Hospitais de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico no sistema prisional: a morte social decretada? / Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Hospitals in the prison system: A social death decreed?

Resumo Este texto apresenta uma discussão a respeito das pessoas com transtorno mental em conflito com a lei no Brasil e os Hospitais de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico, instituições inseridas no sistema prisional e consideradas híbridas entre a saúde e a justiça. Ao apresentarmos a realidade no contexto nacional, evidenciamos que a Reforma Psiquiátrica não alcançou essas instituições e esses indivíduos seguem estigmatizados, tendo os seus direitos humanos violados. Fundamentamos a necessidade de avançarmos o debate e trazemos alguns questionamentos na tentativa de fomentar a criação de novas saídas para o enfrentamento do problema, bem como a garantia de cuidado em saúde bem estruturado e baseado em evidências científicas.

Abstract This text discusses people with mental disorders in conflict with the law in Brazil and the Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Hospitals, institutions included in the prison system and considered a hybrid between health and justice. When we present the reality in the national context, we show that the Psychiatric Reform did not reach these institutions, and these individuals continue to be stigmatized, and their human rights are violated. We substantiate the need to advance the debate and raise some questions to establish new solutions to tackle the issue and ensure well-structured, scientific evidence-based health care.

Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Hospitals in the prison system: A social death decreed? / Hospitais de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico no sistema prisional: a morte social decretada?

This text discusses people with mental disorders in conflict with the law in Brazil and the Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Hospitals, institutions included in the prison system and considered a hybrid between health and justice. When we present the reality in the national context, we show that the Psychiatric Reform did not reach these institutions, and these individuals continue to be stigmatized, and their human rights are violated. We substantiate the need to advance the debate and raise some questions to establish new solutions to tackle the issue and ensure well-structured, scientific evidence-based health care.

Este texto apresenta uma discussão a respeito das pessoas com transtorno mental em conflito com a lei no Brasil e os Hospitais de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico, instituições inseridas no sistema prisional e consideradas híbridas entre a saúde e a justiça. Ao apresentarmos a realidade no contexto nacional, evidenciamos que a Reforma Psiquiátrica não alcançou essas instituições e esses indivíduos seguem estigmatizados, tendo os seus direitos humanos violados. Fundamentamos a necessidade de avançarmos o debate e trazemos alguns questionamentos na tentativa de fomentar a criação de novas saídas para o enfrentamento do problema, bem como a garantia de cuidado em saúde bem estruturado e baseado em evidências científicas.

Social vulnerability: The connection between psychiatric disorders and thiamine deficiency in pregnant women.

The evaluation of thiamine and its derivative phosphate esters levels in pregnant women in rural communities can contribute not only for understanding the specific characteristics of this population regarding nutritional aspects, but also for clarifying the relations of psychiatric manifestations and a vitamin deficit. In the present work we assessed sociodemographic variables, psychiatric parameters and thiamine and its derivative in the whole blood of women in a rural, low-income community in Brazil. A case-control study was done. 94 women were divided in groups using the trimesters of pregnancy as a criterion: each trimester, 1st, 2nd and 3rd had 17, 37 and 38 women, respectively. A control group of non-pregnant women (n-39) was also included. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the HAMA Scale and Beck Inventory, respectively. The thiamine and its phosphorylated derivatives concentrations were determined in whole blood samples using the HPLC method. The results suggest that physiological mechanisms linked to the metabolic pathways of thiamine may play a role in some neurobiological substrate involved in the regulation of emotional state. Thus, social vulnerability is identified as an important factor to be considered in the evaluation of the mental health of pregnant women living in rural communities.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in a patient with SCA type 1 / Transtorno obsessivo compulsivo em um paciente com SCA tipo 1

For many years, the cerebellum was thought to be only responsible for balance, movement, planning and execution. Nowadays, it is well accepted that most cerebellar connections are involved in non-motor functions. Herein, we provide a case report in which a 27-year-old Brazilian male, diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), has demonstrated cerebellar features that could be connected to Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA-1), an autosomal dominant polyglutamine neurodegenerative disorder that had been previously ruled out. Since obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) are known to correlate with alterations in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry, we propose a possible association between OCS and SCA onset.

