Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Feb 1988
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialLactate- and isoproterenol-induced panic attacks in panic disorder patients and controls.
In a double-blind study using sodium lactate and isoproterenol infusions to provoke panic attacks, 73 of 86 panic disorder patients and 10 of 45 controls panicked with lactate, and 58 of 86 patients and 4 of 45 controls panicked with isoproterenol. We measured baseline and peak anxiety ratings in 10 controls with lactate-induced panic attacks, 31 controls who did not panic during lactate infusions, and 63 panic disorder patients who did panic during lactate infusions. The controls who panicked with lactate had robust increases in their anxiety ratings very similar to the increases experienced by patients who panicked with lactate.
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The authors present a 10-item clinician-rated symptom rating scale for delirium. Compared to demented, schizophrenic, and normal control groups, 20 delirious subjects scored significantly higher on the scale, which quantitates multiple parameters affected by delirium. The scale can be used alone or in conjunction with an electroencephalogram and bedside cognitive tests to assess the delirious subject.
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Psychiatry research · Dec 1984
Dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and plasma dexamethasone levels in depressed patients.
The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was evaluated in newly hospitalized patients with a DSM-III diagnosis of major depression. Patients with other psychiatric disorders and a normal control group were also studied. Plasma dexamethasone levels were obtained in all patients, and the relationship between plasma cortisol and plasma dexamethasone was examined. ⋯ The ranges of dexamethasone levels at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. were similar between patient groups and controls. However, there was a significant difference in dexamethasone levels between suppressors and nonsuppressors, irrespective of diagnosis, which could not be explained by differences in weight or plasma dexamethasone half-life. Inappropriately high dexamethasone levels were found in some patients with a 1 mg test, a problem that critically affects the sensitivity of the test procedure.