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Biomedical subjects

C A Dackis

Publications and source records attributed to C A Dackis.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Specificity of the DST and the TRH test for major depression in alcoholics.

The authors examined dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) test results in 32 chronic alcoholics without depression or hepatic disease to see if alcoholism alone might lead to positive test results. After 3 weeks of sobriety there were no DST abnormalities, but blunted TRH test results were observed in eight of the 32 alcoholics. More of the 15 patients also tested during alcohol withdrawal than of the 20 normal subjects or the 32 alcoholics without alcohol withdrawal had DST and TRH test abnormalities. When performed after 3 weeks of sobriety, the DST but not the TRH test has potential as a specific laboratory adjunct in the diagnosis of depression in alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The sequential use of clonidine and naltrexone in the treatment of opiate addicts.

The efficacy of clonidine in the management of opiate withdrawal states has improved and refined the medical approach to this condition. In addition, the use of clonidine for opiate detoxification paves the way for naltrexone maintenance. Naltrexone, by providing chronic opiate receptor blockade, prevents opiate intoxication and subsequent readdiction in recovered addicts. The sequential use of clonidine and naltrexone, in conjunction with drug rehabilitation, appears to represent a viable and effective treatment for opiate addiction in motivated patients. The development of clonidine and naltrexone as treatment agents for opiate addiction also demonstrates that neurobiological advances can be translated into new and effective clinical approaches. This paper summarizes some of our experiences with the clonidine/naltrexone approach in motivated opiate addicts.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

New insights and treatments: opiate withdrawal and cocaine addiction.

Basic research in the neurosciences has led to a theory of opiate withdrawal involving endogenous opioid peptides and hyperactive norepinephrine neurons. This theory predicts the efficacy of clonidine, a nonopiate agent, in the management of opiate withdrawal. Clonidine, which offers numerous advantages over methadone as a means of opiate detoxification, may be appropriate for use by general practitioners. Clonidine-aided detoxification can be followed immediately by naltrexone maintenance, which facilitates rehabilitation. Cocaine users' reports and clinical and basic studies, when pieced together, provide an outline of the natural history of chronic cocaine abuse. How certain users become addicts is not clear, however. Additional neurochemical research and neurophysiological studies are needed for the development of nonaddictive methods of detoxification (à la clonidine) and prophylaxis (à la naltrexone). In the absence of such studies, cocaine treatment programs use the methods of Alcoholics Anonymous, contingency contracting, and inpatient therapies for addiction.

Brain Chemistry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bromocriptine.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acromegaly↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dexamethasone suppression test testing of depressed alcoholics.

In order to determine the sensitivity of the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) for major depression in alcoholics, we administered this test to 27 alcoholics with major depression. Sixteen of 27 had abnormal DST results, yielding a 59% sensitivity for depression in alcoholics. When combined with previously reported specificity findings of 100%, the DST significantly (p less than 0.001) distinguished depressed from nondepressed alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cocaine update: from bench to bedside.

The aim of this paper is to review and explore the psychopharmacology of cocaine from two divergent points of view--the chronic user and the laboratory. Cocaine's behavioral effects will be correlated with neurophysiological, neurochemical events, and reports by users of consequences of chronic use. These studies and reports when pieced together offer considerable promise in the development of a natural history of compulsive cocaine use. Additional neurochemical and neurophysiological research investigations are needed to allow for the development of non-addicting treatments for detoxification (à la clonidine) and prophylaxis (à la naltrexone). In the absence of these data cocaine treatment programs have been developed borrowing heavily from self help, contingency contracting and inpatient programs for working addicts.

Affect↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug abuse and bipolar disorders.

Abuse of multiple substances can coexist in many patients who present with symptoms indistinguishable from any Bipolar Disorder. Failure to recognize and treat this coexistent substance abuse may preclude the proper management of the bipolar disorder.

Amphetamine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bromocriptine treatment for cocaine abuse: the dopamine depletion hypothesis.

The authors review the evidence that cocaine exerts its rewarding effects through the acute activation of dopamine (DA) pathways in the brain. Chronic cocaine administration is hypothesized to lead to DA depletion, which results in cocaine craving and cocaine abstinence states. Treatment of these states with bromocriptine, a DA/antagonist, appears to have efficacy with acute and maintenance trials, and may represent a new adjunctive treatment for cocaine abuse. DA antagonists appear to exacerbate cocaine craving, which is consistent with the DA depletion hypothesis of chronic cocaine abuse. Theoretical issues relating to drug addiction and endogenous reward centers are discussed.

Adolescent↗