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Biomedical subjects

J P Docherty

Publications and source records attributed to J P Docherty.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Gingival crevicular stromelysin, collagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases levels in healthy and diseased sites.

The ability of stromelysin (SL), fibroblast-type collagenase (FIB-CL) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP), to differentiate between healthy, gingivitis and periodontitis sites was investigated. SL and FIB-CL are members of a family of enzymes which are capable of degrading most of the extracellular matrix macromolecules. Extracellular control of these enzymes is performed by TIMP. 40 patients each provided 3 GCF samples from healthy, gingivitis and periodontitis sites. GCF samples were collected by means of sterile paper strips. GCF samples were eluted into 500 microliters of assay buffer and assays for SL, FIB-CL and TIMP were performed by a sandwich ELISA. The mean amounts of SL and TIMP in diseased sites (gingivitis and periodontitis) were significantly higher than the mean amount of these GCF components in healthy sites (MANOVA p values were: 0.006 for SL and 0.001 for TIMP). GCF SL and TIMP differentiated healthy from diseased sites. Both SL and TIMP showed moderate correlation with clinical indices. FIB-CL was detectable in only 20.8% of all sites and did not correlate with disease status.

Adult↗

A review of child psychotherapy research since 1963.

Reports on individual nonbehavioral child and adolescent psychotherapy since 1963 are reviewed. Inclusion criteria required some minimal contrasting group. Forty-three studies were assessed for basic methodological adequacy and main findings. The authors conclude that summary impressions from this body of literature cannot be made due to the magnitude of the flaws in basic psychotherapy research methodology. Suggestions are made regarding the future of child and adolescent psychotherapy research.

Adolescent↗

Myths and mystifications of managed care.

This paper reviews some of the major conceptual "myths" that have been propagated to support the cost containment activity referred to as "managed care." It discusses the facts and logic inherent in these myths and examines the implications such myths have for compromising the integrity of clinical care.

Cost Control↗

Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder at four latitudes.

The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was mailed to a sample population balanced for sex and randomly selected from local telephone directories in four areas: Nashua, NH, New York, NY, Montgomery County, MD, and Sarasota, FL. On the basis of responses to this questionnaire, prevalence rates of winter seasonal affective disorder (winter SAD), summer seasonal affective disorder (summer SAD), and subsyndromal winter SAD were estimated for the four areas. Rates of winter SAD and subsyndromal SAD were found to be significantly higher at the more northern latitudes, while no correlation was found between latitude and summer SAD. The positive correlation between latitude and prevalence of winter SAD applied predominantly to the age groups over 35.

Adult↗

Personality disorders and treatment outcome in the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program.

The authors investigated the relationship between personality disorders and treatment outcome in the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program, which involved 239 outpatients with major depressive disorder randomly assigned to one of four 16-week treatment conditions. Patients with personality disorders (74% of the sample) had a significantly worse outcome in social functioning than patients without personality disorders and were significantly more likely to have residual symptoms of depression. There were no significant differences in work functioning or in mean depression scores at treatment termination. Outcome was similar for patients in the different clusters of personality disorders.

Adult↗

National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. General effectiveness of treatments.

We investigated the effectiveness of two brief psychotherapies, interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy, for the treatment of outpatients with major depression disorder diagnosed by Research Diagnostic Criteria. Two hundred fifty patients were randomly assigned to one of four 16-week treatment conditions: interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, imipramine hydrochloride plus clinical management (as a standard reference treatment), and placebo plus clinical management. Patients in all treatments showed significant reduction in depressive symptoms and improvement in functioning over the course of treatment. There was a consistent ordering of treatments at termination, with imipramine plus clinical management generally doing best, placebo plus clinical management worst, and the two psychotherapies in between but generally closer to imipramine plus clinical management. In analyses carried out on the total samples without regard to initial severity of illness (the primary analyses), there was no evidence of greater effectiveness of one of the psychotherapies as compared with the other and no evidence that either of the psychotherapies was significantly less effective than the standard reference treatment, imipramine plus clinical management. Comparing each of the psychotherapies with the placebo plus clinical management condition, there was limited evidence of the specific effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy and none for cognitive behavior therapy. Superior recovery rates were found for both interpersonal psychotherapy and imipramine plus clinical management, as compared with placebo plus clinical management. On mean scores, however, there were few significant differences in effectiveness among the four treatments in the primary analyses. Secondary analyses, in which patients were dichotomized on initial level of severity of depressive symptoms and impairment of functioning, helped to explain the relative lack of significant findings in the primary analyses. Significant differences among treatments were present only for the subgroup of patients who were more severely depressed and functionally impaired; here, there was some evidence of the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy with these patients and strong evidence of the effectiveness of imipramine plus clinical management. In contrast, there were no significant differences among treatments, including placebo plus clinical management, for the less severely depressed and functionally impaired patients.

