PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L H Thorell

Publications and source records attributed to L H Thorell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Pre-experimental stress in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: high cortisol values already before symptom provocation with rectal distensions.

Stress is known to affect symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) probably by an alteration of visceral sensitivity. We studied the impact of maximal tolerable rectal distensions on cortisol levels in patients with IBS, chronic constipation and controls, and evaluated the effect of the experimental situation per se. In twenty-four IBS patients, eight patients with chronic constipation and 15 controls salivary cortisol was measured before and after repetitive maximal tolerable rectal balloon distensions and at similar times in their usual environment. Rectal sensitivity thresholds were determined. IBS patients but not controls and constipation patients had higher cortisol levels both before and after the experiment compared with similar times on an ordinary day in their usual environment (P = 0.0034 and 0.0002). There was no difference in salivary cortisol level before compared with after rectal distensions. The IBS patients had significantly lower thresholds for first sensation, urge and maximal tolerable distension than controls (P = 0.0247, 0.0001 and <0.0001) and for urge and maximal tolerable distension than patients with constipation (P = 0.006 and 0.013). IBS patients may be more sensitive to expectancy stress than controls and patients with constipation according to salivary cortisol. Rectal distensions were not associated with a further significant increase in cortisol levels.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Salivary cortisol, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and general health in the acute phase and during 9-month follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Because traumatic events are unpredictable, there are few studies of psychobiological states immediately following such events. Our study aimed to determine the relation of salivary cortisol to psychologic distress immediately after a traumatic event and then during follow-up. METHODS: Measurement of morning and evening salivary cortisol and ratings of psychologic distress (using the Impact of Events Scale [IES], the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire) were performed with 31 United Nations soldiers at three time points--5 days and 2 and 9 months--following a mine accident in Lebanon. RESULTS: Five days after the accident, 15 subjects reported substantial posttraumatic distress according to the IES, as well as significantly lower morning and higher evening cortisol levels compared with the low-impact group. Within 9 months, the posttraumatic distress of the high-impact group was reduced, accompanied by an increase in morning and a decrease in evening cortisol levels. There were significant relationships between evening cortisol and all rating scales at the first and third time points. CONCLUSIONS: Subclinical posttraumatic stress following an adverse event can be measured biologically via salivary cortisol levels soon after the event.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Momentary increase in plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide is involved in hot flashes in men treated with castration for carcinoma of the prostate.

PURPOSE: In women the vasodilatory neuropeptides calcitonin gene-related peptide and neuropeptide Y seem to be involved in menopausal hot flashes. We assessed whether plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide and neuropeptide Y change during hot flashes in men after castration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 10 men 61 to 81 years old who underwent castration due to cancer of the prostate and had frequent hot flashes for changes in plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide and neuropeptide Y during 1 day at the outpatient clinic. At least 5 blood samples were obtained between flashes and 4 were obtained during each flash. The samples were analyzed for calcitonin gene-related peptide and neuropeptide Y using radioimmunoassay technique. Hot flashes were objectively recorded by measuring peripheral skin temperature and skin conductance. RESULTS: Plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide increased 46% (95% confidence interval 21 to 71) during flashes in the 6 men in whom it was measurable. This change was statistically significant (p = 0.028). The concentration of neuropeptide Y was below the detection limit. Skin conductance and temperature increased significantly during flashes. CONCLUSIONS: Calcitonin gene-related peptide is involved in the mechanisms of hot flashes in men who underwent castration due to prostate carcinoma. Thus, there may be a similar mechanism of hot flashes in women and in men deprived of sex steroids.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Light treatment of seasonal affective disorder in combination with citalopram or placebo with 1-year follow-up.

