Cost -effectiveness of services and treatments for ambulatory dually diagnosed CMHC clients: Implications for managed care

This paper reports a cost-effectiveness analysis of standard therapeutic interventions received by ambulatory dually diagnosed clients of a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC). For the purposes of this study dually diagnosed was defined as a DSM-III-R or IV diagnosis of a major mental disorder and a concomitant substance abuse disorder. The prevalence of dually diagnosed people among the mentally ill and their unique and problematic nature continues to challenge and encumber CMHCs and poses grave public health risks. An absence of research on these clients in community-based settings and the cost-effectiveness of their standard CMHC care has hindered the development of effective community-based intervention strategies. This exploratory and descriptive effort is a first step toward providing information on which to base programmatic management decisions.^ Data for this study were derived from electronic client records of a CMHC located in a large Southwestern, Sun-belt metropolitan area. A total of 220 records were collected on clients consecutively admitted during a two-and-one-half year period. Information was gathered profiling the clients' background characteristics, receipt of standard services and treatments, costs of the care they received, and length of CMHC enrollment and subsequent psychiatric hospitalizations. The services and treatments were compared with regard to their costs and predicted contributions toward maintaining clients in the community and out of public psychiatric hospitals.^ This study investigated: (1) the study groups' background, mental illness, and substance abuse characteristics; (2) types, extent, and patterns of their receipt of standard services and treatments; (3) associations between the receipt of services and treatments, community tenure, and risk of psychiatric hospitalization; and, (4) comparisons of average costs for services and treatments in terms of their contributions toward maintaining the clients in the community.^ The results suggest that substance abuse and other lifestyle factors were related to the dually diagnosed clients' admissions to the CMHC. The dually diagnosed clients' receipt of care was associated strongly with their insurability and global functioning. Medication Services were the most expensive yet effective service or treatment. Supported Education was the third most expensive and second most effective. Psychosocial Services, the second most expensive, were only effective in terms of maintaining clients in the community. Group Counseling, the fourth most expensive, had no effect on community maintenance and increased the risk of hospitalization when accompanied by Medication Services. Individual Counseling, the least expensive, had no effect on community maintenance. But it reduced the risk of hospitalization when accompanied by Medication Services. Networking/Referral, the fifth most expensive service or treatment, was ineffective.^ The study compared the results with findings in the literature. Implications are discussed regarding further research, study limitations, practical applications and benefits, and improvements to theoretical understandings, in particular, concepts underscoring Managed Care. ^

La función atencional en la generación Millenium : Interrogando al diagnóstico de ADD y ADHD

El Déficit de Atención con o sin hiperactividad (ADD ADHD por su sigla en inglés) es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Metodología: Se realiza un muestreo no probabilístico de niños que cursan 1o año escolar, y que concurren a escuelas pertenecientes a una de las tres categorías establecidas por la ANEP1. Este criterio contempla la incidencia de la variable contexto sociocultural en el problema a estudiar. Se estudian una serie de indicadores vinculados a la función atencional, fundamentalmente la atención selectiva, a través de una estrategia cuanti-cualitativa. Objetivo general: Investigar la función atencional desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo, para contribuir al diagnóstico y tratamiento de las dificultades en la atención. Objetivos específicos: 1) Determinar las características afectivas que presentan los niños con dificultades en la atención 2) Caracterizar la modalidad atencional de los niños con dificultades en la atención 3) Analizar si existen diferencias significativas en el modo de atender (desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo) entre los niños que presentan desatención y los que no la presentan. Los resultados que presentamos corresponden a los datos de la primera escuela: urbana de contexto medio. Conclusiones: Al organizar las conclusiones en función de los objetivos que nos proponemos en la investigación decimos 1) Los niños que presentaron dificultades en la atención (manifiestas o no en el aula) no muestran en sus producciones características afectivas que nos permitan considerarlo un grupo diferenciado. 2) La modalidad atencional (al considerar resultados del Denckla y los subtests estudiados del WISC III) no tiene un patrón común entre los niños que podríamos llamar desatentos (por su comportamiento en clase o por su bajo rendimiento en las pruebas) ya que no siempre tienen bajo rendimiento en ambas pruebas. 3) No existen diferencias significativas en los modos de atender entre los niños que presentaron problemas de atención y los que no lo presentaron. Por todo lo anterior podemos concluir que en la muestra estudiada: Los niños que presentan dificultades en la atención son una población muy heterogénea en los diferentes aspectos estudiados. Podemos pensar que no existe una entidad específica, más bien la desatención parece presentarse como un síntoma. Por otra parte resulta significativo desde el punto de vista de los aspectos afectivos puestos en juego en la función, esto es, una función que se desarrolla en la interacción con otros, la alta frecuencia de dibujos en los que el único personaje es el niño

