Current perspectives on anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: An overview

This report provides an overview of the status of child and adolescent anxiety disorders. General biological and theoretical concepts of anxiety are reviewed, as are current diagnostic systems. We then examine developmental, epidemiologic, and clinical data, as they add to our understanding of child and adolescent anxiety disorders. A brief discussion of the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety is also included. Some areas of future research are identified.     

Depression and depressive-like states in preschool-age children in a child development unit

A sample of 100 preschool-age children referred to a child development unit were evaluated using DSM-III criteria for symptoms of depression. Only four children (4%) received a diagnosis of possible or definite depression; one of the four children definitely had major depressive disorder. That prevalence rate is much lower than that reported for older children. The findings suggest either that major depressive disorder is rare among preschoolers or that DSM-III criteria are not suitable for diagnosing affective disorders among preschoolers.     

Pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration: embryologic concept

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a bilateral progressive process which deprives millions of elderly individuals of central vision. Although numerous risk factors have been enumerated, embryonic implication, in relation to ARMD is an area that has been neglected to my knowledge. I address this new issue for the first time.     

Depression among amputees

A 35% prevalence of major depressive disorder was found in a prospective study of 65 amputees evaluated in a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. The findings indicate significantly more alcohol abuse among the depressed group. Higher percentages of female than male amputees were found to be depressed and unmarried. The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher among those whose amputations were due to vascular disease rather than other causes (e.g., trauma). In addition to the physical care of amputees, their emotional needs and well-being merit serious consideration.     

Drug abuse and criminal behavior in delinquent boys committed to a training school.

To determine drug use or drug abuse status according to DSM-III criteria, the authors interviewed 109 delinquent boys who had been committed to a training school. They categorized each boy as an offender against a person or as an offender against property only. They found that person offenders were significantly older, came from larger communities, abused a greater number of drugs, had higher asocial index scores, and had lower full-scale IQ scores than property-only offenders. The IQ score and the number of drugs abused were the most important variables predicting whether a subject belonged to the person offender or property-only offender group.     

Primary adenocarcinoma of the appendix with bilateral Krukenberg ovarian tumors

An unusual case of a 22-year-old white female with known chronic ulcerative colitis presented with a several-day history of lower abdominal pain and a pelvic mass. Laparotomy revealed a primary carcinoma of the appendix with Krukenberg metastasis to both ovaries. Pathologically this tumor appeared to arise from an appendix which showed no evidence of chronic ulcerative colitis and therefore could not be associated with the above-mentioned entity.     

Renal function in children after large dose contrast medium angiocardiography

Serum creatinine and routine urinalysis were obtained and glomerular filtration rate estimated in 56 consecutive and hemodynamically stable children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography, a day prior to, 1 and 7 days following the procedure. None had a history of renal disease. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Group I, 32 patients who received less than 3 ml/Kg of Renagrafin 60 and Group II, 24 patients who received greater than 3 ml/Kg. Despite a slight rise of creatinine on the first day, there were no statistically significant changes in serum creatinine or glomerular filtration rate for either group following the procedure. Occult blood was present in the urine of 2 in Group I and 1 in Group II prior to cardiac catheterization; this resolved in all cases after the procedure. Three patients in Group I and 1 in Group II developed transient trace proteinuria following the angiographic procedure. It is concluded that in children with congenital heart disease and normal kidney function, substantial doses of standard contrast medium administered during angiocardiography do not produce any apparent impairment of renal function.