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J Massana

Publications and source records attributed to J Massana.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Subtyping obsessive-compulsive disorder: clinical and immunological findings in child and adult onset.

It has been suggested that certain kinds of childhood OCD with specific clinical, biological and immunological characteristics may form a subgroup of OCD. We study the presence of these characteristics in child onset OCD and propose that the disorder be considered as a subtype of adult OCD. Forty adult patients with OCD were divided in two groups according to time of disease onset: 18 early onset and 21 late. Both sets were compared with a control group of 14 psychiatric patients. Child onset OCD was associated with higher mean ASLO titers, higher frequencies of history of tic disorders and tonsillitis in childhood and compulsive symptoms. No differences were found in D8/17 antibody titers or in other autoimmune parameters. The findings suggest that child onset OCD can be considered as a subgroup of adult OCD, although more specific biological markers are needed to identify it.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Clinical experience with the use of cyclosporin A in psoriasis. Results of a retrospective study.

The efficacy of cyclosporin A (Sandimmun Neoral) in severe psoriasis was analysed in 70 patients included in a retrospective descriptive study conducted at our Dermatology Department from January 1994 until December 2000. After 8 weeks of treatment, with an initial dose of 2.5-3 mg/kg/day, the reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was>75% in 61% of patients. Most of the side effects observed turned out to be susceptible to being reversed over time or by dose reduction. The results of this study show that continuous and low-dose cyclosporin therapy is a safe and efficacious treatment for severe chronic psoriasis.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[A "happy world"].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Drug Utilization↗
PubMed2001

Subtyping of panic disorder patients with bradycardia.

PURPOSE: Since clinical practice suggests that panic disorder may not be a homogeneous condition, a study was carried out to test the possible existence of different groups or subgroups of panic patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-two panic patients (DSM-III-R) underwent lactate challenge in our laboratory and were assessed for heart rate, blood pressure, sweating and Acute Panic Inventory. RESULTS: During the lactate challenge, patients complaining mainly of 'cardiorespiratory' symptoms (N = 12) showed tachycardia and localized sweating. Conversely, patients complaining mainly of 'pseudoneurological' symptoms (N = 16) showed bradycardia and generalized sweating. In both groups, Acute Panic Inventory scores were significantly higher during than before the panic attack, but the distribution of the scores was markedly different. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results suggest that panic disorder may be a heterogeneous condition. Implications of these results to other phobic disorders, to Klein's false suffocation alarm theory and to the 'extended amygdala model' are discussed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Fluoxetine in the prevention of depressive recurrences: a double-blind study.

Optimal outcomes from depression treatment are long-term recovery and, in the case of recurrent depression, prevention of new episodes. However, few data are available concerning the long-term efficacy of antidepressants in prophylactic treatment to prevent recurrences of depression. The efficacy and safety of fluoxetine 20 mg/day was evaluated in reducing the number of depressive episodes and in extending the time free of symptoms in patients with recurrent unipolar major depression. Patients with recurrent unipolar major depression according to DSM-III-R criteria and who responded to 32 weeks of open-label fluoxetine were randomly assigned to receive fluoxetine 20 mg/day (N = 70) or placebo (N = 70) for 48 weeks of double-blind maintenance treatment. Outcome measures were the percentage of recurrences and time to recurrence. Safety assessments included treatment-emergent adverse events, reasons for discontinuation, vital signs, and laboratory measures. Fluoxetine was associated with a statistically significantly smaller percentage of patients who had a recurrence compared with placebo (20% vs. 40%; chi2 analysis, p = 0.010). The symptom-free period was significantly longer for patients treated with fluoxetine versus placebo (295 vs. 192 days; Kaplan-Meier estimates, log-rank test, p = 0.002). Treatments were well tolerated during maintenance treatment. The only statistically significant difference in adverse events between treatment groups was anxiety, which was more frequent in the placebo group (fluoxetine, 12.9% vs. placebo, 30%; chi2 analysis, p = 0.013). Two placebo-treated patients and no fluoxetine-treated patients were withdrawn because of adverse events. In conclusion, fluoxetine at 20 mg/day was effective and well tolerated for the prophylactic treatment of recurrent unipolar major depression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of the polymorphic (GT)(n) repeat at the dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene in Spanish patients affected by schizophrenia.