This placebo-controlled, double-blind, 1-year pilot study aimed at investigating possible clinical advantages of combining initial light therapy with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram as well as the effects of continuous long-term administration of this drug in patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Eight physically healthy women who met the DSM-III-R criteria for SAD were included in the study. Four women were randomized to the citalopram group receiving 40 mg citalopram daily from the first of 10 light treatment days and throughout the 1-year study. The remaining four women were allocated to the placebo group using the same double-blind repeated measures design. The clinical outcome was measured by using three versions of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and Visual Analog Scales (VAS), respectively. Taking the initial rating scores into account in covariance analyses, no statistically significant group difference was found during the light treatment period. However, during the follow-up period the full version of the CPRS and the self-rating version of CPRS and the VAS-scales for global condition and depressed mood were statistically significantly lower in the citalopram group compared with the placebo group. Thus, in this small but carefully observed sample of SAD-patients combining initial light therapy and long-term citalopram treatment was clinically more effective over time than the placebo combination. Our findings support the notion that light therapy with concomitant and continued SSRI (citalopram) treatment is a useful strategy to achieve beneficial long-term effects in patients with the SAD syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Clomipramine and imipramine suppress clinical signs and T and B cell response to myelin proteins in experimental autoimmune neuritis in Lewis rats.

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors of the zimeldine-type have induced polyneuropathies similar to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in patients with endogenous depression. Some monoamine neurotransmitters have been shown to affect immune reactions in vivo and in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. We therefore studied the effect of the monoamine reuptake inhibitory anti-depressants, clomipramine and imipramine on specific immune response and the clinical course of experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), the animal model of GBS in humans. Clomipramine and imipramine both suppressed clinical signs of EAN induced by immunization with bovine peripheral nerve myelin (BPM), when given at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally, via osmotic pumps. Clomipramine and imipramine reduced the numbers of Th1 cells secreting IFN-gamma in response to the neuritogenic myelin proteins BPM, P0 and P2 among lymph node mononuclear cells (MNC) from rats with EAN. The levels of cells secreting IgG antibodies to BPM, P2 and GM1 in lymph nodes were reduced at the height of EAN in clomipramine and imipramine treated animals. The action of clomipramine and imipramine on induced IFN-gamma and anti-myelin antibodies suggests that the mechanism for the suppressive effect of those substances on EAN symptoms may be due to an action on myelin T and B cell autoreactivity. Considering that the main common pharmacological principle of clomipramine and imipramine is to increase the functional activity of the nor-adrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) of the monoamines, it seems justified to postulate that the actions of clomipramine and imipramine demonstrated in this study to some extent involve NA and/or 5-HT. The immunomodulatory effects of clomipramine and imipramine call for further research on the potential role of drugs acting on the monoamine system in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, and for further studies of immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗
PubMed1998

Are dysfunctional attitudes in depressive disorder trait or state dependent?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether euthymic patients in remission on lithium prophylaxis score higher on the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) than healthy subjects, thus indicating a trait quality of dysfunctional attitudes in unipolar depression. A total of 79 patients with recurrent unipolar depressive episodes and 79 individually matched healthy controls were compared using a Swedish version of the DAS. The results indicate that DAS score is a state-dependent variable in depressive disorder.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Defense Mechanism Test and electrodermal activity.

Electrodermal activity was registered during examination with the Defense Mechanism Test of 21 patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder, affective disorder, or schizophrenic disorder. The test can be interpreted as a model situation of how a person defends himself against a threat to avoid anxiety. We used Andersson's modified version of the test and tested the hypothesis that electrodermal activity should increase when there were responses categorised as Anxiety and decrease when there were responses categorised as defences or when the threat was correctly identified. We found significant increase in all electrodermal variables in connection with responses categorised as Anxiety. After exposures with responses categorised as Isolation, the maximal skin conductance level and the magnitude of late nonspecific responses were significantly decreased. After exposures when the threat was identified and thus no longer subliminal, the electrodermal activity was significantly decreased. All these findings support our hypothesis. After exposures with significantly decreased. All these findings support our hypothesis. After exposures with responses categorised as Denial all electrodermal variables were significantly increased. Similarly in responses categorised as Repression, Introaggression, and Disavowal or denial of hero's sex the frequency of late nonspecific responses were significantly increased. The increased electrodermal activity could be due to insufficient defence strategies as categorised in the Defense Mechanism Test.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A comparison a amitriptyline and maprotiline in the treatment of painful polyneuropathy in diabetics and nondiabetics.

