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Biomedical subjects

M Arató

Publications and source records attributed to M Arató.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Decrease in dopamine, its metabolites and noradrenaline in cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic treatment.

Dopamine (DA), homovanillic acid (HVA), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), noradrenaline (NA), and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5HIAA) were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 15 chronic schizophrenic patients before and 2 weeks after withdrawal of long-term neuroleptic treatment. Total neuroleptic-like activity in serum (NLA) was determined at the same times. Levels of DA and its metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) and NA were significantly reduced after the discontinuation of neuroleptic treatment. No change was observed in 5HIAA values. NLA was substantially reduced, but still remained detectable. The decrease in DA, DOPAC, and HVA all showed positive correlations with each other, and correlated negatively with NLA measured after 2 weeks. Our data implies that the decrease in DA turnover is the result of the discontinuance of DA receptor blockade, while the change in NA level is independent of it.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1985

Cerebrospinal fluid magnesium and calcium related to amine metabolites, diagnosis, and suicide attempts.

Magnesium and calcium concentrations were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 15 neurological controls and 41 psychiatric patients suffering from major depression (n = 16), schizophrenic disorder (n = 15), or adjustment disorder (n = 10). All subjects were women 19-67 years of age and free from drugs at the time of the study. CSF was evaluated for 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and cortisol (CS) levels, and all patients received a dexamethasone suppression test (DST) following lumbar puncture. CSF calcium levels did not differ among groups, although we found a trend toward higher mean levels in both depression and schizophrenia. By contrast, CSF magnesium was found to be significantly lower in both depression and adjustment disorder; if, however, patients who had made suicide attempts were excluded, the difference became insignificant. Patients who had made suicide attempts (by using either violent or nonviolent means) had significantly lower mean CSF magnesium level irrespective of the diagnosis. CSF calcium did not correlate with magnesium, 5-HIAA, HVA, CS, global severity, therapeutic response, or DST, but CSF magnesium correlated significantly with CSF 5-HIAA, especially after correcting for age and body height. Both variables seemed to be primarily related to recorded suicide attempts, but decreased magnesium was not limited to violent cases.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1985

Dexamethasone suppression test as an aid for selection of specific antidepressant drugs in patients with endogenous depression.

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and response to two different antidepressant drugs (maprotiline as a specific noradrenergic, and amitriptyline as a predominantly serotoninergic drug) were investigated in 44 endogenously depressed female inpatients. The more anxious and/or agitated patients were mostly treated with amtiriptyline, the non-anxious and retarded patients with maprotiline. It was found that among maprotiline responders (N = 15) there were significantly more abnormal DSTs and postdexamethasone serum cortisol levels were significantly higher than among amitriptyline responders (N = 16). On the other hand, DST abnormalities among amitriptyline non-responders (N = 10) were similar to those among maprotiline responders. The results confirm earlier reports by Brown et al. (1980), Ettigi et al. (1983) and Fraser (1983) and indicate that abnormal DST may identify the "noradrenergic" subtype of endogenous depression and that the DST represents a good way of selecting a specific antidepressant drug for the treatment of endogenously depressed patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Tiapride in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia: a clinical and biochemical study.

The effect of tiapride treatment was investigated in 10 patients with tardive dyskinesia. The effects of the drug on the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonian symptoms, and patients' mental conditions were evaluated using standardized rating scales before and weekly during the 28-day drug trial. Patients were reassessed 14 days after withdrawal of tiapride. The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia significantly improved during treatment and deteriorated after tiapride was withdrawn. Parkinsonian symptoms remained unchanged both during and after treatment. The patients' mental conditions significantly improved while they were taking tiapride, and did not appreciably deteriorate after treatment was discontinued. Plasma prolactin levels increased significantly during treatment, while plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity did not change.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Comparative neurochemical investigation of tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic-induced chronic parkinsonism.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid (HVA), cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP), and serum prolactin were measured in schizophrenic male patients with tardive dyskinesia (TD) and in those exhibiting the symptoms of chronic neuroleptic parkinsonism (P). The patients (nine TD and eight P) were chronic paranoid schizophrenics. Levels of HVA in CSF were found to be significantly higher in the TD group. Normal prolactin levels were observed in both groups and are indicative of tolerance developed in the hypothalamic tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic system.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Biochemical markers in the study of clinical effects and extrapyramidal side effects of neuroleptics.

Neuroleptic treatment was instituted in 20 female schizophrenic patients, who had not received neuroleptics for at least the preceding 3 months. Both the therapeutic response to neuroleptics and the development of parkinsonian side effects were monitored in these patients. In addition, plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities were measured. None of the neuroleptic responders developed parkinsonian symptoms. During the course of the 28-day treatment, there was a significant decrease in platelet MAO activity. There was a tendency for responders without parkinsonian symptoms to have lower plasma DBH activity than did nonresponders with parkinsonian symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Dexamethasone suppression test as a predictor of drug treatment response.

