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Biomedical subjects

J Benjamin

Publications and source records attributed to J Benjamin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Distinct syndromes of hemineglect.

Hemineglect was assessed in 34 patients with right-hemisphere stroke using a letter-cancellation task and a line bisection task. No significant correlation (r = .39) was found between scores on the two tests. Ten patients who showed neglect on the cancellation task but performed normally on line bisection had frontal or deep lesions. Eleven patients with posterior lesions deviated rightward on line bisection; several of these had minimal or no cancellation deficit. A nonmotor task involving judgment of a bisected line was also performed abnormally by six patients with line bisection shift, suggesting that such shift does not result from a motor response asymmetry. We propose that separable components of the neglect syndrome may be associated with damage to discrete areas of the nondominant hemisphere.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Further evidence for family-genetic risk factors in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Patterns of comorbidity in probands and relatives psychiatrically and pediatrically referred samples.

We examined 140 probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 120 normal controls, and their 822 first-degree relatives using "blind" raters and structured diagnostic interviews. Compared with controls, probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were more likely to have conduct, mood, and anxiety disorders. Compared with relatives of controls, relatives of probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had a higher risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial disorders, major depressive disorder, substance dependence, and anxiety disorders. Patterns of comorbidity indicate that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorders may share common familial vulnerabilities, that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder plus conduct disorder may be a distinct subtype, and that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders are transmitted independently in families. These results extend previous findings indicating family-genetic influences in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by using both pediatrically and psychiatrically referred proband samples. The distributions of comorbid illnesses in families provide further validation for subgrouping probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by comorbidity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in three primary-care clinics in Beersheba, Israel. Concurrent assessment by the General Health Questionnaire, General Practitioners, and Research Diagnostic Criteria.

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) had identified fully 69% of 776 respondents who attended 12 primary-care clinics as "probable cases" of psychiatric disorders, whereas the general practitioners (GPs) involved had thought only 31% had psychological problems. To investigate more accurately the prevalence of psychiatric disorders we examined 112 of the original sample with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Life-time version and found only 15% to have had a Research Diagnostic Criteria disorder at the time of the initial study. Raising the GHQ threshold to 15/16 improved specificity and positive predictive value, and improved GPs' case-finding modestly. These respondents either suffered from high rates of subclinical distress or readily report subjective distress in the clinic, or both.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Effects of a single oral dose of desipramine on postoperative morphine analgesia.

Drugs that block norepinephrine reuptake offer promise as opioid potentiators, because norepinephrine mediates opioid analgesia but not side effects such as sedation or nausea. In a two-by-two factorial design, we randomized 62 inpatients with pain following major surgery to receive either desipramine, 50 mg by mouth, or placebo at 6 a.m. on the first day after surgery. At their first request of pain medication after 8 a.m., they were given intravenous morphine, either 0.033 mg/kg or 0.10 mg/kg. Pain relief and side effects were assessed for 4 hr; peak relief on the visual analog scale (VAS) was the primary outcome variable. Pain relief, side effect scores, and time to remedication were significantly greater with the higher dose than with the lower dose of morphine, verifying assay sensitivity, but desipramine pretreatment did not significantly enhance morphine analgesia. The mean increase in peak VAS relief score after desipramine pretreatment, relative to placebo, was 6%; the 95% confidence interval for this estimate ranged from a 21% reduction to a 34% increase in pain relief. These results differ from a previous report that 1 week of pretreatment with desipramine, 75 mg per day, potentiated postoperative morphine analgesia. We conclude that if desipramine potentiation of opioid analgesia occurs in humans, its demonstration may require higher doses or chronic treatment.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1992

Sleep deprivation in rapid-cycling bipolar affective disorder: case report.

We describe a 4-month long hypomanic response to sleep deprivation in a patient with consistent (20-day cycles) rapid cycling. He subsequently reverted to very rapid cycling; however, sleep deprivation remained effective for each attack of depression. Sleep deprivation treatment, its immediate but short-lived beneficial effect, may have a role in the treatment of the ultra-short depressions encountered in very rapid cycling.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1992

Failure of addition of lithium to imipramine to enhance activity in rats or mood in normal volunteers.

Lithium powerfully augments the effects of imipramine in resistant depression. We treated four groups of rats for five weeks with (1) saline alone, (2) saline followed by lithium, (3) imipramine alone, and (4) imipramine followed by lithium. There was no augmentation of activity by lithium. Normal human volunteers took imipramine 75 mg daily for three weeks, followed by imipramine 75 mg daily together with lithium 900 mg daily for another ten days. There was no elevation of mood after the addition of lithium. Lithium augmentation of antidepressants apparently requires a pre-existing neurochemical-behavioral disturbance.

Affect↗
PubMed1991

Ankle mortise stability in Weber C fractures: indications for syndesmotic fixation.

