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Biomedical subjects

S Targum

Publications and source records attributed to S Targum.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Female sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant administration: a randomized, placebo-controlled study of pharmacologic intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Few controlled trials of pharmacologic intervention in women with antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction have been reported, and there is uncertainty about the usefulness of putative treatments and the assessment methodologies. The authors evaluated the efficacy of buspirone and amantadine in the treatment of sexual dysfunction associated with fluoxetine administration. METHOD: Women who had been successfully treated with fluoxetine for at least 8 weeks and who had reported a deterioration in sexual function not present before the initiation of fluoxetine entered a 4-week assessment period. After assessment they were randomly assigned to an 8-week treatment trial with buspirone (N=19), amantadine (N=18), or placebo (N=20). Outcomes were assessed by using a patient-rated daily diary and a clinician-rated structured interview. RESULTS: While the amantadine-treated women did report significantly greater improvements in energy levels than women in the placebo group, all treatment groups experienced improvement in overall sexual function as well as in most individual measures. There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Neither buspirone nor amantadine was more effective than placebo in ameliorating antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction. All groups experienced marked nonspecific improvement during treatment, which suggests the importance of placebo-controlled trials for this condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A clinical trial evaluating the 24-hour effects of bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide 5 mg/6.25 mg combination in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.

This study used 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring to investigate the effectiveness of a novel low-dose combination of bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide in adult patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. Thirty-six patients with stable mild to moderate hypertension (sitting diastolic BP 95-114 mmHg) after a placebo run-in phase received oral bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide 5 mg/6.25 mg once daily for 4 weeks in a single-blind regimen. At office visits, BP and pulse were measured with statistically significant reductions (p < 0.01) recorded after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Twenty-four-h ambulatory BP monitoring at the completion of therapy revealed significant reductions (p < 0.01) in both systolic and diastolic 24-h, daytime, and nighttime BP, compared with the end of the placebo treatment phase. Systolic and diastolic load were also reduced (p < 0.01). The combination was well tolerated, and overall quality-of-life questionnaire scores indicated an improvement after bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide therapy (p = 0.02). No clinically significant changes from baseline in laboratory parameters were observed; in particular, serum potassium was unchanged. This is the first study to demonstrate the 24-h effectiveness of the bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide 5 mg/6.25 mg combination, using 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring. In addition, antihypertensive therapy with low doses of bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide in combination may improve tolerability.

Bisoprolol↗
PubMed1985

Biological alterations in the primary affective disorders and other tricyclic-responsive disorders.

Noradrenergic function was studied in patients with primary affective disorder and other tricyclic-responsive disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa and panic attack/agoraphobia in medication-free states. Pre-synaptic noradrenergic activity was assessed by assaying plasma concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) and its metabolite 3-methoxy,4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). Noradrenergic receptor responsiveness was evaluated by measuring plasma growth hormone (GH), MHPG, and NE responses to clonidine. Binding of tritiated dihydroergocriptine (3H-DHE) and biochemical responsiveness of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors were measured in platelet preparations. These studies suggest that noradrenergic activity may be altered in several tricyclic-responsive disorders and are consistent with the possibility that tricyclic antidepressants may serve to stabilize a dysregulated noradrenergic system in patients from several diagnostic categories.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Platelet alpha-adrenergic binding and biochemical responsiveness in depressed patients and controls.

In a study of platelet alpha 2-adrenergic receptor number in depressed patients, binding of tritiated dihydroergocriptine (3H-DHE) to platelet membranes was measured in 23 depressed patients and 51 controls. To examine the functional responsiveness of the platelet alpha 2-adrenergic receptor, basal cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) production, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) stimulation of cAMP production, and norepinephrine (NE) inhibition of PGE1-stimulated cAMP production were measured in 23 depressed patients and 53 control subjects. Finally, plasma NE concentration was measured in 20 patients to explore the possible relationship between this endogenous agonist and platelet alpha 2-adrenergic receptor function. 3H-DHE binding to platelet membranes was significantly increased in the depressed patients compared to control subjects. Both the PGE1-stimulated cAMP response and the inhibition of this response by NE were significantly reduced in the depressed patients compared to the control subjects. Thus, an apparent dissociation between alpha 2-adrenergic receptor binding and functional responsiveness was observed. Plasma NE concentrations were neither significantly different in the depressed patients than in the controls nor correlated with any of the measures of cAMP responsiveness. They were, however, significantly negatively correlated with 3H-DHE binding in depressed patients with adequate PGE1 stimulation of cAMP production.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Phenylethylamine excretion in depression.

