In the rating scales commonly used for assessing response to antipsychotic treatment, individual items embrace symptoms that apparently arise from distinguishable pathophysiological processes and might be expected to respond differently to treatment.

To test the reliability sensitivity to change and factor structure of a new scale for the assessment of the Signs and Symptoms of Psychotic Illness (the SSPI).

Interrater reliability was evaluated by determining the intraclass correlation for the ratings of 63 patients. Sensitivity to change was assessed in a longitudinal study of 33 patients. Factor structure was determined from scores for 155 patients.

The intraclass correlation was satisfactory for all individual items and excellent for the total score. Scores were sensitive to change. A change in Clinical Global Impression of one unit corresponded to an SSPI total score change of 31%. Factor analysis revealed five clusters of symptoms.

The SSPI provides a sensitive and reliable measure of the five major clusters of symptoms that occur commonly in psychotic illness.

Frontotemporal dementia accounts for up to 20% of cases of dementia in the presenium, yet remains poorly recognised. Diagnostic criteria have been devised to aid clinical diagnosis.

To provide an overview of clinical and pathological characteristics of frontotemporal dementia and its nosological status.

The review summarises consensus diagnostic criteria for frontotemporal dementia and draws on the authors'clinical experience of 300 frontotemporal dementia cases, and pathological experience of 50 autopsied cases.

Frontotemporal dementia is characterised by pronounced changes in affect and personal and social conduct. Some patients also develop motor neuron disease. Mutations in the tau gene account for some but not all familial cases of frontotemporal dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia is a focal form of dementia, which is clinically and pathologically distinct from other dementias. It represents an important model for understanding the functions of the frontotemporal lobes.

Frequent attenders in medical settings account for a disproportionate amount of health-care resources. Little is known about service use and costs of secondary care in those frequent attenders presenting with medically unexplained symptoms.

To compare health-care use and costs of patients with medically unexplained symptoms with other frequent attenders in secondary care.

In a sample of 400 frequent attenders of secondary care services, those presenting with medically unexplained symptoms were identified by a review of medical records. Their use of health-care resources was compared with that of other frequent attenders.

Of the frequent attenders 17% had at least two medically unexplained consultation episodes. These patients had a greater number of referrals to secondary care and were more likely to undergo particular investigations.

Frequent attenders with medically unexplained symptoms account for levels of service use and expenditure that are comparable with other frequent attenders, but the use and cost of medical investigations in this group are significantly greater.

Dissociative symptoms during trauma predict post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but they are often transient. It is controversial whether they predict chronic PTSD over and above what can be predicted from other post-trauma symptoms.

To investigate prospectively the relationship between dissociative symptoms before, during and after a trauma and other psychological predictors, and chronic PTSD.

Two samples of 27 and 176 road traffic accident survivors were recruited. Patients were assessed shortly after the accident and followed at intervals over the next 6 months. Assessments included measures of dissociation, memory fragmentation, data-driven processing, rumination and PTSD symptoms.

All measures of dissociation, particularly persistent dissociation 4 weeks after the accident, predicted chronic PTSD severity at 6 months. Dissociative symptoms predicted subsequent PTSD over and above the other PTSD symptom clusters. Memory fragmentation and data-driven processing also predicted PTSD. Rumination about the accident was among the strongest predictors of subsequent PTSD symptoms.

Persistent dissociation and rumination 4 weeks after trauma are more useful in identifying those patients who are likely to develop chronic PTSD than initial reactions.

An acceptable, standardised outcome measure to assess efficacy and effectiveness is needed across multiple disciplines offering psychological therapies.

To present psychometric data on reliability, validity and sensitivity to change for the CORE–OM (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measure).

A 34-item self-report instrument was developed, with domains of subjective well-being, symptoms, function and risk. Analysis includes internal reliability, test–retest reliability, socio-demographic differences, exploratory principal-component analysis, correlations with other instruments, differences between clinical and non-clinical samples and assessment of change within a clinical group.

Internal and test–retest reliability were good (0.75–0.95), as was convergent validity with seven other instruments, with large differences between clinical and non-clinical samples and good sensitivity to change.

The CORE–OM is a reliable and valid instrument with good sensitivity to change. It is acceptable in a wide range of practice settings.

Little is known about the presentation and management of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in primary care.

To determine the use of health care services by people suffering from SAD.

Following a screening of patients consulting in primary care, 123 were identified as suffering from SAD. Each was age— and gender-matched with two primary care consulters with minimal seasonal morbidity yielding 246 non-seasonal controls. From primary care records, health care usage over a 5-year period was established.

Patients with SAD consulted in primary care significantly more often than controls and presented with a wider variety of symptoms. They received more prescriptions, under went more investigations and had more referrals to secondary care.

