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Biomedical subjects

W Perry

Publications and source records attributed to W Perry.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

A multimethod approach to assessing perseverations in schizophrenia patients.

Perseverations have been associated with frontal lobe impairment and are often observed among schizophrenia patients. We assessed perseverations in schizophrenia patients (N = 71) using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and a new Rorschach perseveration scale which yields three perseveration scores. We also compared the results of the schizophrenia patients with those of a normal comparison group (N = 71). We found that schizophrenia patients demonstrated a high number of perseverations on both the WCST and the Rorschach perseveration scale when compared to the normal comparison subjects. Among schizophrenia patients, WCST perseverative responses were significantly correlated with Rorschach-derived stuck-in-set perseverations, WAIS-R Vocabulary scores and negative symptom ratings. No significant differences in any of the measures of perseveration were found to be associated with diagnostic subtype. Finally, WCST and Rorschach measures for the schizophrenia and normal comparison participants were entered into a logistic regression. The WCST total errors and the three Rorschach perseveration measures resulted in the correct classification of 89.4% of the total cases, with a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 91% and positive predictive power of 87.8%. These data provide evidence that perseverative behavior is widely observed in schizophrenia patients using a variety of instruments. The authors discuss the benefit of using multiple measures of perseveration in schizophrenia research.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Neuropsychological performance across the menstrual cycle in women with and without Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

This study examined neuropsychological performance across the menstrual cycle in women with varying levels of premenstrual symptomatology. Following a 2-month period of prospective symptom documentation, there were 19 women who met DSM-IV criteria for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD group) and 18 women with mild to moderate symptoms. Neuropsychological functioning was evaluated at the late follicular (pre-ovulatory) and late luteal (premenstrual) phases across the domains of psychomotor speed, attention, and verbal learning and memory. Repeated measures analysis of variance yielded significant group x phase differences on the psychomotor index, with women in the PMDD group demonstrating significant psychomotor slowing in the late luteal phase. This psychomotor slowing was subtle, however, and scores remained within the normal range across testing sessions. No group or phase differences were found on indices of attention or verbal learning and memory. These results suggest that with the exception of subtle psychomotor slowing in the late follicular relative to the late luteal phase, there is no discernible difference in cognitive functioning between women with and without PMDD.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Combined oral estradiol valerate-norethisterone treatment over three years in postmenopausal women. 1. Clinical aspects and endometrial histology.

The aim of this study was to determine the medium-term safety and efficacy of once-daily, oral estradiol valerate 2 mg with norethisterone 0.7 mg on menopausal symptoms, bleeding incidence, endometrial pathology, adverse events and other clinical parameters. A three-year, single-center, open study was performed. Women with menopausal symptoms and > or = 6 months since the last spontaneous menstrual period were recruited. Patients were assessed using questionnaires and daily records of bleeding incidence and severity. Adverse events were recorded at each visit and endometrial histopathology was determined at baseline and annually. There were 206 patients at entry and 133 completers at the end of year 3. Menopausal symptoms showed significant improvements within 4 months (p < 0.0001 compared with baseline). By the end of month 4, 79.9% of patients had stopped bleeding. The mean number of days bleeding per month declined from 2.8 (month 1) to 1.1 (month 12). Significantly less bleeding was observed in patients who were > or = 2 years postmenopausal. No abnormalities in endometrial histology were found. Bleeding and breast tenderness were the commonest adverse events. Twenty-four patients experienced serious adverse events although no definite relationship to drug therapy was considered likely. We therefore conclude that the oral combination of estradiol valerate 2 mg and norethisterone 0.7 mg given daily and continuously leads to amenorrhea and symptom alleviation in the majority of patients and is well tolerated.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Information processing deficits of schizophrenia patients: relationship to clinical ratings, gender and medication status.

Information processing deficits were explored in a large cohort of schizophrenia patients (N = 125) and non-psychiatric subjects (N = 52). Gender, medication status and symptom factors were assessed relative to measures of performance in critical stimulus duration (CSD), visual backward masking (VBM) and auditory reaction time (RT) paradigms. Schizophrenia patients exhibited significant impairments in measures of CSD, VBM and both RT speed and RT set. Females in both groups had inflated CSDs relative to males. Female schizophrenia patients showed slower RTs and elevated RT set scores, but comparable VBM performance, when compared to males. This gender difference was not observed in the non-psychiatric subjects. To test the hypothesis that impaired performance in the VBM and RT paradigms would be related to negative symptoms and thought disorder, regression analyses were performed using factor scores derived from a factor analysis of SANS and SAPS items that generated three symptom factors: negative, disorganized, and reality distortion. Significant variance in performance on VBM and RT measures was accounted for only by the negative symptom factor. We conclude that VBM and RT assess information processing deficits in schizophrenia patients that are more related to the negative versus positive or disorganized symptoms of schizophrenia. It is possible that VBM and RT share overlapping or interacting neural substrates.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Localization of SMAD5 and its evaluation as a candidate myeloid tumor suppressor.

