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Biomedical subjects

D R Sweeney

Publications and source records attributed to D R Sweeney.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Cannabis diagnosis of patients receiving treatment for cocaine dependence.

In three separate samples using DSM-III-R criteria for substance dependence in 232 inpatients and 51 outpatients, we confirm the clinical suspicion that many cocaine dependents qualify for the diagnosis of cannabis dependence. As many as 53% of cocaine dependents diagnosed by DSM-III-R criteria have the concurrent diagnosis of cannabis dependence. The reports regarding cannabis dependence among cocaine dependents are few and inconclusive. The diagnosis of cannabis dependence in cocaine dependents has important consequences on etiology, prognosis, and treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Single-dose bromocriptine reverses cocaine craving.

Thirteen hospitalized cocaine addicts complaining of cocaine craving were given a single dose of bromocriptine, a dopamine agonist, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study design. Compared to placebo, bromocriptine caused a significant reduction in craving ratings. These data suggest that bromocriptine may be effective as a new, nonaddictive pharmacological treatment for cocaine addicts and support the notion that functional dopamine depletion occurs with chronic cocaine use. Open trials indicate that low-dose bromocriptine may be useful in cocaine detoxification.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Treatment of outpatients with borderline personality disorder.

Outpatient treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder is sometimes more difficult and more challenging than inpatient treatment. Because symptoms are frequently less florid and more variable in the outpatient, diagnostic evaluation must proceed at a slower pace. Diagnostic distinctions among patients with borderline personality disorder are based on whether the predominant symptoms displayed are "affective," "schizotypal," or "impulse-disordered." Outpatient evaluation requires a keen sensitivity to the presenting problems and the ability to assign priorities to treatment issues. Pharmacotherapy can be of advantage in treating outpatients with borderline personality disorder, but care must be taken in selecting appropriate drugs and dosage and in communicating to the patient what can be expected during therapy. Borderline patients with impulse-control disorders, especially substance abuse, cannot be treated effectively with individual psychotherapy alone. Although many creative and articulate psychodynamic formulations of borderline personality disorder have been proposed, an initial "cognitive" approach to psychotherapy combined with pharmacotherapy can be effective in alleviating acute symptoms, and more psychodynamic approaches can be employed when the patient is better equipped to use them.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1986

Evaluating depression in alcoholics.

The persistence of untreated depression was evaluated in 49 severely depressed alcoholics. After 2 weeks of sobriety, 80% of patients with initial major depression by Research Diagnostic Criteria were no longer depressed. These patients improved without antidepressant medications, suggesting the need for a 2-week period of sobriety before psychopharmacotherapy for depression is instituted. Many severe depressions in actively drinking or recently sober alcoholics may represent alcohol-induced organic affective syndromes which, unlike major depressive illness, remit spontaneously with sobriety.

Adult↗