John T. Biggs

Bio: John T. Biggs is an academic researcher from Washington University in St. Louis. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nortriptyline & Tricyclic antidepressant. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 22 publications receiving 7991 citations.

A rating scale for mania: reliability, validity and sensitivity.

Abstract: An eleven item clinician-administered Mania Rating Scale (MRS) is introduced, and its reliability, validity and sensitivity are examined. There was a high correlation between the scores of two independent clinicians on both the total score (0.93) and the individual item scores (0.66 to 0.92). The MRS score correlated highly with an independent global rating, and with scores of two other mania rating scales administered concurrently. The score also correlated with the number of days of subsequent stay in hospital. It was able to differentiate statistically patients before and after two weeks of treatment and to distinguish levels of severity based on the global rating.

Validity of the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale.

Abstract: The Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (ZSDS) correlated well (0.69) with the treating physician's global rating in 26 depressed out-patients during the six weeks of treatment with a tricyclic anti-depressant. In a larger sample of 41 patients, a high correlation was found between the ZSDS and the Hamilton Rating Scale. The sensitivity of the ZSDS was found to be adequate. The scale was able to differentiate, at the 0.05 level, four severity groups classified on the basis of the global rating. The importance of the direct relationship between the range of severity studied and the value of the correlation coefficient was discussed. Previous investigations and the results of this study indicate that the ZSDS is a valid and sensitive measure of clinical severity in depressed patients and support its continued use as a research instrument.

Nortriptyline plasma levels and therapeutic response.

Abstract: Eighteen depressed outpatients were treated for 6 wk with amitriptyline. Clinical improvement was monitored using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale administered by two psychiatrists blind to the tricyclic used for treatment, dosage, and plasma levels. Amitriptyline and its desmethyl metabolite, notriptyline, were assayed twice weekly by gas chromatography-mass fragmentography. For the 17 patients having total tricyclic plasma levels between 0 and 250 ng/ml, there was a negative correlation between the Hamilton score and the mean total tricyclic level (p less than 0.01) and amitriptyline level (p less than 0.005). The mean nortriptyline level did not significantly correlate with the Hamilton score. The 10 patients having mean total tricyclic levels above 95 ng/ml had lower median Hamilton scores at week 3 (p less than 0.025) and at week 6 (p less than 0.0025) than those whose tricyclics were lower. The percentage of recovered patients increases significantly as the plasma levels rise to 250 ng/ml, the maximum plasma level considered in this study.

Tricyclic Antidepressant Overdose: Incidence of Symptoms

Abstract: Forty consecutively hospitalized patients who had overdosed primarily with a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) were observed until discharge. The severity of the overdose was documented by serial measurements of plasma TCA levels. Nineteen of the patients became comatose, 16 required supportive respiration, and 2 died. Individual symptoms in the 13 patients having plasma TCA levels greater than 1,000 ng/ml are shown. Plasma TCA measurements more reliably define patients who are at risk for major medical complications following overdose than does the amount of drug ingested by history. In the absence of plasma measurements, a QRS duration of 100 msec or more on a routine ECG within the first 24 hours defined all patients with major TCA overdoses. (JAMA238:135-138, 1977)

Tricyclic antidepressant plasma levels and adverse effects after overdose.

Abstract: Forty patients ingesting tricyclic antidepressant (TAD) overdoses were studied as a pharmacologic model to determine whether total tricyclic antidepressant plasma levels correlated with major adverse effects and electrocardiographic findings. Maximum TAD plasma levels were higher in patients who died (p less than 0.025) or had cardiac arrest (p less than 0.02), needed respiratory support (p less than 0.005), were unconscious (p less than 0.02), had grand mal seizures (p less than 0.001), ventricular rate larger than or equal to 120/min (p less than 0.01), cardiac arrhythmia (p less than 0.05), QRS duration larger than or equal to 100 msec (p less than 0.001), or bundle branch block (p less than 0.05). TAD plasma levels correlated with the dose ingested by history (N = 29, r = 0.58, p less than 0.001). Measurement of total TAD (free and protein-bound) appears to correlate well with biologic response.

