Social and emotional adjustment in deaf adolescents after transfer to a residential school for the deaf.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Feinstein.
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Whole blood serotonin (5HT) concentrations were measured in a group of children and adolescents to determine a reference range for this population. Blood was collected after at least a 6-hour fast, mixed with ascorbic acid and EDTA, and frozen at -70 degrees C until analysis. 5HT was determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Matrix-matched whole blood standards and controls were used to determine 5HT concentrations, and monitor performance of the assay. 5HT concentrations in boys ranged from 0.53 to 3.13 mumol/L (mean = 1.27, SD = 0.47) while the range for girls was 0.63 to 2.46 mumol/L (mean = 1.21, SD = 0.47). There was no significant difference in 5HT concentrations between boys and girls, nor was there any significant change in 5HT concentration with age. The nonparametric central 95 percent reference range for boys and girls was determined to be 0.64-2.45 mumol/L.
The syndrome of autism has been documented as occurring in association with a wide variety of genetic conditions. Autistic patients with a coexistent genetic condition, however, are not behaviorally or developmentally distinct from autistic patients for whom there is no known etiology or associated organic condition. This report reviews the literature linking autistic behavior with genetic conditions. Genetic, neurodevelopmental, and neuropathological findings in three genetic conditions which frequently give rise to autism are presented in detail. On the basis of this review, two hypotheses are supported: autism is a behaviorally defined phenotype which arises from diverse causes of central nervous system (CNS) damage, and the autistic phenotype represents only one point along a continuum of psychological dysfunction resulting from CNS damage. Current theories of genetic influences on brain development are reviewed, with emphasis on the relationships among qualitative, quantitative, and temporal abnormalities of CNS maturation and behavioral dysfunction. A hypothesis of abnormal brain development resulting from dysfunctional myelination is proposed as a potential etiologic factor in autism.
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There is some question on the accuracy of staging in large epidemiological studies of prostatic cancer that rely on hospital tumor registry data. In an effort to assess the accuracy of tumor registry information in our institution registry staging was compared to surgical staging in 100 consecutive prostatic cancer patients. The tumor registry data had a 30 per cent understaging error. Other institutions may have the same problems.
Data from adult schizophrenic patients suggest that patients with enlarged ventricles have a poorer premorbid history and may have an earlier onset of their illness than patients with ventricles of normal size. The authors examined a group of child psychiatric patients to discover whether these children at risk for major psychopathology had enlarged ventricles. Twenty psychiatric patients showed significantly enlarged ventricles compared with 19 control patients. There were no clear relationships between the children's psychiatric diagnosis and ventricular size.
This article concerns the issues surrounding discharge of mentally retarded clients from a short-term, intensive residential service setting. The Temple University Woodhaven Center is designed as a two-year setting for about 270 clients. They require intensive assistance in acquiring behaviors necessary for independent functioning and in learning appropriate social behavior, so that they can adapt to and thrive in a less restrictive, more integrated setting. Woodhaven, however, serves clients at all levels of retardation. The question arises: How is it decided who is to be discharged and when? Upon entry to Woodhaven, a contract is written with the family and client, specifying what behavioral changes are expected as preconditions for discharge. In this approach, a client should be discharged upon attainment of contract goals. A second approach uses adaptive behavior skills as a criterion of progress, and attempts to determine the level of skills displayed by other, similar clients who are already living in the community. This second, criterion-referenced approach is important not only for discharge decisions from one facility, but for broad service system planning as well. The results of the present study supported the notion of a two-year intensive residential program.
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Fragile X (or Martin-Bell) syndrome, a common, genetic, mental retardation disorder is increasingly being recognized as a major cause of cognitive disability and psychiatric illness in boys. Here, we present a study in which relatives in 4 generations of a large family with the fra(X) chromosome were given comprehensive psychiatric evaluations in order to further describe the psychopathology associated with this condition. Three of 4 males with the fra(X) chromosome were found to have autistic behavior. An adult fra(X) male had a chronic schizoaffective disorder and mental retardation. In female relatives, a relationship was found between the fra(X) carrier status and psychopathology including schizoaffective and major affective disorders.
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