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Biomedical subjects

M Fava

Publications and source records attributed to M Fava.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate/cortisol ratio in panic disorder.

We hypothesized that the dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)/cortisol ratio, which has been used as an index of adrenocortical function, would be altered in panic disorder patients and would change after treatment. We evaluated 10 male and 14 female outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder. Of these 24 subjects, 13 were treated with clonazepam, 8 were treated with alprazolam, and 3 were treated with placebo as part of a double-blind study. The DHEA-S/cortisol ratio values in the 24 patients with panic disorder (mean = 20.5, SD = 11.6) were significantly higher than those of a group of 60 normal controls (mean = 11.5, SD = 6.01) and were also significantly higher than those of a group of 22 depressed patients (mean = 10.6, SD = 6.33). Although there was no significant difference in the pretreatment DHEA-S/cortisol ratio values between male (mean = 23.6, SD = 11.8) and female (mean = 18.2, SD = 11.3) panic disorder patients, the effects of treatment on this ratio differed between the two sexes. In fact, in the female patients there was a significant decrease in the DHEA-S/cortisol ratio at the end of the study (mean = 15.1, SD = 7.9), while in the male patients there was no significant change in this ratio at the end of the study (mean = 30.2, SD = 21.4). No significant differences were noted between pretreatment and posttreatment DHEA-S/cortisol ratio values in patients treated with alprazolam (n = 8), in patients treated with clonazepam (n = 13), or in patients treated with placebo (n = 3).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Neurochemical abnormalities of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

The authors review the research on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, emphasizing the neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that regulate eating behavior. Anorexia nervosa is associated with changes in the noradrenergic, serotonergic, and opioid systems; bulimia nervosa is accompanied by marked alterations in serotonin and norepinephrine activity. These neurochemical changes may perpetuate pathological eating behavior and may be responsible for several associated psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety and depression. The authors also summarize studies of several drugs that are used in the treatment of eating disorders and are known to modify neurotransmitter activity. Understanding the neurochemistry of eating disorders seems crucial for the rational development of both psychopharmacological and behavioral treatments.

Anorexia Nervosa↗
PubMed1989

Childhood's enuresis in the history of women with hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea.

Hyperprolactinemia, or elevated levels of prolactin in blood, is a normal physiologic post-partum response in lactating women. Non-lactating women with hyperprolactinemia often present during the reproductive years since they may have amenorrhea, galactorrhea, or both. Hypersecretion of prolactin is most commonly due to pituitary adenomas. Women with hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea are often quite anxious, depressed and hostile. It has been hypothesized that these psychological symptoms might antecede the onset of hyperprolactinemia and that hyperprolactinemia may be associated with early developmental problems and may be psychogenic in origin. Twenty patients with hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea and twenty-one normoprolactinemic patients with amenorrhea had an interview covering psychiatric history in order to establish whether they had ever met DSM-III criteria for functional nocturnal enuresis at one time during their childhood. While seven out of twenty (35%) patients with hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea were found to have had functional enuresis during their childhood, only two out of twenty-one (9.5%) normoprolactinemic amenorrheic women reported having had functional enuresis. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (chi-squared: 3.88; p less than 0.05). We postulate that early stress and developmental problems may present in children as psychological distress and functional enuresis and in women as psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression) and hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Influence of legume intake on biliary lipids and cholesterol saturation in young Chilean men. Identification of a dietary risk factor for cholesterol gallstone formation in a highly prevalent area.

Chileans and North American Indians have one of the highest prevalence rates of cholesterol gallstones in the world. The most common theory to explain this has been the operation of some as yet undefined genetic risk factor in these populations. Searching for some common environmental factor for gallstones in Chileans and North American Indians, we found that beans and other legumes are common foods consumed by both populations. In this study we tested the hypothesis that legume intake may favor the production of biliary cholesterol supersaturation. We studied 20 young men subjected to a diet containing 120 g/day of legumes and a control diet without legumes for a period of 1 mo each. Both diets supplied identical quantities of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration decreased by 16% (p less than 0.001) after the legume diet. Biliary cholesterol saturation increased in 19 of the 20 subjects; the mean of the group markedly increased from 110% to 169% (p less than 0.001) after the legume diet. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that legume intake is a potential risk factor for cholesterol gallstone disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Hyperprolactinemia and psychological distress in women undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

In order to investigate the possible relationship of hyperprolactinemia to psychological distress in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis, 19 uremic women were evaluated by a semistructured interview and administered the Kellner Symptom Questionnaire. Group A (10 uremic women with hyperprolactinemia) did not differ significantly in anxiety, depression, somatization and hostility from group B (9 normoprolactinemic uremic women). Both groups rated themselves more depressed and hostile than a normal control group of 10 women, and hyperprolactinemic patients were also significantly more anxious than the normal controls.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1988

Prolactin, cortisol, and antidepressant treatment.

