| 1. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers
- 1999
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 46:6, s. 850-855
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Rescue service personnel are often exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupation, and higher prevalence rates of psychiatric illness have been found among this group.Methods: In 65 rescue workers, salivary cortisol at 8 am and 10 pm and serum prolactin at 8 am were related to the psychiatric self-rating scale General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) measuring psychiatric health, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS) measuring posttraumatic symptoms.Results: Seventeen percent of the study population scored above the GHQ-28 cut-off limit but none scored beyond the cut-off limit in the IES and PTSS questionnaires. Salivary cortisol concentration at 10 pm correlated with statistical significance to anxiety (p < .005) and depressive symptoms (p < .01) measured with GHQ-28, as well as to posttraumatic symptoms, with avoidance behavior measured with IES (p < .01) and PTSS (p < .005). Two of the rescue workers were followed over time with the same sampling procedure after a major rescue commission.Conclusions: The correlation between evening salivary cortisol and anxiety, depressiveness, and posttraumatic avoidance symptoms indicates that these parameters can be used in screening and follow-up after traumatic stress events.
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| 2. |
- Engström, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Relationship between prophylactic effect of lithium therapy and family history of affective disorders
- 1997
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 42:6, s. 425-433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lithium therapy response and age of onset (AOO) were studied in 98 patients with bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) who were divided into subgroups depending on type of family history of affective disorders. The highest (33.0 years) and lowest (25.5 years) age of onset were found in nonfamilial patients and in familial patients with a first-degree relative of BPAD, respectively. Nonfamilial patients showed the best response to lithium. There were 0.9 episodes/year off lithium compared to 0.3 episodes/year on lithium (an 88% decrease). A poorer response (a 71% decrease; a reduction from 1.39 episodes per year off lithium to 0.65 on lithium) was found in familial patients with a first-degree relative of BPAD. Differences in serum lithium values between the groups could not explain the observed differences. Thus, familial patients showed a more severe manifestation of the disease with an earlier AOO and a lower prophylactic effect of lithium.
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| 3. |
- Gustafsson, Lennart
(författare)
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Inadequate cortical feature maps : a neural circuit theory of autism
- 1997
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 42:12, s. 1138-1147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The autistic syndromes are caused by neurological dysfunctions. The capacity of autistic individuals to form representations of previous sensory impressions, useful for the processing of present information, is impaired. Self-organizing feature maps are mathematical models of cortical feature maps and may be used to simulate cortical processing. Dysfunctional self-organization, resulting in disability to extract features from stimuli, is proposed as a neural circuit theory of autism. The nature and a possible cause of dysfunction self-organization are examined. It is shown that impaired feature detection is valid for explaining the memory function in autism, the lack of drive for central coherence according to Frith's theory of autism, and a number of impairments from the diagnostic criteria. Unequal levels of impairment of different cortical feature maps can account for the typically uneven intelligence profile of autistic individuals. Excessive inhibitory lateral feedback synaptic connection strengths are presented as one factor impairing the development of feature maps. Strong or excessive inhibitory lateral feedback synaptic connection strengths also cause high sensory discrimination and abnormal sensory responses, both documented in autism. A neural circuit theory for autism has been presented. For a proof of this neural circuit theory neurological investigations are required.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Smedh, K, et al.
(författare)
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Platelet [3H]paroxetine and [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide binding in seasonal affective disorder and the effect of bright light therapy.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 45:4, s. 464-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been regarded as a melatonin disorder, but the pathophysiological mechanisms of SAD are to a large extent unclarified. Serotonergic mechanisms have also been studied, but they have shown inconsistent results. METHODS: We have compared [3H]paroxetine and [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) binding in platelets from 23 SAD patients and 23 controls. Then SAD patients had 4 weeks of light therapy. On the last treatment day new blood samples were drawn. Symptoms before and after light treatment were measured by SIGH-SAD. RESULTS: Bmax for paroxetine binding before light treatment was higher in SAD patients compared to controls and also higher in responders than in nonresponders. Bmax decreased significantly during light treatment. We also found a negative correlation between the two Bmax values before but not after light treatment. There was a negative correlation between Bmax for paroxetine binding before treatment and clinical status after treatment. Patients with reduced Bmax for LSD binding after treatment had a better clinical treatment response. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that serotonin receptor parameters might be suitable in the prediction of clinical response to light treatment.
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| 6. |
- Spigset, O, et al.
(författare)
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Circannual variations in the binding of [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide to serotonin2A receptors and of [3H]paroxetine to serotonin uptake sites in platelets from healthy volunteers.
- 1998
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 43:10, s. 774-80
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Circannual variations occur in several serotonergic parameters, including platelet serotonin uptake and platelet [3H]imipramine binding. METHODS: Binding of [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide ([3H]LSD) to platelet serotonin (5-HT)2A receptors and binding of [3H]paroxetine to platelet serotonin uptake sites were studied longitudinally for 1 year in 12 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: For [3H]LSD, the number of binding sites (Bmax) showed no significant seasonal variation (two-way analysis of variance), although Bmax was significantly higher during the months October through February than during the months April through August (32.6 vs. 29.8 fmol/mg protein; p = .015). For [3H]paroxetine, Bmax showed a significant seasonal variation (p = .003) with maximum in August (1322 fmol/mg protein) and minimum in February (1168 fmol/mg protein). The affinity constant (Kd) showed a significant seasonal variation for [3H]LSD binding (p = .046), but not for [3H]paroxetine binding. The seasonal fluctuations in [3H]LSD binding and in paroxetine binding tended to be inversely correlated for Bmax (r = -.70; p = .08) and were significantly negatively correlated for Kd (r = -.88; p = .009). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates a seasonal effect on platelet serotonin uptake site binding and indicates a possible seasonal effect on 5-HT2A receptor binding. The results imply that circannual fluctuations should be taken into account when these platelet serotonin markers are studied.
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