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Biomedical subjects

F M Reischies

Publications and source records attributed to F M Reischies.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

In an epidemiological sample the apolipoprotein E4 allele is associated to dementia and loss of memory function only in the very old.

The apolipoprotein E4 allele has been reported to be associated with late onset Alzheimer's disease. Here we report the relation of several neuropsychological test parameters and the diagnosis of dementia to the apolipoprotein E polymorphism in an epidemiological sample of 477 subjects aged 70-103 years. The apolipoprotein E4 allele was found to be associated with reduced performance in several sensitive neuropsychological memory tests and with diagnosis of dementia only in the oldest subjects (> 84 years). The association with dementia in this population based sample was much weaker than previously described and became only significant in a logistic regression analysis when age was included in the model.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Incidental white-matter foci on MRI in "healthy" subjects: evidence of subtle cognitive dysfunction.

The clinical significance of incidental white-matter foci seen on MRI is controversial. Mainly using a computer-assisted neuropsychological test battery, we tested the hypothesis that there is a clinical correlate of these foci. We studied 41 individuals aged 45-65 years with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorder, in whom no indication of central nervous system abnormalities was found on standardised neurological examination. A computer-assisted neuropsychological test battery, with the advantage of precise measuring of both time and deviation (e.g. in position memory tests), and rating scales for emotional dysfunction were administered; selected soft neurological signs were assessed. In 16 subjects (39%) MRI showed high-signal foci in the white matter on spin-echo sequences. White-matter foci not adjacent to the lateral ventricles were found to be related to performance on immediate visual memory/visuoperceptual skills, visuomotor tracking/psychomotor speed and, to a lesser degree, learning capacity and abstract and conceptual reasoning skills. Subtle cognitive dysfunction would appear to be a clinical correlate of punctate white-matter foci on MRI of otherwise "healty" individuals.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Normal ageing, impaired cognitive functioning and senile dementia--a mixture distribution analysis.

Dementia scores in the population of very old subjects (70 to > 95) do not demonstrate an obviously bimodal distribution. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the assumption of two distributions explains the data significantly better than a one-distribution model. The first distribution component can be regarded as representing the normal range of scores and the second the pathological range. An additional finding shows the normal range distribution shifting to the pathological range with increasing age.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Saccadic tracking test--normal data and reliability.

A saccadic tracking test, which involves the scanning of a path guided by the direction of a sequence of arrows, was administered to 102 healthy control subjects. The data show a gender effect and a slight age and education effect. The internal consistency--estimated by Cronbach's alpha--was high, .94. The test promises to be a sensitive estimator of the capacity of a subject to explore a visual display, a skill necessary for a wide range of other test performances.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Myoclonus in patients treated with clozapine: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Various types of movement disorder have been reported to occur rarely in patients treated with clozapine. This paper describes five cases in which these phenomena appeared to be clearly associated with clozapine medication and discusses possible pharmacologic mechanisms and treatment options. METHOD: Inpatients receiving clozapine were investigated for the presence of movement disorders. We present five patients with clozapine-induced myoclonus, describe their patterns, and compare clinical features. RESULTS: Five patients treated with clozapine developed a similar pattern of movement disorder that can be described as myoclonus. The neurologic symptoms improved after the treatment was discontinued, the clozapine dose reduced, or concomitant carbamazepine administered. CONCLUSION: Clozapine can induce dose-dependent myoclonus. However, these symptoms can be relieved by reducing the dose of clozapine or giving carbamazepine so that discontinuation of clozapine treatment can be avoided.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Ventricle size and P300 in schizophrenia.

Both ventricular enlargement and reduced P3 amplitudes are consistent findings in schizophrenic patients, suggesting that the two measures reflect a common underlying pathophysiological process in schizophrenia. Investigating 14 stabilized schizophrenic outpatients, a relationship between the size of the lateral ventricles as well as of the third ventricle on CT scans and the auditory event-related P3 amplitude was, however, not found. This negative result suggests that ventricular enlargement and reduced P3 amplitudes in schizophrenics reflect different pathophysiological processes. It is assumed that the P3 amplitude is related rather to abnormalities in the temporal lobe of schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Anhedonia in schizophrenic, depressed, or alcohol-dependent patients--neurobiological correlates.

Anhedonia, dysphoria, and avolition are common symptoms of schizophrenic, depressive, and alcohol-dependent patients during withdrawal. These symptoms may be caused by a functional deficit of dopaminergic transmission in the dopaminergic reward system, ascending from the mesencephalon to the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens). The dopaminergic reward system is functionally and anatomically closely connected with the ascending extrapyramidal pathways from the substantia nigra to the dorsal striatum. A dysfunction of both ascending dopaminergic pathways is therefore expected to cause both psychomotor slowing and dysphoria and anhedonia. This hypothesis is supported by PET and SPECT findings, which show that a reduced striatal density of unoccupied dopamine D2-receptors is correlated with extrapyramidal side-effects in neuroleptic-treated schizophrenics and with craving and dysphoria in drug-dependent patients. In order to further investigate the correlation of anhedonia, psychomotor slowing, and the status of the dopaminergic reward system, the density of striatal dopamine D2-receptors can be measured by IBZM-SPECT and related to psychomotor slowing and anhedonia in different states of schizophrenic, depressive, and alcohol-dependent patients.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1994

Psychopathology and the analysis of therapeutic effects.

