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Biomedical subjects

M Maj

Publications and source records attributed to M Maj.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Dexamethasone suppression test in patients with primary obsessive-compulsive disorder and in healthy controls.

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was performed in 18 patients (11 women and 7 men) who met the DSM III-R criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), and in 20 healthy volunteers (12 women and 8 men). At 4.00 p.m., following dexamethasone administration, 5 patients (27.7%) and 1 healthy subject (5%) displayed plasma cortisol values well above the cut-off value of 50 ng/dl. A significantly different sex ratio was observed between suppressor and nonsuppressor patients with OCD (chi 2 = 4.40, p less than 0.03), because all nonsuppressor patients were male. Compared to the suppressors, nonsuppressor patients with OCD did not differ in any of the clinical and demographic variables investigated. Moreover, in our patient sample, the mean +/- SD total Hamilton Depression Rating Score (HDRS) was 14.8 +/- 2.5, and none of the nonsuppressors with OCD had a total HDRS greater than 17. These data suggest that a subgroup of OCD patients, particularly males, may escape the DST independently from the coexistence of depressive features.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of phosphatidylserine on the neuroendocrine response to physical stress in humans.

The activity of brain cortex-derived phosphatidylserine (BC-PS) on the neuroendocrine and neurovegetative responses to physical stress was tested in 8 healthy men who underwent three experiments with a bicycle ergometer. According to a double-blind design, before starting the exercise, each subject received intravenously, within 10 min, 50 or 75 mg of BC-PS or a volume-matched placebo diluted in 100 ml of saline. Blood samples were collected before and after the exercise for plasma epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), cortisol, growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL) and glucose determinations. Blood pressure and heart rate were also recorded. Physical stress induced a clear-cut increase in plasma E, NE, ACTH, cortisol, GH and PRL, whereas no significant change was observed in plasma DA and glucose. Pretreatment with both 50 and 75 mg BC-PS significantly blunted the ACTH and cortisol responses to physical stress.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1990

Cycloid psychotic disorder: validation of the concept by means of a follow-up and a family study.

A 3-year prospective follow-up investigation and a family study were carried out in patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for cycloid psychotic disorder proposed by Perris and Brockington in 1981. The results show that cycloid psychosis differs in several respects from schizoaffective disorders as defined by current diagnostic criteria used in the United States. Furthermore, they seem to suggest that most cases of cycloid psychosis are not variants of either schizophrenia or major affective disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Dementia in schizophrenia. Magnetic resonance and clinical correlates.

Thirty-nine patients with a chronic schizophrenic disorder and 29 healthy control subjects were examined by means of multiplanar magnetic resonance imaging. Schizophrenics as a group showed increased ventricular brain ratio and reduced corpus callosum area. When patients were grouped according to their performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB), a distinct subgroup of six patients emerged. These patients failed to perform neuropsychological testing, due to their inability to fulfill the instructions, despite often repeated full explanations of the test procedures; four of these patients had enlarged lateral ventricles and all met operational criteria for Kraepelin's dementia praecox. Two other patients subgroups were categorized as LNNB normal and abnormal. These two subgroups showed lesser brain abnormalities and lower negative symptom scores than the former.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Lithium decreases retinal melatonin levels in the frog.

The effect of the acute i.p. administration of lithium chloride (1 mg/kg) and of haloperidol (1 mg/kg) on retinal melatonin levels was studied in light-adapted and dark-adapted frogs of the species Rana esculenta. Two hours following drug administration, animals were killed by decapitation and a single retina from each frog was collected and homogenized in 1 ml of chilled 0.1 N HCl. After centrifugation, the pH of the supernatant was adjusted to 7.0. Melatonin was extracted by diethylether and assayed by double antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA). Lithium induced a significant decrease of retinal melatonin levels both in light-adapted (P less than 0.006) and in dark-adapted (P less than 0.01) animals, whereas no change was observed after haloperidol treatment. These results suggest that the scleral aggregation of pigment granules induced by lithium in the frog retina is not mediated by a stimulation of melatonin synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Long-term outcome of lithium prophylaxis in patients initially classified as complete responders.

