Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia is a common and clinically relevant adverse effect of dopamine D 2 -blocking agents such as risperidone and paliperidone, yet evidence from Arab populations is scarce. This study explored demographic and pharmacological predictors of hyperprolactinemia in a large UAE cohort. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Behavioral Science Institute, Al Ain Hospital, using electronic medical records from 2017 to 2023. Adults (≥18 years) with schizophrenia (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition) treated with risperidone or paliperidone (oral or long-acting injectable) for greater than or equal to 6 weeks before serum prolactin assessment were included. Among 835 patients, the mean age was 40.2 ± 14.0 years; 53.8% were male and 58.4% Emirati. The mean prolactin level was 1126 ± 1334 mIU/l; 61.9% had hyperprolactinemia. The paliperidone-oral group showed the highest mean prolactin (1369 mIU/l; P = 0.003). Sexual side effects occurred in 9.2%. Predictors included younger age, female gender, non-Emirati nationality, paliperidone use, and aripiprazole cotreatment. Hyperprolactinemia was common, particularly among younger females and patients receiving oral paliperidone, and was accompanied by marked under-recognition of sexual side effects. Our study underscores the need for routine endocrine monitoring, rational prescribing to minimize polypharmacy, and region-specific clinical guidelines in the UAE and Gulf region.
This technique includes using a tight scarf on the head and a comb plus or minus different pharmacological interventions. The tight scarf serves as a barrier for the first attempt to pull hair. If hair pulling is repeated, then head combing would be the second mechanism followed by putting the head scarf again. The hair combing is the meaningful competing response when feeling an urge to pull out hair, replacing knee squeezing and other meaningless competing responses. The overall impression by the patients and their families was that, this technique helped reducing hair pulling out and improvement was in average of 50% as per patients’ self-rated improvement and families’ observations to areas of hair loss. The fifty percent improvement included reduction in hair pulling frequency, allowing hair regrowth and reduced areas of baldness. The idea of Al Ain technique (ABT) - Al Ain is a city in UAE - stems from tailoring the behavioral intervention plan around the individualized patient’s behaviors and daily habits also tailoring the behavioral plan around the patients’ whereabouts to suit different patients with different circumstances and preferences in a meaningful way. This technique requires to be repeated in different parts of the world to hopefully replicate the results by other colleagues to have better evidence based status above case series.
Background:Persecutory delusions have long mirrored prevailing cultural and technological concerns. Beliefs involving implanted devices, internet surveillance, hacked smartphones, algorithmic targeting, and AI-mediated control are increasingly visible in contemporary psychosis. However, we identified no prior review dedicated specifically to synthesizing technology-themed delusional content across historical and contemporary clinical contexts. Objective:This narrative review aimed to trace the historical evolution of technology-themed delusions, characterize their contemporary clinical phenomenology, examine relevant neurocognitive and sociocultural mechanisms, and discuss implications for psychiatric assessment and intervention. Methods:PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and APA PsycInfo were searched without date restrictions, supplemented by backward citation tracking and targeted identification of historical primary sources. Eligible sources included original research, case reports and case series, reviews, and relevant conceptual or historical publications addressing delusional content involving technology. A narrative synthesis approach informed by the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) framework was used. The final search was completed on May 1, 2026. Results:Forty-three sources were included in the narrative synthesis, comprising 9 case reports or case series, 14 empirical studies, 8 reviews, and 12 historical or conceptual sources. Technology-themed delusions appeared as pathoplastic variants of enduring persecutory, control, and referential motifs, clustering into 5 overlapping categories: surveillance and hacking beliefs, implant and control delusions, Truman Show-type broadcast phenomena, social media-specific referential ideas, and emerging algorithmic and AI-mediated themes. In the largest contemporary cohort (228 patients with psychosis), technology-themed delusions were described by 104 of the 201 (51.7%) patients with delusional thought content, and the odds of technology-themed delusions rose by approximately 15% per admission year (odds ratio 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.31; P=.04). Cognitive models of persecutory ideation, the aberrant salience hypothesis, technological unfamiliarity, digital immersion, and wider sociocultural narratives all appeared relevant to these presentations. Pandemic-era conspiracy material, including 5G and vaccine-microchip narratives, further illustrated how culturally available technological explanations may scaffold delusional elaboration in vulnerable individuals. Conclusions:Technology-themed delusions represent contemporary expressions of enduring delusional motifs shaped by digital culture. Their assessment requires psychiatric expertise combined with sufficient technological literacy to distinguish proportionate privacy concerns, overvalued conspiracy beliefs, and fixed delusional convictions. Future research should use prospective cohort designs, cross-cultural comparisons, and targeted evaluation of cognitive behavioral and digital literacy-informed interventions, while monitoring emerging AI-mediated phenomena.
Aims: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with social communication deficits, atypical social cognition, and behavioural regulation difficulties, which can complicate forensic evaluations of criminal responsibility. This case study aims to illustrate the assessment process and clinical reasoning used to determine criminal responsibility in a young offender with ASD and below-average intellectual functioning. Methods: A 17-year-old male was referred for forensic psychiatric assessment following an alleged vehicle theft and reckless driving. A multidisciplinary evaluation was undertaken including psychiatric assessment (developmental, behavioural, substance use history and mental state examination) and clinical psychological testing. ASD assessment used ADI-R and ADOS; cognitive functioning was assessed using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Fifth Edition). Results: Assessment findings supported a diagnosis of ASD with moderate symptom severity and significant social communication deficits. Cognitive testing showed below-average intellectual functioning (Full-Scale IQ 82) with relative strengths in visual-spatial processing and weaknesses in quantitative reasoning and knowledge domains. Clinically, the patient demonstrated limited insight into broader social consequences and reduced emotional reciprocity, without evidence of psychosis. Despite neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities and contextual risk factors (including alcohol use), the forensic conclusion was that the capacity to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the alleged offence was preserved, and criminal responsibility was not negated. The case highlights how ASD-related impairments may affect judgement and impulsivity while still allowing intact understanding of wrongfulness, underscoring the need for structured, ASD-informed forensic formulation. Conclusion: Forensic assessments of adolescents with ASD should integrate developmental history, structured ASD measures, cognitive profiling, and careful analysis of moral/legal understanding at the material time. This case supports a nuanced approach that balances legal accountability with neurodevelopmental formulation and recommends tailored interventions (e.g., behavioural therapy, social skills work and family psychoeducation) to reduce future risk.
