PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M M Weissman

Publications and source records attributed to M M Weissman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Treatment of secondary depression in schizophrenia. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of amitriptyline added to perphenazine.

The combination of antidepressants and neuroleptics has been widely recommended and commonly used clinically for the schizophrenic patient who becomes depressed. However, the value of the combination for these patients has not been clearly demonstrated. This report presents results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the combination of perphenazine and amitriptyline hydrochloride with that of perphenazine alone in the treatment of 35 ambulatory chronic schizophrenic patients in whom depressive symptoms developed. Results showed that the addition of amitriptyline to perphenazine, when compared with perphenazine alone, was more effective in reducing symptoms of depression after four months of treatment, but less effective in reducing thought disorder. The study concludes that the value of adding an antidepressant to the usual neuroleptic in the treatment of secondary depression in schizophrenia should be reviewed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

The psychological treatment of depression. Evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy alone, in comparison with, and in combination with pharmacotherapy.

Seventeen clinical trials are identified that test the efficacy of various psychological treatments (behavioral, cognitive, group, marital, interpersonal) alone, in comparison with, and in combination with pharmacotherapy in homogeneous samples of depressed outpatients. I describe the results of these studies, gaps in the evidence, and suggestions for future research directions.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1979

Differential symptom reduction by drugs and psychotherapy in acute depression.

A randomized, controlled trial compared the combination of amitriptyline hydrochloride and short-term interpersonal psychotherapy, either treatment alone, and a nonscheduled treatment control group in ambulatory acute, nonbipolar, nonpsychotic depressives. Results show the efficacy of both psychotherapy and amitriptyline in overall symptom reduction. Amitriptyline and psychotherapy were about equal, and the effects of both treatments in combination were additive. The additive effect of combined treatment was largely due to the differential effects of the two treatments. Amitriptyline had its effect mainly on the vegetative symptoms of depression such as sleep and appetite disturbance, these occurred early in treatment, often within the first week. Psychotherapy had its effect mainly on mood, suicidal ideation, work, and interests; these effects occurred slightly later, at four to eight weeks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Detecting depressive disorders in drug abusers: a comparison of screening instruments.

Previous investigators have reported a high prevalence of depressive symptoms in drug-dependent patients. Given the responsiveness of depressive disorders to both psychological and pharmacological treatments, it is desirable to find an economical, efficient screening instrument to detect depressive disorders in this population. In this study, 6 depression symptom screening scales (Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Scale, Raskin Depression Scale, Degree of Illness Rating, Symptom Checklist 90 Overall, and Depression Subscale) based on either clinician interview or patient self report, were compared according to their utility in detecting cases of depression among 64 applicants for treatment at a substance abuse treatment unit of a community mental health center. The criteria for a case of depression were the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) which are specified and operationalized. Cases identified using previously described cutoff scores on the screening scales were compared to rates based on the RDC and sensitivity and specificity were determined. The results showed that: (1) although the sensitivity of the symptom scales was applicable, ranging from 65--94%, the specificity was less impressive, ranging from 39--61%, and (2) the Beck Depression Inventory, a 13-item patient self report was the most sensitive and specific and is recommended for screening drug-dependent populations for depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Environmental factors in affective disorders.

What are the factors that may precipitate overt depressive illness in the predisposed patient? The available data indicate that for unipolar disease, at least, the clearest correlations are not with economic or social status or with race, but rather with sex. Women display a lifetime risk about twice that of men in the same population, and the differences in social roles of the two sexes are probably largely responsible.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Briquet's syndrome in a man.

A case history is presented of a man who met the diagnostic criteria of Briquet's syndrome after a 7-year history of excessive use of psychiatric and medical health care services. Despite his having been seen by several psychiatrists, the diagnosis was made only following the use of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), a structured psychiatric interview, the results of which were applied to operationalized diagnostic criteria (Research Diagnostic Criteria [RDC]). This case demonstrates: 1) the fact that Briquet's Syndrome, commonly considered a female disorder, can occur in men; 2) the utility of structured interviews and defined diagnostic criteria in arriving at unexpected diagnoses; and 3) the importance of recognizing Briquet's Syndrome in order to avoid needless medical intervention for somatic complaints of psychological origins.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The efficacy of drugs and psychotherapy in the treatment of acute depressive episodes.

The efficacy of tricyclic antidepressants and various psychotherapies, in comparison with one another or in combination, has not been fully established in randomized clinical trials. The authors present a randomized controlled trial comparing the combination of amitriptyline and short-term interpersonal psychotherapy, either treatment alone, and nonscheduled supportive psychotherapy in ambulatory patients with acute depression. They found that pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy alone were equally efficacious and better than nonscheduled treatment. The combination treatment of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy was more effective than either treatment alone and delayed the onset of symptomatic failure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Epidemiology of mental disorders: emerging trends in the United States.

Psychiatric epidemiology in the United States currently is being influenced by developments in genetics, psychopharmacology, neurobiology, and particularly psychopathology after the heavy influences of the social sciences during the post-World War II period. The integration of recent scientific developments in psychiatry, with the methodological precision that characterized the earlier studies of the 50s and 60s promises to provide new knowledge on the epidemiology of mental disorders in the community, which will have important implications both for professional practices in medicine and public health and for public policy in the planning of mental health services, training, and research.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1978

Affective disorders in a US urban community: the use of research diagnostic criteria in an epidemiological survey.

The current point and lifetime prevalence rates of affective disorders, based on the application of Research Diagnostic Criteria to a US urban community sample, are reported. The affective disorders studied included major and minor depression, mania, hypomania, bipolar I and II, primary and secondary depression, schizo-affective disorder, depressive and cyclothymic personality, and grief reactions. Epidemiologic surveys that include treated and untreated persons to obtain rates of specific psychiatric disorders are needed for scientific purposes and health care planning.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1978

Social adjustment by self-report in a community sample and in psychiatric outpatients.

Data are presented on social functioning derived from a self-report social adjustment scale (SAS-SR) administered to 774 subjects including a community sample and three psychiatric outpatient populations: acute depressives, alcoholics, and schizophrenics. This self-report scale derives from an interview form and was developed and tested on depressed outpatients. Since its publication, it has been used in populations other than depressives including other psychiatric patients, nonpsychiatric patients, and nonpatients. The purpose of this paper is to make data available to other investigators on results of this self-report social adjustment scale in a broad range of subjects and to describe further the psychometric properties, limitations, and utility of the scale. Findings show that the scale has wide applicability in a range of subjects but that certain cautions should be followed in using it with chronically impaired psychiatric populations who may not be involved in the major roles assessed by the scale.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

The frequency and persistence of depressive symptoms in the alcohol abuser.

A survey of 61 outpatients admitted to a mental health center for the treatment of alcoholism determined that a majority of them (59 per cent) were clinically depressed. The depressive symptoms were rarely treated with anti-depressant agents and, at 1-year follow-up, were found to persist even though the patients had attended the standard treatment program for alcoholics. There is need for new treatment strategies that recognize the diagnostic heterogeneity of the alcoholic and that consider the use of appropriate psychopharmacological agents.

Adolescent↗