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Biomedical subjects

J Blouin

Publications and source records attributed to J Blouin.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Seasonal patterns of bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to determine whether a seasonal pattern to symptoms of bulimia nervosa could be identified. METHOD: In study 1, seasonal patterns of binge-purge frequency and mood were compared between 31 patients with bulimia nervosa and 31 age-matched normal comparison subjects, using a modified (to include binge and purge items) version of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire. Study 2 involved a cross-sectional examination of binge and purge frequency and of depressive symptoms in 197 patients with bulimia nervosa assessed at various months of the year over a 4-year period. RESULTS: In both the retrospective and cross-sectional studies, binge behavior was found to be highly associated with photoperiod. According to the modified Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, purging behavior and mood also varied seasonally among patients with bulimia nervosa. However, purging behavior and severity of depression did not appear to be related to photoperiod in the cross-sectional study. The rate of seasonal affective disorder (syndromal and subsyndromal) defined by the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire was higher among the bulimic group than the comparison subjects, but not as high as has been reported for depression in bulimia nervosa. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly support the interpretation that symptoms of bulimia nervosa primarily associated with food intake patterns are influenced by seasonal variation, and this effect may be mediated by light availability.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The role of stress in interpreting the dexamethasone suppression test.

Stress has been implicated as a major confounding factor in the interpretation of Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) results. This study was designed to examine the effects of stress on DST results. Fifty patients with high levels of acute, chronic, and environmental stress participated in the study. Each patient was given a comprehensive psychiatric and psychological assessment, a routine administration of dexamethasone, and blood tests of cortisol values. The results indicate that the three measures of stress do not appear to affect levels of cortisol suppression, however, all three measures of stress predicted depression. As expected, DST cortisol levels were related to depression. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the associations among stress, depression and DST results.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Bulimia: independence of antibulimic and antidepressant properties of desipramine.

The purpose of this study was to identify variables useful for predicting a positive response to the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine, amongst bulimic subjects. Using a randomized double-blind cross-over design, 24 normal weight bulimics completed a 15-week protocol in which they received either desipramine (150 mg/day) for six weeks, no drug for three weeks, followed by placebo for six weeks, or the reverse sequence. At weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 15, each subject was assessed using the EDI, SCL-90, POMS and binge records. The DST, Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), and a personal and family medical-psychiatric history questionnaire were administered at initial assessment, while plasma desipramine levels were obtained at weeks 4 and 13. Responders were defined in terms of both binge frequency reduction, and decrease in depressive symptoms. In the sample of 24 subjects, desipramine was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency of weekly binging and vomiting, as well as causing a reduction in the fatigue scale of the POMS. No significant effect of the drug was obtained on the EDI or the SCL-90. In terms of reduction in binge frequency, seven responders were identified; another seven were found to be borderline responders, while 10 were labeled as non-responders. The three groups did not differ in terms of their initial scores on the SCL-90, POMS, DST, DIS results, or psychological subscales of the EDI. However, responders were found to have lower EDI bulimia subscale scores, but a higher frequency of purging episodes than were non-responders. Eight patients were identified as borderline responders with respect to depressive symptoms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The independence of hyperactivity from conduct disorder: methodological considerations.

It has been claimed that the childhood behavioural factors "hyperactivity" and "conduct disorder" are highly correlated. The fact that hyperactive symptoms load heavily on the conduct disorder factor has also been used to support the notion that hyperactivity is not an independent behavioural dimension. The present study employs a large sample of combined clinic and normal children to demonstrate that both of these observations are artifacts of methodological technique. When factor score coefficients are used to interpret factors, the hyperactive symptoms do not load on the conduct disorder factor. If factor scores are defined by the use of unit weights, as in previous studies, then the intercorrelation between the hyperactive and conduct disorder factors is high. The use of factor score coefficients to define factors, on the other hand, produces uncorrelated factors. The results support the idea that hyperactivity and conduct disorder are independent behavioural dimensions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Treatment of bulimia with desipramine: a double-blind crossover study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant with relatively specific noradrenergic effects, on bulimic behaviour, eating attitudes, and mood. Using a double-blind crossover design, 47 normal weight bulimics were randomly assigned to receive either desipramine (150 mg/day) for six weeks, no drug for three weeks, followed by placebo for six weeks, or the reverse sequence. At weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 15, each subject was assessed using the EDI, SCL-90, POMS and binge records. Plasma desipramine levels were obtained at weeks 4 and 13. Twenty-four subjects completed the entire fifteen week protocol, while 23 dropped out. Desipramine was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency of weekly binding, weekly vomiting, and the fatigue scale of the POMS. No significant effect of the drug was obtained on the EDI or the SCL-90. The clinical effect was modest. Desipramine's antibulimic effects were not associated with an alleviation of depressive symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The dexamethasone suppression test in bulimia: nonsuppression associated with depression and suboptimal weight.

