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Biomedical subjects

A N Wiens

Publications and source records attributed to A N Wiens.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test: adult norms and moderator variables.

This study examined the performance of a sample of 821 healthy job applicants on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Subjects had previously passed basic academic skills tests and physical examinations and were deemed free of cognitive impairment and medical illness. They were also motivated to perform well on cognitive tests. Gender, ethnicity, and education were not significant moderator variables in our subjects. Age and IQ did significantly affect PASAT test results. Normative data are stratified by age and WAIS-R Full Scale IQ scores to be useful to those who administer the PASAT in clinical practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Group treatment of fibromyalgia: a 6 month outpatient program.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a 6 month group therapy program on the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Since FM is a common problem in rheumatology practice, a program was designed to treat patients in a group setting using allied health professionals. METHODS: The FM group (15 to 25 patients) met once a week for 6 months. The average session lasted 90 min and consisted of formal lectures, group sessions emphasizing behavior modification, stress reduction techniques, strategies to improve fitness and flexibility and support sessions for spouses/significant others. The 2 major outcome measures were the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) and the total tender point score. Secondary outcome measures were the quality of life scale, questionnaires to assess coping strategies and attitudes to illness, an index of aerobic conditioning, flexibility, distance walked in 6 min., Beck depression and Beck anxiety questionnaires. Patients were followed 2 years and compared to a group of patients outside the program. RESULTS: Between 1989 and 1993 170 patients were evaluated and 104 patients completed the program. At the end of the 6 months 73 (70%) of patients had <11 tender points and FIQ improved 25%. Having a pain profile on MMPI or having major depression, did not predict poorer outcome. Thirty-three patients followed for 2 years after the program continue to show improvement. A control group of 29 patients who never entered the program showed no significant improvement. CONCLUSION: The group treatment of patients with FM in an outpatient setting shows promise; a more formal controlled study is needed to confirm this impression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Assessing depression in fibromyalgia patients.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationships among four methods of detecting depression in patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS: Data were obtained from 100 women (mean age 43 years) who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Instruments included a computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule (C-DIS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), an adjusted "disease-free" BDI (BDI-A), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory depression subscale (MMPI-D). Chance-corrected concordance, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy among the four methods were calculated. RESULTS: The C-DIS detected 22% and BDI-A 29% with current major depression. The BDI and MMPI-D yielded higher estimates of 55% of the 44%, respectively. Agreement on the diagnosis among the four methods was significantly greater than chance. When compared with the C-DIS, the BDI was the most sensitive instrument and the BDI-A most specific.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Hostility as a health risk factor: relationships with neuroticism, Type A behavior, attentional focus, and interpersonal style.

In order to investigate further the psychological construct of hostility measured on the Cook-Medley (Ho) Scale as a health risk factor, the present study examined relationships between hostility assessed on the Ho Scale and several measures of neuroticism, Type A behavior, and attentional and interpersonal style, using bivariate and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Subjects were 204 psychologically normal, physically healthy males. Significant relationships were found between hostility, neuroticism, attentional overload, and interpersonal alienation. The present study provided normative data on several important health-related psychological dimensions in a sample of healthy normals. The findings also provided further support for the relationship between the hostility construct measured on the Ho Scale and measures of neuroticism as possible dimensions of disease-prone personality.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Organic solvent-induced encephalopathy in industrial painters.

Although organic solvents are essential components of an industrial economy, they are not used without risk. The relationship between excessive exposure to organic solvents and subsequent development of chronic encephalopathy has been recognized for nearly 100 years. Fifteen industrial painters who underwent evaluation in an occupational health clinic for symptoms that they related to their work were found to have a high prevalence of neurasthenic symptoms, most frequently, memory loss and personality change. Although neurologic and screening laboratory examinations showed no consistent abnormalities, psychological tests documented poor short-term memory and an array of neuropsychologic deficits. Personality profiles revealed depression, anxiety, and preoccupation with somatic concerns. These findings agree well with previous reports of "chronic painter's syndrome." Heightened awareness among industrial physicians and prospective studies to evaluate existing threshold limit values and personal protective equipment requirements are indicated.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Impaired brain functions due to diazepam and meprobamate abuse in a 53-year-old-male.

