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Biomedical subjects

R Cancro

Publications and source records attributed to R Cancro.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Brain organization in schizophrenia.

Brain metabolism was measured with positron emission tomography and [11C]deoxyglucose during baseline and during a visual task in 12 normal subjects and 18 schizophrenic patients. Global measures of metabolism for 11 brain regions were transformed into relative values by dividing them by the metabolic value for whole brain. Factor analysis was accomplished on the matrix of intercorrelations among the relative regional values for the normal and for the schizophrenic patients under baseline and under the task. Four factors that revealed independently varying metabolism in frontal, occipital, left-versus-right hemisphere, and subcortical structures were obtained. The frontal and subcortical factors discriminated between normal subjects and schizophrenic patients, whereas the occipital factor discriminated between baseline and task. Although activity in these individual regions varied significantly, it was the pattern of differences in regional metabolic activity that best discriminated between diagnostic groups and testing conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Brain metabolism in patients with schizophrenia before and after acute neuroleptic administration.

Positron emission tomography (PET) with 11C-2-deoxyglucose (11DG) was used to compare regional brain metabolism in four patients with chronic schizophrenia who had no history of psychotropic medication and in 12 normal controls. Patients had a second PET scan after an injection of thiothixene to evaluate the effects of acute neuroleptics on glucose metabolism. The patients showed higher glucose metabolic values than the normals and did not show the metabolic hypofrontality reported in chronic medicated patients with schizophrenia. Administration of the neuroleptic did not have a significant effect in the metabolic pattern of the patients. These results give support to the hypothesis that prolonged medication may contribute to the metabolic hypofrontal pattern seen in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Persistence of cerebral metabolic abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia as determined by positron emission tomography.

Local cerebral metabolic rates were determined by positron emission tomography and the deoxyglucose method in a group of 10 chronic schizophrenic subjects before and after somatic treatment and in eight normal subjects. Before treatment, schizophrenic subjects had markedly lower absolute metabolic activity than did normal controls in both frontal and temporal regions and a trend toward relative hyperactivity in the basal ganglia area. After treatment, their metabolic rates approached those seen in normal subjects in nearly all regions except frontal. Persistence of diminished frontal metabolism was manifested as significant relative hypofrontality. These findings suggest specific loci of aberrant cerebral functioning in chronic schizophrenia and the utility of positron emission tomography in characterizing these abnormalities.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Pharmacotherapy of Hispanic depressed patients: clinical observations.

Based on the observation that Hispanic depressed patients appear to receive lower dosages of antidepressants, the clinical records of 41 Hispanic and 21 Anglo, female outpatients receiving antidepressants were compared. All the patients had been diagnosed by two psychiatrists as suffering from a major depressive episode according to the DSM III criteria. The records showed that the Anglo patients received about double the dosage of antidepressants given to the Hispanic patients. The Hispanic patients complained more about side effects, but the treatment outcome was comparable in both groups. Apart from pharmacokinetic factors, the authors suggest that these clinical observations may be due to the fact that Hispanic depressed patients express depression in terms of somatic symptoms which are often similar to the side effects produced by antidepressants. Clinicians ought to familiarize themselves with the psychological, sociocultural, and biologic characteristics of the patient, and should approach the chemotherapy in a differential manner. Controlled prospective studies should be designed to test the hypotheses generated by this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The metamorphosis of the country psychiatric service.

From their beginnings, county or municipal psychiatric services have reflected the political and social attitudes of the times. Traditionally they were public facilities that delivered acute inpatient care and a variable range of outpatient services, and, within their mandate, they functioned well. During the past two decades institutional psychiatry has evolved in such a way that there is little difference in the range of services delivered by county, state, and voluntary facilities. The logical role of the county hospital continues to be the provision of acute care for the poor. But for county systems to survive and flourish, they must be prepared to regionalize some services, and to differentiate their role in relation to voluntary and state facilities, yet integrate services with them where needed. They must strengthen ties with academic institutions and effectively address problems of third-party payment and other financial issues.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1981

Medical and legal implications of side effects from neuroleptic drugs. A round-table discussion.

The side effects that may occur during treatment of schizophrenia with neuroleptic drugs are fully examined. Included are autonomic, extrapyramidal, other CNS, endocrine and metabolic, allergic, and skin and eye side effects. The differences between the side effect profiles of various antipsychotic drugs are noted. The restrictions imposed by laws designed to protect the patients's rights are evaluated with regard to the side effects of neuroleptic drugs. The meaning of informed consent is delineated.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1979

Genetic evidence for the existence of subgroups of the schizophrenic syndrome.

Evidence for the existence of a genetic factor in the etiology of a significant proportion of the people diagnosed as having a schizophrenic disorder is reviewed. It is suggested that whatever is transmitted genetically need not be inherently pathologic and/or pathogenic. It is argued that only people who have certain trait expressions or phenotypes are capable of a schizophrenic decompensation but that these phenotypes, while genetically loaded, are not necessarily pathogenic. An effort is made to show that even those cases in whom genetic factors operate are not homogeneous but represent separate subgroups which differ in their etiopathogenesis. This etiologic heterogeneity, in the development of a characteristic necessary but not sufficient for a schizophrenic decompensation, will almost certainly be associated with differences in the clinical course of the disorder.

Adaptation, Psychological↗