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Biomedical subjects

A Halaris

Publications and source records attributed to A Halaris.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Identifying and managing borderline personality patients.

Individuals with the borderline personality disorder are less stable than neurotics but do not have sustained psychotic decompensations. These patients are socially insensitive, impulsive, resentful and chronically depressed, and may display fits of anger. Borderline patients experience the greatest difficulty in dealing with intense relationships. Medical problems that require sustained follow-up may bring about a doctor-patient relationship intense enough to stir up turmoil. The cornerstone of treating such patients is maintaining a limited relationship.

Anger↗
PubMed1984

Comparative cardiac effects of maprotiline and doxepin in elderly depressed patients.

In a double-blind study, 49 elderly patients with primary major depression, with or without cardiovascular disease, were treated with maprotiline or doxepin. Holter monitors, 12-lead ECGs, and orthostatic blood pressure measurements were used. Maprotiline was associated with decreased PVCs in patients with a "high" baseline rate, while doxepin was associated with increased PVCs in this group. There were no significant differences in orthostatic blood pressure changes between treatment and nontreatment phases or between the two drugs. Small but significant increases in heart rate and prolonged PR interval were noted with both drugs. QRS interval was prolonged by maprotiline but decreased by doxepin. Neither drug produced untoward effects in patients with stable angina or an old myocardial infarction. Maprotiline may have an antiarrhythmic effect which could be beneficial in the treatment of depression with concomitant PVCs. Conversely, doxepin may be more appropriate for depressed patients with heart block or intracardiac conduction delays. Further research is necessary to confirm these suggestions.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

State dependence of noradrenergic activity in a rapidly cycling bipolar patient.

Plasma levels of the major norepinephrine (NE) metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), were measured in a rapidly cycling bipolar patient and her first-degree relatives. The mood state dependence and the reciprocal relationship between noradrenergic and cholinergic activity were investigated by assessing mood, thought disorder, and plasma MHPG following the infusion of physostigmine. A correlation was found between plasma MHPG and mood states, with exceedingly high levels during mania and hypomania. Levels were significantly decreased by ECT or combined lithium and chlorpromazine administration. A pathologic diurnal MHPG pattern was detected during periods of abnormal mood changes. Infusion of physostigmine led to a prompt reduction in MHPG release and a marked decline in mood-state measurements and the overall level of thought disorder. Muscarinic receptors exerting negative feedback control over the synthesis and/or release of NE may have become supersensitive as a consequence of alpha 2-adrenoceptor densensitization.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Therapeutic superiority of maprotiline versus doxepin in geriatric depression.

In a double-blind study, 49 geriatric patients suffering from primary major depression were treated with maprotiline or doxepin. Efficacy and safety were assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Zung Self-Rating Depression and Anxiety scales, side effects profile, routine laboratory tests, and measurements of blood levels. Although marked improvement was obtained with both antidepressants, patients on maprotiline showed statistically greater improvement than those on doxepin. No significant differences were detected between the two drugs with respect to side effects. A significant positive correlation was obtained between dosage and blood levels of maprotiline and doxepin, but there was no correlation between blood levels and clinical response. Overall, results suggest that maprotiline may be superior to doxepin in the treatment of geriatric depression.

Anthracenes↗
PubMed1982

Ion transport and adrenergic function in major affective disorder.

Altered functional levels of norepinephrine (NE) have been implicated in the etiology of affective disorders. Abnormalities of membrane ion transport have been postulated to underlie such neurotransmitter imbalances. To evaluate the role of these systems in the pathophysiology of specific affective syndromes, we have examined the NE metabolite MHPG and ion transport function in a cross-section of affective patients in different mood states. Analysis of those data reveals that plasma MHPG levels are dependent on mood state, with bipolar patients in the manic phase having significant elevations of this metabolite. In contrast, the red cell: plasma lithium ratio (LR) was independent of mood state and significantly elevated in a group of bipolar patients.

Affective Disorders, Psychotic↗
PubMed1982

Biological studies in adult attention deficit disorder: case report.

The authors describe the case of a patient diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit disorder, adult type. The case is noteworthy because of its presentation as manic disorder and the accompanying neurologic deficits. Biochemical and behavioral observations suggested an abnormality in noradrenergic transmission.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Deficits in food and water intake after knife cuts that deplete striatal DA or hypothalamic NE in rats.

