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Biomedical subjects

R G Cooke

Publications and source records attributed to R G Cooke.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Well-being and functioning in patients with bipolar disorder assessed using the MOS 20-ITEM short form (SF-20).

Sixty-eight euthymic outpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder according to Research Diagnostic Criteria, based on structured assessment, completed the 20-item short form of the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) questionnaire (SF-20). Patients' mean scores on the 6 SF-20 subscales fell within or below the range of mean scores reported for patients with chronic medical illness and major depression in the MOS. Thus, BD, even in clinical remission, is associated with marked reductions in self-reported functioning and well-being, confirming the importance of the disorder as a major public health problem, meriting substantial resources for research and treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Comorbidity of binge eating disorder and the partial binge eating syndrome with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the prevalence of binge eating disorder (BED), partial binge eating syndrome, and night binge eating syndrome in subjects with bipolar disorder (BD). METHOD: Sixty-one subjects in whom BD was established using DSM-III-R criteria received a semistructured clinical interview including a detailed description of binge eating behavior and of night binge eating. Frequencies were compared to prevalence estimates in community samples. RESULTS: Eight subjects (13%) met DSM-IV criteria for the diagnosis of BED. An additional 15 subjects (25%) exhibited a partial binge eating syndrome. These two otherwise identical groups of binge eaters were separated only by the DSM-IV frequency criterion. The rates found were higher than rates found in community samples. Ten subjects reported night binge eating in addition to their usual binge eating behavior. This occurred consistently between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. CONCLUSIONS: Possible underlying mechanisms for the high frequency of binge eating among bipolar subjects are discussed including a model of serotonin-mediated self-modulation of mood. The finding of two groups of binge eaters separated only by the frequency criterion raises questions as to whether the frequency criterion as presently defined in DSM-IV is valid or should be modified.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Serum Mg2+ and Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio in major depressive disorder.

Serum Mg2+ has been implicated in the symptom severity and pathophysiology of mood disorders. Furthermore, the recent findings of blunted signalling through the G-protein-coupled adenylyl cyclase (AC) pathway in major depressive disorder (MDD) and the importance of Mg2+ in G-protein/AC function led us to reexamine in a large sample whether serum Mg2+ concentrations were decreased in MDD patients. In 145 drug-free MDD patients compared with 2 control groups: (a) patients with bipolar disorder (n = 33) and (b) non-mood-disordered patients (n = 47), there were no differences in Mg2+ levels or Ca2+/Mg2+ ratios. Neither of these measures differed when comparing responders and nonresponders to antidepressant treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A comparison of Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire dimensions in bipolar disorder and unipolar depression.

The harm avoidance (HA) personality dimension has been hypothesized to be a vulnerability factor for unipolar depression (UD) but not for bipolar disorder (BD). The reported difference on HA scores between these diagnostic groups may have been compromised by the assessment of BD patients who had not fully recovered. To test the diagnostic specificity of elevated HA scores and to elucidate whether assumptions about differences between patients with UD or BD might be attributed to the lingering effects of mood state, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was administered to recovered patients with either BD or UD and a nonpatient comparison group. Both patient groups scored higher on the HA dimension than the nonpatient comparison group, but the patient groups did not differ from one another on this dimension. Moreover, novelty seeking (NS) scores were elevated in subjects with BD compared with both UD patients and nonpatient subjects. These results suggest that high HA scores may be associated with a mood disorder diagnosis, whereas high NS scores may be associated with the BD subtype.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Comorbidity of obsessive compulsive disorder in bipolar disorder.

The comorbidity of OCD and bipolar disorder has not been systematically examined. Therefore, we determined the frequency of patients meeting DSM-III criteria for OCD syndrome in a sample of 149 inpatients with DSM-III major affective disorder who had received a clinically reviewed structured diagnostic interview. The frequency of OCD syndrome was not significantly different between subjects with major depression (35.2%, n = 105) and bipolar disorder (35.1%, n = 37). This suggests that OCD is equally common in bipolar as in unipolar patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Suppression of prostaglandin F2 alpha and oxytocin release after inhibition of testosterone synthesis in the goat.

