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Biomedical subjects

R Rimón

Publications and source records attributed to R Rimón.

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

Long-term effects of alprazolam and imipramine on cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites and neuropeptides in panic disorder.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, and somatostatin and beta-endorphin levels were measured in 12 patients with panic disorder before and after 7 months of treatment with alprazolam or imipramine. The concentrations of CSF monoamine metabolites and neuropeptides were at baseline of the same order of magnitude in panic patients and controls. Neither alprazolam nor imipramine changed metabolite or neuropeptide levels in CSF despite clinical improvement in both treatment groups. According to present CSF data, the antipanic actions of alprazolam and imipramine do not involve the monoaminergic or peptidergic systems studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Interrelationship of hypochondriacal, paranoid, depressive, and suicidal symptoms in Chinese psychiatric patients.

Data concerning 150 consecutive adult psychiatric patients treated by the authors in a general hospital psychiatric unit were analyzed. All patients with predominant hypochondriacal or paranoid symptoms were selected. The presence of depressed mood and suicidal ideas and their impact on prognosis were investigated. Finally, characteristics of patients with both hypochondriacal and paranoid symptoms were studied. We found that: (a) 79% of the patients with predominant hypochondriacal symptoms were depressed, but only 27% of these had suicidal ideas. These patients usually revealed a poor response to treatment. (b) Only 27% of the patients with paranoid symptoms only were depressed, but their suicidal risk was high. They usually had a good response to treatment. (c) Only 3% of the total sample exhibited both hypochondriacal and paranoid symptoms. They were all thought-disordered schizophrenics but had better prognosis than expected. The psychodynamic background of the results is discussed.

Delusions↗
PubMed1987

Relationship of migration to paranoid and somatoform symptoms in Chinese patients.

Among 162 consecutive adult Chinese new psychiatric patients, the proportion of Chinese immigrants was not significantly higher, compared with the 1986 by-census results. However, the proportion of immigrants with predominant somatoform symptoms was significantly higher (p less than 0.02), and that of immigrants with predominant paranoid symptoms was almost significantly higher (p = 0.052) than the corresponding proportions of immigrants without these symptoms. Evidence was given suggesting that the increased proportion of paranoid immigrants was probably due to social selection, while the increased proportion of somatoform immigrants could be explained by the social causation theory.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1987

Viral antibodies and interferon in acute psychiatric disorders.

In a prospective study of 54 patients with acute psychiatric disorders, interferon and antibodies in serum and CSF were measured to 19 microbes by the complement fixation (CF) test and to 7 viruses by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The CF test revealed a fourfold or greater change (p less than .001) in serum antibody titers in 20 patients, and EIA showed a twofold or greater change in CSF titers in 7 patients. Pathological serum/CSF antibody ratio by EIA was observed in 8 patients. The results suggest that viral infections and inflammatory processes have significance in the etiopathogenesis of acute psychiatric disorders.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid antibodies to cytomegalovirus in schizophrenia.

Antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV) were determined in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by complement-fixing (CF), enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and enhanced virus neutralization test (EVNT), in acute unmedicated schizophrenic patients and neurological controls. An elevated level of CF antibody was observed in three serum specimens from the schizophrenic patients and in one control specimen. No CF antibody was present in the CSF samples of the two patient groups tested. By EIA none of the serum or CSF specimens was positive for IgM antibody to CMV. By EVNT, 17% of the schizophrenic patients exhibited a CSF/serum ratio greater than 2 SD, whereas the corresponding figure for the control group was 4% (P greater than 0.05). The role of CMV in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia is discussed in the light of the present and previous negative findings.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Myelin basic protein antibodies in catatonic schizophrenia.

Myelin basic protein (MBP) antibodies were determined by solid-phase radioimmunoassay in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 10 patients with catatonia, 10 patients with other forms of schizophrenia, and 10 psychiatrically healthy controls. The mean counts per minute (cpm) value of serum anti-MBP antibody of the catatonia group was significantly higher than that of the patients with other forms of schizophrenic psychoses (p less than .05). No significant differences were observed among the cpm values of the CSF specimens from the three patient groups. The hypothesis of a central virus-induced immunologic aberration in catatonic schizophrenia is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid prolactin patterns during neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenic patients.

