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Biomedical subjects

R M Post

Publications and source records attributed to R M Post.

At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

An EEG sleep study of a bipolar (manic-depressive) patient with a nocturnal switch process.

Fifty-eight all-night polygraphic sleep recordings were obtained on an unmedicated female bioplar (manic-depressive) patient who switched into and out of mania eight times. While depressed she was hypersomniac and exhibited elevated Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep time and short REM latency. On four nights, she apparently switched into mania while asleep. The last recorded sleep stage in each case was REM sleep.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Calcium and electroconvulsive therapy of severe depressive illness.

In severely depressed patients with primary affective illness, consistent decreases in total calcium concentration have been demostrated in both CSF and serum following successful ECT treatment. The hypocalcemia does not appear to occur after the initial ECTs, but develops after three to five treatments, coincident with an acceleration in clinical antidepressant effects, and is not an artifact of the anesthetic premedications or mechanical ventilation of the patients. Evidence linking alterations in calcium metabolism to mood is reviewed and a number of mechanisms by which the calcium change might result from ECT and mediated its effects on mood are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Average evoked responses in a rapidly cycling manic-depressive patient.

A patient with unusually regular and rapid switches from mania to depression was studied for 113 consecutive days through five switches. Average evoked responses (AERs) to four intesities of light were recorded from vertex and occipital leads; telemetered activity records and behavioral ratings were also collected. Late AER components (P200) tended to change amplitude synchronously with the switches, vertex P200 amplitude decreased and occipital P200 amplitude increased in mania. Urinary MHPG changes paralleled the changes in P200 amplitude. Early AER components (P100) and especially the amplitude/intesity slope measures for P100 decreased about 8-10 days before a switch from depression to mania. Cross-spectral and linear regression analysis helped confirm these observations. The results, taken together with AER data in recent L-dopa studies, were consistent with catecholamine potentiation prior to the switch process from depression into mania.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Effects of sleep deprivation on mood and central amine metabolism in depressed patients.

Nineteen patients, each hospitalized with a major depressive episode, were deprived of sleep for one night. Ten patients responded with clear improvement in depressive symptoms; the substantial clinical change was transient, usually lasting one day. Those who responded had significantly higher initial depression ratings (P less than .01) and tended to be older than nonresponders who experienced mild increases in irritability, fatigue, and discomfort following sleep deprivation. Amine metabolites, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA), and homovanillic acid (HVA) were not substantially affected by sleep deprivation, although there was a significant interaction of clinical response and direction of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) change. Sleep deprivation thus produces acute, but only transient improvement in a selected group of severely depressed patients; it appears to be an important tool in the study of the affective disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

A dopaminergic mechanism in mania.

The authors present a case study that explores the relationship of dopamine function and manic illness through the use of two drugs with relatively specific effects in stimulating and blocking dopamine receptors--piribedil (ET--495) and pimozide, respectively. Piribedil, as well as d-amphetamine, was associated with manic episodes, while pimozide had an antimanic effect. These observations suggest that dopaminergic mechanisms may be involved in the mediation of manic episodes in at least some patients.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1976

Negative effects of melatonin on depression.

In order to test the efficacy of the pineal neurohumor melatonin on depression, the hormone was administered in varying doses to six moderately to severely depressed patients and two patients with Huntington's chorea in double-blind crossover study. Melatonin exacerbated symptoms of dysphoria in these patients, as well as causing a loss of sleep and weight and a drop in oral temperature. Melatonin increased cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and calcium in three of four patients studied. The authors discuss the implications of this finding.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Cocaine, kindling, and psychosis.

The authors review the evidence that repetitive administration of central nervous system stimulants and other compounds may be associated with progressively increasing effects on pathological behavior and seizures rather than tolerance. They suggest that the progressive effects of these compounds may be related to electrical kindling, a phenomenon in which repetitive subthreshold stimulation of the limbic system is eventually associated with major motor seizures. They review the studies supporting a pharmacological kindling mechansim and suggest a kindling model for psychological stimuli that combines neurophysiological, biochemical, and psychological perspectives.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1976

The effect of probenecid on the free and conjugaed 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid.

Free and conjugated lumbar cerebrospinal fluid 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) was measured before and after probenecid treatment in 12 schizophrenic patients by a gas liquid chromatography-mass fragmentographic procedure. Neither the free nor conjugated MHPG was appreciably altered by probenecid. Total MHPG was statistically increased by probenecid but not to the point that the probenecid test would be clinically useful for estimating norepinephrine turnover from probenecid-induced changes in MHPG concentrations.

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol↗