Increased peripheral plasma concentrations of testosterone were detected in goats on days 13 and 14 of the oestrous cycle (oestrus = day 0), at the onset of luteolysis. Subcutaneous administration of spironolactone (10 mg kg-1 day-1) on days 10 to 19 inhibited the increases in testosterone, delayed luteolysis and suppressed plasma concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha and oxytocin. These results suggest that testosterone of follicular or luteal origin, possibly via aromatisation to oestrogens, is needed to expedite luteolysis and induce oestrus in the goat.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced release of oxytocin from ovine corpora lutea in vitro.

Prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha, in the dose range 1-10(4) nM, failed to elicit oxytocin secretion in vitro from ovine luteal tissue on day 12 of the estrous cycle (estrus = Day 0), during a 60 minute period. Preincubation of luteal slices for 6 hours prior to treatment suggested that tissue desensitization due to the release of endogenous prostaglandins by tissue preparation is not responsible for this lack of response. However, in luteal tissue collected on day 6 of the ovine estrous cycle, PGF2 alpha stimulated oxytocin release in a dose-dependent manner. This apparent change in sensitivity of the ovine corpus luteum in vitro may be due to a combination of a reduction in the luteal oxytocin available for release and saturation of PGF2 alpha receptors in the more mature tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The thyroid and mixed affective states.

The relationship between Grade II subclinical hypothyroidism and mixed affective states were examined in a cohort of 66 patients with bipolar affective disorder. The overall frequency of Grade II subclinical hypothyroidism was 20%. There was no difference in frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism or in mean thyroid hormone levels between the mixed state and non-mixed-state group.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Potential role for lipoxygenase products of arachidonic acid in prostaglandin F2 alpha-stimulated oxytocin release from the ovine corpus luteum.

Intrauterine administration of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) will maintain luteal function in sheep and also suppress the release of both oxytocin and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) suggesting that 5-lipoxygenase products of arachidonic acid may be involved in ovine luteolysis. During luteolysis, uterine PGF2 alpha is considered to be the major stimulus for the secretion of luteal oxytocin, and we report the effects of 5-lipoxygenase inhibition, via intrauterine NDGA administration, on the ability of PGF2 alpha to effect such secretion. In the NDGA-treated ewes, luteal function was maintained and oestrus delayed, the duration of the oestrous cycle (20 +/- 1 days; mean +/- S.D.; n = 9) being significantly (P < 0.01) longer than in intact controls (15 +/- 1 days, n = 4). Jugular infusions of PGF2 alpha did not stimulate luteal secretion of oxytocin, the effects being comparable with those in ovariectomized ewes. In intact ewes receiving intrauterine infusions of vehicle only, PGF2 alpha produced marked increases in luteal secretion of oxytocin. Also, preinfusion or basal concentrations of oxytocin in this group of ewes (6.6 +/- 1.9 pg/ml) were significantly (P < 0.01) greater than in either the NDGA-treated (3.1 +/- 1.1 pg/ml) or ovariectomized (3.0 +/- 0.6 pg/ml) ewes. The results suggest involvement of 5-lipoxygenase products of arachidonic acid in the release of oxytocin from the ovine corpus luteum.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Pulsatile release of oxytocin after suppression of prostaglandin synthesis in hysterectomised ewes.

