Psychopharmacology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Modest opioid withdrawal suppression efficacy of oral tramadol in humans.
Tramadol is in an unscheduled atypical analgesic with low rates of diversion and abuse and mixed pharmacologic actions, including modest opioid agonist activity. ⋯ Tramadol 200 and 400 mg show evidence of opioid withdrawal suppression without significant observer- and subject-rated opioid agonist effects. The profile of action did not suggest a high risk for tramadol abuse in opioid dependent individuals. Tramadol may be a useful medication for treating opioid withdrawal.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Dose effects of triazolam on brain activity during episodic memory encoding: a PET study.
Although it is well established that acute benzodiazepine administration impairs episodic memory encoding, little is known about the neuroanatomical substrates of this effect. ⋯ Results are consistent with behavioral evidence that benzodiazepines impair prefrontal control processes as well as contextual memory and episodic binding processes thought to be controlled by the medial temporal lobe. In addition to elucidating the brain mechanisms underlying these benzodiazepine-induced behavioral deficits, results of this study also help validate hypotheses generated in nonpharmacological neuroimaging studies regarding the processes controlled by these brain regions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of midazolam on explicit vs implicit memory in a pediatric surgery setting.
Placebo-controlled studies show that midazolam impairs explicit memory in children undergoing surgery (Buffett-Jerrott et al., Psychopharmacology 168:377-386, 2003; Kain et al., Anesthesiology 93:676-684, 2000). A recent within-subjects study showed that midazolam impaired explicit memory while leaving implicit memory intact in a sample of older children undergoing painful medical procedures (Pringle et al., Health Psychol 22:263-269, 2003). ⋯ Overall, it appears that midazolam induces a dissociation between explicit and implicit memory in young children in the pediatric surgery setting. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed along with directions for future research.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transdermal nicotine attenuates depression symptoms in nonsmokers: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Despite established links between nicotine dependence and depression, little research has examined the effects of nicotine on depression symptoms. ⋯ These findings suggest a role for nicotinic receptor systems in the pathophysiology of depression and that nicotinic compounds should be evaluated for treating depression symptoms.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Intramuscular aripiprazole for the treatment of acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison with intramuscular haloperidol.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the efficacy and safety of intramuscular (IM) aripiprazole and IM haloperidol for the treatment of acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. ⋯ These results show that IM aripiprazole is an effective treatment, comparable to IM haloperidol, and well-tolerated for acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia.