Needs" in Patients of Neurodermatitis Circumscripta (Lichen Simplex Chronicus)

Psychological needs of 20 adult male patients with neurodermatitis circumscripta(lichen simplex chronicus) and 50 matched controls were studied using ten TAT cards.Need affiliation(100%) need achievement (95%),need superiority (55%) and need dominance(40%) were the predominant needs.In contrast to the findings in other studies where aggressive needs were high in patients with atopic dermatitis our study showed that it was a prominent need in only one patient with neurodermatitis circumscripta.

Psychiatric manifestations in temporal lobe epilepsy: a controlled study

Psychiatric disorder was studied in 62 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (study group) and 70 patients with grand mal epilepsy (control group), both diagnosed electroencephalographically. The two groups were similar as regards age, sex, socio-economic status, duration and frequency of fits, family history and premorbid personality. A significantly greater number of temporal lobe epileptics had emotional disturbances in childhood and psychiatric abnormalities at the time of study. Neuroses, schizophrenia and behaviour disorder occurred more commonly in the study group, while epileptic personality and confusional psychosis were seen more frequently in the controls. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of relevant literature.

Sexual disturbances in temporal lobe epilepsy:a controlled study

Seventy cases each of temporal lobe epilepsy and grand mal epilepsy were studied for their sexual functioning. The two groups were similar as regards age, sex, duration of illness, frequency of seizures and menstrual and marital history. A significantly greater number of temporal lobe epileptics were found to be hyposexual. They had a global loss of performance and interest in the sexual sphere and showed no concern over it. One case in the group of temporal lobe eiplepsy, as against none in the other group, was hypersexual. There were no cases of sexual deviations in either of the groups. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of the relevant literature.

Further studies on the dielectric behaviour of cadmium iodide polytypes

The dielectric constants (∊ r ) of several cadmium iodide polytypes have been measured and found to be higher than that of the parent 4H structure. The dielectric constants for several long-period polytypes have been found to lie between 60 and 190 whereas the 4H parent structure has a value in the range of about 15 to 30. In particular, both increasing polytype periodicity and increasing disorder increase the dielectric constant, e.g. from 16 for an ordered 4H structure to 114 for a 32H structure and 67 for a highly disordered 4H structure. In the absence of disorder a particular polytype has its own characteristic dielectric constant value, e.g. the two 14H polytypes which have a common ∊ r value of 63.