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Biomedical subjects

G E Murphy

Publications and source records attributed to G E Murphy.

79 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
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Plasma nortriptyline and clinical response in depression.

Plasma levels of nortriptyline below 50 ng/ml or above 150 ng/ml have been reported to yield results inferior to intermediate levels. In the present study, patients with uncomplicated primary, nonbipolar depression were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of treatment with NT alone or with cognitive therapy. Nine of 35 patients had mean NT plasma levels less than 50 ng/ml. Five of them improved clinically to the criterion level of less than or equal to 7 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. This improvement rate was not at all different from that of patients with mean plasma levels within the presumed therapeutic window. The upper limit of 150 ng/ml was not tested. This study is presented in the hope of reviving the apparently dormant search for optimal therapeutic plasma levels of antidepressants.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Depression among medical students.

304 first- and second-year medical students were prospectively assessed for depression with a monthly Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Students scoring above nine on the BDI and a control group were then interviewed with the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule. The incidence of major depression or probable major depression by DSM-III criteria during the first two years of medical school was 12%. The lifetime prevalence was 15%, three times greater than the rate in the general population. An episode of depression prior to medical school was much more common among the depressed students (69 vs. 8%, P less than 0.001) as was a family history of treated depression (46 vs. 21%, P less than 0.025). The elevated rate of depression during medical school does not appear to be a result of the medical school experience alone. Rather, it suggests a positive bias of unknown nature in the selection of students predisposed to depression.

Adult↗
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Why women are less likely than men to commit suicide.

Major depression forms the background of upwards of half of all suicides. Women are twice as likely as men to experience major depression, yet women are one fourth as likely as men to take their own lives. Current and past explanations of this paradox are built on androcentric assumptions that women are deficient in some way. The reverse may be true where suicide is concerned. Men value independence and decisiveness, and they regard acknowledging a need for help as weakness and avoid it. Women value interdependence, and they consult friends and readily accept help. Women consider decisions in a relationship context, taking many things into consideration, and they feel freer to change their minds. It is argued here that women derive strength and protection from suicide by virtue of specific differences from men. Factors that protect women from suicide are opposite to vulnerability factors in men.

Causality↗