[Donizetti's ailment: mood disorder, Barbaja, or luetic derailment?]
JANKA Zoltán1, SZAKÁCS Réka1
JANKA Zoltán1, SZAKÁCS Réka1
[The occurrence of specific forms of mood disorders is significantly higher among eminent creative persons, thus the talent and creative skills show some connections or may have common roots with mood swings. This phenomenon can be observed among composers as well. Our paper briefly summarizes several aspects of Gaetano Donizetti’s life (1797-1848), and some characteristic features of his operas. After his musical studies and initial successes Donizetti was hired by the opera impresario Domenico Barbaja who pressed him under contract to write operas in a considerable number. Donizetti’s personal tragedy was that his wife and three children have died young. He composed more than 70 operas, wrote the librettos for some of them, had drawing skills, and a sense for theatre Gesamtkunst. His composing technique was incredibly fast, partly due to the external pressure (especially by the impresario Barbaja). Beside the feverish speed (hypomania) he suffered of episodes with genuine fever, headache, and nausea. From 1845 onward full apathy, depression (occurred already earlier), and paralysis (progressiva?) developed hindering any creative power and meaningful interpersonal contact, so he was admitted to a closed mental facility. His illness was considered syphilis, but prevailing bipolar mood disorder may strongly be presumed today which is supported by early emerging creativity and hypomanic signs, transient mood swings, the composing technique, his multimodal talent, the abundance of his works (output of 3-4 operas a year), the vein (mood) streaming from the operas (’maddening scenes’ alongside lax and sparkling characters) and by certain circumstances (he was able to write opera buffas during his greatest personal tragedies). To all these components there can certainly be added an exogenous environmental pressure factor: Domenico Barbaja, the ’prince’ (and taskmaster) of opera impresarios. ]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Diuretics have remained the cornerstone of the antihypertensive treatment since their widespreading in the 1960s. According to the 2018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension, in the absence of evidence from direct comparator trials and recognizing that many of the approved single-pill combinations are based on hydrochlorothiazide, this drug and thiazide-like indapamide can be considered suitable antihypertensive agents. In the 2018 Hungarian guidelines indapamide is named as the most efficacious diuretic in the treatment of patients with hypertension. The aim of the publication is redefining thiazide- and thiazide-like diuretic use in the treatment of hypertensive patients, with particular attention to presently available hydrochlorothiazide and indapamide, and their combination drugs in Hungary.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Care of PAD (peripherial arterial disease) is one of the most negligent area of cardiovascular diseases: on one hand patients suffering from PAD are the most uncared, less educated and health-minded population (it’s enough to keep in mind the high rate of smoking and alcohol-abuse among them) in addition the number of angiologists is insufficient for the treatment of PAD. Although detection of PAD would be easy as a widely applicable, cheap screening method, the ankle-brachial index is available which is an obligatory screening investigation in general care. Therapeutic options are better and better since cilostazol was launched we have an evidence-based treatment which can solve the symptoms, slower the progression which is strongly recommended (IA recommendation) in both American and Hungarian guidelines. Cilostazol, a PDE3-inhibitor has complex pharmacological effect but contraindicated in several clinical conditions as pentoxiphylline is not totally excluded from the therapeutic arsenal of PAD. The place of antiplatelet agents is well-defined in the most recent European guidelines in the treatment of PAD. The jumping development of interventional radiology beyond medical therapy contributed a lot to prevent limb amputations in the case of early detection of PAD. ]
Clinical Neuroscience
[Basic elements of artistic (and other) creativity are the technical-professional skill and knowledge, the special talent and ability and the willingness or motivation; one of which being absent results in partially realised creativities like juvenile, frustrated or abandoned types, respectively. Psychometric scales have been developed to measure everyday and eminent creativities, which show that creativity correlates with higher psychoticism, impulsivity and venturesomeness scores and with lower neuroticism and conformity scores of the personality test employed in a general population. Among the psychological components of creativity are the cognitive processes, mood, motivation, and personality traits. Regarding mood, a theory of “inverted U” has been proposed as elevation of mood facilitates creativity to a certain point after what extreme increase has an adverse effect on achievement. Analysing psychopathology and creativity among various professions, higher rates of psychopathology, especially affective symptoms, have been found in art-related professions. Examples of immortal poets, writers, painters, sculptors and composers, having created invaluable cultural treasures for the mankind, illustrate that many of them showed signs of mood alterations (unipolar or bipolar affective disorder spectrum) which were expressed in their artistic products.]
Clinical Neuroscience
[The link between creativity, as the highest expression form of human achievement, and bipolar disorder came into focus of scientific investigations and research. Accomplished writers, composers and visual artists show a substantially higher rate of affective disorders, prodominantly bipolar mood disorders, comparing to the general population. Then again, patients afflicted with bipolar II subtype (hypomania and depression), as well as persons presenting the mildest form of bipolar mood swings (cyclothymia) possess higher creative skills. It evokes therefore that certain forms and mood states of bipolar disorder, notably hypomania might convey cognitive, emotional/affective, and motivational benefits to creativity. The aim of this paper is to display expression forms of creativity (writing, visual art, scientific work) as well as productivity (literary and scientific work output, number of artworks and exhibitions, awards) in the light of clinically diagnosed mood states at an eminent creative individual, treated for bipolar II disorder. Analysing the affective states, we found a striking relation between hypomanic episodes and visual artistic creativity and achievement, as well as scientific performance, whereas mild-moderate depressed mood promoted literary work. Severe depression and mixed states were not associated with creative activities, and intriguingly, long-term stabilised euthymic mood, exempted from marked affective lability, is disadvantageous regarding creativity. It seems, thereby, that mood functions as a sluice of creativity. Nevertheless, it is likely that there is a complex interaction between bipolar mood disorder spectrum and psychological factors promoting creativity, influenced also by individual variability due to medication, comorbid conditions, and course of disorder.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[BACKGROUND - Several studies have shown that a substantial part of patients with mood and anxiety disorders seeks help at their primary care physician. It is well known that recognition of these disorders cause difficulties for general practitioners. In our study starting in 1998, we attempted to map the psychiatric disorders present in primary care patients. This paper investigates the factors that may contribute to the difficulties in recognition and diagnosis of mental disorders. METHOD - 1815 primary care patients in 12 general practice offices has been evaluated for mood and/or anxiety disorders with DIS interview. The DIS diagnosis was compared with complaints and symptoms of patients and diagnosis given by their GPs. RESULTS - Diagnosis given by GPs and DIS evaluation showed low concordance. The main factor in this proved to be the presence of somatic disorders, whereas socio-demographic factors played little role. The highest concordance of diagnosis was found when acute or chronic somatic disorders were not present.]
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