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Query: UMLS:C0020175 (hunger)
 5,670 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Papago people in the Tohono village have a repertoire of culturally stylized patterns of behavior to help them maintain their health. The use of foods and ceremonies for preventing illness and maintaning health are emphasized in the styles of the people as well as the concept of taking care of self and others. Comfort and discomfort, fatigue, aches, thirst, hunger, and sadness are daily experiences of the people. Laughter, crying, "taking care of self and others", walking slowly, eating beans and tortillas, maintaining calm thoughts, and so on, are all culturally defined patterns for coping with alterations in feeling. When professional healers are needed, they will be consulted according to how helpful people perceive these healers to be by their sensitive attitudes and actions. The medicine man, nurses, medicine ladies, the ladies-who-pray, physicians, and St. Francis are perceived to be members of the health care team for the Papago people. The meaningful patterning of culturally defined behavior must be understood within the context of the Papago cultural system. As illustrated by the Tohono, "taking care of self and others" is highly valued, but it is only meaningful as we understand the rules of the Papago society, particularly the religious and kinship systems. These systems tell us that family members are important in taking care of themselves and others. Thus, the description in this paper of culturally patterned health practices with their rituals, ceremonies, and ways to help maintain health and heal the sick help the reader to understand the importance of health and healing behaviors within a designated cultural context. In this study, it is the Papago community and their specialty life ways of maintaining health and preventing illnesses.
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PMID:Observations of a health and healing system in a Papago community. 101 85

The act of breathing diminishes the discomfort associated with hypercapnia and breath-holding. To investigate the mechanisms involved in this effect, we studied the effect of tidal volume (VT) on CO2-evoked air hunger in 5 high-level quadriplegic subjects whose ventilatory capacity was negligible, and who lacked sensory information from the chest wall. Subjects were ventilated at constant frequency with a hyperoxic gas mixture, and end-tidal PCO2 was maintained at a constant but elevated level. VT was varied between the subjects' normal VT and a smaller VT. Subjects used a category scale to rate their respiratory discomfort or 'air hunger' at 30-40 sec intervals. In 4 of 5 subjects there was a strong inverse relationship between breath size and air hunger ratings. The quality of the sensation associated with reduced VT was nearly identical to that previously experienced with CO2 alone. We conclude that afferent information from the lungs and upper airways is sufficient to modify the sensation of air hunger.
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PMID:Reduced tidal volume increases 'air hunger' at fixed PCO2 in ventilated quadriplegics. 145 95

The tolerance of totally curarized subjects for prolonged breath hold is viewed by many as evidence that respiratory muscle contraction is essential to generate the sensation of breathlessness. Although conflicting evidence exists, none of it was obtained during total neuromuscular block. We completely paralyzed four normal, unsedated subjects with vecuronium (a non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocker). Subjects were mechanically ventilated with hyperoxic gas mixtures at fixed rate and tidal volume. End-expiratory PCO2 (PETCO2) was varied surreptitiously by changing inspired PCO2. Subjects rated their respiratory discomfort or 'air hunger' every 45 sec. At low PETCO2 (median 35 Torr) they felt little or no air hunger. When PETCO2 was raised (median 44 Torr) all subjects reported severe air hunger. They had reported the same degree of air hunger at essentially the same PETCO2 before paralysis. When questioned afterwards all subjects said the sensation could be described by the terms 'air hunger', 'urge to breathe', and 'shortness of breath', and that is was like breath holding. They reported no fundamental difference in the sensation before and after paralysis. We conclude that respiratory muscle contraction is not important in the genesis of air hunger evoked by hypercapnia.
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PMID:'Air hunger' from increased PCO2 persists after complete neuromuscular block in humans. 212 Jul 57

