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Biomedical subjects

H Beckmann

Publications and source records attributed to H Beckmann.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

A double-blind multicentre study comparing remoxipride, two and three times daily, with haloperidol in schizophrenia.

A double-blind multicentre study comparing the efficacy and safety of remoxipride in relation to haloperidol was conducted in 160 inpatients with schizophrenic illness diagnosed according to DSM-III. The study period was 4 weeks. The mean daily dose of remoxipride (whether given twice or three times daily) during the last week of treatment was 395 mg; the corresponding dose of haloperidol was 17 mg per day. No significant difference in therapeutic efficacy was found; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) median total scores dropped from 41 to 20 (remoxipride twice daily, n = 51), 43 to 20 (remoxipride three times daily, n = 44) 40 to 19 (haloperidol three times daily, n = 48) at last valid rating. According to Clinical Global Impression (CGI) 68% in the remoxipride twice daily, 58% in the three times daily and 60% in the haloperidol group were very much or much improved. Treatment-emergent extrapyramidal checklist symptoms (hypokinesia, rigidity and tremor) were statistically significantly more frequent and more severe during haloperidol than during remoxipride treatment despite a statistically significantly higher concurrent use of anticholinergic drugs in the haloperidol group. Haloperidol treated patients reported more tiredness and drowsiness than remoxipride treated patients. Also, haloperidol treated patients had a significantly higher frequency of extrapyramidal symptoms on 8 out of 10 items of the Simpson and Angus scale.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Prognostic validity of the cycloid psychoses. A prospective follow-up study.

In a prospective 4-year follow-up study, 26 out of 31 patients initially diagnosed as cycloid psychoses were investigated (anxiety-happiness psychosis n = 15; confusion psychosis n = 8; motility psychosis n = 3). Patients were independently interviewed by two clinical researchers. 61.5% showed one or several 'first-rank symptoms' according to Schneider. In addition, the SADS-LA was applied for RDC and DSM-IIIR diagnoses. According to these classification systems most of the patients were diagnosed as schizophrenic or schizoaffective. Personal interview as well as application of the Strauss-Carpenter Outcome Scale indicated a highly favorable clinical outcome, i.e. lack of affective or behavioral defective states in literally all patients of the study. These results justify the distinction of the cycloid psychoses as a nosological entity in general and--less convincingly--of the three subtypes of cycloid psychoses.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Puerperal and cycloid psychoses. Results of a retrospective study.

Puerperal psychoses are traditionally considered to be nosologically unspecific. They are defined exclusively by their occurrence close to delivery. Attempts to further diagnostically subdivide puerperal psychoses have been prevented to date by the influence of Kraepelin's dichotomy. New possibilities of nosological differentiation arose out of Kasanin's (1933) description of schizoaffective psychoses and out of Leonhard's differentiated nosology (1986). The objective of the present, retrospective study was to apply Leonhard's nosology to 42 postpartal psychoses. Five diagnostic groups could be identified: 6 cases of manic-depressive disorder, 7 cases of pure depression, 8 cases of pure melancholia, 2 cases of unsystematic schizophrenia, and 19 cases of cycloid psychoses. For this reason we consider that the concept of the cycloid psychoses is appropriate for the characterization of a large proportion of childbed psychoses.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Ontogenesis of monoamine oxidase-A and -B in the human brain frontal cortex.

The effect of several antemortem and postmortem factors (patients' age, sex, postmortem delay, storage time, laterality and brain weight) on both monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) and -B (MAO-B) activity was investigated in the frontal cortex of human brains. The MAO-A activity decreases rapidly during the first two years of life and remains constant thereafter. In contrast, the MAO-B activity keeps unchanged during early childhood and raises during advanced age. These findings seem to be consistent with a genetic regulation and a variation in cell type assembling during brain development and aging.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Plasma moclobemide and metabolites: lack of correlation with clinical response and biogenic amines.

