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Biomedical subjects

R Elie

Publications and source records attributed to R Elie.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Psychophysiological responses to subliminal auditory suggestions for activation.

The aim of this study was to characterize further the experimental procedure proposed by Borgeat and Goulet in 1983. Subliminal activation auditory suggestions were expected to increase heart rate and skin conductance in presence of a stressing task. 20 subjects were alternately exposed to activating or neutral (random numbers) 25-dB suggestions masked by a 40-dB white noise. Analyses of variance and covariance indicated an effect of the activating suggestions on heart rate but not on skin conductance. Partly confirming previous results, the data support the reliability of heart rate and the importance of a stressing factor to reveal the effects of preconscious or subliminal stimulations.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Pharmacologic interventions in agitated mentally retarded patients].

Aggressive behavior of mental retardates is a frequent problem which semiological description is very polymorphic. Some psychiatric etiologies are listed, and then the different aspects of idiopathic aggressive behavior are described. These aspects give guidelines for more specific treatments which are further reviewed. Preferential indications and side effects are described for each in a way to suggest a therapeutic strategy. At the end, legal aspects involved are briefly exposed.

Humans↗
PubMed1988

[The young homeless of Montreal: a longitudinal study].

A transverse survey conducted in 142 young homeless (age: 18-30) shows that they mainly come from broken families where alcoholism, violence and mental illness hold an important place. Regarding work, the majority of the surveyed homeless have not worked more than 24 months in all their life and have nearly continuously been on welfare; those who had jobs lost them much more because of their alcohol or drug use and their problems of interpersonal relationships than because of unemployment. On a personal level, these young adults are particularly battling against two major problems: alcoholism and drug addiction, and mental illness. Although 23% of the surveyed subjects have already been hospitalized in psychiatry, the majority of these young homeless have never received any psychiatric care. Nevertheless, they show mental health problems which are often mistakenly dismissed as the effects of alcoholism or chronic drug abuse. The authors believe that means of detection and adequate treatment must be developed for this growing population instead of thinking of social measures which would only give the young homeless a meal and protection from the elements.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

[Use of subconscious and conscious suggestions combined with music as a relaxation technic].

A radio experiment carried out over many years, added to previous clinical tests, has shown a sustained interest of the people for using preconscious (subliminal) suggestions combined with soothing music, as a relaxation technique. The purpose of this study was to compare systematically some combinations with their own components, i.e. the suggestions alone or the music alone. Moreover, drawing inspiration from the works of a Bulgarian psychiatrist, Georgi Lozanov, there were comparisons made of the efficacy of three types of combinations whether they included different kinds of suggestions: preconscious, close to the level of consciousness or conscious. Thirty-five (35) persons were subjected to tests in five experimental sessions, (music alone, three suggestion-music combinations, and suggestions alone), according to a latin-square design (5 x 5). Physiologic and psychologic measurements were used. The physiologic measurements did not show any significant difference between the various treatments. On the other hand, the psychologic measurements favoured the combinations rather than their components alone and specially the combination where suggestions were of an intensity close to the level of consciousness.

Affect↗
PubMed1987

A comparative double-blind controlled study of trimipramine and amitriptyline in major depression: lack of correlation with 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake blockade.

Thirty-four hospitalized patients with major depression were enrolled in a 3-week double-blind parallel comparative study of trimipramine and amitriptyline. Following a 1-week washout period, patients randomly received one of the two drugs up to 100 mg twice daily on a fixed increment dosage schedule. Both treatments produced a rapid significant clinical improvement that occurred in a predominantly linear fashion. The pattern of improvement was very similar with both drugs. There was no significant correlation between plasma levels of trimipramine and desmethyl-trimipramine and clinical improvement. A negative correlation between amitriptyline plasma levels and clinical improvement was found, whereas a positive correlation occurred with the nortriptyline levels. Amitriptyline, and to a lesser extent trimipramine, prolonged intracardiac conduction. In the amitriptyline group only, this effect was accompanied by significant increases of heart rate and blood pressure. Platelet serotonin content was decreased by 57% by the amitriptyline treatment but remained unchanged in the trimipramine group. This finding constitutes the first clinical evidence that trimipramine does not exert its antidepressant effect through 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake blockade. It is proposed that neuronal sensitization to 5-hydroxytryptamine might mediate the therapeutic effect of tricyclic antidepressant drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Factors that determine refractoriness of ascites to conventional therapy.

