Browsing by Author "Niehaus, D. J. H."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Attitudes towards and beliefs about schizophrenia in Xhosa families with affected probands
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2002-09-27) Mbanga, N. I.; Niehaus, D. J. H.; Mzamo, N. C.; Wessels, C. J.; Allen, A.; Emsley, R. A.; Stein, D. J.
    Objective: The development of effective psychoeducational programs for the management of schizophrenia requires an understanding of attitudes towards and beliefs about the disorder in families of affected probands. In order to establish the need for adaptation of Western psychoeducational programs, these variables were investigated in Xhosa speaking families in South Africa. Design: Xhosa speaking family members of patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were recruited on a voluntary basis, and interviewed with a structured belief and attitudes questionnaire adapted from previous studies in the West. Setting: The study population was drawn from both urban and rural Xhosa communities in South Africa. Subjects: 100 Xhosa speaking family members participated in the study. Results: Family members most often recommended treatment with psychotropic medications (88%) and traditional healers (32%), and least often recommended psychotherapy (4%) and meditation (1%). Of the respondents who recommended traditional healing methods, 92% also recommended simultaneous use of allopathic treatment. Conclusion: Attitudes towards and beliefs about schizophrenia in family members of patients with schizophrenia may differ substantially from those described in previous work in the West. An understanding of local attitudes and beliefs is crucial for the successful development of local psychoeducational programs.
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    Cannabis use and abuse correlates in a homogeneous South African schizophrenia population
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2009-03-01) Koen, L.; Jonathan, R.; Niehaus, D. J. H.
    Objective. Worldwide, cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance, and it has been identified as a correlate in schizophrenia samples for poorer symptomatic and functional outcomes in many international studies. The object of this retrospective study was to identify the prevalence of cannabis use/abuse and the demographic and clinical correlates therefor in a large homogeneous South African schizophrenia population. Methods. As part of a large genetic study, 547 subjects with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited. Demographic and clinical data were collected and each participant underwent a urinary drug screen. Use/ abuse of cannabis was defined as using cannabis more than 21 times in a single year. Subjects with and without cannabis use/abuse were statistically compared. Results. Significant differences between the two groups were found in terms of gender, marital status, age of onset of schizophrenia, number of hospitalisations and relapses, alcohol abuse, smoking, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) scores for hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behaviour and formal thought disorder, and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) score for avolition/ apathy. Conclusion. The prevalence of cannabis use/abuse in this study was high, and our findings were comparable with those of previous international studies. Abuse/use started mainly in the teenage years, was more prevalent among males than females, and was associated with negative overall outcomes. There was also a positive correlation between cannabis and nicotine and alcohol use/abuse. Determination of cannabis abuse based solely on history was found to be reliable, and urine cannabis testing appeared to be of limited value in routine management of this group of schizophrenic patients.
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    D8/17 in obsessive-compulsive disorder and trichotillomania
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 1999) Niehaus, D. J. H.; Knowles, J. A.; Van Kradenberg, J.; Du Toit, W. D.; Kaminer, D.; Seedat, S.; Daniels, W.; Cotton, M.; Brink, P.; Beyers, A. D.; Bouic, P.; Chapman, F.; Zabriskie, J. B.; Stein, D. J.
    The finding that patients with Sydenham's chorea often demonstrate obsessive-compulsive disorder (OeD) has fostered increased interest in possible neuroimmunological mechanisms in OCD.' Increased expression of the B-Iymphocyte antigen 08/17, which has been hypothesised to be a genetically inherited trait marker for susceptibility to rheumatic fever, has recently been demonstrated to be higher in OCD patients than in normal controls.2.3 To date, however, 08/17 expression has been studied in few psychiatric control populations.
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    Management of violent behaviour in acutely relapsed schizophrenics
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2004-09-28) Koen, L.; Lategan, B. H.; Jordaan, E.; Niehaus, D. J. H.; Emsley, R. A.
    The management of aggressive behaviour has always been a criticai issue in psychiatry. Finding measures that can be used to accurately predict the likelihood of assaultative behaviour and thus ensure timeous appropriate pharmacological management remains a dilemma. The study objective was to investigate the naturalistic, pharmacological management of inpatient aggressive behaviour in a group of 50 schizophrenic subjects with a view to determine: (1) whether a presenting history of recent violence lead to altered pharmacological management and (2) whether the NOSIE could be regarded as a useful assessment tool with regards to inpatient behaviour management. No significant difference could be demonstrated between the 2 subsets of subjects (history of violence vs none) with respect to total doses of medication administered. No statistical correlation could be found between the total NOSIE score and the dose of psychotropic medication used. The relationship between a subset of NOSIE-items and the total dose of medication was more complex and a clear linear relationship could be demonstrated for a total score of 0 to 5. In this particular ward setting a presenting history of recent violent behaviour did not influence the administration of medication and neither could the clinical judgement employed by the nursing staff to manage inpatient behaviour be captured by the NOSIE. However, a five-item subset of the NOSIE with questions relating to aggression and irritability warrants further scrutiny in this regard.
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    Obsessive compulsive disorder : prevalence in Xhosa-speaking schizophrenia patients
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2005) Niehaus, D. J. H.; Koen, L.; Muller, J.; Laurent, C.; Stein, D. J.; Lochner, C.; Seedat, S.; Mbanga, I.; Deleuze, J.-F.; Mallet, J.; Emsley, R. A.
    Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has been reported in up to 31% of schizophrenia sufferers. This study evaluated the presence of OCD in a Xhosa-speaking schizophrenia group. Xhosa patients (N = 509, including 100 sibships) with schizophrenia were recruited from hospital and community settings. The patients underwent a structured clinical interview for the presence of lifetime co-morbid schizophrenia and OCD. Only 3 patients (0.5%) fulfilled criteria for OCD. No concordance for OCD was noted in the sibship group. Our findings differ from those in other parts of the world, and if replicated, might suggest unique protective environmental or genetic factors for OCD in certain ethnic groups.
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    Prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorder in first- and multi-episode male patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2003) Koen, L.; Oosthuizen, P. P.; Niehaus, D. J. H.; Emsley, R. A.; Muller, J. E.; Stein, D. J.; Keyter, N.; Lochner, C.; Seedat, S.
    Studies suggest that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent disorder (7.8 - 31.7%) in patients with schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis.1,2 Despite the varied study designs that have been employed, calculated comorbidity rates support the conclusion that this co-morbidity is not likely to be an incidental finding.
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    Schizophrenia-window-of-hope.com : development of a psycho-educational internet resource for the South African setting
    (2010) Bodenstein, S.; Niehaus, D. J. H.; Koen, L.; Wilson, Z.
    Psycho-educational programmes for families of persons with schizophrenia have been shown to reduce relapse rates, subsequently reducing the burden on the family as well as health care systems. Although various South African helplines and psycho-educational websites exist, none of these focused specifically on schizophrenia. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) was approached for assistance to enable us to develop a piggy-back schizophrenia service on their already established helpline. A multidisciplinary mental health team compiled a manual for use by SADAG helpline operators, but owing to the huge amount of information it was realised that the resource would be more efficient if both a helpline and an Internet resource could be created. The website (www.schizophrenia-window-of-hope.com) was then developed with the help of an IT professional. This site represents the first attempt to create an Internet-based schizophrenia-specific educational resource for the South African setting. The next step will be to obtain formal feedback from helpline and website users in order to inform the ongoing development of the site.