The presence of a polymorphic (GT)(n) repeat, a microsatellite repeat, at the human dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) gene had been previously investigated in healthy people and in schizophrenic patients. The different DBH genotypes had been found to be associated to different DBH biochemical function, but no differences were found in the allelic and genotype frequencies between schizophrenic and control groups. To further clarify the potential involvement of the variation at the DBH gene in schizophrenia we have studied the DBH (GT)(n) repeat in a sample of 47 Spanish schizophrenic patients, in their healthy relatives (n = 72), and in a control population (n = 74). We have been able to identify five different variants of the DBH gene (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5) in the different groups. Subsequent statistical analysis revealed that the genotypes as well as the allele frequencies did not differ significantly among schizophrenic patients and the control population. Interestingly, the allelic variant A2 and the genotype A4/A2 were significantly more frequent in schizophrenic patients as compared with their healthy relatives. However, the association of the A2 allele with schizophrenia was not supported by the haplotype relative risk analysis of transmitted versus nontransmitted alleles. Therefore, although it will be important to extend the present analysis in a larger sample of schizophrenic patients and controls, our results suggest that the (GT)(n) does not seem to play a major role in the genetics of schizophrenia at least in this group of Spanish schizophrenic patients. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 96:88-92, 2000.

Alleles↗
PubMed1999

Reboxetine: a double-blind comparison with fluoxetine in major depressive disorder.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of reboxetine, a uniquely selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine. A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, multicentre design was employed. One hundred and sixty-eight patients with acute major depressive episodes were randomized to receive oral reboxetine (8-10 mg/day) or oral fluoxetine (20-40 mg/day). The treatment period was 8 weeks. Reboxetine and fluoxetine were similarly effective as assessed by the mean reduction in total Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, the percentage of responders and patients in remission, Clinical Global Impression severity of illness and global improvement scores and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. A sub-analysis of patients with severe depression indicated that reboxetine had superior efficacy compared with fluoxetine. Both treatments resulted in some improvement in Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale total scores and this was more evident for those patients treated with reboxetine who achieved remission. Both treatments were well tolerated. The results indicate that reboxetine is an effective and well tolerated antidepressant, being more effective than fluoxetine in patients with severe depression, and more effective in terms of social functioning in those patients who achieved remission.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Reboxetine versus fluoxetine: an overview of efficacy and tolerability.

Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely used to treat depression and offer the advantage of being better tolerated compared with tricyclic antidepressants, which inhibit both serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake. Against this background, 2 clinical studies were conducted comparing the efficacy and tolerability of reboxetine, a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, with fluoxetine, an SSRI. Both studies were of double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, multicenter design. One included a placebo control group. Five hundred forty-nine patients with major depression, under inpatient care or attending outpatient or day hospital clinics, received reboxetine (8-10 mg/day) or fluoxetine (20-40 mg/day) over 8 weeks. The overall efficacy of reboxetine and fluoxetine was similar, and superior to placebo, as assessed by the mean reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression total score. Reboxetine demonstrated superior efficacy compared with fluoxetine in severely ill patients and was associated with greater improvement in social functioning, especially in terms of motivation toward action and negative self-perception. Both treatments were well tolerated. In summary, reboxetine is an effective and well-tolerated antidepressant and is superior to fluoxetine in the treatment of severely ill patients and in terms of improving social functioning.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗
PubMed1993

Maintenance drug therapy of panic disorder.

The efficacy of tricyclics and benzodiazepines in the short term (approximately 2-4 months) treatment of panic disorder is well demonstrated, but efficacy over the longer term is not considered established. The present study provided systematic data from a double blind comparison of maintenance therapy (up to 8 months) of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia with alprazolam, imipramine, or placebo in 181 patients who had responded to the same regimen in a randomized 8-week treatment trial. All three groups had improved during the first 2 months (active treatments more than placebo and about equal to each other), and all maintained or extended their improvement over the next 6 months without any significant change in dose. More than twice as many alprazolam and imipramine than placebo patients (15%) remained in treatment for the full 8 months and did slightly better on symptom measures than the remaining placebo patients. Both medications were well tolerated during the maintenance period. The data suggest sustained efficacy and safety of imipramine and alprazolam over an extended period. More specifically, they suggest that tolerance does not develop to the therapeutic effects of either drug.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed1988

Urinary phenylacetic acid excretion in depressive patients.

Phenylacetic acid (PAA), a metabolite of phenylethylamine, has been found in the urine of depressed patients at lower levels than in control subjects. It has been suggested that the determination of PAA in urine could be used as a biological marker of the depressive condition. In this study the levels of PAA in urine were investigated by gas-liquid chromatography in 39 patients diagnosed as having major depression according to DSM-III criteria, and in 32 healthy subjects. The values found in the patients were markedly lower than in controls. No relationship was found between the decrease of PAA excretion and weight loss. Using a discriminant equation, a value of 69% was obtained for both sensitivity and specificity. The results suggest that the determination of urine PAA could be a biological parameter comparable to the dexamethasone suppression test.

Adult↗