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Biomedical subjects

F Schifano

Publications and source records attributed to F Schifano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

MDMA ('ecstasy') consumption in the context of polydrug abuse: a report on 150 patients.

The present study examined the characteristics and the possible psychopathological consequences of ecstasy (MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) use. One hundred and fifty consecutive patients, presenting to the Padova (Italy) Addiction Treatment Unit and who had taken ecstasy on at least one occasion, were examined and studied using a semi-structured interview. Ninety-five percent of the patients had experimented with another drug of abuse at least once in their lifetime. Ecstasy was mainly self-administered at disco clubs, and reported acute psychoactive effects confirmed previous reports. Fifty-three percent of the total sample were found to be affected by one or more psychopathological problems; the most frequent were depression, psychotic disorders, cognitive disturbances, bulimic episodes, impulse control disorders, panic disorders, social phobia. Those who were free from any psychopathological problem, compared to the others, had taken a smaller number of MDMA tablets in their lifetime, for a shorter duration and with a lower frequency. Again, they were less likely to have used alcohol together with ecstasy but more likely to have used opiates. Longer-term, larger dosage (acute or cumulative) MDMA consumers were found to be at high risk of developing psychopathological disturbances. The results are discussed, taking into account both the ecstasy suggested serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) neurotoxicity and the various methodological issues pertaining to this kind of large-scale clinical study describing people for whom MDMA is far from being the only drug of abuse.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Efficacy of venlafaxine in depressive illness in general practice.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 229 patients with a Research Diagnostic Criteria diagnosis of major, minor or intermittent depression was used to compare the clinical profiles of venlafaxine and imipramine in general practice. Venlafaxine produced a significant improvement compared to placebo in symptoms of depression and anxiety as rated by the total MADRS and percentage of responders, the CGI improvement, the CGI severity of illness, the BSA psychic anxiety item and the HSCL. On a number of these measures, venlafaxine was also significantly more effective than imipramine. Venlafaxine was significantly superior to both imipramine and placebo for the SARS total score and the items 'social/leisure' and 'extended family.' A similar proportion of patients discontinued treatment in each group, but fewer patients on venlafaxine discontinued treatment because of an unsatisfactory response.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Clinical efficacy of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in treatment of opiate withdrawal.

This paper describes the role of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in the treatment of opiate withdrawal syndrome. In the two patients described, after having abruptly withdrawn from long-term methadone treatment, GHB was orally administered (each dose given every 4-6 h) for 8-9 days. The GHB showed both a high efficacy (some mild and transient symptoms attributable to opiate withdrawal were observed, but only in the first days of therapy) and a good tolerability (no clinical phenomena interpreted as GHB side effects were found). These results could be of interest in improving the pharmacological treatment of drug addiction.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Pharmacological models of memory dysfunction? A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and lorazepam on word valence ratings, priming and recall.

The effects of scopolamine (0.3, 0.6 mg IM) lorazepam (2 mg oral) and placebo on word valence ratings, priming and word recall were assessed in a double-blind independent group design with 36 subjects. Subjects given active drugs rated words as having more of an affective load than subjects given placebo. Priming, as assessed in a word-stem completion task, was not significantly affected by any treatment. Word recall showed some impairment following all active treatments. Performance on the stem completion task was unrelated to subjectively rated sedation but did not relate to word-valence ratings in different ways across drug treatments. Performance on the recall task was unrelated to valence ratings but did relate to the sedative effects on lorazepam. Implications are drawn out for pharmacological models of memory dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Models of memory dysfunction? A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and lorazepam on memory, psychomotor performance and mood.

The effects on memory, psychomotor functions and mood of intramuscular scopolamine (0.3 mg, 0.6 mg) were compared with those of oral lorazepam (2 mg) and placebo. Thirty-six volunteers took part in a double-blind, independent groups design. Subjects completed a battery of tests 1 and 3 h after drug administration. Both doses of scopolamine produced levels of sedation comparable to that produced by lorazepam. The time course of effects of scopolamine and lorazepam differed but the pattern of psychomotor impairments and amnestic effects produced was very similar. In terms of mood, lorazepam had an anxiolytic effect whereas scopolamine increased ratings of anxiety. Levels of sedation, indexed by either subjective ratings or motor retardation (tapping speed), were related more to psychomotor performance than to performance on memory tasks. The results suggest that benzodiazepines and scopolamine have similar amnestic and sedative effects and as such may not offer distinct models of memory dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Can pharmacological intervention aid in the prevention of suicidal behavior?

