History of Present Illness: The patient is a 36-year old single male with a history

of profuse salivation and labile moods since his childhood. He was observed to
be sleeping excessively, disoriented and confusing family and household
member’s name. When interviewed at the time of psychiatric assessment, the
patient said he had difficulty in speech, poor concentration, impaired thinking and
melancholia brought about by the stresses of his work and the break-up with his
flight attendant girlfriend. He also claimed he felt clumsy and uncoordinated. He
also describes what appeared to be a deep sense of foreboding and feeling that
the “world was coming to an end.”

Current Symptoms:

1.Psychomotor retardation
2. Slowed gait and activity
3. Lack of Initiative.
4. Melancholia
5. Fatigue
6. Lack of self-confidence.
7. Lack of sexual interest

Substance Abuse History:

* Smoker = Yes, up to two (2) packs a day

* Drugs = Yes, teen-age experimentation with Marijuana and various pills
* ETOH = Yes, solitary drinker

MMSE

The Psychologist conducting the interviews noticed that the patient would
occasionally walk slowly and aimlessly around the room when being interviewed.
He appeared inattentive, vague, non-spontaneous and detached in interactions,
but passively followed simple commands. He appeared disoriented. There was
some difficulty in communicating due to his deep depression and melancholia.
On mental state examination, he was a lanky man of medium height who was
mildly psychomotor retarded with a latency of verbal replies, and a slowness of
movement. He was preoccupied with his inner thoughts, brooded and felt
melancholy. He appeared quite elevated and irritable when he spoke of the loss
he was feeling when he recounted his relationship with his girlfriend. He
expressed a poorly-formed grandiose delusion that the world was ending and
described feelings of foreboding but no disturbance in any other sensory
modality. The patient was oriented in person and place, with only very mild
impairment of time. Attention and concentration deficits were evident, though
much in the slightest and confirmed on formal testing that he had minor difficulty
in counting down by seven from 100 and could not readily spell some words
backwards. Registration and short term memory were intact on testing but he
was often distracted and distant. There was evidence of dysphasia, mild difficulty
with three-step commands, concretism and trial-constructional dysphasia (he
could not copy complex diagrams). No confabulation or remote memory deficits
were identified. His Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score totaled 28/30.
No cognitive impairments. He denied being in need of medical assistance and
explained his presence in the school as being due to his sister’s concerns, but
did not appear suspicious of possible motives or irritated by his presence in the
department. He denied that he had any cognitive deficits. He said he required
 medication and dietary modification, but did not accept medication offered in fact
requiring detailed explanation on why the medication had to be taken.

In as much as the patient exhibits the following symptoms (1) Depressed mood
(i.e. feeling sad and empty) most of the day for 10 days, (2) Markedly diminished
interest on pleasure in almost all activities (including lack of sexual interest) most
of the day for 10 days, (3) A noticeable fluctuation of appetite most of the day for
10 days, (4) Psychomotor agitation or retardation (i.e. increased restlessness)
most of the day for 10 days, (5) A diminished ability to concentrate ordering on
indecisiveness most of the day for 10 days, (6) Insomnia nearly everyday, (7)
Fatigue nearly everyday , And (8) a feeling of foreboding everyday. He is
diagnosed as suffering from Major Depressive Disorder.

The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) or Folstein test is a

brief 30-point questionnaire test that is used to screen for cognitive
impairment. It is commonly used in medicine to screen for dementia. It
is also used to estimate the severity of cognitive impairment at a given
point in time and to follow the course of cognitive changes in an
individual over time, thus making it an effective way to document an
individual's response to treatment. In the time span of about 10
minutes it samples various functions including arithmetic, memory and
orientation. It was introduced by Folstein et al. in 1975,[1]. This test is
not the same thing as a mental status examination. The standard
MMSE form which is currently published by Psychological Assessment
Resources is based on its original 1975 conceptualization, with minor
subsequent modifications by the authors.

Various other tests are also used, such as the Hodkinson[2] abbreviated
mental test score (1972, geriatrics) or the General Practitioner
Assessment Of Cognition as well as longer formal tests for deeper
analysis of specific deficits.

An Official Statement from the Department of Psychology of

the School of Social Sciences of Ateneo de Manila University

On 9 April 2010, the Ateneo Psychology Department issued a

statement regarding the psychiatric evaluation which was allegedly
signed by Fr. Carmelo (Tito) Caluag who was claimed to be a faculty
of our Department in 1996.</EM< p>

In our response, we said that the document is false; that Fr. Caluag is
not a psychologist or a psychiatrist and has never been affiliated with
the Ateneo Psychology Department.

Today, 27 April 2010, another fabricated psychiatric evaluation has

circulated in the news, allegedly written and signed in 1979 by our
founder and current professor, Fr. Jaime C. Bulatao, SJ. Fr. Bulatao has
earlier released his response, categorically denying that he has written
and signed that report. The Ateneo Psychology Department once again
categorically states that this “psychiatric evaluation” is a fabricated
document.

We strongly condemn these repeated attempts to use the Ateneo

Psychology Department for black propaganda. When the first
fabrication did not work because of the mistake of choosing a
signatory ( i.e., Fr. Tito Caluag) who has never been affiliated with our
Psychology Department, the same scheme was thought of, this time
using our most esteemed Fr. Jaime C. Bulatao, SJ. These acts of
malicious falsifications should be stopped once and for all!

We hope that this is the last time that the name of the Ateneo
Psychology Department will be dragged into the malicious
misinformation campaign about the alleged mental condition of
Senator Benigno C. Aquino III.

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Ateneo de Manila University
27 April 2010