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Patients suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), but this well-described and clinically important association is not well-understood. Prior research suggests that STBs often function as an attempt to escape aversive affect, and that people with BPD experience stronger emotion reactivity and greater discomfort with emotion than those without BPD. Here, we tested whether negative affective states are more likely to predict suicidal thoughts among those with BPD than those without this disorder. Data on affective states and suicidal thoughts were collected several times per day from 35 psychiatric inpatients using their smartphones to capture real-time associations between negative affect and suicidal thoughts. Results revealed that the association between negative affective states (e.g., abandonment, desperation, guilt, hopelessness, loneliness, rage, self-hatred, and upset), and severity of suicidal thinking was stronger among those with BPD than among those without BPD. This finding has implications for risk assessment and intervention in the clinical setting: for a given degree of reported negative affect, patients with BPD experience more suicidal ideation than those without. Further research needs to be done to elucidate the mechanism of this effect.

This case, a composite drawn from clinical experiences, is designed to present a growing challenge in inpatient care. Specifically, patients presenting with symptoms that require hospitalization ha...

The BM-Test-Glycemie 1-44 test strip facilitates self-monitoring without the use of a photometer. In a population of 33 diabetic patients (age 24.8 +/- 2.9 years) 94% took part in home monitoring for 6-10 months. Of 29 who answered a questionnaire 25 preferred blood glucose testing to urine testing. In a "beta-cell school" it was taught that it is rational if home monitoring of blood glucose is combined with a tailored insulin treatment consisting of long-acting insulin (Ultralente) as a basal insulin and regular insulin (Actrapid) as a meal insulin. In a group of 24 labile diabetic patients 17 preferred this regime compared to earlier use of intermediate acting insulin and regular insulin. Six of these preferred the regular insulin to be taken in three doses. Hypoglycemia, when it occurred, was less distressing in symptoms than previously. Among patients with recent onset of diabetes active participation with dose reduction was seen during the honey-moon stage. The regime is logical and generative, offers a basis for an individualized therapy and a high remission frequency may be expected.