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Introduction

Paranoid personality disorder is an enduring pattern of maladaptive behavior, thinking, and personality traits. Patients with this disorder are not psychotic, but some evidence suggests a possible…

Biological interventions in the treatment of paranoid personality disorder are limited to the use of drugs. Although the psychotic process in a delusional paranoid patient may be effectively treated by antipsychotic medication, such is…

From the perspective of the paranoid process, the symptoms of the patient with paranoid personality disorder can be seen as expressing attitudes and feelings derived from the patient’s pathological sense of self. Consequently,…

Women with no history of depression may be at an increased risk of new onset depressive symptoms and disorders as they transition to menopause, according…

After playing a violent video game, young men are more likely to think it’s OK to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, raising the possibility that exposure to violent media could…

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman’s ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment. Risk is especially increased if a woman has…

In research that may have implications for studying eating disorders in humans, a worm the size of a pinhead is helping researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center unravel the mechanisms…

Treatment

Epidemiology
It is estimated that 34% of adults in the United States are obese. The prevalence increases with age up to age 50, at which point it falls sharply in accordance with…

Differential Diagnosis
Body mass index, or BMI, which is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared, is the standard for determining obesity. A BMI under 25 is…

Psychiatric Comorbidity
As noted, as many as 50% of obese individuals engage in recurrent binge eating. Approximately one-fourth of obese binge eaters meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression compared with fewer than…

Introduction
Simple obesity is not included among the eating disorders in DSM-IV. However, when there is evidence that psychological factors play a substantial etiological role in a specific case, this may be…

Treatment
Treatment approaches to bulimia nervosa are outlined in

Epidemiology
Between 1% and 3% of young adult females in the United States meet the diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa. As many as 40% of young adults engage in episodic binge…

Illustrative Case
A 20-year-old woman sought outpatient treatment for her binge eating and vomiting behavior. Her symptoms began at age 17, when she was a college freshman. Although very bright and attractive,…

Differential Diagnosis
The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for bulimia are listed in

Psychiatric Comorbidity
There is a high association of affective disorders with bulimia nervosa, with lifetime rates of over 80%. Major depression is most common, occurring in one-third of patients with bulimia nervosa…

Pica is the persistent (more than 1 month) ingestion of nonnutritive substances inappropriate for developmental age and unacceptable as cultural practice. Pica encompasses a wide variety of populations including toddlers who…