ABSTRACT
Forty minutes after receiving a single starting dose of trazodone, a patient developed complete heart block. The case illustrates that, despite the results of earlier studies, trazodone's effect on cardiac conduction may be severe in individuals at risk for conduction delay.
Subject(s)
Heart Block/chemically induced , Piperazines/adverse effects , Trazodone/adverse effects , Aged , Depressive Disorder/drug therapy , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Humans , Male , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Effects of lithium on the concentrations and temporal patterns of serum and cerebellar calcium and magnesium, parathyroid hormone, and calcitonin were studied in 186 rats sacrificed around 24 hours of clock time. Serum calcium, serum and cerebellar magnesium, and parathyroid hormone were increased and calcitonin decreased in lithium-fed animals. Lithium-fed rats also showed different temporal patterns in serum calcium, parathyroid hormone, cerebellar magnesium, and calcitonin. Data support the hypothesis that lithium competes for calcium receptor sites, causing a compensatory increase in parathyroid hormone and decrease in calcitonin until a new, higher set-point for calcium is established. Lithium strongly affected biological rhythms, an effect which may account in part for the diverse literature on lithium's influence on calcium and magnesium regulation.
Subject(s)
Calcitonin/metabolism , Calcium/metabolism , Circadian Rhythm/drug effects , Lithium/pharmacology , Magnesium/metabolism , Parathyroid Hormone/metabolism , Animals , Cerebellum/drug effects , Lithium Carbonate , Liver Glycogen/metabolism , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred StrainsABSTRACT
Recent evidence has indicated that a fast circadian oscillator or pacemaker might contribute to affective illnesses, particularly manic depressive disease. In order to test the hypothesis that lithium exerts its therapeutic effect by slowing or delaying overly fast circadian rhythms, 95 rats were fed a lithium-containing diet for a period of 3-4 weeks, and 91 rats were fed a control diet. The animals were sacrificed at times around the clock. Eight of the eleven substances measured (plasma prolactin, PTH, corticosterone, and aldosterone, serum calcium and magnesium, and cerebellar calcium and magnesium) showed large delays in their circadian rhythms in the lithium-fed rats. This supports the hypothesis that lithium's therapeutic action is to delay overly fast circadian rhythms.
Subject(s)
Circadian Rhythm/drug effects , Electrolytes/blood , Hormones/blood , Lithium/pharmacology , Animals , Cerebellum/drug effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Lithium/blood , Lithium Carbonate , Liver Glycogen/metabolism , Male , Pineal Gland/drug effects , Rats , Rats, Inbred StrainsABSTRACT
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 123 male subjects was studied by RIA for the presence of immunoreactive calcitonin (CT). The hormone could be detected in the CSF of 75% of 63 subjects at a mean (+/- SE) concentration of 11.1 +/- 1.3 pg/ml, with a range of less than 2 to 55 pg/ml. In 31 subjects, simultaneous measurements were made of CSF and plasma CT and there was not significant correlation between them. Column chromatography of a lyophilized pool of CSF from 60 of the subjects demonstrated that most of the CT immunoreactivity eluted with or after radioiodinated human CT. Our studies demonstrate the presence of immunoreactive CT in human CSF but do not provide any direct evidence regarding the source of the immunoreactivity.
Subject(s)
Calcitonin/cerebrospinal fluid , Calcitonin/blood , Humans , Male , Radioimmunoassay , Reference ValuesABSTRACT
A case of significant hepatic reaction related to imipramine is presented, documented by challenge with imipramine and liver biopsy. The mechanism, while not entirely clear, is presumed to involve hypersensitivity or induction of toxic metabolites.
