Biomedical subjects

L I Sireling

Publications and source records attributed to L I Sireling.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1985

Unrecognised depression in general practice.

Patients attending their general practitioner were screened and a group with unrecognised major depressive disorder identified. This group was interviewed and the findings compared with those in a group of patients recognised correctly as depressed by their general practitioners. Half of the patients with severe depression screened in their doctors' waiting rooms went unrecognised, and they differed in few ways from those who were recognised. The differences found were that the patients with unrecognised depression were less obviously depressed and their illness had lasted longer. Physical illness was present in nearly 30% of patients in the unrecognised group, and the depression seemed related to it. Patients with unrecognised depression were more likely to have feelings other than those of normal sadness and more likely to respond with change of mood to intercurrent events. These data suggest that patients might benefit if general practitioners were better trained to recognise depression, although it is not known whether treatment would be effective.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Depression in general practice: case thresholds and diagnosis.

Using multiple diagnostic and epidemiological criteria, three samples of general practice (GP) depressives were studied: those prescribed a new course of antidepressants, those given other treatment, and those missed by the GP. The majority of patients qualified as psychiatric cases on the PSE Index of Definition, the Bedford College Criteria, and the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Most satisfied diagnostic criteria for depression, or (fewer) anxiety. The disorders were relatively mild and often borderline on all three systems. Depressives given other treatment most often failed to meet diagnostic criteria. About half the antidepressant treated patients received RDC diagnoses of major depression. Among the other treatment sample, only one-fifth met these criteria, and half had non-depressive diagnoses. Most cases of depression treated by GPs satisfy criteria for psychiatric disorder, but tend to be relatively mild and borderline in quality.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Depression in general practice: clinical features and comparison with out-patients.

General practice (GP) depressives prescribed an antidepressant were compared with those given other treatment, and with antidepressant-treated psychiatric out-patient depressives. GP depressives were considerably less severely ill than out-patients, with fewer depressive symptoms and shorter illness, as well as less primary and less endogenous depression. The two groups of GP depressives differed less, but those receiving other treatment tended to have less severe depression than those receiving antidepressants and were less likely to satisfy diagnostic criteria for depression. Depressives in GP differ considerably in clinical characteristics from psychiatric out-patient depressives, and clinical features influence the GP's decision to treat with antidepressants.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

A double-blind comparison of fluvoxamine, imipramine and placebo in depressed patients.

In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study of 91 out-patient depressives, the anti-depressant effect of fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor was compared to that of imipramine. Overall drug effects were relatively weak but analyses in selected sub-groups showed both active drugs superior to placebo. Effects of fluvoxamine were more marked in non-situational depressives and it did not improve sleep while effects of imipramine were more marked in retarded depressives and on retardation ratings, suggesting that fluvoxamine may have a different pattern of clinical effects. Side effects of Fluvoxamine were predominantly gastrointestinal and it did not produce postural hypotension or anticholinergic side-effects.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Nocturnal activity and the enuresis alarm device.

The effect on nocturnal activity of the wire mesh element within the 'buzzer and pad' enuresis alarm device was studied using healthy adult volunteers in a single or double cross-over design. On the nights when the mesh was in the bed there was less activity, supporting the finding of improved polygraphic sleep on the mesh and suggesting an unexpected therapeutic mechanism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Sleep and the enuresis alarm device.

The effect on sleep of the wire-mesh element within the `buzzer and pad' enuresis alarm device was studied using healthy adult volunteers in a single or double crossover design. Polygraphic recording revealed a reduction in the number of shifts between sleep stages, and in the time spent in wakefulness, movement and stage 1, on the nights when the mesh was in the bed. This effect may be responsible for preventing some of the enuretic episodes which would otherwise have occurred at such times.

Adolescent↗