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Biomedical subjects

P Dorfman-Etrog

Publications and source records attributed to P Dorfman-Etrog.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Association between severity of schizophrenic symptoms and urinary retention.

A case is presented in which severe urinary retention (UR) occurred during an acute psychotic exacerbation of paranoid schizophrenia. The voiding dysfunction was apparent during continuous treatment with unchanged doses of haloperidol, and it completely resolved with the remission of the psychotic symptoms. A clear temporal correlation was evident between the patient's mental status, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score and the degree of the UR as assessed by quantitatively measuring the total daily post-voiding urine residues. We could not relate the UR to any apparent general medical condition or to the haloperidol treatment. The presented data suggests that UR in schizophrenic patients might be the end-result of various psychosis-related mechanisms.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Abnormal thermoregulation in drug-free male schizophrenia patients.

Schizophrenia patients may develop various thermoregulatory disturbances. We hypothesized that a standardized exercise-heat tolerance test [two 50-min bouts of walking a motor-driven treadmill at 40 degrees C (relative humidity=40%)] would reveal abnormal thermoregulation in drug-free schizophrenia patients. Six drug-free schizophrenia outpatients and seven healthy comparison subjects participated in this study. The schizophrenia patients exhibited significantly higher baseline and exertion-related rectal temperature. The relevance of these findings to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia-related thermoregulatory disorders is as yet unclear.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Antidepressive effect of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) in neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic patients with co-morbid minor depression--preliminary open-label trial].

BACKGROUND: Minor depression is reported in 20-60% of schizophrenic patients during various stages of their disorders; impairing patients' compliance, response to treatment and worsening their overall prognosis. Various anti-depressive treatments have been proposed for such cases but response rates are usually poor. Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) in essential for the proper metabolism of various neurotransmitters that are considered relevant to the pathophysiology of depression and/or schizophrenia and it has been reported beneficial in ameliorating depressive symptoms as part of major depression, premenstrual syndrome or 'Chinese restaurant syndrome'. We hypothesized that addition of pyridoxine to on-going neuroleptic treatment could improve minor depression in schizophrenic patients. METHOD: Nine schizophrenic patients with co-morbid minor depression participated in this study. All participants had a stable unchanged clinical state (changes in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), and Scale for the Assessment of Negative symptoms (SANS) scores < 5%) and all were maintained on unchanged doses of anti-psychotic drugs for at least 4 consecutive weeks prior to initiation of the study. Participants received, open-label, pyridoxine 150 mg/day in addition to their anti-psychotic treatment for 4 consecutive weeks. Mental status was evaluated before, during, and at the end of 4 weeks of pyridoxine administration using the BPRS, SAPS, SANS and HAM-D. RESULTS: Two of the nine patients (22%), characterized by higher initial HAM-D and SANS scores, and by older age and longer duration of illness, experienced marked improvements in depressive symptoms (23% and 28% decrease in HAM-D scores) following 4 weeks of pyridoxine administration. In one of these two, the improvement in depressive symptoms was accompanied by a parallel decrease in SANS Scores. CONCLUSION: A subgroup of schizophrenic patients with comorbid minor depression may benefit from pyridoxine addition to their on-going anti-psychotic treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Acute antipsychotic drug administration lowers body temperature in drug-free male schizophrenic patients.

We examined, in a controlled design, potential alterations in body temperature of male schizophrenic patients following acute antipsychotic drug (APD) administration. Fourteen drug-free (study group) and seven schizophrenic patients maintained on APDs (comparison group) initiated or received higher dose of their APD, respectively, for 27 days. Initial body temperature was 0.36 degrees C higher in the study group (P=0.01) and decreased within 24 h to values comparable to that of the comparison group (all within normal range).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Beneficial effect of olanzapine in schizophrenic patients with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Some studies suggest that obsessive-compulsive symptoms may be common (7.8-46%) in schizophrenic patients and seem to be poorly responsive to drug therapy. Conventional neuroleptics are of limited value, but adjunctive anti-obsessive agents (clomipramine, fluvoxamine) may be an option. Although novel atypical antipsychotics (clozapine, risperidone) reportedly aggravate the obsessive-compulsive symptoms, a recent trial has shown that olanzapine did not induce new-onset obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenic patients. We report our experience with three schizophrenic patients with obsessive-compulsive symptoms who were unsuccessfully treated with various conventional neuroleptics in combination with anti-obsessive agents and subsequently showed resistance or intolerance to clozapine. All of them were switched to olanzapine (10-20 mg/ day). All patients demonstrated a significant improvement in both schizophrenic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms as measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Within 5-8 weeks of initiation of olanzapine, the BPRS scores of the three patient decreased by 53%, 51% and 48%, and the Y-BOCS scores by 68%, 73% and 85%. Olanzapine was well tolerated. These preliminary results suggest that olanzapine may be a therapeutic option in schizophrenic patients with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The effect of vitamin E addition to acute neuroleptic treatment on the emergence of extrapyramidal side effects in schizophrenic patients: an open label study.

