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Biomedical subjects

J W Knesevich

Publications and source records attributed to J W Knesevich.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Aphasia in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

We assessed language function, using a brief clinical Aphasia Battery and psychometric measures, in 150 subjects with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 83 elderly controls. Aphasia occurred only in demented subjects, and its prevalence increased with severity of dementia. Aphasia in mildly demented subjects was associated with both an earlier age of onset and more rapid progression of SDAT than in similarly demented nonaphasics. Language dysfunction in SDAT subjects was characterized by early decline in measures of comprehension and written expression, whereas other components, including oral naming, were less profoundly affected. Performance on the verbal psychometric measures, the Sentence Repetition and the Token tests, correlated strongly with Aphasia Battery scores and declined only minimally in nonaphasics, despite increasing dementia. We conclude that aphasia is a common feature of SDAT subjects and identifies a subgroup with more rapid progression of dementia. Furthermore, it represents language-specific dysfunction beyond the global cognitive impairment of SDAT.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Adverse cutaneous reactions to antidepressants.

The authors review the literature on adverse cutaneous reactions to antidepressant medications. The prevalence of rashes ranges from approximately 2% to 4% but is higher for certain antidepressants such as maprotiline and carbamazepine. Antidepressant drug reactions result in a variety of cutaneous morphologic patterns, but the majority of eruptions are exanthematous. The patterns of these reactions are similar whether the pathogenesis is mediated by immunologic or nonimmunologic mechanisms. The management of patients with adverse cutaneous reactions to antidepressants is discussed, and various recommendations are given.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1986

Performance of normal elderly on the Boston Naming Test.

The Boston Naming Test has enjoyed increasing use in many research studies since its introduction. However, there is little normative data on the age group above 60 years of age. This study presents data from a sample of 58 well-defined healthy elderly males and females between the ages of 60 and 85. In comparison with published normative data, our sample has higher means, smaller standard deviations, and narrower ranges. These results suggest that aging alone does not significantly alter recognition-cued word-finding ability as defined by the Boston Naming Test. Also there is remarkably consistent performance throughout our age range.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Predictive value of the Boston Naming Test in mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The prognostic implications of anomia were examined in a group of subjects with mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. Anomia was found to correlate with a more rapidly progressive course of illness. A subject's age did not account for the degree of anomia. Duration of illness was not correlated with the degree of anomia or with severity of dementia. The presence of anomia in a subject with mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type appears to indicate a more rapidly progressive course.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Aphasia, family history, and the longitudinal course of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Aphasia, was present in a majority of subjects in a longitudinal study of 43 subjects with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. Aphasic subjects had a more rapidly progressive course but a lower prevalence of familial cases than the study group, other study groups, or the nonaphasic subjects. Conversely, the lack of aphasia was associated with a higher prevalence of familial cases and a slower rate of progression. It is concluded that senile dementia of the Alzheimer type is a heterogeneous disorder in which the presence of aphasia early in the course signifies a nonfamilial, rapidly progressive variety of illness.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Predictive features in mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Forty-three subjects with mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, diagnosed and staged by clinical research criteria, were studied with clinical, psychometric, EEG, visual evoked potential, and CT measures. During the 12 months following entry into the study, 21 subjects progressed to moderate or severe dementia, 21 remained mild, and one was lost to follow-up. Many of the clinical and psychometric measures of impairment were predictive of the progression to moderate or severe dementia. Electrophysiologic and CT measures were not. In a discriminant function analysis, the scores on two measures (the digit symbol subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and an Aphasia Battery) correctly predicted the stage of dementia 1 year later in 95% of the subjects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1983

Six-year follow-up of patients with carefully diagnosed good- and poor-prognosis schizophrenia.

Forty-nine probands, diagnosed according to objective diagnostic criteria as having good- or poor-prognosis schizophrenia, were interviewed 6 years after being diagnosed to assess outcome measured by the Strauss-Carpenter outcome scale, global ratings made by experienced clinicians, and Feighner criteria. The majority of poor-prognosis probands were doing poorly, had a higher than expected number of suicides or probable suicides, and had evidence of organic impairment. The authors conclude that poor prognosis can be accurately predicted when longitudinal factors are embedded in the diagnostic criteria and that clinicians should be aware of the substantial risk of suicide and organic impairment with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Birth order and maternal age effect in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Birth order and maternal age were unrelated to dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) in a study of 42 probands with clinically diagnosed DAT and 42 age-matched control subjects. Mean birth order in both groups did not differ significantly from the general population. The mean maternal age for the DAT probands was neither significantly different from that for the controls nor from that for the 1920 U.S. Caucasian population. Since the diagnostic criteria for the DAT group were only clinical, an additional 14 probands with DAT confirmed by autopsy were studied. Mean maternal age did not differ significantly in this group from the controls, the general population, or the clinically diagnosed DAT group. It was concluded that maternal age and birth order bear no special relationship to DAT in this sample.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Sampling time, dosage schedule, and nortriptyline plasma levels.

Steady-state nortriptyline plasma levels were determined in eight patients at 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, and 6 PM during treatment with nortriptyline hydrochloride administered as a single daily bedtime (hs) dose at 10 PM and repeated after changing the dosage schedule to three times a day (tid) with divided doses at 10 AM, 4 PM, and 10 PM. Overall, the mean levels were stable during the sampling period and comparable on the two schedules. As expected, the plasma level decreased at the later sampling times on the hs schedule and increased on the tid schedule. In seven of the eight patients, the differences on the two dosage schedules were less than 30 ng/ml, which is not considered clinically significant. One patient had a higher plasma nortriptyline level on the tid schedule, which was clinically significant. Standardization of sampling time is of importance when comparing plasma levels and therapeutic response in treatment studies.

Depression↗
PubMed1977

Validity of the Hamilton Rating Scale for depression.

In 26 depressed patients, a high correlation (0-89) was found between the Hamilton score and a psychiatrist's global rating and between the change (0-68) in these ratings during treatment. The Hamilton scale was able to differentiate at the o-01 level four degrees of severity based on the global rating. Limiting the range of severity measured was found to lower significantly the correlation between the ratings. A prospective examination of a six-item sub-scale of the Hamilton scale developed by Beck and associates failed to confirm its claimed improvement in sensitivity or validity.

Depression↗