PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Catalán

Publications and source records attributed to R Catalán.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Impaired response inhibition in obsessive compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates different three inhibitory control functions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Selective motor response inhibition was tested in a GO/NO-GO paradigm, the inhibition of a triggered motor response in a STOP paradigm and the ability to inhibit cognitive interference in a motor STROOP paradigm. METHODS: 27 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for OCD and 25 age, handedness and IQ-matched healthy control subjects were tested in the GO/NO-GO, STOP and motor STROOP tasks. RESULTS: OCD patients performed significantly worse than controls in the selective inhibition of their motor responses (GO/NO-GO) and in the inhibition of cognitive interference (STROOP), and also showed worse performance in suppressing previously triggered motor responses (STOP). CONCLUSION: Patients with OCD are impaired in motor and cognitive inhibitory mechanisms. The findings are consistent with psychobiological and neuropsychological models of OCD suggesting impairment of frontostriatal circuitries that mediate functions of inhibitory control.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Residual symptoms in elderly major depression remitters.

OBJECTIVE: To assess residual symptoms in severe geriatric major depression in remission, and to determine baseline clinical and sociodemographic predictors of residual symptoms in remitters. METHOD: A total of 108 elderly patients with unipolar major depression were evaluated and treated naturalistically for 9 months so as to record the predictors of residual symptoms in remitters. In order to reduce the likelihood of confusing residual symptoms with normal effects of age, 30 control subjects were also monitored. RESULTS: Seventy-nine patients (73.1%) were considered remitters and 82.3% of remitters showed residual symptoms. Medical burden, chronic stress and subjective social support were the only variables which predicted the severity of residual symptoms in remitters. CONCLUSION: Residual symptoms in elderly patients with major depression in remission should not only be attributed exclusively to intrinsic factors of the illness or the age of the individual patient, but also to external factors.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Could the hypofrontality pattern in schizophrenia be modified through neuropsychological rehabilitation?

OBJECTIVE: The effects of neuropsychological treatment on cognitive hypofrontality were examined in schizophrenic patients through the score activation. METHOD: Eight subjects (six men and two women) with persistent negative symptoms and cognitive impairments were evaluated with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) procedures and neuropsychological battery before and after a neuropsychological treatment group. RESULTS: After treatment an enhancement in neuropsychological performance was found, especially in executive functions. The activation score showed an increase over baseline levels and no cognitive-dependent hypofrontality after treatment was found. Although the prefrontal blood flow changes were small and non-specific, they suggest a reduction of the cognitive hypofrontality after neuropsychological treatment. CONCLUSION: Cognitive improvements after neuropsychological treatment would possibly be related with the diminution of the functional hypoactivity in the prefrontal areas.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The 5-HT(2A) receptor gene 102T/C polymorphism is associated with suicidal behavior in depressed patients.