The long-term outcome of lithium prophylaxis was explored in 43 bipolar and 36 unipolar patients who had been classified as complete responders after the first 2 years of treatment. These patients were followed up prospectively for a further period of 5 years (treatment period II), during which their psychopathological state was assessed monthly or bimonthly. Forty-nine patients completed treatment period II, 2 died during this period, 7 did not attend the unit any more and could not be traced, and 21 definitively interrupted lithium treatment before the end of the period. In 18 cases the decision to stop lithium was taken by the patient. Twenty-five patients relapsed during the treatment period II. Four relapsers had three or more episodes concentrated during the last 2 years of treatment. These results suggest that the predictive value of an initial favourable response to lithium should not be overrated, and that the impact of the drug on the long-term course of major affective disorders in ordinary clinical conditions might be less dramatic than currently believed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among subjects exposed to a natural disaster.

A general practice study was carried out in 3 areas of the province of Naples, in southern Italy: Pozzuoli (PZ), a town exposed to significant seismic events in 1983, Monte Ruscello (MR), a village built to accommodate the victims of the earthquake, and Monte di Procida (MP), a town selected as a control since it is situated near PZ and was not significantly affected by the earthquake. The sociodemographic characteristics of the subjects examined were comparable in the 3 areas. The estimate of the real prevalence of psychiatric disorders according to Diamond & Lilienfeld was found to be higher in PZ and MR than in MP. Neurotic depression was the most frequent psychiatric diagnosis. The relative risk of mental disorders in subjects who reported none one or more social problems compared with those who reported none was more than 4 times greater in PZ and MR than in MP. Social problems also differed qualitatively, being more frequently related to living conditions in PZ and MR and to the primary social network in MP.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Preliminary observations on the suppression of nocturnal plasma melatonin levels by short-term administration of diazepam in humans.

Several studies suggest that GABAergic mechanisms may be involved in the modulation of melatonin secretion. However, conflicting results have been reported in animal studies; in humans the issue has not been widely investigated. In the present study, using a double-blind design, six healthy men received orally, at midnight, 10 mg of diazepam, a GABAergic agent, or placebo, on two different occasions 1 week apart. Blood samples were collected, in the dark, immediately before the drug administration, and at 12:30, 1, 2, 3, and 4 AM. Serum melatonin was measured by a radioimmunological method with [125I]melatonin as a tracer. Two-way ANOVA with repeated measurements disclosed a significant effect for treatment (P less than 0.01), for time (P less than 0.0004), and for treatment X time interaction (P less than 0.05). Following diazepam administration, serum melatonin levels observed at 2, 3, and 4 AM were significantly lower than the corresponding values following placebo (P less than 0.002 at 2 and 4 AM; P less than 0.03 at 3 AM [Students' paired t test]). These results show that nocturnal blood melatonin levels may be suppressed by the acute administration of a GABAergic agent, suggesting that GABA may be involved in the modulation of pineal activity in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Effects of uremia, acetate and bicarbonate dialysis on beta-adrenergic responsiveness as assessed by epinephrine-stimulated adenylate cyclase.

This study was designed to evaluate beta-adrenergic responsiveness as assessed by the generation of cyclic AMP after the subcutaneous administration of epinephrine in 31 subjects: normal controls, patients with chronic renal insufficiency, hemodynamically stable patients on chronic acetate dialysis and hemodynamically unstable patients with acetate intolerance on chronic bicarbonate dialysis. As compared with controls, only unstable patients on bicarbonate dialysis presented impaired beta-responsiveness, which, in turn, was acutely reduced only after acetate but not bicarbonate dialysis. Our results show that acetate dialysis impairs the beta-adrenergic responsiveness and that the observed beta-hyporesponsiveness in unstable patients with acetate intolerance may represent part of a broader spectrum of autonomic dysfunction which may develop in some patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Acetates↗
PubMed1989

Implementing psychiatric reform in southern Italy: the case of Campania.

