Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Coronavirus , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. , China , Female , Humans , Parturition , Pregnancy , SARS-CoV-2 , United StatesABSTRACT
A double-blind study was performed in 83 patients with generalized anxiety disorder comparing daily doses of 5 and 10 mg ritanserin (a selective antagonist of serotonine S2 receptors) versus placebo and 4 mg lorazepam as reference drug. Patients treated with 10 mg ritanserin or 4 mg lorazepam improved significantly better (p less than 0.05) after two weeks than those treated with placebo. On the other hand a daily dose of 5 mg ritanserin appeared to be not superior to placebo. Patients treated with 4 mg lorazepam complained significantly more about sedation and dizziness than patients treated with 10 mg ritanserin (p less than 0.05).
Subject(s)
Anxiety Disorders/drug therapy , Lorazepam/therapeutic use , Piperidines/therapeutic use , Serotonin Antagonists/therapeutic use , Adult , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Clinical Trials as Topic , Double-Blind Method , Female , Humans , Male , Psychological Tests , RitanserinABSTRACT
The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was studied in 40 presurgical subjects and 20 controls. Cortisol plasma concentrations were measured before and after a nocturnal dose of 1 mg dexamethasone. Nineteen of the 40 patients (47.5%) failed to show a suppression of plasma cortisol after dexamethasone. Nonsuppression on the DST was associated with a significantly higher baseline plasma cortisol concentration. Another putative indicator of emotional stress, the level of acute anxiety, was also studied. There was a significant difference in the level of acute anxiety among suppressors, nonsuppressors, and controls--the level of anxiety in nonsuppressors being significantly higher than in controls. It is concluded that stress associated with a physical danger can be a cause of nonsuppression on the DST.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Dexamethasone , Hydrocortisone/blood , Stress, Psychological/blood , Adult , Anxiety/blood , Circadian Rhythm , Depressive Disorder/blood , Female , Humans , Male , Psychological TestsABSTRACT
The new antipsychotic drug setoperone is pharmacologically characterized by its potent serotonin and moderate dopamine receptor blocking properties. Forty chronic schizophrenic patients were included and 34 completed this pilot study. Following a drug-free period of 1 week the patients received setoperone 5 mg t.i.d. After 1 month of treatment, the psychotic symptoms, as measured by the BPRS, improved by approximately 50% (P less than 0.001) as compared with the condition under previous neuroleptic medication. Blockade of serotonin receptors may be related to improvement of autistic behaviour, dysphoria, and parkinson-like symptoms. In residual schizophrenic patients, the need for dopamine blockade, which is normally correlated with the therapeutic effect on positive symptoms, can be reduced substantially.
Subject(s)
Pyrimidinones/therapeutic use , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Serotonin Antagonists/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Basal Ganglia Diseases/chemically induced , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pilot Projects , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Pyrimidinones/adverse effects , Serotonin Antagonists/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Des-tyr1-gamma-endorphin (DT gamma E) was administered intramuscularly in a dose of 1 mg/day for 10 days to 18 neuroleptic-free schizophrenic patients in a double-blind crossover design. Six patients showed either a slight or no antipsychotic response; seven patients showed a moderate antipsychotic response; and the remaining five patients showed a marked antipsychotic response. DT gamma E led to a decrease of plasma prolactin levels in patients treated with DT gamma E in the first period of experimental treatment as compared to those treated with placebo. Neither plasma levels of growth hormone and cortisol nor cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol were affected by DT gamma E. Patients suffering from a hebephrenic or paranoid type of schizophrenia and those presenting relatively fewer negative symptoms were most susceptible to treatment with DT gamma E. These data confirm and extend previous findings that DT gamma E has antipsychotic properties in a number of schizophrenic patients.
