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Biomedical subjects

M R Kassirer

Publications and source records attributed to M R Kassirer.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Head banger's whiplash.

OBJECTIVE: The current trend in dancing includes "head banging" with extreme flexion, extension, and rotation of the head and cervical spine. We suggest that dance-related severe pain in the cervical area may result from head banging. DESIGN: A cohort of 37 eighth graders ages 13 or 14 participated in a dance marathon for charity lasting 7 h. There were 26 girls and 11 boys. SETTING: During the dance marathon, three "heavy metal" songs were played during which head banging could be done. PATIENTS: The painful syndromes that relate to head banging were evaluated by a convenience sample of the 37 marathon dancers in the eighth grade. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A self-selected age-matched control group is included since 17 adolescents participated in head banging and 20 did not. RESULTS: Of the head bangers, 81.82% of the girls and 16.6% of the boys had resultant cervical spine pain that lasted 1-3 days. Only 26.2% of non-head-banging girls and 0% of non-head-banging boys had cervical spine pain lasting 1-3 days. Of all the 8th-grade participants, 62.16% had pain somewhere. Other types of pain included leg pain, back pain, and headache. Only three adolescents took any medication for their pain. CONCLUSIONS: The head-banger's whiplash is a self-limiting painful disorder. The easy resolution of the pain problem in adolescents is a tribute to the resilience of youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Persistent high-altitude headache and aguesia without anosmia.

High-altitude headache and taste dysfunction are usually cured within a few months by descent to sea level. We studied a patient who had persistent bitemporal throbbing headache with the associated findings of high-altitude headache syndrome 15 years after a compression chamber accident. He also had loss of taste without loss of smell since the incident.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Benign encephalopathy of pregnancy. Preliminary clinical observations.

A survey of 67 pregnancies in 51 professional women (physicians, psychologists, nurses, administrators, etc.) revealed the occurrence of symptoms of cognitive dysfunction such as forgetfulness, disorientation, confusion and reading difficulties in 28 pregnancies occurring in 21 women. These were unrelated to such factors as age of delivery, percentage weight gain, the baby's sex or birth weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, a history of migraine or allergy or other symptoms occurring during pregnancy such as sleepiness and lack of concentration, irritability, loss of interest in job or nightmares. Nor was there any correlation with hypertension, proteinuria, glycosuria, ketonuria, anemia, or morning sickness. Furthermore, these cognitive disturbances were not related to depression or sleep deprivation. Despite these symptoms, none of the women suffering from them were forced to interrupt their professional activities during pregnancy. The syndrome of benign encephalopathy of pregnancy should be recognized so that simple precautions can be taken to prevent any interference with professional or other activities. The etiology of the syndrome is unknown.

Cognition Disorders↗