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V Arolt

Publications and source records attributed to V Arolt.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Paranoid schizophrenia: non-specificity of neuropsychological vulnerability markers.

During stages of remission, patients with paranoid schizophrenia seldom show severe attentional or information-processing dysfunctions, except in cases of long-term chronicity. The diagnostic specificity of four putative psychological vulnerability indicators of schizophrenia - the Span of Apprehension, the degraded stimulus Continuous Performance Test (dsCPT), the degraded stimulus visual backward masking task and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) - was examined in a group of patients with paranoid schizophrenia. Since no single test seems to identify all patients, the use of a combination of measures may be a useful strategy. Accordingly, the four tests were administered to 18 paranoid schizophrenic patients, 18 depressed patients and 18 normal subjects. Paranoid schizophrenic patients could be distinguished from normal subjects primarily on the basis of their performance on the backward masking task and secondarily by the dsCPT and the WCST. Paranoid schizophrenic and depressed patients could be differentiated to some extent by their performance on an information-mask condition of the backward masking task. Thus, of the four measures studied, only the degraded stimulus backward masking appeared to be a specific indicator of paranoid schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Production of interferon-gamma in families with multiple occurrence of schizophrenia.

Dysfunction of T-cell mediated immunity, which is indicated by deficient production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and elevated levels of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), has been consistently demonstrated in schizophrenia. Recent studies on interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), a cytokine which is also produced by T-helper cells, have indicated a lowered production in acute schizophrenia. It is not known whether this deficit is restricted to cases of acute schizophrenia or whether it is also present in residual schizophrenia and in first degree relatives, and therefore might be associated with genetic liability to the disease. We investigated 27 individuals (schizophrenics and first degree relatives) of 6 families with multiple occurrence of schizophrenia and 27 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The production of IFN-gamma was lowered only in the acutely ill schizophrenic individuals, when compared to both controls and first degree relatives. In the context of current knowledge, this result indicates that the production of IFN-gamma can be discussed as a marker of acute exacerbation of schizophrenia, but it is not likely to represent a phenotypic marker of a genetic trait associated with the disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

[German and American consultant psychiatrists evaluate their function. A contribution to quality improvement in consultation psychiatry].

There is an increasing interest in scientific and practical aspects of C/L psychiatry in Germany. The every day C/L work in Germany still differs substantially from the American one. In contrast to Germany and other European countries, C/L psychiatry in the USA has developed into a subspecialty with multiple activities in research and patient care during the last 3 decades. This study was conducted in Germany and the USA in order to evaluate and compare the training and patient care in C/L psychiatry, as assessed by consultants doing the every day C/L work. 227 C/L psychiatrists participated in the study in both countries. There are significant differences in theoretical and practical C/L psychiatry is obviously more comprehensive. American C/L psychiatrists take more time for consultations, do more follow-ups, and more frequently organize psychiatric or psychotherapeutic outpatient after-care. These results are suited to support activities to improve quality in Germany C/L psychiatry.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1996

Eye tracking dysfunction is a putative phenotypic susceptibility marker of schizophrenia and maps to a locus on chromosome 6p in families with multiple occurrence of the disease.

The difficulties in defining the borders of the schizophrenia spectrum is one major source of variance in linkage studies of schizophrenia. The employment of biological markers may prove advantageous. Due to empirical evidence, eye tracking dysfunction (ETD) has been discussed to be the most promising marker for genetic liability to schizophrenia. With respect to the recent progress in genomic scans, which have pointed to the short arm of chromosome 6, we carried out a scan of the 6p21-23 region with 16 microsatellite markers to test for linkage between chromosomal markers and ETD as well as schizophrenia. We tested 5 models of inheritance of ETD and found maximum two-point lod scores of 3.51 for D6S271 and 3.44 for D6S282. By including these markers in a multipoint analysis, a lod score of 4.02 was obtained. In the case of schizophrenia, 7 models were tested; however, with non-significant results. Our findings, together with another recent linkage report, point to the possibility of a second susceptibility locus for schizophrenia which may be located centromeric to the HLA region. Also, the evidence of ETD being a susceptibility marker for schizophrenia receives further support.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Increased CD56+ natural killer cells and related cytokines in major depression.

