Biomedical subjects

D Kurtz

Publications and source records attributed to D Kurtz.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[Electroencephalographic features during enflurane anaesthesia in older children (author's transl)].

The authors report electroclinical changes observed during Enflurane anaesthesia, at various concentrations, in 25 children aged 4 to 14 years. EEG features are described from induction to surgical anesthesia (concentration 3-3.5%) and during overdoses (4-4.5%) with or without hyperventilation. Groups of spikes, low voltage sequences and electroclinical "seizures" (2 cases) only occur if the concentration of enflurane is not kept below 3.5%. A longitudinal study (24th hour, 3rd and 6th day) shows, by comparison with the pre-anaesthetic EEG, persistence in all cases of EEG slowing 24 hours after the anaesthesia, and in some patients EEG disturbances continue until the 6th day. These results are discussed in relation to data on the biodegradation of enflurane.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Clinical and E.E.G. study of 9 cases of cortical blindness (author's transl)].

The authors report 9 cases of cortical blindness (7 of vascular origin, 2 due to septic embolism). These were characterised by blindness, loss of the blink reflex in response to threat, and of optokinetic nystagmus, conservation of the pupil reflexes, a confusional state with memory disturbances and anosognosia. The accompanying E.E.G. changes were basically impoverishment of occipital alpha activity, with theta and delta waves mainly in posterior regions on one or both sides; blocking to eye opening was absent, and following of the occiptal background rhythm in response to photic stimulation was rare and partial. One patient developed repetitive slow waves in the left occiptal region, another developed bi-occipital spikes and a third developed bi-occipital paroxymal activity, more predominant on the right. These abnormalities resemble those seen during extraterritorial circulatory insufficiency or air emboli.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The E.E.G. of herpes encephalitis in children: 3 cases including one neonate (author's transl)].

The authors report 3 cases of herpes encephalitis in children aged respectively 15 days, 12 months and 18 months. In all 3 cases E.E.G. activity of a periodic nature was noted, which was continuous or intermittent, lateralised or focal in the temporal region, appearing from the 4th to 7th day. The periodicity (of the E.E.G. complex) was short and their stereotyped appearance particularly unusual in babies. In all 3 children convulsive seizures occurred before the discovery of the periodic activity. The latter was found to change in morphology and timing during the seizures. The disease process led to death of the neonate, and recovery with serious sequellae in the other two children. Possible relationships between the transitory nature of the periodic acitivity, the age and the eventual course of the disease, were discussed.

Electroencephalography↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Semiological comparison of spontaneous and bemegride-induced epileptic seizures (author's transl)].

The authors view an epileptic seizure as a series of symptoms which they can localize on the bases of data taken from stereoelectroencephalography literature. They reconstruct and compare the presumed organization (origin and propagation) of the discharge in 100 epileptic subjects. Both spontaneous and megimide-induced seizures are considered. The results involve 34 subjects with quite similar spontaneous and induced seizures. Comparison of the two critical modalities show that : 1) There is no variation in the chronological relationship of the symptoms. 3) There are differences in the symptomatology. These differences may be interpreted as non-uniform response of involved structures to the source of activation, or as involvement of new structures.

Bemegride↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Sleep apnea synrome : effects of chlorimipramine in subjects with stable body weight (author's transl)].

Beneficial effects have been attributed to Chlorimipramine in the treatment of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). However, there were no quantitative evaluations of these effects. Polygraphic studies were made before and after chlorimipramine treatment (75 mg per day for 3 to 16 months). The 3 SAS subjects, whose weight remained stable throughout the course of treatment, showed no evidence of reduced hypopnea and apnea during sleep.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Post-traumatic coma from diffuse brain lesions. A correlative study of the levels of dysfunction and the EEG nyctohemeral aspects (author's transl)].

Thirteen EEG and polygraphic recordings were performed during a 24-hour period in 11 patients with post-traumatic coma. Spontaneous fluctuations, reactivity, and the organization of electrical activity were studied throughout the nyctohemeral period. The results were compared with the data obtained from clinical examinations evaluated in terms of the level of neurological dysfunction. The level of impairment of the EEG was usually a valid indication of the level of neurological dysfunction, the EEG results being sometimes more precise than the clinical data. In regard to the prognosis, the disappearance in the EEG of any fluctuations coincided with an unfavourable evolution.