Several lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors constitute an important determinant of suicidal behavior. A significant association between the 5-HT(2A)-C allele and suicidality has recently been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the proposed association between 5-HT(2A)-102T/C polymorphism and suicidality could be replicated in a larger and independent sample of Spanish patients with major depression. The 102T/C polymorphism of the 5-HT(2A) receptor gene was analyzed in 159 patients with major depression (DSM-IV criteria) and 164 unrelated and healthy controls using a case control design. All individuals were subjects of Spanish origin. Significant differences in allele (chi-square = 4.13, df = 1, P = 0.04) and genotype (chi-square = 6.19, df = 2, P = 0.04) distributions were found between non-suicide attempters and suicide attempters. Moreover, those patients carrying 5-HT(2A)-C allele had more than five times the risk for attempting suicide than noncarriers (OR = 5.50, 95% CI = 1.18-35.20, P = 0.01). Our results replicate the proposed association between 5HT(2A)-C allele and suicidality in major depression. Moreover, no overall associations are detected when patients with major depression and controls are compared for 102T/C frequencies, suggesting that the increased risk for suicidality conferred by 5-HT(2A)-C allele is primarily associated with suicidal behavior and not with the diagnosis of major depression itself.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Shunt related changes in somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, and corticotropin releasing factor concentrations in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVES: Recent data indicate that alterations in brain neuropeptides may play a pathogenic role in dementia. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), somastostatin (SOM), and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) are neuropeptides involved in cognitive performance. Decreased SOM and NPY concentrations have been found in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus and are probably the result of neuronal dysfunction, which could potentially be restored by shunting. The effects of shunt surgery on preoperative SOM, NPY, and CRF concentrations were studied. Any improvements in neuropeptide concentrations that could lead to clinically significant neuropsychological and functional changes were also investigated. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 14 patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome with a duration of symptoms between 3 months and 12 years. Diagnosis was based on intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and CSF dynamics. Concentrations of SOM, NPY, and CRF in lumbar CSF were determined before shunting and again 6-9 months after surgery. A battery of neuropsychological tests and several rating functional scales were also given to patients before and after shunting. RESULTS: After shunting, SOM and CRF concentrations were significantly increased in all patients. Concentrations of NPY were increased in 12 of the 14 patients studied. The clinical condition of 13 of the 14 patients was significantly improved 6 months after surgery. This improvement was more pronounced in gait disturbances and sphincter dysfunction than in cognitive impairment. No significant differences in any of the neuropsychological tests were seen for the group of patients as a whole despite the increased neuropeptide concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Shunting can restore SOM, NPY, and CRF concentrations even in patients with longstanding normal pressure hydrocephalus. However, despite the biochemical and clinical improvement in some areas such as ambulation and daily life activities, cognitive performance did not significantly improve. The role of neuropeptides in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome is discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Plasma corticotropin-releasing factor in depressive disorders.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to investigate alterations of plasma corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) levels in depressive states. We have also measured plasma cortisol and corticotropin (ACTH) concentrations and examined their correlation with the peripheral CRF values. METHODS: Thirty-six outpatients from the psychiatric department of a Barcelona hospital who were diagnosed as having major depressive disorder (n = 26) and dysthymic depressive disorder (n = 10) were studied. Among the major depressed patients, 10 suffered from severe depressive disorder and 16 from mild or moderate depressive disorder. The comparison group consisted of 17 healthy volunteers. Cortisol, ACTH, and CRF concentrations were determined by iodine-125 radioimmunoassay; CRF measurements were performed on C18 extracted samples. RESULTS: CRF and cortisol plasma concentrations were significantly higher in major depression and dysthymia than in the comparison group. The major depressed patients did not show significantly different CRF and cortisol levels than the dysthymic. Severe major depressive disorder exhibited significantly higher CRF plasma levels than the mild or moderate episodes. Plasma cortisol and CRF concentrations correlated significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained indicate that plasma CRF values are altered in depressive disorders and suggest that these determinations could be important for understanding the pathophysiology in affective illness.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1997

Decreased cholecystokinin levels in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with adult chronic hydrocephalus syndrome.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) levels were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with adult chronic hydrocephalus syndrome (ACHS) (n = 16) and compared with levels from a control group (n = 11). The CSF concentration of CCK in the ACHS group (0.79 +/- 0.53 fmol/mL) was significantly reduced (p = .002) with respect to the controls (1.55 +/- 0.54 fmol/mL). As CCK-8, the most prevalent from of CCK in the central nervous system, has been demonstrated to play a significant role in several physiological and behavioral actions, the reduced octapeptide values found in ACHS could be involved in the disturbances associated with this disorder. Continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) demonstrated different ICP profiles in ACHS. We found that all patients with abnormal ICP records except one showed CCK values under the detection limit. Three of the 4 patients with normal ICP had CCK levels within the normal range. These preliminary studies could evidence that ICP alterations are responsible for part of the loss of brain neuropeptide levels in ACHS.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Pseudotumorous cardiac infiltration in a patient with acute monoblastic leukemia].

Although cardiac infiltration is common in advanced stage of acute leukaemia, it is not usually diagnosed at life and it is extremely rare for it to become pseudotumoral. A 25-years-old patient with an acute monoblastic leukaemia who had a leukaemic infiltration which affected the main part of the left ventricle at the time of diagnosis, is referred. The heart infiltration was detected by a two dimension echocardiography. In spite of a massive infiltration, heart failure was not present and the left ventricle's ejection fraction was 50%. Even though chemotherapy was administered, the patient died four days after diagnosis due to septic shock of respiratory origin. The most relevant autopsy finding was a widespread pseudotumoral infiltration of the left ventricle, the back side of the right ventricle and the interventricular wall. The pseudotumoral infiltration of the heart by acute leukaemia is uncommon and must be differentiated from granulocytic sarcoma. The usefulness of the different diagnostic procedures is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Cognitive dysfunctions in recovered melancholic patients.

