Biomedical subjects
P Calloway
Publications and source records attributed to P Calloway.
Amelioration of specific working memory deficits by methylphenidate in a case of adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Cognitive neuroscience has provided an extensive literature on the neuroanatomy and psychopharmacology of working memory. However, while it has been shown that children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) have deficits in working memory, relatively little is known about working memory functions in adults diagnosed with AD/HD. Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether methylphenidate (Ritalin), which is used in the treatment of childhood AD/HD can improve performance deficits in adult AD/HD patients. We have used three paradigms of spatial working memory validated in cortical lesion patients, and psychopharmacological and neuroimaging studies, in order to examine the effects of methylphenidate administration in a case of an adult diagnosed with AD/HD. In the AD/HD patient at baseline testing, performance on a test of spatial recognition memory and on a task of self-ordered spatial working memory was shown to be impaired. Importantly, the impairments on the self-ordered spatial working memory task were ameliorated by an acute oral dose of methylphenidate (0.5 mg/kg). These findings provide insights into the possible neurochemical and neuroanatomical substrates of the action of methylphenidate in AD/HD and suggest a useful methodology for further research into this potentially debilitating disorder.
Community psychiatric services.
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The association of education and socioeconomic status with the Mini Mental State Examination and the clinical diagnosis of dementia in elderly people.
The distribution of scores in the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) of women aged 70-79 years from a rural area of Cambridgeshire is reported. Increasing age, lower socioeconomic group and less education were all found to be associated with lower scores on MMSE. Of these, only increasing age was significantly related to an increase in the diagnosis of dementia.
Serum creatine kinase BB isoenzyme levels in an epidemiological study of dementia and cognitive impairment.
It has been suggested that serum creatine kinase levels might be useful in the investigation of dementia. In this study serum creatine kinase BB (CKBB) isoenzyme levels were investigated in a community population of elderly women aged 70 to 80 years. Normative data for this group were compared with the findings in younger age groups. No relationship was found between levels of CKBB and level of dementia, or with the specific clinical diagnosis of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, although a weakly positive relationship was found between CKBB and 3 cognitive scales.
An epidemiological study of dementia in a rural population of elderly women.
A study of 365 women aged 70-79 in a rural community was carried out using the Cambridge Examination of Mental Disorders in the Elderly (CAMDEX). Prevalence rates of dementia are reported by severity for the 70-74 and 75-79 age groups. Differential diagnosis was made according to CAMDEX guidelines. Senile dementia of Alzheimer type accounted for half the dementia cases. The prevalence rates overall did not differ from those reported in other recent studies, but the rates for levels greater than mild/moderate were lower, despite the inclusion of subjects in institutions.
Is Alzheimer's disease distinct from normal ageing?
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Litigation and private practice.
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Normal ageing, impaired cognitive function, and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type: a continuum?
There is little evidence to support the view that senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) is distinct from the normal ageing process. The changes in brain function found in normal ageing, benign senescent forgetfulness, and SDAT can be seen as a continuum, which may reflect a single underlying process. The failure to account for this possibility in research design may explain why few risk factors for SDAT have been identified.
Autonomic arousal in eating disorders: further evidence for the clinical subdivision of anorexia nervosa.
Autonomic arousal, measured by skin conductance level and response, was examined in 36 female patients with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) and 32 control subjects. No differences were found between the control group and anorexics who lost weight solely through dieting (restricting anorexics). Patients with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa and anorexics with bulimic features, however, showed fewer spontaneous skin conductance responses and were faster to habituate to 85 dB tones than either controls or restricting anorexic patients. The pattern of findings supports recent views concerning the clinical subdivision of anorexia nervosa.