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Biomedical subjects

R Rimón

Publications and source records attributed to R Rimón.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

The effect of fluoxetine on sleep: a longitudinal, double-blind polysomnographic study of healthy volunteers.

Fluoxetine, a selective inhibitor of serotonin (5-HT) uptake, was compared with placebo in a randomized double-blind longitudinal trial in 12 healthy volunteers. Sleep polygraphic recordings were performed at home twice before and once after 6 days of medication. After 6 days fluoxetine significantly decreased the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The sleep-onset latency and REM latency were increased, but there was no significant increase in the amount of awakenings during night. The relative proportion of stages 2 and 3 increased after fluoxetine administration, although there was no significant change with regard to total amount of slow-wave sleep. Fluoxetine did not induce prominent eye movements during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in this study. Results of the subjective assessment revealed tendencies of improved sleep and well-being in the fluoxetine group. It is concluded that a comparatively small dose of fluoxetine (20 mg/day) causes the same type of changes in REM sleep which are characteristic of most antidepressive drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6 in hospitalized schizophrenic patients.

Interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL-6 levels in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 14 medicated schizophrenic patients and 9 controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Almost no detectable levels of IL-6 in plasma or CSF from patients or controls were found. With regard to mean plasma or CSF levels of IL-1 beta there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups investigated. The dose of neuroleptic medication the patients used did not correlate with the IL-1 beta plasma levels. For the whole series of subjects (n = 23) or for the schizophrenic patients (n = 14) no correlation between the plasma and CSF levels of IL-1 beta was found.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psychosocial factors, female fertility and pregnancy: a prospective study--Part I: Fertility.

The aim of the study was to determine prospectively whether psychosocial, personality-related or stress factors have influence on fertility. Initially 191 healthy nulliparas without a history of infertility who were planning to have children were studied gynecologically and by psychiatric examination. Life changes and changes in psychosocial stress were monitored throughout the study period of 6 months at regular intervals. The following factors turned out to be associated with higher than average fertility in the final follow-up sample of 180 women: looking younger than one's actual age, no fluctuation in body weight before pregnancy, low consumption of coffee, low score of psychosomatic symptoms, being the youngest sibling, low number of negative life changes, younger than spouse, having phobic traits, and customarily religious. There was no clearcut association between low fertility and deviations in personality factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psychosocial factors, female fertility and pregnancy: a prospective study--Part II: Pregnancy.

The aim of the study was to determine whether psychosocial factors have an influence on the progress and outcome of pregnancy and whether personality-related or stress factors are significant in this respect. One hundred and ninety-one nulliparas without a history of infertility were prospectively studied gynecologically and psychiatrically. Life changes and changes in stress factors were monitored throughout the study period and obstetric complications were registered. By the end of the study period 120 (63%) of the subjects had given birth, 38 (19%) had abortion, 22 (12%) did not conceive and the remaining 11 (6%) discontinued. Certain psychosocial factors (e.g. life changes, anxiety, subjectively estimated physically and mentally stressful work) were associated with complications of pregnancy. In the logistic regression analysis the psychosocial stress factors were more strongly associated with the outcome of pregnancy than the factors related to personality. Adjusting for the stress-buffering factors (personality, coping methods and social support) did not reduce the original association.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Elevated angiotensin-converting enzyme (kininase II) in the cerebrospinal fluid of neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic patients.

Disturbances of water homeostasis have frequently been reported in schizophrenia. Water homeostasis is regulated by arginine vasopressin (AVP), the renin-angiotensin system and natriuretic hormones. The aim of this study was to determine the activity of the central renin-angiotensin system in schizophrenia by measuring levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood in 14 in-patients with schizophrenia on neuroleptic medication and in 9 healthy volunteers. The levels of CSF ACE were significantly higher in the schizophrenia group. There were no correlations between CSF ACE and gender, age, age at first episode, duration of illness, term of hospitalization or neuroleptic dosage. No correlations between CSF ACE and serum ACE were found in either group. The authors suggest an activated central renin-angiotensin system in schizophrenia at least during antipsychotic drug treatment, which may cause 'psychogenic' polydipsia in some patients. ACE and the brain renin-angiotensin system may also play a role in the regulation of neuron growth and differentiation in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Moclobemide versus imipramine in depressed out-patients: a double-blind multi-centre study.

