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Biomedical subjects

Kathleen B Digre

Publications and source records attributed to Kathleen B Digre.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The evaluation of light sensitivity in benign essential blepharospasm.

PURPOSE: To test light sensitivity thresholds rigorously in patients with benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) compared with patients who have known light sensitivity (migraineurs) and to normal control subjects. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, case control study. METHODS: We recruited a total of 87 subjects into each of three groups: BEB, migraine, and normal control subjects. A modified slit-lamp chin rest, heat shield, light meter, and halogen light that was modulated by a rheostat were used to measure light sensitivity thresholds. Participants were tested without spectacles, with gray-tinted spectacles, and with FL-41-tinted spectacles. RESULTS: Light discomfort thresholds for subjects with BEB were significantly lower compared with normal control subjects (P < or = .009) and similar to the migraine group. Both gray and FL-41-tinted lenses improved light sensitivity thresholds in all groups (P < or = .0005). There was no observed difference in the improvement in light sensitivity when the gray and FL-41-tinted lenses were compared. CONCLUSION: Patients with BEB are considerably more sensitive to light than control subjects and as sensitive to light as patients with migraine. Physicians who care for patients with BEB should consider using tinted lenses to help ameliorate symptoms.

Blepharospasm↗
PubMed2005

Clinic-based study of family history of vascular risk factors and migraine.

The objective was to evaluate the presence of a positive family history (FH) of vascular risk factors between patients with migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MO), and in chronic migraine (CM) compared to other headache types. As migraine patients are typically too young to have developed vascular events, studying older relatives of migraine patients may be a practical means of evaluating associations between vascular risk factors and migraine. A cross-sectional study of a clinic-based sample of adults with migraine headache was carried out at the University of Utah. Predictor variables comprised first or second degree relatives with stroke, hypertension, diabetes or hypercholesterolaemia. Outcome measures comprised diagnosis of MA, MO or CM according to the revised International Headache Society criteria. There was no significant difference in FH of vascular risk factors in MA compared to MO (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.61-1.78). CM was associated with a decreased risk of FH of stroke (OR=0.11, 95% CI 0.02-0.87, p=0.036). There was no significant difference in FH of vascular risk factors in MA patients compared to MO. CM patients were more likely to have a negative FH of stroke compared to other headache types, suggesting that CM is likely a neuronal disease rather than a vascular one.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Measurement of the scleral canal using optical coherence tomography in patients with optic nerve drusen.

PURPOSE: The etiology of optic nerve drusen (OND) is unknown. A leading hypothesis is that eyes with OND have a small scleral canal. The small scleral canal presumably leads to optic nerve fiber compression, ganglion cell degeneration, extrusion of axonal mitochondria, and calcification of the extruded mitochondria. To determine if subjects with OND have scleral canals that are smaller than subjects without OND, we used optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure the scleral canal in subjects with and without OND. DESIGN: Prospective, observational case control study. METHODS: The study was conducted with subjects recruited from the clinics of the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The study population included 25 subjects with OND, 13 unaffected first-degree relatives of OND subjects, and 17 control subjects. All subjects underwent measurement of the scleral canal with OCT. The main outcome measure was the scleral canal area calculated by OCT. RESULTS: The average areas of the scleral canals were as follows: control eyes: 1.832 mm(2), unaffected eyes of subjects with unilateral OND: 1.836 mm(2), eyes of unaffected first-degree relatives: 2.067 mm(2), and eyes with OND: 2.520 mm(2). The scleral canal area of unaffected eyes of subjects with unilateral drusen was not significantly different from the control. The eyes of first-degree relatives and eyes with OND both had scleral canal areas significantly larger than the control. CONCLUSIONS: Scleral canal size is probably not an etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of OND.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Progression from anomalous optic discs to visible optic disc drusen.

