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Biomedical subjects

H Beckmann

Publications and source records attributed to H Beckmann.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

[Triploidy in newborn infants].

Human triploidy, a common condition occurring in about 1 to 2% of all clinically recognizable pregnancies, is a rare finding in live-born children. Not more than 44 live-born triploid infants have been reported in the available literature. Triploid infants surviving for more than a few days have been suspected to be hidden mosaicisms and mostly have turned out to be diploid-triploid mosaics. We observed two live-born female infants with a complete triploidy and describe the typical clinical picture.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1988

[Schizophrenic psychosis in a patient with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome].

A 36 year-old female patient with schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome is described. Clinical course, present neurological and psychopathological state, results of psychological testing, computed tomography and MR tomography of the skull, EEG and evoked potentials are reported. Results of neurochemical analysis of CSF and plasma are presented. Possible relationships between Tourette syndrome and schizophrenia are discussed with particular reference to neurochemical findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase in psychiatric disorders and controls.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from erythrocytes was solubilized by Triton X-100. Size and charge heterogeneity of AChE was investigated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and isoelectric focusing (IEF) in polyacrylamide gels in the presence of 0.5% (v/v) Triton X-100. There were no interindividual differences in these parameters in 46 psychiatric patients (schizophrenia, major affective disorder, personality disorder, dependency, dementia) and controls. The specific activity of solubilized AChE did not discriminate between controls and patients or between the diagnostic subgroups.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1987

Growth hormone (GH) response to GH-releasing hormone in depression.

To explore the GHRH-GH-somatomedin axis integrity in major depressive disorder, 11 drug-free patients and normal subjects matched for age, sex, ovarian status, and body weight received 1 microgram/kg synthetic human GHRH-44 amide as an iv bolus dose. Compared to the normal subjects, the depressed patients had reduced mean basal serum GH levels [2.2 +/- 0.5 (+/- SE) vs. 1.1 +/- 0.2 ng/mL (micrograms/L); P less than 0.05] and a significant attenuation of the net GH response to GHRH [1346 +/- 499 vs. 217 +/- 46 ng.min/mL (micrograms.min/L); P less than 0.01]. The blunted GH responses occurred in the face of significantly increased plasma somatomedin C (Sm-C) levels [1.1 +/- 0.2 vs. 0.6 +/- 0.1 U/mL; P less than 0.05]. The magnitude of GH responses to GHRH did not differ between men and women and was not significantly correlated with age, body weight, baseline serum GH levels, or plasma Sm-C levels in either individual groups or both groups combined. The increased plasma Sm-C levels in the depressed patients could have resulted from diurnal hypersecretion of GH, and the diminished GH responses to GHRH may reflect normal Sm-C-mediated feedback at the level of the pituitary. The presumed GH hypersecretion may be due to decreased hypothalamic somatostatin release and/or hyperactivity of GHRH-containing neurons. Thus, the pathological process resulting in abnormal GH secretory patterns associated with depression may occur primarily at a suprapituitary site.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Horizontal two-dimensional electrophoresis of plasma butyrylcholinesterase.

Genetic variants of human plasma butyrylcholinesterase have been characterized and are highly relevant to anesthesiology. They might also represent potential genetic markers for neuropsychiatric disorders. Two-dimensional electrophoresis with isoelectrofocusing in the first and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the second dimension has proved to be a powerful tool in search for genetic variants. Butyrylcholinesterase is an oligomeric enzyme with considerable charge heterogeneity. Conventional two-dimensional electrophoresis proved unsuitable for this enzyme possibly due to its tendency to aggregate by hydrophobic interactions. The inversion of the sequence applying polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the first and isoelectric focusing in the second dimension circumvented this problem.

Butyrylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1986

Urinary phenylethylamine correlates positively with hypomania, and negatively with depression, paranoia, and social introversion on the MMPI.

It has been suggested that phenylethylamine (PEA) may play a role in the modulation of affective behavior. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesis. Urinary PEA excretion was determined in 32 drug-free healthy volunteers, and the MMPI was used for personality assessment. In support of this hypothesis, a significant positive correlation between PEA and hypomania (r = 0.50; P less than 0.05) and a significant negative correlation between PEA and depression (r = -0.58; P less than 0.01) was observed in the female subgroup. Furthermore, PEA correlated significantly negatively with hypochondriasis (r = -0.65; P less than 0.01), paranoia (r = 0.49; P less than 0.05), and social introversion (r = -0.60; P less than 0.05). These results are the first evidence in normal individuals either that PEA itself might play a role in the modulation of affective behavior, or alternatively that PEA could be related to mechanisms responsible for the modulation of affective behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Prenatal developmental disturbances in the limbic allocortex in schizophrenics.

Sixty-four autopsied brains of schizophrenic patients were neuropathologically examined and compared with 10 brains of non-schizophrenic controls. Clinical diagnoses were established retrospectively according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria and the International Classification of Diseases. We found: brains without deviations of the sulcogyral pattern of the temporal lobe or abnormal gross configuration (n = 22); brains with abnormal sulcogyral pattern of the temporal lobe or abnormal gross configuration (n = 42): with definite cytoarchitectonic abnormalities of the rostral entorhinal region in the parahippocampal gyrus and, in 16 cases only, in the ventral insular cortex (n = 20); with equivocal changes of the cytoarchitecture in these two regions (n = 22). Generally, these anatomical abnormalities were asymmetric. The histological findings in the two limbic regions consisted mainly of poorly developed structure in the upper layers, with a heterotopic displacement of single groups of nerve cells in the entorhinal region. Particularly, the disturbed structure of the second layer Pre-alpha in medial and central fields of the entorhinal region, situated in the parahippocampal gyrus (group 2a), suggests a disturbance of neuronal migration in a later phase of cortical development.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of free GABA in schizophrenia: no changes after haloperidol treatment.

