JOURNAL SCAN
LIFE EVENTS AND SOCIAL STRESS IN PUERPERAL PSYCHOSIS: ABSENCE OF EFFECT.
D. Dowlath Shahi and E.S. Paykel; Psychological Medicine 1990,20,655-662.
  Study of 33 patients with severe early onset puerperal Psychiatric disorders with matched normal puerperal controls revealed no correlation with life events in the previous 13 months. other aspects of stress, social support and marital relationship in the genesis of post partum disorders . Striking absence of any exceeds of recent life events, absence of difference in social stress between a small group of patients, with the diagnosis of depression and those with other disorders were the findings. Only previous history of Psychiatric disorder clearly characterised the puerperal Psychosis the findings suggested that severe puerperal Psychiatric disorder is not socially determined , but is due to the biological changes occurring during the puerperal period along with interaction with previous vulnerability
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL DETERMINANTS OF PREMENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS BEFORE AND AFTER HYSTERCTOMY.
 M.F. Osborn and D.H. Gath:- Psychological  Medicine 1990,20.565-572.
 56 women awaiting hysteroctomy for menorrhagia of benign origin were asked to do daily self rating on a checklist in which typical premenstrual symptoms were interspersed with atypical symptoms during the preoperative months. 6 months after hysterectomy they were again asked to keep daily checklists for 3 months. During this period serum progesterone levels also were neasured to identify the premenstrum. After hysterectomy, levels of premenstrual symptoms fell significantly  in the whole group, indicating that Psychological factors were important determinants of such symptoms before hysterectomy.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING EVIDENCE FOR A DEFECT OF CEREBRAL CORTICAL DEVELOPMENT IN AUTISM.
J. Piven, M.L. Barthier, S.E. Starkstein, Etal :- American Journal of Psychiatry, 1990,147,734-739
  MRI Scans were performed in 13 high functioning autistic males with 13 nonautistis male IQ. 5 Autistics subjects had polymicrogyria, one had schizencephaly and macrogyria, and one had macrogyria. None of the controls had any cerebral cortical abnormalities. Thus malformations have their origine in a disturbence before the 6 months of gestation, may be a defect in the neuronal migration to cerebral cortex.
OBSTETRIC COMPLICATIONS. THE PUTATIVE FAMILIAL - SPORADIC DISTINCTION , AND TARDIVE DYSKINESIA IN SCHIZOPHRENICS.
  E.O' callaghan, C.Larkin, A. Kinsella at al :- British Journal of Psychiatry, 1990,157,578-584.
  Ina study Population of 45 patients (29 M, 16 W, Mean age 32.3 years), obstetric complications were more common in the history of those schizophrenice without a family history of Psychiatric disorder. The onset was also earlier. The obstetric complications included APH, Cord prolaps, postmaturity etc. Those patients with Tradive Dyskinesia were more likely to have a family history of Psychiatric dosorder, less likely to have experienced obstetric complications and had greater cognitive deficit. In this study Applied Family/History - Research Diagnostics Criteria was used. The inverse Relationship of obstetric complication and family history of psychiatric disorder would appear consistant with both classic 'stress diathesis' and 'organic phenocopy' hypotheses for the etiology of schizophrenia.
VENTRICULAR ABNORMALITIES IN AFFECTIVE DISORDERS: CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CORRELATION.
N.C. Andreasen, V. Swayze 11. M.Flaum, etal:- American Journal of Psychiatry 1990,147,893-900
  Ventricular brain ratio was measured by CT scan in 24 bipolar patients 27 unipolar patients with major depression, 108 schizophrenic patients and 75 normal control subjects. When age was controlled, ventricular enlargement occurred in male bipolar patients . Ventricular enlargement was also more common in male schizophrenic patients. In depressives, Ventricular enlargement was more lightly to occut in conjunction with natural aging process. This study suggested , that ventricular enlargement appeared to reflect some pathological process independent of the again process in bipolar illness and schizophrenia. However, the data did not suggest that ventricular size had any predictive validity in patients suffering from bipolar illness, major depression or schizophrenia.
HEALTHY AGING AND MALE SEXUAL FUNCTION
 R.C. Schiavi, P. Schreiner-Engel, J.Mandeli,etal:- American Journal of Psychiatry
  65 healthy married men aged 45 to 74 years were subjected for the study on the effect of age on sexual function and behaviour and on nocturnal penile tumescence. Correlation analysis demonstrated a highly significant negative relationship between age and sexual activity. Advancing age was positively correlated with prevelance of reported erectile difficulty and retarded ejaculation but was not associated with problems of sexual desire of premat. ure ejaculation. Age appeared as an important factor in the close association between several waking arousal and activity measures. The authors suggested further research in the understanding of the sexuality of aging men and the management of its problems. Also, it is important to focus attention on attitudinal factors and coping strategies as it is to study the machanism involved in erectile capacity.