La función atencional en la generación Millenium : Interrogando al diagnóstico de ADD y ADHD

El Déficit de Atención con o sin hiperactividad (ADD ADHD por su sigla en inglés) es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Metodología: Se realiza un muestreo no probabilístico de niños que cursan 1o año escolar, y que concurren a escuelas pertenecientes a una de las tres categorías establecidas por la ANEP1. Este criterio contempla la incidencia de la variable contexto sociocultural en el problema a estudiar. Se estudian una serie de indicadores vinculados a la función atencional, fundamentalmente la atención selectiva, a través de una estrategia cuanti-cualitativa. Objetivo general: Investigar la función atencional desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo, para contribuir al diagnóstico y tratamiento de las dificultades en la atención. Objetivos específicos: 1) Determinar las características afectivas que presentan los niños con dificultades en la atención 2) Caracterizar la modalidad atencional de los niños con dificultades en la atención 3) Analizar si existen diferencias significativas en el modo de atender (desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo) entre los niños que presentan desatención y los que no la presentan. Los resultados que presentamos corresponden a los datos de la primera escuela: urbana de contexto medio. Conclusiones: Al organizar las conclusiones en función de los objetivos que nos proponemos en la investigación decimos 1) Los niños que presentaron dificultades en la atención (manifiestas o no en el aula) no muestran en sus producciones características afectivas que nos permitan considerarlo un grupo diferenciado. 2) La modalidad atencional (al considerar resultados del Denckla y los subtests estudiados del WISC III) no tiene un patrón común entre los niños que podríamos llamar desatentos (por su comportamiento en clase o por su bajo rendimiento en las pruebas) ya que no siempre tienen bajo rendimiento en ambas pruebas. 3) No existen diferencias significativas en los modos de atender entre los niños que presentaron problemas de atención y los que no lo presentaron. Por todo lo anterior podemos concluir que en la muestra estudiada: Los niños que presentan dificultades en la atención son una población muy heterogénea en los diferentes aspectos estudiados. Podemos pensar que no existe una entidad específica, más bien la desatención parece presentarse como un síntoma. Por otra parte resulta significativo desde el punto de vista de los aspectos afectivos puestos en juego en la función, esto es, una función que se desarrolla en la interacción con otros, la alta frecuencia de dibujos en los que el único personaje es el niño

La función atencional en la generación Millenium : Interrogando al diagnóstico de ADD y ADHD

El Déficit de Atención con o sin hiperactividad (ADD ADHD por su sigla en inglés) es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Es un cuadro que aparece descrito bajo esa denominación por primera vez en 1980 en el DSM III, teniendo luego diversas descripciones en las siguientes ediciones del Manual (DSM III-R 1987, DSM IV 1992). El DSM, a diferencia del CIE 10, se ocupa de describir un repertorio de síntomas sin que esto suponga un abordaje conceptual del cuadro. Metodología: Se realiza un muestreo no probabilístico de niños que cursan 1o año escolar, y que concurren a escuelas pertenecientes a una de las tres categorías establecidas por la ANEP1. Este criterio contempla la incidencia de la variable contexto sociocultural en el problema a estudiar. Se estudian una serie de indicadores vinculados a la función atencional, fundamentalmente la atención selectiva, a través de una estrategia cuanti-cualitativa. Objetivo general: Investigar la función atencional desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo, para contribuir al diagnóstico y tratamiento de las dificultades en la atención. Objetivos específicos: 1) Determinar las características afectivas que presentan los niños con dificultades en la atención 2) Caracterizar la modalidad atencional de los niños con dificultades en la atención 3) Analizar si existen diferencias significativas en el modo de atender (desde el punto de vista cognitivo y afectivo) entre los niños que presentan desatención y los que no la presentan. Los resultados que presentamos corresponden a los datos de la primera escuela: urbana de contexto medio. Conclusiones: Al organizar las conclusiones en función de los objetivos que nos proponemos en la investigación decimos 1) Los niños que presentaron dificultades en la atención (manifiestas o no en el aula) no muestran en sus producciones características afectivas que nos permitan considerarlo un grupo diferenciado. 2) La modalidad atencional (al considerar resultados del Denckla y los subtests estudiados del WISC III) no tiene un patrón común entre los niños que podríamos llamar desatentos (por su comportamiento en clase o por su bajo rendimiento en las pruebas) ya que no siempre tienen bajo rendimiento en ambas pruebas. 3) No existen diferencias significativas en los modos de atender entre los niños que presentaron problemas de atención y los que no lo presentaron. Por todo lo anterior podemos concluir que en la muestra estudiada: Los niños que presentan dificultades en la atención son una población muy heterogénea en los diferentes aspectos estudiados. Podemos pensar que no existe una entidad específica, más bien la desatención parece presentarse como un síntoma. Por otra parte resulta significativo desde el punto de vista de los aspectos afectivos puestos en juego en la función, esto es, una función que se desarrolla en la interacción con otros, la alta frecuencia de dibujos en los que el único personaje es el niño