Twenty-seven inpatients with major depression were examined four times within 6 weeks to assess CD56+ natural killer (NK) cell counts by flow cytometry and to assess the related lymphokines interleukin-2 and interferon-gamma in a whole blood assay after mitogen stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The patient showed significantly higher counts of the fraction of 56+ NK cells and a greater lymphokine response to PHA than the controls. A significant correlation between lymphokine secretion and CD56+ cell counts was detected in the patients' acute clinical stage, but not in healthy controls or in patients after clinical improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Eye tracking dysfunction in families with multiple cases of schizophrenia.

There is increasing evidence that the genetic predisposition for schizophrenia in families affects more individuals than those fulfilling the criteria for schizophrenia. This finding is supposed to be one of the major problems in molecular genetic schizophrenia research, especially when linkage studies are employed. Eye-tracking dysfunction (ETD), which is conceived as a possible phenotypic marker for genetic liability to schizophrenia, may offer considerable advantages. However, there is only little information from families with multiple occurrence of schizophrenia. It is still unclear whether in these families ETD aggregates with diagnoses from the schizophrenia spectrum. This first report from an ongoing study presents the results of 48 individuals from 6 multiplex families. Smooth-pursuit eye movements were recorded by infrared reflectometry and assessed by quantitative measurement techniques. Along with the high degree of psychiatric morbidity in these families, in 56.3% of the individuals ETD was assessed. Reduced mean pursuit gain was present in 39.6%. The distribution of eye-tracking dysfunction resembles the distribution of schizophrenia-related psychiatry morbidity.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Investigations of cytokine production in whole blood cultures of paranoid and residual schizophrenic patients.

In an attempt to define potential immunological dysfunctions in schizophrenia, we determined the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in a whole-blood assay after stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) as well as the serum concentrations of sIL-2R. Because CD4+CD45RO+T cells are the main producers of IFN-gamma, we determined the percentage of these cells, as well as of panT, CD4+T, and CD8+T cells, by flow cytometry. A whole-blood count was performed in addition. Two groups of patients were examined, paranoid-type and residual-type schizophrenics. The numbers of both monocytes and neutrophils, but not of lymphocytes, were increased significantly in the schizophrenic sample. The IFN-gamma production of the schizophrenics as a whole group, and of the paranoid patients, was reduced significantly in comparison with the control group (p < or = 0.05). The residual patients produced less IFN-gamma than the controls, but more than the paranoid patients. The latter differences did not reach statistical significance. The production of IL-4, which physiologically antagonizes the production of IFN-gamma, was not significantly higher in the patient group. No changes in the lymphocyte subpopulations were observed. The production of IL-2 showed a trend toward reduction in paranoid patients, but not in residual schizophrenics. The serum sIL-2R levels were elevated slightly in schizophrenics when compared with controls. In order to rule out a possible effect of cortisol on cytokine production, 20 schizophrenics were compared with 20 age- and gender-matched controls. However, neither elevated cortisol levels were detected in the schizophrenic sample, nor significant intercorrelations between cortisol levels and cytokine production, or levels of sIL-2R, respectively. In summary, our data reinforce the possibility of immune dysfunction in schizophrenia and point to the possible relevance of disease subgroups in this respect.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Alcoholism and psychiatric comorbidity in general hospital inpatients.

A substantial psychiatric comorbidity has been observed in alcohol patients from specialized alcoholism and substance abuse treatment centers. However, hardly any results have yet been reported from general hospital inpatients. We report results from a survey of a representative sample of 400 general hospital inpatients (200 medical, 200 surgical) which was carried out not only to assess the prevalence of alcoholism but also the rates of additional psychiatric disorders. All patients were interviewed personally with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). A lifetime diagnosis of alcoholism was found in 18.8%, a current diagnosis in 11.3%. Of these patients, lifetime alcoholism was associated with 41.3% lifetime psychiatric comorbidity, current alcoholism with 44.4% current comorbidity. Organic brain syndromes were diagnosed predominantly, followed by depressive disorders and phobias. With the exception of the high rate of organic brain disorders, the rates of other comorbid psychiatric disorders in the general hospital seem to resemble those of the general population rather than those from alcoholism treatment facilities.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Disorders of early information processing and vigilance as vulnerability markers for schizophrenia].

