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Biomedical subjects

H E Lehmann

Publications and source records attributed to H E Lehmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

The history of the psychopharmacology of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To review the historical development of the psychopharmacological treatment of schizophrenia. METHOD: A chronological literature review of the clinical practices and theoretical models that have controlled drug treatment of schizophrenia at different times. RESULTS: Effective treatment of schizophrenia was achieved only after the introduction of antipsychotic drugs, in the 1950s, and is still progressing. CONCLUSION: Close collaboration between basic neuroscience and careful and informed clinical practice are likely to lead to continued progress.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1988

An 11-year follow-up study of 110 depressed patients.

In 1972 the World Health Organization organized a cross-cultural five-centre study of depressive disorders. This report is concerned with data collected, after an 11-year follow-up period, in the sample of 110 depressed patients in Montreal, Canada. Eighty-five percent were traced and 59% were interviewed. Of 93 patients, 20 were dead at the follow-up date, 11 by suicide. Fifty-two percent of patients were receiving psychiatric treatment at follow-up, but there was no relation between psychiatric morbidity and treatment-seeking. Moderate or severe impairment of social functioning was present in 32%; in women, a trend linking the presence of social impairment and the time spent in episodes was observed. Of the episodes of psychiatric illness recorded after the index episode, 86% were diagnosed as depressive, 14% as unspecified affective disorder. The mean durations of the index and four subsequent episodes were 10, 11, 7, 11, and 2 months respectively. At least one recurrence after the index episode was reported by 78%, at least four recurrences by 19%. Episodes lasted at least one year in 5%, 4%, 6%, and 6% in the first, second, third and fourth episodes respectively. Sixteen percent were depressed for at least one year and 31% for at least 2 years. There was a marked trend from inpatient to outpatient treatment and from ECT to drug therapy over time. Twenty-two percent reported either moderate or severe problems with alcohol or substance abuse. There was a statistically significant association between the amount of time patients spent in depressive episodes and the number of life events they reported.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Depression: the evolution of modern paradigms and concepts.

We have presently three paradigms of depression: the psychoanalytic, the cognitive-behavioral, and the biological. The biological has so far produced the most effective treatment, but this theoretical structure is still the least cohesive; it is also less connected with its associated therapies than the two other paradigms. The search for unifying concepts and for indicators that may point to more specific therapeutic approaches to depression, goes on. It is an exciting search, but we must guard against the danger of losing contact between the rapidly progressing neurosciences and clinical research-the contact that should remain a precious "therapeutic alliance."

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1985

Early organiform impairment test (OFIT). A new performance test for assessment of early cognitive impairment.

No satisfactory tests are available to a) document and b) monitor the short term effects of various pharmacological agents on early, and hopefully reversible, organic cognitive impairment in otherwise healthy individuals. A new test battery, Organiform Impairment Test (OFIT), is based on the clinical observation that impairment of the ability to operate simultaneously with a number of mental sets and stimuli is one of the first clinical manifestations in the early stages of organic brain pathology. This battery can be administered in 20-30 minutes and is partly automated. It has been standardized on 167 normal subjects in age ranges from 15 to 80 years. Any score below 50 on the battery in subjects under 80 years of age should be regarded with suspicion.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[A special flicker fusion frequency method for detection of the effects of gerontopharmaceuticals exemplified by the L-eburnamonine study].

A clear difference between active drug and placebo is not always found when using the ascending and descending thresholds of the critical flicker fusion test (CFF). We selected a test requiring attention and concentration and performed again the CFF after this 6-minute concentration-test (reactive CFF). This reactive CFF was then used in a double-blind study in 30 ambulant patients with cerebro-vascular arteriosclerosis treated for 8 weeks with 80 mg/day cervoxan or placebo. After the treatment period the reaction of the CFF after the 6-minute concentration-test demonstrated a significantly more frequent improvement of the vigilance in the Cervoxan group compared to the placebo group.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Clinical evaluation and natural course of depression.

Without antidepressant therapy, episodes of clinical depression last from 2 months to several years, with an average of around 5 to 6 months. One-third of the patients recover within a year; probably one out of four untreated episodes may last more than 2 years. Depressive episodes occur, on the average, every 2 to 3 years. ECT and antidepressant drug therapy greatly reduce the duration of episodes and significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality of affective disorders. With modern treatment, during a 5-year follow-up, about one quarter of depressed patients had no recurrent episodes, more than half recovered in less than 2 or 3 months, and about one in seven patients developed chronic depression (episodes lasting longer than 2 years). Suicide attempts were made by one fifth of this group of patients, and 6% committed suicide. However, three-fourths of the patients were well three-fourths of the time. Age and culture seem to influence the course of depression. In addition to the classified clinical depressions, there is a considerable prevalence in the general population of depressive symptomatology and dysphoric states, apparently related to genetic factors, age, and stress. Little is known about the course and indications for treatment of these latter conditions, which should be the target for more systematic study and research in the ever widening fields of the phenomenology and therapy of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The clinician's view of anxiety and depression.

The definitions and treatment of clinical depressive and anxiety states and their distinction from the normal human experiences of fear, worry, and sadness are reviewed. The importance of determining whether anxiety or depression is primary in patients with both types of symptoms is stressed, as is the differential diagnosis of normal grief reactions and reactions to stress from depressive states requiring pharmacotherapeutic intervention.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1981

Sexual behavior of the male schizophrenic: the impact of illness and medications.

The literature concerning the impact of (a) the schizophrenic illness and (b) the neuroleptic drugs (which are the most commonly employed medications for this disorder) on male sexual behavior is critically reviewed in the light of what is currently known about the interaction of both the schizophrenic illness and the neuroleptic drugs with hormones and neurotransmitters known to play a role in male sexual behavior. The effect of the schizophrenic illness on male sexual behavior is unclear, but there are some indications that chronic, severe schizophrenia may exert detrimental effects on many aspects of male sexual behavior. As for neuroleptic drugs, a wealth of evidence suggests that they have many detrimental effects on male sexual behavior. Nevertheless, since the introduction of these drugs, the reproductive rates of male schizophrenics have increased. The multiplicity of factors involved in the sexual behavior of the schizophrenic patient is emphasized. It is concluded that the sexual behavior of the male schizophrenic provides an important forum for studying the interaction between psychological, sociological and biochemical-pharmacological factors which determine sexual behavior.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1980

A comparative study of salivation in affective disorders.

In two 4-week studies comparing the salivation of neurotic and endogenous patients, they were found to have reduced salivation in comparison to control group, but no statistically significant differences were noted between the neurotic and endogenous patients or when the two groups were compared with normal subjects. There was a statistically significant correlation between parotid salivation and sleep disturbance factor scores of the HAM-D in neurotic patients indicating greater sleep disturbance to be associated with higher salivation rates.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Acquired transient CNS hypersensitivity to lithium therapy.

Organic brain syndrome is reported to occur occasionally in patients who are treated with lithium carbonate alone, or in combination with neuroleptics. Such neurotoxicity is often associated with moderate to low serum lithium levels and is usually reversible upon the cessation of lithium treatment. The authors report on a 57 year old manic-depressive and alcoholic patient who, after four years of lithium treatment, developed symptoms of CNS hypersensitivity which reappeared several times when he was challenged with lithium during a two month period. The possible role of an underlying, subclinical encephalopathy, caused by episodic drinking, is considered.

Alcoholism↗