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Biomedical subjects

R L Palmer

Publications and source records attributed to R L Palmer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Biomagnetic characterization of spatiotemporal parameters of the gastric slow wave.

Certain gastric disorders affect spatiotemporal parameters of the gastric slow wave. Whereas the electrogastrogram (EGG) evaluates electric potentials to determine primarily temporal parameters, fundamental physical limitations imposed by the volume conduction properties of the abdomen suggest the evaluation of gastric magnetic fields. We used a multichannel superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer to study the magnetogastrogram (MGG) in 20 normal human subjects before and after a test meal. We computed the frequency and amplitude parameters of the gastric slow wave from MGG. We identified normal gastric slow wave activity with a frequency of 2.6 +/- 0.5 cycles per minute (cpm) preprandial and 2.8 +/- 0.3 cpm postprandial. In addition to frequency and amplitude, the use of surface current density mapping applied to the multichannel MGG allowed us to visualize the propagating slow wave and compute its propagation velocity (6.6 +/- 1.0 mm s(-1) preprandial and 7.4 +/- 0.4 mm s(-1) postprandial). Whereas MGG and EGG signals exhibited strong correlation, there was very little correlation between the MGG and manometry. The MGG not only records frequency dynamics of the gastric slow wave, but also characterizes gastric propagation. The MGG primarily reflects the underlying gastric electrical activity, but not its mechanical activity.

Electrodiagnosis↗
PubMed2001

Do broken relationships in childhood relate to bulimic women breaking off psychotherapy in adulthood?

OBJECTIVE/METHOD: The case notes of 111 women presenting consecutively to an outpatient eating disorders clinic with bulimia nervosa or atypical bulimia nervosa were reviewed for pretreatment factors that predicted dropout in a retrospective study. Dropping out was conceptualized as not just a patient characteristic but as a transaction between patient and therapist. Factors believed to influence this transaction included experiences of childhood trauma, severity of eating disorder characteristics and comorbid psychiatric symptoms, demographic characteristics, waiting times for assessment and therapy, distance traveled to the clinic, previous experience of psychiatric treatment, and Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem questionnaire results. RESULTS: Witnessing parental breakup, being younger, being employed outside the home, and having previous experience of psychiatric treatment predicted dropping out in logistic regression models. Experiences of childhood trauma had a dose-effect relationship with dropping out. Having lower overall severity of eating disorder characteristics may also relate to dropping out. DISCUSSION: An impaired ability to trust resulting from disturbed attachments may link childhood trauma and dropping out.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Childhood trauma has dose-effect relationship with dropping out from psychotherapeutic treatment for bulimia nervosa: a replication.

OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this study was to replicate the finding that experiences of childhood trauma have a dose-effect relationship with dropping out from psychotherapeutic treatment for bulimia nervosa. It also aimed to replicate logistic regression findings that parental break-up predicts dropping out. METHOD: The cohort consisted of 114 women consecutively presenting to an outpatient eating disorders clinic with bulimia nervosa or atypical bulimia nervosa. Data were gathered using a retrospective, case-note approach and were analysed using logistic regression (LR). A correlation technique was employed to assess the presence of a dose-effect relationship between experiences of trauma in childhood and dropping out. LR models were double cross-validated between this and an earlier cohort. RESULTS: The dose-effect relationship between experiences of childhood trauma and dropping out was confirmed. Witnessing parental break-up in childhood again predicted dropping out of treatment in adulthood. Cross-validation of LR equations was unsuccessful. DISCUSSION: These results strongly suggest that experiences of childhood trauma have a dose-effect relationship with dropping out. Parental break-up is a stable predictor of dropping out. It is possible that these experiences influence attachment style, particularly the ability to make and maintain a trusting relationship with a psychotherapist. Clinical implications are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of thiamin deficiency in anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Deficiency of thiamin (vitamin B1) causes a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms that resemble those reported in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) but the prevalence of thiamin deficiency in AN has not been reliably established. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of thiamin deficiency in AN. METHOD: Thirty-seven patients attending a specialist eating disorders unit and meeting all or some of the DSM-IV criteria for AN were compared with 50 blood donor controls. All subjects underwent measurement of erythrocyte transketolase activation following the addition of thiamin pyrophosphate, the standard biochemical test for thiamin deficiency. Deficiency was defined as a result more than 2 SD above the mean of the control population. RESULTS: Fourteen patients (38%) had results in the deficient range; 7 (19%) met the most stringent published criterion for deficiency. Deficiency was not related to duration of eating restraint, frequency of vomiting, or alcohol consumption. DISCUSSION: Thiamin deficiency may account for some of the neuropsychiatric symptoms of AN and routine screening or supplementation may be indicated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The childhood and family background of women with clinical eating disorders: a comparison with women with major depression and women without psychiatric disorder.

