Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Pohl.
Platelet serotonin levels were examined in 18 patients with panic disorder and compared to platelet serotonin levels of eight healthy controls. There was no statistically significant difference in the platelet serotonin levels between the two groups.
Eight panic disorder patients participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled infusion study designed to induce panic-anxiety in the laboratory both before and after treatment with tricyclic antidepressants. Pre-infusion heart rates for the first infusion were significantly higher than baseline both before and after treatment. The delta increase in pre-infusion heart rates from baseline and the ratios of pre-infusion heart rates to baseline values were not significantly different between before and after treatment conditions indicating similar levels of arousal during the two pre-infusion periods, while the pre-infusion anxiety ratings after treatment were significantly lower.
The authors administered infusions of lactate intravenously to seven patients with a DSM-III diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, six of whom also met DSM-III criteria for panic disorder. The lactate infusions resulted in flashbacks in all seven patients and panic attacks in six patients. The authors conclude that with further development intravenous lactate infusion may be used to study flashbacks and other dissociative phenomena and to determine the relationship between flashbacks and panic anxiety.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The authors describe five cases of apparent allergy to tartrazine (FD&C yellow dye number 5) in 170 patients exposed to the dye in antidepressants. The frequency of tartrazine sensitivity was much higher than the reported frequency of six in 1,000 persons.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A history of thyroid dysfunction has been reported in patients with phobic disorders. There is also evidence of a blunted TSH response to TRH stimulation in patients with panic disorder. In this study, values of T3, T4 and T7 were compared between 26 patients with panic attacks and 20 normal controls. Patients were diagnosed according to DSM-III criteria and those with a clinical history of thyroid dysfunction were excluded. Patients were not on any medication when the blood samples were drawn. The mean values of T3, T4 and T7 did not significantly differ between the two groups, suggesting no evidence of hypo or hyperthyroidism; however, the variance of distribution of T3, T4 and T7 values was significantly different between the two groups (Fmax values for T3: 2.55, p value less than 0.05; T4: 3.15, p value less than 0.01; T7: 2.55, p value less than 0.05).
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The influence of subpartal beta-sympathicomimetic tocolysis on a subsequent Caesarean section with halothane as inhalational anaesthetic was examined in 42 pregnant women. Alterations in the heart rate, blood pressure and heart action during the operation were measured. 23 patients (group "bolus") received fenoterol monotherapy. In 19 patients (group "iv-tocolysis") fenoterol was combined with the cardioselective beta-1-blocking agent metoprolol. In comparison with these two groups, 25 pregnant women without tocolysis were examined as controls. There were only slight differences in heart rate and blood pressure between the three groups. Arrhythmias were registered in 42 percent of the cases, in most cases during light anaesthesia before delivery. Sinus tachycardias with a heart rate of 130 beats per minute or more were observed most frequently. Arrhythmias of ectopic origin and sinus bradycardias, however, were found seldom. The incidence of arrhythmias in the three groups during Caesarean section did not differ significantly. There was no evidence for an increased occurrence of arrhythmias following beta-sympathicomimetic tocolysis.
A simple, quantitative method has been developed to assess the viability of Giardia lamblia trophozoites after exposure to a potentially lethal agent. This method utilizes the ability of trophozoites which remain viable to replicate and multiply. In this study, the percent dead trophozoites after incubation in 20% fresh human serum was determined first by morphologic criteria and then by the ability of parasites to multiply in fresh medium over 48 hr. Using the number of parasites after 48 hr of growth, the original number of dead trophozoites in the serum-exposed samples was determined by extrapolation from a standard growth curve. Ten sera which killed from 7% to 89% of trophozoites by morphologic criteria, killed 8% to 92% using the culture method; these two assays for viability correlated highly (r = 0.96). Use of the culture assay allows the assessment of the lethal effects of serum and can be applied both to the study of other host defense mechanisms on Giardia trophozoites and to antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The RNase activities have been assayed in 1678 serum samples from a total of 209 patients. 52 with histologically confirmed ovarian carcinoma, 13 with benign tumors of the ovary, and 144 patients without any clinically detectable malignancy. The serum RNase activity is unequivocally increased in the group with ovarian cancer (p less than 0.01). Considering the distribution of the RNase activities with a margin at 300 ngeqvs/ml serum we find 8.3% false negative and 4.9% false positive results. The serum RNase activity does not display any evident relationship with tumor spread, histology, clinical grading (TNM), nor metastasis at the time of the blood taking. It is concluded that the serum RNase activity is a meaningful criterion together with the careful clinical examination for the diagnosis and the surveillance of ovarian cancer.
Some patients with panic attacks are extremely sensitive to tricyclic antidepressants and develop jitteriness, shakiness, and insomnia when given very low doses. Two patients who developed this "jitteriness syndrome" while taking tricyclic antidepressants are described. The side effects in these patients were markedly relieved by the addition of perphenazine.
Five groups of subjects underwent EEG sleep recordings, arecoline rapid eye movement (REM) induction response testing, and Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) interview. Group I: 20 patients with primary major depressive disorder (MDD) (endogenous) without any coexisting anxiety disorder; Group II: 19 primary MDD (endogenous) patients with secondary panic, GAD, or phobic disorders; Group III: 18 patients with primary anxiety disorder without coexisting MDD; Group IV: 14 patients with primary anxiety plus secondary MDD; Group V: 26 normal controls. Modified Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) were used for diagnosis, based on the SADS interview. There was considerable overlap of SADS scaled scores between patient groups, which is consistent with a heterogeneous clinical presentation of depressive and anxiety states. REM latency was significantly shorter in patients with primary MDD (without anxiety) as compared with that in patients with primary anxiety (no MDD) and normals. Arecoline REM induction response time was significantly shorter in both primary affective groups (I and II) as compared with primary anxiety (no MDD) patients and normal controls. REM latency and arecoline REM induction time was not significantly different between the primary anxiety groups (III and IV) and normals. The study highlights the use of biological markers in differentiating between clinical syndromes confounded by mixed or overlapping phenomenology.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is the least common of the malignant tumors of the female genital tract. Ten cases of primary fallopian tube carcinoma treated at the Women's Department of the University Hospital Mannheim between 1965 and 1983 are described. Four patients survived five years, of whom three had a stage I tumor. The most important factor affecting survival appeared to be the extent of the tumor at the time of diagnosis.