This study was designed to assess the extent to which DST nonsuppression in bulimic women could be predicted by the incidence of major depression in the patient and her family and by other factors known to affect DST results, such as suboptimal weight. The DST was administered to 33 women who met DSM-III criteria for bulimia. Subjects were given a complete psychiatric and psychological assessment, including the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a personal and family medical history questionnaire, the Hopkins SCL-90, and the Eating Disorders Inventory. Ideal weight was determined with Metropolitan Life tables. The rate of DST nonsuppression was 58%. Nonsuppression was more frequent among women who suffered from major depression and those who maintained a suboptimal weight. Depression and suboptimal weight were unrelated and thus appear to contribute independently to the high rate of DST abnormalities commonly seen in bulimia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Psychiatric emergency consultations to elderly patients in a Canadian general hospital.

The authors compared the demographic and clinical characteristics and treatment recommendations for elderly (greater than or equal to 60 years) and younger patients (17 to 59 years) seen for an emergency psychiatric consultation in a teaching general hospital. Findings revealed 11 distinctive characteristics that differentiated elderly from younger patients. Most notably, the elderly experienced their chief complaint for a longer time before referral to the emergency room by their primary care physician and had higher prevalence of affective disorders and psychologic factors affecting physical condition. Some of the implications of these results are discussed with the view to planning psychiatric services for the elderly and education programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A comparison of the manifest content in dreams of suicidal, depressed and violent patients.

The manifest dream content of psychiatric in-patients who had been admitted because of suicidal attempts was compared with three in-patient control groups, patients who had been admitted for: a) depression and suicidal ideation without attempt; b) depression with no suicidal ideation and; c) commission of a violent act without suicidality. Standardized tests of dream content were used as well as the Beck scale for depression and certain subscales of the MMPI. The results confirmed that both suicidal and violent patients have more death content and destructive violence in their dreams, but that this was a function of the severity of depression and certain character traits such as impulsivity rather than being specific to the behaviour itself. The dream content is continuous with, and probably reflects, the waking state in the case of the depressives. On the other hand some of the findings require a more complex dynamic explanation lending some support to the idea that the dream may have an adaptive function.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Psychiatric consultation to elderly medical and surgical inpatients in a general hospital.

The elderly (65 years or older) constitute approximately 25% of the patients referred for psychiatric consultations in general hospitals. The authors compared the clinical characteristics of and treatment recommendations for elderly and younger (less than 65 years) patients. Our findings revealed fourteen distinctive characteristics which differentiated the elderly from the younger patients. Most notably, the elderly have had a longer hospitalization at the time of the request for a psychiatric consultation and had a higher prevalence of organic brain syndromes (O.B.S.). Some of the implications of these results are discussed with the view to planning psychiatric services for the elderly in general hospitals.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Repeated users of a psychiatric emergency service in a Canadian general hospital.

The authors of this study examine the demographic and clinical characteristics of repeated users of psychiatric emergency room services in a general hospital. 37.8% of all the patients (913) seen during one year had one or more visits to the emergency room in the six months preceding the index emergency room consultation. Repeaters were more likely than nonrepeaters to be unmarried, self referred and with a history of previous psychiatric treatment for a chronic psychiatric disorder. Factors affecting frequency of use of psychiatric emergency room services among different diagnostic groups were also studied. These results demonstrated the heterogeneity of the needs of the diverse diagnostic groups who over-utilize costly emergency room services. Our findings showed that in a country with universal health insurance, psychiatric emergency services also tend to reflect the gaps in the delivery of health services in the hospital and the community.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Egocentric visual target position and velocity coding: role of ocular muscle proprioception.

Limited knowledge is available regarding the processes by which the brain codes the velocity of visual targets with respect to the observer. Two models have been previously proposed to describe the visual target localization mechanism. Both assume that the necessary information is derived from the coding of the position of the eye in the orbit, either through a copy of the muscular activation (out flow model) or through eye muscle proprioception (in flow model). Eye velocity coding might be derived from velocity sensitive ocular muscle proprioceptors or from position coding signals through differentiation. We used techniques based on manual pointing and manual tracking of visual target, combined with passive deviation of one covered eye, to demonstrate that ocular muscle proprioception is involved in (i) eye-in-head position coding, hence in target localization function; (ii) long-term maintenance of ocular alignment (phoria); and (iii) sensing of visual target velocity with respect to the head. These observations support other data now available, describing the processes by which the brain codes position and velocity of visual targets. Such findings might interest engineers in the field of robotics who are facing the problem of providing robots with the ability to sense object position and velocity in order to create an internal model of their working environment.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Visual object localization through vestibular and neck inputs. 2: Updating off-mid-sagittal-plane target positions.

The vestibular signal plays a significant role in sensing changes in head orientation during rotations and in determining the magnitude of the rotations, but has only minor contributions in updating the internal representation of object positions with respect to the body after body rotations. The small contribution of the vestibular signal in egocentric object localization was evidenced in experiments in which the subjects reported the remembered position of eccentric earth-fixed targets after passive body rotations. The experiment reported here tested whether motor systems, such as the oculomotor system, make use of vestibular signals to generate accurate goal-directed motor responses toward a target whose position needs to be updated with respect to the body during and after whole-body rotations. The results showed that although subjects can produce saccadic eye movements of about the same magnitude as passive whole-body rotations (as previously reported by a number of researchers), they failed to generate accurate saccades toward the position of an extinguished peripheral visual target after the rotation. Overall, these results combined with those found in the literature suggest different central processes for determining changes in body orientation in complete darkness and for updating a target position with respect to the body during and after body rotations.

Adult↗