Do Benzodiazepines Interfere with the Action of Electroconvulsive Therapy?

1992 ◽  
Vol 160 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel I. Cohen ◽  
Claire Lawton
Keyword(s):  
British Journal ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Chronic Administration ◽  
Depressed Woman ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
The Brain

A 67-year-old anxious and depressed woman was withdrawn from a long-term course of a benzodiazepine and soon after was given ECT. This proved ineffective, but ECT given some months later was successful. It is suggested that the chronic administration of the benzodiazepine may have induced changes in the brain that interfered with ECT.British Journal of Psychiatry (1992), 160, 545–546

scholarly journals Daily, Oral FMT for Long-Term Maintenance Therapy in Ulcerative Colitis: Results of a Single-Center, Prospective, Randomized Pilot Study.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Wood Crothers ◽  
Nathaniel D. Chu ◽  
Le Thanh Tu Nguyen ◽  
Magen Phillips ◽  
Cheryl Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation ◽  
Oral Treatment ◽  
Randomized Study ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Chronic Administration ◽  
Fecal Microbiota ◽  
Longterm Treatment ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Mait Cell

Abstract This randomized study was designed to assess the safety and feasibility of long-term fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in subjects with mild to moderate UC using frozen, encapsulated oral FMT (cFMT). FMT induction was implemented by colonoscopy, followed by 12 weeks of daily oral administration of frozen encapsulated cFMT. Ribosomal 16S bacterial sequencing was used to assess donor-induced changes in the gut microbiota. Changes in T regulatory (Treg) and mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cell populations were evaluated as an exploratory endpoint. Twelve subjects with active UC were randomized: 6 subjects completed the full 12-week course of FMT plus cFMT, and 6 subjects received sham treatment by colonic installation and longitudinal oral treatment. Chronic administration of cFMT was found to be safe and well-tolerated. Protocol adherence was high, and none of the study subjects experienced FMT-associated treatment emergent adverse events. While n-values were too small to draw firm conclusions, 3/6 subjects that received cFMT exhibited multiple signs of clinical improvement. These pilot data suggest that daily encapsulated cFMT may extend the durability of index FMT-induced changes in gut bacterial community structure and that an association between MAIT cell cytokine production and clinical response to FMT may exist in UC populations. Oral frozen encapsulated cFMT is a promising FMT delivery system and may be preferred for longterm treatment strategies in UC and other chronic diseases but further evaluations will have to address home storage concerns. Larger trials should be done to explore the benefits of cFMT and to determine its long-term impacts on the colonic microbiome. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02390726). Registered 17 March 2015, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02390726?term=NCT02390726&draw=2&rank=1.

scholarly journals Daily, oral FMT for long-term maintenance therapy in ulcerative colitis: results of a single-center, prospective, randomized pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica W. Crothers ◽  
Nathaniel D. Chu ◽  
Le Thanh Tu Nguyen ◽  
Magen Phillips ◽  
Cheryl Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cytokine Production ◽  
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation ◽  
Randomized Study ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Chronic Administration ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Cell Cytokine Production ◽  
Mait Cell

Abstract Background Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising new strategy in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but long-term delivery systems are lacking. This randomized study was designed as a safety and feasibility study of long-term FMT in subjects with mild to moderate UC using frozen, encapsulated oral FMT (cFMT). Methods Subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive FMT induction by colonoscopy, followed by 12 weeks of daily oral administration of frozen encapsulated cFMT or sham therpay. Subjects were followed for 36 weeks and longitudenal clinical assessments included multiple subjective and objective markers of disease severity. Ribosomal 16S bacterial sequencing was used to assess donor-induced changes in the gut microbiota. Changes in T regulatory (Treg) and mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cell populations were evaluated by flow cytometry as an exploratory endpoint. Results Twelve subjects with active UC were randomized: 6 subjects completed the full 12-week course of FMT plus cFMT, and 6 subjects received sham treatment by colonic installation and longitudinal oral placebo capules. Chronic administration of cFMT was found to be safe and well-tolerated but home storage concerns exist. Protocol adherence was high, and none of the study subjects experienced FMT-associated treatment emergent adverse events. Two subjects that received cFMT achieved clinical remission versus none in the placebo group (95% CI = 0.38-infinity, p = 0.45). cFMT was associated with sustained donor-induced shifts in fecal microbial composition. Changes in MAIT cell cytokine production were observed in cFMT recipients and correlated with treatment response. Conclusion These pilot data suggest that daily encapsulated cFMT may extend the durability of index FMT-induced changes in gut bacterial community structure and that an association between MAIT cell cytokine production and clinical response to FMT may exist in UC populations. Oral frozen encapsulated cFMT is a promising FMT delivery system and may be preferred for longterm treatment strategies in UC and other chronic diseases but further evaluations will have to address home storage concerns. Larger trials should be done to explore the benefits of cFMT and to determine its long-term impacts on the colonic microbiome. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02390726). Registered 17 March 2015, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02390726?term=NCT02390726&draw=2&rank=1.

