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Biomedical subjects

D Healy

Publications and source records attributed to D Healy.

118 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Monoamine-related markers of depression: changes following treatment.

Changes in adrenoceptor and serotonin receptor activities, and platelet serotonin uptake, in a group of moderately depressed patients before and during treatment have been monitored. alpha 2 and beta-adrenoceptor densities on platelets and lymphocytes were markedly higher before treatment commenced and decreased to approximately control values following clinical response to drug treatment; patients not responding to such treatment failed to show any attenuation of the receptor hypersensitivity. Responders and non-responders showed differing receptor affinity for the ligands at the conclusion of the treatment period. Platelet serotonin receptor activity and uptake were lower before the start of treatment than in those patients who responded to therapy. There was no difference between plasma free and bound tryptophan concentrations of patients and controls, either before or during treatment. The observed changes in receptor function may correlate with changes in the clinical status of depressed patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Platelet 5-HT uptake in delusional and nondelusional depressions.

Platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake was measured in a group of 28 endogenously depressed patients, at three points during the day, before, during and after treatment. It was also measured in 20 controls at the same three times. Uptake rates varied in control subjects in a manner consistent with the presence of a circadian rhythm in uptake. This variation was absent in depressed subjects. Deluded and nondeluded depressives showed a similar absence of variation but differed in the absolute values for their uptake rates. In particular deluded depressives did not show the lowering of platelet uptake rates, which has been widely reported for endogenous depression. This difference between the two groups was maintained after treatment was started but was not present after clinical recovery, suggesting a state-rather than trait-dependent marker. These differences between deluded and nondeluded depressives have implications for the investigation of platelet 5-HT uptake in other psychiatric illnesses.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Monoamine transport in depression: kinetics and dynamics.

There appears to be an abnormality in monoamine transport in major depressive disorders that may be specific to these disorders, although it may not be primarily an aminergic lesion. Kinetic factors alone are insufficient to explain the observed effects of antidepressants on transport mechanisms, or changes in uptake with therapeutic response, suggesting dynamic influences on uptake processes that deserve further exploration. The investigation of these influences may indicate that platelet 5-HT uptake offers diagnostic and theoretical possibilities not adverted to at present and another rationale for the use of platelets in research on mental disorders.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein in major depressive and eating disorders.

Plasma alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) levels were measured in 49 subjects with major depressive disorder, 15 subjects with anorexia nervosa and 18 subjects with bulimia nervosa, together with age- and sex-matched controls. AGP levels were elevated in depression and bulimia compared to controls. They were particularly elevated in depressed subjects who proved unresponsive to treatment with a standard course of antidepressants. In the depressed subjects, elevated AGP levels returned to control levels after treatment whether or not treatment was successful. There was a correlation between AGP and post-dexamethasone plasma cortisol levels in depression but not in bulimia and a correlation with age in depressed subjects only. There was no correlation between AGP values and tritiated imipramine binding parameters. Further studies are suggested to explore the issue of whether variations in AGP level are responsible for the abnormalities in platelet 5HT uptake and tritiated imipramine binding that have been reported in depression or for treatment non-response.

Anorexia Nervosa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Validity of the Dexter Evaluation System's Jamar dynamometer attachment for assessment of hand grip strength in a normal population.

There are several instruments available to measure grip strength, but some instruments are costly, time-consuming to use, or have questionable reliability. The purpose of this study is to examine the concurrent validity of the Dexter Evaluation System with Jamar dynamometer attachment (Dexter) compared with the reference-based criterion of the Jamar adjustable hand dynamometer (Jamar) for measurement of maximal hand grip strength among normal subjects. Sixty-two subjects between the ages of 20 and 50 years, who had no history of hand, arm, shoulder, or neck injuries, were tested with the Jamar in the second handle position and, during the same visit, with the Dexter in the identical position. The Jamar was found to be highly reliable (ICC [3,1] = 0.98) and valid (ICC (2,K) = 0.99) for measuring hand grip strength. In this study, the Dexter was shown to be valid when compared to the Jamar dynamometer for measuring hand grip strength.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Obsessive-compulsive disorder with delusions.

Obsessive-compulsive (OCD) and delusional disorders (DD) have been recognised with increased frequency in recent years, and the propensity of some OCD subjects to become deluded has become a focus of interest. This study reports illness-specific demography along with measures of symptom severity and tests to assess schizotypal ideation, dysfunctional attitudes, attributional and attention bias in 30 patients with OCD, 29 with DD, 16 with OCD with delusions (OC-DD) and a 30-subject control group (CG). Obsessional features appeared before delusions in the OC-DD group, suggesting that OCD was the primary pathology. Delusions were more likely in subjects obsessional about one rather than multiple themes. There was some support for proposals that depression and schizotypy may bring out delusions in OCD and some evidence for the utility of categorising OCD according to the number of obsessions a subject has.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prognostic potential of cytokines, nitrates, and APACHE II score in sepsis.

The prognostic potentials of physiological ([Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation] APACHE II score) and biochemical (Interleukin 6 [IL-6], Interleukin 6 soluble receptor [IL-6sR], and Interleukin 2 receptor [IL-2R], nitrates) measures were evaluated in sepsis. The APACHE II scores were calculated, and concentrations of the biochemical markers were measured, based upon information and samples obtained from 68 septic patients at time of diagnosis. Outcome (survival/non-survival) was determined at the end of the hospital stay associated with the septic episode. Statistically significant differences between survivors (S) and non-survivors (non-S) were found for APACHE II (p < 0.0001), IL-6 (p < 0.005), IL-6sR (p < 0.05), IL-2R (p < 0.02). No significant differences were found for nitrates. None of the markers could serve individually as an effective prognostic indicator. However, those markers demonstrating a significant difference between survivors and non-survivors may be able to contribute to a multi-parameter prognostic model.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multiparameter models for the prediction of sepsis outcome.

This study reports the predictive value, in septic patients, of septic shock at presentation (SS factor) alone and in combination with multiple markers, using survival of the sepsis episode as the outcome measure. The SS factor correctly predicted the outcome in 53/68 (78%) of patients in this study. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II Score (APACHE II or APII) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-6 soluble receptor (IL-6sR) concentrations were evaluated in combination with the SS factor in the same 68 patient population which was randomly divided into design (# = 50) and test groups (# = 18). Two iterations of an algorithm were evaluated using randomized patient groups corresponding to those producing the best (Group A) and worst (Group B) performance using a neural network. The four-input algorithm (APII, IL-6, IL-6sR, SS factor) correctly classified 16/18 (89%, Group A) and 14/18 (78%, Group B) of patients in the test subset. The corresponding four-input neural network model (10 iterations) correctly classified 61 to 89% of the 18 patients in the 10 test subsets.

APACHE↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blues in the night.

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Adaptation, Psychological↗