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Biomedical subjects

B R Ballinger

Publications and source records attributed to B R Ballinger.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Erythrocyte ouabain binding in dementia.

Age-matched patients attending a geriatric psychiatry day hospital, one group with Alzheimer's dementia and another with functional illness, were studied and compared with similar inpatient groups. Erythrocyte ouabain binding was assayed and Clifton ratings completed. In day hospital patients ouabain binding was significantly lower in the demented group (p less than 0.008) than in the functional group. There was a positive correlation between Clifton ratings and ouabain in the whole group (p less than 0.05). No significant differences were found in inpatient groups. Possible reasons for findings are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

The reliability and validity of two assessment scales in the elderly mentally handicapped.

The Clifton Assessment Schedule and the Shortened Stockton Rating Scale were administered to 38 elderly, mentally handicapped patients. Inter-rater reliability was high and the CAS was found to be a useful measure of cognitive ability. The tests measure different features of patients, but both correlated significantly with estimated levels of independence.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

The possible relationship of herpes simplex virus infection to cause of retardation in severe mental handicap.

The relationship between herpes simplex virus type 1 and mental retardation is explored by studying the antibody levels to this virus in a group of 86 severely and profoundly retarded adults. A tendency towards higher antibody levels is found in patients whose retardation is of unknown aetiology. The relationship of these observations to previous research findings and the possible significance of herpes simplex virus in the aetiology of mental retardation are discussed.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1979

Simulated discharge system of prescription and long-term drug treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

The drug sheets of patients resident in a psychiatric hospital for more than 1 year were reviewed. The simulated discharge system involving the re-writing of drug sheets every 12 weeks was in operation, but there was only a slight increase in prescription changes at the time of renewal; 35.4% of prescriptions had been unchanged for 1 year and 4.3% for 5 years. A high proportion of long-term prescriptions were for purgatives, hypnotics and neuroleptics.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1978

Behavioural syndromes identified by cluster analysis in a sample of 100 severely and profoundly retarded adults.

Very little is known about psychiatric disorders in severely and profoundly retarded adults. We have investigated these disorders by systematically recording and collecting data about the behaviour of 100 severely and profoundly retarded hospitalized adults and subjecting the data thus derived to cluster analysis. Eight clusters were isolated. The clinical psychiatric significance of these clusters is discussed and their relationship to cause retardation, duration of stay in hospital and visiting is considered. A diagnostic framework for psychiatric disorder in severely and profoundly retarded adults is put forward and some possible treatment approaches are suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Drug prescribing patterns in the elderly: a cross-sectional study of in-patients.

A cross-sectional one-day survey of drug prescribing and use in elderly in-patients was carried out in Dundee hospitals. Altogether 873 patients were studied and analyses of prescribing patterns were carried out by patient categories--medical, surgical, geriatric, psychiatric and mentally subnormal--and by major drug groups. While the average number of drugs prescribed per patient on the study day was 3.3, which was not excessive, other results highlighted some possible problems of therapy, viz. the wide range of drugs used within drug groups, the common use of psychotropic drugs, dose regimes which although used in a geriatric population differed little from general adult dosages, and which sometimes involved many administrations per day. Examples were described relating to the use of nitrazepam, phenothiazines and tricyclic antidepressants.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

A trial of bran and bran biscuits for constipation in mentally handicapped and psychogeriatric patients.

Six elderly psychiatric and 17 mentally handicapped individuals suffering from severe constipation received 3 week periods of treatment with 10 g unrefined bran, three bran biscuits, and Senokot syrup daily or three times weekly. There was no significant difference in the number of bowel movements or enemas or in the consistency of the motions. The results suggest that bran may be substituted for laxatives.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Psychiatric disorder in an adult training centre and a hospital for the mentally handicapped.

Seventy-five mentally handicapped adult individuals attending a training centre were compared with 75 adult patients in a mental subnormality hospital using a standardized psychiatric interview. Ten of the individuals at the training centre were rated in the pathological range for overall psychiatric disturbance compared with 23 patients in hospital. Details are presented for the various psychiatric symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Death and drug treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

218 deaths occurring in a psychiatric hospital during a 3-year period were reviewed and their drug treatment was compared with that of a control group. 75% of the patients suffered from an organic psychosis. Patients received a mean of 2.4 different drugs on the day of death and only 23.6% of the prescriptions were for psychotropic drugs. 20 patients died suddenly and although more of these individuals had received tricyclic antidepressants and phenothiazines than their controls, these differences were not statistically significant.

Aged↗