Durante muitos anos, o cerebelo foi considerado responsável exclusivamente pelo controle das funções de equilíbrio, movimento, planejamento e execução. Atualmente, já está consagrada a participação das conexões cerebelares em funções não-motoras. Apresentamos um relato de caso de um paciente de 27 anos de idade, diagnosticado com Transtorno Obsessivo-Compulsivo (TOC). O paciente apresentava sintomas cerebelares compatíveis com o diagnóstico de ataxia espinocerebelar tipo 1 (SCA-1), um distúrbio da poliglutamina, autossômico dominante neurodegenerativo, que havia sido previamente descartado. Como os sintomas obsessivos compulsivos (SOC) são conhecidos por correlacionar-se com alterações nos circuitos cortico-estriato-tálamo-cortical, propomos uma possível associação entre o SOC e o início da SCA.

Andando na contramão: o destino dos indivíduos com transtorno mental que cometem crimes no Brasil / Going Backwards: The fate of the individual with mental disorder that commit crimes in Brazil

Resumo A reforma psiquiátrica no Brasil possibilitou, entre outros benefícios, a substituição do modelo médico psiquiátrico pelo modelo de atenção psicossocial. A internação psiquiátrica passou a ser contraindicada, exceto nos casos em que os recursos extra-hospitalares forem insuficientes ou quando indicada judicialmente. Nesses casos, a assistência aos portadores de sofrimento mental autores de delito é realizada nos Estabelecimentos de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico (ECTP), onde esses indivíduos são internados para o cumprimento da medida de segurança imposta. Entre os anos de 2015 e 2016, o Mecanismo Nacional de Combate e Prevenção à Tortura (MNCPT) realizou a inspeção de unidades de privação de liberdade, divulgando relatórios através dos quais descreve sua atual realidade. Até o momento, foram visitados cinco estabelecimentos de custódia, nos estados do Pará, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia e São Paulo. Este artigo discute o direito à saúde no contexto dos ECTPs. Circulando entre os domínios do direito e da medicina, essa população tem seus direitos humanos violados e, apesar de distantes geograficamente, a opinião é unânime: os avanços na assistência em saúde mental não contemplaram os ECTPs, que ainda preservam características asilares.

Abstract Psychiatric reform in Brazil made it possible, among other benefits, to replace the psychiatric medical model with the psychosocial care model. Psychiatric hospitalization is now contraindicated, except in cases in which extra-hospital resources are inadequate or when judicially indicated. In such cases, assistance to mentally ill people who are perpetrators of crime is carried out in the Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Facilities (ECTP), where these individuals are hospitalized for compliance with the security measure imposed. Between 2015 and 2016, the National Mechanism for Combating and Preventing Torture (Mecanismo Nacional de Combate e Prevenção à Tortura - MNCPT, in Portuguese) carried out the inspection of detention units, releasing reports describing its current situation. To date, five custody establishments have been visited in the states of Pará, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia and São Paulo. This article discusses the right to health in the context of ECTPs. Circulating between the domains of law and medicine, this population has their human rights violated and, although geographically distant, it is unanimous that advances in mental health care have not addressed ECTPs, which still preserve asylum characteristics.

Psychiatric disorders in a patient with persistent developmental stuttering.

Persistent developmental stuttering (PDS) is a common disorder of speech with no identifiable cause. Psychiatric disorders appear to be related and influence clinical manifestation of PDS. In this case report, we present the clinical evolution of 1 PDS patient submitted to pharmacological treatment with fluoxetine and speech therapy intervention. At the end of 12 weeks of treatment, she evolved from 28 at Beck Depression Inventory; 32 in the Hamilton Scale for Anxiety; 43 and 47, respectively, in the anxiety and avoidance components of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; and severe speech impairment according Iowa Scale, to 12 at Beck Depression Inventory; 8 at Hamilton Scale for Anxiety; 25 and 21 at Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale anxiety and avoidance components, respectively; and moderate speech impairment. Diagnosing and treating psychiatric symptoms in addition to speech therapy appears to be the best therapeutic approach.