The different domains of psychopathological research are described. An example of taxonomies that may be relevant for therapy is given. For the apathy scale of the AMDP system it is demonstrated that there is an equivalent severity of this syndrome in acute paranoid hallucinatory schizophrenia and in unipolar depression. In schizophrenia the apathy syndrome may subsume some, if not all, of the negative symptoms, that cause major problems for therapy. A common pathophysiological factor for the syndrome in the two diseases is discussed. A systematic psychopathological approach to the identification of pathophysiological factors of drug effects and their involvement in psychiatric diseases, including experimental variables, is characterized.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of dementia in old age: clinical diagnoses in subjects aged 95 years and older.

Epidemiologic studies have consistently shown an exponential increase in the prevalence of dementia in the very old, but different standards of the investigators and the instruments, as well as the selection of the samples, limit the comparison of these studies. They usually include only a small number of participants aged 90 years and older. This investigation focuses on whether there is an exponential increase in the prevalence of dementia in people aged 90 years and older. The Berlin Aging Study (BASE) consists of a representative sample of elderly aged 70 to 105 years stratified by age and gender. Analyses of a BASE first sample (N = 156) with 52 participants aged 90 years and older showed an exponential increase in dementia from age 70 up to age 94 years, but the group aged 95 years and older (N = 26) showed a plateau near 45%, with no further increase in dementia prevalence.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Depressive syndromes in schizophrenic patients after discharge from hospital. ANI Study Group Berlin, Düsseldorf, Göttingen, Munich.

A total of 364 schizophrenic outpatients who were stabilized for 3 months on continuous neuroleptic therapy after discharge from the hospital were rated according to three different scales for depressive syndromes (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale anxious depression factor, AMDP/depression, and the self-rating PD-S depression scale). Between 19.5% and 27.5% of the patients were rated as depressed, or 35.7%-42.8%, when mild depressive syndromes were included. There were low, but significant correlations between demographic or life-event data and depression scores on the self-rating scale, whereas fewer correlations were found on the observer ratings. No associations were found between social adjustment and depression. Moderate correlations were found between measures of the apathetic syndrome and depression ratings, while observer ratings showed higher correlations than the self-rating. High depression scores, especially in the observer ratings, correlated with scales for global psychopathological assessment (CGI, GAS). There were significant correlations between extrapyramidal rigidity and observer rating depression scores, whereas the total amount of neuroleptics given had no influence. These results are interpreted on the basis of hypotheses about depressive syndromes in schizophrenia.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1990

[Percentile distribution of depression scales of the AMDP system].

The severity of the depressive and apathy syndrome, which are factoranalytically derived from the AMDP-system is reported for 428 patients with a monopolar depression. The data are compared with the results from 79 patients with a bipolar depression, 192 with a neurotic depression and 89 with a depressive reaction. The percentile scores can be used for the evaluation of the severity of a depressive and apathy syndrome in comparison to a reference sample.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Impaired performance in a saccadic tracking task in schizophrenic patients.

The performance of schizophrenic patients in a task which requires a sequence of saccades guided by visuospatial cues is reported. A previous study recording eye movements determined a highly increased number of fixations necessary for this task in acute schizophrenic patients compared with normal controls. The performance of normal control subjects of different age groups and the correlation between the performance in the tracking task and the results of a clinical psychological test battery are described. Schizophrenic patients in a partly remitted state and in a remitted or mildly chronic state performed this task worse than matched control subjects; this was particularly indicated by the time score. The relation to the lifetime dosage of neuroleptic medication is considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging findings in multiple sclerosis. Relation to disturbance of affect, drive, and cognition.

Forty-six patients with multiple sclerosis were rated with respect to their psychologic symptoms, and magnetic resonance imaging was performed. A significant correlation between the cerebral multiple sclerosis manifestations and the psychologic scores was found. The periventricular and frontal lesions seem to be the most important lesions for the psychologic symptoms of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Affect↗
PubMed1988

[Treatment of attention deficit disorders in adulthood using psychostimulants and low-dose neuroleptics--a critical case report].

Psychiatric research and therapy recently evinced increasing interest in patients suffering from attention deficit disorder. "Attention deficit disorder" is a category of mental disorders listed in DSM III, with a separate diagnostic subgroup for attention deficit disorders persisting in adults who had been hyperkinetic in childhood ("attention deficit disorder-residual type"); however, this does not feature in a corresponding manner in the ICD 9 version. Since there are practically no therapy studies in existence within the ICD range that can be relevant for such disorders, we studied the treatment of an adult patient with the psychostimulant fenetylline under clinical conditions and found a significant improvement in attention performance. However, on integration in a long-term day-clinic rehabilitation programme we found that low-dose neuroleptic treatment was on the whole of greater benefit than fenetylline treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The investigation of dementia syndromes by 133Xenon dynamic single photon emission computed tomography.

The patterns of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease is compared with that of patients with dementia caused by multiple cerebral infarctions. A total of 47 patients were examined with 133Xenon SPECT. The results show that the global CBF correlates with the severity of dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and that the two forms of dementia show two different patterns of disturbances.

Aged↗