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Biomedical subjects

G Goldstein

Publications and source records attributed to G Goldstein.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Bone marrow transplantation prolongs life span and ameliorates neurologic manifestations in Sandhoff disease mice.

The GM2 gangliosidoses are a group of severe, neurodegenerative conditions that include Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, and the GM2 activator deficiency. Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was examined as a potential treatment for these disorders using a Sandhoff disease mouse model. BMT extended the life span of these mice from approximately 4.5 mo to up to 8 mo and slowed their neurologic deterioration. BMT also corrected biochemical deficiencies in somatic tissues as indicated by decreased excretion of urinary oligosaccharides, and lower glycolipid storage and increased levels of beta-hexosaminidase activity in visceral organs. Even with neurologic improvement, neither clear reduction of brain glycolipid storage nor improvement in neuronal pathology could be detected, suggesting a complex pathogenic mechanism. Histological analysis revealed beta-hexosaminidase-positive cells in the central nervous system and visceral organs with a concomitant reduction of colloidal iron-positive macrophages. These results may be important for the design of treatment approaches for the GM2 gangliosidoses.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Poststroke depression and anxiety: different assessment methods result in variations in incidence and severity estimates.

Patients with right and left hemisphere stroke (RH, LH) and a control group (CG) were administered a structured clinical interview (SCID-R) and rating scales for anxiety and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale). The three groups did not differ when compared for the mean level of distress on the rating scales or frequency of mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis using the SCID-R. By contrast, participants in the LH group were more likely to be classified as distressed using rating scales cutoff scores and on measures of severity when compared only to the RH group. The rating scales were sensitive to psychiatric disorders, but lacked specificity in all groups. There were significant correlations between scales suggesting the rating scales measure a common factor in the controls, while in the stroke groups associations were weaker and less likely to be significant. Together, these results suggest the need for caution in using rating scales of depression and anxiety in neurologic patients and support the notion that these scales are sensitive to distress rather than specific for identifying depressive and anxiety disorders.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Individual differences in cognitive decline in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia exhibit age-related cognitive declines similar to those of patients with schizophrenia who do not have substantial cognitive impairment. METHOD: Correlation coefficients were computed between age and the Average Impairment Rating, a summary index of cognitive ability, in a group of 77 patients with schizophrenia. These patients were clustered into two groups: one with near-normal cognitive function (N=51) and one with severely impaired cognitive function (N=26). A group of patients with senile dementia (N=21) and another comparison group of nonschizophrenic patients (N=299) were used as reference groups. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between age and the Average Impairment Rating in all groups except the cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia, in which a zero-order correlation was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with schizophrenia who have substantial cognitive impairment do not have the significant correlation between age and cognitive function found in patients with schizophrenia who have mildly impaired or normal cognitive abilities, suggesting earlier onset of cognitive deficit in the cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The utility of neuropsychological tests in evaluation of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) versus depression in adults.

A comparison was made between adults with depression and with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on a battery of cognitive tests of attention span and memory. Both the ADHD and depression groups were subdivided with regard to comorbid depression in the ADHD group and developmental learning disorder in both groups. Utilizing Discriminant Function Analysis, it was found that variables derived from the California Verbal Learning Test, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, and the Stroop Test discriminated among the various subgroups at a level significantly exceeding chance. However, although the great majority of the ADHD participants were correctly classified, there were numerous misclassifications among the depressed groups. It was concluded that the tests used were highly sensitive to ADHD, but were also sensitive to a subgroup of depressed individuals.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Construct validity of neuropsychological tests in schizophrenia.

Validity studies of neuropsychological tests have typically examined individuals with neurological disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the construct validity of neuropsychological measures in patients with schizophrenia. We used Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R) factor scores that were generated from the population of interest as marker variables in the present analysis. The current study included 39 patients with schizophrenia who were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing attention, memory, and abstract reasoning abilities. Pearson correlations indicated significant relationships between (a) WAIS-R Verbal Comprehension factor and tests of sustained attention, verbal memory and remote memory; (b) WAIS-R Perceptual Organization factor and tests of visual memory and abstraction and problem solving; and (c) WAIS-R Freedom From Distractibility factor and neuropsychological measures of attention and concentration. These results provide support for the construct validity of the neuropsychological tests in patients with schizophrenia, and indicate that these tests evaluate essentially the same constructs in patients with schizophrenia as they do for patients with structural neurological disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Teaching memory strategies to persons with multiple sclerosis.

A memory-training program previously used effectively upon persons with head-injury (HI) was conducted upon eight subjects with multiple sclerosis (MS). The program involved computer-assisted teaching of imagery-based mnemonic strategies for recall of lengthy lists of words, and for associating names with faces. Results were similar to those found in individuals with HI, but the MS subjects learned the strategies quickly, and did not appear to require the lengthy training needed by persons with HI. It was concluded that memory training of those with MS may sometimes only require teaching of mnemonic strategies without extensive practice.

