Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Download The Pdf Of The Full Issue

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

See full text.

Editorial Board

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

See full text.

Mourning, Salman Akhtar M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

See full text.

A Kind Of Poem For My Friend And Me, Hilary O'Neill M.D. (Pgy4)

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

See full text.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, With Attention To Its Occurrence With Atypical Antipsychotic Medication: A Review, Sarah Guzofski M.D. (Pgy2), Ruben Peralta M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is an idiopathic, life-threatening reaction to antipsychotic medication. NMS was traditionally attributed to potent dopamine antagonism of typical antipsychotics, but cases of NMS have now been reported for each of the newer antipsychotics. When NMS is caused by a newer, atypical antipsychotic the presentation differs somewhat; fever, rigidity, and, possibly, death may be less frequent. Diagnostic features, predisposing factors, and treatment are discussed, as is the important matter of reinstituting antipsychotic treatment.

First-Known Hypnopompic Hallucination Occurring In-Hospital: Case Report, Paul Ballas D.O. (Pgy2)

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Despite the high prevalence of hypnopompic hallucinations in the community, to our knowledge there are no reports that have been published in the English literature of these phenomenon observed by staff in the hospital setting. Psychiatric or neurological evaluation often ensues if a patient reports hallucinations in other circumstances, but when they are reported in connection with sleep, further evaluation is rarely performed because such events are common in the general populace. Our report emphasizes the distinction between hypnopompic and hypnagogic hallucination as an ongoing feature of life that someone is aware of, which we believe to be the case …

No More Cuts: The Curious Fate Of Self-Mutilation In Its Development, Zhabiz Kazeminezhad M.D. (Pgy4), Salman Akhtar M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

In this article, we present descriptions of four young women with relatively severe personality disorders. All four were in psychodynamic psychotherapy and all had the symptom of self-cutting. During their treatment, it became evident that their self-cutting had undergone a transformation and a new symptom had appeared in its place. In three, self-cutting was substituted by behaviors that we might call "cutting equivalents" and, in the fourth, by an enhanced self-reflective attitude and by journal-writing. We suggest that symptom-replacement for self-cutting may be common in its developmental course or in its course as it becomes influenced by psychotherapy, and that …

Psychiatric Diagnoses In Patients With Williams Syndrome And Their Families, Janet C. Kennedy M.D. (Pgy1), David L. Kaye M.D., Laurie S. Sadler M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder associated with mental retardation (MR) and a distinct behavioral phenotype including a friendly and outgoing personality. This population, like others with MR, has been reported to have an increased rate of symptoms of mental illness; however, few studies have used DSM-IV criteria to quantify specific psychiatric diagnoses in WS and the prevalence of psychiatric illness in relatives of individuals with WS and the possible relationship between family and patient diagnoses is currently unknown.

Methods: Twenty-one families participated; the patients’ average age was 16 years. DSM-IV diagnoses were applied by using the Anxiety …

Psychogenic Stuttering Following A Gastric Bypass Operation: Case Report, Deborah B. Raphael M.D. (Pgy2), Frank B. Schoenfeld M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

We evaluated a 44-year-old female with bipolar affective disorder who presented with a 4-month history of severe stuttering and vague neurologic complaints. She had lost 200 pounds after gastric bypass surgery two years before. A childhood sexual-abuse victim, she admits that she "hid" in her weight for most of her life. Neurological evaluation of this patient was negative, and speech-pathology evaluation revealed highly atypical stuttering. Gastric bypass patients with a history of psychiatric disorders and childhood sexual abuse may be particularly vulnerable to somatoform disorders.

What Investigations Are Ordered In Patients With First-Episode Psychosis?, Allan Shefrin M.D. (Pgy2), Derek Puddester M.D., Stephanie Greenham Ph.D., Lise Bisnaire Ph.D., Hazen Gandy M.D.

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Psychiatrists are often left with the dilemma of which investigations to order in adolescents presenting with a first episode of psychosis. Blood work, urine studies, and neuroimaging studies were tracked in 13 adolescents admitted with a diagnosis of first-episode psychosis over a 13-month period to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Variation was found in the amount of investigation ordered: 85% of patients received a drug screen; 54% a CT scan; 8% an MRI; 92% a CBC with differential; 92% electrolytes. Abnormalities of CT scans were detected in 2 patients (29%); in neither case did the result lead to a …

Nms, And Why We Should Call It (Malignant) Catatonia, Robert Arnold Johnson M.D. (Pgy4)

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

See full text.