Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E Griez

Publications and source records attributed to E Griez.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A case of bulimia successfully treated by cue exposure.

In the present case-study, a 22-year-old female patient with a 7-year history of bulimia nervosa was treated by cue-exposure. During cue-exposure sessions the relationship between CS (stimuli associated with binge-eating behaviour) and UCS (the sensations related to the intake of binge food) was broken. As predicted, the patients' craving for food declined within as well as between cue exposure sessions and a radical decrease in the frequency of binge-eating persisted for at least nine months. Although during the therapy no explicit attention was paid to the patient's low mood and irrational self-talk, mood was improved and beliefs were less irrational after cue-exposure and at the follow-ups. The data suggest that cue exposure may be an effective part of the treatment of bulimia nervosa.

Adult↗

The role of life events in the onset of panic disorder.

Twenty-five panic disorder patients and fifteen obsessive-compulsive patients are compared with regard to a number of Life Events over the last 12 months prior to onset of the disorder and additionally over the total life course up until onset of the disorder. Panic Disorder patients do not differ from obsessive-compulsive disorder patients in terms of the number of life events, they experience during the last year prior to onset of their disorder. However, over the total life course, Panic Disorder patients do seem to be exposed to more Life Events than obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. The findings are discussed in light of the existing literature.

Adult↗

Does bingeing restore bulimics' alleged 5-HT-deficiency?

The co-occurrence of bingeing and depressed mood in bulimics may be explained by one pathogenic process: hyposerotonergic functioning. A relatively high carbohydrate intake improves mood and raises 5-HT level. Therefore, several authors suggested that the carbohydrate intake during binges may be a form of self-medication to compensate for bulimics' alleged hyposerotonergic functioning, thereby improving mood. This view, in which bingeing compensates for central 5-HT deficiencies, assumes that bulimics' binges contain relatively more carbohydrates than bulimics' non-binge-eating episodes. In the present study, bulimics' binge-eating and non-binge-eating episodes were compared as to macronutrient and calorie intake. However, no support was found for the hypothesis that binge-eating enhances brain serotonin.

Adult↗

The effect of hypocapnia on extinction of conditioned fear responses.

Conditioning models have been very helpful in the understanding of the etiology and maintenance of anxiety. Such laboratory models, however, leave unexplained why in many cases of naturally occurring anxiety, as in the case of agoraphobia, the fear responses do not extinguish. Literature on experimental anxiety provocation suggests that a systemic alkalosis might play a role in the maintenance of phobic fear. It was hypothesized that a subject in a state of respiratory alkalosis would show delayed extinction to classical conditioned anxiety. In a differential classical conditioning paradigm, consisting of a habituation-, an acquisition-, and an extinction-phase, slides and electric shocks were used as conditioned stimuli (CS) and unconditioned stimuli (US) respectively. The skin conductance response was taken as (U)CR. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: hyperventilation or control. It was shown that the extinction was not delayed when subjects were hypocapnic during the extinction. These data support the view that a respiratory alkalosis per se is not a sufficient condition for the maintenance of neurotic fears. The data of the present study are discussed in the context of existing literature on a psychological interpretation of the maintenance of anxiety.

Adult↗

Effect of hypercapnia and other disturbances in the acid-base-balance on panic disorder.

Naturally occurring panic attacks and various interventions which trigger anxiety in panic patients are accompanied by disturbances in the acid-base balance. Carbon dioxide appears to play an important role in many experimental panic provoking conditions. The influence of respiratory and metabolic pH disturbances on cerebral physiology is discussed and speculations are made about the possible mechanisms underlying CO2-induced anxiety in panic disorder.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Rebreathing to cope with hyperventilation: experimental tests of the paper bag method.

To explore if and how the common rebreathing (paper bag) approach to hyperventilation works, two experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, 12 normal volunteers, aware of the common physiological rebreathing rationale, were twice asked to overbreath intensely and then either to rebreath or to restart normal ventilation. Alveolar CO2 increased more quickly and physical symptoms disappeared earlier in the rebreathing condition. The second experiment had a similar design; however, this time the subjects were led to believe that, after both hyperventilation provocation tests, they were rebreathing in a semiclosed tube system. On one of the occasions, the tube system was, in fact, open. The CO2 restoration again differed in the two conditions. In this second experiment, the moment of symptom disappearance was not significantly earlier in the rebreathing condition. The combined results of the studies suggest that expectation and suggestion play a role in the effects of rebreathing approaches on hyperventilation.

Adult↗

Carbon dioxide chemosensitivity in panic disorder.

The ventilatory response to the inhalation of carbon dioxide was studied in 19 panic patients and 14 normal controls, using the Read rebreathing technique. The panic patients showed significantly higher ventilatory response compared with normal controls.

Adult↗

Serotonin antagonism in panic disorder: an open trial with ritanserin.

Eleven patients with panic disorder were administered ritanserin, a post-synaptic serotonin S2 antagonist, during a 4 week period at a daily dose of 10-20 mg. The treatment resulted in a decrease in the number of panic attacks, and a diminution of agoraphobic avoidance. The possible practical and theoretical signification of these findings is discussed.

Adult↗

Body fluids after CO2 inhalation: insight into panic mechanisms?

Blood gases and electrolyte fluctuations were studied in arterial blood, after a single 35% CO2-65% O2 inhalation, which is known to trigger panic attacks in patients with panic disorder. The immediate effect of this maneuver was a brief hypercapnic acidosis followed by a slight alkalotic rebound, with shifts in Ca2+ and K+. The possible effect of these changes on neuronal membrane excitability is discussed, referring to recent experimental findings in panic provocation.

Adult↗

Pulmonary carbon dioxide and panic-arousing sensations after 35% carbon dioxide inhalation: hypercapnia/hyperoxia versus hypercapnia/normoxia.

Experimental research has demonstrated that CO2 inhalation provides a valid laboratory model for acute panic. Earlier studies employed CO2/O2 mixtures that were not only hypercapnic but also hyperoxic, raising the question of the relative contribution of the hyperoxidity. A comparison between a hypercapnic/hyperoxic mixture (35% CO2/65% O2) and a hypercapnic/normoxic mixture (35% CO2/20% O2/45% N2) revealed no differences on self-reported panic symptoms or end tidal pCO2. It is concluded that findings from previous CO2/O2 inhalation studies should be attributed to the hypercapnic, rather than to the hyperoxic, nature of the mixtures.

Adult↗

Reduction of CO2-induced anxiety in patients with panic attacks after repeated CO2 exposure.

The authors compared the subjective reaction of 13 panic patients and eight control subjects to a 35% CO2 challenge, a treatment known to produce physical symptoms comparable to those of natural or lactate-induced panic, and to placebo treatment (inhalation of air). They found that patients had higher placebo scores than control subjects, patients tended to get highly anxious on CO2 and control subjects did not, and CO2-induced subjective anxiety in patients decreased as the number of CO2-induced exposures to interoceptive anxiety symptoms increased. The data support a behavioral account of the effects of anxiogenics.

Adolescent↗

Panic symptoms after inhalation of carbon dioxide.

The effects of inhaling a mixture of 35 per cent carbon dioxide and 65 per cent oxygen on the occurrence of panic symptoms defined by the DSM III, was investigated. Compared to a placebo (air), carbon dioxide produced more panic symptoms. If carbon dioxide inhalation was preceded by intake of a beta-blocker (60 mg propranolol), less symptoms occurred than if preceded by a placebo. The results are compared with earlier reports on the effects of lactate infusion. It is argued that panic disorders can be conceptualized as a fear of internal (panic) sensations and that inhalation of a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen may constitute an effective exposure treatment.

Adult↗