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Biomedical subjects

E Othmer

Publications and source records attributed to E Othmer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Differential effect of amitriptyline and bupropion on primary and secondary depression: a pilot study.

In a prospective, controlled, double-blind study, 37 patients with major depressive disorder were subclassified into primary depression (N = 25) and secondary (N = 12) depression and treated with either amitriptyline (primary depressives N = 13, secondary depressives N = 6) or bupropion (primary depressives N = 12, secondary depressives N = 6). A differential response to the novel antidepressant bupropion was observed between the two diagnostic subgroups, but no differential response to amitriptyline was observed; patients with primary depression and secondary depression responded equally well to amitriptyline but not to bupropion. Our results provide pharmacological evidence supporting the usefulness of this subclassification of depression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation of sexual dysfunction.

Sixteen analogue scales were designed to measure drug- and illness-related changes in three dimensions of sexual function: interest, arousal, and performance. An orthogonal principal component factor analysis confirmed the three clinical factors. Retest reliability ranged between .80 and .94. Normals (N = 30) reported significantly better functioning than did psychiatric outpatients (N = 30).

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Postcardiotomy confusion and sleep loss.

To examine the relationship between sleep loss and confusion after open-heart surgery, 27 consecutive patients were monitored 1 day preoperatively and 5 days postoperatively with the Folstein Mini-Mental State examination, a modified sleep latency test, and a sleep log. Confusion (low Mini-Mental State scores) peaked on postoperative Days 1 and 2 and correlated with insomnia (sleep time) during the following night but not during the preceding night. The results suggest that sleep loss is not the cause but, rather, a consequence of postcardiotomy confusion. Confusion, not insomnia, should be the focus of treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Is Briquet's syndrome a heterogeneous disorder?

A structured interview that identified 78 female psychiatric outpatients as having Briquet's syndrome also indicated that 77 of the 78 fulfilled inclusive diagnostic criteria for one or more other psychiatric syndromes. If, as this finding suggests, Briquet's syndrome represents a heterogeneous disorder, its various components should be evaluated and patient responses to treatments should be assessed. Until such studies are done, the general and psychiatric physician should be aware that the diagnosis of Briquet's syndrome does not rule out the possibility of other psychiatric illnesses that may be more amenable to treatment.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1985

A screening test for somatization disorder (hysteria).

For the diagnosis of somatization disorder, DSM-III requires the assessment of 37 specific symptoms, a time-consuming and cumbersome task. The authors describe a procedure by which the clinician can assess the presence of somatization disorder by screening for only seven symptoms, three of which must be present for a preliminary diagnosis of somatization disorder. The test was developed on female psychiatric outpatients (N = 85) who had multiple unexplained physical complaints beginning before the age of 30 years; it was validated on an independent sample (N = 47). The accuracy of this screening procedure is 80%-90%.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Refractory migraine headache controlled with alprazolam: case report.

A woman with major depressive disorder and refractory, incapacitating migraine headaches responded to alprazolam in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Migraine, but not depression, recurred following tapering of the drug, suggesting efficacy of alprazolam for control of refractory migraine.

Alprazolam↗
PubMed1985

The discriminate validity of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Interview.

The discriminate validity of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Interview (PDI), a criterion-referenced, structured diagnostic instrument, is discussed. Data presented indicate that the PDI has an acceptable level of discriminate ability, making it a useful screening tool for detecting a variety of well-defined psychiatric disorders.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1984

Somatization disorder and Briquet's syndrome. An assessment of their diagnostic concordance.

Somatization disorder (SD) as defined by DSM-III is a modification of criteria previously established to define Briquet's disorder (BD). We examined whether the less stringent SD criteria identify the same patient population as the more stringent BD criteria. All psychiatric female outpatients who reported having multiple unexplained physical problems prior to the age of 30 years were included in the study. Eighty-five (10.7%) of 794 patients fulfilled these screening criteria. Of the 85 patients, 41 had both SD and BD. Thirty-six patients did not have either disorder. The results indicate that the DSM-III criteria for SD are equally effective in identifying patients with BD but considerably less time-consuming and cumbersome to apply.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Tricyclic-induced electroencephalogram abnormalities and plasma drug concentrations.

In a double-blind study of 34 randomly assigned depressed inpatients, antidepressant-induced electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities were compared in amitriptyline-treated versus bupropion-treated patients. Drug-free baseline EEGs plus one or more repeat EEGs under pharmacokinetic steady state conditions were obtained. Of the 34 patients, eight developed EEG abnormalities. Seven were on amitriptyline and one was on bupropion (chi 2 = 13.77, df = 3, p less than 0.01). All but one of the amitriptyline-treated patients with EEG abnormalities had plasma concentrations above its therapeutic range (150 to 250 ng/ml), whereas all with normal EEGs were within or below this range.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Long-term efficacy and safety of bupropion.

Bupropion is a novel, structurally unique (single ring) compound, radically different from tricyclic antidepressants in its pharmacologic profile. In a random assignment, double-blind, long-term follow-up study of 60 depressed in- and outpatients (DSM-III criteria) in eight centers, the antidepressant actions of bupropion and amitriptyline were compared. Bupropion was as effective as amitriptyline in reducing depressive symptoms over a 6-month period, as measured by Hamilton depression and anxiety scales and Clinical Global Impression scores. Unlike amitriptyline, bupropion did not increase uric acid or cholesterol levels, and was not associated with weight gain. Bupropion was better tolerated than amitriptyline, the most commonly prescribed antidepressant.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Prevalence of additional psychiatric syndromes among male alcoholics.

The prevalence of psychiatric syndromes among 565 male alcoholic VA inpatients was examined using the structured Psychiatric Diagnostic Interview (PDI). Almost two-thirds fulfilled criteria for one or more additional psychiatric syndromes. Subjects positive only for alcoholism reported a significantly later onset of problem drinking and fewer first-degree relatives who abused alcohol than those positive for one or more additional syndromes. The most frequent additional syndromes were affective disorders and antisocial personality. The possible significance of subtyping alcoholics by the presence or absence of coexisting psychiatric syndromes is discussed.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1982

Sleep and growth hormone secretion in alcoholics.

The effect of alcoholism on slow wave sleep (SWS) and SWS-related human growth hormone (HGH) secretion was investigated in 8 sober male alcoholics and 13 non-alcoholic controls. Sleep onset was temporally correlated with both elevated HGH levels and a high percentage of SWS in control subjects, with several specific qualifications related to age. By contrast, alcoholism was associated with a dissociation of sleep onset, SWS, and HGH elevation. The first noticeable HGH elevation in sober alcoholics often occurred several hours after sleep onset and in the absence of any SWS in the same time interval. Acute intoxication appeared to "normalize" the sleep onset-SWS linkage in alcoholics but did not influence the dissociation of HGH elevation from sleep onset and SWS.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Electromyogram processing for sleep research.

A computer method for quantifying the submental electromyographic surface interference pattern (EMG) during sleep and wakefulness by amplitude envelope measurement for consecutive 2-sec intervals is described. The method is largely insensitive to electrocardiogram (EKG) artifact. Though this algorithm was developed as part of a program to detect electroencephalographic (EEG), electrooculographic (EOG), tonic and phasic EMG changes during sleep, the method is applicable by itself wherever the envelope width of the EMG interference pattern is of interest. The results obtained correlate well with visual estimates of the amplitude envelope of the raw EMG. It offers increased speed, accuracy and reproducibility compared to visual EMG evaluation and enables a high degree of information extraction. The simplicity of the algorithm permits implementation and on-line processing on a small laboratory computer.

Computers↗