Patients with SAD are heavy users of health care services. This may reflect the condition itself, its comorbidity or factors related to the personality or help-seeking behaviour of sufferers.

Numbers of immigrant elders are increasing and it is unclear whether they can access services.

To examine service utilisation of older immigrants compared with their UK-born counterparts and relate it to health difficulties.

Cross-sectional study in inner London measuring service use, mental health and disability.

A total of 1085 people aged ⩾65 years were interviewed. Independent predictors of contact with a general practitioner included being born in Cyprus. Cypriots were the only immigrant population to report significantly more somatic symptoms than those born in the UK (P=0.005). Africans and Caribbeans used daycare and other social services most frequently.

Immigrants could access services. Africans and Caribbeans appear to have poorer physical health and thus have greater contact with services. Cypriots who experience depression may present with prominent somatic symptoms. This is likely to be due to a different idiom of distress.

Sleep effects of antidepressants are important clinically and for elucidating mechanism of action: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors disturb sleep and 5-HT2 receptor-blocking compounds may enhance sleep quality.

To compare the objective and subjective effects on sleep of paroxetine and nefazodone in patients with moderate to severe depression.

Forty patients with depression were randomised to take paroxetine 20-40 mg/day or nefazodone 400–600 mg/day for 8 weeks. Objective and subjective quality of sleep and depression measures were assessed throughout.

Nefazodone significantly increased objective sleep efficiency and total sleep time, and improved subjective sleep on days 3 and 10. Paroxetine decreased sleep efficiency early in treatment and some sleep disruption remained at week 8. Paroxetine but not nefazodone produced marked suppression of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Nefazodone improves sleep in early treatment compared with paroxetine in patients with moderate to severe depression. These effects are seen within the first 2 weeks of treatment and diminish thereafter.

Continuity of care has been monitored rarely in Italian community mental health centres.

To estimate the long-term probability of leaving care in first-contact patients attending an out-patient service, and to identify patients most likely to drop out.

All patients who had a first contact with the community mental health centre of Magenta during a 1-year recruitment period were followed up for 24 months. Patients who failed to return after the last out-patient visit were regarded as ‘drop-outs'.

During the 1-year recruitment period 330 subjects were at their first contact. The 1-year incidence of first-contact patients was nearly 33 per 10 000 inhabitants. At follow-up, 46% of patients had dropped out. In comparison with patients with psychoses, subjects suffering from neurotic (P=0.004) and personality disorders (P=0.029) were more likely to drop out.

In the Italian system of community psychiatric care nearly half of the patients are no longer in contact after 2 years. Those who stay in treatment are more likely to suffer from psychosis, suggesting a commitment of Italian outpatient facilities to tackling the needs of patients with more severe disorders.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common dementia subtype that has only been recognised in the past decade and that remains widely underdiagnosed.

To review the pathological and clinical features of DLB, to consider methods of investigation and diagnosis, and to recommend safe and effective management strategies.

A selective review was made of the key literature.

Using operationalised criteria, DLB can be clinically diagnosed with an accuracy similar to that achieved for Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. Underdetection is largely due to poor definition of the criterion of cognitive fluctuation. Ancillary investigations, particularly neuroimaging, can aid in differential diagnosis. Extreme caution in the use of neuroleptic medication is advised. Cholinesterase inhibitors may be particularly effective in DLB.

Clinicians should be aware of DLB as part of a spectrum of Lewy body disorders. Neuroleptic sensitivity reactions and good response to cholinergic therapies are important aspects of management.

The Health of the Nation Outcomes Scales (HoNOS) have been developed to measure outcomes in people with mental health problems.

Frequent impaired social functioning, problems with communication and associated physical conditions meant that a bespoke instrument was needed for people with learning disabilities. We describe the development of the Health of the Nation Outcomes Scales for People with Learning Disabilities (HoNOS–LD).

HoNOS-LD was piloted at 26 sites. Two raters, at two points in time, rated 372 subjects. Analysis determined acceptability, ease of use, interrater reliability, sensitivity to change and reliability with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC).

The resulting 18-item instrument demonstrated good reliability and validity characteristics and is generally acceptable to clinicians.

HoNOS-LD is an appropriate instrument for measuring outcome in people with learning disabilities with additional mental health needs.

Drawing a distinction between cortical and subcortical dementias seems both useful and justified. Recent research has, however, cast doubt on the clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and neuroanatomical basis of the distinction.

To arrive at a reasoned conclusion about the relationship between the two types of dementia and the validity of distinguishing between them.

The historical and recent clinical and scientific literature on subcortical dementia was reviewed.

The traditional claim that subcortical dementia has distinct clinical manifestations, neuroimaging findings and a neuropathological profile is not altogether borne out by the literature. Some studies show that frontal executive dysfunction and the profile of memory deficits are not significantly different from those seen in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropathological findings also overlap.

