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Biomedical subjects

J Ananth

Publications and source records attributed to J Ananth.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Clinical prediction of antidepressant response.

Depression is not a unitary disease and not all cases of depression can be treated alike. Therefore, predictors of antidepressant response to different drugs need to be identified. Premorbid personality, age and sex and family history are useful in prediction. As an example, only females respond to the addition of triiodothyronine to the antidepressant therapy. Endogenous depressions respond favourably to antidepressants, so also do psychotic depressions. On the other hand, delusional depressions do not respond to antidepressants. While atypical depressions are best treated with MAOI, motor retardation improves with imipramine and obsessive symptoms with chlorimipramine. In addition to clinical variables, biochemical and statistical approaches have also yielded significant results in prediction.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

Side effects in the neonate from psychotropic agents excreted through breast-feeding.

Neuroleptics, antidepressants, lithium, anxiolytics, and hypnotics may be excreted in breast milk. Because of the danger to the neonate, drugs such as diazepam, lithium, bromides, reserpine, and opium alkaloids should not be given to lactating women, and barbiturates, haloperidol, and penfluridol should be administered with caution. The side effects produced as a result of breast-feeding of the infant by mothers consuming psychotropic drugs are reviewed and possible preventive measures are discussed.

Barbiturates↗
PubMed1978

Prediction of lithium response in affective disorders.

Lithium carbonate has established itself as an effective therapeutic agent in primary affective disorders. As not all the patients with primary affective disorders respond to lithium therapy, it is necessary to identify responders prior to treatment. The important indicators of favourable lithium response include a definitive diagnosis of primary affective disorder, occurrence of less than four episodes of mania and depression within one year, psychotic features during both manic as well as depressive episodes, "grandiose-elated" picture during manic episodes; a family history of bipolar illness and response of affected family members to lithium treatment. While those with more than four episodes are not likely to respond to lithium therapy, those with episodes less frequent than once a year or two may not need prophylactic lithium. Among the depressed, hypersomnic depressed patients respond to lithium combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. In addition to clinical predictors of response to lithium treatment, there are a number of pharmacokinetic, neurophysiological and biochemical indices which have been employed as supplementary predictors of response to lithium therapy.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis with clomipramine (Anafranil).

An uncontrolled clinical study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of clomipramine (Anafranil, Geigy Pharmacueticals) in a group of twenty obsessive-compulsive neurotic patients. Clomipramine proved to be extremely useful in alleviating obsessive-compulsive neurosis as well as phobia. This finding was not secondary to the improvement in anxiety or depression which occurred, as the degree of improvement in obsessive symptoms far exceeded the improvement in the other symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Therapeutic implications of tricyclic antidepressant plasma levels.

Methodological advances in drug assay techniques and their increasing availability have made the measurement of tricyclic antidepressant plasma levels more frequent and even fashionable. Plasma levels of tricyclics have been correlated with diagnosis, prognosis, clinical response, and side effects. But even in the area most extensively examined, the correlation between plasma level and clinical response, the results have been conflicting. Different studies have suggested that there is no relationship between plasma level and clinical response, as well as positive and negative correlations, and even a curvilinear relationship. On the basis of available evidence, it is impossible to define a therapeutic range of plasma levels that will be applicable to depressed patients as a group. For the moment, the problem of finding a suitable therapeutic dose for the individual patient remains of paramount importance. Studies to date suggest the need to take into consideration genetic factors, previous and present use of other drugs, the possibility that therapeutic failure might be a result of too high as well as too low a dose, as well as the possible relationship between high plasma levels and side effects. Also, since for the specific individual, the metabolism of different tricyclic antidepressants is similar, it may be useful to adjust dosages until a therapeutic one is obtained instead of immediately switching to another medication. Finally, although the usefulness of routine plasma level determination remains to be established, this technique may be indicated in cases of intractable depression and remains an important research tool.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗
PubMed1976

Treatment approaches to mania.

Treatment of manic episodes is an urgency because of the lack of insight and excessive psychomotor activity. Over the past two decades various new modes of pharmacological treatment of this condition has been reported. Along with them, biochemical findings in manic patients have been exhaustively investigated. Etiologically based pharmacological treatment of manic episodes will help us therapeutically in improving the condition of the patient and scientifically, to confirm or explore biochemical basis of manic episodes. The new innovative approaches for the treatment of manic episodes need to be applied in treating therapy-resistant patients. Included in this paper are treatment approaches based on norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid and permissive hypothesis, peripheral autonomic imbalance, endocrine abnormalities, electrolyte disturbances, paradoxical response, and cyclic AMP. In addition, use of antidepressants and pyrotherapy is described.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1976

Side effects on fetus and infant of psychotropic drug use during pregnancy.

Psychotropic drugs are used frequently for the treatment of emotional as well as other disorders. With usage so widespread, many pregnant women receive psychotropic drugs. Maternal ingestion of these drugs may produce, in the fetus, side effects including withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal signs in the fetus as a result of maternal intake of opiates, hypnotics, analgesics, and tricyclic antidepressant drugs have been reported. Fetal side effects can occur by maternal ingestion of nuroleptic medications, lithium, antidepressants, anxiolytic sedatives, anticonvulsants, and bromides. The author feels that even though these drugs are generally safe, they must only be administered to pregnant women when absolutely needed, and then under vigilance.

Analgesics↗