Urinary phenylethylamine (PEA) excretion was evaluated in two populations of depressed hospitalized patients. Seven of 53 patients had PEA values exceeding three times the highest value found in 16 normal controls. The patients with high PEA excretion were all females. They were not, however, otherwise clinically distinguishable from depressed patients with low PEA. In a subsample of 31 patients and 10 controls, PEA excretion was not correlated with phenylacetic acid (PAA) excretion. These results suggest that depression is not associated with a generalized PEA deficit and that PAA reductions, previously reported in a depressed patient population, may not reflect a PEA abnormality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Serum immunoglobulin concentrations in patients admitted to an acute psychiatric in-patient service.

Serum immunoglobulins were quantified in 85 consecutively admitted patients from an acute-care psychiatric in-patient unit. The patients were diagnosed as: major depressive disorder, 53; chronic schizophrenia, 12; schizophreniform psychosis, 4; substance abuse disorder, 12; and miscellaneous other diagnoses, 4. A small sub-group of these patients, which included six with major depression, one with chronic schizophrenia, and one with a personality disorder, were found to have low IgM concentrations. Immunoglobulin levels were not associated with use of medication or length of illness prior to this hospital admission. This study provides further evidence for suppression of humoral immunity in some psychiatric patients (approximately 10%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Clinical studies of monoamine receptors in the affective disorders and receptor changes with antidepressant treatment.

Pre-clinical and clinical studies suggest that the responsiveness of monoamine and cholinergic receptors may be altered in the affective disorders and that antidepressants may modify the sensitivity of these receptors. The growth hormone response to clonidine is reduced in depressed patients compared to controls according to several independent studies, suggesting that post-synaptic alpha 2-adrenergic receptors may be less responsive in depressed patients. The cortisol response to clonidine is enhanced in depressed patients compared to controls in our study raising the possibility that cortisol hypersecretion in depressed patients may be related to noradrenergic dysfunction. The hypotensive response to clonidine is blunted in patients on chronic antidepressant treatment with either clorgyline or desipramine suggesting that pre-synaptic alpha 2-adrenergic receptors may subsensitize with chronic antidepressant treatment. The prolactin increase in response to fenfluramine is less in depressed patients compared to controls suggesting decreased functional activity of the serotonergic system in depression. Platelet alpha 2-adrenergic receptor number as measured by tritiated dihydroergocriptine (3H-DHE) binding is increased in depressed patients compared to controls, while cyclic 3'-5' adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production in response to prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and norepinephrine (NE) inhibition of PGE1-stimulated cAMP production are reduced in the platelets of depressed patients. Thus, it is not clear that increased 3H-DHE binding reflects increased functional responsiveness and might in fact be compensatory to decreases in functional responses of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors.

Clonidine↗
PubMed1982

Computed tomography in schizophreniform disorder and other acute psychiatric disorders.

To assess whether computed tomographic findings are present at the onset of schizophrenia, we evaluated CT scans of 35 patients with first-episode schizophreniform disorder, 17 with chronic schizophrenia, 23 with affective disorders, 27 with other psychiatric disorders, and 26 controls. Both the schizophreniform and the chronic schizophrenic patients had significantly larger cerebral ventricles than did the other psychiatric or control subjects. Ventricular size in the patients with affective disorder was not significantly different than in any of the other groups. Twenty percent of the schizophreniform patients had enlarged ventricles, (ventricular-brain ratio, greater than 10). The only other subjects outside this limit were four chronic schizophrenic patients (24%). Five schizophreniform patients and three with affective disorder had evidence of mild cortical atrophy. The results suggest that, in some schizophrenic patients, ventricular enlargement and less frequently cortical atrophy predate the onset of psychoses and are not a result of psychiatric treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alpha 2-adrenergic receptor function in patients with unipolar and bipolar affective disorders.

Alpha 2-adrenergic receptor function was measured in platelets from unipolar (UP) depressed, bipolar (BP) depressed, and bipolar euthymic patients and normal control subjects. Only the platelets from UP depressed patients were different from control in having an increased number of alpha 2-receptors, a decreased percent norepinephrine inhibition of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1)-stimulated cyclic AMP (cAMP) production, and a decrease in PGE1 stimulation of cAMP production. Platelets from BP patients, depressed or euthymic, were not significantly different from control subjects. These preliminary data suggest that alpha 2-adrenergic receptor function and PGE1 stimulation of cAMP production are diminished in UP patients.

Bipolar Disorder↗