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Biomedical subjects

D J Smeltzer

Publications and source records attributed to D J Smeltzer.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Megavitamins for minimal brain dysfunction. A placebo-controlled study.

Preliminary to a stimulant comparison study, 31 children with minimal brain dysfunction randomly received either placebo or a megavitamin combination. During a two-week trial, only two children responded so well that stiumlants were not considered necessary; both were in the placebo group. Change scores from pretest to posttest on four blind ratings by teachers and parents did not show a significant difference between the placebo and vitamin groups.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1978

A survey study of the use of electropupillogram in predicting response to psychostimulants.

To confirm the conclusions from a previous study supporting the usefullness of electropupillogram (E.P.G.) in predicting clinical response, data from three separate studies with hyperkinetic and learning disabled (L.D.) children treated with stimulants were surveyed. Change in extent of pupillary contraction (E.C.) after a test dose of stimulant as measured by E.P.G. did not correlate significantly with actual clinical rating change (with one exception out of 14 correlations calculated). These negative results are reported with a reservation regarding their validity because of technical difficulties in data collection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Methylphenidate vs dextroamphetamine vs caffeine in minimal brain dysfunction: controlled comparison by placebo washout design with Bayes' analysis.

Double-blind crossover comparison of methylphenidate hydrochloride, dextroamphetamine sulfate, and caffeine after placebo washout in 29 children with minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) showed on six ratings that methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine were significantly (P less than .05 to P less than .001) better than placebo and caffeine, but not significantly (P less than .05) different from each other. Placebo, caffeine, and ratings before drug did not differ significantly. Of 26 drug responders, 12 responded best to dextroamphetamine, ten to methylphenidate, and one to caffeine. The latter child showed no improvement at all with either prescription stimulant. Methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine were each efficacious for six children who did not respond to the other stimulant. All three drugs showed significant (P less than .05) weight loss and cardiovascular side effects, the latter possibly spurious. Dextroamphetamine showed a significant (P less than .05) decrease from placebo in "tummyaches."

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1977

Prevention by specific perceptual remediation for vulnerable first-graders. Controlled study and follow-up of lasting effects.

In a pretest-posttest design with two matched control groups, 86 first-graders screened as vulnerable to academic failure and behavioral decompensation were each assigned to one of three groups: (1) channel-specific perceptual stimulation, (2) regular academic tutoring (contact controls), or (3) no contact. On most measures, including perceptual and achievement tests and behavior ratings by teachers, group 1 showed more improvement than either of the control groups. Several of these differences were significant (P less than .05, two-tailed). In general, the two control groups came closer to each other than to group 1. With no further intervention, follow-up one year later showed more dramatic significance. On every measure, group 1's improvement surpassed that of the control groups, and diverged from them even more than at posttest; this divergence was significant on most measures. Group 1 improved significantly (P less than .05 to P less than .01) in reading, IQ, and three behavior scales, while both control groups showed only deterioration on these measures. Group 1 gained five IQ points on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, while the controls lost five. On the Davids Scale, group 1 improved significantly (P less than .01) to "probably not hyperkinetic," while both control groups deteriorated to "probably hyperkinetic." The hypothesized mechanism of group 1's behavioral superiority at follow-up was its significant (P less than 0.1) reading improvement, with secondary emotional benefits.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Levoamphetamine vs dextroamphetamine in minimal brain dysfunction. Replication, time response, and differential effect by diagnostic group and family rating.

Double-blind crossover randomized Latin square comparison of placebo, dextroamphetamine, and levoamphetamine in 31 consecutively diagnosed children with minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) replicated a smaller nonrandom study. Both isomers showed significantly more benefit than placebo but were not significantly different from each other. Dextroamphetamine showed a nonsignificant trend of superiority over levoamphetamine. Of 25 subjects who responded well to drugs, three responded only to levoamphetamine, five only to dextroamphetamine, and 17 to both. This study seems to confirm the efficacy of levoamphetamine in MBD. An unsocialized aggressive subgroup (308.4) showed a nonsignificant trend for levoamphetamine superiority, in contrast to the hyperkinetic (308.0) and overanxious (308.2) subgroups. Those who responded best to levoamphetamine tended (not significantly) to be from poorer functioning families. Parents' ratings, but not teachers' or psychiatrists' ratings, showed significant placebo effect.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1975

Caffeine versus methylphenidate and d-amphetamine in minimal brain dysfunction: a double-blind comparison.

The authors compared the efficacy of caffeine, methylphenidate, and d-amphetamine in children with minimal brain dysfunction using a double-blind crossover design. The slight improvement with caffeine was not significantly better than placebo. Both prescription drugs resulted in significant improvement and were significantly superior to caffeine. The authors suggest that the discrepancy between these results and an earlier, more optimistic report mat stem from the use in this study of pure caffeine rather than whole coffee.

Amphetamine↗