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Biomedical subjects

M V Seeman

Publications and source records attributed to M V Seeman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Relational ethics: when mothers suffer from psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this review is to aid clinicians with ethical issues arising in the treatment of women who suffer from psychosis. METHOD: This paper is a synthesis of the recent literature in adult and child psychiatry, ethics, law, and child welfare pertaining to the topic of maternal psychosis. Topics include: family planning, the care of pregnant women with schizophrenia, postpartum psychosis, child custody, involuntary treatment, confidentiality issues, and service fragmentation. CONCLUSION: Appreciation of the particularized circumstances of issues arising in the treatment of mothers who suffer from psychosis serve the clinician better than the dispassionate application of a principle-driven ethic.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Does nicotine affect D2 receptor upregulation? A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Nicotine has a powerful preventive effect on neuroleptic-induced dopamine D2 receptor upregulation in the rat. The aim of this human positron emission tomography (PET) study was to compare upregulation in a smoker and a non-smoker, both of whom had received haloperidol for the same duration of time. METHOD: Two subjects who had been treated for 16 years with a constant dose of haloperidol were scanned after temporary haloperidol withdrawal, using [11C]-raclopride. RESULTS: The non-smoker, who had received a dose of 10 mg/day, showed a D2 upregulation of 98% and developed severe and persistent symptoms of tardive dyskinesia (TD) upon withdrawal. The chronic smoker, who had been treated with 40 mg/day, displayed a D2 upregulation of 71% and did not develop TD. CONCLUSION: These human observations agree with animal data which showed that nicotine can decrease neuroleptic-induced D2 receptor upregulation. This property of nicotine may play a protective role in movement disorders whose pathophysiology involves D2 receptor hypersensitivity.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Antipsychotic drugs, menstrual regularity and osteoporosis risk.

This report summarizes the preliminary results of a study in progress, a survey of 200 women with schizophrenia in long-term treatment with antipsychotic medication. In the context of providing clinical service to these women (Seeman, 1997; Seeman and Cohen, 1998), we have begun to investigate the possibility of an association among related factors: type of antipsychotic drug use, the presence of amenorrhea, hyperprolactinemia and risk for osteoporosis (Biller et al., 1992; Grinspoon et al., 1999; Halbreich and Palter, 1996; More et al., 2001; Peuskens, 1997; Sowers et al., 1995).

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Spittoon Christmas.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Wit and Humor as Topic↗
PubMed2001

Adverse reactions to St John's Wort.

OBJECTIVE: To report 2 cases of adverse reactions to St John's wort, a popular herbal treatment for depression. METHOD: We present 2 case histories and review the existing literature regarding St John's wort. RESULTS: St John's wort may cause serotonin syndrome in sensitive patients. In addition, St John's wort may be associated with hair loss. CONCLUSIONS: For clinical reasons, it is important to recognize and report adverse reactions to herbal remedies and to document that these treatments have side effects commensurate with their potent action on brain neurochemistry.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Clinical trials in psychiatry: do results apply to practice?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this communication is to alert psychiatrists to the difficulties of translating results of group difference obtained from large, randomized clinical trials to the treatment of individual patients. METHOD: Reported discrepancies between a) clinical trial participants and general psychiatric patients, b) clinical trial investigators and general clinicians, and c) study trial and usual clinic conditions were assessed. RESULTS: The results confirm that important differences exist in all 3 areas. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for researchers include more complete assessments of factors that account for individual difference, an appraisal of outcomes more important to patients than symptom scores, and the use of statistical methods that permit the evaluation of individual difference. Recommendations for clinicians include a careful differentiation of results obtained in different phases of clinical trials and a clear appreciation of the different purposes of those trials. Clinicians should also appreciate that short-term effectiveness is not the same as long-term outcome and that aggregate scores may not apply to individual patients.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed2000

Increased dopamine D2 receptor binding after long-term treatment with antipsychotics in humans: a clinical PET study.

RATIONALE: Dopamine D2 receptor upregulation in the striatum is regularly seen in response to the administration of traditional antipsychotics in animal experiments. This is associated with hyperactivity and, for this reason, D2 receptor upregulation has long been postulated as central to tardive dyskinesia (TD). OBJECTIVE: Using positron emission tomography (PET), the present study attempted to determine whether antipsychotic-induced D2 receptor up-regulation also occurs in humans. METHODS: The long-term effects of traditional and novel antipsychotics on dopamine D2 receptors were investigated in nine subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia who were deemed eligible for temporary treatment washout. Subjects had been treated with traditional antipsychotics (haloperidol n=3, perphenazine n=1) and novel antipsychotics (risperidone n=3, olanzapine n=2) in the moderate to high dosage range. Fourteen days after treatment withdrawal, the binding potentials (BPs) of dopamine D2 receptors were measured using 11[C] raclopride. The obtained BPs were compared to the BPs from antipsychotic-naive control subjects with schizophrenia. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the D2 BP in both groups combined that reached 34%. The increases in the D2 BPs in the groups treated with conventional and novel antipsychotics were 37% and 31%, respectively. Significantly, the patients showing the highest degree of D2 receptor upregulation (98%) developed severe and persistent TD shortly after being started on a new antipsychotic with low affinity for D2 receptors. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates for the first time, using in vivo neuroreceptor imaging, that dopamine D2 receptor binding is increased after long-term treatment with antipsychotics in humans. The data suggest that both traditional and novel antipsychotics with high affinity for dopamine D2 receptors are associated with a substantial increase in D2 receptor binding. The present data in humans agree well with animal data that implicate D2 receptor-mediated mechanisms in motor hyperactivity.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Late-onset schizophrenia and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis: an international consensus. The International Late-Onset Schizophrenia Group.

