Biomedical subjects

Michel Hansenne

Publications and source records attributed to Michel Hansenne.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

5-Hydroxytryptamine 1A receptors, major depression, and suicidal behavior.

BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence suggest a clear relationship between serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) hypoactivity and suicidal behavior across several psychiatric diagnoses. Few data are available, however, regarding the possible specific role of 5-HT1A receptors in the biology of suicidality. Therefore, the aim of our study was to use a neuroendocrine strategy to test the hypothesis of a role for 5-HT1A receptors in the biology of suicidal behavior. METHODS: Hormonal (adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH], cortisol, prolactin [PRL]) and temperature responses after administration of flesinoxan, a highly potent and selective 5-HT1A receptor full agonist, were assessed in 40 inpatients with major depression, divided into two subgroups (20 suicide attempters and 20 nonattempters), compared with 20 normal control subjects matched for gender and age. RESULTS: Compared with nonattempters, suicide attempters exhibited significantly lower PRL (p = .01), cortisol (p = .014), and temperature (p = .0002) responses. Prolactin (p = .007), cortisol (p = .04), and temperature (p = .00003) responses were also decreased in suicide attempters compared with normal control subjects. In contrast, we did not observe any significant differences in hormonal or temperature responses to flesinoxan between depressed patients without a history of suicide attempt and normal control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The present study tends to confirm the role of 5-HT and more specifically 5-HT1A receptors in the biology of suicidal behavior in major depression.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

PubMed2005

Psychometric properties of the temperament and character inventory-revised (TCI-R) in a Belgian sample.

The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Przybeck, Svrakic, & Wetzel, 1994) is a self-questionnaire developed to assess the 7 dimensions of personality described by Cloninger et al. (1994) with a total of 29 subscales. In 1999, a revised version was proposed by Cloninger (TCI-R). In this study, we present psychometric properties of the TCI-R from 958 French-speaking participants of Belgium. Women exhibited higher scores for harm avoidance, reward dependence, and cooperativeness dimensions. The proposed factorial structure of 4 temperament dimensions and 3 character dimensions was confirmed. The TCI-R inventory had good test-retest reliabilities as well as good alpha coefficients. The addition of 3 new subscales to the original scale for Persistence has produced a very reliable dimension in the TCI-R.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Impact of low frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation on event-related brain potentials.

Contradictory findings exist concerning the inhibitory function of low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Therefore, the study examines the impact of different duration of low frequency rTMS on ERPs. In 17 subjects, auditory ERPs were measured before and after 1 Hz rTMS delivered over the left prefrontal cortex during 10 min (600 pulses) and 15 min (900 pulses). Results showed that 15 min of 1 Hz rTMS induced a significant increase of P300 latency. There was no effect for early ERP components (N100, P200 and N200). This study confirms and extends that 1 Hz rTMS produces a real inhibitory effect only when the duration of the stimulation is about 15 min. The data suggest that rTMS modifies the speed of cognitive processing rather than the energetical aspect of information processing, and that cortical inhibition induced by the magnetic stimulation affects principally the controlled cognitive processes and not the automatic ones.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Andropause and psychopathology: minor symptoms rather than pathological ones.

This study examined the psychological symptomatology of men diagnosed with andropause and the association between calculated free testosterone (T) and depressed mood, anxiety and quality of life. Subjects were 153 men, aged 50-70 years, who participated in a screening of andropause. Total testosterone, FSH, LH and SHBG levels were measured. Depressed mood was assessed with the Carroll Rating Scale, anxiety with the "anxiety-insomnia" dimension of the General Health Questionnaire, and quality of life with the World Health Organisation Quality of Life questionnaire. The results showed that levels of free T decreased with age, whereas FSH and LH increased. Carroll Rating Scale scores were higher among hypogonadal subjects, but the mean score was low and not pathological. A negative correlation was observed between severity of depression as assessed by the Carroll Rating Scale and free T levels. However, subjects with a significant score on this scale did not exhibit different free T levels compared to subjects with a non-significant depressive score. Anxiety and quality of life did not differ between hypogonadal and eugonadal subjects. The present study therefore suggests that andropause is not characterised by specific psychological symptoms, but may be associated with "depressive symptoms" that are not considered as pathological.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Catecholamine and HPA axis dysfunction in depression: relationship with suicidal behavior.

A large body of evidence suggests a potential role for catecholaminergic function as a possible biological factor in the control of suicidal behavior. Recently, we have used a neuroendocrine strategy to study dopaminergic and noradrenergic activities in depressed suicide attempters. However, some problems are associated with the use of growth hormone (GH) response to catecholaminergic challenge, because GH release could be decreased by a direct effect of corticosteroids at the pituitary level. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess GH response to both apomorphine, a dopaminergic agonist, and clonidine, an alpha2-adrenergic agonist, according to the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) status in a sample of 20 major depressed inpatients with a history of suicide attempt compared with nonattempters. Our results tended to show that hypercortisolemia as assessed by post-DST cortisol values did not inhibit GH response to apomorphine or clonidine, suggesting that hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis overactivity does not explain the impaired GH response to apomorphine in major depressed patients with a history of suicide attempt.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

PubMed2003

Event-related potentials to emotional and neutral stimuli in alcoholism.

Several studies have demonstrated that the emotional value of stimuli affects P300 amplitude. In the present study, the influence of alcohol-related stimuli in alcoholic patients was investigated. Subjects were 10 alcoholic inpatients (3 female) and 10 age- and sex-matched controls. Eight alcohol-related and 8 neutral words served as stimuli in a visual oddball paradigm. Acohol-related words were targets (48 stimuli, 33%) and neutral words were standard stimuli (96 stimuli, 66%). Results showed that P300 amplitude for targets did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, P300 latency for targets as well as reaction time were significantly shorter in male alcoholic patients. In contrast, P300 latency was increased in female alcoholic patients but reaction time did not differ. These results suggest that male alcoholics process information linked to alcohol cues more rapidly than neutral cues, probably because a specific semantic network is activated in these patients. The decreased reaction time confirms the impulsive behavior frequently found in male alcoholism, as it has been described in type II alcoholism. Besides, the results imply that information processing was delayed in female alcoholic patients. Therefore this study demonstrates a gender-dependent impact of alcohol-related stimuli on information processing.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Hormonal and temperature responses to the 5-HT1A receptor agonist flesinoxan in normal volunteers.

RATIONALE: Flesinoxan is a highly potent and selective 5-HT(1A) agonist and appears to be a potentially interesting neuroendocrine serotonergic probe. OBJECTIVES: We assessed hormonal (ACTH, cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone) and temperature responses to flesinoxan in normal volunteers. METHODS: In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, single doses of 0.5 mg and 1 mg were injected over 10 min into 12 healthy male volunteers at 1-week intervals. Temperature and hormonal responses were measured at times -30, 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. RESULTS: Flesinoxan induced a significant and dose-dependent increase in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH) and a decrease in body temperature. Tolerance to flesinoxan was excellent. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed the role of 5-HT(1A) mechanisms in the PRL, ACTH, cortisol, GH, and temperature responses to flesinoxan. In the present study, flesinoxan appears a very promising serotonergic neuroendocrine probe.

Adult↗