Abbreviations as Topic↗
PubMed1998

Neuropsychological similarities and differences among Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cortical dementia.

A comparison of cognitive function was made among patients with Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cortical dementia. Utilizing indexes from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Halstead-Reitan Battery, it was found that there was substantially more severe cognitive deficit in the Huntington's disease patients than in the multiple sclerosis patients, and the level of impairment was similar between the Huntington's disease and cortical dementia groups. Qualitative differences, particularly involving amount and type of perseveration, were noted among the three groups. It was concluded that subcortical dementia is not necessarily characterized by mild cognitive impairment, and there appear to be important qualitative differences between cortical and subcortical dementia. Results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of the presently conceptualized distinction between cortical and subcortical dementia.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

An assistive device for persons with severe amnesia.

Five persons with severe amnesia were trained to use a device containing items of information relevant to daily activities. The training consisted of a procedure in which requests for information were paired with a tone, and the subject was required to access the device and respond with the answer to the request. The tone was gradually faded, with the goal of having the subject respond to a question alone. All of the subjects learned to consistently access the device and provide correct responses following a request for information. Generalization across requesters and settings in which the requests were made was also achieved. The findings are discussed in regard to the utility of exploiting the relatively well-preserved procedural memory system for rehabilitation of persons with severe amnesia.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1998

A comparison of clustering solutions for cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia.

A cluster analytic solution based upon a battery of tests consisting of the Halstead Category and Tactual Performance Tests, the Trail Making Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was compared with a solution based on the subtests of the Wechsler intelligence scales, utilizing a sample of 221 schizophrenic patients. Both analyses permitted four-cluster solutions, and we found a weak but significant degree of association between solutions. Examination of external validity of the two solutions revealed stronger associations with clinical variables for the Wechsler-scale-based solution. The major conclusions were that the existence of cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia exists across a broad range of abilities, and appears to reflect a combination of continuity of ability level and existence of possible subtypes requiring further neuropsychological and neurobiological verification.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Cognitive rehabilitation of chronic alcohol abusers.

The current literature suggests that individuals who chronically abuse alcohol exhibit a wide variety of cognitive deficits resulting from cerebral dysfunction that is either directly or indirectly related to their alcohol consumption history. Cognitive deficits have been hypothesized as having implications for standard alcohol treatment efficacy as they may directly affect cognitively impaired individuals' abilities to utilize various treatment modalities. Although evidence is accumulating that suggests this is actually the case, the majority of alcohol treatment programs neither directly consider the impact cognitive deficits have on treatment efficacy nor do they employ cognitive rehabilitation treatment strategies to remediate identified cognitive deficits. Few studies exist that investigate the remediability of neurobehavioral deficits or the efficacy of integrating cognitive rehabilitation strategies into more traditional treatment programs. Empirical investigations conducted to date indicate that some cognitive deficiencies secondary to alcoholism are amenable to cognitive rehabilitation and this remediation is generalizable. Rigorous well-controlled treatment outcome investigations are needed in order to determine the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation techniques in naturalistic settings using ecological outcome measures. Also, emphasis should be placed on integrating cognitive rehabilitation techniques with proven efficacy into traditional alcoholism treatment programs.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1997

Pain management guidelines: implications for managed care--a roundtable discussion.

One of the most important concerns of patients with cancer, particularly those with metastatic disease, is "Will I be in constant pain?" This is a similar concern voiced by patients with late-stage human immunodeficiency virus infection. The management of chronic pain has enormous implications on a patient's ability to function and on his or her quality of life. In June 1996, Medical Interface convened a panel of experts in Chicago to discuss pain management therapies, guidelines, and how these issues will affect, and be affected by, the managed care environment.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Patterns of performance by neuropsychiatric patients on the halstead category test: evidence for conceptual learning in schizophrenic patients.

We attempted to determine whether schizophrenic patients can improve their performance on an abstract reasoning task through experience, and to ascertain how the degree of learning compares with brain-damaged patients and patient controls. Two hundred and two schizophrenic patients, 179 brain-damaged patients and 229 patient controls were compared with regard to their improvement on Subtest 6 relative to Subtest 5 of the Halstead Category Test. Since Subtests 5 and 6 are based on the same concept, experience with Subtest 5 should reduce errors on Subtest 6. Subjects were also compared on Subtest 7, which evaluates learning and retention of the concepts associated with subtests 1 to 6. the schizophrenic subjects showed improvement on subtests 6 relative to 5 that was equal to the controls, with both groups showing significantly greater improvement than the brain-damaged subjects. The schizophrenic subjects also obtained a better mean score on Subtest 7 than did the brain-damaged subjects, but made significantly more errors than controls. We conclude that schizophrenic patients are capable of conceptual learning, and may not have fixed, irreversible impairment of abstraction ability.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Neuropsychologic functioning in autism: profile of a complex information processing disorder.

