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U Gilsdorf

Publications and source records attributed to U Gilsdorf.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Clinical correlates of response to DST. The Dexamethasone Suppression test in depression: a World Health Organisation collaborative study.

From 9 centres 293 patients took part in the WHO-collaborative study on Dexamethasone-Suppression-Test (DST) in depression to examine the relationship of psychopathological and psychiatric history information to cortisol-levels and suppression/non-suppression status. Differences between the centres were large and significant on nearly all of the measures. The predictor analyses generally suffered from numerically weak correlations with many variables correlating to sex and age. Therefore analyses of the data were adjusted for centre-, sex-, and age-influences. The best predicting features of cortisol were 'fitful, restless sleep', 'change of bodyweight' and 'affective disorders in blood relatives'. The last 2 items together with 'hypersomnia' and 'ideas of insufficiency' were the best predictors of suppression/nonsuppression status. However, statistical evidence did not seem to be strong enough to describe a typical symptom profile of a depressive cortisol suppressor or nonsuppressor.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

[Dyskinesias in a clinical population. Results of a comparative follow-up].

646 patients of a psychiatric clinic (272 m, 374 f) have been examined for tardive dyskinesia by two physicians, a neurologist and a psychiatrist. 192 patients exhibited some dyskinetic disturbances (32%). Thus the prevalence in this sample is rather high. The applied rating scale has proved successful (interrater reliability of .88). A year later the same sample of 192 patients (shrunk by 63 patients due to releases from the clinic and cases of death, non availability) was reexamined by the same physicians. The following results are noteworthy: Age exercises the strongest influence on the severity of tardive dyskinesia; women are more heavily affected than men; the clinical differential diagnosis has little influence on the degree of the disturbance; the same holds true for duration of therapy and dose. In the reexamination (computed as a dependent sample on the basis of 129 complete cases) a reduction of the intensity of dyskinesias has been observed. The results are discussed thoroughly from a clinical and methodological point of view.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

[A new rating for the detection of dyskinesias. Clinical and metric problems].

In context with a study on tardive dyskinesia in a psychiatric clinic, two ward psychiatrists rated patients with respect to extrapyramidal dyskinetic reactions. (Age, sex, type of neuroleptic treatment and diagnosis were taken into account.) Few multiple dyskinesias have been found. When they occur at all then predominantly in the area of head and limbs; dyskinesia of the eyes and joints of knee and elbow are rare. Although three factors can be extracted by a factor analysis (head, trunk, and limbs) the insufficient reliability of single subscales becomes evident. In spite of these metric problems the use of the rating in the existing version is justified for clinical and educational reasons. It is recommended to secure statistical reliability mainly with the total score which provides a good interrater reliability (.88 and .82) and a sufficient internal consistency (.70). For analyses of the course we suggest a data screening at the level of single items or subscales.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1985

Prevalence of tardive dyskinesia in a clinic population.

The reported prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) widely ranges from 0.5% to 70%. This variability is probably due to many factors, including different patient characteristics, drug treatment exposures, and investigator biases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, severity, and symptom type of TD in all 646 patients residing in a psychiatric hospital. Each patient was assessed by a psychiatrist and a neurologist with a special rating scale after drug dose had been stabilized for a minimum of 1 week. The overall prevalence was 32%, with a slightly higher rate and more severe symptoms in women. Age positively correlated with increasing prevalence and severity of TD. Psychiatric diagnosis and duration of neuroleptic therapy were not significantly correlated with TD prevalence. The results are generally consistent with the majority of findings in other studies of the epidemiology of TD.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Befuraline, its safety and efficacy in depressed inpatients.