The possible predictive value of cortisol non-suppression by dexamethasone for therapeutic response to antidepressants was investigated both in "endogenous" and "neurotic" depression. Seventy-four female patients who fulfilled the RDC of Major Depressive Disorder (Study 1) and 44 female patients with the diagnosis of "Neurotic Depression" of ICD-9 (Study 2) were given DST and then treated with antidepressants, their clinical response being assessed after four weeks of drug treatment. Forty-three out of the 74 patients with Primary Major Depression were non-suppressor. The DST non-suppressors showed a significantly more frequent therapeutic response to maprotiline than to amitriptyline. DST suppressors, on the other hand, responded better to amitriptyline treatment than non-suppressors. In the neurotic depression group 23 patients were subclassified as Primary Minor Depression, and 52% of them showed non-suppressor response to DST. Twenty-one patients were diagnosed as Secondary Depression, with a history of chronic neurosis. One patient only (5%) was the non-suppressor. Patients with Primary Minor Depression showed good therapeutic response to antidepressants more frequently, than patients with Secondary Depression.

Amitriptyline↗
PubMed1984

Biochemical markers in suicidal patients. Investigations with cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites and neuroendocrine tests.

141 female psychiatric patients, suffering from major depression, schizophrenia, alcohol dependence or adjustment disorder, were investigated for their 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA) and cortisol level in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Dexamethasone suppression tests were also performed in 111 cases, and TRH/TSH tests in 40 subjects. Fifty-two patients were hospitalized following a recent suicide attempt, 18 of which were made using a violent method. The other 34 attempters took tranquilizer or sedative overdoses. CSF 5-HIAA was significantly lower in violent attempters in all 4 diagnostic categories. CSF HVA was higher in those taking drug overdoses, but only in depression (and less markedly in schizophrenia). CSF cortisol did not differ among either diagnostic or suicidal subgroups. Dexamethasone suppression was more frequently abnormal in suicidal patients than in nonattempters, and this difference was more important where the overall nonsuppression rate was lower. Maximal TSH response to TRH showed an inverse correlation with CSF 5-HIAA, and it was lowest in the nonattempter group. The difference between violent suicide attempters and nonattempters in their TSH response was significant. Since these biochemical changes were more or less independent of clinical diagnoses, it seems relevant to explore further the biological background of human aggression and suicide as a separate research direction.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Thyroid stimulation test in healthy subjects and psychiatric patients.

Fifteen healthy women and 64 female psychiatric inpatients (major depression: 17, schizophrenia: 24, alcohol dependence: 9, and adjustment disorder: 14 cases) without identifiable thyroid dysfunction were investigated with the TRH test under comparable circumstances. Although all patient groups showed some tendency toward lower baseline TSH and smaller TRH-induced TSH responses, only patients with major depression demonstrated marked, statistically significant differences from controls in both variables. Women with alcohol dependence (in the early withdrawal period) showed significantly decreased TSH responses to TRH but only a weak tendency to lower basal TSH levels. Intergroup differences in the TSH response remained significant after correction for basal TSH by analysis of covariance. Neither variables correlated significantly with age, weight or body height, but baseline TSH correlated with body surface. The TRH test, using only 0.2 mg TRH for stimulation, seemed to be useful for identifying major depression and showed that early withdrawal from alcohol may be a factor to be considered in similar studies.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1984

Neuroendocrine differences among subtypes of schizophrenic disorder? An investigation with the dexamethasone suppression test.

The plasma cortisol suppression following 1 mg dexamethasone was studied in 45 recently hospitalized female patients who met DSM-III criteria for a schizophrenic (or 'schizophreniform') disorder. 19 patients showed nonsuppression (42%): 4 out of 6 within the disorganized (hebephrenic) subtype, 9 out of 10 within the catatonic subtype, 6 out of 11 within the acute ('schizophreniform') subtype and non of the 18 within the paranoid subtype. The distribution is heterogeneous, suggesting that schizophrenic disorders may contain different conditions in terms of limbic pathology. Catatonic patients revealed a very high frequency of nonsuppression, which may indicate that this subtype shares some features of the affective disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The dexamethasone suppression test in psychotic versus non-psychotic endogenous depression.

The authors investigated the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in 93 female patients with primary (endogenous) major depression; in 20 female paranoid schizophrenics, and in 17 healthy females. Depressed patients had a significantly higher rate of abnormal DST response and significantly higher post-dexamethasone serum cortisol levels than schizophrenics and normal controls. The unipolar and bipolar depressives showed a similar profile of DST abnormalities. Depressed patients with psychotic features had a significantly higher rate of positive DST results than non-psychotic patients.

Adult↗