The category of subcortical dementia may be clinically useful in highlighting the likelihood that an individual with dementia is more likely to suffer from bradyphrenia and motor difficulties. As neuroscience advances a preoccupation with the distinction may hinder the assessment and treatment of individual cases.

Mutations in tau have been found in a group of related disorders including the frontal lobe dementias.

To describe the clinical features and molecular pathology changes in a single case of a patient with frontal lobe dementia.

A case report was compiled from neuropathological reports and genomic and gene expression analyses.

A case with a splice-site mutation resulting in a typical frontotemporal clinical and neuropathological phenotype was found. Gene expression analysis suggests differential expression of isoforms of tau in regions in the brain.

Frontotemporal dementia can result from gene mutations that alter splicing and expression of tau.

Twin studies have found that childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a strong genetic component. Estimates of heritability the extent of non-additive genetic effects and of ‘sibling contrast’ effects vary between different studies.

To use multiple informants to assess the extent to which observer effects influence such estimates in an epidemiological sample of twins.

Questionnaire packs were sent to the families and teachers of twins aged 5–16 years in the Bro Taf region of South Wales. The twins were ascertained from community paediatric registers.

Both parent— and teacher-rated data showed a high degree of heritability for ADHD measured as a symptom dimension, but the correlation between the two types of rater was modest. Bivariate analyses suggested that parent and teacher ratings reflect the effects of different genes. Self-report data from twins aged 11–16 years showed no evidence of genetic effects.

Although ADHD is shown to be highly heritable by both parent— and teacher-rated data, the underlying genotypes may be substantially different. This has implications for study designs aiming to find genes that contribute to the disorder.

War pensions are used to examine different models of psychological understanding. The First World War is said to have been the first conflict for which pensions were widely granted for psychological disorders as distinct from functional, somatic syndromes. In 1939 official attitudes hardened and it is commonly stated that few pensions were awarded for post-combat syndromes.

To re-evaluate the recognition of psychiatric disorders by the war pension authorities.

Official statistics were compared with samples of war pension files from the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.

Official reports tended to overestimate the number of awards. Although government figures suggested that the proportion of neurological and psychiatric pensions was higher after the Second World War, our analysis suggests that the rates may not have been significantly different.

The acceptance of psychological disorders was a response to cultural shifts, advances in psychiatric knowledge and the exigencies of war. Changing explanations were both a consequence of these forces and themselves agents of change.

Knowledge of the prevalence and correlates of personality disorders in the community is important for identifying treatment needs and for provision of psychiatric services.

To estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in a community sample and to identify demographic subgroups with especially high prevalence.

Clinical psychologists used the International Personality Disorder Examination to assess DSM-IV and ICD-10 personality disorders in a sample of 742 subjects, ages 34–94 years, residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between demographic characteristics and DSM — IV personality disorder clusters.

The estimated overall prevalence of DSM — IV personality disorders was 9%. Cluster A disorders were most prevalent in men who had never married. Cluster B disorders were most prevalent in young men without a high school degree, and cluster C disorders in high school graduates who had never married.

Approximately 9% of this community sample has a DSM-IV personality disorder. Personality disorders are over-represented in certain demographic subgroups of the community

Personality disorder in people with learning disability has received little research attention, with only a handful of cross-sectional surveys of prevalence available. As yet, there have been no studies to include an examination of validity.

To investigate the prevalence of personality disorder in adults with learning disability who are in specialist challenging behaviour in-patient services and to examine the validity of the diagnosis of personality disorder in this group in terms of its association with abusive experience in early life.

The Standardised Assessment of Personality (SAP) was used to diagnose personality disorder in 36 individuals with mild/moderate learning disability Case notes were reviewed for details of clinical diagnosis and early psychosocial history.

Thirty-nine per cent of the sample met the criteria for severe personality disorder. This diagnosis showed a significant association with early traumatic experience.

Severe personality disorder is a common diagnosis in this group. There is preliminary evidence that the diagnosis is associated with abuse in childhood.

The concept of vascular dementia has a long history but its usefulness as a diagnostic category has been called into question.

To evaluate vascular disease as a risk factor for dementia and the interface between cerebrovascular pathology and Alzheimer's disease.

The literature on this topic was selectively reviewed and synthesised.

Risk factors for cerebrovascular disease are also risk factors for dementia. However, the course of dementia, once it has developed, appears to be frequently determined by Alzheimer's disease.

As a public health measure, modification of vascular risk represents a potentially powerful means to prevent dementia through delaying its onset. However, an effect on progression of dementia, once it has developed, has yet to be established. The traditional view of vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease as distinguishable conditions is becoming steadily less tenable.