Calcium function in affective disorders and healthy controls.

Calcium metabolism has been reported to be disturbed in some forms of affective disorder. We studied concurrently a battery of calcium measures in 29 unipolar, 14 bipolar depressed, 11 manic, and 10 healthy control subjects. In addition to measures of extracellular calcium, we studied intracellular calcium concentration in platelets and measures that reflect cellular capability to maintain a low intracellular Ca++ concentration in red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets.

Re-evaluation of histidyl-proline diketopiperazine [cyclo(His-Pro)] effects on food intake in the rat.

Histidyl-proline diketopiperazine [cyclo(His-Pro)], a metabolite of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH), has been reported to decrease food intake of rats in a variety of feeding models following intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection. We have re-evaluated the anorectic effects of cyclo(His-Pro) on food deprivation-induced and spontaneous feeding. When injected ICV at the end of the light period into ad lib fed rats, neither the naturally occurring cyclo(L-His-L-Pro) isomer (14 to 1000 nmole/rat) nor any of the four cyclo(D,L-His-D,L-Pro) stereoisomers (100 nmole/rat) significantly suppressed food intake at any hour for up to 12- or 24-hr post-injection.

The timing, specificity and clinical prediction of tricyclic drug effects in depression.

This research was aimed at studying the rate of action of tricyclic drugs in depressive disorders, specifying the behavioural effects associated with recovery, and predicting clinical response. The research design involved comparison of a recovered group with a group treated for the equivalent four weeks, who showed minimal to no response. The findings indicated significant differences in baseline characteristics between responders and non-responders.

Neuroleptic radioreceptor activity and clinical outcome in schizophrenia.

The relationship between serum haloperidol concentration and clinical response was examined in 27 schizophrenic inpatients between the ages of 18 and 56 years. All patients were treated with haloperidol, 20 mg/day for the first 2 weeks. Dosage adjustment after 2 weeks of treatment was made in seven subjects based on poor clinical response or side effects.

Catecholamine metabolism and disposition in healthy and depressed subjects.

Depressed patients as a group have been found to excrete greater amounts of catecholamines (CAs) and metabolites than healthy control subjects, but these differences were not uniform for all metabolites. Patients may differ from controls in the metabolism and/or disposition of CAs. We analyzed the suggested metabolic-dispositional differences by determining 24-hour urine values for norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), normetanephrine (NM), metanephrine (M), vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG).

Research on nonlinear optical materials: an assessment.

The seven papers making up this assessment are based on the Workshop on Nonlinear Optical Materials held in April 1986.

Binding of imipramine to platelet membranes is lower in alcoholics than in controls.

The principal finding in this study was that imipramine binding to platelet membranes was lower in a group of ten alcoholics abstinent a mean of 11 days than in a group of ten age- and sex-matched controls (p less than 0.004). The mean (std dev, std error) for imipramine binding in the alcoholic subjects was 718 (110, 37) femtomol/mg platelet membrane protein and 931 (173, 58) femtomol/mg protein in the control subjects.

Fluoxetine: a serotonin-specific, second-generation antidepressant.

Fluoxetine is a bicyclic antidepressant that is a specific and potent inhibitor of the presynaptic reuptake of serotonin. It has essentially no effect on the reuptake of norepinephrine or other neurotransmitters. Similarly, it has negligible binding affinity for neurotransmitter receptor sites.

Changes in urinary catecholamines and their metabolites in depressed patients treated with amitriptyline or imipramine.

The effects of treatment with amitriptyline (AMI) or imipramine (IMI) on changes in catecholamines and their metabolites in urine were studied in 95 unipolar and bipolar depressed patients. For the entire group, not separated by drug, substantial reduction in concentrations of all metabolites, but not catecholamines, occurred. Although catecholamine and metabolite change was similar for most substances assayed, there were some specific drug and diagnostic group differences.

Cerebrospinal fluid HVA, central brain atrophy, and clinical state in schizophrenia.

In 16 patients with chronic schizophrenia, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA) showed a significant negative correlation with computed tomographic measures of brain third ventricle size. Clinical state during a drug-free period was also significantly correlated with CSF HVA level, but not with third ventricle size when the effect of CSF HVA was partialed out. The authors propose that these findings may reflect an atrophic process involving structures around the third ventricle and a decrease in dopaminergic activity.

Is there a metabolic basis for the fibrositis syndrome?

Patients with the fibrositis syndrome experience moderately severe musculoskeletal discomfort, mood changes associated with nonrestorative sleep, and tenderness to palpation at specific body sites. There is no characteristic abnormal laboratory finding in these patients to help identify the population. A report by Moldofsky and Warsh (Pain 1978; 5: 65-71) of low serum levels of free tryptophan in patients with severe fibrositis syndrome is intriguing but remains unexplained.

Path analysis of psychopharmacological data: catecholamine breakdown in man.

This article applies path analysis to the problem of characterizing metabolic alterations in catecholamine systems when only static or single measures of precursor and products are available. In this article, simulated data from kinetic models of norepinephrine metabolism were examined using path analysis. The method of path analysis, which is based on correlations between compartments and not actual flow, correctly identified operative and nonoperative metabolic pathways in simulated models.

Double-blind comparison of buspirone and clorazepate in anxious outpatients.

Buspirone, a new nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic agent, was compared with clorazepate in a double-blind, multicenter trial conducted with 336 outpatients who had moderate to severe anxiety. The two treatments were equally effective for relief of symptoms, including anxiety with associated depression. Although both agents were generally well tolerated, the profile of side effects was dissimilar.

Imipramine and amitriptyline plasma concentrations and clinical response in major depression.

Plasma drug concentrations and clinical response were measured in two groups of hospitalised depressed patients, who received amitriptyline or imipramine double-blind, in a dosage of 250 mg for four weeks. Virtually no significant linear or curvilinear relationships were found between any plasma measure and any measure of clinical response. Modest but significant direct relationships were found between age and concentration of parent drugs but not demethylated metabolites.

Synthesis, characterization, and anorectic testing of the four stereoisomers of cyclo(histidylproline).

All four possible stereoisomers of cyclo(histidylproline) were individually synthesized, purified, and characterized. They were each tested for anorectic activity in rats with a free feeding paradigm over 24 h. Contrary to literature reports, none significantly reduced food intake at any time over the test period.

Current treatment of depression.

The author reviews current treatments for depression, emphasizing the biological therapies as the source of numerous developments in recent years. He outlines findings related to drug selection, the newer antidepressants, nonstandard antidepressants such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors, combined and maintenance drug therapy, and usefulness of plasma levels, along with developments in electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive and interpersonal therapy. Although some of the findings are technically arcane, he says, many of them can be translated into more effective patient care with the resources currently available to most psychiatrists.