PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Michelson

Publications and source records attributed to L Michelson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

The relationship of plasma imipramine and N-desmethylimipramine to improvement in agoraphobia.

Plasma tricyclic concentrations were assessed in 15 agoraphobic patients receiving combined imipramine and behavioral treatments. Imipramine but not N-desmethylimipramine plasma levels were found to significantly correlate with improvement. The results suggest that imipramine's effect in agoraphobia might be mediated predominantly through the serotonergic action of the parent drug. There was also suggestive evidence for differential antipanic and antiphobic-antidepressant effects. Implications for future studies of the mechanism of action of drug effects in agoraphobia are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Tricyclic antidepressants in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Antiobsessional or antidepressant agents?

The response to tricyclic antidepressants of eight obsessive-compulsive patients was assessed at pretreatment and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment, with the aim of delineating differential rates of improvement, or desynchrony, between the various symptoms. Change in obsessive-compulsive symptoms paralleled change in depression and anxiety, suggesting a global beneficial effect of the drugs. The analysis of individual data also revealed this synchronous pattern of change, with significant improvement, in responders, occurring within the first 4 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, responders had higher initial Hamilton depression ratings compared to nonresponders. These results do not lend support to the claim that tricyclics possess specific antiobsessional effect which is independent of their antidepressant effect. The limitations of a purely symptomatic approach in exploring the mode of action of antidepressants in obsessive-compulsive disorder is briefly discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Mitral valve prolapse and agoraphobia.

Of 46 female agoraphobic patients, three had definite and four had probable mitral valve prolapse--a total prevalence of only 15%. There were no significant differences between patients with mitral valve prolapse and the rest of the sample on demographic and clinical variables, nor did the groups differ significantly on measures of psychological symptoms assessed before and after treatment. These negative findings support recent reports indicating that agoraphobia associated with mitral valve prolapse may be indistinguishable from agoraphobia without mitral valve prolapse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Pharmacological treatment of agoraphobia: imipramine versus imipramine with programmed practice.

Eighteen agoraphobic patients with randomly assigned to 12 week treatment with imipramine (I) or imipramine and programmed in-vivo exposure practice (I+BT) to investigate the contribution of behavioural instructions to the clinical effects of pharmacotherapy. Significantly greater improvement on phobic measures was found in the I+BT group compared to the I group. Differences were less marked on measures of panic and anxiety. The results suggest that imipramine possesses an antiphobic effect which can be substantially enhanced with programmed practice. Controlled large-scale investigations of the pharmacological and instructional effects of the phamacotherapy of agoraphobia are needed for a definitive evaluation of the specific antiphobic effect of antidepressant drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral assessment of peer interaction and social functioning in institutional and structured settings.

Observed 18 children in a short-term psychiatric facility over a 5-month period using a peer interaction coding system. The direct behavioral observation method was adapted and revised from existing scales to increase reliability and efficiency for use by institutional staff. Response codes included Adaptive Peer Interaction, Maladaptive Peer Interaction, Solitary Independent Play, and Response to Staff. Reliability was assessed on 35% of the total coded intervals, which yielded an overall reliability coefficient of 94.3%. In addition, reliability coefficients were calculated for each individual component behavior, an extremely important but often ignored statistic, and all yielded reliabilities greater than 90%. Normative rates for children on the psychiatric unit also are presented, and discussion is provided concerning the application of this coding system in clinics, schools, and institutional settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

The Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire: a validity study with American psychiatric patients.

The Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (MHQ) was used as a screening test for psychiatric disorder in 169 new outpatients. The profile obtained on the six subscales of the MHQ was strikingly similar in this American sample compared to four previous British reports. The MHQ significantly differentiated between diagnostic groups, most particularly between neuroses and personality disorders. Moreover, 75 per cent of the patients could be correctly classified as either neurosis or personality disorder on the basis of their MHQ total and subscale scores. The MHQ appears to be particularly useful in identifying phobic disorders, and the phobia subscale consistently discriminated between anxiety-phobic states and other diagnostic groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Action potentials in fast- and slow-twitch mammalian muscles during reinnervation and development.

Action potentials (APs) were recorded from the extrajunctional membrane of surface fibers of the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (extensor) and the slow-twitch soleus muscles of adult rats. APs of the extensor muscle had a significantly faster rate of rise and fall, as well as a shorter duration, than those of the soleus. In addition, the overshoot of APs and the resting membrane potential was greater for the extensor. Whereas the soleus produced only one AP regardless of the stimulus duration, the number of extensor responses was directly proportional to the stimulus duration. This repetitive activity was greatly reduced by a concentration of tetrodotoxin (TTX) as low as 5 X 10(11) g/ml. Within 8 d after crush of the nerves to these two muscles, all differences in AP properties disappeared and both muscles became partially resistant to TTX. Reinnervation brought about a redifferentiation so that differences in AP were again significant at 22 d after nerve crush. However, the rate of rise of extensor APs did not attain normal values even as late as 60 d after nerve crush. APs were found to be the same for extensor and soleus muscles from 12-d-old rats. At 18 d after birth, rate of rise was equivalent to that of adult muscle for the soleus although 50--60 d were required before this parameter was fully mature for the extensor. Nevertheless, APs of the extensor and soleus were clearly differentiated within 25 d after birth. Differences in fast and slow muscle APs are discussed with regard to differences in ion gradients and sarcolemmal conductance.

Action Potentials↗