p = 0.02). These findings do not confirm a specificity of a pre-menstrual exacerbation of psychotic symptoms for schizophrenia. Rather we found cycloid psychoses to be significantly more frequently associated with premenstrual exacerbation of symptoms.

[Site and depth of glaucomatous visual field defects in relation to the size of the neuroretinal edge zone of the optic disk in glaucoma without hypertension, simple glaucoma, pigmentary glaucoma. A clinical study with the Octopus perimeter 201 and the optic nerve head analyzer]. / Lage und Tiefe glaukomatöser Gesichtsfeldausfälle in Abhängigkeit von der Fläche der neuroretinalen Randzone der Papille bei Glaukom ohne Hochdruck, Glaucoma simplex, Pigmentglaukom. Eine klinische Studie mit dem Octopus-Perimeter 201 und dem Optic Nerve Head Analyzer.

The size of the neuroretinal rim area of the disk was measured with the Optic Nerve Head Analyzer in 57 eyes of 57 patients with low-tension glaucoma (LTG), glaucoma simplex (POAG), and pigmentary glaucoma. The visual fields were examined with Program 33 or 31 (30 degrees eccentricity, 6 degrees grid) of the Octopus 201 Perimeter. The mean sensitivity loss per test point in the central field, in the field quadrants, and in the ranges from 0 degrees-10 degrees, 10 degrees-20 degrees, and 20 degrees-30 degrees were calculated with the Delta program. In addition, the mean loss per disturbed point, which gives the mean depth of scotomata, was calculated. In LTG a larger vertical cup/disk ratio (CDR) was found than in POAG for the same amount of total loss. The comparison of eyes with neuroretinal rim areas of equal size revealed that in contrast to POAG and pigmentary glaucoma, eyes with LTG had a smaller mean sensitivity loss; deeper, more localized scotomata; more visual field defects in the lower field in the initial stages; more scotomata in the area up to 20 degrees. The differences between glaucoma with and without high intraocular pressure were found to be most pronounced in the initial stages of the disease. These differences appear to be caused by the varying amounts of vascular pathogenesis involved. Therefore, at least two pathomechanisms have to be considered in glaucoma.

[Autistic hebephrenia: concepts and findings]. / Die autistische Hebephrenie - Konzept und Befunde

The concept of hebephrenia according to Kleist and Leonhard describes distinct clinical entities with a chronically progressive course leading to residual syndroms with a clear cut symptom constellation which is stable over time. The main symptom is a specific kind of pathological affectivity resulting in a lack of profound future- orientated tension. In six case-reports we illustrate the characteristical clinical picture of the autistic hebephrenia, one of the four subforms of hebephrenic psychoses according to Leonhard. The characteristical clinical syndrom consists of an affective blunting, autistic withdrawal, unfathomable facial expression, unhappy mood and periods of moodiness with aggressive excitement. The concept of hebephrenia according to Kleist and Leonhard presents a promising heuristic attempt for biological-etiological research. In ICD-10 and DSM-IV the usual concept of hebephrenia is a rather vaguely defined nosological category with a polymorphous non-specific symptomatology.

[Comparative study of life quality in patients with cycloid and schizophrenic psychoses]. / Vergleichsuntersuchung zur Lebensqualität bei Probanden mit zykloiden und schizophrenen Psychosen.

BACKGROUND: Cycloid psychoses represent a nosological entity not adequately recognised by contemporary psychiatry. They show full recovery after each episode and thus have a favourable prognosis. METHODS: Course, psychiatric status, social function, and quality of life (QoL) of 33 patients with cycloid psychosis and 44 schizophrenics were compared (CGI, PANSS, GAF, Strauss-Carpenter,WHOQOL-BREF).Also, 48 controls were asked to rate their QoL. RESULTS: The schizophrenics developed symptoms earlier in life (P=0.009) and were hospitalized longer (P=0.001) and more frequently(P=0.01) than patients with cycloid psychosis. The latter showed better scores in the applied scales (P<0.0001). In QoL measures, cycloid psychotic patients were more satisfied than schizophrenic patients in three of four domains(P<0.01). Only in one domain did they differ from controls (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Cycloid psychoses display better course, outcome, and QoL than schizophrenia.Thus, they appear to present a useful concept deserving more clinical and scientific attention.