Biomedical subjects

Júlia Gádoros

Publications and source records attributed to Júlia Gádoros.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Executive dysfunction in frontal lesions and frontal epilepsy].

BACKGROUND: To explore the functions of the frontal lobe that are associated with high order cognitive and behavioral aspects such as the organization and execution of thoughts and behavior by neuropsychological methods is difficult. These so called executive functions are in close connection with the prefrontal thalamocortical circuits, damage of which can cause deficits in cognitive functions and even changes in personality. METHODS: The aim of this study is to present a neuropsychological battery for testing frontal lobe functions. 31 patients (with frontal epilepsy and/or frontal lesion) and 38 healthy control subjects participated in the study. The control subjects were matched to the patient group in age, gender and education. RESULTS: Comparing to the controls the patient group showed significant deficits in most of the measured executive functions, except two tests which show that the short time selective attention is preserved. We divided the patient group into three subgroups (frontal epilepsy only FLE, frontal lesion only FL, frontal lesion and epilepsy FLE+FL) and we found that except working memory deficits and problems in inhibition, there were no difference between the FLE patients and the control group. We found most frequently perseveration and errors in a strategy making task among the FL (mainly medial) patients. We didn't find any difference in these tests according to the lateralization of the lesion. CONCLUSION: In conclusion we found that working memory deficits and problems in inhibition differentiated the frontal patient group from the controls in all cases. We emphasize that in frontal epilepsy (with no reported MR lesion) there are the same type, however more limited neuropsychological alterations as in lesional frontal dysfunction.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Comorbidity in child psychiatry: is the comorbidity of pediatric mania and ADHD really that high?].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to investigate possible reasons of diagnosing comorbidity in child psychiatric disorders, with special attention to the comorbidity of mania and attention deficit-hyperactivity syndrome (ADHD). METHOD: Using a structured interview, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Kid (M.I.N.I. Kid) we examined 112 consecutive admitted children aged under 18 in the Vadaskert Children's Psychiatric Hospital. For all children, best-estimated diagnoses were made by an independent child-psychiatrist as well, who was blind to the diagnoses of the M.I.N.I. Kid. Six children were diagnosed as having pervasive developmental disorder by the independent clinician, their data were excluded. In this way the data of 106 children were included in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Comorbidity: Based on the M.I.N.I. Kid test comorbid diagnoses were found in 74.53% of the children and 51.90% of the children with comorbid diagnoses had three or more concomitant diagnoses. The maximum number of diagnoses obtained concomitantly by the M.I.N.I. Kid was 9. The M.I.N.I. Kid produced 2.58 diagnoses for one child on average. The independent child-psychiatrist found comorbid diagnoses in 25.47% of the children. The maximum number of diagnoses made by the independent child-psychiatrist for 1 child was 2. The independent child-psychiatrist established 1.25 diagnoses for one child on average. Manic/hypomanic episode: Based on the M.I.N.I. Kid manic episode was diagnosed in 14.15% of the children and hypomanic episode in 6,60% of them, while the independent psychiatrist did not diagnose these conditions in any of the children. 99.33% of the children with manic episode were diagnosed together with ADHD by the M.I.N.I. Kid. In 57.14% of those cases, where the M.I.N.I. Kid diagnosed a hypomanic episode, it found an ADHD at the same time. The independent psychiatrist found ADHD in 73.33% of the children with the diagnoses of manic episode and in 57.14% of the children with hypomanic episode determined by the M.I.N.I. Kid. CONCLUSIONS: The considerable differences found in the number of diagnoses made by using the M.I.N.I. Kid and by the independent child psychiatrist may indicate the possible over-sensitivity of structured interviews and the characteristics of diagnostic systems: several disorders have overlapping symptoms, making the differential diagnoses difficult.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

[Neurocognitive symptoms of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].

OBJECTIVES: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the most common childhood-onset disorder that has been characterized with the dysfunction of executive functions. These functions are related to the frontal lobe, especially to different frontostriatal networks. The purpose of this study was to examine executive functions of 5-7 years old (non-literate) children with and without ADHD. METHOD: We used well-known neuropsychological tests (and some other tests developed by us) which measure the organisation and execution of behavior and thinking. 31 children with ADHD and 26 healthy children without ADHD -- comparable to the other sample with respect to age and sex -- participated in this examination. We compared the two groups in terms of various aspects of executive functions, such as inhibition, attention, motor implementation and visual memory. The test battery used included the Colour Raven Test, a version of the Tower of Hanoi for children, the Bender A and B Test, the Block Design Subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, the children version of Rey Complex Figure Test, the Picture Attention Test and the Fruit Stroop Test. In order to explore the characteristics of the variables, the factor-analytic method was used by which the various aspects of executive functions could be separated. RESULTS: Statistical comparison of the two groups revealed that several aspects of executive dysfunctions (strategy-constitution, inhibition, attention and motor implementation) can be seen in ADHD.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2003

[Multidisciplinary therapy of Tourette syndrome].