Knife cuts ventral or medial to the striatum were used to interrupt some of the principal connections of this structure. All of the cuts depleted striatal dopamine and produced aphagia and adipsia but there was no indication that the two classes of effects were always correlated. Cuts medial to the striatum produced the most severe DA depletions, persistent aphagia and adipsia, and the full complement of deficits in responding to glucoprivic and hydrational challenges that characterize rats that have recovered from lateral hypothalamic lesions. Cuts ventral to posterior portions of the striatum produced comparable periods of aphagia and adipsia (but few of the persisting impairments in responsiveness to regulatory challenges) even though their effect on striatal DA was relatively small (the average depletion was 51% compared to 89% for rats with cuts medial to the striatum). A second group of rats with cuts below more anterior aspects of the striatum sustained severe DA depletions (70%) but only very brief periods of aphagia and adipsia and only slight deficits in responding to osmotic challenges. The effects of the DA depleting cuts were compared with the behavioral consequences of coronal cuts in the midbrain tegmentum which selectively depleted hypothalamic norepinephrine. These cuts did not produce reliable effects on either food or water intake but abolished the normal feeding response to 2-deoxy-d-glucose without affecting the response to insulin. A correlational analysis of the biochemical and behavioral results of our cuts indicated a significant positive relationship between drinking in response to cellular thirst stimuli and hypothalamic NE as well as striatal DA. The postoperative body weights of our experimental animals were positively correlated with striatal dopamine and negatively related to hypothalamic norepinephrine.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Effects of central norepinephrine depletion on the initiation and maintenance of maternal behavior in the rat.

The catecholaminergic neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), was used to test the hypothesis that increased transmission across selected noradrenergic synapses is involved in the initiation of maternal behavior. Specifically, 6-OHDA was infused intraventricularly either two days before parturition or four days after parturition. Control animals were infused with the vehicle alone. Among prepartum animals, NE depletion of more than 30% of control levels interfered with the initiation of maternal behavior. Among lactating animals, similar degrees of NE depletion had no significant effect on the maintenance of maternal behavior. Thus, NE appears to be involved in the initiation of maternal behavior, but not in the maintenance of the behavior once that behavior is established.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Behavioral and biochemical effects of knife cuts that preferentially interrupt principal afferent and efferent connections of the striatum in the rat.

Knife cuts were made that preferentially interrupted (a) the nigrostriatal pathway; (b) pallidofugal projections to the lower brainstem; (c) caudate-pallidal interconnections; and (d) fibers entering or leaving the striatum ventrally. The effects of these cuts on conditioned (shuttle box) avoidance, passive avoidance, swimming escape, sucrose-rewarded alley running, locomotor activity, and various measures of sensory-motor function were examined. The norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin content of the striatum, residual forebrain and hypothalamus were determined following the completion of behavioral testing. The pattern of results suggests that striatal functions which are significantly influenced by several afferent and efferent connections are essential for the acquisition and, perhaps, execution of complex behavior in appetitive as well as aversive test paradigms. A special role for the dopaminergic afferents to the striatum was not established in these tests.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Effects on hypothalamic and telencephalic NE and 5-HT of tegmental knife cuts that produce hyperphagia or hyperdipsia in the rat.

Knife cuts in the coronal plane through various aspects of the midbrain tegmentum produced hyperphagia, hyperdipsia, or no effect on ingestive behavior. All of the cuts significantly depleted NE and 5-HT from hypothalamus and forebrain. The brains of hyperphagic or hyperdipsic animals did not differ from those of normophagic and normodipsic animals with respect to hypothalamic NE or 5-HT or telencephalic NE. Both hyperphagic and hyperdipsic animals had significantly lower concentrations of 5-HT in forebrain than rats which sustained similar cuts in the tegmentum which did not affect ingestive behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Changes in the metabolism of hypothalamic norepinephrine associated with the onset of maternal behavior in the nulliparous rat.

Both norepinephrine (NE) and its major metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), were assayed both in the hypothalamus of nulliparous rats that had behaved maternally toward foster young and in the hypothalamus of those that had failed to behave maternally. It was found that the maternally-behaving animals had both lower concentrations of NE and higher concentrations of MHPG as compared with their nonresponding counterparts. These data parallel those reported for the puerperal female and suggest that the onset of maternal behavior may be mediated by increased transmission across hypothalamic noradrenergic synapses.

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol↗
PubMed1975

Hypothalamic norepinephrine: concentration and metabolism during pregnancy and lactation in the rat.

Both norepinephrine (NE) and its major metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), were assayed in rat hypothalamus during selected stages of pregnancy and lactation. No changes were observed in the concentration of either NE or MHPG at 5, 15 or 21 days' gestation. However, with 8-15 h after parturition, the concentration of NE decreased sharply while that of MHPG showed a correspondingly sharp increase. The possible significance of such change in hypothalamic catecholamine activity was considered in relation to parturition, postpartum estrus and onset of maternal behavior.

Animals↗