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Biomedical subjects

E Zimmerman

Publications and source records attributed to E Zimmerman.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Prenatal stress effects on exploratory activity and stress-induced analgesia in rats.

Pregnant rats were exposed three times daily to immobilization stress during gestational Days 15-19. The behavior of their offspring was compared with the behavior of offspring from unstressed control mothers. Although the stress procedure decreased the weight gain of mothers during pregnancy, it slightly but significantly increased the weight of their offspring at birth and at weaning. On postnatal Day 10, prenatally stressed pups returned to their home cage more quickly than did prenatally unstressed control pups during a nest odor discrimination task, but no differences between groups in the number of correct responses were found. On postnatal Days 70-72, prenatally stressed offspring showed increased exploratory activity in a complex tunnel maze compared with control offspring. On postnatal Day 80, analgesia induced by stress (swimming for 3 min in cold water) was determined (tail flick latency). The degree of stress-induced analgesia was smaller in prenatally stressed rats than in control rats. These data suggest that the effects of prenatal stress on behavior are most clearly discernable when such animals are confronted with a novel or stressful situation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Tactile-kinesthetic stimulation effects on sympathetic and adrenocortical function in preterm infants.

The purpose of our study was to investigate the neuroendocrine response in preterm infants to a pattern of tactile-kinesthetic stimulation that facilitates their growth and development. Preterm infants (mean gestational age 30 weeks, mean birth weight 1176 gm) received normal nursery care or tactile-kinesthetic stimulation for three 15-minute periods at the start of three consecutive hours each day for 10 days. On day 1 and day 10 of the study, a 24-hour urine sample was collected for norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, cortisol, and creatinine assay and a blood sample was taken by heel stick for cortisol and growth hormone assay. Urine norepinephrine and epinephrine values increased significantly only in the stimulated babies. Urine dopamine and cortisol values increased in both groups, and serum growth hormone decreased in both groups. Individual differences in urine norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol values were highly stable across the 10 days despite a 10-fold range of values among the infants. The results of this study suggest that tactile-kinesthetic stimulation of preterm infants has fairly specific effects on maturation and/or activity of the sympathetic nervous system. In addition, this study has defined catecholamine and cortisol secretion across gestational age in normal preterm infants. Finally, these data suggest that highly stable individual levels of catecholamine and cortisol secretion are established by birth in humans.

Creatinine↗
PubMed1978

Alcoholics in interactional group therapy: an outcome study.

Three interactional therapy groups of alcoholic patients (N = 20) were formed, and treatment outcome after eight months and again after 12 months of therapy was compared with the outcome of 17 neurotic patients in comparable therapy. Outcome assessment was obtained from three sources: patient, therapist, and independent judge, using both nomothetic and ideographic measures. The results indicated that although more alcoholic than neurotic patients terminated therapy within the first six sessions, a higher percentage of alcoholic patients remained in therapy for 12 months. At the end of 12 months, both samples had improved along a wide variety of variables, and there were no significant differences between the alcoholic and neurotic population in degree of improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibition of suckling-induced prolactin release in the lactating rat.

To study effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the regulation of prolactin (PRL) release, a chronic cannula was placed in the right atrium of postpartum lactating rats. Two or more days later their pups were removed for 6--8 hours. A blood sample was drawn from the mother just prior to reintroducing the pups, for determination of basal levels of plasma PRL. A second sample was drawn following 30 min of continuous suckling. THC (1.25 or 4.0 mg/Kg) or vehicle was then injected intravenously and blood samples obtained 30, 60, 120 min later. Relative to vehicle-injected controls, both doses of THC significantly reduced plasma PRL levels and disrupted all components of maternal behavior. These findings indicate that THC inhibits suckling-induced PRL release in the postpartum rat.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Tissue culture preservation and intramuscular transplantation of pancreatic islets.