A Weber type C ankle fracture was sequentially reproduced in 12 cadaver lower extremities and an external rotation torque was applied at each interval. The fractures were then repaired in staged fashion and the rotational stability of the mortise evaluated. Maximum external rotation of the talus within the mortise averaged 7.7 degrees in the intact ankle and increased by 311% to 31.8 degrees after creation of a Weber C injury. Rigid fixation of the fibular fracture restored 32% of the rotational stability, whereas isolated fixation of the medial malleolus reconstituted 57%. Fibular fixation combined with a syndesmotic screw restored 51% of original stability, and the addition of medial malleolar fixation improved stability to 101%. Bimalleolar fixation without a syndesmotic screw yielded 73% of the original rotational stability. The results of this study suggest that when rigid medial and lateral osteosynthesis can be achieved, syndesmotic fixation may not be necessary.

Ankle Injuries↗
PubMed1990

Object relations in borderlines, depressives, and normals: an examination of human responses on the Rorschach.

Recently, researchers and clinicians have become increasingly interested in diagnostic distinctions between borderline and mood disorders. Object relations theory provides a useful framework for the comparison of these two overlapping diagnostic categories. In our study, a measure of object relations as represented on the Rorschach, developed by Blatt, Brenneis, Schimeck, and Glick (1976), was applied to data produced by borderline and depressive inpatients and by normal comparison subjects. Portions of the Blatt measure that tap the subject's experience of human action and interaction distinguish among the three diagnostic groups. Specifically, borderlines tend to understand human action as more highly motivated and human interaction as more malevolent in nature than do either depressive or normals. The data indicate that borderlines experience the object-relational world in a way that is fundamentally different from the way normals and depressives perceive it. Implications are discussed for theories of borderline object relations.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Lectin typing of Campylobacter isolates.

Isolates of Campylobacter jejuni, C coli, C fetus and C laridis were tested for agglutination reactions with a panel of five lectins: Arachis hypogaea, Bauhinia purpurea, Solanum tuberosum, Triticum vulgaris and Wisteria floribunda. Twenty three patterns of agglutination (lectin types) were recorded among 376 isolates. Patterns were consistent and reproducible. Only 4.5% of isolates were untypable because of autoagglutination. Some lectin types were found exclusively or predominantly in a species, but others were shared between species. Forty two per cent of C jejuni and 35% of C coli isolates belonged to lectin type 4. There was no apparent correlation between lectin type and serotype; different lectin types were found among strains of single Penner and Lior serotypes. Lectin typing is a simple and economical procedure suitable for use in non-specialist laboratories, either as an adjunct to serogrouping or, after further development, as a sole typing scheme.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1990

The mind-body problem in contemporary psychiatry.

The mind-body problem is important for psychiatry clinically (the problems of interactionism and causality), semantically, and ethically (the problem of causality and free will). It includes the questions: What are minds? Do they exist? Are they ever free? How do they and bodies interact? The author reviews some important answers, in particular the brain-state theory and dualist interactionism, and outlines some implications for psychiatry and for controversies between psychiatry and other mental health disciplines.

Awareness↗
PubMed1989

[Psychiatric approach to problems of pain].

The problem of pain is presented from a liaison-psychiatric point of view. Pain is a frequent symptom of medical illness but may also be a manifestation of a psychiatric disorder or a psychological condition, as in the somatization of affect. Pain is not only a symptom but also a set of behaviors, an expression of personality traits, and a personal way of coping. Hence pain as such affects the patient's interaction with his environment, including the medical staff. Psychiatric approaches to treating pain include explorative and supportive psychotherapy, behavioral and cognitive therapy, hypnosis, relaxation, biofeedback and group therapy. 4 cases are presented which demonstrate the physician's understanding of the patient's psychological condition, the combined treatment of the pain problem and related limitations and applications.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The relationship between borderline personality disorder and anxiety disorders.

Eleven "pure" borderlines, ten borderlines with depression, 16 "pure" depressives, and 31 normal subjects were compared on a number of standardized inventories of anxiety. While patient groups experienced more anxiety of all types than did normals, borderlines did not emerge as more anxious than other patient groups. Qualitative differences in the anxiety experienced by borderlines and nonborderlines are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients in southern Israel.

We report our experience of peritonitis in a group of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients in the south of Israel during a 3-year period. During this period, 51 patients were treated with CAPD, comprising a total of 999 patient months of treatment. One hundred and forty-three episodes of peritonitis occurred in 42 patients. When the patients were divided into high risk and low risk groups, the overall incidence was one episode every 5.7 months in the high risk group and one episode every 13.2 months in the low risk group. Gram-positive organisms accounted for 62.2% of the infections, and coagulase negative Staphylococcus for 35% of infections. The recurrence rate was 12%. Catheter removal was required in seven patients, and three patients were transferred to hemodialysis because of recurrent infections. We conclude that CAPD is a safe and viable modality of treatment for end-stage renal disease in our patient population.

Adult↗