Executive functioning in patients with blepharospasm in comparison with patients with hemifacial spasm.

BACKGROUND: Non-motor symptoms have been described in primary dystonia, but the results on cognitive impairment in this condition are discordant. Blepharospasm (BM) is a type of primary focal dystonia characterized by recurrent and involuntary eye blinking. Hemifacial spasm (HS), a condition with different pathophysiology, constitutes an adequate control group when investigating non-motor disturbances in BM. OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of patients with BM and HS in the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). METHOD: Twenty-two patients with BM and 29 patients with HS were submitted to the FAB and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). FAB scores were compared between the two groups. Correlations between FAB and sociodemographic and clinical variables were calculated. RESULTS: BM group was not different from HS in relation to gender, age, length of symptoms, educational level and performance in the MMSE. FAB scores were also similar in both groups. FAB scores correlated negatively with age and positively with educational level and MMSE scores. CONCLUSION: Executive functioning as assessed by FAB is not altered in BM in comparison with HS.

Executive functioning in patients with blepharospasm in comparison with patients with hemifacial spasm / Funções executivas em pacientes com blefaroespasmo em comparação a pacientes com espasmo hemifacial

BACKGROUND: Non-motor symptoms have been described in primary dystonia, but the results on cognitive impairment in this condition are discordant. Blepharospasm (BM) is a type of primary focal dystonia characterized by recurrent and involuntary eye blinking. Hemifacial spasm (HS), a condition with different pathophysiology, constitutes an adequate control group when investigating non-motor disturbances in BM. OBJECTIVE:To compare the performance of patients with BM and HS in the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). METHOD: Twenty-two patients with BM and 29 patients with HS were submitted to the FAB and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). FAB scores were compared between the two groups. Correlations between FAB and sociodemographic and clinical variables were calculated. RESULTS: BM group was not different from HS in relation to gender, age, length of symptoms, educational level and performance in the MMSE. FAB scores were also similar in both groups. FAB scores correlated negatively with age and positively with educational level and MMSE scores. CONCLUSION: Executive functioning as assessed by FAB is not altered in BM in comparison with HS.

INTRODUÇÃO: Alterações não-motoras são descritas na distonia primária, embora sejam conflitantes os resultados sobre prejuízo cognitivo nessa condição. Blefaroespasmo (BE) é um tipo de distonia primária focal caracterizada por contrações recorrentes e involuntárias das pálpebras. Espasmo hemifacial (EH), cuja fisiopatologia é distinta do BE, constitui bom grupo controle quando se investiga alterações não-motoras no BE. OBJETIVO: Comparar o desempenho de pacientes com BE e com EH na Bateria de Avaliação Frontal (BAF). MÉTODO: BAF e Mini-Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM) foram administrados a 22 pacientes com BE e 29 com EH. Os escores da BAF foram comparados entre os dois grupos. Correlações entre resultados na BAF e variáveis sócio-demográficas e clínicas foram calculadas. RESULTADOS: Os grupos BE e EH foram semelhantes quanto a gênero, idade, duração dos sintomas, escolaridade e desempenho no MEEM. Os escores dos dois grupos na BAF foram também similares, correlacionando-se negativamente com idade e positivamente com escolaridade e desempenho no MEEM. CONCLUSÃO: As funções executivas avaliadas pela BAF não estão alteradas no BE em relação ao EH.

Um jogador patológico por Dostoiévski / A pathological gambler by Dostoyevsky

O livro "O jogador" de Fiódor Dostoiévski narra um caso de jogo patológico bastante representativo. O percurso do personagem principal, Aleksei Ivanovitch, evidencia a dramática evolução do transtorno com três fases bem definidas: ganho, perdas e desespero. Partindo do conceito freudiano de narcisismo articulado aos conceitos da psicologia do self de Heinz Kohut, das teorias de Donald Winnicott e Wilfred Bion, serão discutidas as contribuições da psicanálise para a compreensão do jogo patológico.

Dostoyevsky's book, "The gambler," describes a representative case of pathological gambling. The history of the main character, Aleksei Ivanovitch, shows the typical evolution of the disorder in three well defined phases: profits, losses and despair. Based on Freud's concept of narcissism and the concepts of the self psychology by Heinz Kohut, Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion, the contributions of psychoanalysis to the understanding of pathological gambling are discussed.

