David Janowsky:Cholinergic muscarinic mechanisms in depression and mania 

Barry Blackwell’s comments

 

         As resident at the Maudsley in London I conducted   a series of studies some relevant to Dave Janowsky’s postings.

         The first study in this series was conducted with  George Palmai, an Australian who had worked on a research project at the South Pole and perfected a method of measuring salivary flow using weighed dental swabs. In this study we showed that the diurnal variation in flow was reversed during a patient’s episode of melancholia but reverted to normal after treatment with ECT (Palmai, Blackwell, Maxwell and Morgenstern 1967).

         I used this method in a series of experiments between 1972 and 1980 on different tricyclic antidepressants (Blackwell, Lipkim, Myers and Kuzma 1972).

         Like all of my research, this project was conducted with residents I was supervising or fellow faculty and unfunded, except for my faculty salary (Blackwell and Currah  1973); Blackwell, Peterso, Kuzma et al. 1980). Blackwell, Stefapoulos, Enders et al. 1987; Peterson, Blackwell, Housetta et al. 1978)

         I believe the most important of these studies was the one I conducted with Currah (Blackwell and Currah 1973).  Izzy Kolvin, the first editor of the book on enuresis  was a fellow resident at the Maudsley who became Professor of Child Psychiatry in Edinburgh interested in enuresis. He knew of my work with Palmai, contacted me in America and I did the research as a faculty member in pharmacology and psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati.  It was the first demonstration that the peak anti-cholinergic effect of imipramine on enuresis occurred after the first dose and was not due to a delayed anti-depressant effect.

 

References:

Blackwell B, Currah J. The Psychopharmacology of Nocturnal Enuresis.  In: Bladder Control and Enuresis, Kolvin I, McKeith RC, Meadow SR, editors.  Clinics in Developmental Medicine No.48/49 Spastics International Publication. 1973. William Heinemann Medical Books ltd. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co.

Blackwell B, Lipkin JO, Meyers JH, Kuzma R. Dose Responses and Relationships Between Anticholinergic Side Effects and Mood with Tricyclic Antidepressants. Psychopharmacologia  1972;25:205-17.

Blackwell B, Peterson GR, Kuzma RJ, Hostetler RM, Adolphe AB. The effect of Five Tricyclic Antidepressants on salivary flow and mood in Healthy Volunteers. Communications in Psychopharmacol. 1980;4:255-61.

Blackwell B, Stefopoulos A, Enders P, Kuzma R, Adolphe A. The anticholinergic activity of two anti-depressants. Amer. J Psychiat. 1978;135:722-24.

Blackwell B, Currah J. The Psychopharmacology of Nocturnal Enuresis.  In: Bladder Control and Enuresis, Kolvin I, McKeith RC, Meadow SR, editors.  Clinics in Developmental Medicine No.48/49 Spastics International Publication. 1973. William Heinemann Medical Books ltd. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co.

Peterson GR, Blackwell B, Hossetter RM,  Kuzma R, Adolphe A. Anticholinergic Activity of the tricyclic Antidepressants Desipramine and Doxepin in Non-depressed Volunteers. Communications in Psychopharmacology. 1978;2:145-50.

Palmai G, Blackwell B, Maxwell AE, Morgenstern F. Patterns of Salivary Flow in Depressive Illness and During Treatment. Brit. J. Psychiat. 1967;113:1297-1308

 

October 17, 2019