On days 13 and 14 after oestrus (day 0) oxytocin and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha (PGFM) concentrations were measured in jugular plasma of hysterectomised sheep with or without systemic treatment with the PG cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (4 mg kg-1 three times a day on days 12, 13 and 14 subcutaneously. Pulsatile increases of oxytocin were observed in both untreated and treated sheep with mean (+/- SD) peak heights of 18.4 +/- 9.6 pg ml-1 (n = 11) and 23.5 +/- 9.4 pg ml-1 (n = 8), respectively; these means were not significantly different. Plasma concentrations of PGFM remained consistently low in both groups (under 100 pg ml-1) with no significant peaks observed. The data suggest that PGF2 alpha may not be the only stimulus for the release of luteal oxytocin, or that there may be a contribution by the posterior pituitary to oxytocin secretion during the luteal phase of the ovine oestrous cycle.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMed1993

Insensitivity of dispersed caprine luteal cells to beta-adrenergic agonists and other putative transmitter substances.

Adrenaline (10(-6)-10(-4)M), serotonin (10(-6)-10(-4)M), and several other potential steroidogenic agonists failed to enhance either basal or LH-stimulated progesterone production from dispersed caprine luteal cells from Day 10 of the estrous cycle. The caprine corpus luteum (CL) would appear to be more refractory to exogenous stimulation than either the ovine or bovine CL.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Anxious and non-anxious bipolar disorder.

Eighty-one outpatients with bipolar disorder (BD) were grouped by SADS anxiety symptom scores (high vs. low) or diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, and/or panic disorder. BD patients with high anxiety scores were more likely to have suicidal behaviour (44% vs. 19%), alcohol abuse (28% vs. 6%), cyclothymia (44% vs. 21%) and an anxiety disorder (56% vs. 25%) with a trend toward lithium non-responsiveness. Diagnosis of an anxiety disorder was related only to high anxiety and lower GAS scores. Thus, anxiety may have similar clinical relevance in BD as it does in unipolar patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The effects of adrenaline and atropine on oxytocin-induced estrus in the goat.

Oxytocin-induced luteolysis in goats was associated with significant increases in peripheral plasma concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin (PG) F(2alpha) (PGFM). This effect was not inhibited by concomitant administration of adrenaline (1 mg), although increases of PGFM were both delayed and diminished. Administration of atropine, a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, inhibited the effect of oxytocin in three out of five goats. In these animals, increases in PGFM were inhibited.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

["Cholos de Coclé": determination of their racial mixture and genetic origins].

We have found, in this first genetic study of a supposedly admixed Panamanian population, that the cultural group known as "cholos of Coclé" constitute a trihybrid mixture, whose genetic pool has the following composition: 44% Amerindian, 38% Caucasoid and 18% Negroid. Similarly, we have detected Amerindian genes, such as LDHB--Gua and TFchi, in proportions that relate this population with the extant Ngawbé (Guaymí). Nevertheless, the very high frequency of variant PEPA--KUN seems to indicate the genetic contribution of Amerindian populations from Eastern Panama, possibly from the extinct indigenous group cueva. This variant is frequently found among the present-day Kuna, but has not been detected among Nagawbé and Buglé.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

T3 augmentation of antidepressant treatment in T4-replaced thyroid patients.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians may not consider using the thyroid hormone liothyronine sodium (levorotary isomer of triiodothyronine [T3]) for augmentation of antidepressant drugs in depressed patients who are also receiving the precursor hormone levothyroxine (levorotary isomer of thyroxine [T4]) for thyroid disease. We now report on the successful use of T3 augmentation therapy in seven of nine depressed patients who were also receiving T4 for thyroid disease. METHOD: Following an earlier single case report, we prescribed T3 augmentation therapy for eight depressed patients who had not responded to an adequate antidepressant drug trial and who were receiving T4 therapy for thyroid disease. T3 was prescribed in open-label fashion, and response was judged by the clinician, whose assessment was supplemented by the use of standardized rating scales. RESULTS: Seven of the nine patients were judged to respond to T3 augmentation. CONCLUSION: These results are consistent with a report of differential effects for T3 versus T4 augmentation in depressed patients free of thyroid disease. The results have implications for the treatment of depression in the presence of thyroid disease and for the mechanism of thyroid hormone potentiation of antidepressants.

Antidepressive Agents↗