[Immediate suppression of endogenous cortisol secretion after single oral administration of 6-alpha-methylprednisolone]. / Unmittelbare Unterdrückung der endogenen Kortisolsekretion nach oraler Einzeldosis von 6-alpha-Methylprednisolon.

Plasma samples from 5 asthma patients were taken in 4-h intervals before and 1, 2, 4 and 6 h after the oral application of 100 mg methylprednisolone. Reversed-phase HPLC allowed simultaneous measurement of both endogenous hydrocortisone and exogeneous methylprednisolone. Suppression of endogeneous hydrocortisone secretion occurs immediately after administration of a single oral dose of an exogeneous glucocorticoid and cannot be avoided by morning application.

MK-801 and enantiomers: potential antidepressants or false positives in classical screening models?

In the present experiments, the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist 5-methyl-10,11-dihydroxy-5H-dibenzo(a,d)cyclo-hepten-5,10-imine (MK-801) and its (+) and (-) enantiomers were tested in classical screening models used to detect potential antidepressants. The drug and its enantiomers were active in the tail suspension test (TST). The racemate was also active in the forced swimming test (FST). The effects in these tests occurred, however, at doses with marked stimulant activity. Further investigations (reserpine, apomorphine, and yohimbine tests) could not confirm the suspected antidepressant activity. Other NMDA antagonists--2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP7), kynurenic acid, and 1-glutamic acid diethylester (GDEE)--showed no activity in the TST. These findings throw doubt concerning the potential antidepressant activity of MK-801 and other NMDA antagonists.

Needs of the grieving spouse in a hospital setting.

In an attempt to determine whether the spouse whose mate is terminally ill or had died can recognize his own needs and whether he, himself, perceives that he has been helped by nurses, 27 spouses were interviewed during the terminal illness of their mates. Subsequently, 18 mates died; 14 of the spouses were interviewed after the death event. Data were collected by means of tape-recorded semistructured interviews, with the exception of one written second interview. Eight needs of grieving spouses were noted. Twenty-five spouses identified all eight needs and the other two spouses identified five and seven needs, respectively. The fact that the needs were identified did not mean, however, that these needs had been met. Spouses believed nurses had been helpful to the dying mates. The spouses recognized that the nurses' primary responsibility was to the patients and felt that nurses were too busy to help the families. The death event did not alter the identified needs and concerns of the spouses. Eighty-seven percent of the needs identified in the second interview had been identified in the first interview.