In four depressed patients with abnormal dexamethasone suppression test results before treatment, plasma prolactin levels significantly increased after successful amitriptyline therapy. Such an increase did not take place in five depressed patients with normal dexamethasone suppression test findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Neuroendocrine correlates of the type A behavior pattern: a review and new hypotheses.

Various studies have tried to identify the possible neuroendocrine correlates of the action/emotion complex defined as Type A behavior pattern. Type A subjects have been observed quite consistently to respond to laboratory stressors with a greater sympathetic nervous system response than Type B subjects. There also seems to be a trend towards a hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in Type A individuals. The clinical relevance of these findings lies in the fact that there is an increasing clinical and laboratory evidence of a pathogenic role of catecholamines in coronary artery disease (CAD) and that some of these neuroendocrine correlates might actually be the mediators of the risk of CAD conferred by the Type A behavior pattern. We hypothesize that dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), an adrenal weak androgen, is inversely correlated with the degree of Type A behavior pattern and this hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the results of a preliminary investigation that we have conducted.

Arousal↗
PubMed1986

Giant venous aneurysm associated with hypogastric arteriovenous malformation.

Venous aneurysms are extremely rare. They may be congenital or acquired in origin and occasionally related to arteriovenous communications. A 58-year-old man complained of dull left lower quadrant pain and constipation. On physical examination a soft deep mass was palpated. Ultrasonogram and CT scan revealed a cystic formation in the pelvic cavity. Angiograms disclosed an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) at the pelvic floor draining into a large cavity. The patient was successfully managed by intraoperative selective embolization of the AVM and partial resection of a 10.6 x 8 x 6.7 cm venous aneurysm. The histopathologic studies of the wall confirmed a venous structure. Venous dilatation has been reported in high flow vein grafts, blood access V fistulas and rarely, proximal to traumatic AV fistulas of the lower extremities. The etiology of the present case is probably congenital, being to the best of our knowledge, the first case affecting the hypogastric territory, reported in the English literature.

Aneurysm↗
PubMed1985

The quantitative determination of neomycin sulphate by a diffusion technique on agar plates by the method of the European Pharmacopoeia, 2nd edition--evaluation of precision and reproducibility of the method.

The medium recommended by the European Pharmacopoeia (EP), 2nd edition, for the microbiological determination of neomycin by the agar diffusion method was tested and compared with the medium recommended by the EP, 1st edition. The tests were carried out in different laboratories. The medium recommended by the EP, 2nd edition, gave greater precision and reproducibility than the previous medium. The possibility of using a reference standard of almost pure neomycin B for both the determination of framycetin and neomycin was evaluated. The results demonstrated that the medium recommended by the EP, 2nd edition, gave better precision and reproducibility. Difficulty in achieving valid assays was practically the same with both media.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed1985

Inspiratory muscle function in patients with severe kyphoscoliosis.

In 9 patients with severe kyphoscoliosis we studied inspiratory muscle function by measuring transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) and its components: gastric (Pga) and esophageal (Pes) pressures during quiet breathing. Maximal Pdi and maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (Pimax) were also measured. The results showed that Pimax and Pdimax were significantly lower in patients than in normal subjects. During quiet breathing, all patients had positive swings in Pga, indicating an active contraction of the diaphragm, but Pes was significantly more negative, suggesting the recruitment of intercostal and accessory inspiratory muscles. We did not find significant correlations between Pimax, Pdimax, delta Pga/delta Pes, FVC, PaO2, or PaCO2 and the degree of spinal deformity. The FVC tended to correlate with Pimax (r = 0.63) and with Pdimax (r = 0.53). The Pdi correlated with PaO2 (r = 0.66) and with PaCO2 (r = -0.76; p less than 0.05). A significant correlation was also observed between Pimax and PaO2 (r = 0.785; p less than 0.05) and between Pimax and PaCO2 (r = -0.86; p less than 0.01). We conclude that impairment of inspiratory muscle function is related to the development of ventilatory failure in kyphoscoliosis.

Adult↗