The concentration of the reversible monoamine oxidase type-A (MAO-A) inhibitor moclobemide (Ro 11-1163) was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the plasma of 16 depressives treated with moclobemide. Moreover, the inhibitory potency of organic extracts of the plasma on a standard MAO-A preparation from human placenta was measured spectrophotometrically. The inhibitory potency significantly correlated with the HPLC results. However, it overestimated the concentration of moclobemide by one order of magnitude possibly due to the presence of yet unknown metabolites more active than moclobemide itself. These have already been suggested in view of the higher inhibitory potency of moclobemide ex vivo than in vitro. This new methodological approach might represent a comfortable alternative to HPLC procedures in pharmacokinetic studies on reversible MAO inhibitors. Plasma biogenic amines and their metabolites might be indicative of the biologic activity of moclobemide. Plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) decreased and norepinephrine (NE) increased under moclobemide, although insignificantly. There was no significant correlation between the plasma concentration of moclobemide as estimated by either method and the therapeutic response and the change of plasma HVA and NE.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[3H]MK-801 binding sites in postmortem brain regions of schizophrenic patients.

[3H]MK-801 binding was used as a marker for the NMDA receptorion channel complex in postmortem brain samples from the frontal cortex, hippocampus, putamen, entorhinal region, and amygdala of schizophrenic patients and controls. In schizophrenia [3H]MK-801 binding levels were increased in all brain regions investigated reaching significance in the putamen.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

3H-spiperone binding sites in post-mortem brains from schizophrenic patients: relationship to neuroleptic drug treatment, abnormal movements, and positive symptoms.

In post-mortem putamen samples from 27 schizophrenics and 27 controls D2 receptors were measured by Scatchard analysis using 3H-spiperone as a ligand. Maximum number of binding sites (Bmax) and apparent dissociation constant (KD) were significantly increased only in patients in whom neuroleptic medication had been given within a three-month period before death. When the neuroleptic medication had been withdrawn at least 3 month before death, there was a slight, but not significant, reduction in Bmax values and unchanged KD values. Withdrawal of neuroleptic drugs was followed by a normalization of the KD values within 2 weeks and a slower reduction of Bmax values. There were 6 schizophrenic patients with mainly positive schizophrenic symptoms and 17 patients with mainly negative symptoms; positive schizophrenic symptoms were not related to higher Bmax values. There was no difference in 3H-spiperone binding between patients with and without movement disorders (tardive dyskinesia or extrapyramidal symptoms).

Aged↗
PubMed1989

The influence of human corticotropin-releasing hormone on somatostatin secretion in depressed patients and controls.

Twenty subjects (10 patients with a major depressive episode and 10 individually matched healthy controls) received 100 micrograms synthetic human corticotropin-releasing hormone (hCRH) as an i.v. bolus dose. Healthy subjects and depressed patients exhibited a significant increase of plasma somatostatin (SRIH) concentrations with no difference between both comparison groups. Compared to controls, depressed patients showed a significant attenuation of corticotropin (ACTH) responses, while cortisol secretion in response to hCRH was normal. No correlations were found among basal plasma concentrations of SRIH, ACTH or cortisol and SRIH, ACTH or cortisol responses following hCRH. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyperactivity in the depressive state may primarily be due to central hypersecretion of CRH and support the view of a hCRH-induced SRIH secretion which is not related to HPA dysfunction associated with major depression.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1989

Brain quinolinic acid in Alzheimer's dementia.

Quinolinic acid (QA) content was measured in postmortem frontal and temporal cortex, putamen and cerebellum obtained from patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT), Huntington's disease (HD) and controls, using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method. There were no significant group differences in QA content of any of the regions examined. The data do not support the hypothesis that an accumulation of QA plays a role in neuronal degeneration occurring in the frontal and temporal cortex, putamen and cerebellum of patients with SDAT.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Humoral immunodeficiency syndrome in patients with severe head injury?