At age 5, a patient underwent fundus photography that disclosed elevated optic discs without drusen. A head computed tomography did not show optic nerve calcification. At age 9, no disc drusen were evident by ophthalmoscopy, but a CT now showed optic nerve calcification. At age 12, optic disc drusen were faintly evident on photographs; visual fields showed blind spot enlargement OD and an arcuate defect OS. At age 21, he had numerous discrete disc drusen in both eyes, disc pallor, and slight progression of the visual field defects. This case documents the progression from anomalous optic discs to ophthalmoscopically visible optic nerve drusen over a 16-year period.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Persistent severe visual and electroretinographic abnormalities after intravenous Cisplatin therapy.

A 55-year-old man inadvertently received four times the intended dose of intravenous cisplatin as part of a chemotherapeutic salvage regimen for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Immediately after treatment, he developed bilateral irreversible visual loss. Visual acuity was 20/300 in OU and visual fields showed central scotomas bilaterally. Although the fundus examination findings were normal, an electroretinogram showed markedly reduced a-wave amplitudes and absent b-waves. At autopsy 8 months later, photoreceptors appeared normal. Splitting of the outer plexiform layer was present, consistent with loss of the ERG b-wave. This is the first reported case of persistent visual loss from intravenous cisplatin toxicity and the first case to describe ocular histopathologic findings.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed2002

Autopsy-proven, sporadic pick disease with onset at age 25 years.

CONTEXT: Pick disease is uncommon and accounts for less than 2% of adult-onset dementias. Reports of Pick disease in young adults have apparently increased in the last decade. OBJECTIVE: To document the presentation and course of a patient with tau-positive Pick disease presenting at an extremely young age. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENT: A white woman with cognitive impairment that began at age 25 years. She experienced progressive dementia over an 8-year period with radiographic evidence of severe cerebral atrophy of the frontotemporal lobes. Autopsy findings confirmed the diagnosis of Pick disease characterized by tau-positive Pick bodies in the neurons of the fascia dentata. CONCLUSION: Pick disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of young adults presenting with behavioral symptoms, especially those of frontal impairment.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Vitamin A in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with and without idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

We quantified vitamin A in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, elevated intracranial pressure of other causes and normal intracranial pressure. Vitamin A could be detected by high-pressure liquid chromatography in most of the specimens. There was a significantly higher level of vitamin A in the cerebrospinal fluid of some patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Vitamin A toxicity may play a role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension headache.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder of increased intracranial pressure that may have papilledema with normal imaging study results. Headache is the most frequent symptom. Although the headache characteristics are indistinguishable from the symptoms of migraine headache, accompanying symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, such as pulsatile tinnitus, transient visual obscurations, and radicular neck pain, may aid in the diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging, including venography, is essential for the diagnosis of the primary idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Medical treatment for the headache includes weight loss for obese patients, diuretic therapy, and migraine preventive medications. If medical therapy does not abolish the headache, surgical options should be considered. Because patients with IIH have a poor quality of life, patient education and supportive materials are important.

Headache↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Panhypopituitarism as an initial manifestation of primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: To report an unusual case of primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in which the initial manifestation was panhypopituitarism. METHODS: We present a retrospective case review and discuss similar cases from the literature. RESULTS: A 64-year-old woman with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and peripheral and periorbital edema was found to have panhypopituitarism. Magnetic resonance imaging showed minimal enlargement of the pituitary, and a transsphenoidal biopsy of the pituitary was nondiagnostic. Months later, abnormalities of extraocular movements developed. Repeated imaging and a second transsphe-noidal biopsy did not reveal the ultimate diagnosis. When further neurologic signs and symptoms subsequently developed, a right temporal open craniotomy was performed. It was not until this procedure, the patient's third biopsy, that the cause of her illness was discovered to be diffuse large cell lymphoma. CONCLUSION: Although idiopathic panhypopituitarism is a relatively common clinical entity, it remains a diagnosis of exclusion. The development of associated neurologic signs should prompt the clinician to initiate a new search for an underlying cause. This case underscores the protean manifestations of central nervous system lymphoma, both endocrine and neurologic, and the difficulties that may be encountered in attempts to establish a diagnosis.

Abducens Nerve Diseases↗