Acquired interstitial or complete losses of chromosome 5 are recurring anomalies associated with preleukemic myelodysplasia and acute myelogenous leukemia with a poor prognosis. Previous studies have delineated a potential myeloid tumor suppressor locus to a <2.4-Mb interval between the genes for IL9 and EGR1 on 5q31. In this report, we have localized the SMAD5 gene, a homologue of the tumor suppressor genes SMAD4/DPC-4 and SMAD2/JV18.1, to the minimal myeloid tumor suppressor locus and characterized its open reading frame and genomic organization. SMAD5 transcripts are readily detectable in hematolymphoid tissues and leukemic blasts. Absence of intragenic mutations in the remaining SMAD5 allele of leukemic patients and multiple solid tumor cell lines prescreened for loss of heterozygosity suggests that SMAD5 may not be a common target of somatic inactivation in malignancy.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1996

The relationship of information-processing deficits and clinical symptoms in schizotypal personality disorder.

Individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) are thought to be phenotypically related to individuals with schizophrenia. This assumption is partially supported by the fact that SPD patients have deficits on biological markers similar to those found in schizophrenia. Visual backward masking (VBM) performance and critical stimulus duration (CSD), measures of information processing found to be abnormal in schizophrenia patients, were assessed in 14 SPD and 21 comparison subjects. There was no significant difference between groups in VBM performance; however; there were significant correlations between VBM deficits and the number of SPD symptoms, as well as elevated scores on the Ego. Impairment Index (EII). Additionally, there was a trend (p = 056) toward elevations in CSD in the SPD versus the comparison group and CSD inflation appears to be most prominent in individuals with a greater number of social deficit symptoms and elevated physical anhedonia scores. These findings suggest an important relationship between symptoms of SPD and neurophysiologic deficits.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Latent inhibition in schizophrenia.

Latent inhibition (LI) refers to the retarded acquisition of a conditioned response that occurs if the subject being tested is first preexposed to the to-be-conditioned stimulus (CS) without the paired unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Because the 'irrelevance' of the to-be-conditioned stimulus is established during non-contingent preexposure, the slowed acquisition of the CS-UCS association is thought to reflect the process of overcoming this learned irrelevance. Latent inhibition has been reported to be diminished in acutely hospitalized schizophrenia patients. If acutely hospitalized schizophrenia patients are preexposed to the CS, they learn the association as fast as, and perhaps faster than, patients who are not preexposed to the CS. This finding has been interpreted as reflecting the inability of acute schizophrenia patients to ignore irrelevant stimuli. In this study, the LI paradigm was identical to the one used in previous reports of LI deficits in schizophrenia patients (Baruch et al., 1988). Latent inhibition was observed in normal control subjects (n = 73), including individuals identified as 'psychosis-prone' based on established screening criteria, and in anxiety (n = 19) and mood disorder (n = 13) patients. Learning scores (trials to criterion) in "acutely' hospitalized as well as "chronic' hospitalized schizophrenia patients (n = 45) were significantly elevated in both preexposed and non-preexposed subjects, compared to controls. Acute schizophrenia patients exhibited intact LI. Separate cohorts of acute and chronic schizophrenia patients (n = 23) and normal controls (n = 34) exhibited intact LI when tested in a new, easier-to-acquire computerized LI paradigm. These results fail to identify specific LI deficits in schizophrenia patients, and raise the possibility that previously observed LI deficits in schizophrenia patients may reflect, at least in part, performance deficits related to learning acquisition.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

The nature of learning and memory impairments in schizophrenia.

