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Objective: Previous results indicated a facilitated transcallosal inhibition via the corpus callosum (CC) in alexithymic male students. This study investigates transcallosal inhibition in alexithymic and nonalexithymic psychiatric inpatients. Method: Transcallosal inhibition was elicited by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex. Seven right-handed male and 12 female psychiatric patients with Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) scores of ≥61 and 12 patients with TAS-20 scores of <51 were investigated. The transcallosal conduction time (TCT) reflects the TMS-induced inhibitory cortical activity that is mediated via the CC. Results: There was a significant effect of alexithymia on TCT (Wilks λ = 0.76; F = 4.1; d.f. = 2, 26; p = 0.027) indicating that alexithymic patients had shorter bidirectional TCTs than nonalexithymic patients. The in-between models showed a significant impact of alexithymia on both right to left TCT (F = 4.8; d.f. = 1; p = 0.038) and left to right TCT (F = 5.0; d.f. = 1; p = 0.033). Neither gender nor scores of depression (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale) had any significant effects on TCT. Conclusion: Our results confirm and extend the previous findings of a facilitated, bidirectional transcallosal inhibition in alexithymia to male and female psychiatric inpatients. Facilitated transcallosal inhibition should be considered as a neurobiological correlate of alexithymia. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text examines post-traumatic stress disorders and trauma sequel disorders in adolescence, focusing in particular on the problem of transition. On the one hand, on the diagnostic level traumatizations are often not PTSD-specific, but rather self-help and self-medication measures as well as alcohol and drug addiction and dissociality, which are often not sufficiently questioned in the adult psychiatric system. On the other hand, it is about the further development and implementation of trauma pedagogical approaches, especially for young people who grow up in critical high-risk constellations or who are already in institutions of youth welfare or integration assistance. Here, not only a blatant lack of initial, further and continuing training for the occupational groups involved is noted, but also a lack of empirical therapy studies., Competing Interests: J.M. Fegert erhielt in den letzten fünf Jahren Förderungen von der EU, der Deutschen Forschungs-gemeinschaft (DFG), dem Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), dem Bundes-ministerium für Gesundheit (BMG), dem Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ), dem Bundesministerium für Verteidigung (BMVg), mehrerer Landessozialministerien, der Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg, der UBS Optimus Stiftung, der Päpstlichen Universität Gregoriana CJD, Caritas und der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart. Darüber hinaus erhielt er in den letzten 5 Jahren von der DFG, AACAP, NIMH/NIH, EU, Pro Helvetia, Janssen-Cilag (J&J), Shire, verschiedenen Universitäten und Wissenschaftskollegs, Berufsverbänden, politischen Stiftungen sowie Bundes- und Landesministerien Reiseaufwandsentschädigungen, Vortragshonorare und Sponsoring für Konferenzen und medizinische Bildungszwecke. Jede Zuwendung wird beim Universitätsklinikum Ulm angemeldet., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objective: 12-35% of all sexual delinquents report victimization through early sexual abuse. To date, studies are based on small samples and mostly come from English-language countries., Methods: As part of an interdisciplinary study on the human rights situation in long-term imprisonment, we examined 1,055 prisoners from 11 countries in Europe with the posttraumatic stress diagnostic scale (PDS) concerning their traumas in relation to their offences., Results: Sexual delinquents who reported own prior sexual abuse within the family had a fourfold increase in committing sexual offences later in their life compared to other offenders., Conclusions: A detailed trauma history which includes sexual offences within the family is essential for adequate therapy and relapse prevention., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background: There are only few data about the prevalence and familiarity of personality disorders (PD) in population based samples in Germany. Moreover, nearly no information exists for the prevalence of PDs among young adults. Thus, in the current study we examined the prevalence, familiarity and psychopathology of PDs, whereby middle-aged adults (about 45 years old) as well as the adult children of these persons (about 20 years old) were examined., Methods: Participants were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID-II) which is based on the DSM-IV criteria for PDs and with the SCL-90. The sample consisted of 411 parents and their adolescent children (n=334)., Results: The prevalence for PDs was 11.2% in the parent sample and 14.7% in the adolescent sample. Cluster-B personality disorders (Cluster-B-PDs) were more often diagnosed in the adolescent sample, in particular. Moreover, we did find an elevated risk for children of parents with a PD than for children of parents without a PD to develop a PD where the former group also displayed elevated values with regard to their psychopathology., Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of PDs in community-based samples. The implications of our findings for treatment and classification of PDs are discussed., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objective: Evaluation of the predictive power of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for survival analyses of dementia patients., Methods: In an 8-year follow-up study for 145 dementia outpatients the survival and relative death risks (hazard ratios) were calculated with Kaplan Meier and Cox-regression analyses., Results: Following Cox-regression the relative death risk increases by 36.2 % per severity level of dementia (mild / moderate / severe), p = 0.023. Per single MMSE point lost, the relative death risk rises by 4.1 % (p = 0.005). Kaplan Meier analysis supports the result., Conclusions: MMSE scores may in fact be used for dementia survival prognoses in counseling family and professional caregivers of dementia patients, but also for socioeconomic management of the increasing dementia burden for society.

Introduction: Because of the presence of pronounced impulsiveness and affective dysregulation in subjects with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) executive dysfunctions have been suspected. Previous studies in this area revealed inconsistent results. However, most of these studies did not control for comorbidity (e. g. impulsiveness, depression) and current medication of participants. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate executive (dys)functions in patients with BPD and healthy controls controlling for impulsivity. Furthermore, a second control group with depression was included to test the specificity of the results., Method: 24 unmedicated, female BPD patients as well as 24 healthy controls were matched for age, sex, and intelligence. Additionally, 22 female subjects with a life-time diagnosis of depression were included. All subjects completed a neuropsychological test battery assessing executive functions., Results: No significant differences in executive functioning were found between the three groups. BPD patients showed, however, a decreased ability to delay a gratification compared with controls., Conclusion: These results implicate that BPD patients have deficits in motivational areas while other executive functions are not or only marginally involved.

Objective: Due to the lack of adequate data on the need of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care in the community, an evidence-based goal directed development of treatment systems in socioeconomically poorer regions in former Eastern Germany is not feasible., Method: A community sample from the Study of Health in Pomerania (N = 4310) was investigated with the "Beschwerdenliste" from von Zerssen. The met and the unmet need of care were estimated., Results: 3.1 % of all subjects were treated at least once by a mental health professional during the last 12 months. 12 % of the subjects, currently not in treatment, were estimated to be highly distressed by psychopathological symptoms and were considered to be potentially in need of mental health care. From this follows a treatment rate of 20 %. Subjects with high mental stress consulted their GP's, internists, orthopedics and neurologists significantly more often than subjects with low mental stress., Conclusion: A considerable need of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment facilities has to be faced. Besides the improvement of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment facilities, psychosocial networks should be established in order to provide an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to mental problems in the community.