The genetics of alcohol intake and of alcohol dependence

Background: Because alcohol has multiple dose-dependent consequences, it is important to understand the causes of individual variation in the amount of alcohol used. The aims of this study were to assess the long-term repeatability and genetic or environmental causes of variation in alcohol intake and to estimate the degree of overlap with causes of susceptibility to alcohol dependence. Methods: Data were used from three studies conducted between 1980 and 1995 on volunteer adult male and female Australian twin subjects. In each study, alcohol intake was reported both as quantity X frequency and as past-week data. Repeatability was calculated as correlations between occasions and between measures, and the effects of genes and environment were estimated by multivariate model fitting to the twin pair repeated measures of alcohol use. Relationships between mean alcohol use and the lifetime history of DSM-III-R alcohol dependence were tested by bivariate model fitting. Results: Repeatability of the alcohol intake measures was between 0.54 and 0.85, with the highest repeatability between measures within study and the lowest repeatability between the first and last studies. Reported alcohol consumption was mainly affected by genetic factors affecting all times of study and by nonshared environmental factors (including measurement error) unique to each time of study. Genes that affect alcohol intake do affect alcohol dependence, but genetic effects unique to dependence are also significant; environmental effects are largely unique to either intake and dependence. Conclusions: Nearly all the repeatable component of variation in alcohol intake is due to genetic effects. Genes affecting intake also affect dependence risk, but there are other genes that affect dependence alone. Studies aiming to identify genes that affect alcohol use disorders need to test loci and candidate genes against both phenotypes.

Identifying and predicting adolescent smokers' developmental trajectories

Very few studies have defined trajectories of smoking. In the present study, we modeled growth in adolescent smoking and empirically identified prototypical trajectories. We conceptualized escalation of smoking as a growth process and modeled rates of change and heterogeneity of these patterns using latent growth mixture modeling. The analysis identified six trajectories with low ambiguity about group membership (early rapid escalators, late rapid escalators, late moderate escalators, late slow escalators-smokers, stable puffers, and late slow escalators-puffers). A trajectory of quitters was not identified. We also examined predictors of the smoking trajectories. The predictors were assessed across the adolescent years and included variables related to smoking and other substance use, as well as a range of variables related to sociodemographic factors and mental health. Observed change in the pattern of predictors across age has implications for the mechanism of effect of these variables in relation to smoking trajectories, including predictors that differentiated among daily smokers, variables that may determine the trajectory (e.g., friends smoking), and variables that may result from the trajectory (e.g., marijuana use, less attachment to friends).

Evidence for retarded extinction of aversive learning in anxious children

The habituation to intense acoustic stimuli and the acquisition of differentially conditioned fear were assessed in 53 clinically anxious and 30 non-anxious control children and young adolescents. Anxious children tended to show larger electrodermal responses during habituation, but did not differ in blink startle latency or magnitude. After acquisition training, non-anxious children rated the CS + as more fear provoking and arousing than the CS- whereas the ratings of anxious children did not differ. However, anxious children rated the CS + as more fear provoking after extinction, a difference that was absent in non-anxious children. During extinction training, anxious children displayed larger blink magnitude facilitation during CS + and a trend towards larger electrodermal responses, a tendency not seen in nonanxious children. These data suggest that extinction of fear learning is retarded in anxious children. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The diagnostic interview for psychoses (DIP): development, reliability and applications

