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Biomedical subjects

Y Davenport

Publications and source records attributed to Y Davenport.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Advanced technology within the cardiac transplant process.

The field of cardiac transplantation is still undergoing changes in every sphere from donor management to long-term care of the recipients as research-based experience highlights new and exciting boundaries. This paper contains discussion of one aspect of the pretransplant support that some patients may require, including examples of the impact of technology on nursing care with specific reference to 'bridges to transplantation', and some dilemmas faced by transplant teams. Consideration of some effects of bridging is followed by suggestions for transplant nursing teams' ongoing development within this changing field in order to provide optimum nursing care.

Heart Transplantation↗

Seasonal affective disorder. A description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a syndrome characterized by recurrent depressions that occur annually at the same time each year. We describe 29 patients with SAD; most of them had a bipolar affective disorder, especially bipolar II, and their depressions were generally characterized by hypersomnia, overeating, and carbohydrate craving and seemed to respond to changes in climate and latitude. Sleep recordings in nine depressed patients confirmed the presence of hypersomnia and showed increased sleep latency and reduced slow-wave (delta) sleep. Preliminary studies in 11 patients suggest that extending the photoperiod with bright artificial light has an antidepressant effect.

Adult↗

Rapidly cycling bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis.

The authors describe two patients with rapidly cycling bipolar disorder who were found to have multiple sclerosis. They suggest that multiple sclerosis be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients who have affective disorders and minor neurological complaints.

Adult↗

A comparison of nonpatient and bipolar patient-well spouse couples.

The authors compared responses of 16 couples, in which one partner had a diagnosis of remitted bipolar illness, to a lengthy self-report questionnaire (KDS-15) designed to assess many aspects of marital adjustment with those of 16 matched nonpatient couples. The bipolar patient-well spouse couples had marital adjustments closely resembling those of the nonpatient couples; three of four global ratings of satisfaction failed to discriminate between the two groups. Perceptions of the courtship, first year of marriage, and the degree to which the marriage had met expectations were also similar for both groups.

Adjustment Disorders↗

Monoamine metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid of depressive subgroups.

Lumbar punctures were performed on 69 patients who met Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for major affective disorder, while they were drug-free and depressed. None of the patients met RDC for alcoholism. Cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured by fluorometry and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) by gas chromatography. Family histories were ascertained by systematic interviews of patients and their relatives, and diagnoses were made by family history diagnostic criteria (Andreasen et al., 1977). Depressed patients with alcoholism in a first degree relative had significantly lower levels of 5-HIAA and MHPG than patients without a family history of alcoholism (p < 0.05). No difference in HVA levels was found. The metabolite differences remained significant when the influence of sex ratio was considered. These results are in agreement with previous work linking alcoholism to abnormal serotonin metabolism. They provide further biochemical evidence of distinct genetic subtypes of affective disorder along lines suggested by Winokur (1979a, 1979b), and illustrate the usefulness of the family history method in defining patient subgroups.

Adult↗