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L Lauritzen

Publications and source records attributed to L Lauritzen.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Effective treatment of poststroke depression with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram in treating poststroke depression, since available treatments are usually poorly tolerated. METHODS: A 6-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken. Diagnosis and outcome were determined using the Hamilton Depression Scale, and unwanted effects were measured using the UKU side effect rating scale. Sixty-six consecutive depressed patients from an unselected population of 285 stroke patients aged 25 to 80 years entered the trial 2 to 52 weeks after stroke. They were assigned to equally sized treatment and placebo groups. The initial level of depression was comparable in the two groups (mean baseline Hamilton Depression scores, 19.4 and 18.9, respectively). Demographic parameters were also comparable in the two groups. RESULTS: Significantly greater improvement was seen in patients treated with citalopram (10 to 40 mg/d) for 3 and 6 weeks, both when including all patients (intention-to-treat analysis, P < .05) and excluding patients who dropped out during the first 3 weeks (efficacy analysis, P < .005). Half of the 28 patients who entered the trial 2 to 6 weeks after stroke recovered within 1 month, independent of the treatment given. This indicates a high degree of spontaneous recovery in the early phase after stroke. In contrast, recovery was infrequent in placebo group patients who became depressed 7 weeks or more after stroke. No serious side effects related to the treatment were detected; those present were mild and usually transient. CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrates that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram offers an advantageous new treatment of poststroke depression that is both safe and effective.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids are equipotent in stimulating volume regulation in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

This investigation addresses whether enriching cellular phospholipids with n-3 or n-6 fatty acids affects the process of regulatory volume decrease (RVD) in murine Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Two weeks of dietary n-3-rich fish oil (7.5%, wt/wt) increased the ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid in cellular phospholipids compared with an olive oil control diet. Cells grown in mice fed on fish oil had an accelerated RVD response after hypotonic exposure, indicating that the volume-induced K+ conductance was increased. The fish oil diet furthermore resulted in an increased Cl- conductance during RVD, demonstrated as an increased initial rate of cell shrinkage after addition of K+ ionophore to the swollen cells. The initial rate of volume recovery correlated positively with the sum of eicosanoid precursors (arachidonic acid plus eicosapentaenoic acid) (P = 0.007). Diet supplemented with n-6 fatty acids resulted in an enhanced RVD response as well. RVD was inhibited by anti-calmodulin drugs, and exogenous leukotriene D5 and leukotriene D4 were equipotent in attenuating this inhibition. We conclude that dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids result in a more effective RVD response because of an increase in the volume-induced Cl- and K+ conductances. We propose that this is caused by an enhanced volume-induced leukotriene synthesis due to an increase in eicosanoid precursor availability.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[The geriatric-psychiatric service in Denmark].

The aim of the study was to give a systematic description of the psycho-geriatric service in Denmark as of January 1990. All psychiatric departments and administrations in the 14 counties and the cities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, respectively, received a questionnaire regarding the psycho-geriatric services. 97% of the psychiatric departments and all of the counties/municipalities returned the questionnaire, two county administrations did not, however, complete the questionnaire. There was very great variation in the psychogeriatric services offered not only from county to county but also in individual parts of the same county. Seven counties had no psycho-geriatric department, two of these, however, offered community psychiatric treatment. The definitions of psycho-geriatric patients differed considerably, as some used age as criteria but differed in the age-limit chosen, and others used diagnostic criteria which also differed. The existing service concerning both the institutional and community-based treatment differed thus from county to county and within each individual county. The reason for this may be lack of co-ordination between the individual sectors. In general, there appear to be intentions of increasing the community-psychiatric treatment in particular.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Combined treatment with imipramine and mianserin. A controlled pilot study.

The effect of imipramine plus mianserin and imipramine plus a placebo was compared in 40 depressed patients with a median age of 60 years. The imipramine dosage was flexible to give a plasma concentration around 200 nmol/l and mianserin was given at a fixed dosage of 30 mg daily. After six weeks of treatment the results showed that the scores on the Hamilton Depression Scale as well as on the Melancholia Scale were significantly more improved in the imipramine-plus-minaserin group than in the group of patients receiving imipramine alone (P less than 0.01). In terms of percentage of improvement (a reduction of baseline rating scores of 50% or more) 77% of the imipramine-plus-mianserin group had improved, compared with 27% of the imipramine group. The combination of imipramine and mianserin was well tolerated both as regards clinical side-effects and laboratory tests.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Platelet paroxetine binding in alcoholics.

Platelet paroxetine binding was analysed in 24 abstinent alcoholics and 18 control persons. The alcoholics had significantly more binding sites than the control persons. Most of the alcoholics showed affective symptoms and the increased platelet paroxetine binding was predominantly observed among those who had the lowest Newcastle score, indicating the presence of non-endogenous depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Plasma ratio tryptophan/neutral amino acids in relation to clinical response to paroxetine and clomipramine in patients with major depression.

The pretreatment plasma ratio of tryptophan (Trp) to other large neutral amino acids (LNAA), thought to reflect brain serotonin formation, was determined in 44 inpatients with major depression, who were subsequently treated double-blind on a fixed-dose schedule for 4 weeks with the selective serotonin uptake inhibitor paroxetine (n = 27) or clomipramine (n = 17). The study took place at four clinical centers. Endogenous and non-endogenous depressives were comparable with respect to the ratio Trp/LNAA and clinical improvement and were therefore analyzed together. The clomipramine group showed a significant inverse correlation between ratio Trp/LNAA and improvement, and patients with a ratio Trp/LNAA below the mean showed a trend towards greater improvement than patients with a higher ratio but with comparable serum drug levels. The improvement in the paroxetine group was significantly inversely correlated with the Trp concentration but not with the ratio Trp/LNAA. The findings accord with previous trials of various antidepressant treatments, in which about 25% of the variance in therapeutic response associates with pretreatment plasma amino acid profiles.

Adult↗
PubMed1966

Antivenins.

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Africa↗