SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Cathartics”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

[Cathartic activity of spasmogens in mice, rats and guinea pigs (author's transl)].

To examine the effect of spasmogens on propulsive motility in the intestine, cathartic activity of drugs was investigated. Mice, rats and guinea pigs were individually observed in cages with 20 separate small rooms in which a sheet of filter paper covered the botton of case for observation of feces. The effect was evaluated 1 hr after drug administration. Cathartic activity of spasmogens was the most marked in mice followed by rats, but was rarely observed in guinea pigs. Cholinergic drugs and cholinesterase inhibitors had a cathartic effect in mice and rats, but the activity differed. Drugs such as acetylcholine and physostigmine produced a low cathartic activity even at sublethal and lethal doses. Other drugs as bethanechol, pilocarpine and neostigmine had a dose dependent cathartic effect at doses below lethal ones and were found to be clinically useful for intestinal relaxation after laparotomy. Among autacoids which contract the intestine by direct action on smooth muscles, histamine and bradykinin had no cathartic effect in mice and rats. 5-HT and prostaglandin E2 were dose dependent with a marked cathartic effect in both species. 5-HTP produced the same cathartic activity as that seen with 5-HT in mice, but had no cathartic effect in rats. The cathartic effect of BaCl2 was low, but dose dependent in both species. We recommend this method for the study of the effect of various compounds on the propulsive motility of the intestine.

Amines↗

PubMed1979

[Effect of spasmolytics on cathartic activity of pilocarpine, 5-HT and prostaglandlin E2 in mice (author's transl)].

Effects of autonomic, anti-histaminic, anti-5HT drugs, papaverine and morphine on cathartic activity of spasmogens such as pilocarpine, 5-HT and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were tested by giving these drugs to mice subcutaneously. Mice used were male dd strain weighing 20 +/- 2 g and the catharatic effect was evaluated by the all or none method. The cathartic effect by pilocarpine was inhibited markedly by anti-cholinergic drugs such as atropine and diphenhydramine, but not by hexamethonium and methysergide. Therefore, the action of pilocarpine was found to be direct on the acetylcholine receptors. The catharatic effect by 5-HT was inhibited significantly by hexamethonium and methysergide. Atropine inhibited the cathartic effect of 5-HT, but the inhibitory activity was lower by about one hundredth than that on pilocarpine-induced diarrhea. It is suggested that 5-HT has dual sites of actions and there are less cholinergic and specific serotonergic actions. The cathartic effect by PGE2 was inhibited by anticholinergic, anti-5HT and ganglion blocking agents. PGE2 appears to possess the same mode of action as both pilocarpine and 5-HT. Papaverine inhibited little the cathartic effect of all three spasmogens, while morphine had a potent and nonspecific inhibitory effect on the cathartic action of all three spasmogens.

Animals↗

PubMed1978

Success of cathartic therapy as a function of patient variables.

Treated sample of 42 patients with cathartic psychotherapy and evaluated differential effectiveness on types of patients. Patients without mental disorders experienced more emotional catharsis than all others, and those with obsessive compulsive personality disorders improved more than all others as a result of emotive treatment. Contrary to popular notions, neither women nor hysterics experienced more catharsis or improved more in cathartic therapy. Although women and hysterics may cry more easily in daily life, obsessives are apparently more able to maintain focus on unhappy experiences and are therefore able to express more emotion in cathartic therapy. Furthermore, it seems that cathartic treatment is beneficial by disrupting long-standing defenses against emotional experiences, rather than by releasing stored-up affects.

Abreaction↗

PubMed1975

Annoyance, type and duration of postannoyance activity, and aggression: the "cathartic effect".

A series of experiments was conducted to elucidate the conditions conductive to a decrease in aggression following annoyance. The potential capacity of expression of aggression to bring about a reduction in the amount of subsequent aggression was of particular interest. This empirical concern was supplemented by tests of several influential and competing theoretical concepts dealing with the cathartic aspects of human aggressive behavior. Given the failure of such concepts to account for major portions of the data, an integrative theoretical model was proposed. experiment 1 evaluated the usefulness of the hydraulic, self-arousal, and dissipation of anger concepts in accounting for the earlier demonstrations of the cathartic effect. In a 2 x 3 x 2 design, half of the subjects were annoyed by a confederate, while the other half were treated neutrally. During the next stage (the interpolated period), a third of all subjects gave "shocks" to the confederate, another third simply waited, while the remaining third worked on mathematical problems. Orthogonal to the first two facotrs was the duration of the interpolated period (7 to 13 min). The main dependent measure was the number of shocks administered to the confederate in the final stage of the experiment. It was found that annoyed subjects gave more shocks than nonannoyed ones did, and that only the former were substantially affected by other manipulations. In the case of the annoyed wait and annoyed math subjects, the anger dissipation hypothesis correctly predicted that the mere passage of time would decrease the amount of subsequent aggression, presumably due to the action of homeostatic processes. The self-arousal hypothesis correctly predicted that the annoyed math subjects would give fewer shocks than the annoyed wait ones would. Since the subjects were engaged in an absorbing activity, the likelihood of their arousing themselves by ruminations about the preceding annoying incident was minimized, and the amount of subsequent aggression reduced. Yet, when annoyed subjects had given the confederate a moderate number of shocks in the interpolated period, they subsequently gave him fewer shocks than the 7-min annoyed wait and annoyed math subjects; this was the only outcome predicted correctly by the hydraulic model. In contrast, when a large number of shocks had been administered in the interpolated period, the amount of subsequent aggression was relatively high. The interpretation of the latter result in terms of an "adaption effect" was tested by further experiments.

Abreaction↗

PubMed1992

Does an attempted suicide actually have a cathartic effect?

It has been suggested in empirical studies that an attempted suicide has a cathartic effect. However, only one study used a control group of depressives who had not attempted suicide. A replication of these results using more strictly defined patient groups and a more comprehensive assessment of the psychopathology during index treatment was not possible. Major depressives with and without suicide attempts before index admission displayed similar courses of their depressive symptoms and somatic complaints during index treatment. The cathartic effect of a suicide attempt may be restricted to a severe major depression or to a violent suicide attempt.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Weakness from magnesium-containing cathartics: electrophysiologic studies.

The case history of a patient with severe muscular weakness resulting from magnesium intoxication following oral and rectal administration of magnesium citrate cathartics is reported. The findings of the electrophysiologic studies were characteristic of the neuromuscular blockade seen in this disorder, including marked reduction in evoked muscle action potential amplitude which progressively decline on nerve stimulation at low rates, and a striking degree of facilitation of evoked muscle action potential after exercise or on high-frequency stimulation. When the hypermagnesemia was corrected, strength returned to normal.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1975

The cathartic colon: pathological findings and radiological/pathological correlation.

Cathartic colon has been described radiologically, but the pathological characteristics have not been reported. The authors describe a case in which radiological/pathological correlation was possible, with emphasis on the pathology of the colon. The disease simulates chronic ulcerative colitis radiologically and pathologically.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Effect of phosphate or magnesium cathartics on serum calcium: observations in normocalcemic patients.

The administration of commercial phosphate cathartic in conventional doses to normal subjects prior to barium enema resulted in a striking increase in serum phosphorus levels followed by a decline in serum calcium levels in all subjects. Changes were highly significant (P less than .01) when compared with control subjects who were prepared for the same procedure with magnesium citrate. Levels of serum potassium also decreased significantly (P less than .01) but not serum sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, or magnesium.

Barium Sulfate↗

PubMed1976