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Biomedical subjects

T Maruta

Publications and source records attributed to T Maruta.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Plasma levels of cortisol, corticotropin, and beta-endorphin in patients with major depression.

Efforts to elucidate the abnormal mechanism of corticotropin and beta-endorphin in major depression have yielded conflicting findings. The relationship of plasma levels of cortisol, corticotropin, and beta-endorphin in 42 patients with a Research Diagnostic Criteria diagnosis of major depression, endogenous subtype was examined. Following the DST, 32 patients were nonsuppressors and 10 were suppressors. The differences between the median values for plasma corticotropin and beta-endorphin immunoreactivity were not significant at any time of measurement after the DST.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1984

Normal serum thyroxine values in patients with acute psychiatric illness.

The medical records of 278 consecutive patients with acute psychiatric illness admitted to a closed psychiatric unit after admission from the emergency room were reviewed. Serum thyroxine levels had been determined within 72 hours of admission in 106 patients (38 percent); in 74 of these patients (70 percent), the determination had been made within 24 hours. Ten patients (9 percent) were hypothyroxinemic, but further thyroid testing revealed that they were functionally euthyroid. Only one patient had hyperthyroxinemia, which was considered secondary to her postpartum state. The prevalence of hypothyroxinemia in the population studied is consistent with that in previous reports. However, the striking absence of hyperthyroxinemia in these patients is contrary to findings in several recent reports. Further prospective studies should clarify this issue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders, VII: urinary free cortisol and urinary MHPG in depressions.

The authors measured urinary free cortisol and urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) levels in 24 severely depressed patients and 22 normal control subjects. Urinary free cortisol levels were significantly higher in the depressed patients than in the control subjects, but mean urinary MHPG levels were not significantly different in these two groups. A very high positive correlation between urinary MHPG levels and urinary free cortisol levels was found in the depressed patients but not in the control subjects.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Are patients with chronic pain depressed?

Of 100 consecutive patients treated in a program for management of chronic pain, 25 were definitely depressed, 39 were probably depressed, and 36 were not depressed. Comparisons between the definitely depressed and nondepressed groups showed them to have strikingly similar characteristics as well as treatment outcome. Nearly 90% of the definitely depressed patients showed resolution of their depression without use of antidepressant medication.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Clinical use of the dexamethasone suppression test for psychiatric disorders. Need for sensitive method for measuring corticosteroids and cautious interpretation of results.

The corticosteroid levels in 256 plasma samples from 112 patients with the clinical diagnosis of depression were assayed in two ways: by the routine method (sensitivity of 5 to 40 micrograms/dl) and by a newer, more sensitive method (sensitivity of 1 to 10 micrograms/dl). Of the 152 "true-negative" samples measured by the more sensitive method, 81 (53%) were reported as positive ("false-positive") by the routine method. The routine method does not yield accurate results on borderline levels of corticosteroids (5 to 7 micrograms/dl) for the dexamethasone suppression test for psychiatric disorders.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1982

Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders, V: Heterogeneity of unipolar depressions.

The authors found that the mean urinary level of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) was significantly lower in 20 patients with bipolar manic-depressive or schizoaffective depressions than in either 50 patients with unipolar depressions or 26 age- and sex-matched control subjects. In contrast, the mean MHPG levels in the total group of patients with unipolar depressions and in any subgroup defined by Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) were not significantly different from control values. However, examination of the distribution of urinary MHPG levels in patients with unipolar depressions in relation to other recent findings by the authors' collaborative research group suggested the existence of at least three biochemical subtypes of unipolar depressions that may, in part, be differentiated on the basis of urinary MHPG levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Factitious illness in gynecology.

Factitious or self-induced illness has rarely been mentioned in gynecologic literature. Described herein are 4 nonpregnant women, 3 of whom had vaginal bleeding of unknown origin and 1 who had recurrent fevers and an acute abdomen. In gynecologic practice, factitious illness should be suspected whenever a patient presents with a protracted illness that has eluded diagnosis. Furthermore, the index of suspicion for factitious illness should be high whenever a patient has an abnormal psychiatric history or has worked in a paramedical field.

Abdomen, Acute↗
PubMed1981

Toward a biochemical classification of depressive disorders. III: Pretreatment urinary MHPG levels as predictors of response to treatment with maprotiline.

Pretreatment urinary MHPG levels were examined in 28 depressed patients as a possible predictor of response to treatment with maprotiline, a tetracyclic antidepressant that exerts potent effects on norepinephrine uptake, but has little effect on serotonin uptake. Maprotiline was administered in doses up to 150 mg/day during the first 2 weeks after which time the dose could be increased incrementally up to 300 mg/day if indicated clinically. At 2 weeks, patients with low pretreatment urinary MHPG levels responded more favorably to treatment than did patients with high MHPG levels. At 4 weeks, patients with low MHPG levels continued to show more favorable responses; however, differences between the two groups were less clear-cut than at 2 weeks. The findings suggest the patients with low pretreatment urinary MHPG levels are more sensitive to, and respond more rapidly to, treatment with maprotiline than patients with high pretreatment urinary MHPG levels.

Anthracenes↗
PubMed1981

Problems with the use of oxycodone compound in patients with chronic pain.

In a pain management program (200 patients), a group of daily users of oxycodone compound (29 patients) and a subgroup who were taking a "high dose" of oxycodone compound (13 patients) were compared with a group of 171 non-users of oxycodone compound. A significantly lower treatment success rate was observed in the users (P = 0.04) and high-dose users (P = 0.03). A similar trend was seen in preliminary data available in a larger sample (514 patients). Continued study of these findings is necessary. Meanwhile, in patients with chronic pain, there should be cautious use of this compound.

Aspirin↗
PubMed1981

Chronic pain patients and spouses: marital and sexual adjustment.

Fifty married patients who were referred to a pain-management program and their spouses were interviewed independently concerning marital-sexual adjustment. The effect of pain on frequency and quality of sexual activity, and the effect of sexual activity on pain, showed a consistent trend toward deterioration in sexual activity after the onset of pain complaints in both patient and spouse groups. Ratings of overall sexual adjustments and adjustment in marriage were essentially the same for both groups before the onset of pain; but after pain onset a significantly large number of spouses rated their marriage below average, whereas most patients rated it average or above average. For the pain patient and his or her spouse, it seems very important that open and candid communication exist about the constant problem of adjusting to chronic pain, and the spouse should participate in the treatment program.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1980

MHPG as a predictor of antidepressant response to imipramine and maprotiline.

To explore the hypothesis that depressed patients with low pretreatment levels of urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) respond more favorably to antidepressant drugs which act on noradrenergic neuronal systems than do patients with high MHPG levels, the authors administered 150--200 mg/day of imipramine or maprotiline to 13 depressed patients. All of the 5 patients with low pretreatment MHPG levels responded to treatment compared with 1 of the 14 patients with high MHPG levels; 4 patients dropped out of the study.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Patients complaining of extreme pain.

Some patients chronic pain say that their pain is both constant and extreme. A graphic rating scale was used to identify 35 patients in a pain management program who complained of extreme pain. They were compared with 31 subjects who rated their pain as low. The patients with extreme pain were older, were more often female, had a longer history of pain, were disabled longer, had had more surgical procedures and hospitalizations, were more dependent on drugs, had higher ratings of bodily and facial pain behavior, and responded less well to treatment than the patients in the low-pain group. A rating of extreme pain remained a rather fixed presentation. It did not correlate with orthopedic or neurologic diagnoses. Possible explanations of the complaint are discussed, and illustrative case material is presented.

Adult↗