ABSTRACT
Male inpatient veterans with chronic combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in trauma focus group treatment and were assessed immediately before group participation and after group completion at time of discharge. Standard measures of core PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety were used. In addition, changes in PTSD symptoms were tracked on a weekly basis for the duration of group participation. Results indicated that a single direct elicitation of war-related traumatic memories in a group setting was not associated with symptom worsening. However, veterans also did not show improvement in symptoms severity. Possible reasons for this lack of impact are discussed along with implications for future treatment design and evaluation.
Subject(s)
Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Psychotherapy, Group/standards , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Veterans , Disease Progression , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Measurement of plasma prolactin (PRL) concentration and plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) concentration was performed in 24 patients with schizophrenia during maintenance haloperidol treatment. A significant inverse correlation was found between plasma PRL and ratings of both dyskinesia and thought disorder. Plasma PRL was also correlated with negative symptoms. No relationship was found between plasma HVA and any symptom grouping. Twelve patients received an apomorphine challenge; a trend toward a significant inverse relationship was found between baseline dyskinesia and apomorphine-induced decreases in plasma PRL. Plasma PRL and plasma HVA may reflect different elements of dopamine function in the central nervous system during maintenance treatment; plasma PRL may be the useful marker under these conditions.
Subject(s)
Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced/diagnosis , Haloperidol/adverse effects , Homovanillic Acid/blood , Prolactin/blood , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adult , Aged , Apomorphine , Brain/drug effects , Brain/physiopathology , Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced/blood , Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced/psychology , Haloperidol/administration & dosage , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neurologic Examination , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Receptors, Dopamine/drug effects , Receptors, Dopamine/physiology , Schizophrenia/blood , Schizophrenia/diagnosisABSTRACT
Plasma prolactin concentration (pPRL), plasma homovanillic acid concentration (pHVA), and symptomatology were measured in 24 male subjects with schizophrenia during maintenance haloperidol treatment. Fourteen subjects subsequently underwent 50 percent dose decreases under placebo-controlled, double-blind conditions. At baseline, a significant inverse correlation was found between pPRL and both tardive dyskinesia (TD) and "thinking disorder"; pPRL was directly correlated with negative symptoms. No such relationship was found with pHVA. In the patients who underwent a dose decrease, no relationship was found between baseline pPRL or pHVA and any clinical variable after the decrease. These data do not support the use of baseline pPRL or pHVA as markers of central dopamine function subsequent to a neuroleptic dose decrease.
Subject(s)
Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced/blood , Haloperidol/administration & dosage , Homovanillic Acid/blood , Prolactin/blood , Schizophrenia/blood , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Adult , Aged , Biomarkers/blood , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Double-Blind Method , Haloperidol/therapeutic use , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Schizophrenia/physiopathologyABSTRACT
A dose-finding study of proglumide added to neuroleptics for the treatment of schizophrenic patients who were relatively refractory to their ongoing neuroleptic regimen was performed. Initially, four patients were open-label treated using a regimen of progressively increasing doses (proglumide 0.5-1024 mg/day) for 4 weeks. Afterwards, seven patients were given low doses (0.5 mg/day) followed by higher doses (500 mg/day) for a total period of 8 weeks. Overall, no improvement was seen in these refractory patients as a group at any dose. In individual patients, modest improvement or worsening of psychotic symptoms was observed. The results suggest that more potent cholecystokinin (CCK) antagonists and a greater knowledge of CCK pharmacology are needed before novel treatments exploiting the interaction of CCK and dopamine in the brain can be developed.
Subject(s)
Glutamine/analogs & derivatives , Proglumide/administration & dosage , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Schizophrenic Psychology , Antipsychotic Agents/administration & dosage , Clinical Trials as Topic , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Administration Schedule , Drug Therapy, Combination , Humans , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
Fifty-five schizophrenic outpatients with negative symptoms were treated for up to six weeks by the addition of alprazolam (mean dose, 4.2 mg/d), diazepam (mean dose, 40.4 mg/d), or placebo to their ongoing neuroleptic treatment. A repeated-measures analysis of variance with baseline measurements entered as covariates indicated the presence of a significant time X drug interaction effect for the weekly Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) withdrawal/retardation subfactor scores. During the initial weeks of the study, the alprazolam-treated group had lower scores, while the diazepam-treated group had higher scores than the placebo-treated group. However, an end point analysis performed on the final BPRS withdrawal/retardation subfactor scores showed no significant differences among the three groups, nor were beneficial effects observed on any of the BPRS subfactor scores that assess positive symptoms. Plasma alprazolam levels were maintained throughout the study and ranged from 20 to 100 ng/mL. These results suggest that alprazolam had no sustained significant effect on negative schizophrenic symptoms.
Subject(s)
Alprazolam/therapeutic use , Diazepam/therapeutic use , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adult , Alprazolam/blood , Ambulatory Care , Clinical Trials as Topic , Diazepam/blood , Double-Blind Method , Humans , Placebos , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
It has been suggested that dexamethasone nonsuppression in schizophrenia is related to the presence of negative symptoms. In a sample of chronic schizophrenic outpatients we could find no relationship between dexamethasone nonsuppression and negative symptoms. In addition nonsuppression was not related to depressive symptoms, anxiety or age. The cause of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal dysregulation in schizophrenic patients remains unclear.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Dexamethasone , Hydrocortisone/blood , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adult , Chronic Disease , Depressive Disorder/blood , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Schizophrenia/bloodABSTRACT
In rating negative symptoms in chronic schizophrenia the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms showed less overlap with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression than the withdrawal-retardation subscale of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The distinction between depression and negative symptoms is best made by a careful evaluation of the patients' mood and thoughts.