[Sulpiride (Eglonyl Alkaloid) in the treatment of functional disorders of the digestive tract]. / Sulpirid (Eglonyl Alkaloid) v lécení funkcních poruch zazívacího ústrojí.

Sulpirid was administered in an open clinical trial--150 mg/day for 4 weeks--to 31 patients (15 man and 16 women, mean age 31.5 years, mean duration of complaints 1 month to 6 years) suffering from functional disorders of the digestive system. Their health status was evaluated by a specialist in internal medicine, by a psychiatrist and a self-administered SCL-90 questionnaire before the onset of treatment and after four weeks. In 29 patients the complaints disappeared or improved markedly and this improvement persisted also after discontinuation of the drugs. In the entire group a significant drop of the mean initial intensity of psychopathological feature in all dimensions of the questionnaire occurred; the improvement was more marked in men where the mean baseline values of psychopathology were higher. There was also a significant decline of the mean numbers of positively evaluated items in 9 of 10 dimensions of the questionnaire. The drug was well tolerated by the patients with the exception of one transient allergic skin reaction. So far the exact ratio of improvement of psychopathology as a therapeutic response to sulpirid administration and the placebo effect on the patient's complaints cannot be exactly evaluated. Sulpirid has some advantages, as compared with other psychopharmaceutic preparations used in this indication (e.g. amitriptyline, dosulepine).

[Personality characteristics of hypertensive patients]. / Nekteré osobnostní rysy hypertoniku.

Essential hypertension, as well-known specialists believe, is due both to genetic and external environment factors. Apart from the steadily growing complexity of social life and various important life events, high-risk factors may also be seen in a certain way of behaviour and man's psychophysiological reactivity. Recent literature on this topic informs about some common characteristics found in the behaviour of hypertensive persons, for example: anxiety in social contacts, suppressed hostility, manifestations of perfectionism, suppression of emotions, exaggerated behavioral adaptability and defensive attitudes to stress stimuli. In accordance with literary data, the control group of hypertensive patients (N = 89) gave evidence of some identical characteristics. Their knowledge permits to carry out more specific attempts at influencing hypertension in a non-pharmacological way.