Preclinical pharmacology of pramlintide in the rat: Comparisons with human and rat amylin

The pancreatic β-cell hormone, amylin, is absent or reduced in individuals with type I diabetes mellitus and in many insulin-treated patients with type II diabetes. Amylin replacement therapy may be beneficial in these individuals, but the pharmaceutically inconvenient physicochemical properties of native human amylin led to the development instead of the amylin agonist, [Pro^25,28,29]human amylin, or pramlintide (formerly designated AC137). Here we compare for rat amylin, human amylin and pramlintide, receptor binding and biological actions in rats in vivo and in rat soleus muscle. In the rat, the spectrum of actions and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of pramlintide are either very similar to, or indistinguishable from, those of rat or human amylin. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sumatriptan mediated growth hormone responses do not alter throughout the menstrual cycle

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oral sumatriptan on growth hormone (GH) release throughout the menstrual cycle in healthy female volunteers. A placebo-controlled cross-over design was employed. Subjects were tested a total of six times over two consecutive menstrual cycles; twice in the early follicular phase, twice in midcycle and twice in the late luteal phase. Oral sumatriptan (100 mg) and placebo were administered on alternate visits. Twelve healthy female volunteers aged between 18-40 years with regular menses and not taking oral contraceptives were recruited. Baseline blood samples at 0 min were taken for GH, oestrogen and progesterone estimation. GH was measured at +60, +90, +120 and +180 min following administration of oral sumatriptan 100 mg or matched placebo. GH, progesterone and oestrogen were measured by radioimmunoassay. At each phase of the menstrual cycle serum GH levels peaked at 60-90 min following administration of oral sumatriptan compared to placebo which showed no response. Analysing GH response to sumatriptan and placebo over time for the three phases of the menstrual cycle (three-way ANOVA) demonstrates that the GH response to sumatriptan did not alter.     

Community psychologists as consultants: A survey of tax preparers regarding Michigan's income tax checkoff

The Michigan Children's Trust Fund (MCTF) funds child abuse and neglect prevention programs and consults with community and clinical psychologists to oversee its research efforts. This paper highlights the role of community psychologists in this capacity and documents the effectiveness of this relationship through an example of the work they are asked to perform. The primary source of funding for MCTF is a voluntary donation line on Michigan's state income tax form. Because even modest changes in the percentage donating have bearing on funding, MCTF sought a greater understanding of forces affecting donations. Given that one half of all tax forms in Michigan are prepared professionally, an exploratory survey of preparers was undertaken. Results found preparers approved of raising money via the checkoff and were aware of MCTF, although they confused it with other social programs. Differences were found in knowledge and practices toward MCTF based on degree of approval of use of the tax checkoff, and the age, parental status, and gender of the preparer. These findings were important to MCTF in directing efforts to educate a segment of the population that has influence over the major source of their funding, and may be relevant to other organizations that depend on tax checkoffs for their income.     

Eating behavior in binge eating disorder

In order to examine the eating behavior of individuals with the newly proposed diagnosis, binge eating disorder (BED), standardized meals were served to 20 obese women, 10 with BED and 10 without BED. When asked to binge eat from a multiple-item array of foods, obese subjects with BED consumed significantly more calories than did obese subjects without BED. Significant differences between the two groups were also found on several of the self-report measures. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Body shape concerns in bulimia nervosa

Overconcern with shape and weight is considered a primary feature of the psychopathology of bulimia nervosa and was included as a diagnostic criterion in DSM- III-R. In order to test the significance of shape and weight concern in bulimia nervosa, we administered the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) to 78 outpatients with bulimia nervosa and three comparison groups: 14 women with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), 10 acquaintances of patients, and 32 normal controls. Women with bulimia nervosa had significantly higher mean BSQ scores than did other subject groups. Other self-report measures of body shape concern, eating attitudes, and depression were correlated with BSQ score. Furthermore, all patients had BSQ scores greater than the average score of the normal control group. These data support the continued inclusion of body shape and weight overconcern as a diagnostic criterion for bulimia nervosa but suggest that “overconcern” should be interpreted as “above average” rather than “outside the normal range”.