Brain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Nycterohemeral variations in plasma growth hormone (GH) levels and sleep apnea syndromes: their relationship with obesity (author's transl)].

The authors suggest the hypothesis that the obesity often associated with sleep apnea syndromes is related to changes in HG secretion. Indeed, as HG secretion is sleep related any disturbances due to apnea during may alter the GH secretion. In order to test their hypothesis the authors studied, during the course of 24-hour polygraphic recordings, the levels of HG, blood glucose and free fatty acids, in 16 subjects, 14 of whom were obese and 9 of whom had the sleep apnea syndrome. The results obtained confirmed the relationship between the number of apnea and the stability of sleep. They also demonstrated a relationship between GH secretion and both the stability of sleep and obesity. These results, therefore, suggest that apnea plays a role in obesity development.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Polygraphic study during hyperpnea tests in elderly subjects (author's transl)].

The incidence of age on the frequency of post-hyperventilation apnea was studied in two randomly chosen distinct populations. The hyperpnea and ventilatory response were recorded during a standard E.E.G. tracing in 1 060 subjects by a thermistor and in 100 other subjects by pneumotachography and capnography. Post-hyperventilation frequency was determined for the two populations taken overall and then for subjects under and over 60 years of age. The results were compared with demographic data (sex, excess bodyweight coefficient, illness), and experimental conditions (alertness, recording technique). In the second population the mean ventilation per minute rate was calculated during a reference rest period and two successive hyperventilation tests. The frequency of post-hyperventilation apnea is higher before 60 years of age in the absence of variations in alertness and/or associated supramedullary lesions. Ventilatory response under 60 years of age is seen as a prolonged phase of hypoventilation. After 60 years of age, in the absence of apnea, ventilation returns immediately to its reference value, while in the presence of apnea the hypoventilatory phase observed is of brief duration and delayed. These results are discussed and compared to those in the published literature.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Respiratory changes during sleep in healthy elderly subjects (author's transl)].

The authors studied sleep organization and modifications in ventilation in 20 healthy subjects (11 men, 9 women) with an average age of 65 years. There was a diminution (in relation to young adults) in the quantity of sleep with a relative increase in light slow wave sleep and reduction in deep slow wave and REM sleep phases. A reduction was also noted in the ventilation rate during slow wave and REM sleep phases in relation to calm awake periods, especially towards the end of the night. This was due to a reduction in tidal volume insufficiently compensated by an increased ventilation frequency. Hypopnea and apnea were noted in 19 of the 20 subjects, the latter occurring in the form of obstructive apnea during light slow wave sleep. The variable number of apnea can be used to divide the subjects into two sub-groups: one group of 14 of the subjects who had less than 50 apnea; the other group containing 6 subjects, all males, having more than 80 apnea during the night, and being identical to a group of patients with the sleep apnea syndrome.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Landau-Kleffner syndrome: a clinical and EEG study of five cases.

In five children with normal initial psychomotor development, a Landau-Kleffner syndrome appeared at age 3-7 years. No neuroanatomic lesions were noted. Aphasia and hyperkinesia were isolated in three patients and associated with global regression of higher cortical functions in one patient. Massive intellectual deterioration and psychotic behavior were associated with transient aphasia in one patient. The epilepsy (focal motor and generalized tonic-clonic seizures, subclinical EEG focal seizures during sleep, and atypical absences) always regressed spontaneously or with antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment. The EEG in waking patients showed focal and generalized spike-wave discharges on a normal background rhythm. Discharge topography and pattern changed frequently. During sleep, discharges always increased. At some time during syndrome development, all patients had bilateral spike-waves for greater than 85% of the sleep period, while at other times the discharges were discontinuous or continuous but focal or unilaterally hemispheric. Discharge topography and abundance changed from night to night. The abnormal EEG and the impaired higher functions developed and regressed together, but not with strict temporal correlation. Our own experience suggests that the Landau-Kleffner syndrome and epilepsy with continuous spike-wave activity in slow-wave sleep cannot be clearly differentiated. They may be different points on the spectrum of a single syndrome.

Aphasia↗

PubMedDate not supplied