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Biomedical subjects

B Pentland

Publications and source records attributed to B Pentland.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Parkinson's disease: the spectrum of disabilities.

The needs of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) go beyond the purely medical domain and often require collaborative management. A Panel Discussion at the "Hither neurology" Symposium included neurologists, a speech therapist, a geriatrician and a sociologist. Their discussion highlighted certain aspects of the disability and disadvantage associated with PD. The starting point was a video recording, "Parkinson's Disease: the personal view", in which the contributors were patients and carers. Topics covered included counselling at the time of diagnosis; subsequent access to clinics and to neurological advice; access to therapy; support in the community; fluctuating disability associated with "on-off" phenomena; driving; and sexual problems.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Evaluation of a comprehensive assessment battery for stroke patients.

The authors describe their experience of evaluating a battery of tests to assess function in patients with stroke and head injuries. They consisted of the Abbreviated Mental Test Score, Ravens Progressive Coloured Matrices, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), Motricity Index, Shortened Rivermead Perceptual Assessment Battery (RPAB), Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST) and Barthel's Activities of Daily Living Index. These were applied to 50 patients, six of whom had had a head injury and 44 a stroke. Over 80% of subjects were able to complete the battery. Reasons for failure amongst the remainder were language problems, poor concentration and short term memory loss. Abnormalities in one aspect of cerebral function often compromised tests designed to assess another aspect of this. For example, upper limb incoordination interfered with RPAB, language difficulties affected the Abbreviated Mental Test, and HAD, and hemianopia compromised both RPAB and FAST tests. The battery can usually be completed within 1h, and could be performed by a wide range of professionals. It is likely to be particularly useful in screening for abnormalities requiring more detailed evaluation by particular professionals, and in monitoring the progress of patients during the course of treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Home pass assessment in neurorehabilitation practice.

The patient undergoing in-patient neurorehabilitation is often encouraged to go home with a family member or other carer for a short period when fit to do so. This home pass is helpful to both the family and the rehabilitation nursing staff in gauging how well the patient will function when discharged, but valuable feedback information can be lost. This study describes the experience of using a home pass assessment form to document the patients' performance and discusses the nursing staff and relative's perceptions of the usefulness of this instrument and the possible reasons for discrepancies between the nurses' assessment of the patient's abilities and the carers' reports.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Manganese, selenium and other trace elements in spinal cord, liver and bone in motor neurone disease.

Trace element levels were measured by neutron activation analysis in spinal cord, liver and bone of 7 control patients dying of non-neurological disease and 15 patients dying of motor neurone disease (MND). The concentration of selenium was significantly elevated in the cervical cord, liver and bone in the MND group. Although spinal cord manganese levels were increased at both the cervical and thoracic levels, the hepatic concentration was reduced in the MND patients. These findings are discussed in relation to current understanding of the pathogenesis of MND.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Non-verbal cues in the self-presentation of parkinsonian patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are seen as cold, withdrawn, unintelligent and moody, and appear to relate poorly to the interviewer (Pentland, Pitcairn, & Gray & Riddle, 1987). The cues responsible for this are shown to be related not only to the type of limb and body movements made, but also particularly to the facial expressions. The expressions seen are not only reduced in frequency but are also qualitatively different, particularly in the smiles which are seen to be 'false' smiles. The implications of this for a treatment regime are discussed in relation to the neurology of the disease. It would seem that non-verbal training methods may not produce the required effects because of the shift in neural pathway used from that which normally controls spontaneous expressive movements (via the basal ganglia) to that used in voluntary movements.

Affect↗
PubMed1990

Impressions of parkinsonian patients from their recorded voices.

The voices of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease change in various ways. This paper sets out to examine the effect of these changes on the impressions made on listeners, and to try to see what vocalic and prosodic features account for these impressions. Tape recordings from segments of interviews with 4 patients, and 4 control subjects with ischaemic heart disease, were played to 16 naive listeners. These listeners were asked to rate their impressions of these voices on 15 dimensions of personality. There were significant differences on most of the dimensions, despite the fact that there were no differences between the two groups on such scales as Beck's depression inventory and the mood adjective check list. The parkinsonian patients were seen to be cold, withdrawn and anxious, not to relate well to the interviewer and to be enjoying the interview less than the controls. These ratings are very similar to those previously reported for the same patients, using silent video recordings only. The voice recordings were analysed along various dimensions of prosody. The factors which were different between the groups included the frequency and type of pauses in speech and the range or variability of the fundamental frequency. The implications of this exploratory study for intervention are discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

Microcomputer-based rehabilitation for unilateral left visual neglect: a randomized controlled trial.