The concentrations of free GABA were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid of 19 paranoid schizophrenic patients before and after 3 weeks on haloperidol treatment. No significant effect of the neuroleptic treatment on the CSF free GABA concentrations was detected. Furthermore, no correlations were found between changes in GABA concentrations and psychopathological improvement on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. These negative findings are at variance with earlier reports of increased or decreased CSF GABA concentrations after neuroleptics and suggest that subtle changes of the amino acid concentrations in the brain might not be faithfully reflected in the concentrations of its free fraction in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Current biochemical hypotheses of endogenous depression].

In this short introductory review the current important working hypotheses of depression, the noradrenaline and serotonin hypotheses, are described and critically evaluated. Anticholinergic properties, co-modulation of various transmitters by different neuropeptides, great variations in the influence on the "re-uptake" mechanism for noradrenaline and serotonin with no effect by novel antidepressants like iprindole, mianserin and clenbuterol and variability to either stimulate or block receptor systems (alpha 1-, alpha 2-, beta-, serotonin-, dopamine-, adenylate cyclase dependent-, histaminergic receptors and possibly others) might further indicate a complex pathobiochemical background to depression. More recently, a unified hypothesis has been presented on the basis of subsensitivity of the noradrenaline-sensitive adenylate cyclase and/or down regulation of the number of beta-receptors by antidepressants of otherwise different pharmacological properties. Furthermore, another hypothesis, the "brain area specific imbalance of neurotransmitter systems" tries to combine current knowledge of the biochemistry of depressive disorders, the different pharmacological profiles of antidepressants and the divergence of symptomatology in depressed patients. Since antidepressant activity of drugs is dependent on the functional state of pre- and postsynaptic neurotransmission it seems essential to define the basal activity of such systems in vivo and to study the functional change after therapy. Furthermore, phenomena like adaptation and tolerance must be considered in future research in order to get more detailed information about pathobiochemical processes causing depression.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗
PubMed1985

Multidimensional analysis of the concentrations of 17 substances in the CSF of schizophrenics and controls.

The concentrations of 17 substances were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 28 paranoid schizophrenic patients and 16 controls. Results were standardized and simultaneously evaluated through Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). The full data set can be considered as a cloud of points consisting of the 44 subjects in the 17-dimensional parameter space. MDS seeks a two-dimensional representation of this 17-dimensional cloud of points, while retaining as much as possible the distances between the subjects. The two-dimensional reduction of the 17 CSF parameters correctly separated 15 of 16 controls from the schizophrenic subjects. This indicates that a biological heterogeneity between schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic subjects can be detected by the simultaneous analysis of the CSF concentrations of substances related directly or indirectly to the neuronal activity in the brain.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

DL-sodium lactate reduces alpha 1-adrenergic receptor binding in rat and mouse brain.

DL-Sodium lactate decreases the density of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in rat brain membranes in vitro, an effect that is not present for several other neuroreceptors under similar conditions. Moreover, similar effects on specific 3H-prazosin binding to alpha 1-adrenergic receptors can be seen in the mouse brain after intravenous (i.v.) administration of DL-sodium lactate. Since these effects can be observed with i.v. doses of DL-sodium lactate only slightly higher than the doses needed to provoke panic attacks in susceptible patients, it seems possible that similar changes in central neurotransmission might be involved in the biological mechanism underlying the induction of panic attacks by DL-sodium lactate.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1985

Increased CSF cortisol levels after neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenia.

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of cortisol was determined in schizophrenic patients drug-free and on neuroleptics, compared to healthy controls, and in schizophrenics before and during neuroleptic treatment. Neuroleptics significantly increased the CSF concentrations of cortisol in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Vasopressin--oxytocin in cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients and normal controls.

Vasopressin and oxytocin seem to be involved in the processes of learning and memory in animals and probably in man. These peptides appear to have opposite effects in that vasopressin improves memory processes and oxytocin produces amnestic effects. We measured these neuropeptides in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients with and without neuroleptic treatment, psychiatrically healthy controls and drug-free patients before and after three weeks' neuroleptic treatment. There were no significant differences in vasopressin concentrations between schizophrenics and controls. No influence of neuroleptic treatment on vasopressin concentrations was detected. In contrast, concentrations of oxytocin were increased in all schizophrenic patients and were higher in those receiving neuroleptic treatment. In addition, oxytocin concentrations increased after three weeks' neuroleptic treatment. Drug-induced increase of oxytocin concentrations may be of significance in the clinically observed amnestic syndromes and debilitation in schizophrenics treated with neuroleptics.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The effect of neuroleptic treatment and of high dosage diazepam therapy on beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in plasma of schizophrenic patients.

In 14 schizophrenic patients, treated with neuroleptic drugs, and in 7 patients, treated with high-dosage diazepam, beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity in plasma has been measured by use of a highly sensitive and relatively specific radioimmunoassay. Neuroleptic treatment induced a significant increase of beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-ELI). The pharmacological and clinical implications of this finding are discussed. High-dosage diazepam treatment induces a slight reduction of plasma beta-ELI, a finding which is attributed to antistress effect of diazepam.

Adolescent↗