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Biomedical subjects

V I Reus

Publications and source records attributed to V I Reus.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Effect of lithium carbonate on memory processes of bipolar affectively ill patients.

The effect of long-term lithium carbonate treatment on parameters of immediate, short-, and long-term memory was examined in a group of bipolar affectively ill patients. The lithium treatment group recalled significantly fewer words across trials on a verbal learning task than a group of bipolar affectively ill patients receiving no medication. The ability to consistently recall material for which prior learning had been demonstrated was also decreased and accounted for most of the variance in total number of words recalled. Possible mechanisms of effect are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Clinical implications of state-dependent learning.

Researchers have found that state-dependent learning is associated with the administration of a wide variety of drugs. Recent data suggest that similar phenomena may occur secondary to endogenous changes in neuroregulatory substances. The authors point out that awareness of such changes in cognitive processing strategies and abilities should help to further our understanding of the phenomenology of psychiatric states and should generate psychotherapeutic techniques designed to maximize the transfer of information across psychiatric states.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

d-Amphetamine: effects on memory in a depressed population.

The effect of intravenous d-amphetamine on memory functions in a group of depressed patients was examined in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Active drug administration resulted in an increase in verbal free recall but no change in cued recall, suggesting specific effects on memory processes. The level of psychological processing of the presented stimulus was shown to interact with drug-induced facilitation of recall. Improvement in memory of more shallowly processed material under amphetamine related significantly to subjects' base-line indices of noradrenergic function. Drug-induced changes in mood did not correlate with improvement in cognitive functioning. The interrelationships between biochemical determinants of mood and memory are discussed in light of these findings.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1978

Vasopressin in affective illness.

Animal studies have revealed two important aspects of vasopressin function which make this peptide a suitable candidate for involvement in complex behavioural syndromes: (1) vasopressin deficiency produces deficits of behaviour which are reversed by vasopressin; (2) well-developed systems exist for the distribution of vasopressin throughout the central nervous system (C.N.S.) via either peptidergic neurons or the cerebrospinal fluid (C.S.F.) and provide the means by which vasopressin may regulate cells controlling behavioural or physiological processes. Among the processes which vasopressin can influence are several of significance in the symptom-complex of affective illness, including alterations in memory, changes in pain sensitivity, synchronisation of biological rhythms, the timing and quality of R.E.M. sleep, and the regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance. In addition, vasopressin is functionally linked to monoamine neurotransmitter systems and, like them, is altered by pharmacological agents which affect mood. Some of the pharmacological and clinical data suggest that vasopressin function is diminished in depression and augmented in mania; sometimes, however, alterations in vasopressin function may be detectable only during crucial periods of the manic-depressive cycle. The hypothesis that vasopressin plays a role in disorders of human behaviour, particularly manic-depressive illness, can now be directly tested by radioimmunoassays of vasopressin in C.S.F. and plasma and by the administration of specific vasopressin analogues and inhibitors.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1977

An examination of the federal psychiatric training grant peer review process.

The authors present some of the criticisms that have been leveled against the federal peer review system of approving or disapproving monetary grants. They then summarize the process used by the National Institute of Mental Health's Psychiatry Education Branch to judge grant applications, focusing on the disposition of 527 applications reviewed in November 1974-January 1975. They found that the wide distribution of the reviewers by geography, subspecialty, experience, sex, and ethnicity, plus the steps taken to guard against bias and ensure fairness, were effective, refuting many of the criticisms of the group peer review process.

Child Psychiatry↗
PubMed1976

The development of criteria for evaluating psychiatric education programs.

During the last year, the Psychiatry Education Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health undertook an exhaustive review of 530 training proposals from 205 institutions. The scope of such an endeavor, as well as the desire to maintain peer review, necessitated the recruitment of 90 outside consultants. The need for consistency of judgment among a large group of site visitors gave rise to a document that detailed points of concern in the evaluation of psychiatric training programs. Broader dissemination of this document might be useful in a program's self-evaluation, and might further its understanding of the site-visit process. The result of many such evaluations should be the improvement of psychiatric education throughout the country.

Education, Medical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Regulation of ACTH and cortisol in depression.

Disturbances of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal regulation are frequently observed in a subgroup of patients suffering from major depression. The mechanism of hypothesized pituitary and hypothalamic involvement in this dysregulation remains relatively uncharacterized. In this paper we investigated the response of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), as well as cortisol, to dexamethasone inhibition and characterized the dynamic response of ACTH to a one-hour infusion of cortisol in normal subjects and patients suffering from depression. A paradoxical increase in ACTH in response to cortisol is noted in one patient.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assortative mating in the affective disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Assortative mating, or the tendency for individuals with similar phenotypes to mate more frequently than expected by chance, has been reported for a variety of complex traits, including many neuropsychiatric disorders. Although assortative mating has been reported in affective disorders, the studies done to date have been inconclusive. This study attempts to assess the degree of assortative mating in individuals with affective disorders using systematic review and meta-analytic techniques. Studies on assortative mating in affective disorders were identified by a computerized literature search and by bibliographic assessment of published studies and reviews. Studies were selected if they had a case-control design and if they reported rates of affective disorders in the spouses of probands and controls. Of the 17 studies reviewed, six were selected for meta-analysis. All studies were blinded. Details of study design, patient characteristics, and rates of affective disorders were assessed by two independent reviewers. Twelve of the 17 studies assessed reported an increase in assortative mating. Results of the meta-analysis supported these findings, and indicated that assortative mating occurs in both bipolar disorder and major depression. Although most studies examined reported an increase in assortative mating among individuals with affective disorders, the degree of assortative mating reported varied widely. Meta-analysis with six controlled studies showed evidence for assortative mating, and suggested that the degree of assortative mating is higher for individuals with bipolar disorder than for those with major depression. These results support the previously reported findings, and may have important implications for genetic studies.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of depression with antiglucocorticoid drugs.

OBJECTIVE: The theoretical and empirical rationales for the potential therapeutic use of antiglucocorticoid agents in the treatment of depression are reviewed. METHOD: Individual case reports, case series, open-label, and double-blind, controlled trials of the usage of cortisol-lowering treatments in Cushing's syndrome and major depression are evaluated and critiqued. RESULTS: In each of the 28 reports of antiglucocorticoid treatment of Cushing's syndrome, antidepressant effects were noted in some patients; the largest two series document a response rate of 70% to 73%. Full response, however, was at times erratic and delayed. Across the 11 studies of antiglucocorticoid treatment of major depression, some degree of antidepressant response was noted in 67% to 77% of patients. Antidepressant or antiobsessional effects of antiglucocorticoid augmentation of other psychotropic medications have also been noted in small studies of patients with treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: These promising results with antiglucocorticoid treatment must be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample sizes and heterogeneity of the studies reviewed, the bias favoring publication of positive results, and the open-label nature of most of the studies. Although definitive controlled trials remain to be conducted, there is a consistent body of evidence indicating that cortisol-lowering treatments may be of clinical benefit in select individuals with major depression and other hypercortisolemic conditions.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