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Biomedical subjects

M Zimmerman

Publications and source records attributed to M Zimmerman.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Effect of the novel synthetic protease inhibitor furoyl saccharin on elastase-induced emphysema in rabbits and hamsters.

Furoyl saccharin, a novel heterocyclic acylating agent which has been previously found to possess a potent inhibitory capacity in vitro for elastase and other serine proteases, has been investigated in vivo in two acute animal models of emphysema. In hamsters, intratracheal (i.tr.) administration of 0.1 mg porcine pancreatic elastase resulted seven days later, in a 42% increase of the mean linear intercept (Lm). Addition of 0.3 mg to 0.3 mg furoyl saccharin to elastase exhibited a partial, not dose-related, but statistically significant inhibition of the increase of LM. Addition of 1 mg furoyl saccharin (equivalent to a dose of 12.5 mg/kg) completely abolished the increase in Lm. In the rabbit i.tr. instillation of 3.7 mg porcine pancreatic elastase induced within seven days, a 48% increase of the Lm, a 27% decrease of the internal surface area (ISA) of the lungs and a 33% decrease of the ISA corrected to an arbitrary total lung volume of 70 ml (ISA70). Furoyl saccharin given i.tr. 15 min prior to elastase at the doses 3, 10 and 20 mg prevented significantly in a dose-related manner, the changes in Lm, ISA and ISA70. The highest furoyl saccharin dose (equivalent to a dose of 10.8 mg/kg) completely protected against the emphysematous lesion. Additionally furoyl saccharin (20 mg i.tr.) prevented in the rabbit model the depletion in lung insoluble elastin and the increase in salt soluble collagen induced by the elastase administration. These results show that furoyl saccharin also in vivo has a marked antielastase activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

The clinical use of beta-blockers in the prevention of sudden death.

Numerous studies now suggest that better prevention of arrhythmic sudden death (SD) is provided by beta-blockers than by type I antiarrhythmic drugs. Analysis of 69 cases of SD recorded at ambulatory ECG showed two important facts: (1) in about 20% of the cases, type I antiarrhythmic drugs were responsible for SD, so that the statistical lack of prevention probably reflects a mixed picture of beneficial and deleterious effects; (2) the apparent ineffectiveness of beta-blockers in daily observed arrhythmias does not imply that they cannot protect the patients against the exceptional circumstances which lead to lethal arrhythmias. Arguments suggesting that sympathetic drive should be tempered for a better protection against SD come from various observations: transient ischaemia preceding the terminal event, increasing heart rate preceding lethal or life-threatening arrhythmias, persistent arrhythmias inducibility with isoprenaline or exercise when they had apparently been controlled, the positive correlation between the number of premature beats and the sinus rate at Holter monitoring and the consistent sinus acceleration before a variety of arrhythmias at Holter monitoring. Electrophysiologic phenomena and the autonomic nervous system are often combined to generate arrhythmias. Drugs may apparently be effective though not specific for the causal mechanism, or may be apparently ineffective though providing real protection against potential arrhythmias. Modes of evaluation of the different situations should be more comprehensive to ensure better adapted treatments.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1986

Assessment of DSM-III personality disorders: the importance of interviewing an informant.

The Structured Interview for DSM-III Personality Disorders was used to interview 82 patients. In addition, a close relative or friend of the patient was interviewed regarding each patient's normal personality. After the informant interview, the diagnosis of the presence or absence of any personality disorder was changed in almost 20% of the sample. In general, the information given by the informants revealed additional pathology in the patients and was less frequently used to retract a diagnosis. Despite conflicting information from the patients and informants, the reliability of personality disorder assessment remained high.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Importance of diagnostic thresholds in familial classification. Dexamethasone suppression test and familial subtypes of depression.

A sample of 184 hospitalized primary unipolar depressives was used to examine the relationship between the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and Winokur's familial typology as a function of the broadness of the criteria used to diagnose the patients' first-degree relatives. When a high threshold was used (ie, alcoholic relatives were treated, antisocial relatives had legal problems, and depressed relatives were hospitalized), the DST-familial subtype relationship was much stronger than when a low threshold was used (ie, relatives were diagnosed according to the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria). The differences in diagnosing family members may be responsible for the inconsistent results reported by investigators examining the relationship between Winokur's typology and the DST.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A structured interview for the DSM-III personality disorders. A preliminary report.

With few exceptions, published studies fail to indicate that the DSM-III personality disorders can be distinguished from each other with respect to etiology, prognosis, treatment response, or family history. The Structured Interview for the DSM-III Personality Disorders (SIDP) was developed to improve axis II diagnostic reliability, and hence allow validity testing of axis II. Sixty-three subjects were independently rated by two interviewers using the SIDP. The kappa coefficients for interrater agreement reached .70 or higher for histrionic, borderline, and dependent personalities. While it is impossible to separate the validity testing of the SIDP from validity testing of the DSM-III personality criteria themselves, preliminary results from 102 inpatient SIDP interviews suggest some criterion-based validity with respect to standard personality rating scales and some construct validity with respect to the dexamethasone suppression test.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The effect of nicotine on aortic endothelial cell turnover. An autoradiographic study.