The marked fluctuation in symptoms with a spectrum of behavioral problems contribute to misdiagnosis of Tourette syndrome. The authors review the recent progress in diagnosis and management with an emphasis on multidisciplinary approach. Possible associations with various genes have been found in etiology of Tourette syndrome. Development of the disease comes of dopaminerg neurotransmission disorder resulting in cortico-striato-thalamic system dysfunction. Tics are brief movements or sounds that occur intermittently and unpredictably mimicking fragments of normal behavior. Diagnostic criteria are based on the motor and vocal phenomena and their dynamics. The key concept in management are the tic severity scaling correlating with quality of life measurements. Therapeutic interventions indicated at severe alteration in patient's quality of life. Treatment plan combines various drug protocols, psychotherapy and behavioral therapy which should be optimalized for most disabling symptom. Social isolation and self injurious behavior complicates the treatment resistant, severe cases. In these subgroup of patient, an adequate selection of stereotactic intervention could provide an effective control of tic severity or behavioral disorder. Tourette syndrome, as a typical neuropsychiatric disorder, is a striking example for improved efficacy of multidisciplinary approach.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed2003

Suicidal depressed vs. non-suicidal depressed adolescents: differences in recent psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have focused on the differences between two depressed groups of patients in child psychiatry: the suicidal and the non-suicidal adolescent population. As in other countries, depression is one of the most prevalent diagnoses in adolescents in Hungary. AIMS: The present study was designed to determine (a) whether there are specific symptoms to differentiate between two clinical samples of depressed children: patients expressing suicidal behaviour and their peers with no suicide attempts, and (b) if there are significant differences between parents' and adolescents' reports of the same symptoms. METHODS: Using a recently developed semi-structured interview (Diagnostic Evaluation Schedule for Children and Adolescents-Hungarian version, ), 132 symptoms were assessed for two clinical groups of depressed adolescents: a suicidal group (N=54) [corrected], and a non-suicidal group (N=78) [corrected]. The suicidal group had all made an unsuccessful suicide attempt and/or had had frequent suicidal thoughts during the 6 months prior to the study. The non-suicidal group had neither attempted suicide, nor had had suicidal thoughts during the previous 6 months. All cases were selected from a larger sample of 490 consecutively referred new outpatient children over a 1 year period in five psychiatric facilities in Hungary. Only 13-17-year-old adolescents participated in the study. Both samples were identified using operationalised computer algorithm criteria of DSM-IV major depressive disorder episode (MDD) irrespective of the current clinical diagnosis of the patients. The Pearson Chi-square test with Monte Carlo correction was used to evaluate the differences between the suicidal and the non-suicidal depressed samples. RESULTS: Hopelessness, negative self-esteem and violent behaviour were the only significant discriminators between the two study groups according to the parent interviews, with increased problem scores in the suicidal sample compared to the non-suicidal sample. Suicidal depressed adolescents view themselves as more depressed and violent than do non-suicidal depressed individuals and were less anxious about their parents. CONCLUSIONS: The two depressed samples (suicidal vs. non-suicidal individuals) have only very few dissimilarities. There are, however, some essential differences between the parental and adolescent perceptions of the suicidal and depressive symptoms of the adolescent. The findings of the study underscore the necessity of collecting data from both the parent and the adolescent. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional, no lifetime psychopathology, referred samples, no blind estimation of the suicidal status of patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Probabilistic classification learning in Tourette syndrome.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterised by stereotyped involuntary movements, called tics. Some evidence suggests that structural and functional abnormalities of the basal ganglia may explain these motor symptoms. In this study, the probabilistic classification learning (PCL) test was used to evaluate basal ganglia functions in 10 children with less severe tics (Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores<30) and in 10 children with more severe symptoms (YGTSS score>30). In the PCL task, participants are asked to decide whether different combinations of four geometric forms (cues) predict rainy or sunny weather. Each cue is probabilistically related to a weather outcome, and feedback is provided after each decision. After completion of the probabilistic stimulus-response learning procedure, subjects received a transfer test to assess explicit knowledge about the cues. The children with TS exhibited impaired learning in the PCL task in comparison with the 20 healthy control subjects. This impairment was more pronounced in the TS patients with severe symptoms, and there was a significant negative relationship between the final classification performance and the YGTSS scores. The patients showed normal learning in the transfer test. These results suggest that the neostriatal habit learning system, which may play a central role in the acquisition of probabilistic associations, is dysfunctional in TS, especially in the case of more severe motor symptoms. The classification performance and the severity of tics were independent of the explicit knowledge obtained during the test.

Adolescent↗