Biomedical subjects

R Wesner

Publications and source records attributed to R Wesner.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Acute treatment response in outpatients with panic disorder: high versus low depressive symptoms.

The authors studied 75 outpatients with DSM-III-R panic disorder who had participated in a clinical trial and had been randomly assigned to receive fluvoxamine, cognitive therapy, or placebo for an 8-week period. They compared a group with high levels of depressive symptoms and a group with low levels of depressive symptoms. At baseline, patients with high levels of depressive symptoms were more likely to have severe phobic avoidance and to have higher scores on measures of anxiety, hyochondriasis, and disability. An important finding was that depressive symptoms improved at a rate which paralleled improvement in panic and anxiety. Likewise, the presence of depressive symptoms did not interfere with treatment response in panic disorder. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

A comparison of fluvoxamine, cognitive therapy, and placebo in the treatment of panic disorder.

Seventy-five outpatients with moderate to severe panic disorder were randomly assigned to receive 8 weeks of fluvoxamine, cognitive therapy, or placebo. Fifty-five patients completed the treatment protocol. Fluvoxamine was found to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for panic using clinician- and patient-rated variables. Subjects receiving cognitive therapy also showed improvement, but this improvement did not significantly differ from the experience of the placebo-treated group for most comparisons. Fluvoxamine was superior to cognitive therapy for many ratings, but cognitive therapy was not superior to fluvoxamine on any rating. Fluvoxamine also produced improvement earlier than cognitive therapy. At the main comparison point (week 4), 57% (13/23) of patients receiving fluvoxamine were rated moderately improved or better vs 40% (8/20) of the group given cognitive therapy and 22% (5/23) of the placebo-treated group. At that point, 43% (10/23) of the fluvoxamine recipients vs 25% (5/20) of cognitive therapy and 4% (1/23) of placebo recipients were free of panic attacks.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

The abrupt discontinuation of fluvoxamine in patients with panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated patients abruptly withdrawn from fluvoxamine, a serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor, for evidence of a discontinuation syndrome. METHOD: In an open-label study, 14 subjects were abruptly withdrawn from fluvoxamine after treatment lasting 8 months (7 months for 1 patient). Psychological, somatic, and perceptual symptoms were assessed at Day 5, Day 10, and Day 14 postdiscontinuation. Anxiety and depression were assessed using clinician and self-rated scales. RESULTS: Twelve (86%) of 14 subjects developed new symptoms. The most frequent symptoms reported were dizziness/incoordination, headaches, nausea, and irritability. Symptoms peaked on Day 5 postdiscontinuation. Only 1 subject had a recurrence of panic, but another developed anxiety and depression; both were remedicated. CONCLUSION: Abrupt fluvoxamine discontinuation is associated with a characteristic syndrome in many patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Lack of linkage to chromosome 5q11-q13 markers in six schizophrenia pedigrees.

We examined linkage between schizophrenia and five genetic markers on chromosome 5 in six pedigrees. Analyses were run considering the affected phenotype to be schizophrenia, schizophrenia plus a spectrum of related disorders, and these disorders plus any axis I diagnosis. None of the analyses were suggestive of linkage at any of the markers, either considering the pedigrees individually or in the aggregate. In our pedigrees, multipoint linkage analyses excluded much of the region that had supported linkage in an earlier study. These findings are consistent with other attempts to replicate the chromosome 5 linkage finding.

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed1990

Close linkage between panic disorder and alpha-haptoglobin excluded in 10 families.

We previously reported a lod score of 2.3 suggesting linkage between panic disorder and the alpha-haptoglobin locus on chromosome 16q22 in 26 pedigrees. In the present study we tested for linkage between alpha-haptoglobin and panic disorder in 10 new pedigrees and excluded a gene for panic disorder from 6 centimorgans (recombination fraction, 0.06) surrounding the alpha-haptoglobin locus. The data were analyzed under a variety of assumptions about the transmission of panic disorder, and linkage was excluded by all genetic models but one. When lod scores from the present set of 10 pedigrees were pooled with those from the first 26, no evidence of genetic heterogeneity was found, and the maximum lod score was 0.67 at a recombination fraction of 0.17. Taken as a whole, the present findings do not support the presence of a disease gene for panic disorder closely linked to the alpha-haptoglobin locus on chromosome 16q22.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Comparison of seasonal and nonseasonal affective disorders.

Eighteen patients with seasonal affective disorder were compared to 13 patients with recurrent nonseasonal depressions. Seasonal depressions were associated with hypersomnia and carbohydrate craving, and there was a trend for a younger age at onset of seasonal affective disorder.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

From unipolar depression to bipolar illness: 29 who changed.

We studied 29 patients who were admitted to a psychiatric hospital for depression, never had had a previous mania, and developed the mania in follow-up. When compared to patients who were stable unipolars, the potential bipolars had a history of more episodes prior to their onset of mania, more hospital admissions, more marked self-reproach and guilt; in follow-up, they had more hospitalizations.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Panic disorder and agoraphobia.

Panic disorder is a common medical illness frequently encountered by primary care physicians. Proper evaluation and diagnosis is essential. Uncomplicated panic disorder can be easily managed by the primary care physician and is very often a rewarding and gratifying experience.

Adult↗