Background. We describe the development, reliability and applications of the Diagnostic Interview for Psychoses (DIP), a comprehensive interview schedule for psychotic disorders. Method. The DIP is intended for use by interviewers with a clinical background and was designed to occupy the middle ground between fully structured, lay-administered schedules, and semi-structured., psychiatrist-administered interviews. It encompasses four main domains: (a) demographic data; (b) social functioning and disability; (c) a diagnostic module comprising symptoms, signs and past history ratings; and (d) patterns of service utilization Lind patient-perceived need for services. It generates diagnoses according to several sets of criteria using the OPCRIT computerized diagnostic algorithm and can be administered either on-screen or in a hard-copy format. Results. The DIP proved easy to use and was well accepted in the field. For the diagnostic module, inter-rater reliability was assessed on 20 cases rated by 24 clinicians: good reliability was demonstrated for both ICD-10 and DSM-III-R diagnoses. Seven cases were interviewed 2-11 weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability, with pairwise agreement of 0.8-1.0 for most items. Diagnostic validity was assessed in 10 cases, interviewed with the DIP and using the SCAN as 'gold standard': in nine cases clinical diagnoses were in agreement. Conclusions. The DIP is suitable for use in large-scale epidemiological studies of psychotic disorders. as well as in smaller Studies where time is at a premium. While the diagnostic module stands on its own, the full DIP schedule, covering demography, social functioning and service utilization makes it a versatile multi-purpose tool.

Cross-national epidemiology of DSM-IV major depressive episode

Background: Major depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, yet epidemiologic data are not available for many countries, particularly low- to middle-income countries. In this paper, we present data on the prevalence, impairment and demographic correlates of depression from 18 high and low-to middle-income countries in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Methods: Major depressive episodes (MDE) as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DMS-IV) were evaluated in face-to-face interviews using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Data from 18 countries were analyzed in this report (n = 89,037). All countries surveyed representative, population-based samples of adults. Results: The average lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates of DSM-IV MDE were 14.6% and 5.5% in the ten high-income and 11.1% and 5.9% in the eight low- to middle-income countries. The average age of onset ascertained retrospectively was 25.7 in the high-income and 24.0 in low- to middle-income countries. Functional impairment was associated with recency of MDE. The female: male ratio was about 2: 1. In high-income countries, younger age was associated with higher 12-month prevalence; by contrast, in several low-to middle-income countries, older age was associated with greater likelihood of MDE. The strongest demographic correlate in high-income countries was being separated from a partner, and in low- to middle-income countries, was being divorced or widowed. Conclusions: MDE is a significant public-health concern across all regions of the world and is strongly linked to social conditions. Future research is needed to investigate the combination of demographic risk factors that are most strongly associated with MDE in the specific countries included in the WMH.

Characteristics of DSM-IV and ICD-10 cannabis dependence among Australian adults: results from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing

A representative sample (n = 10 641) of Australian adults completed a structured diagnostic interview assessing the prevalence of mental and substance use disorders in the last year. The prevalence of DSM-IV (1.5%) and ICD-10 (1.7%) cannabis dependence was similar. DSM-IV and ICD-10 dependence criteria comprised unidimensional syndromes. The most common symptoms among dependent and non-dependent users were difficulties with controlling use and withdrawal, although there were marked differences in symptom prevalence. Dependent users reported a median of four symptoms. There was good to excellent diagnostic concordance (kappas = 0.7-0.9) between systems for dependence but not for abuse/harmful use (Y = 0.4). These findings provide some support for the validity of cannabis dependence. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence and Clinical Significance of DSM-5-Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome in Adolescents and Young Adults in the General Population: The Bern Epidemiological At-Risk (BEAR) Study

Objective: Section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) lists attenuated psychosis syndrome as a condition for further study. One important question is its prevalence and clinical significance in the general population. Method: Analyses involved 1229 participants (age 16-40 years) from the general population of Canton Bern, Switzerland, enrolled from June 2011 to July 2012. "Symptom," "onset/worsening," "frequency," and "distress/disability" criteria of attenuated psychosis syndrome were assessed using the structured interview for psychosis-risk syndromes. Furthermore, help-seeking, psychosocial functioning, and current nonpsychotic axis I disorders were surveyed. Well-trained psychologists performed assessments using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing technique. Results: The symptom criterion was met by 12.9% of participants, onset/worsening by 1.1%, frequency by 3.8%, and distress/disability by 7.0%. Symptom, frequency, and distress/disability were met by 3.2%. Excluding trait-like attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) decreased the prevalence to 2.6%, while adding onset/worsening reduced it to 0.3%. APS were associated with functional impairments, current mental disorders, and help-seeking although they were not a reason for help-seeking. These associations were weaker for attenuated psychosis syndrome. Conclusions: At the population level, only 0.3% met current attenuated psychosis syndrome criteria. Particularly, the onset/worsening criterion, originally included to increase the likelihood of progression to psychosis, lowered its prevalence. Because progression is not required for a self-contained syndrome, a revision of the restrictive onset criterion is proposed to avoid the exclusion of 2.3% of persons who experience and are distressed by APS from mental health care. Secondary analyses suggest that a revised syndrome would also possess higher clinical significance than the current syndrome.