Twenty patients with severe head injury were analysed as to whether they developed a humoral immunodeficiency syndrome. In spite of the fact that 75% developed pyogenic complications all patients showed a polyclonal humoral activation of their immune system with an increase in IgG, IgA, IgM and the complement factors. Four patients died from cerebral complications partly associated with infections. Because our patients did not develop a humoral immune defect and because there is no proof so far of a cellular defect, we think that the cause of respiratory infections is a pulmonary disturbance primarily caused by hypothalamic factors, whose release is stimulated by traumatically induced cerebral lesions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Demonstration of monoamine oxidase-A and -B in the human brainstem by a histochemical technique.

The distribution of both monoamine oxidase subtypes, monoamine oxidase-A and -B, is demonstrated in brainstems from 16 humans by use of a histochemical technique. The results presented here, focus primarily upon the aminergic areas of the substantia nigra, the locus coeruleus and the raphe nuclei. While dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra revealed no staining for monoamine oxidase, noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus stained positively with the monoamine oxidase-A substrate serotonin, and serotonergic neurons of the raphe nuclei were stained by the monoamine oxidase-B substrate beta-phenylethylamine. In addition, data are presented showing that glial cells stain predominantly for monoamine oxidase-B.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

The dexamethasone suppression test and suicide attempts.

We examined covariations between results of the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and suicidal behaviour for 44 patients who had attempted suicide at least once; the suicide methods, diagnoses and time factors were controlled for. The control groups comprised 82 psychiatric patients and a sample of 69 patients with endogenous depression. In spite of hypotheses suggesting the contrary, there was no significant relationship between DST results and acute suicide attempts. Although patients who had used "soft" methods were often suppressors, chi-square tests using the suicide classification of the ICD-9 as well as tests employing more precise subcategories failed to reveal any significant covariation. In groups of patients with an identical diagnosis of endogenous depression, the sensitivity of the DST with regard to suicide attempts was 52%. The difference between suppressors and nonsuppressors in previous suicide attempts was insignificant. Further, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression profiles of DST suppressors and nonsuppressors showed no significant differences with regard to either different symptoms or the evaluation of acute suicide risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Identification of a yeast protein with properties similar to those of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain enhancer-binding protein NF-muE3.

We demonstrate that Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells possess a 33-41-kilodalton protein with DNA-binding properties remarkably similar to those of the immunoglobulin enhancer-binding protein NF-muE3. We further show that the muE3-binding site functions as an upstream activating sequence in yeast cells, stimulating transcription from a truncated CYC1 promoter. These data suggest that the yeast protein, designated YEB-3, and NF-muE3 are functionally related and perhaps evolutionarily conserved.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with schizophrenia, depression, anorexia nervosa-bulimia, and premenstrual syndrome.

Neurotensin (NT) concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured by a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay in psychiatric patients and age- and sex-matched normal controls. No increase in CSF NT concentrations was observed after antipsychotic drug treatment. CSF NT concentrations were significantly lower in one group of schizophrenic subjects. NT concentrations were unaltered in patients with depression, anorexia/bulimia, or premenstrual syndrome, and no rostral-caudal gradient for NT in CSF was evident. NT concentrations were not related to age or sex, and probenecid treatment did not alter CSF NT concentrations. Finally CSF NT concentrations were unaltered in paranoid schizophrenic subjects. These findings confirm and extend previous studies of CSF NT that showed certain patients with schizophrenia, nonparanoid type, have reduced CSF concentrations of this tridecapeptide.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Gross and histological criteria for developmental disorders in brains of schizophrenics.

Autopsy findings and examination of histological sections from 12 schizophrenic patients and from age-matched, non-schizophrenic controls were enlarged and confirmed our previous study. Four subgroups were differentiated with gross abnormalities, in most cases with asymmetry of the temporal sulcal gyral pattern. Two types of macroscopical deviations are described. Different periods of developmental termination, concerning the sulcal gyral pattern of the temporal lobe, suggest a period in which the disturbance of the development originated which coincides with a probably genetically-induced disturbed migration in the entorhinal region toward the end of the fifth month. It is thought that the parahippocampal or entorhinal area develops differently, space- and time-wise. This may explain why migratory disturbances particularly occur in this precisely limited area. The findings in the ventral insular area are discussed, together with factors which also suggest a developmental disorder.

Adult↗