Heart rate and blood pressure in panic disorder, major depression, and comorbid panic disorder with major depression.

Secondary major depression is common in patients with panic disorder (PD) and has been reported to worsen prognosis. Little is known about the effect of comorbid depression on the autonomic symptoms associated with PD. In this study, the heart rate and blood pressure of 44 patients with PD, 20 patients with major depression (MD), and 12 patients with both panic disorder and depression (PDD) were measured during postural challenge. Patients with PDD were found to have higher diastolic and systolic pressures throughout (P < 0.05), and to have a higher resting cardiac load (P < 0.05). This heightened autonomic arousal remained when the effects of age, race, and the frequency of panic attacks were removed. The results suggest that PDD patients may have increased autonomic dysfunction.

Memory performance of young and old subjects related to their erythrocyte characteristics.

Several papers reported in recent years on a change in the age population distribution of the circulating erythrocytes in old mice, rats, rabbits, and humans. The results indicate the presence of a chronologically younger cell population in old animals and humans. The cells are typically lower in density and larger. In some reports, the cells have higher levels of enzymatic activity. We wanted to know whether changes in the characteristics of the circulating erythrocytes in old people are related to the changes in cognitive performance often observed in the elderly. Twenty young (20-40) and 21 old (70-90) volunteers submitted to memory and blood tests. Density and size distribution, aspartate aminotransferase/glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (AST/GOT) activity, and the level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1) of erythrocytes were determined. The Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised (Wechsler, 1987) was used to determine general memory and delayed recall scores for each subject. We have confirmed that old subjects have larger and less dense cells. Erythrocyte volume was the only blood parameter examined that revealed statistically significant correlations with memory performance. The old subjects with no age-related memory impairment had significantly smaller cells than the other old subjects.

An evaluation of cognitive-behavioral therapy for training resistance to visually-induced motion sickness.

This investigation examined the techniques for reducing visually-induced motion sickness. On the basis of their responses to a motion sickness history questionnaire, 32 subjects were selected and assigned to 1 of 4 groups such that the groups were matched on the basis of their ability to tolerate visually-induced apparent motion (VM). One group received 10 sessions of desensitization training only (DT); a second group received 10 sessions of cognitive therapy only (CT); a third group received 10 sessions of combined desensitization and cognitive therapy treatment (CG); and a fourth group received no treatment (C). (There are many speculations about why and how an individual's response changes with repeated stimulation. We have arbitrarily selected the term desensitization to connote the decrease in sensitivity over time with repeated exposures). The results indicated that only the groups which received cognitive therapy (i.e., CT and CG) exhibited significant increases in tolerance to VM when pretreatment measures were compared to posttreatment measures. No significant differences in pre- vs. posttreatment measures were observed in the desensitization only or control groups (i.e., DT and C). A similar pattern of results was obtained with the symptomatology data.