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Biomedical subjects

S Glatt

Publications and source records attributed to S Glatt.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Falls and Parkinson's disease.

One hundred patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and five patients with progressive supranuclear palsy were questioned about the frequency, circumstances, and consequences of falling. Parkinsonian symptoms were scored using the unified rating scale. Thirty-eight percent of parkinsonian patients fell, and 13% fell more than once a week. Broken bones (13%), hospitalization (18%), confinement to wheelchair (3%), and fear of walking occurred. Postural hypotension was uncommon and did not correlate to falling. Sensory loss, dementia, heart disease, and the use of antihypertensive medications were not related to falling. Falling did correlate with postural instability, bradykinesia, and rigidity but not with tremor. Falling was also related to age and duration of disease. The frequency of falling was correlated only to the severity of one parkinsonian symptom, postural instability. Progressive supranuclear palsy patients fell often and had marked postural instability. Factor analysis of parkinsonian characteristics yielded three groups, with tremor being an independent symptom. Frequent fallers and postural instability were not changed by dopaminergic therapy. Some fallers with gait difficulties and bradykinesia were improved with levodopa. Physical therapy was also of benefit to some patients. It is concluded that falling is a common problem in PD and may cause serious disability. Falling may be related to all the major motor signs except for tremor. Frequent falling is caused by postural instability, which is not reversible with dopaminergic therapy.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1987

Essential tremor variants: effect of treatment.

Essential tremor may not represent a single condition. Subclassifications include kinetic predominant tremor; combined resting-postural tremor; primary writing tremor; isolated voice, chin, or tongue tremor; and orthostatic truncal tremor. We report patients with these disorders. An association of these conditions with essential tremor is suggested by a high occurrence of a family history of essential tremor, frequent presence of a mild postural tremor, and tremor reduction with alcohol ingestion. Pharmacologic responsiveness is different for these disorders. Propranolol and primidone often have beneficial effects but clonazepam was the only drug effective in some cases of kinetic predominant tremor and in orthostatic truncal tremor. Combined resting-postural tremor and voice tremor were often unresponsive to treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. Relationship between cerebral ventricular size and neuropsychological impairment.

Forty-seven patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis were examined to assess the possible relationship between cerebral atrophy (by computed tomography [CT] ) and performance on neuropsychological tests of memory and verbal intelligence. Nineteen patients were found to have mildly dilated ventricles and another nine patients had moderate to severe ventricular enlargement. Performance on memory and intelligence testing was related to the degree of ventriculomegaly. Three linear CT measurements were also recorded. Using this method, the width of the third ventricle proved to be the best indicator of intellectual and memory dysfunction. Measures of cognition and ventricular size did not correlate with length of illness or overall disability as rated by the Kurtzke Disability Status Score.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Acute effects of phencyclidine (PCP) on chronic and recreational users.

Snowball sampling techniques were used to generate a sample of 200 phencyclidine users from an area with a 10-year history of extensive PCP use. Three types of users were studied: heavy chronic, light chronic, and recreational users. The extent of PCP use varied from less than twice a month for a period of 6 months to daily use for several consecutive years. Each subject participated in a structured interview which lasted an average of 11/2 h. Subjects were asked about the acute effects of PCP, and about their moods before, during, and after using PCP. Scales based on previous research were used to measure the acute effects and moods. Results showed that heavy chronic users were more likely than recreational users to feel energized by PCP, and to experience negative ideations (thoughts about suicide and death). When age was controlled for, heavy chronic users were also more likely to experience violent effects. Analysis of moods over time showed some similar patterns between heavy chronic and recreational users, as well as some striking differences. Overall, heavy chronic users reported greater mood elevations while high on PCP, and a more dramatic drop in mood after the high wore off, than recreational users. Analysis of the results by user types clarified some of the confusion about contradictory descriptions of the effects of PCP, and point to the need to continue distinguishing between user types.

Adolescent↗