OBJECTIVE: To compare amitriptyline and maprotiline in the treatment of painful polyneuropathy in diabetics and nondiabetics. DESIGN: A double-blind, crossover trial of treatment with amitriptyline, maprotiline, and placebo. Treatment was given in randomized order for periods of 4 weeks. Each period was separated by a 1-week washout. The final dose was 75 mg/day for both amitriptyline and maprotiline. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven patients with diabetic and nondiabetic painful polyneuropathy. OUTCOME MEASURES: The treatment effects were assessed by daily ratings of pain intensity on a 10-step verbal scale (0 = no pain and 10 = worst thinkable pain) and at the end of each treatment period by a global rating of the analgesic effect on a 5-step verbal scale (pain relief scale). For the assessment of depression, the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) was used. RESULTS: Using the global assessment of pain relief at the end of each treatment period, 22 of 33 patients reported reduced pain on amitriptyline treatment compared with 14 of 33 patients on maprotiline treatment and 8 patients on placebo treatment (p < .0001 and p < .05 for amitriptyline and maprotiline, respectively, against placebo). Amitriptyline was slightly better than maprotiline (p < .05) [tested by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. The order in which treatments occurred and the diagnosis of diabetes or nondiabetes did not have any significant effect on the global rating of pain relief. The mean values of the daily ratings of pain intensity showed that pain was more severe in the evenings than in the mornings and that diabetic patients reported worse pain than nondiabetics at baseline. The mean values of pain reduction as assessed with the 10-step verbal scale during the 4th week of treatment showed that amitriptyline and maprotiline were significantly better than placebo in relieving the pain (p < .0001 and p < .01, respectively, post hoc test according to Scheffé). However, there was no significant difference between the pain reduction of amitriptyline compared with maprotiline when assessing pain reduction with the 10-step verbal scale during the 4th treatment week. Nor was there a significant difference between diabetics and nondiabetics with regard to the effect of the drugs. The clinical effect was not significantly correlated to plasma concentration of either amitriptyline and its active metabolite nortriptyline or maprotiline in the global or daily assessments. The effect of treatment was not correlated to any particular pain quality nor to the intensity of pain. Depression was noted in three patients who completed the medication trial, but the effect of treatment of pain and depression did not clearly correlate. The adverse side effects of amitriptyline and maprotiline were common, and in 5 patients the medication had to be discontinued because of severe side effects. CONCLUSION: From the present results and the literature, it is concluded that tricyclic antidepressants with a pharmacologic profile similar to amitriptyline are the most effective drugs in the treatment of polyneuropathy pain in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Psychopathy, platelet MAO activity and criminality among former juvenile delinquents.

Psychopathy-related personality traits as well as platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and criminality from the age of 15 years were studied in a group of 68 male former juvenile delinquents and 32 control subjects. The former juvenile delinquents registered for crime as adults were found to have higher Psychopathy Check List (PCL) scores and lower platelet MAO activity than either juvenile delinquents who were not registered criminals from the age of 15 years or non-criminal controls. Although PCL scores and platelet MAC activity were unrelated, a configural frequency analysis showed a significant interaction. Individuals with PCL scores, low platelet MAO activity and persistent criminal behaviour constituted a significant "type'. Among the 27 former juvenile delinquents who developed persistent criminality, 21 subjects (78%) had PCL scores greater than 0 and low platelet MAO activity, while none of these persistent criminals were characterized by a combination of zero PCL score and high platelet MAO activity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Criminality and psychopathy as related to thyroid activity in former juvenile delinquents.

Levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), psychopathy-related personality traits and criminality from the age of 15 years onward were examined in 70 former juvenile delinquents and 35 control subjects aged 38-46 years. T3 levels were significantly associated with criminality but not with psychopathy-related personality traits. TSH levels were not related to any of these variables. Juvenile delinquents who displayed persistent criminal behaviour were found to have higher mean T3 levels than juvenile delinquents who did not display criminality in adulthood and non-criminal controls. Former juvenile delinquents with T3 levels above the mean level found in the controls were registered for criminality 3.8 times more often than juvenile delinquents with T3 levels below the mean level found in the control group. The results are discussed in terms of elevated T3 levels representing a compensatory or stress phenomenon for low social adaptive ability of individuals who display persistent criminal behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Greeting behaviour and psychogenic need: interviews on experiences of therapists, clergymen, and car salesmen.