Neurobiologia da síndrome de Tourette: a hipótese auto-imune pós-estreptocócica: [revisão] / Neurobiology of Tourette's syndrome: the autoimmune post-streptococcal hypothesis: [review]

CONTEXTO: A síndrome de Tourette (ST) caracteriza-se pela presença de tiques motores e pelo menos um tique fônico. Algumas semelhanças clínicas com a coréia reumática ou de Sydenham (CS) incentivaram a formulação da hipótese da existência de um grupo de transtornos neuropsiquiátricos associados a processo auto-imune decorrente de infecção estreptocócica (PANDAS). OBJETIVO: Revisar a literatura quanto às evidências em relação à hipótese de que mecanismos auto-imunes pós-estreptocócicos estão envolvidos na etiopatogênese da ST. MÉTODOS: Revisão sistemática na base de dados MedLine com os termos "Tourette", "tic", "PANDAS", "antibodies", "streptococcal" e "rheumatic". RESULTADOS: Retornaram 238 artigos da busca. Selecionaram-se 53 trabalhos, os quais tiveram suas referências bibliográficas também revisadas. São apresentados os resultados de estudos que avaliaram aspectos imunes na ST, incluindo anticorpos antiestreptocócicos e antinúcleos da base, e sua terapêutica imunebaseada, discutindo a validade do conceito de PANDAS. CONCLUSÕES: As evidências ainda não são satisfatórias no que tange a uma base auto-imune pós-estreptocócica para a ST. Um aprimoramento dos métodos investigativos e na seleção das amostras pode trazer maiores contribuições à questão.

BACKGROUND: Tourette's syndrome (TS) is characterized by the presence of motor tics and at least one phonic tic. Some clinical similarities with Sydenham's chorea (SC) lead to the hypothesis of a new group of disorders associated with an autoimmune process due to a streptococcal infection (PANDAS). Objective: To review the literature in search of evidence on the existence of post-streptococcal autoimmune mechanisms involved with the etiopathogenesis of TS. METHODS: A systematic review with the terms "Tourette", "tic", "PANDAS", "antibodies", "streptococcal" and "rheumatic" was carried on using the MedLine. RESULTS: The search found 238 articles. Fifty and three articles were selected which also had their references reviewed. The results of studies that investigated autoimmune aspects of TS, including anti-streptococcal and anti-basal ganglia anti-bodies, and immune-based therapy, were presented and discussed. DISCUSSION: The evidences to date are not satisfactory regarding a post-streptococcal auto-immune process in ST. The improvement on investigative methods and sample selection might contribute to this question.

Distonia primária e transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo / Primary dystonia and obsessive-compulsive disorder

OBJETIVO: Uma maior freqüência de transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC) em pacientes com distonia primária vem sendo relatada na literatura. O objetivo deste trabalho é revisar os estudos que investigaram a associação entre TOC e distonia primária. MÉTODOS: Artigos que correlacionaram ambas as condições, incluindo estudos caso-controle, descritivos, relatos e série de casos, foram selecionados. As bases de dados avaliadas foram Medline e Lilacs. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados 12 artigos, sendo 8 estudos caso-controle e 4 séries ou relatos de casos. Metade dos estudos caso-controle observou mais sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos nos pacientes com distonia em relação a controles, enquanto a outra metade não. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados são conflitantes, não sendo possível estabelecer uma conclusão definitiva acerca da associação entre distonia e TOC.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with primary dystonia have been reported to have a major incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The objective of the present work is to review the studies that investigated the association between OCD and primary dystonia. METHODS: Articles that correlated both conditions, including case-control and descriptive studies as well as case-reports and series, were selected. Articles were searched on Medline and Lilacs. RESULTS: Twelve articles were found, and eight were case-control studies. In half of case-control studies, obsessive-compulsive symptoms were more common in patients with dystonia than controls, while in the other half there was no such a difference. CONCLUSION: As the results are controversial, definite conclusion regarding the association between dystonia and OCD cannot be established.