Cognitive dysfunctions were studied in symptom-free patients suffering from Recurrent Depressive Disorder with melancholia. Their performances on a standard neuropsychological battery were compared with those of a healthy sample matched for age and educational level. Statistically significant differences were found in Immediate Visual Memory, Delayed Logical and Visual Memory, Paired Learning and Block Design. Results seem to indicate that the cognitive disfunctions are not likely to be only mnesic. All these data suggest that these disfunctions found in some melancholic depressives could not be state-dependent.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Where does the terminal patient die?].

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients terminally ill with gastric cancer die in hospital or at home and what the conditioning factors are. DESIGN: Descriptive, crossover and retrospective study. SITE. A province-wide study in Zaragoza province. PATIENTS: The sample consisted of 606 patients in Zaragoza province who had been diagnosed, between 1980 and 1989, as suffering gastric cancer and who later died of this condition. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The follow-up rate of the patients' evolution was 96%. Of these, 50.2% died in hospital and 46.2% at home. Average age was 67 +/- 10 years. 62% were men; 38% women. Average time of survival was 6 months. None of these factors nor the existence or otherwise of surgery affected the place of death. What was notable was that 42% of patients in urban areas died at home; whereas 66% did so in rural areas (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients terminally ill with gastric cancer in Zaragoza province are just as likely to die at home as in hospital. In rural areas people are significantly more likely to die in their own homes. We believe these findings demonstrate the need to develop Primary Care programmes to alleviate terminal suffering.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Neurokinin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid. A preliminary study in Parkinson's disease.

Immunoreactive neurokinin A was measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of twelve patients with Parkinson's disease and eleven normal subjects, using a sensitive and precise extraction/concentration radioimmunoassay method. The mean value obtained in Parkinson's disease patients (13.2 +/- 4.6 pmol/l) was lower than that of the controls (17.4 +/- 5.9). The tendency toward a significant decrease (p = 0.085) found in this preliminary study could indicate that neurokinin A containing neurons are involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. In addition, the establishment of reference values for neurokinin A in cerebrospinal fluid may provide a basis for further studies of this neuropeptide in neurological disorders.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Somatostatin cerebrospinal fluid levels in dementia.

Somatostatin levels were measured in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease, multi-infarct dementia and normal pressure hydrocephalus and compared with levels from a normal control group. All pathological groups showed a statistically significant decrease of somatostatin with respect to the control group, but no significant differences were found amongst them. A negative correlation was found between the Mini Mental State Test and the somatostatin levels in Alzheimer's disease patients but not in the other groups. Our results confirm that the lower levels of somatostatin in cerebrospinal fluid are not specific to Alzheimer's disease and indicate that the decrease found in all the groups is probably the result of neuronal destruction or damage in the diseases examined.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Plasma levels of beta-endorphin, cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone in depressed patients.

Basal serum cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin and immunoreactive (IR) plasma beta-endorphin levels were measured in 31 depressed patients (14 endogenous, 17 nonendogenous) undergoing the dexamethasone suppression test. The endogenously depressed patients had significantly higher (22.55 +/- 1.34 micrograms/dl) predexamethasone cortisol levels than the nonendogenous patients (16.34 +/- 1.93 micrograms/dl). The mean serum prolactin and growth hormone values of these two groups were not significantly different, while plasma IR-beta-endorphin levels of the endogenous group (40.11 +/- 3.57 pg/ml) were significantly lower than those of the nonendogenous group (120.33 +/- 27.98 pg/ml). Neither group showed a significant correlation between plasma IR-beta-endorphin and serum cortisol values. These results indicate that measurement of predexamethasone serum cortisol values and plasma IR-beta-endorphin could be valuable laboratory tests in the diagnosis of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Salivary testosterone levels in infertile men.

Salivary testosterone levels were measured in 18 normal men, 29 oligospermic and six azoospermic subjects, using a specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA). There was a significant reduction (P less than 0.001) in salivary testosterone levels in the group of oligospermic (0.266 +/- 0.086 nmol/l) and azoospermic (0.234 +/- 0.055 nmol/l) subjects when compared with controls (0.348 +/- 0.070 nmol/l). A good correlation was found between salivary and plasma testosterone levels in normal (r = 0.62, P less than 0.01) and infertile men (r = 0.58, P less than 0.01). This study demonstrates that salivary testosterone levels, a non-invasive means of sample collection, may be used for evaluation of androgen status in male infertility.

Adult↗