Serum and CSF prolactin (PRL) concentrations were determined during eight weeks of fluphenazine medication in 28 patients with acute symptoms of schizophrenia. In both sexes a good correlation between the serum and CSF PRL values was found (r = 0.57, p less than 0.01). Throughout the entire study, first admission (FA) patients had significantly higher levels of serum and CSF PRL than the re-entry (RE) schizophrenics (0.05 greater than p less than 0.001). In addition, in FA patients, a gradual increase of the serum and CSF PRL concentrations was observed, whereas in the RE group an adaptive secretion pattern of PRL could be detected. In both patient groups, female patients exhibited significantly higher PRL serum and CSF levels than the male patients (0.05 greater than p less than 0.001). The tolerance phenomenon in the RE groups was more marked in the female than in the male patients. No correlation between clinical outcome and PRL response to fluphenazine treatment was observed. The prognostic significance of the differences in the PRL secretion pattern is discussed.

Female↗
PubMed1985

Altered white cell count, protein concentration and oligoclonal IgG bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of many patients with acute psychiatric disorders.

In a prospective study, an abnormal white cell count and/or elevated protein concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was observed in 14/54 patients (26%) with acute psychiatric disorders, but in none of the 46 control subjects (p less than 0.001). In addition, electrophoretic analysis of immunoglobulin G (IgG) showed an oligoclonal pattern in the CSF of 22 psychiatric patients (41%). No such pattern could be detected in the control group (p less than 0.001). These findings reinforce the value of lumbar puncture and CSF analysis in acute psychiatric disorders.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Life stress and rheumatoid arthritis. A 15-year follow-up study.

A 15-year follow-up study of 74 female patients with definite or classic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was performed with special focus on the association between life stress and clinical course of the illness. Two categories of RA could be classified: a disease form less connected with genetic factors and more influenced by major psychodynamic conflict situations ('major conflict group' MCG) and a second form more associated with hereditary predisposition and less influenced by environmental psychosocial changes ('non-conflict group', NCG).

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1985

Serum interferon in schizophrenia.

Serum interferon (IFN) levels were determined in 30 patients with schizophrenia and 30 age- and sex-matched patients with affective or borderline disorders. In only 1 schizophrenic patient a positive titre of serum IFN was detected. The relationship between psychiatric variables and IFN production is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Overt psychopathology in rheumatoid arthritis. A fifteen-year follow-up study.

A 15-year follow-up study of 74 female patients (mean age 57.9 years) with definite or classic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was performed, with special emphasis on overt psychopathology during the clinical course of the illness. Catamnestic investigation revealed that in 46% of the patients psychiatric disturbances necessitating treatment had appeared during the follow-up period. Generally, the psychiatric syndromes observed were of neurotic type not infrequently associated with depressive symptomatology. At the time of investigation 41% of the patients exhibited overt psychopathology, of whom the majority had depressive reactions (40%) or other forms of neurotic syndromes (18%). Only one patient was diagnosed as psychotic. In 5 instances distinct signs of chronic organic brain syndrome were noted. The importance of identifying clinical depression and of instituting adequate drug treatment and psychotherapy is emphasized.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Elevation of substance P-like peptides in the CSF of psychiatric patients.

Using a radioimmunoassay procedure substance P-like activity was measured in samples of human CSF obtained from 12 patients with major depressive disorder, 12 with schizophrenia, and 15 control cases diagnosed as psychiatrically normal. Levels were significantly higher in CSF of patients with depressive disorder as compared with schizophrenic patients or controls. Chemical characterization revealed that the measured activity was less basic than substance P itself and might be due to C-terminal fragments. A component reacting with an antiserum highly specific for the substance P[1-7]fragment was found in CSF of patients with depressive disorder. The results indicate that substance P-related peptides may be biological markers in psychoses, particularly in major depressive disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Pinoline, a beta-carboline derivative in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with schizophrenia.

Baseline levels of pinoline, 6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (6-MeOTHBC) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were determined with GLC-mass spectrometry in 13 unmedicated schizophrenic patients and 18 non-psychiatric controls. A detectable concentration of 6-MeOTHBC was always present, but no differences were found between the schizophrenic and the control groups. The serum and the CSF levels of 6-MeOTHBC were not significantly related to such variables as sex, age, subtype of schizophrenia, the quality and/or intensity of the psychopathological symptoms, or the duration of illness. The role of the indoleamines in the aetiopathogenesis of schizophrenia is discussed.

Adult↗