scholarly journals The role of liver tryptophan pyrrolase in the opposite effects of chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of drugs of dependence on rat brain tryptophan metabolism

1981 ◽  
Vol 196 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
A A Badawy ◽  
N F Punjani ◽  
M Evans
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Administration ◽  
Tryptophan Metabolism ◽  
Chronic Morphine ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Tryptophan Pyrrolase ◽  
Subsequent Withdrawal ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Phenazine Methosulphate ◽  
The Brain

1. Chronic administration of morphine, nicotine or phenobarbitone has previously been shown to inhibit rat liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity by increasing hepatic [NADPH], whereas subsequent withdrawal enhances pyrrolase activity by a hormonal-type mechanism. 2. It is now shown that this enhancement is associated with an increase in the concentration of serum corticosterone. 3. Chronic administration of the above drugs enhances, whereas subsequent withdrawal inhibits, brain 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis. Under both conditions, tryptophan availability to the brain is altered in the appropriate direction. 4. The chronic drug-induced enhancement of brain tryptophan metabolism is reversed by phenazine methosulphate, whereas the withdrawal-induced inhibition is prevented by nicotinamide. 5. The chronic morphine-induced changes in liver [NADPH], pyrrolase activity, tryptophan availability to the brain and brain 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis are all reversed by the opiate antagonist naloxone. 6. It is suggested that the opposite effects on brain tryptophan metabolism of chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of the above drugs of dependence are mediated by the changes in liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity. 6. Similar conclusions based on similar findings have previously been made in relation to chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of ethanol. These findings with all four drugs are briefly discussed in relation to previous work and the mechanism(s) of drug dependence.

scholarly journals Electroconvulsive Therapy and Corpus Callosum Aplasia: A 3-Year Followup

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Ulrich Palm ◽  
Philipp Strauss ◽  
Christoph Born ◽  
Oliver Pogarell
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Medical History ◽  
Treatment Option ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Brain Malformation ◽  
Second Generation Antipsychotics ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Brain

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a powerful treatment option in severe or chronic catatonic states and has been reported to be useful in oligophrenic patients. We report the followup medical history of a patient with corpus callosum aplasia (or agenesis) who was continuously treated with ECT over three years. First, he improved considerably after a series of ECT, but relapses of catatonia made a continuous, weekly ECT necessary. Due to the severity of the brain malformation, an add-on medication with benzodiazepines and second generation antipsychotics was necessary to treat catatonic symptoms. This case emphasises the benefits of long-term ECT in oligophrenic patients.

The Acute Effect of Alcohol on Various Memory Processes

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márk Molnár ◽  
Roland Boha ◽  
Balázs Czigler ◽  
Zsófia Anna Gaál
Keyword(s):  
Low Dose ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Acute Effect ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Legal Consequences

This review surveys relevant and recent data of the pertinent literature regarding the acute effect of alcohol on various kinds of memory processes with special emphasis on working memory. The characteristics of different types of long-term memory (LTM) and short-term memory (STM) processes are summarized with an attempt to relate these to various structures in the brain. LTM is typically impaired by chronic alcohol intake but according to some data a single dose of ethanol may have long lasting effects if administered at a critically important age. The most commonly seen deleterious acute effect of alcohol to STM appears following large doses of ethanol in conditions of “binge drinking” causing the “blackout” phenomenon. However, with the application of various techniques and well-structured behavioral paradigms it is possible to detect, albeit occasionally, subtle changes of cognitive processes even as a result of a low dose of alcohol. These data may be important for the consideration of legal consequences of low-dose ethanol intake in conditions such as driving, etc.

