M. Sandler

Bio: M. Sandler is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Monoamine oxidase & Monoamine oxidase B. The author has an hindex of 40, co-authored 136 publications receiving 5463 citations.

Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids: in vivo metabolites of L-dopa in man.

Abstract: Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids have been unequivocally demonstrated in vivo for the first time in parkinsonian patients on L-dopa treatment. Their biosynthesis may have a profound bearing on how L-dopa acts.

Dopamine is a monoamine oxidase B substrate in man

Abstract: DURING the past decade, the central neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA), has been much studied for it is known to be involved in certain human disease states, Parkinsonism1 preeminently, and rather more inferentially, schizophrenia2. DA is metabolised by monoamine oxidase (MAO)3, which catalyses the oxidative deamination of a wide range of monoamines4,5, including the neurotransmitters noradrenaline (NA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and other amines such as tyramine, tryptamine and phenylethylamine (PEA). On the basis of animal studies with the inhibitors, clorgyline6, and later deprenil7, MAO has been classified into two types, A and B. By definition, type A is selectively inhibited by clorgyline and type B by deprenil. In general, type A acts on 5-HT6 while type B prefers PEA8. In the rat, DA is preferentially deaminated by MAOA9–11. It thus seemed paradoxical that, in the treatment of Parkinsonism, addition of the MAOB inhibitor, deprenil, to a DA-generating drug combination should produce further therapeutic benefit12. In this report, we reconcile these apparently conflicting observations by demonstrating that, as far as DA oxidation is concerned, man may be different from rat: in two sites we have investigated, platelet and brain, DA is preferentially deaminated by an enzyme with the characteristics of MAOB.

Links between early post-partum mood and post-natal depression.

Abstract: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to rate 217 patients at five days and six weeks post-partum. There was a highly significant positive correlation between the two scores, together with similar symptom profiles. Of the 25 women who suffered post-natal depression (6-week EPDS score greater than or equal to 13), 17 had similar symptoms in the first week post-partum (5-day EPDS score greater than or equal to 10). Low birth weight of the baby, delivery by Caesarean section, a delivery much more difficult than expected, and bottle feeding were all significantly associated with a high EPDS score in the first week post-partum. Bottle feeding and delivery by Caesarean section were the only factors associated with depression at the sixth week. A recollection of low mood after a previous birth was also associated with post-natal depression after the current birth. This, together with an EPDS score of 13 or more at five days post-partum, increased the risk of post-natal depression at six weeks 85-fold.

Deprenyl administration in man: A selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitor without the ‘cheese effect’

Abstract: After pretreatment with the selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitor, (-)-deprenyl, in doses sufficient for complete inhibition of the platelet enzyme, 4 normal and 6 parkinsoniam volunteers (2 receiving levodopa and 2 levodopa plus carbidopa) suffered no adverse pressor reaction ('cheese effect') after challenge with oral tyramine in amounts considerably greater than those likely to be encountered in a normal diet. Nor did the levodopa-deprenyl combination itself result in a pressor response. Normal human intestinal mucosa was shown predominantly to contain the deprenyl-insensitive A form of the enzyme, which presumably degraded administered tyramine in the deprenyl-treated volunteers; even those receiving the drug for prolonged periods manifested no 'cheese effect', suggesting that the A form remained uninhibited. Intestinal monoamine oxidase A was able to oxidise dopamine, whereas in human platelet or striatum the amine is a monoamine oxidase B substrate. Like tyramine, oral phenylethylamine challenge with amounts greater than those known to be present in a normal diet similarly gave rise to no adverse reaction in (-)-deprenyl-treated subjects; the reasons for this remain to be determined.

Predictors of postpartum depression: an update.

Abstract: Background Approximately 13% of women experience postpartum depression. Early recognition is one of the most difficult challenges with this mood disorder because of how covertly it is suffered. Objectives The purpose of this meta-analysis was to update the findings of an earlier meta-analysis of postpartum depression predictors that had synthesized the results of studies conducted mostly in the 1980s. Method A meta-analysis of 84 studies published in the decade of the 1990s was conducted to determine the magnitude of the relationships between postpartum depression and various risk factors. Using the software system Advanced Basic Meta-Analysis, effect sizes were calculated three ways: unweighted, weighted by sample size, and weighted by quality index score. Results Thirteen significant predictors of postpartum depression were revealed. Ten of the 13 risk factors had moderate effect sizes while three predictors had small effect sizes. The mean effect size indicator ranges for each risk factor were as follows: prenatal depression (.44 to .46), self esteem (.45 to. 47), childcare stress (.45 to .46), prenatal anxiety (.41 to .45), life stress (.38 to .40), social support (.36 to .41), marital relationship (.38 to .39), history of previous depression (.38 to .39), infant temperament (.33 to .34), maternity blues (.25 to .31), marital status (.21 to .35), socioeconomic status (.19 to .22), and unplanned/unwanted pregnancy (.14 to .17). Conclusions Results confirmed findings of an earlier meta-analysis and in addition revealed four new predictors of postpartum depression: self-esteem, marital status, socioeconomic status, and unplanned/unwanted pregnancy.