Treatment of essential arterial hypertension with hypercholesterolemia. Effects of an alpha-adrenergic blocker and an inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are frequently associated with this leading to considerable cardiovascular risk. METHODS: An open parallel randomized study was performed in which the effects of doxazosin, an alpha-adrenergic blocker and enalapril, an inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme were compared in 70 patients with essential high blood pressure and plasma cholesterol levels greater than 240 mg/dl. Following 2-4 weeks of placebo administration the patients were randomly treated with one of the two drugs. When required doses were increased and hydrochlorothiazide added until blood pressure lower than 160/95 mmHg was achieved. After this period the patients were observed for a minimum of 8 weeks. The mean length of the study was of 22 weeks. RESULTS: Both drugs significantly reduced blood pressure without modifying cardiac frequency. Doxazosin tended to favorably modify the lipid profile of the plasma while enalapril significantly reduced the levels of cholesterol, lipids and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Upon termination of the study the total HDL/cholesterol index increased 8.6% in those treated with doxazosin and decreased 5.5% in those receiving enalapril (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although doxazosin and enalapril are potent antihypertensive drugs, the effects on plasma lipid obtained with doxazosin indicate that a reduction in cardiovascular risk was achieved with this drug in the patients included in this study.     

Male-female differences: A computer simulation.

Agrees with A. H. Eagly's (see record 1995-21141-001) contention that the use of easily understood metrics (binomial effects size display and the common language effect) are not entirely sufficient at showing a significant sex effect. The authors recommend the use of computer simulations as a tool for assessing the impact of sex differences. Results of a computer simulation regarding the effects of pyramid structure and initial performance ratings on limitations of the upward mobility of women in the workplace confirm Eagly's point that the effects of male–female differences are best determined not only by the magnitude of the effect but its consequences in natural settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological and substantive note on the performance-cue effect in ratings of work-group behavior.

According to research on the performance-cue effect in work ratings, knowledge that a group performed well or poorly can trigger raters' implicit theories, resulting in inaccurate judgments of the group's behavior. Unfortunately, because information concerning group performance has always been provided by the experimenter, it has been impossible to tell whether the performance-cue effect reflects the influence of participants' implicit theories or is simply an attempt to conform to the experimenter's belief. To test these 2 explanations, participants observed a work group without having received performance information and then completed evaluative and behavioral ratings of the group. Allowing participants to evaluate the group free of any externally provided performance information enabled participants to form independently generated impressions; thus, the demand characteristic problem was eliminated. Results indicated the performance-cue effect is not an artifact and that it is likely due to a systematic response bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Home is where the head is: a distributed cognition account of personal health information management in the home among those with chronic illness

Managing chronic illness requires personal health information management (PHIM) to be performed by lay individuals. Paramount to understanding the PHIM process is understanding the sociotechnical system in which it frequently occurs: the home environment. We combined distributed cognition theory and the patient work system model to investigate how characteristics of the home interact with the cognitive work of PHIM. We used a 3D virtual reality CAVE that enabled participants who had been diagnosed with diabetes (N = 20) to describe how they would perform PHIM in the home context. We found that PHIM is distinctly cognitive work, and rarely performed ‘in the head’. Rather, features of the physical environment, tasks, people, and tools and technologies present, continuously shape and are shaped by the PHIM process. We suggest that approaches in which the individual (sans context) is considered the relevant unit of analysis overlook the pivotal role of the environment in shaping PHIM.

Practitioner Summary:

We examined how Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) is performed in the homes of diabetic patients. We found that approaches to studying cognition that focus on the individual, to the exclusion of their context, overlook the pivotal role of environmental, social, and technological features in shaping PHIM.     

Extreme nonresponse in cognitive therapy: Can behavioral activation succeed where cognitive therapy fails?

In a recent placebo-controlled comparison, behavioral activation was superior to cognitive therapy in the treatment of moderate to severely depressed adults. Moreover, a subset of patients exhibited a pattern of extreme nonresponse to cognitive therapy on self-reports of depression not evident on the clinician ratings. These patients were severely depressed, functionally impaired, and had primary support group problems; most also described themselves as having life-long depressions. Comparable numbers of patients with such characteristics were assigned to behavioral activation, indicating that randomization did not fail, and most instances occurred in the context of adequate cognitive therapy. If this pattern of self-reported extreme nonresponse to cognitive therapy replicates, it would suggest that there might be a subset of patients who see themselves as doing better with sustained attention to behavior change in time-limited treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A diagnostic-ration approach to measuring beliefs about the leadership abilities of male and female managers.

This study departed from previous research on gender stereotyping in the leadership domain by adopting a more comprehensive view of leadership and using a diagostic-ratio measurement strategy. One hundred and fifty-one managers (95 men and 56 women) judged the leadership effectiveness of male and female middle managers by providing likelihood ratings for 14 categories of leader behavior. As expected, the likelihood ratings for some leader behaviors were greater for male managers, whereas for other leader behaviors, the likelihood ratings were greater for female managers or were no different. Leadership ratings revealed some evidence of a same-gender bias. Providing explicit verification of managerial success had only a modest effect on gender stereotyping. The merits of adopting a probabilistic approach in examining the perception and treatment of stigmatized groups are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)