Biomedical subjects

S C Hurlbut

Publications and source records attributed to S C Hurlbut.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Correlates and outcomes of alcohol use disorder among rural outpatients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The use of alcohol by persons with schizophrenia is common and has been associated with increased severity of psychiatric symptoms, multiple psychosocial problems, abuse of other drugs, and poor treatment outcomes. Most of the previous research in this area has been with urban patients. METHOD: The authors examined the correlates and outcomes of alcohol use in a rural sample of 75 DSM-III-R outpatients with schizophrenia. Based on multiple measures, 25% (N = 19) of 75 rural patients with schizophrenia were diagnosed with current co-occurring alcohol use disorders. Clinicians' ratings and self-reported symptoms were used to examine correlates of alcohol use, and the study group was followed prospectively for 1 year to identify all episodes of rehospitalization, incarceration, or literal homelessness. RESULTS: Alcohol use disorder was statistically significantly associated with unstable housing, conceptual disorganization, denial of mental illness, and rehospitalization during 1-year follow-up. Several trends suggested that alcohol use was also related to positive symptoms of psychosis. CONCLUSION: Among rural patients with schizophrenia, alcohol use appears to play a significant role in destabilizing psychosocial adjustment. These results replicate similar findings in urban settings.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Assessing alcohol problems in college students.

Alcohol abuse among college students is prevalent, yet few instruments with sound reliability and validity are available to assess these problems in this population. As part of a large, baseline assessment battery for a prospective study of offspring of alcoholics, the 27-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) was given to 490 freshmen at a large midwestern university; approximately 9 months later, 482 subjects completed the scale again. In addition to asking about such traditional problems as experiencing blackouts and driving while intoxicated, the YAAPST included specific items relating to college experiences (eg, getting into sexual situations that were later regretted, missing classes, and receiving lower grades than usual). The YAAPST was designed to assess these drinking consequences over two different time frames, lifetime and past year, and also to indicate the frequency of occurrence during the past year. Results indicated that the YAAPST is a unidimensional scale with good psychometric properties (good internal consistency and test-retest reliability). Three different approaches were used to demonstrate the validity of the YAAPST. Findings supported criterion validity (with interview-based alcohol abuse/dependence diagnoses as the criterion), concurrent validity (comparing the YAAPST with other drinking measures), and construct validity (correlating the YAAPST with etiologically relevant personality, motivational, and peer influence variables). The YAAPST is a promising screening instrument for alcohol problems in college students. It has excellent psychometric properties and the potential to provide a range of useful information to the clinician or researcher.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Establishment and characterization of a human carcinoid in nude mice and effect of various agents on tumor growth.

The authors have established a long-term tissue culture cell line (BON) derived from a metastatic human carcinoid tumor of the pancreas. The cells have been in continuous passage for 46 months. Tissue culture cells produce tumors in a dose-dependent fashion after SC inoculation of cell suspensions in athymic nude mice. BON tumors, grown in nude mice, are histologically identical to the original tumor; they possess gastrin and somatostatin receptors, synthesize serotonin and chromogranin A, and have a doubling time of approximately 13 days. The antiproliferative effects of the long-acting somatostatin analogue, SMS 201-995 (300 micrograms/kg, t.i.d.), and 2% alpha-difluoromethylornithine on BON xenografts in nude mice were examined. Tumor size was significantly decreased by day 14 of treatment with either agent and at all points of analysis thereafter until the animals were killed (day 33). In addition, tumor weight, DNA, RNA, and protein contents were significantly decreased in treated mice compared with controls. Establishment of this human carcinoid xenograft line, BON, provides an excellent model to study further the biological behavior of carcinoid tumors and the in vivo effect of chemotherapeutic agents on tumor growth.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Novel therapy for the treatment of human carcinoid.

Development of effective treatment for patients with carcinoid tumors has been hampered by lack of an experimental model. The authors have established the only long-term cell line of a functioning human pancreatic carcinoid tumor (BON) that produces tumors in nude mice. In this study the authors examined the effect of three agents, alpha-interferon (IFN), a somatostatin analog, SMS 201-995 (SMS), and an inhibitor of polyamine biosynthesis, alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), on the growth of BON tumors. BON was implanted bilaterally as 3-mm2 pieces (subcutaneously [sc]) into male BALB/c nude mice. In the first study, 23 mice were randomized to four groups: control, IFN (1 x 10(6) units, sc, four times a day), IFN + SMS (300 micrograms/kg, intraperitoneally, three times a day), and IFN + 3% DFMO in drinking water. Treatments were initiated on day of tumor implantation. In the second study, mice were randomized to six groups: control, IFN, SMS, DFMO, IFN + SMS, IFN + DFMO, and IFN + SMS + DFMO. Treatments were started on day 15 after tumor implantation. Tumor area and body weights were measured weekly. In both studies mice were killed on day 28 after BON implantation and tumors removed, weighed, and analyzed for DNA and RNA content. In the first study, IFN either alone or in combination with SMS or DFMO suppressed BON tumor growth. When treatment was initiated after established tumor growth (study 2), however, the only effective treatments for suppression of growth of BON were IFN + DFMO and IFN + DFMO + SMS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Subjective experiences related to alcohol use among schizophrenics.

Comorbid alcohol use disorders are common in schizophrenia. Although a variety of explanatory hypotheses involving self-medication have been proposed, few data available regarding schizophrenic patients' subjective experiences while using alcohol. We report interview data from 75 DSM-III-R schizophrenic outpatients regarding their subjective responses to alcohol. Over half of our sample reported that alcohol improved social anxiety, tension, dysphoria, apathy, anhedonia, and sleep difficulties. Other nonpsychotic experiences were frequently improved as well. In contrast, no more than 15% of subjects reported that alcohol relieved any specific psychotic symptom; similar proportions of subjects reported that alcohol aggravated psychotic symptoms. Reporting that alcohol had a positive effect on nonpsychotic experiences was associated with having lifetime alcohol use disorders. Reporting that alcohol relieved psychotic symptoms was associated both with having lifetime alcohol use disorders and with the number of psychotic symptoms reported. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding alcohol abuse and dependence among schizophrenics.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Diagnosis of alcohol use disorders in schizophrenia.

Alcohol use disorders are common comorbid conditions in schizophrenia, and their presence is associated with poor adjustment and poor treatment response. Standard alcohol assessment instruments have not been validated for use with schizophrenic patients, and several authors have questioned the validity of these patients' self-reports. A reliable and valid screening procedure for assessing alcohol use is needed. The present study used the following three methods to evaluate a rural sample of 75 outpatients with DSM-III-R schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: (1) clinical records; (2) research interviews using standard alcohol assessment instruments; and (3) case managers' ratings. In addition, consensus diagnoses, determined by combining information from all three methods with intensive case reviews, were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the other approaches. As expected, clinical evaluations frequently missed alcohol problems. Research interviews and case managers' ratings differentiated between alcoholic and nonalcoholic schizophrenic patients and were highly correlated. Case managers' ratings, which incorporated longitudinal observations of behavior and collateral reports as well as interview data, were more sensitive measures of current alcohol use disorders than research interviews. Subjects frequently manifested alcohol-related problems that interfered with community adjustment without the full dependence syndrome, suggesting that schizophrenic patients may be particularly vulnerable to negative effects of alcohol.

Adult↗