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Biomedical subjects

R A Brumback

Publications and source records attributed to R A Brumback.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Use of operational criteria in an office practice for diagnosis of children referred for evaluation of learning or behavior disorders.

100 consecutively referred school-age children were evaluated for learning or behavior disorders. 45 children had one of three classical neurological syndromes of epilepsy, sensorineural deafness, or childhood migraine. The 26 children with epilepsy required medication adjustment to improve behavior or learning. Operational criteria for childhood depression, specific learning disability, developmental hyperactivity, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome were used to establish the correct diagnosis in 55 children. 32 children had a single diagnosis, while 23 children fulfilled the criteria of two diagnostic categories. The diagnostic categorization permitted specific counseling of the child and family, development of a proper school program, and correct pharmacotherapy (when indicated).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

The effect of pharmacologic acetylcholine receptor on fibrillation and myotonia in rat skeletal muscle.

Myotonic discharges in rats given 20, 25-diazacholesterol hydrochloride and fibrillation discharges in denervated rat muscle both were silenced by procaine hydrochloride, tetrodotoxin or ischemia, or potassium chloride (after initial activation). They both were activated by succinylcholine, but only the fibrillations were silenced by alpha-bungarotoxin or atropine sulfate. It is hypothesized that fibrillations and diazacholesterol-induced myotonia are mediated through mechanisms involving ionic channels, that both can be produced by activation of the junctional/nonjunctional acetylcholine receptors (or some mechanism coupled to the receptors), but that an unfettered alpha-bungarotoxin-binding portion of the acetylcholine-receptor molecule and an unblocked atropine-binding site are obligatory only for production of fibrillations.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1978

Normal pressure hydrocephalus. Recognition and relationship to neurological abnormalities in Cockayne's syndrome.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in adults is a well-known cause of dementia. We describe NPH in children having the recessively inherited Cockayne's syndrome (CS). Cockayne's syndrome is characterized by cachectic dwarfism, neurological dysfunction, and cutaneous sunlight sensitivity. We noted that the NPH-associated triad of dementia, gait disturbance, and incontinence developed in CS patients. Computerized tomography of the brain in our four CS patients showed hydrocephalic enlargement of the brain ventricles greatest in the older patients. There was no evidence of cortical atrophy except in the one patient who had CS with xeroderma pigmentosum. Lumbar puncture and radionuclide cisternography in the two patients tested showed normal CSF pressure, with complete blockade to flow of radionuclide above the tentorium cerebelli, ventricular reflux, and delayed absorption. Studies of NPH in CS may elucidate the pathophysiology of NPH and methods to alter its sequelae.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1978

Inside-of-the-Body test drawings performed by patients with neuromuscular diseases: a preliminary report.

Inside-of-the-Body test drawings were obtained from 50 individuals with various neuromuscular diseases. A mean of 18.0 +/- 5.1 body parts were identified in the drawings. Diseased body structures were emphasized by most patients; for example, thymus was only drawn by individuals with myasthenia gravis, while muscle was only identified by individuals with polymyositis. In contrast, drawings by individuals with neuropathic atrophy omitted the atrophic extremities.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Pathophysiologic mechanisms of hydrocephalus.

Hydrocephalus is caused by a disequilibrium of forces at the ventricular-cerebral interface and may be progressive either due to a continued disequilibrium of forces or due to continued progressive periventricular ischemic injury. Treatment is indicated in all patients with progressive neurological deficit associated with progressive ventricular enlargement. Whenever possible, treatment should be directed toward the cause of the hydrocephalus (e.g., removal of tumors obstructing CSF flow) or the specifically abnormal force vector (e.g., shunting for increased intraventricular pulse waves due to an ectatic basilar artery). When it is not possible to treat the cause or the specifically abnormal force vector, treatment should be guided by the basic mechanisms--reduction of the intraventricular force (Fo), augmentation of the inward brain force (Fi), and improvement of nutrition and oxygenation of ischemic periventricular tissue.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗
PubMed1977

Mania in childhood. II. Therapeutic trial of lithium carbonate and further description of manic-depressive illness in children.

Six children with childhood mania were identified using established diagnostic criteria. Poor response to tranquilizers led to a therapeutic trial of lithium carbonate. Outpatient administration of lithium carbonate in dosages of 30 to 40 mg/kg/day produced therapeutic blood lithium levels, and improved manic symptoms in all six children. Two of the children had a prolonged remission of symptoms with the lithium treatment. Lithium was discontinued in three patients whose depressive symptoms were uncontrollably worsened. Electroencephalographic epileptiform activity developed in one child receiving lithium carbonate. Using the strict diagnostic criteria for childhood mania, further therapeutic trails including double-blind studies are indicated to establish the proper role of lithium carbonate in the treatment of this disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Characteristics of the Inside-of-the Body Test drawings performed by normal school children.

The Inside-of-the-Body test was administered to an unselected group of 150 elementary school children in Grades 1 to 6. The most frequently identified body part was the heart. Musculoskeletal and visible body parts were identified in younger children. Children in the higher grade levels drew more cavity organs and their drawings more frequently showed the organs in the correct anatomic arrangement. The Inside-of-the-Body test may be a useful adjunctive tool in the psychological assessment of children by identifying the development of internal body perception in normal children as well as those with physical and psychological disorders.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Childhood depression: an explanation of a behavior disorder of children.

Depression is an important cause of behavioral disturbances in children. Childhood depression is an episodic disorder characterized by 10 criteria, symptoms of dysphoric mood, self-deprecatory ideation, agitation, loss of energy, reduced socialization, altered school performance, altered school attitude, sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance, and somatic compliants persisting for at least one month. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment can successfully alleviate the symptomatology in depressed children.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗
PubMed1977

Relationship of hyperactivity and depression in children.

From questionnaires completed by parents and teachers and clinical assessment by a physician 223 school age children were evaluated for childhood depression. Data showed hyperactivity and depression occurred independently but were frequently associated, especially when hyperactivity was episodic.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Mania in childhood: case studies and literature review.

Criteria for mania in children have been established on the basis of criteria for mania in adults. Mania in children is an episodic disorder characterized by marked irritability and agitation, a considerable increase in activity level, push of speech, sleep disturbances, distractability, and noticeable mood instability that persists for longer than one month. Euphoria is frequently present in children with mania and is manifested as an adamant denial of any illness or problem. Previous reports have not stressed the characteristic appearance of depressive symptoms, such as hopelessness and helplessness, crying spells, death wishes, and beliefs of persecution, all of which can occur during the manic episode in children.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A familial case of Alzheimer's disease without tau pathology may be linked with chromosome 3 markers.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia that occurs in later years. The diagnosis is confirmed by the pathological findings of betaA4-amyloid-containing neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the former being present in sufficient quantity commensurate with age. Other forms of dementia are more difficult to diagnose clinically; their pathology is noted for the lack of plaques and tangles. A patient with a family history of dementia presented with the clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease which lasted for 13 years. At autopsy the brain tissue had betaA4-amyloid-containing neuritic plaques, but no neurofibrillary tangles (i.e., the tissue was negative for staining with the tau antibody). Genetic analysis of DNA from family members revealed no linkage with chromosome 17 markers, indicating that this was not frontotemporal dementia. However, there was linkage with chromosome 3 markers. Thus, this form of Alzheimer's disease with a pathology of plaques only is linked with markers on chromosome 3.

Aged↗