Adult↗

Conceptual and methodological issues in comparative studies of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, I: Active ingredients and mechanisms of change.

There has recently been an increased focus on comparing the effectiveness of drugs and psychotherapy in the treatment of mental disorders. The marked differences between these two treatment forms raise many conceptual and methodological problems for the investigator. In a two-part series, the authors discuss a number of these conceptual issues and their implications for research design, implementation, and interpretation of findings. Part I focuses on differences in the active ingredients and hypothesized mechanisms of change of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Issues addressed include the need for standardization of treatments, adequate delivery of treatments, and controlling for factors other than the active ingredients of each treatment.

Clinical Competence↗

Conceptual and methodological issues in comparative studies of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, II: Nature and timing of treatment effects.

This is the second of two articles on the conceptual and methodological problems involved in comparing the effectiveness of drugs and psychotherapy in the treatment of mental disorders. Part II focuses on differences between psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in the nature of treatment effects and related goals for treatment, differences in the time course of treatment effects, and potential sources of bias in the research setting. In designing comparative studies of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, investigators should address methodological choices explicitly and consider the implications for interpretation of findings.

Follow-Up Studies↗

Lithium attenuates the activation-euphoria but not the psychosis induced by d-amphetamine in schizophrenia.

d-Amphetamine (20 mg) was administered intravenously in a double-blind design to 17 schizophrenic patients with and without concurrent 3-week lithium carbonate pretreatment to evaluate the lithium attenuation of d-amphetamine effects which we had observed in affective disorder patients. Lithium significantly attenuated the acute d-amphetamine-induced changes in an activation-euphoria cluster and in the mannerisms and posturing item of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Because the psychosis-increasing effects of d-amphetamine were not significantly decreased, it is conceivable that the d-amphetamine-induced changes in activation and euphoria and in psychosis are regulated by different dopamine mechanisms. The small clinical effects seen at 3 weeks of lithium treatment in schizophrenic patients could be mediated by dopamine.

Adolescent↗

The future of research in private psychiatric hospitals.

The private psychiatric hospital setting offers some unique advantages as a locus for research. They are often able to serve as settings for clinical research programs which are, in many cases, more pragmatic than research in university settings. Types of studies which might be conducted in the private psychiatric hospital setting include focused diagnostic studies, the recovery process, psychobiological screening, psychopharmacological treatment trials, longitudinal studies, alternative delivery and training systems, and consortium studies. Funding for research exists in both the public and private sectors, with most of the money coming from the federal government. Applicants should be well-versed in the grant application at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Hospitals, Psychiatric↗

Psychotherapy.

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Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

O tempora, O mores: directions in research on the psychotherapeutic treatment of schizophrenia.

This article places an appreciation of the Boston Study of the Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia in a historical context. It discusses some of the major advances in research methodology during the last decade which have brought about a shift in approach to the study of the psychosocial treatment of schizophrenic patients. These advances include the necessity for "combined" treatments, recognition of the complexity of pharmacological treatments, the development of methods for "standardizing" psychotherapeutic treatments, and the specification of a number of other variables likely to account for variance in treatment outcome.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

Poor outcome and low platelet MAO activity in chronic schizophrenia.

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was significantly lower among 21 chronic schizophrenic patients, 19 of whom were receiving stable doses of antipsychotic medication, than among 16 control subjects. Poor ego functioning and poor outcome were significantly correlated with low MAO activity; current dose of major tranquilizer was negatively but not significantly correlated. The degree of psychopathology, rather than presence or absence of specific symptom constellations, was the significant characteristic of patients with low enzyme levels. This finding is in accordance with those of earlier studies of schizophrenic patients as well as with recent findings in nonschizophrenic samples.

Adult↗

Antipsychotic effects of pimozide in schizophrenia. Treatment response prediction with acute dextroamphetamine response.

Acute behavioral response to 20 mg of dextroamphetamine (intravenous) predicted fourth-week antipsychotic response to double-blind pimozide treatment. Patients whose psychotic condition improved with dextroamphetamine administration showed more antipsychotic response to pimozide therapy than those whose condition worsened or did not change. Multiple regression analysis indicated amphetamine-induced response predicted pimozide response after four weeks for fifth-week pimozide response was more accurately predicted by prepimozide psychosis ratings. Our study provides some evidence that mechanisms underlying early and late pimozide response are not necessarily identical. Because patients who did not respond to dextroamphetamine administration still improved with pimozide therapy, our data do not support the concept that schizophrenia can be divided into two groups (dopamine-sensitive or dopamine-insensitive) but, rather, that dopamine responsiveness changes over time. Clinical application is not warranted until studies with larger samples have replicated our findings.

Adolescent↗