Dominant social frustrating factors and mechanisms of psychological adaptation among women with prolonged paranoid schizophrenia

Given the dominance now in medical science biopsychosocial paradigm of mental disorder becomes relevant to study the social and frustrating factors and psychological defense mechanisms in patients with schizophrenia, particularly in patients with a prolonged course of disease. To study this question have been examined 11 patients with paranoid schizophrenia, a female, being hospitalized, aged 33–59 years with disease duration more than 5 years. Used clinical-psychopathological method objectification of clinical self-report scale (SCL - 90 - R), experimental psychology (questionnaireindex of life style). According to the questionnaire SCL - 90 - R obtained rather higher values on the scales: somatization (2.16), obsessive-compulsive (3.70), interpersonal anxiety (2.41), phobias (4,0), psychotism (2.3), which indicates a bright psychopathology in the current status. In these patients revealed the following psychological defense mechanisms: regression, denial, repression, displacement, which largely prevented adequate social and occupational adaptation of patients. The obtained results reflect the syndromic profile of the examined patients, as well as leading mechanisms of their psychological adaptation, which subsequently will provide an opportunity to more adequately use the methods of pharmacotherapy and psihorehabilitation activities in both inpatient and outpatient in this group of patients.

Cocaine abuse and HIV-1 infection: epidemiology and neuropathogenesis

The epidemiology of cocaine abuse and potential relationships of cocaine withdrawal to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-associated dementia (HAD) are discussed. Neuroendocrinological changes in HIV-1 infection of the central nervous system (CNS) are discussed with the relevant impact of cocaine abuse. HIV-1 load in the brain tissue of infected substance users is described along with possible associations with neuropathology and HAD. Finally, the molecular epidemiology and sequence heterogeneity of HIV-1 and their implications for neuropathogenesis are summarized. The complex context of addressing cocaine abuse in the setting of HIV-1 infection appears more tractable when decomposed into its components.