Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Matussek

Publications and source records attributed to N Matussek.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Effect of clonidine on growth hormone release in psychiatric patients and controls.

The stimulation of human growth hormone (HGH) release by clonidine (0.15 mg i.v.) was studied as a test of the postsynaptic alpha-receptor sensitivity of psychiatric patients. In this test, endogenous depressives showed a significantly reduced HGH response to clonidine as compared to normal controls, neurotic-reactive depressives, and schizophrenics. However, no differences were found between the endogenous depressives and a group of schizoaffective patients. HGH response to clonidine was not correlated with plasma levels of noradrenaline, serum cortisol, free fatty acids, or blood glucose. Within the group of normal control subjects, a reduced HGH response was found in most postmenopausal women and in some regular users of alcohol. Our findings suggest that patients with endogenous depression are characterized by a subsensitivity of postsynaptic alpha-receptors or of structures related to them. The clonidine test shows promise as an indicator of vulnerability to endogenous depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Amitriptyline plasma-concentration and clinical effect. A World Health Organisation Collaborative Study.

54 patients in five centres participated in a study of the relationship between steady-state plasma-levels of amitriptyline (AT) and its active metabolite nortriptyline (NT) and therapeutic response. The participants were inpatients who, after a 7-12 day period of assessment, were rated greater than or equal to 16 on the Hamilton rating scale for depression. They were given 75 mg of amitriptyline for 3 days and then 150 mg daily for an active-treatment period of 6 weeks. Clinical ratings and plasma-samples were obtained at baseline then at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after starting therapy. Contrary to the findings of three previous trials, no important correlations were found between steady-state plasma-levels and therapeutic outcome or corrected side-effects. Corrected side-effects correlated negatively with therapeutic outcome. There seems little advantage in routine monitoring of AT and NT, since variations in plasma-levels do not account for the considerable variation in therapeutic outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Serum iron levels in depressed patients.

76 depressive patients (male and female) suffering from different kinds of depression (involutional, uni-and bipolar, neurotic, postpartum) showed no reduced serum iron levels. Even after a three to five weeks therapy with tricyclic antidepressants the serum iron levels of 17 of these patients were still within the normal range. On the basis of these results we can neither see a correlation between hyposideremia and the depressive syndrome, nor a hint for a decrease of serum iron levels under treatment with tricyclic antidepressants.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

MHPG excretion during sleep deprivation in endogenous depression.

MHPG excretion of 14 endogenously depressive patients and 5 healthy controls was investigated before, during and after a night of sleep deprivation (SD). Patients having a minimum improvement of 40% in the Cronholm-Ottoson rating scale had shown a significantly higher MHPG excretion in the night before SD ( p less than 0.02) as compared to the non-improved group. The MHPG excretion of the night before SD shows a significant negative correlation, both with the depression score according to Cronholm-Ottoson (p less than 0.05) and with the self-rating score according to von Zerssen (p less than 0.005), on the day after SD. No correlation was found between the motor activity measured by pedometer and MHPG excretion. The results are discussed in connection with values found in controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in psychiatric patients and normals. Effect of d-amphetamine and haloperidol.

Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity was estimated in groups of normals and of psychiatric patients, using a thin layer radiochromatographic method. The percentage of patients with schizophrenic and with depressive symptomatology was higher in the population with high enzyme activities. In addition, d-amphetamine given to normals caused an increase in the serum activity while haloperidol caused the opposite effect. The activity in serum is interpreted as a loss in the enzyme from the place it acts physiologically, with possible influence on the noradrenaline synthesis rate.

Depression↗