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Biomedical subjects

E Frecska

Publications and source records attributed to E Frecska.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

The dexamethasone suppression test in panic disorder and major depressive episodes.

Dexamethasone Suppression Tests (DST) were performed on 30 patients with panic disorder and on 30 patients treated for major depressive episodes in order to seek an answer to the question of whether or not the two disorders have a common biological background. The hypothesis was based on the results of family studies known from the literature and on the favorable therapeutic response obtained with tricyclic antidepressants. Normal suppressive (i.e., negative in our terminology) DSTs were found in 16.7% of the patients with panic disorder and in 56.7% of patients suffering from major depressive episodes. The anxiety indices of the two groups differed significantly from each other. The results do not suggest the possibility of a close genetic relationship between the two conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Platelet MAO activity and the dexamethasone suppression test in bipolar depression.

The correlation between postdexamethasone cortisol levels after the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was studied in 31 depressed female inpatients with Research Diagnostic Criteria primary, endogenous, bipolar depression (12 bipolar 1 and 19 bipolar 11). Out of the 31 patients, 25 showed abnormal DST results. Platelet MAO activity did not differ significantly from the matched control group. There was a trend that patients with higher MAO activity had lower postdexamethasone cortisol levels, but it was significant only for the 0800 hr cortisol levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Decrease in dopamine, its metabolites and noradrenaline in cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic treatment.

Dopamine (DA), homovanillic acid (HVA), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), noradrenaline (NA), and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5HIAA) were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 15 chronic schizophrenic patients before and 2 weeks after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic treatment. Total neuroleptic-like activity in serum (NLA) was determined at the same times. Levels of DA and its metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) and NA were significantly reduced after the discontinuation of neuroleptic treatment. No change was observed in 5HIAA values. NLA was substantially reduced, but still remained detectable. The decrease in DA, DOPAC, and HVA all showed positive correlations with each other, and correlated negatively with NLA measured after 2 weeks. Our data implies that the decrease in DA turnover is the result of the discontinuance of DA receptor blockade, while the change in NA level is independent of it.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1985

CSF dopamine turnover and positive schizophrenic symptoms after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic treatment.

Dopamine (DA), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 14 schizophrenic inpatients before and 2 weeks after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic medication. Total neuroleptic-like activity (NLA) in serum was determined at the same times. DA and its metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) were significantly reduced after neuroleptic discontinuation. NLA was substantially diminished. The decrease in DA and DOPAC was positively correlated with positive symptoms of postwithdrawal deterioration, and low prewithdrawal DOPAC level predicted severe relapse. These results are compatible with the hypothesis linking an overregulated central DA system to the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1985

Changes in mental condition, hyperkinesias and biochemical parameters after withdrawal of chronic neuroleptic treatment.

Neuroleptics were withdrawn abruptly from 14 hospitalized chronic schizophrenics. For 12 weeks the patients were observed from the aspect of psychic change and the development of withdrawal dyskinesia. Serum prolactin level, plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity, cerebrospinal fluid homovanillic acid and norepinephrine levels were measured on the day prior to withdrawal and on day 14 of the study. Psychic deterioration showed no association with any of the tested biochemical parameters. The decrease in the CSF HVA and NE levels of the patients displaying symptoms of withdrawal dyskinesia was significantly smaller than in those displaying no dyskinesia.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Colour associations as predictors of the effectiveness of anti-depressant pharmacotherapy in endogenous depressive patients.

The authors examined the number of associations given for the 8 Lüscher colours by 20 endogenous depressive patients (11 unipolar and 9 bipolar II) before anti-depressant pharmacotherapy and on the 7th, 14th and 21st day of treatment. The depressive patients gave significantly fewer total responses before treatment than the 15 healthy control persons. While the number of associations obtained from the control persons was unchanged at the end of the 1st week, the depressive patients responding to the treatment (responders, n = 15) furnished significantly more responses on the 7th day than before treatment, although there had been no change in the intervening period in the severity of their depression measured by Hamilton depression scale; their clinical state showed a gradual improvement only from the end of the 2nd week. The number of associations obtained from non-responder depressive patients (n = 5) increased only slightly (not significantly). Our preliminary findings suggest that this method could be used to follow changes in the state of depressive patients and to predict their response to anti-depressant pharmacotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Tiapride in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia: a clinical and biochemical study.

The effect of tiapride treatment was investigated in 10 patients with tardive dyskinesia. The effects of the drug on the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonian symptoms, and patients' mental conditions were evaluated using standardized rating scales before and weekly during the 28-day drug trial. Patients were reassessed 14 days after withdrawal of tiapride. The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia significantly improved during treatment and deteriorated after tiapride was withdrawn. Parkinsonian symptoms remained unchanged both during and after treatment. The patients' mental conditions significantly improved while they were taking tiapride, and did not appreciably deteriorate after treatment was discontinued. Plasma prolactin levels increased significantly during treatment, while plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity did not change.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Biochemical markers in the study of clinical effects and extrapyramidal side effects of neuroleptics.

Neuroleptic treatment was instituted in 20 female schizophrenic patients, who had not received neuroleptics for at least the preceding 3 months. Both the therapeutic response to neuroleptics and the development of parkinsonian side effects were monitored in these patients. In addition, plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities were measured. None of the neuroleptic responders developed parkinsonian symptoms. During the course of the 28-day treatment, there was a significant decrease in platelet MAO activity. There was a tendency for responders without parkinsonian symptoms to have lower plasma DBH activity than did nonresponders with parkinsonian symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neurological features, cognitive impairment and neuroleptic response in schizophrenic patients.

The relationship between neurological and cognitive features and the outcome of a 28-day neuroleptic treatment were studied in 98 chronic schizophrenic patients admitted for relapse. Handedness, neurological soft signs, and the cognitive rating on the Mini Mental State assessed in a stable state did not correlate with the neuroleptic response. The findings do not provide a basis for predicting the short-term outcome of the treatment.

Adult↗