Befuraline, a new antidepressant drug, was studied in twenty-nine inpatients with unipolar endogenous depression. The evaluation of patients' condition was made on four different study periods by two assessors using the HDRS, the Beck depression inventory and von Zerssen depression scale. Befuraline, given in oral doses of between 100 and 300 mg/day improved the HDRS total score and the cognitive disturbances to a significant extent (p less than 0.01) after the first week of the treatment. Eleven patients withdrew from the study most of them as a result of intolerance to the stimulatory properties of the drug, however, the response was considered satisfactory in 12 of the 29 patients (41%) mostly in the "retarded depressed" class. As Befuraline proved to be well tolerated, it was continued on an outpatient basis in 11 patients, confirming the absence of clinically important untoward effects.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Driving ability of depressive patients under antidepressants.

A group of twenty depressive patients was compared during a 3-4 month course of antidepressant therapy (Maprotiline: n = 6, age = 46.1; dibenzepin: n = 4, age = 43.0; lithium: n = 6, age = 44.5; "mixed" (maprotiline, dibenzepin trimeprimine): n = 4, age = 50.2) with a healthy control group (n = 32, age = 38.2) for subjective assessment of their depressive mood and performance as well as objective measurement of variables relating to driving behaviour. The measurements were taken 2-4 weeks after a pre-treatment period (day 1) and after 2-3 months of further therapy (day 2). During therapy, all patients felt "less depressive" and "more capable" in subjective terms. All patient groups made learning progress in the objectively measured variables (psychomotor co-ordination and attentiveness tests). By day 2, the patient groups had almost reached the performance level of the control group, providing they received antidepressant therapy (regardless of the action profile) which was suitable for the basic disorder and the symptoms, and therapy was successful in the opinion of the physician. It may be concluded that depressive patients, assuming suitable antidepressant treatment and good response, are capable of driving while under maintenance therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

How capable of driving are hospitalized psychiatric patients under psycho-active drug therapy?

In an open investigation design two patient groups, under neuroleptics (n=30) and under antidepressants (n=31), were examined three times, the third time under steady-state conditions. A matched control group (n=32) provided the normative values. Various variables, thought to be psychologically relevant in traffic situations were measured on two test apparatus (tracking and complex reaction time). The result shows that the antidepressant group closely approaches the achievement of the control group on the most important variables measured. It may be concluded that psychopharmacologically well balanced depressive patients at the time of the steady-state are capable of producing results comparable to a control group with respect to traffic-relevant cognitive-psychomotor functions. The neuroleptic group, however, exhibits deviations on the same variables. In this sub-sample the primary disturbances of the underlying morbus (maintaining attention, continuous focusing ability) become conspicuous. From the medical point of view, the call for an individual clinical judgement of driving capacity by the treating physician continues to remain necessary, although the results produced offer some general decision aids.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Alcohol-induced biphasic background and stimulus-elicited EEG changes in relation to blood alcohol levels.

The effects of 0.8 g alcohol kg-1 on CNS processes as reflected in EEG changes were studied in controlled experiments in 14 subjects in relation to BAC levels. A Two Period Change-Over Design with repeated trials over time allowed us to ascertain the time course and to isolate alcohol-induced changes from diurnal variations and effects of sequence and period. Based on spectral analysis of analog EEG recordings, the study has shown differential patterns of bi-phasic or tri-phasic alcohol-induced EEG changes over time in a number of parameters in background and in stimulus-elicited EEG responses varying with the BAC level and the metabolic phase of alcohol biotransformation. An increase in alpha activity during the absorption phase, a shift in the median of the total spectral power to the right (upwards), a decrease in slow activity in the delta and theta bands, and a decrease in variability of the background EEG on one hand and a reduction in stimulus-elicited EEg responses in total spectral alpha, theta and delta bands on the other are all interpreted as a stimulating excitatory effect during the absorption phase, parallel to the increase in BAC. The reverse pattern in the first part of the elimination phase infers a decrease in cerebral activation reflecting the sedative, depressant action of alcohol in this phase. The effects observed in the last trial, to a certain extent interpreted as stimulating, were simultaneous with the beginning of the post-alcohol hangover phase.

Adult↗