American and British thoracic surgery.
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Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗
Biomedical subjects
G A Mason
Publications and source records attributed to G A Mason.
Thyroid and adrenal measures during late pregnancy and the puerperium in women who have been major depressed or who become dysphoric postpartum.
Prior studies of thyroid, adrenal and mood measures during pregnancy and the puerperium, which we review, have not examined hormone-mood relationships over the full peripartum period during which hormone levels change nor have they compared prior depression history with hormone changes. In a pilot study we measured thyroid and adrenal hormones as well as mood at 38 weeks of pregnancy, and 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks postpartum in 12 women with major depression history and 14 women with negative psychiatric history. Subjects with prior depressions had significantly higher T3, T4, TSH and cortisol levels during the puerperium. Subjects with higher levels of postpartum dysphoria had lower T4 and free T4 levels as well as higher T3 uptake at 38 weeks of pregnancy and higher cortisol levels during the puerperium. The pathophysiological implications of these findings are discussed.
Adult↗
Administration of chlordiazepoxide affects [3H][3-MeHis2]thyrotropin-releasing hormone binding in rat brain.
The effects of acute and subchronic administration of chlordiazepoxide (CDZ) on [3H][3-methyl-histidyl2]thyrotropin-releasing hormone binding to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in membrane preparations from various regions of rat brain were examined. Acute administration of CDZ (50 mg/kg x 3 within 24 h) did not alter either the equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) or the maximum number of binding sites (Bmax) in cerebellum (CB), olfactory bulbs (OB), frontal cortex (Cx), hypothalamus (HT) or corpus striatum (ST). However, the Kds of the pyriform cortex/amygdala (PC/A) (Kd = 3.6 +/- 0.1 nM compared to 1.9 +/- 0.1 nM in the control group; p less than 0.01) and the hippocampus (HP) (Kd = 7.8 +/- 0.7 nM compared to 2.1 +/- 0.1 nM in the control group; p less than 0.01) were increased. There were no changes in Bmax. Subchronic administration of CDZ (50 mg/kg/day for 7 days) increased the Kd of the PC/A complex (p less than 0.05), the OB (p less than 0.05) and the HP (p less than 0.01) without altering in Bmax. These results, showing regional differences in the response of TRH receptors to acute and subchronic CDZ administration, suggest that reduced affinity of TRH receptors in the PC/A complex, OB and HP may be related to some of the neurobiological actions of CDZ and/or its metabolites.
Animals↗
Treatment of depression in cancer patients is associated with better life adaptation: a pilot study.
Major depression occurs in a significant number of cancer patients, and there is evidence that cancer patients with depression do not receive adequate antidepressant treatment. In an uncontrolled pilot study, the authors assess the degree of depression and the quality of life after the initiation of antidepressant medication treatment in 12 depressed cancer patients who received adequate antidepressant drugs and in 10 depressed cancer patients who received inadequate antidepressant treatment. These preliminary findings suggest that cancer patients with major depression benefit from antidepressant medication treatment and may experience an improved psychosocial adjustment to cancer. Controlled clinical trials will be necessary to verify these preliminary findings.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Ischemic but not thermal pain sensitivity varies across the menstrual cycle.
OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: Findings from both animal and human research suggest that pain sensitivity changes across the menstrual cycle; however, among humans the nature of these menstrual cycle effects remains unclear. The present study used a repeated-measures design to evaluate changes in thermal and ischemic pain responses during three phases of the menstrual cycle, midfollicular (postmenstrual), ovulatory, and mid-to-late luteal (premenstrual), in 11 healthy women. The cycle phase during which subjects began their participation was determined randomly. Plasma levels of estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and beta-endorphin were determined at each experimental session. Participants also completed a daily diary of physical and emotional symptoms for two complete menstrual cycles before the experimental sessions. RESULTS: The results indicated that women showed less ischemic pain sensitivity during the midfollicular compared with the ovulatory and mid-to-late luteal phases, but thermal pain responses did not vary significantly across menstrual cycle phases. Physical and emotional symptoms were minimal and did not change significantly across the menstrual cycle. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate greater ischemic but not thermal pain sensitivity among women after the midcycle LH surge. The practical relevance and potential mechanisms of these findings are discussed.
Adult↗
Neuroendocrine responsivity to monoaminergic system probes in generalized social phobia.
We examined neuroendocrine correlates of central monoamine function in patients with the generalized type of social phobia compared to healthy volunteers in order to test hypotheses of dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and/or serotonergic dysregulation in patients with this disorder. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, neuropharmacological challenge study was performed using probes for the serotonergic (fenfluramine), dopaminergic (levodopa), and noradrenergic (clonidine) systems. Twenty-one patients with DSM-III-R social phobia (generalized type) and 22 "never mentally ill" volunteers participated in the study after providing informed consent. Patients with social phobia had an augmented cortisol response to fenfluramine administration compared to the volunteers. In contrast, we found that neither the prolactin response to fenfluramine, the growth hormone or norepinephrine response to clonidine, nor the prolactin or eye-blink responses to levodopa, differed between patients with social phobia and healthy volunteers. The findings suggest that patients with social phobia may exhibit selective supersensitivity of serotonergic systems, but that dopaminergic and noradrenergic function appear normal. Further challenge studies with more specific serotonin probes before and after treatment may assist in the clarification of the pathophysiology of social phobia.
Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