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L van Londen

Publications and source records attributed to L van Londen.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Weak 24-h periodicity of body temperature and increased plasma vasopressin in melancholic depression.

Earlier work has shown that plasma vasopressin levels of depressed patients were higher than those of healthy controls. The aim of the present study was to determine whether plasma vasopressin levels were correlated to parameters of the circadian rhythm. Forty-one patients with major depression and twenty-five controls participated in a case-control design under natural circumstances in a field study to investigate plasma vasopressin levels three times daily, circadian motor activity, and the 24-h periodicity of body temperature for five consecutive 24-h periods. Temperature measurements consisted of at least five, but mostly six or more measurements every 24 h. Twenty-two percent of the patients, but none of the controls lacked 24-h periodicity of body temperature. In melancholic patients increased vasopressin levels in plasma correlated with a weak 24-h periodicity of body temperature. The role of vasopressin is discussed in the light of the present findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Plasma arginine vasopressin and motor activity in major depression.

BACKGROUND: Previously, we found that mean plasma concentrations of arginine vasopressin (AVP), but not of oxytocin (OT), were higher in depressed patients than in healthy controls. Plasma AVP concentrations were positively correlated to clinically rated psychomotor retardation. To further explore this previously reported relation we studied psychomotor retardation by means of an activity monitor, which is a more fine-focused and more objective instrument to analyze motor retardation than a clinical rating scale. METHODS: Plasma AVP and OT concentrations, and day- and nighttime wrist activity were measured in 48 in- and outpatients with major depression and 30 healthy controls during a period of 5 consecutive days and nights. RESULTS: Principal components analysis revealed three components of motor activity: motor activity during wakefulness, motor activity during sleep, and the awake/sleep time ratio. In patients and controls an inverse relationship between plasma AVP concentrations and motor activity during wakefulness was found. Patients with elevated AVP plasma levels showed increased motor activity during sleep. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that high plasma AVP levels are related to the clinical picture of daytime psychomotor retardation and nighttime motor activity in major depression. Mean plasma OT concentrations were not related to measures of motor activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin elevated in patients with major depression.

Mentally healthy subjects show increased plasma concentrations of the neuropeptides, arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT), under conditions of stress, but data are lacking about plasma concentrations of AVP and OT in patients with major depression. We thus assessed plasma concentrations of AVP and OT in patients with major depression (n = 52) and healthy controls (n = 37). Mean plasma AVP concentrations were higher in the group of depressed patients than in controls. A subgroup of 16 patients showed very high levels of plasma AVP, but no other feature differentiating this subgroup from the other patients was found. In-patients showed higher plasma AVP levels than out-patients, and melancholic patients had higher plasma AVP levels than did nonmelancholic patients. Plasma AVP levels were slightly related to psychomotor retardation and significantly inversely to neuroticism. Patients' plasma OT concentrations had a wider range than in controls. AVP and AVP-mediated functions may be a factor in the clinical picture of depression, possibly by influencing the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1990

Staff attitudes toward violence in the general hospital. A comparison between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv.

This study reports the results of a cross-cultural comparative investigation of violent behavior of patients, relatives, and visitors toward the medical staff in two general hospitals. The situation in an Israeli community general hospital in Tel Aviv was compared to that of a Dutch university hospital. General impressions existed that violence appeared to be a serious problem in the hospital in Tel Aviv, whereas there are scarcely any reports of violence in general hospitals in the Netherlands. Semistructured interviews with members of the medical and nursing staff confirmed these impressions. In Israel, the "aggressor" would be described as a young male without any specific traits, whereas in the Netherlands, he would be associated with alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and would possibly belong to street gangs or be a member of a minority group. Circumstances that may lead to violence are mentioned and situational, and social and cultural influences are discussed.

Aggression↗