Baseline Severity (baseline + severity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Achieving remission with venlafaxine and fluoxetine in major depression: its relationship to anxiety symptoms

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 1 2002
Jonathan R.T. Davidson M.D., M.B.A.
Abstract Venlafaxine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), produces significantly higher remission rates in depressed patients than do the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In this analysis of pooled data, we explored the relationship between differences in treatment efficacy, early improvement of symptoms, and severity of baseline anxiety in depressed patients treated with either venlafaxine or fluoxetine. A pooled analysis was performed on data from 1,454 outpatients with major depression from five double-blind, randomized studies comparing the 6-week efficacy of venlafaxine (542 patients) with fluoxetine (555 patients). The Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D) total and item scores were analyzed at different treatment times up to 6 weeks. Venlafaxine and fluoxetine both produced statistically significant higher response and remission rates compared with placebo starting from week 2 for response and weeks 3 to 4 for remission. Venlafaxine was statistically significantly superior to fluoxetine from week 3 until week 6 in respect of response rate, and from week 2 until week 6 for remission rate. After 1 week of treatment, greater improvement in individual symptoms was observed in the depressed mood, suicide, and psychic anxiety items of the HAM-D scale for both venlafaxine- and fluoxetine-treated patients compared with placebo. Improvement in psychic anxiety was statistically significantly greater with venlafaxine than with fluoxetine. The presence of baseline psychic anxiety correlated significantly to treatment outcome when analyzing the remission rates. In depressed patients with moderate anxiety (HAM-D psychic anxiety score ,2), venlafaxine statistically significantly increased remission rates compared with placebo from week 4 until week 6, while a significant effect of fluoxetine on remission rates was observed starting at week 6. Remission rates in the severely anxious depressed patients (score >2) were statistically significantly higher with venlafaxine than placebo starting from week 3 until the end of the study period, but no difference could be observed between fluoxetine and placebo. Baseline severity of psychic anxiety had a significant impact on remission rates after treatment of patients diagnosed with depression. Venlafaxine's superior remission rates in the more severely anxious patients and its ability to improve psychic anxiety as early as week 1 compared with fluoxetine suggest that venlafaxine's early efficacy on anxiety symptoms may be the basis for its superior efficacy in depression. Depression and Anxiety 16:4,13, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Cognitive-behavior therapy for Japanese patients with panic disorder: Acute phase and one-year follow-up results

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2008
Yumi Nakano md
Aim:, The aim of this paper is to report the outcomes and follow-up data of our cognitive behavioral therapy program for Japanese patients with panic disorder and to examine the baseline predictors of their outcomes. Methods:, Seventy outpatients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were treated with manualized group cognitive behavioral therapy. Results:, Fourteen patients (20%) did not complete the program. Among the completers, the average Panic Disorder Severity Scale score fell from 12.8 at baseline to 7.1 post-therapy (44.7% reduction). This effectiveness was sustained for 1 year. While controlling for the baseline severity, the duration of illness and the baseline social dysfunction emerged as significant predictors of the outcome. Conclusions:, Our data suggest that group cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder can bring about as much symptom reduction among Japanese patients with panic disorder as among Western patients. [source]


Predictors of severity of behavioral disturbance among community-dwelling elderly individuals with Alzheimer's disease: A 6-year follow-up study

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 6 2000
Takashi Asada MD
Abstract To clarify which baseline factors, including apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotyping and caregiver characteristics, predict the future severity of behavioral disturbance among community-dwelling elderly with Alzheimer's disease (AD), we conducted a longitudinal study for up to 6 years. Fourteen kinds of behavioral disturbance were evaluated. Analyses using data from 62 subjects with at least three annual assessments revealed that the baseline severity of behavioral disturbance was the strongest predictor of future severity, followed by baseline stage of dementia or use of support services. However, ApoE ,4 had only a marginal effect at most. The behavioral disturbances examined in the present study appear to be innately determined phenomena rather than merely representing stages of AD. [source]


MQX-503, a novel formulation of nitroglycerin, improves the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon: A randomized, controlled trial,

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 3 2009
Lorinda Chung
Objective Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) affects 3,9% of the general population and >90% of patients with systemic sclerosis. Nitrates are often prescribed for the treatment of RP, but currently available formulations are limited by side effects, particularly headaches, dizziness, and skin irritation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of a novel formulation of topical nitroglycerin, MQX-503, in the treatment of RP in an ambulatory setting. Methods We conducted a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled study with a 2-week single-blind run-in period to determine baseline severity, followed by a 4-week double-blind treatment phase. Two hundred nineteen adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of primary or secondary RP received 0.9% MQX-503 gel or matching placebo during the treatment period. Gel was applied immediately before or within 5 minutes of the beginning of an episode of RP (maximum of 4 applications daily). End points included the change in the mean Raynaud's Condition Score (RCS; scale 0,10), the frequency and duration of episodes, and subjective assessments at the target week (the week during the treatment phase that most closely matched the run-in period in terms of ambient temperature) compared with baseline. Results The mean (%) change in the RCS at the target week compared with baseline was significantly greater in the MQX-503 group (0.48 [14.3%]) than that in the placebo group (0.04 [1.3%]; P = 0.04). Changes in the frequency and duration of RP episodes and subjective assessments were not statistically different between the groups. MQX-503 had a side effect profile similar to that of placebo. Conclusion MQX-503 is well tolerated and more effective than placebo for the treatment of RP. [source]


Rheumatoid factor is the major predictor of increasing severity of radiographic erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the Norfolk Arthritis Register Study, a large inception cohort

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 4 2002
M. Bukhari
Objective To identify the relative contributions of clinical and laboratory variables, determined at baseline, in predicting the deterioration of radiographic damage 5 years after presentation in patients with inflammatory polyarthritis. Methods Data from 439 subjects who sought primary care for inflammatory polyarthritis were analyzed. All subjects had paired radiographs, of which the first was obtained within 24 months of presentation and the second at 5 years after presentation. The contribution of baseline clinical and laboratory variables in predicting the degree of radiologic severity as judged by the Larsen score was assessed at both time points. Additionally, the role of these factors in predicting change after adjustment for baseline severity was also measured. Results By 5 years, 49% of subjects had evidence of erosions. The median Larsen score on the first film was 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 0,10) and the median score on the followup film was 7 (IQR 1,25). These corresponded to a median deterioration of 3 (IQR 0,14) in all subjects, whereas those subjects with evidence of erosions at first film showed a median deterioration of 15 (IQR 6,29) on followup. The rheumatoid factor (RF) status, C-reactive protein levels, the presence of nodules, and number of swollen joints at baseline were all predictive of radiographic severity at first film. Not surprisingly, the baseline radiographic score was a predictor of severity of deterioration. However, after adjusting for baseline severity, a high titer of RF (>1:160) was also an independent predictor of deterioration over 5 years: individuals with an initial RF at that level had a progression in their Larsen score that was 2.3 times (95% confidence interval 1.7,3.2) higher than that in the RF-negative individuals. Apart from this, only age had an independent effect, after adjusting for baseline severity, in predicting increasing radiographic joint damage. Conclusion High-titer RF is an important variable in predicting continuing severity of radiographic damage during the first 5 years after presentation with inflammatory polyarthritis. [source]