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Biomedical subjects

P Boyer

Publications and source records attributed to P Boyer.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Anhedonia in the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia.

Previous studies have shown that anhedonia characterizes the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia. Anhedonia is also one of the main symptoms of the depressive state. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between anhedonia and depression in the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia. Self-evaluations of anhedonia and depression were performed by three groups of subjects (32 deficit schizophrenics, 32 major depressives, 35 healthy subjects) matched for sociodemographic variables. Deficit schizophrenics and major depressives are more anhedonic than controls, but there is no difference between the two study groups. Contrarily to what is evidenced for major depressives and for healthy subjects, the depressive symptomatology correlates with anhedonia in deficit schizophrenics. When deficit schizophrenics are dichotomized into depressed versus non-depressed patients, no difference is observed concerning anhedonia. These results suggest that anhedonia in the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia has no specificity but appears independent of coexisting depression and covaries with several characteristics of depression (retardation, cognitive distortions). Our results support the hypothesis that the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia could constitute a non-depressive mood disorder.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Methodological proposals for the evaluation of the mood stabilizing effect of an antipsychotic drug].

Antipsychotic drugs are widely used in the long term treatment of bipolar and schizoaffective disorders. Nevertheless clinical trials devoted to the specific assessment of the mood stabilizing effect of these drugs are quite rare. Among recent studies only those by S. McElroy on olanzapine and by R. Bowden on divalproex have included mood symptoms as inclusion and outcome criteria. This paper reviews the different methodological proposals both in term of protocol designs (retrospective, naturalistic, longitudinal and prospective studies) and of efficacy criteria (time to relapse, reasons for drop outs, treatment switch, functional status).

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Higher erythropoietin secretion in response to cobaltous chloride in post-hypoxic than in hypertransfused polycythemic mice.

BACKGROUND: We have shown previously that both erythrocyte production rate (EPR) and plasma erythropoietin (EPO) levels in response to hypoxia or to compounds able to stimulate EPO secretion are very much higher in post-hypoxic (PH) than in hypertransfused (HT) polycythemic mice with similar levels of hematocrit. Since it has been demonstrated that cobalt (Co) treatment rises renal EPO-mRNA and increases plasma EPO levels, the present study was conducted to determine whether there is a difference between PH and HT mice in relation to the erythropoietic response to Co and whether the stimulatory effect of Co on EPO secretion can be blunted by polycythemia. METHODS: Adult female mice of the CF-1 strain were made polycythemic by either exposing them to 270 h of discontinuous hypoxia (18 h/d) in a hypobaric chamber maintained at 456 hPA (PH mice) or by injecting them with 0.8 ml of washed packed red cells on two consecutive days (HT mice). Measurement of the erythrocyte production rate (EPR) was made by RBC-59Fe uptake. Plasma EPO concentration was determined by RIA. Cobalt chloride (CoC12) was dissolved in saline and injected in doses of 4 and 8 umoles/mouse. Recombinant human EPO (HEMAX 4000, Bio Sidus SA, Argentina) was dissolved in PBS + albumin to the desired concentration. RESULTS: By comparison with the corresponding dose-regression line for rHu-EPO, it was estimated that the responses (EPR) (measured as RBC-59Fe incorporation) of PH mice to sc injections of 4 and 8 umoles of CoC12 were equivalent to 95 and 145 mU of rHu-EPO, respectively. The response of HT mice to 4 umoles of the drug was not detectable. At the upper dose level, the response was equivalent to 52 mU of rHuEPO. Plasma immunoreactive EPO (iEPO) titers 12 h after COC12 (8 umoles) were not significantly different between normocythemic and PH mice. The observed values were significantly higher than those found in HT mice. DISCUSSION: These findings demonstrate that EPO production in response to COC12 is depressed by polycythemia when induced by transfusion but not when induced by chronic exposure to hypobaric hypoxia. They also confirm, but not explain the nature of the conditioning effect of exposure to hypoxia which makes the mechanism controlling EPO secretion either more sensitive to EPO-secreting stimuli or unable to recognize the polycythemic state.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Exploration of memory disorders in anxiety states].

According to cognitive model of anxiety, memory process in anxious patients is usually tested by comparing the incidental recall of positive and negative, threatening and non threatening, self and other-referenced words. Contrary to expectation, the results indicate relatively poorer memory for threatening material in anxious patients and no bias in favour of the recall of self referent negative words. At the opposite this memory bias can be evidenced in patients with panic disorder. The bias for anxiety words is better evidenced in the subgroups with the higher arousal level or when there is a mood induction by reading first an anxiogenic text. Consistent with prediction a perceptive pre-attentional bias can be shown for the great majority of the subjects studied in recent researches.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The AMDP scales in a phase II evaluation of psychotropic drugs].

