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Biomedical subjects

G Thorley

Publications and source records attributed to G Thorley.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The effects of corticosteroids on behavior in children with nephrotic syndrome.

The objective of this study was to measure the frequency and severity of the behavioral effects of high-dose oral steroid therapy in children with nephrotic syndrome. We conducted a prospective assessment of the behavior of 12 children using a standardized psychological questionnaire at the time of diagnosis and again after 4 weeks of steroid therapy. A group of control children was also assessed. There was a significant increase in the total behavior score ( P=0.03) and specifically in aggressive and poor attention behavior items in the group of nephrotic children compared with the control group. Four of the children with nephrotic syndrome developed abnormal behavior in the clinical range compared with none of the controls. In conclusion, children with nephrotic syndrome treated with high-dose oral steroids are at risk of developing clinically relevant behavioral changes.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1992

Hyperactivity in school-age boys and subsequent risk of injury.

Hyperactive boys between 6 and 8 years of age, identified through systematic population-based screening of a community in London, were compared prospectively with a nonhyperactive control group to determine whether they were at greater risk of sustaining injuries. The study sample was drawn from 1296 completed parent and teacher questionnaires. Hyperactive groups were designated in three ways (parental report, teacher report, and combined parent and teacher report). Injuries were assessed by reviewing the medical records of the five emergency departments serving the community. Although boys with conduct problems did sustain more injuries than control subjects, no relationship between hyperactivity and injury was found. Similarly, when milder injuries were excluded from the analysis, the association remained negative. The absence of an association could not be accounted for by differential parental protectiveness of boys designated hyperactive. This study, which has a power of .80 to determine an increase in the relative risk of injury of 1.5, found no effect for hyperactive behavior in boys. Hyperactive behavior is probably not a risk factor for injury; if it is, it exerts a modest effect, less than 1.5, therefore accounting for less than 4% of injuries to school-aged boys.

Behavior↗
PubMed1987

Which boys respond to stimulant medication? A controlled trial of methylphenidate in boys with disruptive behaviour.

Thirty-eight boys, referred for psychiatric treatment because of serious problems of behaviour, underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of methylphenidate and placebo. Methylphenidate was an effective treatment over a 3-week period. A good response to methylphenidate was predicted by higher levels of inattentive and restless behaviour, impaired performance on tests of attention, clumsiness, younger age and by the absence of symptoms of overt emotional disorder. DSM-III and ICD-9 diagnoses of 'hyperactivity' were not good predictors. The results support the validity of a construct of hyperactivity in describing childhood psychopathology, but emphasize the need for a refinement of diagnostic criteria.

Attention↗
PubMed1987

Factor study of a psychiatric child rating scale. Based on ratings made by clinicians on child and adolescent clinic attenders.

Symptom rating sheets completed by psychiatrists over a 9-year period on 2602 intellectually normal child and adolescent clinic attenders were subjected to factor analysis (principal components). Two types of factor sets were derived, one for younger subjects (3-11 years) and another for older subjects (12-18). Both had three factors in common: conduct disturbance, relationship problems and emotionality, but differed on the fourth-developmental immaturity for the younger group, depression for the older. A factor solution was also derived for the whole clinic sample with three scales: conduct, emotionality and immaturity. Both types of factor solutions were subjected to MANOVA for age and sex effects, both of which proved to be of significant influence. Good correspondence was found between the symptom factors identified and conceptually similar clinical diagnoses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Conduct disorder and hyperactivity: I. Separation of hyperactivity and antisocial conduct in British child psychiatric patients.

The distinction between hyperactivity and conduct disorder was explored in a mixed group of 64 children referred to psychiatric clinics because of antisocial or disruptive behaviour. A semi-structured interview measure (the Parental Account of Children's Symptoms, PACS) proved to have adequate inter-rater reliability, internal consistency and factorial validity. The PACS scales of defiance and hyperactivity, and similar subscales from Conners' Teacher Rating Scale, were tested against laboratory and clinical measures of activity, attention, cognitive performance, psychosocial background and family relationships. The hyperactivity (but not the defiance) scales were associated with greater activity, younger age, poorer cognitive performance and abnormalities on a developmental neurological examination. The defiance (but not the hyperactivity) scales were associated with impairment of family relationships and adverse social factors. It was concluded that a dimension of inattentive, restless activity should be separated from one of antisocial, defiant conduct in children with psychiatric disorder.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1986

Conduct disorder and hyperactivity: II. A cluster analytic approach to the identification of a behavioural syndrome.

Sixty boys, aged from 6 to 10 years, were studied after their referral to psychiatric clinics for antisocial or disruptive behaviour. Their scores on reliable measures of hyperactivity, defiant behaviour, emotional disorder and attention deficit were taken for the home, school and clinic settings; and subjected to two techniques of cluster analysis. Both gave a similar set of clusters, one of which had high scores on all measures of hyperactivity and attention deficit. Membership of this cluster was associated with a lower IQ, a younger age of problem onset and referral, an abnormal neurological examination, a history of developmental delay, smaller family size, poor peer relationships and a high rate of accidental injuries; and it predicted a good response to stimulant medication in a controlled trial. Other research on the classification of hyperactivity is discussed, and proposals are made for the criteria of a rather narrow definition of 'hyperkinetic conduct disorder'.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1984

Pilot study to assess behavioural and cognitive effects of artificial food colours in a group of retarded children.

A total of 10 institutionalised children were maintained on an additive-free diet for two weeks, followed by two weeks in which two high, consecutive doses of artificial food colours were administered orally in a placebo-masked, double-blind experimental design. Measures of short-term verbal learning, visuomotor skills and actometer measures of limb activity, together with behavioural rating scales completed by teachers and care staff, all indicated the absence of any adverse behavioural or cognitive effect.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Hyperkinetic syndrome of childhood: clinical characteristics.

The diagnosis of hyperkinetic syndrome is rarely used in the UK, in marked contrast to its counterpart in the USA. Most of the work on hyperkinesis is concerned with the North American concept and relatively little attention has been paid to the British approach. The present paper reviews the development of the UK concept and diagnosis, describes the characteristics of 73 hyperkinetic syndrome children seen at the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals over 13 years and compares them to matched psychiatric controls diagnosed as conduct disordered. Results indicate that the two groups are differentiated by a number of symptomatic and clinical features, with the conduct disorder group showing a greater frequency of aggressive, antisocial, emotional and psychosocial disturbance which contrasts with higher frequencies of motor disturbance, inattentive and articulatory disturbance in the hyperkinetic group. No differences were found between the groups in brain pathology or sensory handicap. The findings provide support, at least in terms of symptoms and clinical features, for the concept and diagnosis of hyperkinetic syndrome (ICD 9).

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