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Biomedical subjects

R Emsley

Publications and source records attributed to R Emsley.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Emotional face processing deficit in schizophrenia: A replication study in a South African Xhosa population.

Schizophrenia is associated with a deficit in the recognition of negative emotions from facial expressions. The present study examined the universality of this finding by studying facial expression recognition in African Xhosa population. Forty-four Xhosa patients with schizophrenia and forty healthy controls were tested with a computerized task requiring rapid perceptual discrimination of matched positive (i.e. happy), negative (i.e. angry), and neutral faces. Patients were equally accurate as controls in recognizing happy faces but showed a marked impairment in recognition of angry faces. The impairment was particularly pronounced for high-intensity (open-mouth) angry faces. Patients also exhibited more false happy and angry responses to neutral faces than controls. No correlation between level of education or illness duration and emotion recognition was found but the deficit in the recognition of negative emotions was more pronounced in familial compared to non-familial cases of schizophrenia. These findings suggest that the deficit in the recognition of negative facial expressions may constitute a universal neurocognitive marker of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Placebo-controlled trial of agomelatine in the treatment of major depressive disorder.

The efficacy and safety of flexible dosing with the antidepressant agomelatine (25-50 mg/day) was evaluated in a 6-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 212 patients who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for major depressive disorder-current major depressive episode. Patients receiving agomelatine (25 mg and 50 mg/day) had a significantly lower mean Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) score at endpoint compared with those who received placebo (14.1 +/- 7.7 vs. 16.5 +/- 7.4, p = 0.026). Agomelatine significantly improved the response rate (49.1%; p = 0.03), time to first response (p = 0.032), and Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness score (p = 0.017), compared with placebo. These results were confirmed in a subgroup of patients with greater symptom severity. Agomelatine 50 mg also appeared to be effective and well tolerated in patients who failed to show improvement after 2 weeks on a dose of 25 mg/day. These results support the prescription of agomelatine 25 mg as the usual therapeutic dose, and suggest that increasing the dose to 50 mg may be beneficial for some patients without reducing tolerability.

Acetamides↗
PubMed2004

Suicide attempts in an African schizophrenia population: an assessment of demographic risk factors.

This study investigated demographic variables, including affected sibling pair status, as risk factors for suicidal behavior in schizophrenia patients of African (Xhosa) descent. Xhosa subjects with schizophrenia were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS) and then stratified into two groups: those with ( n = 90) and those without ( n = 364) a history of previous suicide attempts. Demographic parameters (including gender, age, and social circumstances, sib ship) were then compared across these groups. Demographic predictors of suicide included sib ship status ( p = 0.038; OR = 1.7) and age of onset of illness ( p = 0.008; OR = 2.5). On further analysis of suicide in siblings, only a minority of sib pairs was found to be concordant for a lifetime history of suicide attempts (3%). These findings raise the possibility that affected sib pair status may be protective in nature. Given the counter-intuitive nature of this finding, further work is needed to replicate it, and to explore possible underlying mechanisms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Magnetic resonance imaging in alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome: evidence for an association with alcoholic dementia.

A magnetic resonance imaging study of 19 alcoholic Korsakoff patients, 17 non-amnesic alcoholics and 23 non-alcoholic controls was undertaken. Several measures of ventricular size and interhemispheric area were significantly greater in the Korsakoff patients. Interhemispheric fissure size was greater in the non-amnesic alcoholics than the non-alcoholic controls. Cortical grey matter T1 values were essentially the same for the three groups, whereas the deep grey and the white matter T1 values for the Korsakoff patients were significantly greater than the non-alcoholic controls. These results indicate widespread cerebral atrophy in alcoholic Korsakoff patients, which is largely subcortical and does not develop independently of the diencephalic pathology. Alcoholic dementia may be a more severe form of alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome, aetiologically related to the nutritionally-induced diencephalic pathology, rather than the neurotoxic effects of alcohol on the cortex.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Disordered water homeostasis in schizophrenia and cerebral ventricular size.

BACKGROUND: A possible association between disordered water homeostasis and cerebral ventricular size in patients with schizophrenia was investigated. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study of hospitalised patients, cerebral ventricular size was measured in 16 schizophrenic patients with disordered water homeostasis and 16 matched schizophrenic controls by magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Ventricle to brain ratio, third ventricular index, bicaudate index and bifrontal index tended to be greater in those with schizophrenia with disordered water homeostasis, although differences were significant only for the bifrontal index (P < 0.05). Strong negative correlations were found between ventricular size and performance on neuropsychological testing in the disordered water homeostasis group. CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence for an association between structural brain abnormality and disordered water homeostasis in a subset of schizophrenic patients.

Cerebral Ventricles↗
PubMed1994

Clinical and biochemical characteristics of collapsed ultra-marathon runners.

To evaluate the characteristics of runners with exercise-associated collapse (EAC), we studied the time of onset of collapse, rectal temperatures, cardiovascular status, and incidence of readily identifiable medical conditions in 46 male athletes who collapsed during or after a 56-km ultramarathon footrace run on a cool day. Data were compared with 65 control runners who did not collapse in the same race. Weight changes during recovery were studied in a subsample of both groups. The majority (85%) of runners with EAC collapsed after they had completed the race; rectal temperatures (38.5 +/- 1.3 degrees C, mean +/- SD; range 35.5-42.0 degrees C) and supine heart rates (87.5 +/- 17.2 min-1; range 60-138) were only modestly elevated. Postrace serum sodium concentrations, changes in plasma volume, and mass during recovery were not significantly different from values in control runners. We conclude that: (i) most cases of EAC (85%) occur after the finish line; (ii) runners collapsing during the race are more likely to have a readily identifiable medical condition than runners collapsing after the finish line; (iii) runners collapse most frequently near cutoff times for medals and race closure times; and (iv) 16% of EAC casualties and 19% of control runners have identifable biochemical abnormalities.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Water excretion and plasma vasopressin in psychotic disorders.

To investigate the pathogenesis of water intoxication in psychotic disorders, a standard water load test was given to 23 unmedicated patients with schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorders. Levels of plasma arginine vasopressin were measured concurrently. Compared with 28 healthy volunteers, the psychotic patients had significantly smaller cumulative urine output and higher minimum urine osmolalities. Patients whose current illness had lasted less than 24 weeks exhibited the most severe antidiuretic state and also had the highest plasma arginine vasopressin levels. Water intoxication in acute exacerbations of psychosis may develop as a result of impaired excretory mechanisms.

Adolescent↗