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Biomedical subjects

J C Gillin

Publications and source records attributed to J C Gillin.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Association of beta-endorphin with specific clinical symptoms of depression.

OBJECTIVE: Abnormalities in plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-endorphin) have been reported in depressed patients. This study was done to test the hypothesis that specific clinical characteristics of depression are associated with plasma beta-endorphin concentration. METHOD: Plasma beta-endorphin was evaluated in 20 depressed patients diagnosed according to DSM-III-R and in 23 age- and sex-matched comparison subjects, and each was evaluated with the structured Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS). Twelve SADS items involving dysphoric mood and related symptoms were chosen for analysis. RESULTS: Within the group of all 43 subjects and within the depressed group, beta-endorphin level correlated significantly with psychic anxiety and with phobia. In the depressed group only, beta-endorphin also correlated significantly with obsessions/compulsions. Concentration of beta-endorphin was not significantly correlated with score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression or Beck Depression Inventory or with scores on other SADS symptom items, including somatic anxiety, insomnia, subjective anger, overt anger, agitation, psychomotor retardation, panic attacks, appetite loss, or total weight loss. In the group of 23 comparison subjects, beta-endorphin did not correlate with Beck or Hamilton depression score or with any of the SADS clinical variables. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of plasma beta-endorphin may be associated with more severe anxiety, phobia, and obsessions/compulsions in depressed patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Dose dependent inhibition of REM sleep in normal volunteers by biperiden, a muscarinic antagonist.

We tested the effect of biperiden (2, 4, and 8 mg per os 30 min before bedtime) on the polygraphically recorded sleep of normal volunteers (n = 8). Biperiden is a cholinergic, muscarinic receptor antagonist that may preferentially block the M1 receptor subtype. Compared with placebo, biperiden significantly prolonged rapid eye movement (REM) latency and suppressed REM sleep time and REM percentage in a dose-dependent manner. These REM suppressing effects of biperiden are similar to those previously reported with scopolamine and other nonselective muscarinic receptor antagonists. Because of uncertainties about the pharmacological specificity of biperiden, further studies are needed to determine the mechanism of action and the role of M1 receptors subtypes in the regulation of REM sleep.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The effects of scopolamine on sleep and mood in depressed patients with a history of alcoholism and a normal comparison group.

In order to determine the effect of an anticholinergic agent on mood and sleep, scopolamine (0.4 mg IM) was administered before bedtime for three consecutive nights to 10 depressed patients (8 with a history of alcohol abuse) and 10 normal comparison subjects. The patients had a small, statistically significant antidepressant response on the second morning of treatment. Scopolamine inhibited rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and prolonged REM latency equally in depressed patients and the normal comparison group. Partial tolerance to the REM inhibiting effect of scopolamine developed between the first and third night of treatment. A REM rebound occurred during recovery nights. These results are consistent with concepts relating central cholinergic mechanisms to the control of REM sleep. Compared with controls, patients showed a greater increase in Stage 2 and Stage 2% and a lesser and increase in Delta (Stage 3 and 4) sleep % and Stage 4% on the first night of treatment. Further, well-controlled studies are needed to determine whether anticholinergic drugs possess clinically significant antidepressant effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The effects of physostigmine infusion on patients with panic disorder.

Nine patients who met both DSM-III and RDC criteria for panic disorder and nine age-matched normal controls received infusions of physostigmine. The patients and normal controls did not differ in either their self-reported or the observer-reported ratings of anxiety, mood, or activation. The two subject groups also did not differ in blood pressure, pulse, or cortisol responses to physostigmine. Physostigmine did not provoke panic attacks in either the control or patients groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Cholinergic antagonists and REM sleep generation.

In this study we extended our observations on the role of M1 and M2 muscarinic receptors in mediating the cholinergic induction of REM sleep. Cats were chronically implanted with sleep recording electrodes and microinjections of Ringer's or muscarinic antagonists followed by the relatively specific M2 muscarinic agonist, cis-methyl-dioxolane (cisdioxo), were made into the medial pontine reticular formation (mPRF). The microinjection of Ringer's followed by cisdioxo significantly increased REM sleep percentage. Atropine, a mixed muscarinic receptor antagonist, administered before cisdioxo blocked the REM sleep increase while pirenzepine, a selective M1 muscarinic antagonist, did not block the cisdioxo-induced increase in REM sleep. Gallamine, a nicotinic and a putative M2 antagonist, tended to inhibit the cisdioxo-induced increase in REM sleep. These results support the hypothesis that the cholinergic stimulation-induced REM sleep in the medial pontine reticular formation is mediated by a non-M1 muscarinic receptor subtype.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Anxiety levels in dreams: relation to localized cerebral glucose metabolic rate.