Sixty morbidly obese patients were treated with 88 intragastric balloons. An air-filled intragastric balloon was used, which was permanently connected to an inflation catheter exiting through the nose. Patients were evaluated for loss of body weight and tolerance of the balloon; the balloon was inspected for efficacy and safety. A mean total loss of body weight of 21 kg was obtained after a mean of 39 weeks in 15 men (mean age 37.7 years) and 45 women (mean age 36.2 years), with a mean initial weight of 127.9 kg. The maximum rate of weight loss occurred in the first 6 months, with a steady decrease of 1 kg per week; thereafter the rate declined. Subjective complaints were infrequent and consisted of nasal discomfort or abdominal symptoms. Intolerance in 12 per cent of patients was due to enhanced hunger (one patient), nasal pulling sensation (four patients) and symptomatic ulcer (two patients). Fifteen patients asked for removal of the well functioning balloon after a mean of 169 days; 14 of the 15 balloons were still airtight. Forty balloons failed prematurely. Nine were retrieved orally and 31 were passed per anum, of which 28 passed with mild abdominal cramping, two patients required transabdominal puncture and one needed laparotomy. Even the 40 prematurely removed balloons remained in situ for a mean of 108 days; only one-third showed leakage. As yet, 33 well functioning balloons have been in situ for a mean of 167 days. Well functioning balloons deflated at a rate of 2.3 ml per day. Malfunctioning of the balloon was due to leakage in 12 cases and to clogging of the inflation catheter in three cases. Major complications (8 per cent) included two gastric ulcers and three cases of mild ileus. One ileus patient required surgery (2 per cent). The reported intragastric balloon model is effective and safe. We recommended this type of balloon as a weight reducing adjuvant therapy before bariatric surgery.
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PMID:Intragastric balloons for morbid obesity: results, patient tolerance and balloon life span. 225 18

Eleven healthy male subjects of normal body weight received either 60 mg of the 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor fluoxetine (FXT) or matching placebo daily for two weeks, with a minimum one month wash-out period between treatments. Subjects attended on days 1, 8 and 15 from 08.50 h to 15.15 h in each treatment period when food and fluid intake, body weight, pulse and blood pressure, pupil diameter and plasma levels of FXT and NorFXT were measured and visual analogue scales (VAS) for subjective ratings of hunger, satiety, thirst, mood, arousal, nausea and gastric discomfort were completed. The trial was of a double-blind randomised crossover design, each subject acting as his own control. FXT reduced food intake by 15.7 per cent on day 1; by 12.6 per cent on day 8 but not on day 15. Hunger ratings were lowered by FXT on days 8 and 15 but not on day 1. Subjects were less thirsty when taking FXT but there was no concomitant reduction in fluid intake. FXT produced some mydriasis and slowed heart rate. In two weeks treatment with FXT there was a statistically significant weight loss of 1.07 kg compared to a mean weight gain of 0.15 kg on placebo. The incidence of reported side effects was low, drowsiness and stomach discomfort were reported by some subjects on days 8 and 15.
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PMID:The effect of the 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor fluoxetine on food intake and body weight in healthy male subjects. 236 13

A number of investigators have proposed that the sense of respiratory discomfort accompanying hypercapnia depends on respiratory mechanoreceptors which inform the sensory cortex of reflex increases in breathing. To test this hypothesis, we studied subjects whose respiratory muscles were paralyzed, and who were thus unable to increase breathing in response to hypercapnia. We gradually elevated inspired PCO2 in four tracheostomized quadriplegic subjects supported by constant mechanical ventilation. These subjects reported sensations of 'air hunger' (e.g., "short of breath", "air-starved") when end-tidal PCO2 increased 10 Torr (mean) above their resting levels. In a second experiment we used the forced-choice technique to determine the ability of three of these subjects to detect repeated changes of end-tidal PCO2. Two detected 7 Torr changes, the third detected 11 Torr changes. These data suggest that changes in breathing are not necessary to evoke the sense of 'air hunger'. We conclude that the likely mechanisms are (1) projection of chemoreceptor afferent traffic to the sensory cortex, and (2) projection of corollary discharge from brainstem respiratory centers to the sensory cortex.
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PMID:'Air hunger' arising from increased PCO2 in mechanically ventilated quadriplegics. 249 25