The following case study demonstrates the important influence of diazepam and meprobamate on a patient's neuropsychological test performance. This article includes: a brief medical history and summary of previous physical examinations; brief description of the neuropsychological test battery; formulation of the original neuropsychological test findings; follow-up neuropsychological testing; and discussion. The profound interaction effect of these prescribed drugs revealed severe cognitive, memory, and motor function deficits in a 53-year-old male. These findings are in contrast to reports in the literature.

Cognition Disorders↗
PubMed1983

Neuropsychological functioning after prolonged high altitude exposure in mountaineering.

This prospective study examined the possibility of long lasting CNS sequelae of high altitude exposure in mountaineering. An extensive battery of neuropsychological and personality tests was given to 22 subjects before and after Himalayan climbs above 5334 m (17,500 ft). All subjects were at altitude for long periods without supplemental oxygen, but did not suffer other physical insults such as serious injury or food or water deprivation. Although several climbers experienced acute effects of mountain sickness while at altitude, their post-climb evaluations revealed no evidence of lasting cerebral dysfunction or psychological deficit. A few climbers' subjective ratings of mental functioning were worse after their expeditions, but these self-assessments were unsupported by their performances on the objective testing. It was concluded that in healthy people who do not suffer other physical insults as well, acute CNS effects of low oxygen tensions during high altitude climbs are reversible.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

WAIS and MMPI correlates of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychology Battery in normal male subjects.

Two groups, each consisting of 24 normal young men, were given the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychology Battery and additional tests of intellectual and personality functioning, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Cornell Medical Index. The test (and subtest) scores were intercorrelated. No significant correlations were found between any of the personality tests and any of the subtests of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychology Battery. Most of the WAIS measures likewise failed to correlate with the Halstead-Reitan measures in the two samples. The exceptions were the Digit Span and Block Design subtests and the Performance Scale IG score on the WAIS which did correlate with some of the subtests from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychology Battery. The findings with normal subjects reported in this paper, in contrast with findings with psychopathological and brain-damaged groups of subjects reported by others, indicate that for Ss in the top half of the population in education and WAIS FSIQ, individual differences in scores on the WAIS, the MMPI, TMAS, and CMI do not materially influence performance on the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychology Battery Measures.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Retest reliability of the Halstead Impairment Index in a normal, a schizophrenic, and two samples of organic patients.

In a 1974 study Matarazzo, et al. reported the test-retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for a sample of normal young men and a comparison group of older Ss with cerebrovascular disease. The present study extended this earlier one by addition of comparable test-retest findings from two additional comparison groups: a sample of chronic schizophrenic Ss and a sample of organic patients who underwent endarterectomy. Despite the lack of comparability across the four samples on many dimensions, including age and test-retest interval, the results again reveal a high degree of clinical as well as purely psychometric reliability for most of the tests in the neuropsychological battery and the additional suggestion for further research that the test-retest instability found for some of the Ss in the schizophrenic sample may, itself, hold promise of differential clinical significance in the diagnosis of a "schizophrenic" vs. "organic" process.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1975

Electroconvulsive therapy and memory.

Recent research on the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on memory is critically reviewed. Despite some inconsistent findings, unilateral nondominant ECT appears to affect verbal memory less than bilateral ECT. Adequate research on multiple monitored ECT is lacking. With few exceptions, the research methodologies for assessing memory have been inadequate. Many studies have confounded learning with retention, and only very recently has long term memory been adequately studied. Standardized assessment procedures for short term and long term memory are needed, in addition to more sophisticated assessment of memory processes, the duration of memory loss, and qualitative aspects of memories.

Amnesia↗