Disordered processes of scanning iconic memory and vigilance deficits are well-known phenomena in schizophrenics. The "Span of Apprehension" and the "Continuous Performance Test" are among the most important research techniques assessing these impairments and are considered possible neuropsychological vulnerability markers of schizophrenia. Numerous studies compared schizophrenics with psychiatric control groups on these tasks to determine the specificity of the performance deficits which represents a central criterion for vulnerability markers. The review of the empirical results suggests a non-specificity of the performance of schizophrenics on the "Span of Apprehension" and the degraded stimulus version of the Continuous Performance Test. These findings are critically discussed with reference to the technical and methodological characteristics of the studies. Furthermore, studies are presented which examined the relationship of vigilance performance on the Continuous Performance Test and rate of detecting on "Span of Apprehension" and psychopathological symptoms with the aim to evaluate the marker qualities of these research techniques for schizophrenic symptoms. According to the available data a partial symptomatic specificity can be attributed to the "Span of Apprehension".

Attention↗
PubMed1996

Major depressive disorder is associated with elevated monocyte counts.

One of the most consistently reported findings in depression has been leucocytosis. In 33 in-patients with major depressive disorder, we assessed white blood cell count (WBC) and lymphocyte subsets four times over a period of 6 weeks. The control group consisted of 44 healthy subjects. Shortly after admission, we detected significant increases in the numbers of leucocytes, granulocytes, platelets and monocytes in the depressed patients. Patients who recovered well during hospitalization showed a decrease in monocyte counts, whereas those with slower clinical improvement had significantly higher monocyte counts than the control group. This longitudinal study demonstrates that monocytes may play a role in the acute phase of depression and could provide an explanation for immunological dysfunction in depressive states.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Production of interferons and lymphokines in leukocyte cultures of patients with schizophrenia.

Recently, several lines of evidence have suggested the possible of immunological dysfunction in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We therefore investigated the ability to produce interferons and lymphokines in response to mitogenic or viral stimulation in a whole blood assay of 37 schizophrenic patients (DSM-III-R) and of 42 healthy blood donors. Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) was used for the induction of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon gamma (INF gamma), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) for the induction of interferon alpha 2 (INF alpha 2). All lymphokines and, in addition, the sIL-2R in the sera were determined by ELISA technique. The psychopathological status of the patients was assessed by psychiatrists according to internationally accepted standards. The patient group showed a trend to lower levels of the interferons alpha 2 and gamma and a significant decrease of IL-2 production. The sIL-2R levels were significantly increased in the sera of schizophrenic patients. The latter increase was associated with a poor assessment of prognosis (Strauss and Carpenter). This association appears to be of interest. However, its significance is not understood, since longitudinal studies could not be performed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

An international two-stage genome-wide search for schizophrenia susceptibility genes.

Schizophrenia is thought to be a multifactorial disease with complex mode of inheritance. Using a two-stage strategy for another complex disorder, a number of putative IDDM-susceptibility genes have recently been mapped. We now report the results of a two-stage genome-wide search for genes conferring susceptibility to schizophrenia. In stage I, model-free linkage analyses of large pedigrees from Iceland, a geographical isolate, revealed 26 loci suggestive of linkage. In stage II, ten of these were followed-up in a second international collaborative study comprising families from Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Taiwan and the United States. Potential linkage findings of stage I on chromosomes 6p, 9 and 20 were observed again in the second sample. Furthermore, in a third sample from China, fine mapping of the 6p region by association studies also showed evidence for linkage or linkage disequilibrium. Combining our results with other recent findings revealed significant evidence for linkage to an area distal of the HLA region on chromosome 6p. However, in a fourth sample from Europe, the 6p fine mapping finding observed in the Chinese sample could not be replicated. Finally, evidence suggestive of locus heterogeneity and oligogenic transmission in schizophrenia was obtained.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 20↗
PubMed1995

[Incidence and treatment requirements of alcoholism in internal medicine and hospital patients].

Problems resulting from alcoholism are among the most frequent reasons for referring general hospital inpatients to psychiatric consultation/liaison services. As surveys from internal medical departments have demonstrated, about 10-20% of the medical patients have an alcohol problem. In the present study, the current prevalence of alcohol-specific diagnoses in a sample of each 200 medical and surgical general hospital inpatients is ascertained, as well as the relevant treatment necessities. The patients were diagnosed by the German version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and a structured clinical interview. In 14.5% of the patients a diagnosis of alcoholism was established; the prevalence rate in men was 25.4% compared to 4.4% in women. In 72.4% of the alcohol cases the intervention of a psychiatric consultation/liaison service was found necessary. The necessity for specific therapeutic interventions could be demonstrated, which should not be limited to the period of inpatient treatment but be continued after discharge from the hospital as well. The opportunity of secondary prevention of alcoholism in general hospitals should be used to a greater extent.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Cytokine production and serum proteins in depression.