One hundred and twenty seven patients with major depressive episode were included in a double-blind, four-week, prospective, randomized, multi-centre parallel-group trial comparing moclobemide and imipramine. The dose of moclobemide was 150-525 mg/day and that of imipramine 50-175 mg/day; the mean daily doses during the last week of treatment were 307 mg and 100 mg of moclobemide and imipramine, respectively. The decrease of the total scores of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDRS) as well as the Overall Assessment of Efficacy by the Investigators showed significant amelioration of depression in both treatment groups (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found between the moclobemide and imipramine groups with regard to treatment outcome. The onset of the antidepressant activity was faster in the moclobemide group as measured by the Assessment of the Investigators. This difference was not observed when the therapeutic index figures calculated on the basis of the changes in the HDRS scores were scrutinized. Treatment-emergent side effects were somewhat more frequent during imipramine than during moclobemide treatment. Nevertheless, a total of only four patients discontinued the trial prematurely because of poor tolerability. Imipramine-treated patients reported more anticholinergic side effects, whereas tiredness and headache were observed more frequently in the moclobemide-treated patients. Restlessness, nervousness and sleep disturbances were noted with equal incidence in both patient groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Interferon-alpha as adjuvant treatment in chronic schizophrenia.

The therapeutic use of interferon (IFN)-alpha administered as adjuvant medication in chronic schizophrenia was investigated. Natural leukocyte IFN-alpha was given to 9 long-term hospitalized chronic schizophrenic patients daily as subcutaneous injection of 3 million units 5 times a week. The trial followed a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover design. Each treatment period lasted for 8 weeks with a 2-week washout period in between. IFN-alpha did not prove to be beneficial for the total group of patients. Yet, 3 patients improved during the IFN-alpha drug period. The clinical improvement was seen as better social competence and less affective tension in the ward surroundings.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Modified activity of the human auditory cortex during auditory hallucinations.

Previous reports have shown abnormalities in brain metabolism and evoked responses of schizophrenic patients with hallucinations. The authors recorded electric and magnetic auditory responses during transitory auditory hallucinations in two patients. Small but replicable response delays occurred during hallucinations. The results suggest that the effect of hallucinations on auditory cortex activity is similar to the effect of real sounds.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1992

Serum levels of mianserin and clinical outcome in elderly depressive inpatients.

Fifty-two elderly inpatients with moderate or severe depression underwent routine mianserin treatment with simultaneous measurements of 76 steady- state serum mianserin concentrations. These concentrations were correlated to the changes in the illness of the patients, who were divided into three classes according to the ratings by the Global Clinical Impression scale in steady-state and at two, four, and six weeks' intervals. Despite no significant differences in mean dosages, the serum mianserin concentrations of the patients with good clinical improvement were significantly higher than those of the patients with minimal clinical improvement, in six weeks of ratings. We conclude that some individual old patients have a correlation between good antidepressive effects and relatively high serum mianserin concentration.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Prolactin response to submaximal stimulation by TRH in nonaffective psychoses.

Nonaffective psychotic symptoms are heterogeneous and probably caused by mixed biopathology. A preliminary investigative tool to study pituitary dopamine activity, the prolactin response to submaximal stimulation by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) (mini-TRH test) was correlated in 20 subjects with nonaffective psychoses to positive psychotic symptoms as assessed by the Comprehensive Psychiatric Rating Scale psychosis subscale. A significant positive correlation was observed between the response and ratings of nonparanoid symptoms, especially nonparanoid delusions and disrupted thoughts. Because, in addition to pituitary dopamine activity, there is evidence to suggest that the response reflects extrapituitary dopamine activity as well, the results extend the evidence that nonparanoid acute productive psychotic symptoms may be associated with hypoactivity rather than with hyperactivity of brain dopaminergic systems.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Plasma concentrations of remoxipride and haloperidol in relation to prolactin and short-term therapeutic outcome in schizophrenic patients.