We compared the charts of 33 patients who had refractory ascites with those of 33 patients who had responsive ascites to identify factors responsible for resistance to conventional therapy. The results of biochemical tests of liver function were more abnormal in the responsive group than in the refractory group on admission to hospital, whereas the results of kidney function tests were worse in the refractory group. The transhepatic portal pressure was similar in the 7 patients with refractory ascites and the 11 patients with responsive ascites in whom it was measured. The portal vein pressure as calculated from the difference in albumin content between the serum and the ascitic fluid was similar in the two groups, as were the findings at histologic examination of the liver. We conclude that neither the severity of the liver disease nor the portal pressure is a critical factor in the development of refractory ascites. Kidney dysfunction, however, is important, but its mechanism remains unclear.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The treatment of the restless legs syndrome with clonazepam: a prospective controlled study.

The effect of clonazepam on the restless legs syndrome was studied in a group of 6 patients. Following a drug-free period, 3 patients received clonazepam for 4 weeks followed by placebo for 4 weeks thereafter and 3 patients received the same medication and for the same length of time but in reverse order. The effectiveness of the medication was evaluated by means of a self-rating system in which patients assigned a score daily to the degree of discomfort experienced in the previous 24 hours. Three patients improved on clonazepam but 2 of these also improved on placebo. Clonazepam was not shown to be significantly more effective than placebo in the treatment of RLS.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Rapid response to the addition of lithium in iprindole-resistant unipolar depression: a pilot study.

The authors administered lithium carbonate, 900 mg/day, in an open study to seven patients with a major unipolar depression refractory to 3-week treatment with iprindole, 90 mg/day, a tricyclic antidepressant devoid of any action on monoaminergic reuptake. All patients showed clinically significant improvement within 48 hours. Since iprindole induces in the animal a sensitization of forebrain neurons to serotonin (5-HT), as do other tricyclic antidepressants, and lithium enhances the activity of 5-HT neurons, the authors propose that an enhanced release of 5-HT on sensitized target neurons might underlie the rapid antidepressant effect in tricyclic-refractory depression when lithium is added to the treatment regimen.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Psychophysiological responses to masked auditory stimuli.

Psychophysiological responses to masked auditory verbal stimuli of increasing intensities were studied in twenty healthy women. Two experimental sessions corresponding to two stimulation contents (neutral or emotional) were conducted. At each session, two different sets of instructions (attending or not attending to stimuli) were used successively. Verbal stimuli, masked by a 40-dB white noise, were presented to the subject at increasing intensities by increments of 5 dB starting at 0 dB. At each increment, frontal EMG, skin conductance and heart rate were recorded. The data were submitted to analyses of variance and covariance. Psychophysiological responses to stimuli below the thresholds of identification and detection were observed. The instruction not to attend the stimuli modified the patterns of physiological responses. The effect of the affective content of the stimuli on responses was stronger when not attending. The results show the possibility of psychophysiological responses to masked auditory stimuli and suggests that psychophysiological parameters can constitute objective and useful measures for research in auditory subliminal perception.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Trimipramine and maprotiline: antidepressant, anxiolytic, and cardiotoxic comparison.

A 5-week placebo washout comparison of trimipramine 150 mg/day and maprotiline 150 mg/day was carried out in 15 male and 24 female patients with unipolar major affective disorder. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, weight, height, or vital signs. Both groups showed significant improvement over time, with no difference between the groups on the Severity and Improvement factors of the Clinical Global Impression scale, on the total and factor subscales of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and on the Anxiety Status Inventory. The maprotiline group showed a greater increase in weight over the study period than did the trimipramine group. There was a significant lowering of systolic blood pressure in the trimipramine group only and a significant and linear increase in pulse rate by Week 3 in the maprotiline group. Analysis of ECG showed that the atrial rates were significantly increased in the maprotiline group (p less than .002) but not in the trimipramine group. Trimipramine had significantly fewer anticholinergic, neurologic, and cardiovascular adverse effects than maprotiline.

Adult↗