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The Stoics expressed great concern about emotion related psychophysiological phenomena as pathological states of body and spirit. They outlined procedures through which all bodily functions could be brought under voluntary control. The Pneumatist School of Medicine of the first century A.D. adopted these philosophical convictions and instituted them in their diagnostic and treatment techniques for psychosomatic disorders. Pneumatic theory, and its application in this context, is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Middlesex Hospital questionnaire, and forearm blood-flow were used to measure aspects of psychological status in forty-one patients with the irritable bowel syndrome, who were compared in this respect with twenty-five matched psychoneurotic subjects and with a general population. The results show a positive association between psychoneurotic disorder and the irritable bowel syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the study regarding controlled evaluation in response with problems in Ugandan secondary school students. The brain fag syndrome is considered to be one condition which has been described in both West and East Africa as characteristically African with specific symptoms. It is stated that it may occur more frequently in certain types of students, besides its uniform symptomatology. The study involves 25 secondary school students with moderate to serious symptoms of brain fag to a psychiatric clinic, comparing it with 20 matched control students. Thus, it shows that problem students vary from their control peers on many background variables.

Focuses on the primacy of psyche and the auotonomy of mental processes in Jungian psychology. Cause of the increasing incidence of psychogenic bodily disturbances; Risk factors for developing heart neurosis; Essential contribution of analytical psychology on psychosomatic medicine; Appearance of the confusing aspects of archetype; Altercation between the shadow and the super-ego; Factors contributing to the formation of personality; Determinants of the psychopathological events;

The article examines the relationship between psychosomatic disease and cultural environment, including the attention paid to psychocutaneous medicine in the United States. The author discusses the preponderance of what are termed "fads" in the United States regarding Psychoanalysis and the role of conformity and insecurity in promoting these trends.

A conference paper about the aetiology and treatment of acne vulgaris. Topics discussed include endocrine imbalance, psychosomatic factors, seborrhoeic or greasy skins, pityriasis capitis, and hypertrichosis tends. Treatment includes Proluton C, progesterone injection, X-radiation therapy, and special diets.

Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire scores of a group of male patients attending a physiotherapy department for treatment of low back pain distinguished between those patients with a good and those with a poor out-outcome. Comparing the scores of these two groups with those of a normal male population suggests that there are two distinct populations of patients with low back pain. A questionnaire may have a place in the selection of patients who are unlikely to respond to conventional treatment for low back pain and who need extensive social or psychiatric investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A study is presented of 217 adults referred for psychiatric assessment from the wards of a postgraduate teaching hospital. The pattern of referral and the disproportionate importance of disturbed behaviour amongst referrals from non-medical wards are discussed. The main diagnostic groups, namely, affective disorders, organic states, psychogenic somatic symptoms and attempted suicide, are tabulated and discussed. Complex problems of diagnosis and management were common and are considered under five headings: multiple pathology; the effects of intensive treatment procedures; language and cultural differences, and difficulties in follow-up. It is concluded that the problems met in this specialized setting are likely to become general as intensive treatment and diagnostic procedures become more widespread. The importance of organic reactions is stressed and their relative neglect by both psychiatrists and physicians commented on. The frequency of social precipitants of affective disorders and attempted suicide, however, is considered to emphasize the range of activities required of the psychiatrist in even the most technologically advanced centres. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Restraint of different strains of rat has been shown to be capable of inducing both oral and gastric ulcers. Hooded Wistar rats were most susceptible to gastric ulcers, whereas Sprague-Dawley rats had the highest incidence of oral ulcers. The causative mechanisms probably differ and are strain dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which seeks to investigate the abuse of taking ergotamine and methysergide in patients with migraine. The study found that the intake of ergotamine and methysergide of more than the required dosage of the said drugs could result to the occurrence of a rebound headache similar to a migraine attack. Several cases of the abuse of ergotamine preparations and of methysergide were reported. These include the case of a 26-year-old girl taking large dose of Migril, another which involves a 34-year-old clerical worker and one involving a 44-year-old woman who has self-administered and injected herself of ergotamine. It is emphasized that patients with migraine should be treated as a whole to prevent abuse of antimigraine drugs and to manage abuse if it develops.

The article presents a study that deals with the comparisons between subgroups differing on medical or gynecological diagnosis to provide evidence concerning the applicability of some psychosomatic and behavioral mechanisms. In this study, a consecutive series of 50 couples referred to an infertility clinic were interviewed separately and given the Neuroticism Scale Questionnaire. The three dimensions considered are medico-gynecological diagnosis, ovulatory capacity and sperm count. Results showed that comparing the anovulant with the ovulating infertile women, there was a slight tendency for the anovulant women to be uncertain or dissatisfied with sex adjustment, but there was little difference in Neuroticism, coital frequency or sex identity.

The article presents a factor analytic study which reexamines the problem of depressed in-patients on the endogenous and neurotic varieties of depression in Great Britain. A survey was conducted on patients with diagnosis of endogenous depression, neurotic depression, or involutional melancholia to ensure that a wide range of depressive disorders was covered. Results of the study indicate that two-thirds of the patients could be regarded as suffering from an endogenous or a neurotic illness. Factor analysis is being employed as a useful technique for differentiating patients with various depressive symptoms.

The article presents a study that examines psychiatric disorder among the colored people living in Cape Peninsula in South Africa. Under the study, a random sampling of the colored persons who are over 20 years old , and an interview about their mental and physical health were conducted. An interview with persons who knew each respondent, as well as consultation of hospital records, was also done. Analysis of the data obtained shows of the 200,365 total population of colored people, that 11.88 percent who are over the age of 20 were psychiatrically disturbed. The evaluation conducted and results of the study are described in details.

The article presents a study on the significance of desensitization treatment of nervous diarrhea and other autonomic disorders. The treatment by desensitization of so-called nervous diarrhea and other autonomic disorders which have become conditioned responses to specific situations is reported. Six patients were treated, and five who completed treatment showed marked and sustained improvement after long and socially crippling illnesses. The mechanisms of symptom formation and the mode of action of the treatment are discussed.