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Biomedical subjects

E F Torrey

Publications and source records attributed to E F Torrey.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Structural abnormalities in the cerebral cortex of chronic schizophrenic patients.

Enlarged cerebral ventricles in chronic schizophrenic patients suggest a process of mild cerebral atrophy occurs in some. To see if this process involves the cerebral cortex, the widths of the Sylvian fissure, the interhemispheric fissure, and three cortical sulci were measured blindly on computerized tomography (CT) scans of 75 chronic psychiatric patients and 62 asymptomatic volunteers, all less than 50 years of age. A total of 19 of the 60 patients with chronic schizophrenia had at least one abnormality. All 15 patients with other diagnoses were within the control range. Comparing those chronic schizophrenic patients with abnormalities to those without them, there were no significant differences in age, length of illness or treatment, and length of hospitalization. From this and ventricular size data, two thirds of the chronic schizophrenics had some cerebral structural abnormality. Ventricular enlargement did not correlate significantly with cortical abnormalities. Therefore, more than one etiology may account for the structural abnormalities found in chronic schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Hypertension among Aleuts.

Surveys of Aleuts on St. Paul Island, Alaska, in 1966 and 1976 found a prevalence of hypertension as high as any reported in the United States. The rate remained high over the 10-year period. Preliminary data from other Aleut villages on the Aleutian Chain indicate that a high prevalence of hypertension may be widespread in this region. Etiologically genetic factors, obesity, and a high salt intake are all present. In addition, an exceedingly high level of cadmium content was found in seal livers, a dietary staple. Isolated locations such as St. Paul provide natural laboratories for possibly elucidating the complex etiology of this disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A shifting seasonality of schizophrenic births.

In view of recent findings in Japan, and in England and Wales, data on schizophrenic births in the United States were reexamined to see if seasonal shifts had occurred. In Missouri a progressive shift from February to April and May was noted between 1921 and 1930 and between 1941 and 1950. In five New England states there was no shift over the same period. Data were then obtained to compare the Missouri shift with two hypotheses previously put forward to explain schizophrenic birth seasonality: (1) that it is related to the seasonality of general births, and (2) that it is related to seasonal temperature variation. Neither hypothesis was supported by the data.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Assessment of clinical status of schizophrenic patients by the WAIS comprehension subtest.

A previous study indicated that the Comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) might be a sensitive instrument for evaluating mental status in schizophrenic patients. To test this hypothesis, 3 groups of subjects were given the WAIS Comprehension subtest repeatedly at brief intervals. The results indicate that for a given individual (normal control or stable chronic schizophrenic), scores do not increase even with 4 consecutive weeks of testing. In contrast, a group of schizophrenic patients tested shortly after readmission and again after being established on neuroleptic medication showed a marked improvement in scores which, somewhat surprisingly, were not correlated with changes in global ratings of disordered thinking by the treating psychiatrist. This standardized test may offer a convenient objective technique for quantifying some aspects of thinking in schizophrenic patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Seasonality of schizophrenic births in the United States.

The birth months of persons later diagnosed as schizophrenic were studied. Data were collected from 19 states on 53,584 schizophrenics born between 1920 and 1955. The controls were the general births in the same states for the same years. A highly significant peak in schizophrenic births was found from December to May, most marked in March and April. The seasonality was stronger in New England and the Midwest than in the South. Previous studies of schizophrenic births are also reviewed. The cumulative evidence would appear to establish more firmly a winter and spring seasonality of schizophrenic births in northern Europe and the eastern United States. Selection of patients, nutritional factors, environmental factors, genetic factors, and infectious agents are discussed as possible etiological explanations.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Early childhood psychosis and bleeding during pregnancy. A prospective study of gravid women and their offspring.

Children with infantile autism and childhood psychoses were identified in the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke Collaborative Perinatal Study. They were matched with two control groups one of normal-IQ and the other of low-IQ children. Perinatal data, which had been collected prospectively, were then rated blindly. The relationship between uterine bleeding in mothers and their subsequently delivered children, who developed the syndromes of autism and childhood psychosis, was found to be significant. Mid-trimester bleeding was especially prevalent. The bleeding was usually minor and was not considered to be clinically significant at the time of occurrence. The results tend to corroborate 12 previously published retrospective reports indicating more perinatal complications in children who develop autism and childhood psychosis.

Abdomen↗