Spectral characteristics of species-specific acoustic signals were analyzed in cats under various unfavourable conditions: hunger, isolation, pain stimulation, agony. The increase in the need to get rid of the discomfort accompanied by the development of emotional excitation was reflected in spectral characteristics of produced signals. The frequency and duration of signals increased, their spectrum widened accompanied by spectral maxima shifted towards the high-frequency area similar to the range of formant frequencies in the signals of newborn kittens. The similarity between spectral characteristics of the above signals in adult and newborn cats might indicate the appearance of infantile features in adult cats under conditions of a marked desire to change the existing situation. The fact that motivational state was reflected in spectral characteristics of acoustic signals along with stable responses to the signals, spoke in favour of a considerable contribution made by communication to the organization of intraspecific relations.
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PMID:[The reflection of the motivational status in the spectral characteristics of the species-specific acoustic signals of the domestic cat]. 281 52

Twenty-one smokers underwent 24-h abstinence from cigarettes. Both prior to, and after, the abstinence period cardiovascular and subjective effects of smoking a cigarette were measured. Withdrawal symptoms found during abstinence were: irritability, depression, hunger, difficulty concentrating, restlessness and urges to smoke. In addition, the subjects reported feeling physically less well. Withdrawal discomfort was positively correlated with the strength of the subjective effects (e.g. dizziness, nausea) of smoking the post-abstinence cigarette after taking account of estimated nicotine boost from that cigarette. A similar, though only marginally significant association was found between withdrawal severity and heart rate boost from the post-abstinence cigarette. Our results suggest that the severity of withdrawal may be related to loss of acute tolerance to nicotine. It is not clear whether this is due to more rapid nicotine clearance, constitutional differences in sensitivity to nicotine in the absence of acute tolerance, or other factors. There was no evidence to support the view that higher chronic tolerance to nicotine's heart-rate effects was associated with more severe withdrawal. If anything, the reverse appeared to be the case.
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PMID:Loss of acute nicotine tolerance and severity of cigarette withdrawal. 313 4

Twenty-nine cigarette smokers completed a smoking motivation questionnaire and had expired-air carbon monoxide (CO) and plasma nicotine concentrations measured prior to abstaining from smoking for 24 h. Before and after the abstinence period, the subjects rated mood and physical symptoms known to be affected by cigarette abstinence (e.g. irritability, restlessness). Scores on the "dependent smoking" subscale of the smoking motivation questionnaire correlated significantly with overall withdrawal severity, craving, and increased irritability. "Indulgent smoking" scores correlated positively with increased hunger. Pre-abstinence plasma nicotine concentration significantly predicted craving, hunger, restlessness, inability to concentrate and overall withdrawal severity, while expired-air CO predicted craving and restlessness only. Usual daily cigarette consumption did not significantly predict any withdrawal effects. The data indicate that pre-abstinence measures of smoking motivation and smoke intake may provide a guide to withdrawal severity on smoking cessation and that smokers with a high pre-abstinence nicotine intake experience the greatest discomfort.
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PMID:Pre-abstinence smoke intake and smoking motivation as predictors of severity of cigarette withdrawal symptoms. 393 89

To test the validity, magnitude, and clinical significance of the signs and symptoms of tobacco withdrawal defined by DSM-III, both observed and reported signs and symptoms were measured in 50 smokers during two days of ad lib smoking and then during the first four days of abstinence. Observer and subject ratings of the DSM-III symptoms of craving for tobacco, irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and restlessness increased after cessation. In addition, bradycardia, impatience, somatic complaints, insomnia, increased hunger, and increased eating occurred after cessation. The frequency and intensity of these symptoms varied across subjects; however, the average distress from tobacco withdrawal was similar to that observed in psychiatric outpatients. Subjects who had more withdrawal discomfort were more tolerant to the cardiovascular effects of nicotine. Subjects who had more withdrawal discomfort did not have a lower rate of smoking cessation.
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PMID:Signs and symptoms of tobacco withdrawal. 395 51


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