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Showing papers on "Psychotropic drug published in 1974"



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The more positive the attitude which the doctor had towards the use of drugs for social problems and everyday stress, the more psychotropic drugs were prescribed, and the length of the surgery hours seemed to best explain the drug prescribing frequencies.
Abstract: The purpose of this study has been to unravel factors contributing to the question of the quantity of psychotropic drug prescribing. Forty-seven general practitioners (71% of the sample) participated. The information on the doctors' characteristics was collected by anonymous questionnaires. Also, each doctor registered all his patients, their biographical data, diagnosed diseases, and treatment on one day. Drug prescribing frequencies indicating the number of drugs per diagnosis were counted from these registers afterwards. On average, one drug was prescribed for each diagnosis, one psychotropic drug for every tenth diagnosis, and one hidden psychotropic drug for every fourteenth diagnosis. These drug prescribing frequencies differed greatly from doctor to doctor. However, a little of this variation could be explained by the variables chosen. The length of the surgery hours seemed to best explain the drug prescribing frequencies: the longer the day, the more drugs prescribed. Doctors who were cautious and uncertain in deciding had lower frequencies in prescribing psychotropic drugs. The more positive the attitude which the doctor had towards the use of drugs for social problems and everyday stress, the more psychotropic drugs were prescribed. The estimated amounts of psychic disturbances among patients were not correlated to psychotropic drug frequency.

28 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: Concern regarding polypharmacy practices may need to give way to "maxipharmacy" which in the extreme was represented by a regimen of six neuroleptic agents which included: fluphenazine-haloperidol-promazine-thioridazine-Thiothixene-trifluoperazine.
Abstract: Surveys of prescription practices have indicated that what was initially a novel treatment choice begins to be employed with greater frequency in psychiatric samples. While data from geriatric samples show an apparent restraint on the part of psychiatrists in use of potent neuroleptic combinations, it is clear, drug combinations are still employed in older patients. Combinations of specific psychotropic agents are related to sex and age of the patient with the most frequent combination of drug type being of neuroleptic and antidepressant. This study presents data derived from an incidental sample of psychiatrists from four states having large patient and psychiatrist populations. A single case questionnaire survey was devoted to identifying the types of drugs used in combination. It was clear that this sample of psychiatrists, from diverse backgrounds who are responding to the same set of symptoms, used a broad array of drug combinations. Chlorpromazine-trifluoperazine was the combination showing most frequent use. As the patients' symptoms persisted, combinations of drugs used in treatment became more unique and diverse. After one year of ineffective chemotherapy combinations of three and up to six potent neuroleptics were prescribed. It would seem that once drugs were prescribed in combination then it becomes easier to add another and another to a failing chemotherapeutic regimen. New York respondents combined two drugs most frequently. Some go to combinations of three, four, and as many as six drugs at one time. Pennsylvania psychiatrists were next most frequent in multiple drug use. California and Texas respondents used combinations least frequently. Nonetheless, concern regarding polypharmacy practices may need to give way to "maxipharmacy" which in the extreme was represented by a regimen of six neuroleptic agents which included: fluphenazine-haloperidol-promazine-thioridazine-thiothixene-trifluoperazine. The proliferation of potent but partially effective psychotropic drugs has advanced the development of unnecessary treatment procedures. Polypharmacy in psychiatry represents an example of a "legitimate" but unnecessary use of psychotropic agents. The use of combinations of psychoactive medications developed and continues largely out of arbitrary clinical experience instead of evolving from medical data. Use of polypharmacy in treatment is similar in kind to developing a new generation of treatment forms, essentially investigational with insufficient evidence available regarding compatibility, dose response factors, side effects and relative efficacy.

27 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The purpose of the present communication is to report on the effects of high levels of circulating prolactin on gonadotropin and progesterone secretion during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
Abstract: The purpose of the present communication is to report on the effects of high levels of circulating prolactin on gonadotropin and progesterone secretion during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Purified human prolactin not being available, endogenous prolactin was increased in six normal cycling women by daily oral administration of 150 mg sulpiride starting at midcycle. Blood samples were collected daily during a control cycle and during the cycle under treatment. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and prolactin were measured by radioimmunoassay methods. Prolactin results were expressed in terms of a laboratory standard: 1.0 unit (U) is the amount of immunoreactive prolactin contained in 1.0 ml of a pool of sera rich in prolactin. Serum progesterone was measured by competitive protein binding. All control cycles were ovulatory. The length of the luteal phase ranged from 14 to 15 days. In all cycles under treatment, there was a significant rise (p

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Analysis of the information provided by patients themselves with regard to the nature of the diseases and the symptoms for which psychotropic drugs are prescribed suggested that the reasons for the increased use of drugs should be traced back to the doctor and the factors that influence him.
Abstract: The use of psychotropic drugs is on the increase. The purpose of this study was to analyse the information provided by patients themselves with regard to the nature of the diseases and the symptoms for which psychotropic drugs are prescribed. The subjects (N=307) for the study were chosen from among people visiting a pharmacy. The cases were consecutively picked up of customers receiving psychotropic drugs by prescription; the control group comprised the next-following customers to buy some other prescribed drug. Comparison of the two groups suggested that the reasons for the increased use of drugs should be traced back to the doctor and the factors that influence him. It seems that one mechanism to which the increased utilization of psychotropic drugs is attributable arises from the broadened field of indications.

