The European spine phantom: reply to Dr Peter Tothill's letter.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Body Mass Index↗
Biomedical subjects
H Pols
Publications and source records attributed to H Pols.
Respiratory disorders as a possible predisposing factor for panic disorder.
150 consecutive anxiety patients completed a specially designed questionnaire which asked for the occurrence of respiratory and other somatic disorders before the onset of their anxiety disorder. The sample was divided into 82 panic disorder patients and 68 other anxiety patients serving as controls. Panic disorder patients had a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory diseases before the onset of their anxiety disorder than controls (42.7 vs. 16.2%). This higher prevalence was mainly due to a higher prevalence of bronchitis (26.8 vs. 8.8%). Differences in numbers of respiratory disorders mentioned appeared not to result from a tendency to hypochondria.
Adult↗
Discrimination between panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder by 35% carbon dioxide challenge.
OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether 35% carbon dioxide (CO2) challenge would discriminate between patients with panic disorder and patients with other anxiety disorders. METHOD: Nine patients with panic disorder and nine with generalized anxiety disorder underwent the 35% CO2 challenge. RESULTS: Patients with panic disorder experienced a significantly stronger increase in subjective anxiety than patients with generalized anxiety disorder. However, increases in panic symptom scores were high in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a large increase in subjective anxiety due to the CO2 challenge is specific for patients with panic disorder but that an increase in panic symptoms is not.
Adult↗
Yohimbine premedication and 35% CO2 vulnerability in healthy volunteers.
A group of 20 healthy volunteers underwent a 35% carbon dioxide/65% oxygen air-placebo controlled challenge test twice, premedicated 1 h before with either 20 mg yohimbine or placebo, following a double-blind randomized crossover design. Contrary to expectation the anxiety response to carbon dioxide was not higher when premedicated with yohimbine compared to premedication with placebo. Possible implications of this finding are discussed, with reference to general chemical models of panic.
Adolescent↗
Carbon-dioxide-induced panic.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Carbon Dioxide↗
No chronic hyperventilation in panic disorder patients.
Arterial blood gases were measured and base excess calculated in 18 nonpanicking panic disorder (PD) patients, 12 subjects suffering from other anxiety disorders, and 18 normal control subjects. There was neither chronic nor clinically significant acute hyperventilation in either group.
Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
Panic disorder patients show decrease in ventilatory response to CO2 after clomipramine treatment.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
An analysis of panic symptoms during hypercarbia compared to hypocarbia in patients with panic attacks.
Twenty panic disorder patients underwent a 35% CO2 challenge test and a hyperventilation provocation test. CO2-induced anxiety proved to correlate significantly with respiratory symptoms. These symptoms appeared to be considerably more severe during CO2 inhalation than during the hyperventilation provocation test, which induced no significant anxiety.
Administration, Inhalation↗
Ventilatory response to CO2 in panic disorder.
The Read rebreathing technique was used to measure the ventilatory response to inhalation of carbon dioxide in 15 panic disorder patients, 15 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, and 15 healthy control subjects. No significant differences in ventilatory response were found among the three groups. The tidal volume and frequency components of the ventilatory response also did not differ among the groups. The hypothetical pCO2 value corresponding with zero ventilation was significantly lower in the panic disorder patients than in normal control subjects.
Adult↗
Attenuation of carbon dioxide-induced panic after clonazepam treatment.
Ten patients meeting the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder were treated with clonazepam. Prior to clonazepam treatment and after a 5-week treatment period, patients underwent a 35% carbon dioxide challenge procedure. Following clonazepam treatment, a significant reduction in carbon dioxide vulnerability was observed.
Adult↗
Higher lifetime prevalence of respiratory diseases in panic disorder?
Current and past frequencies of respiratory diseases were assessed in 30 patients with panic disorder, 30 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and 30 patients with eating disorders. Lifetime prevalence of respiratory disorders was significantly higher in patients with panic disorder (47%) than in patients with either obsessive-compulsive disorder (13%) or eating disorder (13%). Point prevalences showed no differences.
Adult↗
Low doses of clonazepam in the treatment of panic disorder.
In order to assess the efficacy of a high-potency benzodiazepine in the treatment of panic disorder, an open trial was conducted with clonazepam. Clonazepam was administered in relatively low doses and, after four weeks, was shown to be effective in reducing the number of panic attacks and associated features of the disorder.
Adult↗
Hypercarbia versus hypocarbia in panic disorder.
In order to compare the panicogenic effects of hypercarbia and hypocarbia in panic disorder (PD), 12 PD patients and 11 healthy controls underwent a 35% CO2 challenge as well as a hyperventilation provocation test in a random cross-over design. Both anxiety and anxiety symptoms proved to be significantly higher during the 35% CO2 challenge in PD patients as compared to the response during 35% CO2 in normals and during hyperventilation in both patients and normals. The results suggest that PD patients are specifically hypersensitive to an increase in pCO2.
Adolescent↗
Specific sensitivity of patients with panic attacks to carbon dioxide inhalation.
One inhalation of 35% CO2 in oxygen was administered to 36 patients with anxiety disorders and 14 healthy controls. Eighteen patients had a diagnosis of panic disorder (PD) and 18 of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As a placebo control for CO2, compressed air was administered in a double-blind design. Immediately before and after the inhalation, levels of anxiety and DSM-III-R symptoms of panic were assessed. CO2 elicited high levels of subjective anxiety in the PD group. Patients with OCD were hardly affected by the inhalation, and did not differ from healthy controls. These results suggest that CO2 challenge should be considered as a specific probe for subjects with panic-anxiety. It is speculated that CO2 may trigger some as yet undefined mechanisms, possibly linked to ventilation control, which demarcate panic from other types of pathological anxiety.
Administration, Inhalation↗
Response to 35% CO2 as a marker of panic in severe anxiety.
One inhalation of 35% CO2 was administered to each of 32 patients with high anxiety ratings. Only patients with panic disorder had increases in reported anxiety upon CO2 intake. CO2-triggered anxiety appears specific for panic disorder and independent of baseline anxiety.
Adult↗
The role of life events in the onset of panic disorder.
Twenty-five panic disorder patients and fifteen obsessive-compulsive patients are compared with regard to a number of Life Events over the last 12 months prior to onset of the disorder and additionally over the total life course up until onset of the disorder. Panic Disorder patients do not differ from obsessive-compulsive disorder patients in terms of the number of life events, they experience during the last year prior to onset of their disorder. However, over the total life course, Panic Disorder patients do seem to be exposed to more Life Events than obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. The findings are discussed in light of the existing literature.
Adult↗
Effect of hypercapnia and other disturbances in the acid-base-balance on panic disorder.
Naturally occurring panic attacks and various interventions which trigger anxiety in panic patients are accompanied by disturbances in the acid-base balance. Carbon dioxide appears to play an important role in many experimental panic provoking conditions. The influence of respiratory and metabolic pH disturbances on cerebral physiology is discussed and speculations are made about the possible mechanisms underlying CO2-induced anxiety in panic disorder.
Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
Serotonin antagonism in panic disorder: an open trial with ritanserin.
Eleven patients with panic disorder were administered ritanserin, a post-synaptic serotonin S2 antagonist, during a 4 week period at a daily dose of 10-20 mg. The treatment resulted in a decrease in the number of panic attacks, and a diminution of agoraphobic avoidance. The possible practical and theoretical signification of these findings is discussed.
Adult↗