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Historical Article 2008; 29(Suppl 1): 5-9 PubMed PMID: 19029880 Citation  Keywords:  Atropine:pharmacology, Clinical Trials as Topic:history, Coma:chemically induced, Convulsants:pharmacology, Convulsive Therapy, History, 20th Century, Humans, Mental Disorders:therapy, Muscarinic Antagonists:pharmacology, Pentylenetetrazole:pharmacology, .   

: Biological treatment of mental disorders has obviously strong links to psychopharmacology. It is no wonder that the greatest expectations for progress in the treatment of mental conditions are focused on new drugs or molecules that share interesting properties of pharmacological mechanisms of action. However, nowadays the development of non-pharmacological options, including transcranial magnetic stimulation or vagus nerve stimulation, indicates the need for more efficacious and better tolerated treatment modalities. Before the age of modern psychopharmacology, which began in the 1950s, treatment of mental disorders was rather limited to only a few methods that had proved to be of some efficacy. In the absence of other, more efficacious treatment methods, these therapies-such as insulin coma or atropine coma-brought at least some relief to those who suffered from serious mental disorders. Obviously, at present we are aware that these therapies should be considered far less efficient than modern psychotropic drugs; however, at the time when these methods were used, no other efficient treatment methods were available....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(Suppl 4): 18-19 PubMed PMID: 18030251 Citation  Keywords:  Brain:pathology, Coma:chemically induced, Functional Laterality:drug effects, Humans, Marchiafava-Bignami Disease:chemically induced, Reflex:drug effects, Slovakia, Spasm:chemically induced, Wine:adverse effects,.   

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Comparative Study 2005; 26(2): 113-120 PubMed PMID: 15855881 Citation  Keywords:  Adrenal Medulla:physiology, Adrenalectomy, Animals, Epinephrine:physiology, Fibrosarcoma:chemically induced, Hormones:physiology, Male, Methylcholanthrene, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Transplantation, Autologous, Tumor Burden:physiology,.   

OBJECTIVE: Effects of adrenomedullary hormone(s) on the induction and growth of fibrosarcoma by methylcholanthrene (MC) were examined.

METHODS: At 28 days of age, male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: 1) control, 2) bilateral adrenomedullectomy (Bil. AMX), 3) right AMX + left adrenomedullary autotransplantation (AMX + AMT), 4) Bil. AMX + epinephrine injection (Bil. AMX + E) groups. 14 days after surgery, MC crystals were inserted underneath the dorsal skin, and in the Bil. AMX + E group, epinephrine was injected subcutaneously, twice every week.

RESULTS: The incidence of tumor at 90 days after the MC injection was 8 per 35 cases (22.9%) in the control group, 12 per 36 cases (33.3%) in the AMX + AMT group, 8 per 28 cases (28.6%) in the Bil. AMX + E group, and each value was lower compared with that of the Bil. AMX group, 24 per 34 cases (70.6 %), (P<0.001, P<0.002, P<0.005). Such differences among groups were not seen at 165 days after the injection of MC.

DISCUSSION: The mechanisms of effects of AMX, AMT and/or epinephrine on the tumor incidence have been discussed with reference to tumor promotion, vascular neoplasia, etc. Since norepinephrine remaining in the blood of AMX rats was ineffective, at least it is likely that this inhibitory effect of epinephrine is mediated via the beta2-receptor.

CONCLUSION: The results suggest that adrenomedullary hormone, probably epinephrine, has inhibitory effects on the induction and growth of fibrosarcoma by MC, particularly in the early stage....

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