[Dexamethasone suppression test in endogenous depression and schizophrenia in male and female patients].

Dexamethasone Suppression Test was performed during an acute phase in 81 patients with endogenous depression and 105 schizophrenic patients. The lack of suppression of cortisol was found in 1/3 if those ill with depression and 1/3 of those ill with schizophrenia. A relationship between those results and age was shown in female schizophrenic patients.

Changes in carbamazepine plasma concentrations in psychiatric patients during treatment.

Plasma concentrations of carbamazepine (CBZ) were studied in 24 psychiatric patients who were given 400 mg of CBZ every 12 h. The assays were performed on the 1st, 3rd, 8th, 15th, 22th and 29th day of the therapy. The highest minimum 12h plasma CBZ concentrations occurred on the 3rd day of therapy, then decreased up to the 15th day and remained stable thereafter.

[Dexamethasone suppression test and the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia].

40 patients (26 males, 14 females), aged 18-50 years, with diagnosis of schizophrenia were studied before the treatment for recurrence of acute schizophrenic symptom was started. All patients had dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and BPRS and Hamilton Depression Scale tests. Initial cortisol plasma concentration correlated positively with the intensity of productive symptoms measured by BPRS.

[Monitoring of the treatment of endogenous depression with imipramine and amitriptyline (preliminary report)].

Monitored treatment of a depressed phase of unipolar affective disorder was conducted in 11 female patients receiving imipramine and in 12 females taking amitriptyline. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the drug and in 6 patients the drugs were switched because of the lack of response to the first used compound. In the imipramine treated group a satisfactory response after 4 weeks of management (less than 6 points on Hamilton's depression scale) was observed in 6 patients and in amitriptyline treated group in 5 patients.

Effect of selenium supplementation on glutathione peroxidase synthesis and element accumulation in sheep erythrocytes.

For three months four groups of sheep were fed either a basal diet (group A) containing 0.082 ppm selenium (Se), or this diet plus mineral mixture with Se (as selenite) so that the total diet contained 0.25, 0.