Thyroid parameters during therapy with zotepine in delusional depression. Preliminary results.

There are only few data on the effects of atpyical neuroleptics on thyroid function. In an open pilot study of 12 inpatients with delusional depression, thyroid hormone levels and TRH-TSH test were determined during neuroleptic treatment with zotepine. No significant changes in triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and delta-TSH levels were found in this observation period (28 days).

The influence of various antidepressants on heart rate and electrodermal activity during psychophysiological examinations of depressive patients.

The aim of our investigation was to examine the effects of different antidepressants on the variables of heart rate and electrodermal activity. Heart rate and parameters of electrodermal activity which are important for psychophysiology were investigated in groups of depressed inpatients with different treatment (no antidepressant, noradrenergic antidepressant [imipramine/ reboxetin], serotonergic antidepressant [paroxetine]). The values of electrodermal parameters were the lowest in the group with noradrenergic antidepressant. There was a reversed pattern for the heart rate. This findings points to a different effect of imipramine/reboxetin versus paroxetine on psychophysiological data.

[Depression and electrodermal response measures in a habituation experiment. Results from over 400 depressed inpatients]. / Depression und EDA-Kennwerte in einem Habituationsexperiment. Ergebnisse bei über 400 stationären depressiven Patienten.

Depressed inpatients of the Weissenau Depression Treatment Unit take part in an over ten years unchanged psychophysiological habituation experiment with auditive stimuli to study their electrodermal reactivity. An overview on EDA-results of about 400 inpatients (ICD-9: 296.1/300.4/309.1, without delusional depression and without bipolar affective psychosis) is given. Women compared to men and also endogenous (ICD-9: 296.1) compared to psychogenic depression (ICD-9: 300.4/309.1) show significantly more non- and hypo-response.

Electrodermal activity (EDA) and suicidal behavior.

There may be a connection between suicidal tendencies, electrodermal activity (EDA), disorders of impulse control, and neurobiochemistry (in the sense of a "psychobiology of suicidal tendencies"). The EDA values obtained during a psychobiological habituation experiment involving 11 female patients with personality disorders (PA; ICD-10) and histories of suicide attempts were compared with those of age-paralleled nonsuicidal depressive patients and depressive patients with histories of suicide attempts. They were also compared with EDA values in female schizophrenics with and without histories of suicide attempts. The PA group showed significant differences in all EDA values compared with nonsuicidal depressives, but no significant differences compared with other groups.

[Electrodermal reactivity in schizophrenic women with so-called basic symptoms]. / Elektrodermale Reaktivität bei schizophrenen Frauen mit sogenannten Basisstörungen.

Studies on electrodermal reactivity in a psychophysiological habituation experiment with schizophrenic patients often show a high number of "non" - or "hypo-responsiveness". There is not enough evidence to explain non-response as anticholinergic drug effect of antipsychotic medication; results in the literature suggest that hyporesponsiveness can be regarded more as a psychopathological phenomenon of a distinct subgroup of subsigns of schizophrenia which are called negative symptoms or basic disturbances. For the measurements of so-called basic symptoms we used two German self-report questionnaires, the "Frankfurter Befindlichkeitsskala für schizophren Erkrankte (FBS)" by Süllwold and Herrlich (1987) and the "Günzburger Selbstbeurteilungsskala für Basissymptome bei Schizophrenen (GSBS)" by Schüttler and co-workers (Blumenthal et al., 1989). The FBS includes two factors, a so-called "hyper" - and a "hypo"-syndrome; the GSBS consists of three categories which are named "Potential-reduktion", "kognitive Denkstörungen" and "kognitive Wahrnehmungsstörungen". We expected a relationship between "non" - oder "hypo-responsiveness" of the electrodermal reactivity in a habituation experiment with acoustic stimuli and higher values in the "FBS hypo-syndrome" respectively the "GSBS Potentialreduktion" (reduction of energy, drive, apathy, depressive mood etc.). 40 female inpatients, mean age 35.5 years with the ICD-9 diagnoses 295.x (n = 34) and 397.0 (n = 6) were investigated in this study. All the inpatients were treated with antipsychotic medication at the time of the study (usually the third week of inpatient stay in a closed acute treatment ward for females after reduction of acute psychopathology).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Paroxetine as antidepressant in combined antidepressant-neuroleptic therapy in delusional depression: observation of clinical use.

The combination of antidepressive and antipsychotic (neuroleptic) medication is often used in the psychopharmacological treatment of delusional depression. In most studies of the treatment of delusional depression, tricyclic antidepressants have been used, and very little has been written about experience with SSRIs such as fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, or paroxetine. This paper therefore presents the preliminary findings of an open clinical study in which 14 delusional depressed inpatients, consecutively admitted to our Depression Unit, were given paroxetine combined with either zotepine or haloperidol. It was possible to observe a significantly impressive decline in the HAMD (24-item version) total score, of so-called delusional items (HAMD subscore of items 2, 17, 18, 20, 23, 24) and of the subscore of remaining HAMD items over 21 treatment days. There were no unusual side-effects.

Paroxetine in the treatment of inpatients with non-delusional endogenous or neurotic depression.

The clinical course of 35 depressed inpatients (19 women, 16 men; 19 endogenous, 16 neurotic depression (ICD-9 diagnoses); mean age 46.7 years) who were treated with paroxetine 20 mg/d was observed over 21 days using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). For both types of depression there was a significant decrease from day 1 to day 21 in the mean HAMD total score and in a subscore of cognitive and somatic items. The mean value of the HAMD suicide item increased in 3 cases and decreased in 25.