The California Verbal Learning Test was used to characterize the learning and memory impairment in schizophrenia (SC) and to evaluate potential clinical and demographic factors associated with this impairment. SC patients (n = 175) performed worse than normal comparison (NC) subjects (n = 229) on all learning, recall, and recognition memory measures. The most important clinical correlates of these impairments were earlier age of onset, more negative symptoms, and greater anticholinergic medication dosage. SC patients showed a prominent retrieval deficit as indicated by disproportionate improvement when tested in a recognition, rather than a free recall, format. A residual impairment seen with recognition testing suggests a mild encoding deficit as well. In contrast, the relative absence of a storage deficit is suggested by the lack of rapid forgetting. Using a discriminant function analysis that differentiates cortical dementia [i.e., Alzheimer's disease (AD)], subcortical dementia [i.e., Huntington's disease (HD)], and normals, it was found that 50% of the SC patients were classified as having a subcortical memory profile and 35% were classified as having a normal profile, whereas only 15% were classified as having a cortical memory profile. Although these findings reflect the clinical heterogeneity often found in SC, results suggest that most SC patients demonstrate a pattern of learning and memory impairments that resembles the pattern seen in patients with primary subcortical (specifically striatal) pathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Gender differences on thought disturbance measures among schizophrenic patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined gender differences on three measures of thought disturbance among patients with schizophrenia and the relation between thought disturbance and social competency. METHOD: Fifty-three male and 34 female patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the DSM-III-R criteria were assessed on measures of thought disturbance: subscales of the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), subscales of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Ego Impairment Index. Gender differences on the three measures of thought disturbance and the relation of these measures to demographic variables and other variables, such as social competency, were examined. RESULTS: Male and female schizophrenic patients demonstrated similar degrees of thought disturbance on the pertinent subscales of the SAPS and the BPRS, but the male schizophrenic patients had scores showing greater impairment on the Ego Impairment Index. Furthermore, a relationship between thought disturbance and social competency was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support other studies in which female patients were found to have a "milder" form of schizophrenia, generally characterized by better social functioning, than their male counterparts. The literature regarding gender-related differences in thought disturbance in schizophrenia has been unclear and complicated by design issues such as obtaining adequate samples of subjects and optimizing measurement selection. The findings of this study suggest that use of a converging-measures strategy allows a better assessment of thought disturbance in severely ill schizophrenic patients and an understanding of the importance of thought disorder with respect to gender-related patterns of clinical characteristics, such as social competency.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A five-year follow-up on the temporal stability of the Ego Impairment Index.

This study investigated the temporal stability of the Ego Impairment Index (EII) over a 5-year period. The EII is based on the Comprehensive System (Exner, 1993) and has shown promise as a measure of internal disturbance and psychopathology (Perry & Braff, 1994; Perry & Viglione, 1991; Perry, Viglione, & Braff, 1992). This study successfully recalled 17 subjects from an original sample of 46 who initially suffered from Major Depression, Melancholic-Type 5 years earlier and were treated with antidepressant medication. These subjects did not differ significantly from those Subjects who were not successfully recalled. The Rorschach and a variety of other measures were administered to the subjects. The results revealed impressive temporal consistency over 5 years: a rank-order, test-retest correlation of .68. The EII was also correlated with some of the measures of overall adaptation. These results are consistent with the notion that the EII is a stable trait-measure of psychopathology. Limitations because of the small subgroup of subjects, although not unusual in longitudinal research, are noted.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Amphetamine on Rorschach measures in normal subjects.

Twenty-two normal undergraduate men were administered either d-amphetamine (0.2 mg/kg or 0.4 mg/kg) or placebo in a double-blind, counterbalanced design. The test sessions were exactly three weeks apart and included, among other measures, the Rorschach test. Rorschach anxiety and thought disorder variables were measured under drug and placebo conditions. The results suggest that amphetamine causes an increase in Rorschach anxiety indices but does not elevate Rorschach indices of thought disorder. The observed dissociation of anxiety and thought disorder on the Rorschach has implications for the role of the Rorschach in studying anxiety disorders and schizophrenic disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Information-processing deficits and thought disorder in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this investigation was to study the relationship between information-processing deficits and thought disorder in schizophrenic patients. METHOD: Fifty-two subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia were administered tests of information processing and thought disorder. The information-processing tests included visual backward masking and prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex. Thought disorder was measured with the Magical Ideation Scale, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the alogia subscale of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable and its subcomponents derived from the Rorschach. RESULTS: Elevated poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable were significantly correlated with information-processing deficits. In a simultaneous multiple regression, the auditory prepulse inhibition measure was the best predictor of poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a correlative relationship between information-processing deficits and thought disorder. The relationship is most apparent when highly sensitive measures of both information processing and thought disorder are used. Furthermore, the prediction of poor responses on the Ego Impairment Index-human experience variable by auditory prepulse inhibition is important, since the neural circuitry of prepulse inhibition is known and involves the modulatory influences of the cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that information-processing failures are associated with cognitive fragmentation and thought disorder. More speculatively, these results allow us to hypothesize that impairments in part of the cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit may lead to thought disorder, as well as prepulse inhibition deficits.

Adult↗