One, as yet unemployed, approach to investigating immunology in depression is the assessment of the cytokine production by leucocytes, which would allow the determination of immune response under standardized conditions. Thus we measured the production of mitogen-induced cytokines (IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, interferon-gamma) and sIL-2R in a whole blood assay, and serum protein levels such as C-reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin (Hp) and alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2 M) in a longitudinal 6-week study in an attempt to assess leucocyte function during and after acute clinical stage of depression in 39 patients. Shortly after admission to hospital we found higher levels of all measured cytokines in the patients. Serum protein levels were significantly higher in the patients than in controls, and decreased over the study period. Whereas slightly elevated monokine levels in patients tended to reach control values, lymphokines showed a significant decrease over the 6 weeks as compared to baseline. These results suggest that the increase in immune activity seen at the beginning of the study may be followed by a suppressed cell-mediated immune function.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed1995

[Psychiatric disorders in hospitalized internal medicine and surgical patients. Prevalence and need for treatment].

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in general hospital inpatients can be estimated at 30-50%. In Germany, hardly any studies have provided an assessment of prevalence rates and specific treatment necessities. In this study, 400 patients from medical and surgical departments were interviewed with a structured clinical interview. The point prevalence of all psychiatric disorders (clinical diagnoses) was 46.5%. The most prevalent groups of disorders were organic brain syndromes, depressive disorders, and alcoholism. With regard to disease entities, no significant differences between the samples from internal medicine and from surgery could be found. Compared to a German population sample, only organic brain syndromes, depressive reactions and alcohol dependency tend to be higher in a general hospital. Consultation/liaison interventions were found to be necessary in nearly half of the whole sample. In one-fourth of the patients continuous psychiatric care after hospital discharge was required.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1995

[Psychiatric consultation service in a university clinic. An empirical study of characteristic performance].

In Germany, there is growing interest in consultant psychiatry on a scientific and practical level. On the other hand, very few results have been reported concerning the tasks and functions of consultant services. This study was conducted in the Lübeck University Hospital to evaluate psychiatric consultant interventions by assessing referral rates, reasons for referrals, psychiatric diagnoses and recommendations. A total of 5334 consultations from 7 years (1983-1989) was analyzed, and a sample of 1000 consultations was taken. Over the years, a continuous increase in the consultation rates can be observed, with suicide and alcoholism as important focuses. The most frequent diagnoses were adjustment disorders, organic disorders and alcoholism. Psychopharmacological intervention, referral to the psychiatric/psychosomatic ward, and short practical advice were the most frequent recommendations. The results are discussed in the context of the international literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Differences in P3 amplitudes between schizophrenics and healthy controls vary between the different events presented in a guessing task.

P3 amplitudes were often found to be reduced in schizophrenics, but in varying degree. We studied in a guessing task whether variations of group differences could even be obtained within the same task, by measuring P3 in the potentials evoked by the three qualitatively different events that occurred in each trial. We hypothesized that such variations were due to variations of subjective task relevance associated with each event. In each trial, a light or a sound was presented. Subjects had to confirm this 'primary event' by a delayed response, and then the current amount of money earned by correct responses was displayed. In the certain condition, the primary event was preceded by the appropriate cue on the screen ('light' or 'sound') whereas in the uncertain condition, the word 'guess' appeared. The task-relevance hypothesis predicted that schizophrenics would have smaller P3s than the control group with the primary event in the uncertain condition, but that the groups would not differ for the P3s evoked by the other events (certain primary event, cue and earnings display in uncertain and certain conditions). Essentially, this predicted pattern of results was obtained, but additional assumptions are needed for the task-relevance hypothesis to account for the precise pattern of results. Analysis of subjects' guessing behavior showed that control subjects' guesses were affected by the outcome of their preceding guesses while schizophrenics' guesses were not. This result provides some additional support for the hypothesis that the guessing task is less relevant to schizophrenics than to control subjects.

Adult↗