Pancreatic tissue from neonatal rats was cultured for 6 days and then transplanted into isologous animals made diabetic with streptozotocin. The cultured pancreatic tissue was implanted either into the peritoneal cavity or into muscle pockets and showed survival by functional and morphological studies for longer than 40 weeks. Pancreatic tissue from a patient subjected to subtotal pancreatectomy for chronic pancreatitis was maintained in culture for 7 days, with evidence for insulin release into medium, sterility, and histological viability of islets. Autotransplantation of this tissue into muscle pockets of the forearm was tolerated well. Glucose tolerance improved following transplantation, but evidence for function of the graft (insulin, C-peptide) remains inconclusive, 4 months after transplantation.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

The impact of a weekend group experience on individual therapy.

Thirty-three patients in long-term individual therapy were referred to one of three weekend groups: two experimental (affect-arousing, gestalt therapy) groups and one control (meditation-Tai Chi) group. The impact of the weekend group experience (WGE) on individual therapy was examined six and 12 weeks later. At six weeks the patients in the experimental groups showed, on some measures, a significantly greater improvement in their individual therapy than did controls. By 12 weeks, there were no demonstrable differences. The WGE was not without risk: even though the group leaders were highly trained, responsible clinicians, two patients suffered considerable psychological damage. The control (meditation-Tai Chi) group offered a relatively innocuous experience; there was no risk, but few members found the specific procedures useful in their lives. Intense affect arousal in the WGE was not related to positive change in subsequent individual therapy. Those expressing the greatest affect in either experimental group were no more likely to have had a measurable positive impact on their subsequent individual therapy than patients expressing little or no measurable affect.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1977

Outcome in psychotherapy evaluated by independent judges.

To overcome common limitations in assessing the outcome of psychotherapy, the following method was used: independent assessment by teams of experienced psychotherapists; individualized measures of outcome; and videotaped clinical interviews to allow the judges to rate, at one sitting, a patient's clinical state before and after eight months of therapy. Agreement between the judges' ratings was low both for the severity of the clinical state and for its outcome. Possible reasons for this low agreement are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Patients' expectations of therapeutic improvement and their outcomes.

The authors studied the relationship between patients' expectations of therapeutic improvement and their actual outcomes after 8 and 12 months of group psychotherapy. Using patients' self-evaluations and assessments by therapists and independent judges, they found a positive relationship between expectations and outcomes only when assessments were derived from patients. The authors discuss the possibility of a continuing expectational set in patients toward psychotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Treatment of spontaneous leukemia in AKR mice with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or interferon.

AKR mice are genetically destined to develop Gross (RNA) virus-induced lymphatic leukemia. Leukemic AKR mice treated with combination vincristine, cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), and 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(trans-4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea sustained a 180% increase of life-span. Combination chemotherapy plus immunization with neuraminidase-treated allogeneic (Gross virus-induced) G2G leukemic cells intradermally resulted in 35% of animals surviving beyond 150 days without evidence of the disease. It is significant that allogeneic E2G leukemic cells as immunogen were as effective in prolonging the life-span of the immunized leukemic AKR mice as were syngeneic leukemic thymocytes. Virazole (1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide), an antiviral compound, alone showed no apparent antitumor effect. However, in experiments in which the clinically diagnosed leukemic AKR mice received a combination of cytoreductive therapy [vincristine plus prednisone or, more effectively, vincristine, Cytoxan plus 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(trans-4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea, followed by Virazole], there was a noticeable reduction of the viral titer, a delay in the reappearance of viable clonogenic cells, and an increase in the survival time for the leukemic AKR mice as compared to those receiving cytoreductive therapy alone. The effectiveness of purified mouse interferon in AKR mice was also examined. The decrease in the viral titer of animals that received interferon treatment was markedly greater than of those receiving a combination of cytoreductive therapy with Virazole or immunotherapy. The administration of mouse interferon had a direct effect on the appearance of the spontaneous leukemia in AKR mice. The median life-span of the control animals was 36 weeks, whereas 45% of the AKR mice treated with five doses of 5 X 10(4) units of interferon are still alive at 54 weeks of age. Thus, interferon not only reduces the Gross murine leukemia virus titer in the chronically infected AKR mice but also significantly delays the appearance of the primary lymphoma.

AKR murine leukemia virus↗