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Biomedical subjects

C Eisdorfer

Publications and source records attributed to C Eisdorfer.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Serum immunoglobulins and cognitive status in the elderly: i. A population study.

Fifty-seven cognitively impaired elderly had significantly elevated serum IgG (P less than or equal to 0.005) and IgA (P less than or equal to 0.01) levels and similar IgM levels, compared to a population of 65 elderly matched for age and sex, who did not manifest cognitive impairment. These findings are compatible with a current hypothesis that immunological factors may be important in the cognitive disorders observed with increasing frequency among the aged.

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PubMed1980

The relationship of age, anxiety, and serum immunoglobulins with crystallized and fluid intelligence.

Serum immunoglobulin concentrations (IgG, IgA, and IgM), cognitive performance (crystallized and fluid intelligence), and self-reports of anxiety were evaluated in 24 men and women 60-75 years, and 50 men and women, 30-45 years. Trait anxiety was an important factor relating to performance differences between the young and old on crystallized and fluid subtests. IgM was inversely related to performance in the older age groups. Anxiety was not related to serum immunoglobulin levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Diagnostic criteria for primary neuronal degeneration of the Alzheimer's type.

The diagnosis of patients presenting with memory or attentional deficits characteristic of dementia is a growing problem. Dementia may be symptomatic of a range of reversible medical and psychiatric conditions which appear to be indistinguishable from primary neuronal degeneration of the Alzheimer's type. While Alzheimer's disease is a neuropathological diagnosis, the importance of establishing a presumptive diagnosis which can be employed for investigational as well as clinical use is underscored. This paper proposes a diagnostic schema which reflects the current understanding of this disorder. There must be evidence of gradual progressive mental deterioration in attention, learning, memory, cognitive style, motivation, and higher order thinking. A comprehensive medical and psychiatric evaluation is obligatory to eliminate reversible physical illness, psychiatric disorder, or cerebrovascular condition as underlying causes of cognitive dysfunction.

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PubMed1979

Memory loss and response bias in senescence.

Recognition memory was studied in young and elderly women by assessing memory strength and response bias using Signal Detection Theory methodology. Young women (mean age 21 years; n = 8) had better recognition memory (d' and d'e) than did elderly women (mean age 71 years; n = 16) but the groups did not differ significantly on correct recognitions (hit rate) or incorrect recognitions (false affirmative rate). Evaluation of response bias indicated that the elderly women adopted a lax response strategy which resulted in an inflated correct recognition rate. The data indicate that, in aging research, evaluation of memory in terms of correct and incorrect recognitions can lead to erroneous interpretations, due to uncontrolled bias effects. Age does adversely influence recognition memory strength suggesting that acquisition and/or storage processes are not invariant with age.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Behavioral-immunologic relationships in older men and women.

Serum immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgA and IgM) and intellectual performance were examined in a group of fourteen elderly men (mean age 74.2) and twenty-three women (mean age 73.2) who reported that they were in good health. Significant negative Pearson product-moment correlations between performance and IgG and IgA emerged for men. Among women the relationship was not significant.

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PubMed1977

Sex, verbal ability, and pacing differences in serial learning.

Serial rote learning was examined as a function of sex, verbal ability (average and high), and stimulus presentation rate (4 and 10 sec.) among 64 individuals aged 60-79 years. At the fast pacing speed, the men with average skills produced fewer responses and performed less well than their female counterparts whose performance was similar to that of the high verbal men and women. The average men benefited the most from the slower pacing speed. No sex difference was found at the 10-sec presentation speed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Evaluation of the quality of psychiatric care for the aged.

Older persons represent a high proportion of those receiving care in institutions because of behavioral problems; relatively few aged people are treated in mental health center and other outpatient settings. The author believes that the availability and accessibility of community services should be among the most important variables used in assessing quality of care for the aged. He encourages the establishment of new norms for the quality of services needed to restore and maintain maximum physical, psychological, and social integrity.

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PubMed1976

Memory and blood pressure in the aged.

Memory loss, as measured by the Wechsler Memory scale was examined as a function of diastolic blood pressure during a 6.5-year follow-up period among individuals initially tested in their 60's. On the initial testing, memory was not related to blood pressure. At the end of the follow-up period, the hypertensives showed greater impairment in memory for nonverbal material involving time limits and a psychomotor component than did their age peers with normotensive and borderline elevations of blood pressure. The hypertensives' poor performance, however, was found only on specific sub-task items and appeared not to be influenced by item difficulty alone but rather by other performance factors such as difficulty in deciding what to do, understanding test instructions, or state anxiety associated with the testing situation. Memory for highly meaningful verbal material was not related to blood pressure.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Screening for syphilis in an aged psychiatrically impaired population.

A serum Venereal Disease Research Laboratories (VDRL) test was carried out in 216 elderly patients with dementia or "functional" psychiatric illness, or both, as part of a community based screening program. The VDRL test was positive in 13 patients, 11 of whom (5.1 percent) had an actual past or present syphilitic infection as confirmed by the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test (FTA-Abs). In six patients (2.8 percent) syphilis was newly detected, and in another two patients previously detected syphilis had been inadequately treated. Only two (0.9 percent) biologic false positive reactors were detected. These results question the belief that aging per se is a common cause of the biologic false positive reaction; and indicate a relatively high incidence of past or present syphilitic infection in geriatric patients with psychiatric illness in the community who have been referred for crisis intervention.

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PubMed1975

Observations on the psychopharmacology of the aged.

Psychotropic drugs are discussed under the descriptive categories of antipsychotic, antidepressive, antimanic, anti-anxiety, and cognitive acting. In the antipsychotic classification, special attention is given to side effects (extrapyramidal motor signs, tardive dyskinesias, akathisis) and to dosage for the elderly. The section on congenitive acting drugs includes some pertinent observations on cognitive ability in the aging, the importance of correct diagnosis, and therapeutic strategy. The aged are a population at risk for not only disease, but iatrongenic illness due to direct and indirect drug action. Rational therapy involves understanding the underlying dynamics of the disease and thus the selection of the most effective treatment. Psychotropic drugs in an appropriate program are valuable therapeutic assets.

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