Excessive substance use in bipolar disorder is associated with impaired functioning rather than clinical characteristics, a descriptive study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a strong association between bipolar disorder (BD) and substance use disorder (SUD). The clinical and functional correlates of SUD in BD are still unclear and little is known about the role of excessive substance use that does not meet SUD criteria. Thus, the aims of the current study were to investigate lifetime rates of illicit substance use in BD relative to the normal population and if there are differences in clinical and functional features between BD patients with and without excessive substance use.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>125 consecutively recruited BD in- and outpatients from the Oslo University Hospitals and 327 persons randomly drawn from the population in Oslo, Norway participated. Clinical and functional variables were assessed. Excessive substance use was defined as DSM-IV SUD and/or excessive use according to predefined criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The rate of lifetime illicit substance use was significantly higher among patients compared to the reference population (OR = 3.03, CI = 1.9-4.8, p < .001). Patients with excessive substance use (45% of total) had poorer educational level, occupational status, GAF-scores and medication compliance, with a trend towards higher suicidality rates, compared to patients without. There were no significant group differences in current symptom levels or disease course between groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The percentage of patients with BD that had tried illicit substances was significantly higher than in the normal population. BD patients with excessive substance use clearly had impaired functioning, but not a worse course of illness compared to patients without excessive substance use. An assessment of substance use beyond SUD criteria in BD is clinically relevant.</p

Hormonal response during a fenfluramine-associated panic attack

Secretion curves for prolactin, cortisol, TSH, and GH from a 37-year old woman with dysthymia and panic disorder with agoraphobia were determined one day prior to (day I), and during a panic attack (day II) associated with an oral dose of 60 mg dl-fenfluramine, a drug known to increase anticipatory anxiety. The increased cortisol secretion observed is discussed in relation to the hormonal correlates of anxiety and the possible role of depression, dl-fenfluramine, and serotonergic receptor sensitivit

Prevalência de lesões na temporada 2002 da Seleção Brasileira Masculina de Basquete Prevalencia de lesiones en la temporada 2002 de la Selección Brasileña de Básquetbol Masculino Prevalence of injuries of Brazilian Basketball National Team during 2002 season

Este estudo objetiva apresentar a prevalência, provável etiologia e localização das lesões da Seleção Brasileira de Basquete masculina adulta durante a fase de preparação e o 14º Campeonato Mundial de Basquetebol, em 2002. No total, foram 102 queixas correspondendo ao período de 1/7/02 a 10/9/02, com média de 2,55 lesões/mês/jogador. Encontrou-se maior índice de lesões atraumáticas, incluindo as musculares, doenças sistêmicas e lesões tendinosas (66/102 queixas), ou seja, 64,7% do total. Dentre as lesões traumáticas, as mais freqüentes foram as entorses de tornozelo (13/102 lesões) com 12,8%, seguidas dos traumas diretos (contusões) na região das mãos (9/102 lesões), com 8,8%. Em relação ao local de acometimento, as maiores queixas foram nos membros inferiores (49 /102), com 48,0% e membros superiores (14/102), com 13,7%. Quanto à gravidade, lesões leves representaram 57,8%, seguidas das moderadas e graves, com 32,4% e 9,8%, respectivamente. Em relação à posição de jogo, os pivôs foram os atletas que apresentaram maior número de queixas, 45, representando 44,1% do total, sendo estas devido, principalmente, ao contato físico na região do garrafão. Dessa forma, por ser um esporte de extremo contato, as lesões traumáticas, principalmente em mãos e coxas, e as entorses de tornozelo são altamente representativas, sendo os membros inferiores os mais acometidos.<br>Este estudio persigue el objetivo de presentar la prevalencia, probable etiología y localización de las lesiones de la Selección Brasileña de básquetbol masculino adulto durante la fase de preparación para el 14º Campeonato Mundial de Básquetbol 2002. En total fueron 102 consultas correpondientes al período comprendido del 1ro. de julio al 10 de setiembre del 2002, con una media de 2,5 lesiones por deportista. Se encontró un mayor índice de lesiones traumáticas, incluyendo las lesiones musculares, afecciones sistémicas y lesiones tendinosas (66 de 102 consultas), o sea el 64,7% del total. Dentro de las lesiones traumáticas, las más frecuentes fueron los esguinces de tobillo (13 de 102 lesiones) con el 12,8% seguido de los traumas directos (contusiones) de la región de las manos (9 de 102 lesiones) con un 8,8%. En cuanto a la gravedad, las lesiones leves representan el 57,8% seguidas de las moderadas y graves con un 34,4% y 9,8%, respectivamente. En relación a la posición en el juego, los pivots fueron los atletas que presentaron un número mayor de consultas (45) representando el 44,1% del total, siendo estas debidas principalmente al contacto físico de la región con mayor agresividad. De esta forma, por ser un deporte de extremo contacto físico, las lesiones traumáticas principalmente en manos, caderas y los esguinces de tobillo son altamente representativas, siendo los miembros inferiores los mas afectados.<br>The aim of this study is to evaluate injuries, etiology and localization of Brazilian Basketball National Team during 2002 season. All data of this study was collected by the physician's team. The diagnosis performed was clinical, rarely complementary exams were used; 102 complaints were made by athletes during 2002 season (1/7/2002 10/9/2002) performing 6.37 injuries/athlete/season or 2.55 injuries/athlete/month; 64.7% (66/102 athlete's complaints) had no trauma relationship (muscle injuries, clinical diseases and tendinous injuries). The traumatic injuries were less frequent (36/102; 35.3%). The most frequent injury was ankle's torsion (13/102; 12.8%) followed by hand's trauma (9/102; 8.8%). By localization, the most common injuries were in legs (49/102; 48.0%), arms (14/102; 13.7%), thorax/abdomen (14/102; 13.7%), head and neck (3/102; 3.0%). The systemic diseases (headache, diarrhea, for example) were 21.6%. According to position in court, complaints from center players were the most common (45/102; 44.1%), mainly of traumatic injuries. Due to extreme contact sport, traumatic injuries in hands, thigh and ankle's torsion are most representative and the legs the most common stricken

Scalable, Decentralized Battery Management System Based on Self-organizing Nodes

Due to the transition to renewable energy sources and the increasing share of electric vehicles and smart grids, batteries are gaining in importance. Battery management systems (BMSs) are required for optimal, reliable operation. In this paper, existing BMS topologies are presented and evaluated in terms of reliability, scalability and flexibility. The decentralisation of BMSs and associated advantages are shown. A scalable, reconfigurable BMS based on a distributed architecture of self-organized, locally controlled nodes is proposed. For distributed system control, producers, batteries and consumers each are equipped with a local microcontroller based control unit, which monitors and controls the local parameters with its own computing and communication resources. Features, advantages and challenges to overcome of the proposed approach are described