A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression

Abstract: Context Existing therapies for major depression have a lag of onset of action of several weeks, resulting in considerable morbidity. Exploring pharmacological strategies that have rapid onset of antidepressant effects within a few days and that are sustained would have an enormous impact on patient care. Converging lines of evidence suggest the role of the glutamatergic system in the pathophysiology and treatment of mood disorders. Objective To determine whether a rapid antidepressant effect can be achieved with an antagonist at theN-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in subjects with major depression. Design A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study from November 2004 to September 2005. Setting Mood Disorders Research Unit at the National Institute of Mental Health. Patients Eighteen subjects withDSM-IVmajor depression (treatment resistant). Interventions After a 2-week drug-free period, subjects were given an intravenous infusion of either ketamine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg) or placebo on 2 test days, a week apart. Subjects were rated at baseline and at 40, 80, 110, and 230 minutes and 1, 2, 3, and 7 days postinfusion. Main Outcome Measure Changes in scores on the primary efficacy measure, the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Results Subjects receiving ketamine showed significant improvement in depression compared with subjects receiving placebo within 110 minutes after injection, which remained significant throughout the following week. The effect size for the drug difference was very large (d = 1.46 [95% confidence interval, 0.91-2.01]) after 24 hours and moderate to large (d = 0.68 [95% confidence interval, 0.13-1.23]) after 1 week. Of the 17 subjects treated with ketamine, 71% met response and 29% met remission criteria the day following ketamine infusion. Thirty-five percent of subjects maintained response for at least 1 week. Conclusions Robust and rapid antidepressant effects resulted from a single intravenous dose of anN-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist; onset occurred within 2 hours postinfusion and continued to remain significant for 1 week. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT00088699.

Subgenual prefrontal cortex abnormalities in mood disorders

Abstract: Pathological disturbances of mood may follow a 'bipolar' course, in which normal moods alternate with both depression and mania, or a 'unipolar' course, in which only depression occurs. Both bipolar and unipolar disorders can be heritable illnesses associated with neurochemical, neuroendocrine and autonomic abnormalities. The neurobiological basis for these abnormalities has not been established. Using positron emission tomographic (PET) images of cerebral blood flow and rate of glucose metabolism to measure brain activity, we have now localized an area of abnormally decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex ventral to the genu of the corpus callosum in both familial bipolar depressives and familial unipolar depressives. This decrement in activity was at least partly explained by a corresponding reduction in cortical volume, as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated reductions in the mean grey matter volume in the same area of 39 and 48% in the bipolar and unipolar samples, respectively. This region has previously been implicated in the mediation of emotional and autonomic responses to socially significant or provocative stimuli, and in the modulation of the neurotransmitter systems targeted by antidepressant drugs.

Lifetime and 12-Month Prevalence of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication

Abstract: The estimated lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder (BPD) in population surveys using structured diagnostic interviews and standardized criteria averages approximately 0.8% for BP-I and 1.1% for BP-II.1-8 Despite this comparatively low prevalence, BPD is a leading cause of premature mortality due to suicide and associated medical conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.9, 10 BPD also causes widespread role impairment.11, 12 The recurrent nature of manic and depressive episodes often leads to high direct as well as high indirect health care costs.13, 14 BPD might be even more burdensome from a societal perspective due to the fact that sub-threshold bipolar spectrum disorder has seldom been taken into consideration in examining the epidemiology of BPD. Bipolar spectrum disorder includes hypomania without major depression and hypomania of lesser severity or briefer duration than specified in the DSM and ICD criteria. Although the precise definitions are as yet unclear, recent studies suggest that bipolar spectrum disorder might affect as many as 6% of the general population.15, 16 However, bipolar spectrum disorder has not been studied previously in a nationally representative survey of the US. The purpose of the current report is to present the results of such a study based on analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R).17 We estimate prevalence and clinical features of sub-threshold BPD in comparison to BP-I and BP-II.

Prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in the world mental health survey initiative.

Abstract: Context There is limited information on the prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in international population-based studies using common methods. Objectives To describe the prevalence, impact, patterns of comorbidity, and patterns of service utilization for bipolar spectrum disorder (BPS) in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional, face-to-face, household surveys of 61 392 community adults in 11 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia assessed with the World Mental Health version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview, version 3.0, a fully structured, lay-administered psychiatric diagnostic interview. Main Outcome Measures Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) disorders, severity, and treatment. Results The aggregate lifetime prevalences were 0.6% for bipolar type I disorder (BP-I), 0.4% for BP-II, 1.4% for subthreshold BP, and 2.4% for BPS. Twelve-month prevalences were 0.4% for BP-I, 0.3% for BP-II, 0.8% for subthreshold BP, and 1.5% for BPS. Severity of both manic and depressive symptoms as well as suicidal behavior increased monotonically from subthreshold BP to BP-I. By contrast, role impairment was similar across BP subtypes. Symptom severity was greater for depressive episodes than manic episodes, with approximately 74.0% of respondents with depression and 50.9% of respondents with mania reporting severe role impairment. Three-quarters of those with BPS met criteria for at least 1 other disorder, with anxiety disorders (particularly panic attacks) being the most common comorbid condition. Less than half of those with lifetime BPS received mental health treatment, particularly in low-income countries, where only 25.2% reported contact with the mental health system. Conclusions Despite cross-site variation in the prevalence rates of BPS, the severity, impact, and patterns of comorbidity were remarkably similar internationally. The uniform increases in clinical correlates, suicidal behavior, and comorbidity across each diagnostic category provide evidence for the validity of the concept of BPS. Treatment needs for BPS are often unmet, particularly in low-income countries.