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Biomedical subjects

B B Johnston

Publications and source records attributed to B B Johnston.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

Prediction of clinical course of bipolar manic depressive illness treated with lithium.

A group of bipolar manic depressive patients attending a routine lithium clinic were investigated. The results suggest that, when on treatment with lithium, manic depressive patients with a good prognosis tend to have a higher erythrocyte Na-K ATPase and higher plasma and erythrocyte lithium concentrations than those with a poor prognosis. There was no evidence to suggest that the erythrocyte: plasma lithium ratio was useful in predicting clinical response to lithium therapy. There was also a positive correlation between plasma lithium concentration and Na-K ATPase activity, confirming that in manic depressive subjects lithium produces a rise in erythrocyte Na-K ATPase activity.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1979

Lithium side effects in a routine lithium clinic.

Approximately two thirds of a group of bipolar patients attending the routine lithium clinic suffered sid effects. These patients tended to have a lower plasma and erythrocyte lithium concentration and a lower erythrocyte/plasma lithium ratio than those who had no side effects. Explanations of this unexpected finding are discussed.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1978

Habituation of the orbicularis oculi reflex in dementia and dyskinetic states.

The habituation index is a quantitative expression of the ability of the orbicularis oculi (blink reflex) to adapt to a series of electrical stimuli applied to the supraorbital region. This parameter has been studied in a group of normal control subjects, and the results compared with those in cases of idiopathic and drug-induced Parkinsonism, states of dementia, and dyskinesias such as Huntington's chorea and senile chorea. Patients with Huntington's chorea showed a tendency for the reflex to habituate readily in contrast to patients with dementia caused by cortical atrophy and those with Parkinson's disease. Younger patients with Huntington's chorea had indices within the normal range. It seems unlikely that this test will prove of value in the detection of clinically unaffected relatives. Where dementia was associated with a reversible intracranial lesion, the habituation index was studied before and after treatment. Failure of habituation in this condition appears to be due to the release of a primitive protective reflex.

Adolescent↗