The anti-oxidant vitamin E has been reported to be effective in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia. The present open label study examined the effect of supplemental therapy with vitamin E on acute extrapyramidal symptoms and cell enzymes in patients receiving neuroleptic drugs. Thirty-nine hospitalized schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to two groups: group 1 (n = 20) was treated with neuroleptics, and group 2 (n = 19) with neuroleptics combined with a fixed dose of vitamin E (600 IU/day), administered for two weeks. All patients were assessed with the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale (Simpson and Angus, 1970) for neuroleptic induced Parkinsonism (NIP), Barnes' Akathisia Scale (Barnes, 1989), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale: laboratory parameters included serum creatine kinase (CK) activity, serum glutamate oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and white blood cell count (WBC). The addition of vitamin E to neuroleptic agents was associated with a trend (p = 0.08) towards prevention of the emergence of NIP compared to neuroleptic treatment alone. Addition of vitamin E to neuroleptics may reduce the severity of acute NIP in schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Sulpiride augmentation in people with schizophrenia partially responsive to clozapine. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesised that a combined regimen of clozapine, a relatively weak D2-dopaminergic antagonist, and sulpiride, a selective D2 blocker, would demonstrate a greater antipsychotic efficacy by enhancing the D2 blockade of clozapine. METHOD: Twenty-eight people with schizophrenia, previously unresponsive to typical antipsychotics and only partially responsive to current treatment with clozapine, received, double-blind, 600 mg/day sulpiride or placebo, in addition to an ongoing clozapine treatment. The clinical status was evaluated before, during, and at the end of 10 weeks of sulpiride addition using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. RESULTS: The clozapine-sulpiride group exhibited substantially greater and significant improvements in positive and negative psychotic symptoms. About half of them, characterised by a younger age and lower baseline SAPS scores, had a mean reduction of 42.4 and 50.4% in their BPRS and SAPS scores, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A subgroup of patients with chronic schizophrenia may substantially benefit from sulpiride addition to clozapine.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Sexual dysfunction in male schizophrenic patients.

BACKGROUND: Neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenic patients is associated with sexual dysfunction. However, it is not clear to what extent the psychiatric disorder and/or the pharmacologic treatment are responsible for the sexual impairment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sexual function of untreated and treated male schizophrenic patients in comparison with healthy subjects. METHOD: Participants included 122 male subjects: 20 drug-free schizophrenic patients, 51 neuroleptic-treated (depot form) schizophrenic patients, and 51 normal controls. A detailed structured interview was used to quantitatively and qualitatively assess sexual function. RESULTS: A high frequency of sexual dysfunction was reported by both schizophrenic groups of patients. Impairments in arousal items (erection) and orgasm during sex were reported mainly by the treated patients. Desire parameters were reduced in both schizophrenic groups, but reduction in the frequency of sexual thoughts was confined to the untreated one. The schizophrenic patients were more involved in masturbatory activity in comparison with the control subjects. Treated patients disclosed dissatisfaction with their sexual function. CONCLUSION: Untreated schizophrenic patients exhibit decreased sexual desire. Neuroleptic treatment is associated with restoration of sexual desire yet it entails erectile, orgasmic, and sexual satisfaction problems. Clinicians' awareness and open discussion of sexual problems with patients may improve comprehension and compliance.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Musical hallucinations and hearing deficit in a young non-psychotic female.

A case of musical hallucinations in a young non-psychotic female is described. The only presented symptoms were perceptual disturbances accompanied by the fear of having a severe mental disorder. Further investigation disclosed a perforated ear-drum, with subsequent mild hearing deficit but no signs of major psychopathology. It is suggested that a psychiatric diagnosis should be deferred in such patients, before audible deficits had been ruled out. The clinical features of musical hallucinations associated with hearing deficits are discussed.

Adult↗