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Biomedical subjects

N Ciani

Publications and source records attributed to N Ciani.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

5-HT2 antagonist ritanserin in neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism: a double-blind comparison with orphenadrine and placebo.

Several studies support the hypothesis of 5-HT (serotonin) involvement in the physiopathology of the extrapyramidal system. Ritanserin is a new compound with a high, selective, and long-lasting binding affinity for 5-HT2 receptors. A therapeutic effect of ritanserin has been reported in Parkinson's tremor and L-Dopa-induced dyskinesias but no effect was seen in essential tremor. In this double-blind comparative study with orphenadrine (150 mg daily p.o.) and placebo, ritanserin (30 mg daily p.o.) was administered to 36 schizophrenic outpatients who were being treated with neuroleptic drugs and who had parkinsonism. For a period of 3 weeks, the treatment was added to the antipsychotic therapy after a 7-day washout from previous antiparkinson medication. Psychopathology was rated weekly by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and showed no significant changes during the trial. The Mindham Rating Scale was used to assess symptoms of parkinsonism; at week 3, ritanserin was superior to orphenadrine (p less than 0.03) and to placebo (p less than 0.01). The results confirm previous observations of the therapeutic efficacy of ritanserin on neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism, and support the hypothesis that serotonin influences extrapyramidal physiopathology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Ethological assessment of the DSM-III subtyping of unipolar depression.

An ethological method was employed to validate the DSM-III subtyping of unipolar, nondelusional depression. The nonverbal behavior of 44 depressed outpatients was video-recorded during psychiatric interview. The DSM-III subtyping was not significantly associated with sex or level of education. Patients with major depression (with or without melancholia) were significantly older than those with dysthymic disorder. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) scores of the 3 diagnostic groups indicated a progressive increase in symptom severity across DSM-III subtypes (dysthymic disorder less than major depression without melancholia less than major depression with melancholia). Ethological assessment failed to find any evidence for the validity of the DSM-III subtyping of unipolar depression. Of the 8 behavioral categories analyzed in this study, none showed statistically significant differences between the 3 diagnostic groups. Our interpretation of these results is that, whereas the DSM-III subtyping primarily reflects illness severity, the ethological profile measures a dimension of depression largely independent from severity, as indicated by the lack of correlation between the HRSD score and the categories of nonverbal behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

HLA antigens and neuroleptic response in clinical subtypes of schizophrenia.

The frequency of HLA antigens of A and B loci was examined in a carefully selected sample of 91 schizophrenic patients from central Italy. This population showed no increase in antigens compared with the control group. However, in agreement with previous studies, a slight increase in A1 was observed in the hebephrenic subgroup and, in a lesser extent, an increase of A2 was found in the paranoid subgroup. Although these increases are more prominent when the subgroups are compared and tend to support the case for genetic heterogeneity, they fail to reach statistical significance. Response to neuroleptic treatment was studied in an attempt to further subdivide the clinical subgroups. A1-negative and A2-positive paranoid patients demonstrated a statistical better response to neuroleptics. The findings suggest that schizophrenia should be considered a heterogenous disease and that response to neuroleptics can be employed as an instrument of biological subclassification.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1989

Separation-individuation, aggression and alexithymia in psoriasis.

A psychosomatic study of psoriasis was conducted in order to: 1) assess the level of extra- and intra-aggression (cf. the conflicting results in Matussek et al. (1) and Lyketsos et al. (2)); 2) point out the presence of alexithymia, i.e. impoverished fantasy life and inability to describe the emotions (cf. some negative results in Fava et al. (3)); and 3) explore the interactional variables, connected with the pathology of the separation-individuation process.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alexithymia as related to sex, age, and educational level: results of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale in 417 normal subjects.

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was administered to 417 normal subjects. Total TAS scores and scores of the four TAS factors were correlated with sex, age, and educational level. Age ranged from 21 to 64 years. The sample was subdivided into three groups according to age. TAS scores, both total and on single subfactors, were significantly greater in the higher age groups with respect to lower age groups. Subjects with a lower educational level scored higher on factors 1, 2, and 4 and had higher TAS total scores with respect to subjects with a higher educational level. As for sex, no significant differences in total TAS scores were obtained, but women scored higher at factor 1. Factor analysis of the TAS, performed on both the whole sample and the subgroups according to sex and age, confirmed the fair internal stability of the TAS.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethological predictors of amitriptyline response in depressed outpatients.

Non-verbal behaviour of 22 unipolar, non-delusional depressed outpatients was video-recorded during psychiatric interview to determine whether response to tricyclic treatment (50-100 mg/day of amitriptyline for 5 consecutive weeks) could be predicted on the basis of the ethological profile at baseline. At the end of the study, patients were divided into two treatment outcome groups on the basis of their final Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores. At baseline, responders (n = 14, HDRS score less than or equal to 10) and non-responders (n = 8, HDRS score greater than 10) did not differ with respect to sex, age, education, DSM-III diagnosis, and HDRS score. In contrast, ethological profiles of the two treatment outcome groups at baseline were different, with non-responders showing significantly more assertive and affiliative behaviours. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies which have identified subgroups of depressive patients with different responsiveness to tricyclic treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of depression in Alzheimer's disease: symptoms, syndrome, and computed tomography findings.

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and DSM-III-R criteria were simultaneously employed to assess the prevalence of depression in 26 outpatients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and 26 age-matched normal control subjects. Both assessment methods evidenced a higher frequency of depression during the severe stages of Alzheimer's disease. Among the Alzheimer patients, the prevalence rate of depression produced by the HAM-D (38%) was higher than the rate produced by DSM-III-R criteria (23%). Such a difference was due to the weight given by the HAM-D to the vegetative symptoms reported by the Alzheimer patients with more severe dementia. In a subgroup of 14 Alzheimer patients who underwent computed tomography, the volumetric measurement of CSF spaces did not reveal any difference between the depressed and nondepressed patients. On the basis of these results, the clinical problems related to the assessment of depression in Alzheimer's disease are discussed.

Aged↗