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Biomedical subjects

B Reisberg

Publications and source records attributed to B Reisberg.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

First results on the effects of MAO inhibition on cognitive functioning in elderly depressed patients.

Elderly depressed patients who met the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for major depressive illness, were treated with phenelzine, a non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor, for a period of 2 to 7 wk, following 2 wk of placebo washout period. Possible pre- and post-treatment differences on the cognitive test battery were evaluated using the Wilcoxon test. Although recovery from depression was obtained in the majority of patients (Hamilton, Global and Self-rating Scales), none of the cognitive measures showed statistically significant changes over the course of the treatment period and the cognitive tests scores did not change as a result of treatment. It is of interest that tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are known to impair memory in geriatric patients, presumably due to their sedative and anticholinergic effects. The lack of an adverse cognitive effect for phenelzine therefore suggests a possible advantage of monoamine oxidase inhibitors over tricyclic antidepressants for the treatment of geriatric depression.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Computed tomography and positron emission transaxial tomography evaluations of normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Young normal subjects, old normal subjects, and patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) were studied with both computed tomography (CT) and positron emission transaxial tomography (PETT). Increases in ventricular size with both aging and disease were measured. Regional glucose metabolic rate was not affected by age, but was markedly reduced in SDAT patients. These data indicate that in normal aging, structural brain changes may be more salient than biochemical changes. Although both structural and biochemical changes occur in SDAT, the biochemical changes are more marked. The results suggest that PETT is potentially more useful than CT in the in vivo diagnosis of SDAT.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The Global Deterioration Scale for assessment of primary degenerative dementia.

Cognitive decline associated with old age and consistent with the diagnosis of primary degenerative dementia is a unique clinical syndrome with characteristic phenomena and progression. The authors describe a Global Deterioration Scale for the assessment of primary degenerative dementia and delineation of its stages. The authors have used the Global Deterioration Scale successfully for more than 5 years and have validated it against behavioral, neuroanatomic, and neurophysiologic measures in patients with primary degenerative dementia.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1982

Diagnosis and assessment of the older patient.

Despite the enormous medical and psychiatric importance of mental illness among the elderly, clinicians generally are not trained in the phenomenology and presentation of the major mental disorders that occur primarily in this age group. The authors describe the presenting symptoms and course of four conditions--senescent forgetfulness, primary degenerative dementia (considered as the confusional phase and dementia phase), geriatric depression, and multi-infarct dementia--with emphasis on differential diagnosis. The clinical examination of the patient is the most important feature of any diagnostic and assessment program; because of the wide prevalence and in many ways unique aspects of mental illness among the elderly, all but the smallest psychiatric programs should have at least one clinician who specializes in assessment of geriatric problems.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

An overview of pharmacologic treatment of cognitive decline in the aged.

The most widely known substances that have been investigated for treating cognitive deterioration in the aged are cerebral vasodilators, Gerovital H3, psychostimulants, "nootropics," neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters. The rationale for the choice of specific agents has shifted as our conceptions regarding the origins of cognitive decline have changed; we now know that most cognitive deterioration occurs independently of arteriosclerotic vascular changes. Substances currently being investigated because of their effects on brain electrophysiology, on neurohumoral processes, or on central neurotransmitters show promise.

Anticoagulants↗
PubMed1980

Computed tomography evaluations of brain-behavior relationships in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Neuropathological investigations have demonstrated brain-behavior relationships in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT), but CT studies have not produced consistent findings. We hypothesized that these discouraging results were in part due to limitations in the methods of CT scan evaluations, and to non-homogeneity of patient populations. The present study examined 43 out-patients with the presumptive diagnosis of SDAT using 37 cognitive test measures and 3 independent CT evaluation strategies. The CT methods included a new rank ordering procedure and two previously used techniques, physical measurement and 4-point rating. Highly significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) brain-behavior correlations were attained using the ranking and rating procedures for evaluation of ventricular and cortical pathology. It was found that rank ordering has high interrater reliability and is superior to the other methods for the evaluation of the ventricular system. The physical measurement of the third ventricle is the single most powerful linear correlate of cognitive impairment. Measurement of cortical sulci are of no correlational significance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that global assessments are the best cognitive predictors of both ventricular and cortical pathology. Thus the present study has demonstrated brain-behavior relationships in vivo in SDAT.

Aged↗