Browsing by Author "Thomas, Eileen"
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- ItemMethamphetamine-induced psychosis : clinical features, treatment modalities and outcomes(AOSIS Publishing, 2016) Thomas, Eileen; Lategan, Helena; Verster, Chris; Kidd, Martin; Weich, LizeObjective: To investigate the clinical features, prescribing patterns and outcomes of psychiatric inpatients admitted with methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive pilot study was conducted between March 2014 and August 2014 at three South African Mental Health Care Act designated hospitals prior to admission to a psychiatric hospital. Patients with methamphetamine-related psychotic symptoms according to the DSM-5 criteria were eligible. Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale was employed as a measure of current psychopathology. Results: Fifty-six participants were included. Positive psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations) were more prominent than negative symptoms (e.g. affective blunting). Almost half the participants (43%) had previous episodes of methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Within this group, all had defaulted on the prescribed treatment prior to admission. Only 29% of the participants had received prior formal substance-use rehabilitation as treatment for their disorder. High rates of comorbid cannabis and alcohol use (51%) were recorded. Most of the participants required transfer to specialist psychiatric hospitals. The amounts of methamphetamine used were not a predictor of the persistence of psychosis; however, the pattern of use was. Conclusion: Clinical features correspond with other international findings. The currently employed model of sequential, non-integrated psychiatric and substance use treatment in this setting appears ineffective.
- ItemMothers’ pupillary responses to infant facial expressions(BioMed Central, 2017-02-06) Yrttiaho, Santeri; Niehaus, Dana; Thomas, Eileen; Leppanen, Jukka M.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Human parental care relies heavily on the ability to monitor and respond to a child’s affective states. The current study examined pupil diameter as a potential physiological index of mothers’ affective response to infant facial expressions. Methods: Pupillary time-series were measured from 86 mothers of young infants in response to an array of photographic infant faces falling into four emotive categories based on valence (positive vs. negative) and arousal (mild vs. strong). Results: Pupil dilation was highly sensitive to the valence of facial expressions, being larger for negative vs. positive facial expressions. A separate control experiment with luminance-matched non-face stimuli indicated that the valence effect was specific to facial expressions and cannot be explained by luminance confounds. Pupil response was not sensitive to the arousal level of facial expressions. Conclusions: The results show the feasibility of using pupil diameter as a marker of mothers’ affective responses to ecologically valid infant stimuli and point to a particularly prompt maternal response to infant distress cues.
- ItemPriority areas for cannabis and cannabinoid product research in South Africa(AOSIS, 2018-06) Augustine, Tanya N.; Cairns, Carel J.; Chetty, Sean; Dannatt, Lisa G.; Gravett, Nadine; Grey, Glenda; Grobler, Gerhard; Jafta, Zukiswa; Kamerman, Peter; Lopes, John; Matsabisa, Motlalepula G.; Mugabo, Pierre; Mulder, Michelle; Parry, Charles; Rataemane, Solomon; Siegfried, Nandi; Steenkamp, Vanessa; Thomas, Eileen; Van Zyl-Smit, RichardThe legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use is a contentious space both politically and in the medical community. In 2014, the Medical Innovation Bill introduced by Mario Oriani-Ambrosini MP, aimed to shift the political and legal positions of cannabis as an illegal substance to one available for research and medical use. To date, progress on this has been slow. Cannabis and cannabinoid products are currently available for medicinal use in several countries, including the Netherlands and 29 states in the United States. Locally, anecdotal reports suggest that many of our patients with chronic medical conditions are using cannabis and cannabis-derived or cannabinoid products for symptom alleviation.
- ItemSniffing out olfactory reference syndrome(AOSIS Publishing, 2017) Thomas, Eileen; Voges, Juane; Chiliza, Bonginkosi; Stein, Dan J.; Lochner, ChristineOlfactory reference syndrome is characterised by the erroneous belief that one emits an unpleasant body odour. This results in significant distress and is often accompanied by repetitive behaviour such as frequent showering in an attempt to camouflage the perceived odour. The body odour concerns may have a delusional quality and do not respond to simple reassurance or counterexample. Herein, we report the case of an olfactory reference disorder (ORD) patient who had received multiple medical interventions and undergone polysurgery prior to an accurate diagnosis being established. ORD may lead to significant disability, yet often goes unrecognised for many years. For many patients, poor insight will contribute to their reluctance to consider psychiatric treatment. This case demonstrated that a multimodal treatment approach comprising judicious medication use, combined with cognitive behavioural therapy, in the context of a therapeutic alliance yielded therapeutic success.