BACKGROUND: Childhood antecedents are often put forward as being of possible aetiological significance for both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. METHOD: Comparisons were made of groups of women with eating disorders with groups of women with major depression or without current psychiatric disorder, using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse interview (CECA). RESULTS: Women with bulimia nervosa (or mixed bulimia and anorexia nervosa) tended to report more troubled childhood experiences than did women from the non-morbid comparison group. In this respect, they resembled those with major depression. In contrast, those with anorexia nervosa resembled the non-morbid women rather than the other psychiatric groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adversity in childhood as measured by the CECA may play a part in the causation of bulimia nervosa but not of anorexia nervosa. It remains possible that more specific or subtle family influences may be relevant.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: sibling sex ratio and birth rank--a catchment area study.

OBJECTIVES: These were to determine (1) whether there is a birth rank effect in eating disorders, and (2) whether all-female sibships are overrepresented in the families of those with eating disorders. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 293 female patients referred from a defined catchment area, the County of Leicester, United Kingdom, to an eating disorders clinic. Diagnoses were made using DSM-III and DSM-III-R. To discern birth rank effect, this core sample was expanded to one of 673 by adding published data sets to our own. RESULTS: No evidence for either effect was found. DISCUSSION: Biases which may have obscured genuine effects are discussed. A comment is made on the implication for family theories of causation of these negative findings.

Anorexia Nervosa↗
PubMed1997

The prevalence and correlates of binge eating in a British community sample of women with a history of obesity.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the frequency of binge eating and binge eating disorder and their correlates in a sample of women with a history of obesity. METHOD: A group of women who had been found in a previous community study to have a body mass index > or = 30 were studied using self-report measures (n = 74) and interview (n = 62). RESULTS: One subject met criteria for binge eating disorder, while 24% reported binging. Subjects who reported binging were significantly more likely to have a past history of depressive illness. DISCUSSION: Prevalence of binge eating, binge eating disorder, and psychopathology was broadly in keeping with that found in North America. In addition, there were nonsignificant trends towards a positive family history of obesity, of childhood obesity, of early onset of dieting, of excessive concern about weight and shape, and a recent history of weight reduction. Further study is required to elucidate the causes of binge eating in the obese.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Childhood sexual experiences with adults: adult male psychiatric patients and general practice attenders.

BACKGROUND: Sexual abuse of male children is now believed to be common, and there may be links to adult psychiatric disorders. METHOD: Recollections of sexual experiences with adults in childhood were studied systematically in 115 men attending general practice surgeries and 100 male psychiatric patients. RESULTS: The latter reported more frequent and more serious events before the age of 13 than the general practice attenders. No significant difference was detected for events between the ages of 13 and 15. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood sexual abuse before the age of 13 may be associated with later psychiatric disorders, although the nature of the association remains uncertain. The possible significance of such experiences should be considered when assessing men with mental disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Attention deficit disorder in children: three clinical variants.