The paper reviews the efficacy of various psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, carbamazepine, lithium) in th prevention of suicidal behavior, dealing with the issue from both treatment and research perspectives. The clinical pharmacology of aggressive behavior is also briefly reviewed, as an understanding of this aspect is likely to shed some light on the main topic of the paper.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1991

Lithium alone or in combination with carbamazepine for the treatment of rapid-cycling bipolar affective disorder.

The authors retrospectively examined the clinical outcome (after 1, 2 and 5 years of beginning the therapeutic protocols) for 16 rapid-cycling bipolar affective disorder patients given either lithium alone or lithium plus carbamazepine. The results suggest that both therapeutic protocols have been safe and clinically effective. However, improvement was observed earlier in the patients given lithium and carbamazepine.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Excessive use of anticholinergic drugs in a sub-sample of Italian schizophrenics.

Compliance to the prescription of anticholinergic drugs in 274 consecutive schizophrenic outpatients has been assessed retrospectively from their clinical records. Ten point four percent of the sample (22 patients) took these drugs in amounts greater than those prescribed. Some possible explanations of this excessive use are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A double-blind comparison of mianserin and maprotiline in depressed medically ill elderly people.

A double-blind, randomized 4-week mianserin vs maprotiline trial was conducted in 48 depressed geriatric medical inpatients. The drug dosages were up to 90 mg of mianserin and up to 150 mg of maprotiline per day. Efficacy was measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Hopkins Symptom Check List depression subscale and the Clinical Global Impression Scale. The overall dropout figure was 27% of the sample. Side effects were relatively similar in the two treatment groups and suggested a safety profile somewhat better than that of the first-generation antidepressants. Mianserin showed some advantages in efficacy over maprotiline, particularly by the 4th week of the trial, but the overall figures of treatment responders were rather small (Geriatric Depression Scale: mianserin 48%, maprotiline 30%). Clinical trials vs placebo are needed to clarify the role of antidepressant pharmacotherapy in depressed geriatric medical inpatients.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Naltrexone for heroin addiction: encouraging results from Italy.

This report provides preliminary data regarding compliance rates of naltrexone (NTX) treatment for 99 consecutive heroin addicts. NTX was administered orally after a 3-13-day drug induction period. Fifteen out of the 99 patients who underwent naloxone challenge are still being treated (having taken NTX for less than 6 months to date). Of the 52 patients who completed the drug induction period, 22 (41.31%) showed satisfactory results (in terms of treatment compliance and/or opiate-free conditions at 6-month follow-up). The 52 patients who properly started regular NTX assumption stayed with the treatment for a mean 17.04 +/- 8.2 weeks. These results would demonstrate a higher than average success with NTX treatment of randomly selected heroin addicts with respect to the literature and would seem related to particularly favorable socio-cultural conditions in northern Italy (where the study was carried out).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

OKT4/OKT8 ratio in asymptomatic heroin addicts.

The OKT4 (helper) and OKT8 (suppressor) lymphocytic subpopulations were enumerated in a sample of 60 asymptomatic drug addicts and in 17 controls. No significant differences in the ratio could be found that could not be explained by the action of HIV. It can be concluded that heroin itself was not responsible for any alteration in the T4/T8 ratio in the population considered.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1989

Panic attacks and major depression after discontinuation of long-term diazepam abuse.

A case is described of a patient with a history of several years of diazepam abuse (in the last 24 months at dosages of 120 mg/d). A tapering schedule was carried out during a 12-day stay in the hospital in which the diazepam dosage was reduced by a fixed quantity every day, corresponding to about ten percent of the initial dosage. Five days after discharge from the hospital the patient experienced panic attacks, for the first time, which continued until 13 days after discharge. By the 40th day, the patient was experiencing a major depressive episode, which improved after administration of clomipramine therapy. We suggest that a relatively quick withdrawal schedule (ten percent per day) is probably inadequate in preventing withdrawal reactions to long-acting benzodiazepines taken in high doses for an extended period of time.

Adult↗