16 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The molecular conformation of 2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis as mentioned in this paper, which is the first determination of a free base in this class of compounds.
Abstract: The molecular conformation of the title compound was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystals are triclinic, a= 7·43(4), b= 16·73(4), c= 5·25(6)A, α= 93° 30′, β= 87° 30′, γ= 96° 18′, P, Z= 2. The structure was solved by direct methods. The molecular conformation resembles that of 2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine and differs from other substituted phenethylamines including dopamine hydrochloride and norepinephrine hydrochloride. This is the first determination of a free base in this class of compounds.

9 citations




Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1974

7 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: The present study found that minor tranquilizer assignment to non-alcoholic inpatients was a virtually random procedure, and the general ability of predicting psychotropic drug assignment via a statistical model was nevertheless supported.
Abstract: A previous study on assignment of four major categories of psychotropic drugs to psychiatric inpatients generated the hypothesis that patients assigned minor tranquilizers consisted of two distinct sub-groups, one of which consisted of diagnosed alcoholics. The present study confirmed that hypothesis. More importantly, it found that minor tranquilizer assignment to non-alcoholic inpatients was a virtually random procedure. The general ability of predicting psychotropic drug assignment via a statistical model was nevertheless supported.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sulpiride, a new psychotropic drug with neuroleptic activity, was administered to rats in a Sidman avoidance schedule and resulted in the animal receiving fewer shocks.
Abstract: Sulpiride, a new psychotropic drug with neuroleptic activity, was administered to rats in a Sidman avoidance schedule. Doses ranging from 1 to 80 mg/kg resulted in the animal receiving fewer shocks. This effect was not correlated with an increase of responding and seemed unrelated to the suppressing action abruptly observed at high doses (i. e. 150 to 200 mg/kg). These results differ from those classicaly obtained with other neuroleptics.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The paper concludes that the standardized video-tape interview shows promise of being a highly reliable and clinically valid instrument for assessing clinical changes in a behavioral, objective and parsimonious manner and would seem to be a useful dependent variable in psychotropic drug studies.
Abstract: Literature is reviewed concerning the development and present status of the standardized video-tape interview. The paper concludes that since this interview technique shows promise of being a highly reliable and clinically valid instrument for assessing clinical changes in a behavioral, objective and parsimonious manner, and because of its demonstrated ability to reflect meaningful change based on specific experimental and therapeutic conditions, it would seem to be a useful dependent variable in psychotropic drug studies.

Journal Article
TL;DR: The ability of simple algorithms to assign classes of psychotropic drugs to psychiatric inpatients in agreement with actual clinical decisions was investigated and agreement among clinicians appears to be the limiting factor in most studies of this type.
Abstract: The ability of simple algorithms, primarily diagnostic, to assign classes of psychotropic drugs to psychiatric inpatients in agreement with actual clinical decisions was investigated. Overall agreement (hit-rates) ranging from 48 to 65 percent were found across four major drug groups: major tranquilizer, antidepressant, minor tranquilizer, and no psychotropic drug. These hit-rates may be compared with multivariate formulae developed in earlier studies that achieved hit-rates ranging from 62 to 77 percent. Agreement among clinicians (about 70 percent) appears to be the limiting factor in most studies of this type.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings are interpreted to indicate that the response of clinical trial patients represents a justifiable test of clinical efficacy and safety.

Journal Article
TL;DR: The antidepressant maprotilin (Ludiomil) of the substance group of dibenzo-bicyclo-octadiene shows-contrary to the previously used antidepressants-an incentive-increasing and mood-elevating but also an anxiolytic effect, nearly no influence on the circulation, insignificant side effects and a prompt onset of effect after administration.
Abstract: Since the rediscovery of lithium salts as a prophylactic against depression and the introduction of long-term neuroleptic drugs, Europe has experienced a stagnation in the development of new psychotropic drugs of new structure and influence radius. In the past two years, only one new antidepressant, three neuroleptic drugs and three tranquilizers with a particular activity spectrum and range of indication have been developed. The antidepressant maprotilin (Ludiomil) of the substance group of dibenzo-bicyclo-octadiene shows-contrary to the previously used antidepressants-an incentive-increasing and mood-elevating but also an anxiolytic effect, nearly no influence on the circulation, insignificant side effects and a prompt onset of effect after administration. Therefore, it may also be administered for people suffering from heart disease and old age. Its main ranges of indication are for anxious and retarded endogenous as well as involutional depressive states. In the field of neuroleptics, the trend goes to development of long-term neuroleptics and also to neuroleptic drugs with prompt efficacy. Concerning tranquilizers, one is searching for anxiolytic drugs with slight sedative effects. The chemical structure related to influence radii, the ranges of indication and the side effects of these recently developed drugs are presented.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1974
TL;DR: In this paper, a joint project of the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit and the Crystallography Group at the University Chemical Laboratory is described, which combines neurochemical evaluation of drug activity with X-ray examination of the detailed geometry and stereochemistry of these compounds.
Abstract: The work described here is a joint project of the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit and the Crystallography Group at the University Chemical Laboratory. We are trying to combine neurochemical evaluation of drug activity with X-ray examination of the detailed geometry and stereochemistry of these compounds. We are, however, trying to extend the conventional approach to the study of conformation in the solid state by an investigation of the possible conformations which a molecule may adopt by calculations of the minimum energy conformations. For these calculations we use empirical van der Waals potentials and are at present neglecting the effect of hydrogen bonding and ionic forces. We hope, however, that these calculations will lead to a better understanding of the validity of the solid state determinations and their correlation with the conformation of these drug molecules at the receptor site.