ABSTRACT
We examined 60 patients affected by idiopathic recurrent anterior uveitis and studied the relevance of stressful life events and psychological distress in relation to relapses of the disease. The results were statistically insignificant when compared to the control groups. We found that neither life events nor psychological distress played a contributory role in this disease.
Subject(s)
Psychophysiologic Disorders , Uveitis, Anterior/psychology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Recurrence , Statistics as Topic , Stress, PsychologicalABSTRACT
The role of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in the treatment of cancer pain is of growing interest. Various studies, all but one of them open, have suggested that TCAs are effective and safe in the treatment of pain caused by different types of cancer. The mechanisms of action by which TCAs decrease the pain perception are not fully clear. However, there are two main hypotheses. The first suggests that the drugs act primarily on the emotional component of pain, thus breaking the vicious circle of the perception of pain; the second suggests that the TCAs themselves have a specific analgesic action linked to a direct activity on the structures of the CNS. Further clinical studies, and in particular double-blind studies, are clearly necessary to provide more convincing and definitive results.
Subject(s)
Analgesics , Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic/therapeutic use , Neoplasms/therapy , Humans , Pain/drug therapyABSTRACT
Tritiated imipramine binding to whole platelets was measured in 16 chronic pain patients not suffering from major depression and in a control group. Maximum binding was significantly lower in chronic pain patients than in the control group, whereas the binding affinity was not significantly different.
Subject(s)
Blood Platelets/analysis , Carrier Proteins , Pain/blood , Receptors, Drug , Receptors, Neurotransmitter/analysis , Chronic Disease , Depression/blood , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Tritiated imipramine binding to whole platelets was measured in sixteen chronic pain patients not suffering from major depression and in a control group. Maximum binding was significantly lower in chronic pain patients than in the control group, whereas the binding affinity was not significantly different.