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Biomedical subjects

A Coppen

Publications and source records attributed to A Coppen.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Noradrenaline, depressive illness, and the action of amitriptyline.

The tyramine-dose/pressor response test was carried out on a series of patients suffering from primary depressive illness before and during treatment with amitriptyline. The severity of their depression was assessed during the study of the Hamilton Rating Scale (HRS). The decreased tyramine sensitivity induced by the drug, which is related to the inhibition of NA reuptake, correlated significantly with the plasma concentration of nortriptyline. However, contrary to the expectation of the noradrenaline hypothesis of depression, the decreased tyramine sensitivity, i.e., the degree of NA-reuptake blockade, did not show any correlation with clinical improvement following 6 weeks' treatment with amitriptyline.

Adult↗

Intravenous tyramine response in migraine before and during treatment with indoramin.

We studied the response of 31 migraine sufferers (20 women, 11 men) to intravenous tyramine (the tyraminedose)pressor response test). Patients were treated either with pacebo tablets or indoramin, and alpha-adrenergic blocking agent, in a double-blind crrossover trial. We found that patients with migraine required significantly less tyramine to increase their cystolic blod pressure by 30 mm Hg when compared with matched controls. Indoramin significantly increased the amount of tyramine needed to raise the systolic blood pressure among migraine suffers and reduced the incidence of posttyramine migraine for m 46% while patients were on placebo tablets to 8% when they were receiveing indoramin. There was no association between tyramine sensitivity and a history of premenstrual or dietary migraine, nor was there a significant difference in the indierenence in the incidence of post-tyramine migrain between men women. We conclude that the intravenous tyramine test may be valuable in assessing migraine suffers who will respond to an alpha-advenergic blocking agent such as indoramin.

Blood Pressure↗

Red cell adenylate kinase phenotypes in the affective disorders.

The red cell adenylate kinase (AK) phenotype was determined by starch gel electrophoresis in 96 adult Caucasian subjects with affective disorders (24 with bipolar illness and 72 with unipolar illness). The phenotype frequencies and the gene frequencies of the bipolar group closely resembled that of the control subjects (180 subjects drawn from the population of a large institution for the mentally retarded), the unipolar group however, showed a significant increase in the frequency of the AK2 allele. The significance of these results have been discussed in relation to the known genetic and biochemical findings in the affective disorders. It is suggested that the mechanism involved may be a reduction of the enzyme activity in the tissues of subjects with the AK 2:1 phenotype. This may present a selective disadvantage in the form of a decrease in control of energy metabolism in general, and control of adenine nucleotide levels in nervous tissue in particular.

Adenylate Kinase↗

Antidepressant evaluation and the pharmacological actions of FG4963 in depressive patients.

FG4963 a phenylpiperidine derivative and potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitor at neuronal sites was investigated in a group of 10 depressive patients, and its effect was compared with that of amitryptyline in a group of 10 depressive patients treated with amitriptyline. FG4963 was found to be significantly inferior as an antidepressant compared to amitryptyline over a 6-week period. FG4963 did not appear to be anticholinergic as judged by its lack of effect on salivary flow. Its effect (in the dosage used) on the tyramine dose--pressor response and NA dose--pressor response tests were less than those of amitryptyline.

Amitriptyline↗

Antinuclear antibodies, affective disorders and lithium therapy.

The prevalence of positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) was investigated in a group of patients suffering from recurrent affective disorders who had been treated for more than one year with lithium carbonate. There was no increase of ANA in these patients (8%) as compared with a group of patients suffering from affective disorders (7.5%), but untreated with lithium salts, or with the prevalence of ANA in the general population (9%) of the same age group.

Affective Symptoms↗

Mianserin in the prophylactic treatment of bipolar affective illness.

Mianserin in a dosage of 20 mg 3 times daily, was given to 13 patients with bipolar affective illness, who were previously maintained on lithium. 3 patients left the trial at their own request within a few days due to drowsiness in 2 cases and insomnia in the third. Of the remaining 10 patients, 6 became manic within the 3-month trial period. This result indicates that mianserin may be capable of precipitating mania in susceptible subjects with bipolar affective illness. This may be a general property of antidepressants, since it has been previously described with other groups of antidepressants.

Adult↗

Autonomic actions and interactions of mianserin hydrochloride (Org. GB 94) and amitriptyline in patients with depressive illness.

The clinical pharmacology of mianserin hydrochloride was studied in patients suffering from a primary depressive illness after steady-state plasma concentration of the drug had been achieved. The results were compared with those found with amitriptyline in both open and double-blind studies. The two drugs are equally effective in their antidepressive effect. Mianserin hydrochloride appears to be free of anticholinergic effects as assessed by the measurement of salivary volume, pupil diameter and the interactions with guanethidine and thymoxamine on the pupil. No peripheral adrenergic interaction as studied by the tyramine dose-pressor-response test were observed in patients treated with mianserin hydrochloride (20 mg three times daily).

Amitriptyline↗

Prophylactic treatment of alcoholism by lithium carbonate. A controlled study.

Lithium therapy has been shown to have a therapeutic influence in reducing the drinking and incapacity by alcohol in depressive alcoholics in a prospective double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted over one year, but it had no significant effect on non-depressed patients. Patients in the trial treated by placebo had significantly greater alcoholic morbidity if they were depressive than if they were non-depressive.

Adult↗

A double blind comparison of lithium carbonate and ludiomil in the prophylaxis of unipolar affective illness.

A double-blind prospective study was carried out comparing the prophylactic effect of maprotiline and lithium carbonate over a period of 1 year in patients suffering from recurrent affective disorders. The average Affective Morbidity Index was lower, but not significantly so, in patients treated with lithium. A further analysis based on dividing patients into those with no affective morbidity and those who showed some affective morbidity during the study, demonstrated lithium carbonate to be significantly superior to maprotiline in both the group as a whole and in unipolar depressives.

Adult↗