Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Pomara

Publications and source records attributed to N Pomara.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Increased sensitivity of the elderly to the central depressant effects of diazepam.

The effects of diazepam on memory and psychomotor performance in healthy elderly (N = 12) and young (N = 12) individuals were examined. Diazepam was administered acutely in a single, oral 2.5 mg dose. Diazepam impaired memory, both immediate and delayed recall, and psychomotor performance in the elderly subjects. In addition, the drug caused an increase in self-reported sedation in elderly subjects but not in young subjects. These findings suggest an age-related increase in the sensitivity of elderly individuals to the central depressant effects of diazepam.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1984

Prediction of serum cortisol response to dexamethasone in normal volunteers: a multivariate approach.

Dexamethasone (DEX, 0.5 mg orally at 11 PM) challenge was used for the assessment of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity in 20 normal volunteers. Age and pre-DEX serum cortisol levels were theè evaluated as predictors of postDEX serum cortisol levels using step-wise multiple regression analysis. Both age and preDEX serum cortisol levels were significant predictors of postDEX serum cortisol levels. It is suggested that the adjustment for age and preDEX serum cortisol level could be useful for the interpretation of abnormal postDEX levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Adverse effects of single therapeutic doses of diazepam on performance in normal geriatric subjects: relationship to plasma concentrations.

Elderly normal volunteers (N = 12, mean age 70.4 years) were administered placebo or diazepam 2.5, 5, 10 mg in four consecutive sessions separated by at least a 1-week interval. Memory and psychomotor performance and plasma diazepam concentrations were assessed at baseline and at 1 and 3 h following drug administration. Significant impairments were found in response to all doses of diazepam. The maximum impairment occurred at 1 h, which coincided with the highest plasma concentration of the drug.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Proline in the cerebrospinal fluid of normal subjects and Alzheimer's-disease patients, as determined with a new double-labeling assay technique.

Past studies have implicated proline involvement in the function of memory and learning. A new micromethod has been developed that is suitable for measuring proline accurately in as little as 0.1 ml of CSF. In normal human CSF, the average proline level was found to be consistently about 1.3 microM. In the CSF of patients with Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementias, the levels of proline showed no statistically significant difference from proline levels in the CSF of normal controls. Furthermore, the proline levels in the CSF of the Alzheimer's disease patients did not reflect, consistently, the cognitive deficits or the symptomatic severity of the disease. Proline levels in CSF showed no statistically significant change with the age of individuals tested.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Myalgia and elevation in muscle creatine phosphokinase during zimelidine treatment.

The authors report a case involving a 65-year-old woman with DSM-III criteria for major unipolar depression in whom the administration of zimelidine, a potent and selective 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitor, led to the development of a hypersensitivity reaction characterized by a severe headache, low grade fever, abnormal liver enzymes, and generalized myalgia 10 days after initiation of treatment. The most novel aspect of this hypersensitivity reaction to zimelidine was the development of abnormalities in muscle creatine phosphokinase in conjunction with the myalgia.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Lithium-induced increases in red blood cell choline and memory performance in Alzheimer-type dementia.

To investigate the relationship between RBC choline and memory in Alzheimer-type senile dementia (SDAT), lithium carbonate was administered to 14 SDAT patients in doses of 400-600 mg/day for 5 weeks. A battery of memory tests was administered at baseline and at weekly intervals. Five patients with serum concentrations below 0.6 meq/liter developed neurotoxicity and were dropped from further analysis. For the remaining patients, Li+ with mean serum concentrations up to 0.6 meq/liter did not alter memory scores significantly. The dramatic increases in RBC choline during the study, however, suggest that RBC choline is not correlated with memory functioning in SDAT.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Russell's revised Wechsler Memory Scale in the evaluation of dementia.

Matched 31 elderly normals and 25 patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease for age and education and administered the Revised Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-R). The patient group performed significantly less well than the control group on all WMS-R subtests. A bimodal distribution of Percent Retained scores was noted in the patient group, but not in the control group. Results are discussed with respect to the clinical utility of the WMS-R as a memory screening procedure.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Attenuation of pilocarpine-induced hypothermia in response to chronic administration of choline.

Chronic treatment of rats with choline caused a decrease in the hypothermic response to pilocarpine. The action of choline on the muscarinic receptors is consistent with electrophysiological and binding studies, supporting a direct muscarinic action for choline. Administration of direct muscarinic agonists has been shown to cause a decrease in the number of muscarinic receptors. Thus, the long-term use of cholinergic precursors could have some adverse effects on central cholinergic functioning.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Aging and cortisol resistance to suppression by dexamethasone: a positive correlation.

Cortisol resistance to suppression by 0.5 mg of dexamethasone given at 11 p.m. was studied in 30 normal subjects, 17 to 78 years of age. Serum cortisol concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. A strong positive correlation was found between age and cortisol concentrations 9 hours after dexamethasone administration. The data suggest that aging, per se, might contribute to the increased cortisol resistance to suppression by dexamethasone reported in depression and dementia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Failure of single-dose lecithin to alter aspects of central cholinergic activity in Alzheimer's disease.

The effect of a single dose (15 g/70 kg) of lecithin (95% phosphatidylcholine) on several measures of central cholinergic activity (memory, cortisol, prolactin, pulse, blood pressure) was assessed in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. In contrast to the reported effects of physostigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, lecithin had no effect on these parameters, despite significant increases in plasma and erythrocyte choline.

Aged↗