A clinic-referred population of 116 children with attentional problems was classified by DSM-III [attention deficit disorder (ADD)] with respect to inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The sample proved to subdivide into three groups: inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive (HII), n = 60; inattentive and impulsive (II), n = 26; and inattentive (I), n = 30. The distinction between II and I resolves the confounding of impulsivity and inattention in previous studies of children who have ADD but are not hyperactive. The three groups were found to be similar in mean age, gender ratio, prevalence, and pattern of associated learning disabilities, family history of psychopathology, and probability of favorable response to methylphenidate. Group I differed from Groups HII and II in the frequency of externalizing relative to internalizing comorbid psychopathology. A group that is hyperactive and impulsive but not inattentive was not found. The preponderance of similarities in associated characteristics suggests that the three groups are differing clinical presentations of an ADD spectrum.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Childhood sexual experiences with adults. A comparison of reports by women psychiatric patients and general-practice attenders.

Reports of childhood sexual experiences with adults were collected from 120 women attending general-practice surgeries and 115 women psychiatric patients. The method of study, research team and county of residence were the same for the two groups. The psychiatric patients tended to report rates of events higher than the general-practice attenders by a factor of 2-3. The results suggest an association between such experiences and later psychiatric patienthood and are compatible with a causal role for them in some cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Childhood sexual experiences with adults reported by female psychiatric patients.

A group of 115 female psychiatric in-patients and out-patients were studied, using a self-report questionnaire followed by interview, for evidence of childhood sexual activity with adults. About half of the sample reported some childhood sexual experience, ranging from full sexual intercourse to sexual suggestions. Future research should study the possible role of such experience in the genesis of subsequent psychiatric disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Who benefits from electroconvulsive therapy? Combined results of the Leicester and Northwick Park trials.

This paper describes the results obtained by combining data from the Northwick Park and Leicester randomised controlled trials of ECT. Patients who suffered from depression in which retardation and delusions were features and who received real ECT had a significantly improved outcome at the end of four weeks of treatment (as measured by improvement in the HRSD) in comparison with those who received simulated ECT. However, this treatment effect was not detectable at six-month follow-up. Patients who were neither retarded nor deluded did not benefit significantly from real as opposed to simulated ECT.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1991

Changes in beta-1,3-Glucan Synthase Activity in Developing Lima Bean Plants.

A plasma membrane-enriched fraction was isolated from various tissues of developing lima bean seedlings, Phaseolus lunatus var Cangreen, to study beta-1,3-glucan synthase activity changes. All tissues contained an active beta-glucan synthase, including the cotyledons that will be senescent in mature lima bean plants. Young primary leaves exhibited a very active beta-glucan synthase; but this activity dropped markedly, about fivefold, as the leaves gained weight and became photosynthetic. Some tissues, such as the hypocotyl and young stem, exhibited an increase in beta-glucan synthase activity as the tissues were growing and a decrease as the growth rate slowed. Roots exhibited a high activity early in development that only decreased slightly, about 30%, as root growth increased. Surprisingly the senescent cotyledons contained an activity equivalent to some other tissues that was maintained over our measurement time of 21 days. Perhaps this callose synthesis activity is related to translocation processes as the cotyledons transfer their reserves to the growing seedling. We concluded that beta-glucan synthase was not a good indicator of sink strength in these lima bean tissues. The plasma membrane fractions also were tested for other enzymes that might be present because an electron microscope study revealed a low contamination by other types of membranes. The membrane fractions had low but detectable activities of sucrose synthase, UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase, UDPase, alkaline invertase, and a general phosphatase; but these enzymes exhibited no consistent pattern(s) of activity change with plant development.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Neuropsychological deficits in adults with dyslexia.

Adults with severe dyslexia were compared with age-, sex-, IQ- and SES-matched controls on a neuropsychological and neuromotor test battery, and a contrast group who had recovered from dyslexia was also included. The severely dyslexic group was substantially impaired on tests of verbal fluency and learning, as well as on non-verbal temporal order judgements. These test scores were strong predictors of the degree of reading impairment, as was the rate of repetitive movement of the right hand and foot. The results suggest that adult dyslexia is not 'isolated', but is one expression of a widespread left-hemisphere dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Childhood sexual experiences reported by male psychiatric patients.

One hundred adult male psychiatric patients were investigated concerning their recollections of defined sexual activities occurring with adults before the age of sixteen. Twenty-three subjects reported such events. The events were remembered as having been mostly distressing at the time but their later significance is unclear.

Adolescent↗