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Biomedical subjects

E A King

Publications and source records attributed to E A King.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire for identifying seasonal affective disorders.

The SPAQ is a widely used tool for identifying possible cases of recurrent major depressive disorders with a seasonal pattern. However, its test-retest reliability, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, efficiency and predictive validity have not previously been formally assessed. Forty-seven subjects who fulfilled the DSMIIIR criteria for a major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern were traced and re-interviewed after five to eight years. The SPAQ was found to have a positive predictive value of 48% and an efficiency of 57% in identifying cases of SAD confirmed by follow-up. The test-retest reliability was low. There was a mean difference in seasonality score between the first and second test of 3.17 +/- 4.7 (mean +/- 1 S.D.). Although the SPAQ is a rapid method of collecting information about recent seasonal variation, it has low test-retest reliability and on its own is unable to predict the seasonality of the future course of illness.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1995

A follow-up study of seasonal affective disorder.

BACKGROUND: The long-term course of seasonal affective disorder has not been well studied. METHOD: Using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, we interviewed 75% of a sample of 124 subjects diagnosed from five to eight years previously as fulfilling DSM-III-R criteria for recurrent major affective disorder, seasonal pattern. RESULTS: In the follow-up period, 38% of the sample continued to fulfil DSM-III-R criteria for seasonal illness; 28% had recurrent major depressive disorder, but no longer displayed a seasonal pattern; 18% were completely well with no further depression; 6% had subsyndromal symptoms; and 5%, although not meeting DSM-III-R criteria for seasonal illness, were still displaying constant periodicity. A short duration of index episode and a high frequency of illness predicted a continuing seasonal course of illness. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic criteria for seasonal affective disorder need to be further refined, possibly restrictively, if they are to be used to predict the future course of seasonal illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Suicide.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗
PubMed1988

Weight gain and reproductive function: ultrasonographic and endocrine features in anorexia nervosa.

Pelvic ultrasonographic measurements and reproductive hormone levels in 36 patients with anorexia nervosa were followed as they gained weight during inpatient treatment. In 24 patients who were severely malnourished (69% of premorbid weight) the ovaries were small and amorphous and the levels of LH, FSH and oestradiol were very low. Weight gain led to the appearance of multifollicular ovaries when levels of LH and oestradiol remained low but FSH levels had increased resulting in an LH:FSH ratio of less than 1. The emergence of a dominant follicle in 19 patients after weight gain (to 97% of premorbid weight) was accompanied by an increase in uterine area and associated with increased levels of LH and oestradiol and an LH:FSH ratio greater than 2. Among these patients with a dominant follicle at peak weight, 11 menstruated within a month of discharge. The weight at which normal ovarian morphology returned was related to premorbid weight (P less than 0.002) whereas body mass index (BMI) was poorly related. Our findings suggest that pelvic ultrasonography is probably the best indicator of the weight required for full endocrine recovery and offers advantages over sequential hormonal measurements, and is valuable in the management of patients with anorexia nervosa.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[Influence of vitamins of the B-group upon cancer patients treated by irradiation: I. Vitamin B6 in local irradiation of tumour rats (author's transl)].

Eleven hundred rats with tumours were administered vitamin B6 (pyridoxine or pyridoxal-5-phosphate) before a single local irradiation of 10 Gy. No difference in the survival rate was found in comparison with control animals. Thus vitamin B6 in the dose used afforded no significant protection against local radiation in rats. The 24-hour-xanthurenic acid excretion in urine increased with growth of the tumor and was further elevated by local radiation (10 Gy). Radiation as well as the tumour itself induce in the rat metabolic changes typical of vitamin B6 deficiency.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Association between significant decrease in barometric pressure and onset of labor.

To determine whether there is any correlation between sudden decrease in barometric pressure and onset of labor, a non-experimental, retrospective study at a 948-bed tertiary care hospital was done. Pregnant patients of 36 weeks gestation or more who presented with spontaneous onset of labor during the 48 hours surrounding the 12 occurrences of significant drop in barometric pressure in 1992 were included in the study. Significantly more occurrences of onset of labor were identified in the 24 hours after a drop in barometric pressure than were identified in the 24 hours prior to the drop in barometric pressure (P < 0.05). Therefore, the overall number of labor onsets increased in the 24 hours following a significant drop in barometric pressure.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cystic ovaries: a phase of anorexia nervosa.

The ultrasonographic appearance of ovaries and uterus during weight-gain in patients with anorexia nervosa is described. In 11 patients who had sequential scans, ovarian volume on admission was considerably smaller than that of normal women but increased logarithmically with weight-gain. When body mass index (BMI) reached 17 kg/m2, ovaries were shown to contain multiple small cysts in all cases. In 5 patients further weight-gain led to the appearance of a dominant cyst; average BMI was approximately 19 kg/m2 at this stage. The changes in ovarian morphology resembled those of normal pubertal development. These results lend support to the suggestion that hypothalamic-gonadal axis dysfunction in anorexia nervosa is a concomitant of starvation; in the management of infertility, an ultrasonographic appearance of cystic ovaries should alert the clinician to the likelihood of undernutrition as the primary disorder in need of treatment.

Adolescent↗