Excellent Physical Health Research Articles

Thiocyanate psychosis treated by extracorporeal homedialysis.

THIOCYANATES have been used in the treatment of hypertension since 1903. The replacement of thiocyanate by newer agents useful in hypertension has resulted in a lack of familiarity with this method of treatment and with the toxicity of the thiocyanate ion. Toxic psychosis caused by thiocyanate overdosage may be misinterpreted as a symptom of hypertensive or cerebral vascular disease. The following case is reported to illustrate the fact that thiocyanate psychosis may still occur and to confirm a previous report of the success of extracorporeal hemodialysis in its treatment. Report of a Case A 68-year-old woman entered the State University of Iowa Hospitals on Sept. 21, 1960. Relatives stated that she had been in excellent mental and physical health until about 6 weeks before when she had consulted her physician because of a minor injury to the leg. She was found to have a blood pressure of 230/115 mm. Hg.

College Men at War.

This book is an interesting study of the adjustment of a group of Harvard College students during their World War II military service. The study is an offshoot of the Grant Study and uses as its subject group 231 college men, initially chosen by the parent study for their “normality,” as defined by excellent physical and mental health and good academic standing. The author attempts to answer broad questions about success and failure in the service and about predictions possible from data available prior to induction. His sources of data are essentially four: questionnaires, interviews and self-rating scales undertaken as part of the parent study, and, in addition, all pertinent Government records, including efficiency reports on military service. In using the information provided by the parent study, he concentrates on the period of military service employing a psychiatric and psychological orientation. Specifically the study covers (1) attitudes before and after

CUTANEOUS CUTEREBRA MYIASIS<subtitle>An Unusual Case in An Infant</subtitle>

NEARLY every physician has at one time or another witnessed the contamination of a necrotic lesion by maggots, and in the early part of this century certain species of fly larvae were even employed therapeutically as scavengers. Myiasis is well known in domestic animals as a source of ruined hides, blown meat, and frequently fatal extensions of wounds. Specific parasitism by fly larvae in humans however, is not familiar to many physicians and is relatively uncommon in the United States. Infestation by the strictly American genus Cuterebra has been reported only twice, both instances involving adults. The present case in an infant, therefore, is unique. Since failure to recognize this entity may lead to unwarranted concern, needless morbidity, and perhaps unnecessary or inappropriate therapy, it seems worth while to report the following episode in medical literature. REPORT OF CASE A boy, aged 11 months, in otherwise excellent physical health and

THE ACUTE SCHIZOAFFECTIVE PSYCHOSES

1. A group of 9 cases is presented in which there is a blending of schizophrenic and affective symptoms. 2. The psychosis is characterized by a very sudden onset in a setting of marked emotional turmoil with a distortion of the outside world and presence of false sensory impressions in some cases. The psychosis lasts a few weeks to a few months and is followed by a recovery. 3. Our patients are young people, in the twenties or thirties, in excellent physical health, in whom there is usually a history of a previous attack in late adolescence. 4. The prepsychotic personalities of our patients show the usual variation found in any group of people. 5. A good social and industrial adjustment, the presence of a definite and specific environmental stress, the interest in life and its opportunities, and the absence of any passivity or withdrawal are some of the factors favoring recovery.