Endothelial injury and increased mitotic activity are early features in the pathogenesis of intimal thickening in arteries. This study examines the effect of systemic nicotine on mitotic activity in endothelial cells. Nine adult mice were given nicotine in their drinking water for 5 weeks. The dose (5 mg/kg body wt/day) was equivalent to a human smoking 50-100 cigarettes/day. A group of 8 similar mice, not exposed to nicotine, was the control. At the end of the exposure period all mice were injected with [3H]thymidine (1 microCi/g body wt) and were killed 24 h later. After perfusion fixation, en-face preparations of aortic endothelium were processed for autoradiography. In nicotine-affected endothelium 0.46 +/- 0.11% (SEM) of cells were labelled, which was significantly higher (P less than 0.01) than in controls (0.14 +/- 0.06%). However, there was no difference in cell density between the groups. On this evidence it was concluded that the rate of cell loss, or cell turnover, was greater in nicotine-affected endothelium. Because other studies have shown that increased mitotic activity and cell loss are established features of endothelial injury, the present findings provide evidence in support of the hypothesis that nicotine contributes to the pathogenesis of arterial disease in smokers.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Short-term prognosis in primary and secondary major depression.

Among inpatients treated without ECT, those with primary unipolar depression had significantly better outcomes at discharge than did those with secondary depression. This difference grew more striking during a 6-month follow-up; patients with secondary depression were clearly less likely to recover from the index depressive episode and had substantially higher symptom levels at the time of follow-up. In contrast, patients with DSM-III melancholia resembled depressed patients without melancholia on all outcome measures.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The categorical and dimensional models of endogenous depression.

We calculated a Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) endogenous score for 257 depressed inpatients based on the number of endogenous criteria present. The distribution of RDC endogenous scores was unimodal. There was no association between endogenous scores and results of the Dexamethasone Suppression Test, or morbid risk for depression in the patients' first-degree relatives. The morbid risk for a family history of alcoholism tended to decrease with increasing endogenous scores, although a consistent steady decline was not observed. The results suggest that the RDC criteria do not fit either the categorical or dimensional model of endogenous classification. Potential sources of difficulty with the RDC endogenous criteria are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The research diagnostic criteria for endogenous depression and the dexamethasone suppression test: a discriminant function analysis.

Most studies examining the validity of the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for endogenous depression have been negative. RDC endogenous subtyping is not associated with short- or long-term treatment outcome, family history of affective disorder, or premorbid personality disorder. Studies examining its relationship to the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) are mixed; half report a significant association, and half do not. The RDC endogenous diagnosis may lack validity either because the criteria do not represent, or are not specific to, the endogenous subtype, or the diagnostic algorithm is inappropriate. In the present study, we conduct a discriminant function analysis on the 10 criteria for the endogenous subtype using DST results as the independent variable. We constructed a new diagnostic algorithm and cross-validated it on a second patient sample. In both samples the discriminant function classification was significantly associated with DST results, whereas the RDC algorithm was not.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The treatment validity of DSM-III melancholic subtyping.

Because melancholic subtyping is associated with pretreatment symptom severity, the type of data-analytic technique used in examining treatment validity may affect one's conclusions. We examined the relationship between the presence or absence of melancholia and the response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in 87 depressed inpatients. Depending on the definition of improvement used, melancholic subtyping was either not associated with ECT response, or non-melancholics had a better outcome than melancholics. We suggest that standard methods of outcome evaluation be required in therapy outcome studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Iowa Discriminant Index for endogenous depression: family history correlates.

We examined the risk of psychiatric illness in the first-degree relatives of the 257 depressed inpatients upon whom we constructed the Iowa Discriminant Index (IDI) for endogenous depression. Nonendogenous depressives had a higher rate of alcoholism and antisocial personality in their families. IDI endogenous subtyping was not associated with a family history of depression. These results provide additional support for the validity of the empirically derived IDI.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A unique elastase in human blood platelets.

Previous investigations suggested that elastolytic activity found in platelets could be due to contamination by neutrophil elastase. In the present study, the lysate of blood platelets free of detectable neutrophils was examined for elastase-like activity using tertiary-butyloxycarbonyl (tBOC)-ala-ala-pro-ala-aminomethyl coumarin (I), tBOC-ala-ala-pro-val-aminomethyl coumarin (II), and succinyl-tri-ala-rho-nitroanilide (SAPNA), and for elastolytic activity using 3H-labeled dog and human lung elastins. The platelet lysate degraded I at a higher rate than II, while the reverse was true of neutrophil elastase. The rate of degradation of I, II, and SAPNA by the lysate increased with reaction time up to 20 min. The rate of I, II, and SAPNA degradation by the lysate was decreased by the presence of 0.5 M NaCl, whereas NaCl greatly potentiated their degradation by neutrophil elastase. Plasma alpha 2-macroglobulin inhibited elastolysis by the platelet lysate, whereas plasma alpha 1-antitrypsin did not. The lysate activity was inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, elastatinal, Trasylol, and furoyl-saccharin. The optimum pH for platelet lysate activity was 8.5-9.0, as in other studies using elastin as substrate. The pH 4.5 eluate obtained after incubation of the lysate with dog lung elastin at neutral pH exhibited the same catalytic properties as the activity in the lysate. The different substrate and inhibitor specificities and the failure of IgG specific for neutrophil elastase to remove elastase-like and elastolytic activities from the lysate indicate that a unique elastase occurs in platelets.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The validity of DSM-III axis IV (severity of psychosocial stressors).

One hundred thirty depressed inpatients were rated on DSM-III axis IV on the basis of information collected from a comprehensive life events interview. Axis IV scores were more highly correlated with undesirable than desirable events, with exits than entrances, and with time-limited than chronic events. Higher axis IV scores were associated with a lower rate of abnormal dexamethasone suppression test results, a higher morbid risk for alcoholism, a greater frequency of personality disorders, and a greater likelihood of attempted suicide during the index episode.

Adolescent↗