Moving past the vaccine/autism controversy - to examine potential vaccine neurological harms

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Peter R. Breggin
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Psychosocial Disorders ◽  
The Us ◽  
Potential Vaccine ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Brain ◽  
New Vaccines

BACKGROUND: The vaccine/autism controversy has caused vast scientific and public confusion, and it has set back research and education into genuine vaccine-induced neurological disorders. The great strawman of autism has been so emphasized by the vaccine industry that it, and it alone, often appears in authoritative discussions of adverse effects of the MMR and other vaccines. By dismissing the chimerical vaccine/autism controversy, vaccine defenders often dismiss all genuinely neurological aftereffects of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and other vaccines, including well-documented events, such as relatively rare cases of encephalopathy and encephalitis. OBJECTIVE: This report explains that autism is not a physical or neurological disorder. It is not caused by injury or disease of the brain. It is a developmental disorder that has no physical origins and no physical symptoms. It is extremely unlikely that vaccines are causing autism; but it is extremely likely that they are causing more neurological damage than currently appreciated, some of it resulting in psychosocial disabilities that can be confused with autism and other psychosocial disorders. This confusion between a developmental, psychosocial disorder and a physical neurological disease has played into the hands of interest groups who want to deny that vaccines have any neurological and associated neuropsychiatric effects. METHODS: A review of the scientific literature, textbooks, and related media commentary is integrated with basic clinical knowledge. RESULTS: This report shows how scientific sources have used the vaccine/autism controversy to avoid dealing with genuine neurological risks associated with vaccines and summarizes evidence that vaccines, including the MMR, can cause serious neurological disorders. Manufacturers have been allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain vaccine approval without placebo-controlled clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: The misleading vaccine autism controversy must be set aside in favor of examining actual neurological harms associated with vaccines, including building on existing research that has been ignored. Manufacturers of vaccines must be required to conduct placebo-controlled clinical studies for existing vaccines and for government approval of new vaccines. Many probable or confirmed neurological adverse events occur within a few days or weeks after immunization and could be detected if the trials were sufficiently large. Contrary to current opinion, large, long-term placebo-controlled trials of existing and new vaccines would be relatively easy and safe to conduct.

Registered Report: Transcriptional Analysis of Savings Memory Suggests Forgetting Is Due to Retrieval Failure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Calin-Jageman ◽  
Irina Calin-Jageman ◽  
Tania Rosiles ◽  
Melissa Nguyen ◽  
Annette Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Memory Trace ◽  
Aplysia Californica ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Retrieval Failure ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
Rigorous Test ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Induced Changes

[[This is a Stage 2 Registered Report manuscript now accepted for publication at eNeuro. The accepted Stage 1 manuscript is posted here: https://psyarxiv.com/s7dft, and the pre-registration for the project is available here (https://osf.io/fqh8j, 9/11/2019). A link to the final Stage 2 manuscript will be posted after peer review and publication.]] There is fundamental debate about the nature of forgetting: some have argued that it represents the decay of the memory trace, others that the memory trace persists but becomes inaccessible due to retrieval failure. These different accounts of forgetting lead to different predictions about savings memory, the rapid re-learning of seemingly forgotten information. If forgetting is due to decay, then savings requires re-encoding and should thus involve the same mechanisms as initial learning. If forgetting is due to retrieval failure, then savings should be mechanistically distinct from encoding. In this registered report we conducted a pre-registered and rigorous test between these accounts of forgetting. Specifically, we used microarray to characterize the transcriptional correlates of a new memory (1 day after training), a forgotten memory (8 days after training), and a savings memory (8 days after training but with a reminder on day 7 to evoke a long-term savings memory) for sensitization in Aplysia californica (n = 8 samples/group). We found that the re-activation of sensitization during savings does not involve a substantial transcriptional response. Thus, savings is transcriptionally distinct relative to a newer (1-day old) memory, with no co-regulated transcripts, negligible similarity in regulation-ranked ordering of transcripts, and a negligible correlation in training-induced changes in gene expression (r = .04 95% CI [-.12, .20]). Overall, our results suggest that forgetting of sensitization memory represents retrieval failure.