Psychotische Störungen im DSM-5

This article provides an overview of the main changes in the chapter "Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders" from DSM-IV-TR to DSM-5, which, once again, does not make allowance for potential characteristics of children and adolescents. Changes in the main text include abandoning the classical subtypes of Schizophrenia as well as of the special significance of Schneider's first-rank symptoms, resulting in the general requirement of two key features (one having to be a positive symptom) in the definition of Schizophrenia and the allowance for bizarre contents in Delusional Disorders. Further introduced are the diagnosis of a delusional obsessive-compulsive/body dysmorphic disorder exclusively as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the specification of affective episodes in Schizoaffective Disorder, and the formulation of a distinct subchapter "Catatonia" for the assessment of catatonic features in the context of several disorders. In Section III (Emerging Measures and Models) there is a recommendation for a dimensional description of psychoses. A likely source of confusion lies in the double introduction of an "Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome." On the one hand, a vague description is provided among "Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders" in the main text; on the other hand, there is a precise definition in Section III as a "Condition for Further Study." There is some cause to worry that this vague introduction of the attenuated psychosis syndrome in the main text might indeed open the floodgates to an overdiagnosis of subthreshold psychotic symptoms and their early pharmacological treatment.

Urothelial Carcinogen Resistance Driven By Stronger Toll-like Receptor 2 (tlr2) And Uroplakin Iii (up Iii) Defense Mechanisms: A New Model.

The objective of the study was to illustrate the applicability and significance of the novel Lewis urothelial cancer model compared to the classic Fisher 344. Fischer 344 and Lewis females rats, 7 weeks old, were intravesical instilled N-methyl-N-nitrosourea 1.5 mg/kg every other week for a total of four doses. After 15 weeks, animals were sacrificed and bladders analyzed: histopathology (tumor grade and stage), immunohistochemistry (apoptotic and proliferative indices) and blotting (Toll-like receptor 2-TLR2, Uroplakin III-UP III and C-Myc). Control groups received placebo. There were macroscopic neoplastic lesions in 20 % of Lewis strain and 70 % of Fischer 344 strain. Lewis showed hyperplasia in 50 % of animals, normal bladders in 50 %. All Fischer 344 had lesions, 20 % papillary hyperplasia, 30 % dysplasia, 40 % neoplasia and 10 % squamous metaplasia. Proliferative and apoptotic indices were significantly lower in the Lewis strain (p < 0.01). The TLR2 and UP III protein levels were significantly higher in Lewis compared to Fischer 344 strain (70.8 and 46.5 % vs. 49.5 and 16.9 %, respectively). In contrast, C-Myc protein levels were significantly higher in Fischer 344 (22.5 %) compared to Lewis strain (13.7 %). The innovative Lewis carcinogen resistance urothelial model represents a new strategy for translational research. Preservation of TLR2 and UP III defense mechanisms might drive diverse urothelial phenotypes during carcinogenesis in differently susceptible individuals.

Early treatment of Class III malocclusion: 10-year clinical follow-up

Angle Class III malocclusion has been a challenge for researchers concerning diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. It has a prevalence of 5% in the Brazilian population, and may have a genetic or environmental etiology. This malocclusion can be classified as dentoalveolar, skeletal or functional, which will determine the prognosis. Considering these topics, the aim of this study was to describe and discuss a clinical case with functional Class III malocclusion treated by a two-stage approach (interceptive and corrective), with a long-term follow-up. In this case, the patient was treated with a chincup and an Eschler arch, used simultaneously during 14 months, followed by corrective orthodontics. It should be noticed that, in this case, initial diagnosis at the centric relation allowed visualizing the anterior teeth in an edge-to-edge relationship, thereby favoring the prognosis. After completion of the treatment, the patient was followed for a 10-year period, and stability was observed. The clinical treatment results showed that it is possible to achieve favorable outcomes with early management in functional Class III malocclusion patients.