Plasma concentrations of remoxipride and haloperidol as well as prolactin (PRL) were determined in 20 patients with acute symptoms of schizophrenia. Ten patients received remoxipride and ten patients haloperidol for a period of 6 weeks. A significant linear correlation was found between the plasma level of remoxipride and the dosage applied (P less than 0.02) as well as between the corresponding haloperidol dosage and plasma concentration (P less than 0.05). In both patient groups a significant reduction in psychopathology was observed during the trial period (P less than 0.001). In the haloperidol group this was associated with a clearcut elevation of plasma PRL, whereas in the remoxipride group after an initial rise for 4 weeks, the mean PRL level returned to baseline at the end of the study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Alprazolam and oxazepam in the treatment of anxious out-patients with depressive symptoms: a double-blind multicenter study.

In a four-week double-blind study comparing alprazolam with oxazepam, 62 outpatients suffering from anxiety with depressive symptoms were evaluated. The average daily doses of alprazolam and oxazepam were 1.48 mg and 44.4 mg, respectively. According to all rating scales applied, both alprazolam and oxazepam were effective in relieving anxiety associated with mild depression (p less than 0.01). Alprazolam proved somewhat more effective than oxazepam especially with regard to overall performance (p less than 0.05). Treatment-emergent adverse effects were few and mild for both compounds tested.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

EEG and CT findings in patients with panic disorder.

Fifty-four patients with panic disorder were investigated using extensive electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings and computerized tomography (CT). Fifteen (28%) of these patients had previously been treated for temporal lobe epilepsy or were considered to have another neurological disorder. EEG recordings showed increased slow-wave activity in 13 (24%) patients and CT scan revealed incidental abnormalities in 6 (20%) of the 30 patients investigated. Taking into account the limitations of the methods applied, the present results indicate that clear-cut epileptic EEG patterns only rarely occur in panic disorder: the vast majority of panic patients exhibit normal EEG and CT findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Dynorphin A and substance P in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients.

Radioimmunoassay procedures were used to assay levels of dynorphin A (DYN A) and substance P-like activity (SP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from 10 schizophrenic patients before and after neuroleptic treatment, from 10 matched patients with other psychiatric disorders before and after treatment, and from 10 nonpsychiatric surgical controls. The highest mean concentration of CSF DYN A was found in the schizophrenic group on admission (significant vs. nonpsychiatric controls). The concentration remained almost unaltered after 4 weeks of zuclopenthixol treatment despite a highly significant decrease of overt psychopathology assessed by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). There was no significant difference between the mean CSF DYN A levels of the nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients and the surgical controls. When all psychiatric patients were pooled together, there was a significant correlation between the level of CSF DYN A and the BPRS total score. With regard to CSF SP levels, no statistically significant differences were observed within or between the groups studied. Neither was there a significant correlation between the concentration of CSF SP and overt psychopathology. Nevertheless, the mean CSF SP concentration of three patients with major depression was clearly higher than the corresponding mean concentration of the other patients in the nonschizophrenic group.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and neuropeptides in patients with panic disorder.

Concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) as well as somatostatin (SRIF) and beta-endorphin (beta-END) were assayed in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 34 patients with panic disorder and of ten neurological controls. No aberrations of the monoaminergic or peptidergic variables measured were found in the nonpanic state of patients with panic disorder. A modest correlation (P = 0.04) between total anxiety scores and CSF MHPG was observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Sulpiride and perphenazine in schizophrenia. A double-blind clinical trial.

Seventeen patients with acute schizophrenia and 30 with chronic schizophrenia were included in a randomized, double-blind parallel-group trial comparing sulpiride and perphenazine. Patients were evaluated using the 16-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) prior to the onset of treatment and 1 and 2 weeks, and 1, 2, 3, and 4 months thereafter. In patients with acute schizophrenia, total BPRS scores declined significantly at the end of the trial compared with pretreatment values in sulpiride-treated patients but not in schizophrenics treated with perphenazine. Differences in response between the groups did not reach statistical significance, however. For patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia, a statistically significant decline was observed in total BPRS scores at 4 months compared with pretreatment scores in both sulpiride and perphenazine groups. There was no significant difference in the treatment response between the groups. Sulpiride appeared to be somewhat more effective than perphenazine for treatment of acute schizophrenia. Efficacy of both compounds was less marked in chronic forms of schizophrenia.

Acute Disease↗