PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

D G Gorman

Publications and source records attributed to D G Gorman.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Physostigmine ameliorates the delusions of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients frequently manifest delusions, and the cholinergic deficiency of AD may contribute to this aspect of the psychopathology of the disorder. In a double-blind, crossover study involving two patients, we compared the antidelusional efficacy of physostigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, with haloperidol, a widely used neuroleptic agent. Physostigmine ameliorated the delusions and produced fewer side effects. These preliminary observations suggest that the cholinergic deficiency contributes to the occurrence of delusions in AD and cholinergic therapy may have a role in the treatment of the delusional symptoms.

Aged

Neurobehavioral presentations of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

Antiphospholipid antibodies, including lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies, are increasingly recognized as a cause of neurological morbidity. They may occur with or without evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus and have been associated with stroke, migraine, and confusional states. Their role as etiologic or contributing factors in neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric syndromes of obscure etiology has not been emphasized. The cases of 7 patients who were referred for evaluation of behavior abnormalities and had antiphospholipid antibodies are presented, and the potential relationships of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome to behavioral alterations are discussed.

Adult

Hypersexuality following septal injury.

Hypersexuality is an uncommon consequence of brain injury. We report two cases of markedly increased sexual activity following septal damage sustained in the course of placement of ventriculoperitoneal shunts. These two cases, observations in animal experiments, and descriptions of altered behavior in humans with localized brain dysfunction indicate that a circuit involving the septal nuclei has an important role in the mediation of sexual behavior.

Aged

Organic delusional syndrome.

Delusions may be the most prominent manifestations of brain dysfunction, and a host of medical and neurologic conditions can present with or produce delusions. Recognition of the underlying disorder frequently aids in successful treatment. Comparison of organic delusional syndromes with schizophrenia suggests that limbic system abnormality and dopamine dysfunction are common underlying factors shared by different causes of delusions.

Delusions

Neurosurgical treatment of refractory status epilepticus.

Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is defined as status epilepticus that continues despite aggressive treatment. A 9.8-year-old boy with a past history of daily left focal motor seizures was transferred to University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Hospital in pentobarbital coma after 4 days in RSE. The RSE was treated with very high doses of all appropriate antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), alone and in combination. The pentobarbital was titrated to burst suppression on EEG, but whenever pentobarbital was decreased, the seizures recurred. An ictal positron tomography scan of glucose metabolism demonstrated a right frontal area of hypermetabolism corresponding to an epileptic focus on EEG and magnetic resonance lesion. Eight days after the boy was admitted to UCLA, the right frontal focus was surgically removed, with immediate control of the status epilepticus. Whereas before onset of RSE, he had daily focal seizures, the boy has been seizure-free postoperatively for greater than 1 year. Operative treatment should be considered in patients with RSE in whom a focus of seizure onset can be demonstrated and who are reasonably considered surgical candidates.

Child