Microcomputers are widely used in cognitive rehabilitation of brain damage. Unilateral neglect is commonly a target of cognitive rehabilitation, both computer-based and non-computer-based. This study reports the results of a randomized controlled trial of computer-based rehabilitation with blind follow-up for six months. Thirty-six patients with unilateral neglect, as defined by the behavioral subtests of the Behavioural Inattention Test, were randomized into two groups. One group of 20 subjects received a mean of 15.5 (SD = 1.8) hours of computerized scanning and attentional training; the second group of 16 subjects received a mean of 11.4 (SD = 5.2) hours of recreational computing (selected to minimize scanning and timed attentional tasks). Blind follow-up at the end of training and six months after revealed no statistically or clinically significant results between groups. These findings argue against routine clinical use of this type of computerized training until further studies establish what type, frequency, and duration of training produces clinically significant changes in unilateral visual neglect if, indeed, computerized training can have an effect with this type of disorder.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Scottish head injury rehabilitation: an historical account.

During the Second World War two units were established in Scotland for the rehabilitation of head injured patients which were ahead of their time in philosophy and practice. Despite advice to the contrary, these two facilities were not maintained in the ensuing post-war years and while other countries have expanded and improved upon the concepts of care for the traumatically brain injured no specific unit for head injury rehabilitation exists in Scotland today.

Brain Injuries↗
PubMed1988

Head injury rehabilitation: 4 years' experience in Edinburgh.

A survey was done of all cases of head injury admitted to a neurorehabilitation unit which, while mainly servicing the regional acute head injury unit, receives patients from throughout Scotland. During the 4 calendar years 1983-1986, 183 new cases of head injury were treated. The patients were predominantly young adult males the great majority of whom had suffered severe head injuries. Most were directly transferred from neurosurgical units within 6 months of injury. The length of stay in the unit varied from less than 1 month for half of the patients to as long as 10 months. Eighty-four per cent of patients were discharged home. The limitations and constraints upon the service are described and the need for a rational approach to the development of head injury rehabilitation facilities in the United Kingdom are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Indices of free radical activity in the cerebrospinal fluid in motor neuron disease.

Indices of free-radical activity and lipid peroxidation were studied in cerebrospinal fluid samples obtained from 11 patients with motor neuron disease and 11 reference subjects. No differences were found between the two groups. The significance of this finding is discussed in relation to current views of the possible pathogenesis of this disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Cardiovascular reflexes in multiple sclerosis.

Cardiovascular autonomic function was studied in 50 patients with multiple sclerosis using 5 simple non-invasive tests: the heart rate responses to the Valsalva manoeuvre, deep breathing and standing, and the blood pressure responses to standing and sustained handgrip. Abnormalities of one or more tests were found in 37 subjects. There was a variable distribution of abnormalities with most occurring in the heart rate response to deep breathing and the blood pressure response to sustained handgrip. This pattern contrasts with that in diabetics and probably reflects the scattered central pathological lesions of multiple sclerosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The causes and consequences of minor head injury in the elderly.

The majority of patients admitted to hospital after head injury are young men and the characteristics of this group tend to dominate accounts of cranial injury. All patients of 65 years or more admitted to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary neurotrauma unit over a 1-year period were studied and 146 suffering minor head injury were identified. In this group the sex incidence was equal and falls were responsible for two-thirds of the injuries. Alcohol was a contributory factor in over half of the male patients. The incidence of other noteworthy medical and social factors was high and the length of stay in hospital was twice that of younger persons. It is suggested that the elderly represent a group with special needs which might most effectively be met by an overnight observation ward served by neurosurgeons and specialists in geriatric medicine.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1986

Head injury in the elderly.

Accounts of head injury tend to be dominated by the findings in young males who constitute the majority of victims. We compare 1571 patients aged under 65 years admitted to the Head and Spinal Injury Unit, Edinburgh in one calendar year with 449 patients aged 65 years or over admitted during two one-year periods. In the elderly group: the sex ratio was equal; falls accounted for the great majority of cases, with pedestrian accidents responsible for serious injuries; alcohol was commonly involved in males; injuries were most frequent on Thursdays; intracranial haematomas and mortality rates were higher; and the length of hospital stay more prolonged. The provisions necessary to meet the needs of the elderly within a head injury service are discussed.

Accidents, Home↗