OBJECTIVE: Although schizophrenia is generally regarded as an illness with onset in late adolescence or early adult life, a sizeable minority of patients first become ill in middle or old age. Inconsistencies in diagnostic systems and nomenclature, coupled with a tendency among most schizophrenia researchers to ascribe late-onset psychoses to organic factors, have led to such cases occupying an ambiguous position in relation to schizophrenia. Through systematic review of the literature and publication of a consensus statement from an international group of experts in the field, this article aims to clarify the positions of late-onset schizophrenia and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis. METHOD: The authors conducted a MEDLINE literature review and developed a consensus statement summarizing the findings from 2 days of debate and discussion by members of the International Late-Onset Schizophrenia Group. RESULTS: The group achieved consensus on diagnosis, nomenclature, treatment guidelines, and future research directions. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of epidemiology, symptom profile, and identified pathophysiologies, the diagnoses of late-onset schizophrenia (illness onset after 40 years of age) and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (onset after 60 years) have face validity and clinical utility. General adoption of these categories will foster systematic investigation of such patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Estrogen receptor activation and tardive dyskinesia.

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a selective review of the epidemiology, etiology, and treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD), with emphasis on the potential influence of estrogen in its expression. METHOD: Both Medline and Psycinfo databases were used to search for articles with the following key words: tardive dyskinesia, humans, animals, dopamine, estrogen, estrogen replacement therapy, antioxidants and oxidative stress. RESULTS: The studies reviewed here suggest that estrogen modulates dopamine-mediated behaviours and that it protects against oxidative stress-induced cell damage caused by long-term exposure to antipsychotic medication. CONCLUSIONS: Estrogen's multimodal role in the central nervous system may prove useful for the amelioration or prevention of TD. All the evidence suggests that a placebo-controlled, randomized trial with safer forms of estrogen should be conducted in postmenopausal women with TD.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Duration of pretreatment phases in schizophrenia: women and men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative duration of the prepsychotic prodrome and the period of untreated psychosis in women and men with schizophrenia. METHOD: From a larger study population, we selected 27 women and 34 men treated at 1 facility. To determine the time of first behavioural change and the time of first psychotic symptoms, we administered the Interview for the Retrospective Assessment of the Onset of Schizophrenia (IRAOS). Subjects' mothers were interviewed using the same instrument. Time of first treatment was determined by hospital record. RESULTS: The first sign of behavioural disturbance occurred at approximately the same age in women and men. The prepsychotic prodrome was almost twice as long for women as for men. The duration of untreated psychosis did not differ between the 2 sexes. Substance abuse did not influence the observed difference between men and women in the duration of the prepsychotic phase. The interval between first behavioural sign and first treatment was, on average, 6 years for men and 9 years for women. CONCLUSION: As-yet-unknown factors speed up the progression from nonspecific symptoms to psychosis in men or delay it in women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Hormonal side effects in women: typical versus atypical antipsychotic treatment.

Neuroleptic-induced hyperprolactinemia can cause menstrual disorders, impaired fertility, galactorrhea, and sexual dysfunction, as well as hypoestrogenism secondary to disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. The development of the prolactin-sparing atypical antipsychotic drugs offers prevention and resolution of these adverse reactions. Thus far, this property of the new medications has received insufficient clinical attention. The authors use case vignettes to discuss assessment and management of clinical situations that arise as a result of antipsychotic-induced endocrine changes.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Women and schizophrenia.

Several important questions emerge from the study of gender differences in schizophrenia: Why does schizophrenia begin later in women? Why is outcome superior in women, at least in the first 15 years after onset? What causes sex differences in symptoms? What can gender differences teach us about the etiology of schizophrenia? Do men and women require substantially different treatments? What interventions during pregnancy and after childbirth ensure optimal health for the children of mothers with schizophrenia? Although complete answers may not yet be forthcoming, it is important to define the questions and keep them in mind when delivering services to women suffering from this severe, persistent mental illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Earlier puberty as a predictor of later onset of schizophrenia in women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether puberty plays a mediating role in onset of schizophrenia. The hypothesis was that there is an inverse relation between age at puberty (menarche) and age at onset in women. METHOD: Competent and consenting individuals with DSM-IV-defined schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and their mothers underwent a 45-minute interview to ascertain age at first odd behavior, age at first psychotic symptoms, age at first hospitalization, and ages at various indices of puberty. Information about substance use, head injury, perinatal trauma, and first-degree family history of schizophrenia was also obtained. RESULTS: In the women (N = 35), the earlier the age at menarche, the later the ages at both the first psychotic symptoms and the first hospitalization. There was no significant association between puberty and onset in the men (N = 45). Other than gender, none of the examined variables played a role in the interaction of puberty and onset of illness. CONCLUSIONS: In women, early puberty (whether through hormonal or social influence) was associated with later onset of schizophrenia. This effect was not found in men; in fact, the trend was in the opposite direction.

Adolescent↗