The implementation of the 1978 psychiatric reform in Campania, the most populated region of Southern Italy, is surveyed, by referring to currently available empirical data. Emphasis is laid on the incomplete development of psychiatric wards within general hospitals and of mental health services, on the lack of residential structures, on the failure to implement comprehensive departments for mental health care, on the increase in the number of admissions to private clinics and on the fact that more than three thousand patients are still in mental hospitals. Moreover, some characteristics of the new services clearly betraying the spirit of the law are pointed out.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1989

A family study of two subgroups of schizoaffective patients.

A family study was carried out in two groups of patients fulfilling RDC for schizoaffective disorder: in one, a full affective and a full schizophrenic syndrome were simultaneously present; in the other, affective and schizophrenic features appeared within a polymorphic and rapidly changing clinical picture, with depersonalization/derealization and/or confusion. In the first-degree relatives of patients of the former group, the risk of major psychiatric disorders was not significantly different from that of relatives of schizophrenics, whereas in the first-degree relatives of patients of the latter group a low risk for both schizophrenia and major affective disorders, and a relatively high risk for schizoaffective disorders, were observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Prolactin response to sodium valproate in schizophrenics with and without tardive dyskinesia.

Sodium valproate, a GABAergic agent (800 mg), and placebo were administered orally, as a single dose, to nine chronic schizophrenics with tardive dyskinesia (TD), seven chronic schizophrenics without TD and ten healthy controls, according to a double blind design. Blood samples were collected before and after drug administration, to determine plasma prolactin concentrations. Sodium valproate decreased plasma prolactin levels in healthy subjects (P less than 0.001) and in schizophrenic patients with TD (P less than 0.001), but not in chronic schizophrenics without TD. Moreover, in dyskinetic subjects, the maximum per cent decrease of plasma prolactin from basal value was positively correlated to the score of the abnormal involuntary movement scale (r = 0.724, P less than 0.02). Although the neural or biochemical substrate underlying the different responses of plasma prolactin to sodium valproate in schizophrenics with and without TD remains unclear, these results provide the first neuroendocrine evidence able to differentiate dyskinetic subjects from those without TD within a schizophrenic population.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Baclofen-induced growth hormone secretion is blunted in chronic schizophrenics: neuroendocrine evidence for a GABA disturbance in schizophrenia.

To substantiate a previously reported disturbance of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in chronic schizophrenia, plasma growth hormone (GH) response to a direct GABA agonist (baclofen, 10 mg) was assessed in 12 unmedicated chronic schizophrenic males and 10 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Baclofen and placebo were administered orally, in a double-blind design, and blood samples were collected before and 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min after drug or placebo administration. Baclofen induced a clear-cut rise in plasma GH levels over baseline values, but the GH increase observed in the patients was significantly smaller than that in controls. These results support the idea that GABA mechanisms may be impaired in chronic schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Lateralization patterns of verbal stimuli processing assessed by reaction time and event-related potentials in schizophrenic patients.

Event-related potentials (ERPs), reaction time (RT), number of errors and number of omissions were recorded by using a visual target detection paradigm in which consonant pairs were presented in a central and in a lateral condition. Fourteen DSM III drug-free schizophrenics and 19 healthy subjects took part in the study. All of them were male and right-handed. Independent principal component analysis and varimax rotation were performed for each condition. Separate ANOVAs were performed on factor scores computed for each rotated principal component. In the central condition, schizophrenic patients showed a reduction of the late positive complex (LPC) peak with respect to normal controls, and this reduction was associated with a predominant negative symptomatology. No pattern of lateral asymmetry was found in either group for behavioural and ERP measures. For the lateral condition, a significant advantage of the right visual field (RVF) presentation (shorter RT and larger LPC peak for RVF stimuli) was observed in normal subjects, while no visual field effect on these two measures was detected in schizophrenics. Significant differences were found between the two groups on both behavioural and ERP measures for the RVF only. Furthermore, two ERP components showed a marked advantage of the left visual field in the patient group, associated with a predominance of positive symptoms in the clinical picture.

Adult↗