Ten normal male subjects were injected with D-[18F]deoxyglucose during REM sleep, and 32-45 min later they were aroused and reported their dreams as well as free associations to these dreams. Nonparametric correlations between the anxiety scores derived from the typescripts of these verbal reports by the Gottschalk-Gleser content analysis method and localized cerebral glucose metabolic rates obtained from PET scans revealed significant positive correlations in lateral parietal and medial frontal cortex and negative correlations in adjacent white matter.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1991

The cholinergic rapid eye movement induction test with arecoline in depression.

The cholinergic rapid eye movement (REM) induction test using arecoline hydrobromide, a cholinergic muscarinic receptor agonist, was studied in patients with affective disorder and in normal controls to determine whether or not depression is associated with enhanced induction of REM sleep by muscarinic agonists. Arecoline induced REM sleep in a dose-dependent fashion in both patients and controls compared with placebo infusions. Compared with normal controls, patients entered REM sleep significantly more rapidly following intravenous administration of 1.0 mg of arecoline hydrobromide than they did following administration of 0.5 mg of arecoline hydrobromide or placebo. These results, as well as those of previous studies, support the hypothesis that patients with affective disorder show a functional supersensitive induction of REM sleep in response to muscarinic receptor agonists and may be consistent with the hypothesis that functional muscarinic receptor "up regulation" is associated with depression.

Arecoline↗
PubMed1991

A critical appraisal of mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation in depressed patients.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to evaluate the utility of mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation assays in clinical research in psychoimmunology. METHOD: They examined 23 depressed patients and 23 matched comparison subjects with this assay. There were no significant differences between these groups. They then combined the results of this study with the results of their previous study of 20 depressed patients and 20 comparison subjects to examine possible determinants of lymphocyte proliferation in depression. RESULTS: Depressed patients with lower proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects had lower depression subscale, anergia subscale, and total scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale than did patients with higher proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects. This finding was unexpected and unexplained. Depressed patients with lower proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects also had fewer obsessions and compulsions and less psychomotor agitation according to the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia interview than did patients with higher proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects. Stepwise discriminant analysis and cluster analysis contributed little further understanding of the determinants of in vitro lymphocyte proliferation of cells from depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal studies using multiple serial determinations of mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation are the minimal design needed to make this assay useful in further evaluating any immune system changes in depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Positron-emission tomographic studies of the relationship of cerebral glucose metabolism and the magnitude of anxiety and hostility experienced during dreaming and waking.

The authors examined correlations between anxiety and hostility levels experienced during wakefulness, rapid eye movement (REM) dreaming, nonrapid eye movement (NREM) mentation (as assessed by the Gottschalk-Gleser Content Analysis Scales), and cerebral glucose metabolism as measured by positron-emission tomography (PET) in 30 normal volunteers. Different cerebral areas showed significant correlations for anxiety and six anxiety subscales, hostility outward, hostility inward, and ambivalent hostility, as assessed by the patterns of significant positive or negative correlations found with the activation of these emotions. Significant correlations occurred more often in waking and REM dreaming subjects than NREM subjects and were more common in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes than in the occipital lobe. Correlations tended to be positive for waking subjects and negative for REM subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The effect of sleep deprivation on cerebral glucose metabolic rate in normal humans assessed with positron emission tomography.

This study is the first report on the effects of total sleep deprivation (about 32 h) on regional cerebral glucose metabolism during wakefulness in man, using positron emission tomography (PET) with F-18 deoxyglucose (FDG). Sleep deprivation leads to a significant reorganization of regional cerebral metabolic activity, with relative decreases in the temporal lobes and increases in visual cortex. Absolute glucose metabolic measurements indicate a decrease in thalamus, basal ganglia, white matter, and cerebellum. No overall decrease in whole brain metabolism was noted after sleep deprivation. As expected, sleep deprivation significantly reduced visual vigilance as assessed by the continuous performance test and this decrease was correlated significantly with reduced metabolic rate in thalamic, basal ganglia, and limbic regions.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Microinjections of nicotine in the medial pontine reticular formation elicits REM sleep.