Interviews of 47 Swedish subjects, therapists, clergymen, and car salesmen were used to investigate relationships between 22 greeting behaviours and 12 psychogenic needs mainly drawn from the Cecarec-Marke Personality Schedule. Analysis showed that most of the subjects agreed about the personality characteristics of greeting behaviours, especially regarding the dimensions of introversion and extraversion. The results confirm those from earlier studies that some greeting behaviours are potentially valid in assessing personality.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Circadian variation of plasma cobalamin, transcobalamin-bound cobalamin and unsaturated binding capacity of transcobalamin and haptocorrin in healthy elderly.

Blood samples were drawn every second hour during a 24-h period from healthy elderly subjects. Plasma levels of cobalamin, albumin, transcobalamin-bound cobalamin and unsaturated binding capacity of transcobalamin and haptocorrin were determined. During night, all components decreased in parallel with plasma albumin. The nocturnal decreases were therefore ascribed to plasma volume changes due to bed-rest. Reports on the recently proposed role of cobalamin for the biological clock were reviewed, but the proposed role could not be explained by this study.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

ECT in Parkinson's disease. Changes in motor symptoms, monoamine metabolites and neuropeptides.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was given to 16 non-depressed, non-demented patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). In all the patients an antiparkinsonian effect was seen, lasting for 18 months in one patient, 3-5 months in seven patients, and a few days to four weeks in eight patients. After ECT the levels of homovanillic acid and neuropeptide Y in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were significantly increased. The eight patients with long lasting motor improvement after ECT had significantly lower CSF-3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol compared to the group with short lasting improvement. Five patients developed transitory mental confusion after ECT. In these patients, and in no others, a high albumin-ratio was found already before ECT was given - an indication of blood CSF barrier damage. Our results suggest that ECT is valuable in patients with drug refractory PD or PD with intolerance to antiparkinsonian drugs.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis in depressive patients and healthy subjects in relation to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), free T3 index (fT3i), thyroxine (T4), and free T4 index (fT4i) were measured before and after administration of 1 mg of dexamethasone in 54 depressive patients and 54 matched healthy subjects. A followup study at a mean of 2 years was performed in 28 patients in remission. Basal TSH levels were lower and fT4i levels were higher in major depressive patients compared with healthy subjects. After dexamethasone administration, there was no significant change in any of the hormones in a subgroup of 46 major depressive patients in contrast to matched healthy subjects, who showed a significant decrease in the levels of TSH, T3, and fT3i. The magnitude of the TSH response to dexamethasone in the major depressive patients was related to the level of nocturnal urinary cortisol excretion and pathological dexamethasone suppression test results. The level of TSH in depressive patients during remission did not return to levels similar to those found in the healthy subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Electrodermal activity in relation to basal and postdexamethasone levels of thyroid stimulating hormone and basal levels of thyroid hormones in major depressive patients and healthy subjects.

Electrodermal activity in 50 patients with major depression and 50 matched healthy control subjects was related to basal and postdexamethasone changes in levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), basal levels of thyroid hormones, and nocturnal levels of urinary cortisol. Levels of skin conductance and thyroxine were inversely correlated in the patients, but positively correlated in the healthy subjects. Patients with blunted postdexamethasone reduction of TSH showed high rates of nonevoked electrodermal fluctuations, low TSH levels, and elevated nocturnal urinary cortisol levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Handshaking, personality, and psychopathology in psychiatric patients, a reliability and correlational study.

A study of 29 psychiatric inpatients was performed to investigate the relation of handshaking variables (anatomical and physiological variables) with demographic data, personality traits, psychosocial functioning, and clinical diagnoses. Two psychologists rated patients' handshaking independently of each other according to four variables on an ordinal scale of five steps. The interrater reliability was satisfactory. Analysis showed that the handshaking procedure may in fact give some information about the personality make-up of the patients, most clearly through the relationship between low temperature and humidity of the palmar skin and social introversion, depression, and tendency towards symptom enhancement mainly in women. The handshaking procedure did not seem informative about psychosocial functioning and clinical diagnoses.

Adult↗