Biomedical subjects

J Naudin

Publications and source records attributed to J Naudin.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

A differential role for interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in schizophrenia?

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are dysregulated in schizophrenia. To determine the nature of the so-called inflammatory syndrome in schizophrenia, we investigated the circulating levels of various cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha), their natural antagonist (IL1-ra, TNF-RI, TNF-RII) and leukocyte activation markers (the soluble receptor of interleukin-2, soluble CD14 and soluble CD23) in subjects with chronic schizophrenia (n = 18) and in normal controls (n = 21). The levels of IL-1 beta and its antagonist and the levels of leukocyte activation markers were not significantly differents between patients and controls. Circulating levels of TNF alpha were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in patients than in controls and did not result from variations of its antagonist levels. The significant (p < 0.05) increase in patient IL-6 was related specifically to clinical status, i.e. illness duration. These data suggest a specific cytokine-mediated syndrome in schizophrenia. We hypothesize that TNF alpha and IL-6 reflect the genetic background of disease suceptibility.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Elevated circulating levels of IL-6 in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia may result from immune or inflammatory disorders, which are mediated by cytokines. Data in this field are heterogeneous and often contradictory. We investigated circulating levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha, two distinct proinflammatory cytokines. Using immunoassay, we assessed IL-6 and TNF-alpha in serum from chronic schizophrenic patients (n = 30) and normal controls (n = 15). Circulating levels of IL-6 were higher in patients than in controls; those of TNF-alpha were not significantly higher than in controls. In addition, IL-6 levels were higher in patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia than in patients with remissions. Our results suggest that immunologic abnormalities in schizophrenia may be related to a specific inflammatory process mediated by IL-6. An interesting line of research would be the evaluation of IL-6 cerebral production in CSF.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

[New neuroleptic agents and new models for psychoses].

Atypical neuroleptics can be defined as dopamine receptor blockers which differ from typical neuroleptics in that they have a markedly lower or absent propensity for the induction of parkinsonian side effects or tardive dyskinesias. The authors are studying varied molecules considering their mechanism of action. The differences between atypical and typical neuroleptics may relate to regional specificity in site of actions and receptor binding profile. The authors insist on clozapine, which is a D2 antagonist and in which many other systems might be involved. New neural models may help understand these interactions. The Swerdlow and Koob's model is a unified hypothesis of cortico-striato-pallido-thalamic function which can explain psychoses, depression, dyskinesias and Parkinsonian disorders. The authors make a linkage between this model and Davis's hypothesis. This author hypothesizes that schizophrenia is characterized by abnormally low prefrontal dopamine activity leading to excessive dopamine activity in mesolimbic dopamine neurons, that explains the both negative and positive symptoms coexistence. For the authors, new ways are then opened for an integrative conception of psychosis and affective disorders. This conception might be integrated into the bio-psycho-social model based on chaotics, evocation of which is the author's conclusion.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

PubMed1990

[Sex differences in schizophrenic delusions].

The authors compared delusions of male schizophrenics (56 cases) with those of female schizophrenics (41 cases) on the following points: 1) characteristics of objects of delusions, i) existence of the central object, ii) their description on this central object, iii) sex of this central object, 2) existence of the erotic-heterosexual delusion, 3) existence of the descent delusion, 4) existence of the sexual cenestopathy, and found that both sexes have many more male objects in their delusions than female objects, and that more women than men have delusions about acquaintances, erotic-heterosexual delusions, and sexual cenestopathy, while more men than women have delusions about distant or abstract objects. Comparing these findings with those of the other authors, the authors discuss them from clinical, psychopathological and psychodynamic perspectives.

Delusions↗

PubMed1986

[Prenatal care and occupational activity].

We studied the gestational age at the first prenatal visit and the number of prenatal visits by occupational activity among 1,573 women who delivered in 32 maternity units of the Belgium's French speaking region. The comparison with non working women showed that working women consulted significantly (p less than 0.01) earlier, whatever their professional activity, their parity and their social class. They consulted significantly (p less than 0.05) more frequently in terms of reaching the expected number of consultations calculated as a function of gestational age at the first visit. This difference disappeared when parity and social class were taken into account.

Belgium↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Schizophrenia and common sense: study of 3 single cases.

There is new interest in subjective experiences of schizophrenia. This kind of analysis emphasizes the subjective stories of patients, and the methods do not pretend to have the objectivity of science. However, the plausibility and the empathetic resonance of the single case may bring subjective confirmation to the validity of an insight and indicate new directions of research. Following this line, the authors present a study of 3 single cases of 'reflexive' residual type of schizophrenia. The methods for selecting the cases and the philosophical groundings of the concept of 'reflexive schizophrenia' are explained. The analysis of the single cases revealed that (1) schizophrenic persons' cognitive deficit is related to the constitution of common sense; (2) some schizophrenics cope with the cognitive deficit by creating a theoretical corpus of axioms stemming from common sense, namely the 'axioms of everyday life'; (3) this mechanism of coping is described as an inflexible attachment to 'axioms of everydayness', and (4) this attachment to common sense releases the patient from all personal investment of self in the process of anchoring in the living world and, on this basis, allows a relatively solid, although distant, attachment to reality. The nature of deficit in schizophrenia is also discussed by confronting the phenomenological point of view and the neuropsychological, that is the so-called 'theory of mind'.

Adaptation, Psychological↗