Microinfusion of non-specific cholinergic muscarinic-nicotinic agonists, such as carbachol, into the medial pontine reticular formation readily elicits REM sleep. It has generally been assumed that muscarinic receptors mediate the action of cholinergic agonists in triggering rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Very little is known, however, about the role of nicotinic mechanisms in REM sleep generation. In this study, we administered nicotine and Ringer's solution into the medial pontine reticular formation of freely moving cats. Compared to control Ringer's injections, nicotine increased REM sleep and decreased wake and slow wave sleep (SWS) I percentage. Nicotine also shortened the time to REM sleep onset. These findings suggest a role of nicotinic mechanisms in REM sleep generation.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

EEG sleep studies in "pure" primary alcoholism during subacute withdrawal: relationships to normal controls, age, and other clinical variables.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep recordings were compared in 34 normal controls and 31 inpatients with relatively pure primary alcoholism who had been abstinent for about 17 days. Compared with normal controls, primary alcoholics took longer to fall asleep, slept less, and had poor sleep efficiency. Sleep loss reflected reduced non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, especially stage 2 sleep, stage 4 sleep, and total delta (stage 3 and 4) sleep. Alcoholic patients had higher REM density of the first REM period. Sleep deteriorated with age in both normal controls and patients, with younger alcoholics showing sleep patterns typical of older controls. Among other clinical-demographic variables examined, the shorter the duration of sobriety at the time of the study, the later patients went to bed and fell asleep. The number of drinks per drinking day in the 3 months before admission was directly related to the duration of the first REM period. In addition, the maximum number of withdrawal symptoms the patient had ever experienced was inversely related to the amount of delta sleep. Sleep measures were not correlated with depression rating, liver enzymes, or other measures of alcohol consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Reduction of immune function in life stress and depression.

Reduced cell-mediated immune function has been found in depressed patients and in distressed persons undergoing threatening life events. The present study examines the interaction between severe life stress and major depression to produce immune alterations in 36 matched pairs of hospitalized depressed patients and nondepressed controls. Both major depressive disorder and the presence of threatening life events in control subjects are independently associated with a 50% reduction of natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity. A decrease in natural cytotoxicity is significantly associated with depressive symptoms but not with age, alcohol consumption, or tobacco smoking. These findings of altered immunity provide further evidence that the physiological responses in chronic stress parallel those found in the syndrome of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Subcortical abnormalities detected in bipolar affective disorder using magnetic resonance imaging. Clinical and neuropsychological significance.

Magnetic resonance imaging was utilized to determine the nature and rate of subcortical abnormalities in bipolar affective disorder. Nine of 19 bipolar patients and no controls demonstrated subcortical signal hyperintensities on blind evaluation of the images. There was no apparent change in the appearance of the hyperintensities in 7 of 7 subjects with abnormal magnetic resonance images who underwent repeated imaging at 1 year. Bipolar patients with abnormalities had a history of more hospitalizations and appeared more impaired on tests of fluency and recall when compared with bipolar patients without abnormalities or with controls. The possible etiology and significance of signal hyperintensities in bipolar affective disorder is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Major depressive disorder, alcoholism, and reduced natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Role of severity of depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption.

Depression and alcohol abuse have been associated with alterations in cell-mediated immune function. This study directly compared the effects of depression, alcoholism, and their joint contribution to reduce natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Natural killer cell activity was significantly lower in both depressed (n = 18) and alcoholic (n = 19) patients compared with control subjects (n = 50). In addition, patients with a dual diagnosis of either alcohol abuse and secondary depression (n = 9) or depression with a history of alcohol abuse (n = 26) demonstrated a further decrease in natural killer cell activity compared with that found in patients with either depression or alcoholism alone. While both depression and alcoholism are separately associated with a reduction of natural killer cell activity, subgroups of patients in whom the diagnoses of alcoholism and depression coexist show a further decrement in natural killer cell function.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Altered waveform of plasma nocturnal melatonin secretion in premenstrual depression.

The nocturnal secretion of plasma melatonin was determined under dim to dark conditions in eight patients with prospectively confirmed premenstrual syndrome and in eight age- and menstrual cycle phase-matched normal control subjects. Plasma samples for melatonin were collected every 30 minutes from 6 PM to 9 AM during the early follicular, late follicular, midluteal and late luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Compared with normal controls, patients with premenstrual syndrome had an earlier (phase-advanced) offset of melatonin secretion, which contributed to a shorter secretion duration and a decreased area under the curve. No statistically significant differences were found between women with premenstrual syndrome and normal controls for melatonin onset or peak concentration, or for estradiol or progesterone levels. The data demonstrate that women with premenstrual syndrome have chronobiological abnormalities of melatonin secretion. The fact that these patients respond to treatments that affect circadian physiology, such as sleep deprivation and phototherapy, suggests that circadian abnormalities may contribute to the pathogenesis of premenstrual syndrome.

Adult↗