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Biomedical subjects

E C Lauterbach

Publications and source records attributed to E C Lauterbach.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Assessment of treatment outcomes in neuropsychiatry: a report from the Committee on Research of the American Neuropsychiatric Association.

The ANPA Committee on Research conducted a survey of its members and those of the British Neuropsychiatry Association to determine the extent to which neuropsychiatrists employ formal measures of clinical outcome. Results revealed that although respondents endorsed the practice of outcome assessment, formal diagnostic evaluations and outcome measures were rarely applied consistently to the broad range of neuropsychiatric conditions encountered clinically. These findings have implications for clinical research and managed care in neuropsychiatry and will form the basis for future work by the Committee on Research.

Cognition↗

Neuropsychiatric disorders, myoclonus, and dystonia in calcification of basal ganglia pathways.

Two cases of basal ganglia calcification involving the globus pallidus are presented. Both patients had cognitive dysfunction, temporal lobe-like symptoms (including amnestic state, perceptual distortions, or complex visual hallucinations), and myoclonus. Patient 1 manifested depression, auditory hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, and postural tremor; patient 2 manifested multifocal dystonia with dystonic tremor. These cases supplement other reports of psychotic features and dementia associated with pallidal pathology. Additionally, the phenomena encountered in these cases are considered in light of recent advances in our understanding of basal ganglia functional pathways. These cases afford a potential pathophysiological window to the possible role of the globus pallidus in these neuropsychiatric conditions. In concert with other recent findings, these cases suggest specific pathway involvement in hallucinations, paranoia, depression, myoclonus, and dystonia. Further research will indicate if these pathways play a role in schizophrenia, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders.

Adult↗

Reversible intermittent rhythmic myoclonus with fluoxetine in presumed Pick's disease.

A 61-year-old man with presumed Pick's disease was successfully treated with fluoxetine for pathological affect. Severe intermittent, rhythmically repetitive trains of myoclonus developed suddenly the following year. A dystonic-like component involving the shoulder region and a decrescendo frequency pattern were observed. Myoclonus involved the face, palate, shoulder, neck, upper chest and back, diaphragm, hips, and upper extremities, especially on the right side. Movements were not influenced by postural adjustments, startle, or other stimuli. Movements proved insensitive to benztropine but abated with discontinuation of fluoxetine. Rechallenge with fluoxetine or trazodone evoked the movements, whereas clonazepam and chloral hydrate abolished the movements. The pattern of myoclonus is unlike previous reported cases and may relate to activation of serotonin 5HT1A receptors (possibly supersensitive in Pick's disease) or to hypodopaminergia. Although fluoxetine may be useful as adjunct therapy in dementing disorders, caution may be warranted in its use in Pick's disease.

Affective Disorders, Psychotic↗

Bipolar disorder in idiopathic dystonia: clinical features and possible neurobiology.

The authors report 5 patients with bipolar disorders in the context of primary idiopathic dystonia. Four patients had DSM-III-R bipolar disorder, mixed, and one had cyclothymic disorder as diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID). All cases of bipolar disorder manifested rapid cycling. Three patients with bipolar disorder experienced onset of this illness soon after the onset of cervicocranial dystonia (5 neck dystonia, 4 craniofacial, 2 brachial, 1 vocal cord, 1 thoracic). These cases apparently represent a first report of bipolar disorders in dystonia. Clinical management, relevant literature, and putative neurobiology are reviewed.

Antidepressive Agents↗

Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, paranoia, and the ventral basal ganglia.

Antidepressants have previously been associated with paranoid reactions in psychiatric patients. Five cases of paranoid exacerbation with the serotonin reuptake inhibitors fluoxetine and amitriptyline are reported here. Elements common to these cases included a history of paranoid symptomatology and the concomitant occurrence of depressive and psychotic symptoms. Complicated depressive disorders (including atypicality of course and symptomatology, chronicity, psychosis, bipolarity, and secondary onset in the course of a primary psychosis) may present particular vulnerability to paranoid exacerbations associated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Although the pharmacology and neurobiology of paranoia remain cryptic, several mechanisms, including 5HT3 receptor-mediated dopamine release, beta-noradrenergic receptor downregulation, or GABAB receptor upregulation acting in the vicinity of the ventral basal ganglia (possibly in lateral orbitofrontal or anterior cingulate circuits), might apply to this phenomenon. These cases call attention to possible paranoid exacerbations with serotonin reuptake blockers in select patients and raise neurobiological considerations regarding paranoia.

Adult↗