Long-term management of patients with multiple brain metastases after shaped beam radiosurgery

2004 ◽  
pp. 406-412
Author(s):  
Paul Okunieff ◽  
Michael C. Schell ◽  
Russell Ruo ◽  
E. Ronald Hale ◽  
Walter G. O'Dell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Metastases ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Multiple Metastases ◽  
Extracranial Disease ◽  
Successful Control ◽  
The Brain

✓ The role of radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with advanced-stage metastatic disease is currently under debate. Previous randomized studies have not consistently supported the use of radiosurgery to treat patients with numbers of brain metastases. In negative-results studies, however, intracranial tumor control was high but extracranial disease progressed; thus, patient survival was not greatly affected, although neurocognitive function was generally maintained until death. Because the future promises improved systemic (extracranial) therapy, the successful control of brain disease is that much more crucial. Thus, for selected patients with multiple metastases to the brain who remain in good neurological condition, aggressive lesion-targeting radiosurgery should be very useful. Although a major limitation to success of this therapy is the lack of control of extracranial disease in most patients, it is clear that well-designed, aggressive treatment substantially decreases the progression of brain metastases and also improves neurocognitive survival. The authors present the management and a methodology for rational treatment of a patient with breast cancer who has harbored 24 brain metastases during a 3-year period.

Exploring the Role of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning In Long Term Cognitive Impairment after Global Ischemia-Reperfusion-Induced Vascular Dementia in Mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amteshwar Singh Jaggi
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Ischemic Preconditioning ◽  
Ischemia Reperfusion ◽  
Remote Ischemic Preconditioning ◽  
Global Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Cerebral Ischemic ◽  
The Brain

Aim: The aim of the present study is to explore the neuroprotective effects of remote ischemic preconditioning in long term cognitive impairment after global cerebral ischemia induced-vascular dementia in mice. Material and methods: The mice were subjected to global cerebral ischemia by occluding the bilateral common carotid arteries for 12 minutes followed by the 24 hours of the reperfusion. The remote ischemic preconditioning stimulus was delivered in the form of 4 cycles of ischemia/reperfusion for 5 minutes each. The cerebral ischemic injury induced-long term cognitive impairment-related learning and memory alterations was assessed using morris water maze, the motor performances of the animals were evaluated using rota-rod test and neurological severity score. The cerebral infract size of the brain were quantified using triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Results: Global cerebral ischemia causes long term memory impairment, decreases motor performances and increases the brain infract size in animals. The delivery of remote ischemic preconditioning stimulus significantly abolished the long-term cognitive impairment and ameliorates the motor performances as well as cerebral infract size in brain. Conclusion: The remote ischemic preconditioning mediates neuro protection against global cerebral ischemic injury induced long-term cognitive impairment.

Integrated Biomarkers for Depression in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Critical Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Wenzler ◽  
Christian Knochel ◽  
Ceylan Balaban ◽  
Dominik Kraft ◽  
Juliane Kopf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Manifestation ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Control Functional

Depression is a common neuropsychiatric manifestation among Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. It may compromise everyday activities and lead to a faster cognitive decline as well as worse quality of life. The identification of promising biomarkers may therefore help to timely initiate and improve the treatment of preclinical and clinical states of AD, and to improve the long-term functional outcome. In this narrative review, we report studies that investigated biomarkers for AD-related depression. Genetic findings state AD-related depression as a rather complex, multifactorial trait with relevant environmental and inherited contributors. However, one specific set of genes, the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), specifically the Val66Met polymorphism, may play a crucial role in AD-related depression. Regarding neuroimaging markers, the most promising findings reveal structural impairments in the cortico-subcortical networks that are related to affect regulation and reward / aversion control. Functional imaging studies reveal abnormalities in predominantly frontal and temporal regions. Furthermore, CSF based biomarkers are seen as potentially promising for the diagnostic process showing abnormalities in metabolic pathways that contribute to AD-related depression. However, there is a need for standardization of methodological issues and for replication of current evidence with larger cohorts and prospective studies.

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