Electron paramagnetic resonance study of V2O5 deactivation in the course of catalytic oxidation of SO2 to SO3.

The influence of reagents interactions with V2O5 catalyst on its activity in the reaction of SO2 oxidation has been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) method. It was found that the deactivation of V2O5 is caused by the diminishing of the number of adsorption centers able to interact with reagent molecules and with the creation of elements of the VOSO4 phase.

[Disability among patients with affective disorders]. / Inwalidztwo w chorobach afektywnych.

In a group of patients with affective disorder it was found that the frequency of formal handicap occurred in 29.8% of those subjects. This was observed mainly in women and mostly with those diagnosed as bipolar affective disorder (43.6%). Patients with an alcohol problem more often were on social security pension.

[Results of using tricyclic antidepressive drugs in the treatment of endogenous depression (comparative analysis of 7 drugs)]. / Wyniki stosowania trójpierscieniowych leków przeciwdepresyjnych w terapii depresji endogennej (analiza porównawcza 7 leków).

A group of 250 patients with endogenous depression was studied. Amitriptyline proved to be the most effective drug (51% positive responses) followed by noxiptilin (50%), imipramine (42%), dibenzepin (43%). Clomipramine, desipramine, and nomifensine appeared to be the least effective. Demographic or clinical factors such as age, sex, type of affective illness, severity of depressive syndrome or its particular symptoms (depression, fear, anxiety, psychomotor impairment or biological rhythm alteration) did not show any potential for prediction of the treatment outcome. Worse therapeutic results were observed in patients who had already been given antidepressant treatment for the current depressive cycle before the assessment.

[Early results of the treatment of endogenous depression with tricyclic antidepressive drugs and prognosis of their effectiveness]. / Wczesne wyniki terapii trójpierscieniowymi lekami przeciwdepresyjnymi a przewidywanie powodzenia leczenia depresji endogennych.

Evaluation of a group of 250 patients with endogenous depression in the course of affective illness suggest that reactions of patients to tricyclic antidepressants in an early phase of the treatment may supply interesting prognostic data. Improvement of mental state (reduction of the Hamilton Depression Scale score) on the seventh day and especially on the 14th day of treatment points to a high probability of positive response to the treatment. Lack of such a reaction or worsening of the mental state in the early phase of pharmacotherapy (on the seventh day) frequently is an early sign of lack of positive response to the treatment. The survey considered following antidepressant drugs: amitriptyline, noxiptilin, clomipramine, dibenzepin and desipramine.

[Reaction to sleep deprivation as a prognostic factor in the treatment of endogenous depression]. / Reakcja na bezsenna noc jako czynnik prognostyczny w leczeniu depresji endogennej.

Studies conducted on a group of 38 patients with endogenous depression demonstrated that a reaction to sleep-deprivation presenting as improved well-being has a significant predictive potential for treatment with imipramine. Patients who displayed the reaction also significantly more frequently displayed improvement of clinical course (remission; good response). Risk of switching from depression to mania also increased among these patients. Patients responding to sleep-deprivation with improved well-being belonged mainly to the bipolar affective disorder. Neither clinical manifestations of depression, nor the number of relapses, nor the duration period of the disorder, nor basic demographic patterns did show distinct features; nor did they differ significantly from patients who did not respond to sleep-deprivation with improved well-being.

[Social adaptation of patients with bipolar disorder in relation to the problems of alcoholism (pilot studies)]. / Adaptacja socjalna u osób z choroba afektywna dwubiegunowa w zaleznosci od wystepowania pboblemów alkoholowych (badania pilotazowe).

89 patients (52 women and 37 men) with bipolar affective disorder was separated on two groups: with alcohol problems (n = 30) and without alcohol problems (n = 59). Both groups were tested using Scale of Adaptation and Activity of Puzynski (SAA III). The bipolar affective illness discriminates patient's social functioning (especially married life and emotional relation to the closest relatives). The bipolar patients with alcohol problems did show worse social adaptation than the other group; it concerns mainly masculine patients.

[Drug resistance and various selected demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with endogenous depression]. / Zjawisko lekoopornosci a wybrane cechy demograficzne i kliniczne chorych z depresja endogenna.

The influence of some selected demographic and clinical characteristics on the formation of resistance to antidepressant drugs were studied in the group of 115 patients with affective disorders. Drug resistance occurs as frequently in women as in men. It appears much frequently in patients after 40 (about 30%). Persons under 30 are not or very rarely affected. Type I of bipolar affective disorder and the occurrence of affective disorder in relatives are positive prognostic factors. The long relapses (greater than 20 weeks) are of the worse prognostic value than shorter ones (less than 3 months). Previous poor efficiency of antidepressant drugs predicts very often an identical response during current episode. Alcohol abuse is an unfavourable prognostic factor in men with endogenous depression.

[Blood MAO/DBH index and the results of the treatment of endogenous depression]. / Wskaznik MAO/DBH we krwi, a wyniki leczenia depresji typu endogennego.

In the group of 115 endogenous depression patients 84 responded to tricyclic antidepressant medication and 31 remained drug-resistance. The changes of platelet MAO activity and serum DBH activity in the latter group were found. Among drug-resistant patients, 40% showed low MAO/DBH index (.6) and in 36% the index was within the medium range (.6-1.9). The low value of the index is predominantly connected with the increase of DBH and decrease of MAO activity, and it may become the potential predictive factor for the pharmacotherapy in endogenous depression. The results show the influence of the disturbances of catecholamines synthesis and degradation on the phenomenon of drug-resistance to tricyclic antidepressants.

Stress factors in affective diseases.

An investigation carried out on 97 patients with affective disorders and on 100 healthy control subjects, revealed that acute and chronic stress factors occurred more in the group of patients with affective disorders than among healthy control over a similar time period. The frequency of stressful life situations was the same before the first affective episode in patients with unipolar and bipolar illness. The possible participation of such factors in triggering the first phase of illness is discussed. Similar factors appeared in both types of affective disorders. Significantly more frequent among patients than in the control group were: marital and family conflicts, health problems, emotional and ambitional failures, lack of success and work overload.