Four multicentre double blind trials (two studies comparing placebo to a marketed activating drug and two comparing placebo to a new drug with central adrenergic modulating properties) were pooled, totalling 77 placebo Ss, 30 reference drug Ss and 73 study drug Ss. The AMDP-4 and -5 scales were filled out at day 0 and 7 by trained raters. Four statistical analyses were performed on the pre- vs. postdrug differences: an analysis of variance, a principal components factor analysis, a discriminant analysis and a cluster analysis. The results indicate that 9 out of the 14 AMDP factor scores significantly decrease within 1 week while the factor Mania-Agitation increases, without differences between both active compounds; on the item level, the "inhibition of drive" is specifically improved by the study drug; the discriminant analysis confirms that the two most improved items are "Inhibition of drive" and "Hopelessness". Three factor scores significantly improve on placebo (Depression, Retardation, Psycho-organic Symptoms), which points to the necessity of placebo-controlled studies in clinical trials of new drugs.

Double-Blind Method↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A surveillance method for products used by drug addicts examined in emergency units].

Products used in a toxicomaniac way are in rapid change, and different from different area. Users too have to be better known. Authors present a simple survey method of these products, based on sample use. First results seem to be correct. These method may be used, associated with others, in a network as those existent for many years in the United States.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Relationship between anhedonia, affective dependency and autonomy in health subjects].

Several authors have suggested that anbedonia, autonomy and interpersonal dependency could characterize personality of subjects prone to depression. We have studied in a group of 117 healthy subjects the Pearson correlation coefficients between two anbedonia scales (Physical Anbedonia Scale or PAS, Fawcett Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale-Physical Pleasure or FCPCS-PP) and the three sub-scales of the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI) (two rating dependency and one rating autonomy). The results have shown a significant correlation between the PAS and the autonomy sub-scale of the IDI. Anbedonia and autonomy could characterized a particular profile of personality.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Anhedonia in schizophrenia].

A study on 61 subjects who meet Spitzer's Research Diagnosis Criteria of schizophrenia and on 56 normal subjects has been conducted to explore anhedonia. Anhedonia was evaluated by two rating scales, the Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS) and a sub-scale of physical pleasure (FCPCS-PP) extracted from the pleasure scale of Fawcett. The reliabilities of the scales were studied in the schizophrenic group by the Cronbach alpha and the Kuder Richardson (KR 20) coefficient and by the correlation between the two scales (concurrent validity). The Cronbach alpha was 0.77 for the FCPCS-PP and the KR 20 was 0.82 for the PAS. The correlation between the two scales was -0.37 (p < 0.01). The schizophrenics were significantly more anhedonic than normals with higher score on the PAS and with a lower score on the FCPCS-PP. Using the Beck Depression Inventory to rate depression in the schizophrenic group and to dichotomize these subjects into depressed schizophrenics and no depressed schizophrenics, we failed to find significantly differences concerning anhedonia scales between these two sub-groups of schizophrenics. There was no difference between in and outpatients concerning the anhedonia scales. Our results suggest that anhedonia would be a possible marker of schizophrenic disease. The distribution of the anhedonia scales in the schizophrenic group is normal or unimodal and it doesn't support the hypothesis of a qualitative sub-group of schizophrenics characterised by severe anhedonia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Physical anhedonia and depression: distinct concepts? Study of the construct validity of these dimensions in a group of 224 normal subjects].

The aim of the study was to precise the relationship between physical anhedonia and depression in healthy subjects. The construct validity of these two dimensions were determined using a principal components analysis. 224 normal subjects were recruited for the study. They filled out the abrigded version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a physical pleasure scale (Fawcett Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale--FCPCS-PP). A principal components analyses following by a varimax rotation was done. The correlation matrix comprising items from both the BDI and the FCPCS-PP yielded a three-factor solution (two "pleasure" factors and one "depression factor") with no overlap of the significant factor loading for the items from each scale. The findings support the view that physical anhedonia is a construct that is distinct and separate from depression.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiology of the use of anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs in France and in the world].

A higher anxiolytic and hypnotic consumption has been evidenced in France by recent international and national surveys. In an effort to counteract this pattern French Health authorities have enforced limitation to the prescription of these drugs. Understanding the causes of this overuse needs a careful analysis of the pattern of use of this medicine but also of the associated morbidity factors. In the last ten years several studies have attempted to address these issues. In the general population there were 25 to 30% of occasional or regular users with between 5 and 7% chronic users making french anxiolytic users two to three time superior to most industrialised countries. This high level of consumption is not the privilege of anxiolytic since the same pattern of use is observed for all medicine. Studies in primary care, in medical inpatients and psychiatric inpatients show as expected that anxiolytic use increase with the psychiatric morbidity and also with somatic disorder. The main risk factors for anxiolytic use are female sex, old age and psychic and somatic morbidity. Age seems to play a major role in subjects over 65: 17% are chronic users. Multiple factors might play a role in benzodiazepine use as medical care system, physician type of practice, cultural specific aspects but no proper simple explanation is available to explain the mechanism of the french high anxiolytic use. Given the poor global recognition of mental disorder observed in most countries it is suggested to privilege primary care physician training in psychiatry to optimize psychotropic drug use.

Adult↗