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Biomedical subjects

F Diamond

Publications and source records attributed to F Diamond.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Paradoxical reaction to L-dopa in schizophrenic patients.

The authors administered 6 g of L-dopa to 8 schizophrenic patients and 750 mg of chlorpromazine to 7 schizophrenic patients. Chlorpromazine showed only a modest advantage over L-dopa and only on some Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale factor scores, and at maximum dosage the thought disturbance factor score in the L-dopa-treated group was not worse than at baseline. The results suggest that L-dopa is associated more with toxic than with schizophreniform symptoms and that there is adaptation to its effects. The authors discuss implications of these findings for the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

The neuroleptic hypothesis: study of the covariation of extrapyramidal and therapeutic drug effects.

A therapeutic trial with chlorpromazine was conducted with a homogeneous (for age and sex) group of recently admitted schizophrenic patients. Extrapyramidal effects were measured through quantitative analysis of digital tremor, after four days of fixed-dose treatment. Assessment of treatment efficacy was based on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ratings, done at the end of four weeks' treatment. Those patients whose tremor was least affected by drug were most likely to benefit from the treatment. Implications of this negative correlation for our understanding of the neuroleptic hypothesis and the closely associated dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Anticholinergic exacerbation of phenothiazine-induced extrapyramidal syndrome.

The authors used tremography to record the bilateral digital tremor of a patient showing extrapyramidal system effects in response to withdrawal from phenothiazines. They found that changes in the amplitude of tremor correlated with clinical ratings of extrapyramidal disturbance. Changes in the amplitude and in the spectrum of tremor were similar to the bipolar paradoxical changes seen during intoxication with an anticholinergic psychotogen.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High-risk pregnancy screening techniques: a nursing overview.

Procedures and indications for nonstress fetal monitoring, oxytocin challenge tests, 24-hour measurement of urine estriols, ultrasound, and amniocentesis, five of the most widely used diagnostic tools for monitoring the fetus at risk, are reviewed. While none of these tests is completely accurate by itself, selective use of these tests improves the ability to diagnose placental insufficiency and to predict the ability of the fetus to survive outside the uterus. Complications may threaten the life of the fetus, but delivery can be timed to minimize the complications associated with prematurity. Overall, skilled medical management of underlying problems remains most important, while tests of placental insufficiency add valuable, but supplementary guidelines for overall management of the high-risk patient.

Abortion, Threatened↗