Neurobehavioral theories of autism have hypothesized core deficits in sensory input or perception, basic attentional abilities or generalized attention to extrapersonal space, anterograde memory, auditory information processing, higher order memory abilities, conceptual reasoning abilities, executive function, control mechanisms of attention, and higher order abilities across domains. A neuropsychologic battery designed to investigate these hypotheses was administered to 33 rigorously diagnosed autistic individuals with IQ scores greater than 80, and 33 individually matched normal controls. Stepwise discriminant function was used to define the profile of neuropsychologic functioning across domains. The neuropsychologic profile in these autistic individuals was defined by impairments in skilled motor, complex memory, complex language, and reasoning domains, and by intact or superior performance in the attention, simple memory, simple language, and visual-spatial domains. This profile is not consistent with mental retardation or with a general deficit syndrome, but rather with a selective impairment in complex information processing that does not involve visual-spatial processing. This profile is not consistent with a single primary deficit, but with a multiple primary deficit model in which the deficit pattern within and across domains is reflective of the complexity of the information processing demands. This neuropsychologic profile is furthermore consistent with the neurophysiologic characterization of autism as a late information processing disorder with sparing of early information processing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Role of anion exchange and thiol groups in the regulation of potassium efflux by lead in human erythrocytes.

Pb2+ is thought to enter erythrocytes through anion exchange (AE) and to remain in the cell by binding to thiol groups. To define the role of AE mechanisms and thiol groups in Pb2+ toxicity, we studied the effects of drugs and conditions that modify AE and that modify thiol groups on the ability of Pb2+ to stimulate potassium efflux as measured with 86Rb. The most potent stimulation of 86Rb efflux by Pb2+ occurred when conditions were optimal for the AE mechanism--that is, when bicarbonate was included in the buffer or a buffer made with Nal or NaCl rather than NaClO4 or NaNO3 was used. Furthermore, 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid and 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfuonic acid, potent inhibitors of the AE mechanism, completely inhibited stimulation of the 86Rb efflux by Pb2+. These conditions or inhibitors did not affect stimulation of the 86Rb efflux by ionomycin plus Ca2+. A role for Ca2+ channels was dismissed because the inorganic Ca2+ channel blockers, Cd2+ or Mn2+, did not prevent stimulation of 86Rb efflux by Pb2+ but did inhibit stimulation by ionomycin plus Ca2+. 86Rb efflux was more sensitive to Pb2+ if erythrocytes were treated for 15 min with thiol-modifying reagents that enter cells, such as iodoacetamide, N-ethylmaleimide, or dithiothreitol, than to reduced glutathione, a thiol-modifying reagent that is not permeable to the cell. Thus, in erythrocytes the AE mechanism and internal thiol groups are critical factors that affect the stimulation of a Ca(2+)-dependent process by Pb2+.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗
PubMed1996

Pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of an orally active tripeptide, IRI-695, in animals.

Pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of IRI-695, a tripeptide, were investigated in the rat, rabbit, dog, and monkey. Tissue distribution and excretion of [14C]IRI-695 were determined in the rat. Following a single intravenous (IV) injection, the elimination half-life (t1/2) of IRI-695 in the rabbit, dog, and monkey was similar (about 65 min) and approximately four times that in the rat (15 min). This difference in t1/2 can be attributed to about four times higher clearance of the drug in rats (11.2 mL min-1 kg-1). The volume of distribution (Vss) in these four species, 132-234 mL kg-1, suggested negligible preferential distribution of IRI-695 to body tissue. After a 5 mg kg-1 oral dose, the absolute bioavailability of IRI-695 was 2.0% in rats and 3.1% in dogs. However, systemic drug exposure in the dog was about five to 10 times that in the rat, which is related to the slower clearance of the peptide in the dog. Toxicokinetic studies in the rat and dog indicated linear kinetics and systemic exposure of IRI-695 up to 300 mg kg-1 d-1 oral doses throughout the 28 d toxicity study. Accumulation of the drug after the repeated oral dosing was negligible. After a single 0.10 mg kg-1 [14C]IRI-695 IV injection in rats, almost all of the radioactivity administered was excreted in urine within 24 h postdose.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Wechsler IQ profiles in diagnosis of high-functioning autism.

A Wechsler Intelligence Scale profile characterized by VIQ < PIQ with lowest subtest score on Comprehension and highest on Block Design has been associated with autism. Recently, this profile has been applied to assess the accuracy of diagnosis in research samples and for differentiating autism from similar disorders in high-functioning individuals. Universality of this profile, however, has not been sufficiently demonstrated. We therefore examined WISC-R and WAIS-R profile characteristics in 81 rigorously diagnosed high-functioning (VIQ and FSIQ > 70) children (n = 45) and adults (n = 36) with autism. Analysis of the profiles in these groups did not reveal the presumed typical VIQ < PIQ pattern. The typical subtest pattern was found, but the magnitude of profile variability was small. We concluded that individuals with autism can demonstrate a wide range of ability levels and patterns on the Wechsler scales, without a single characteristic prototype. Use of IQ score profiles in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of autism in high-functioning individuals is not considered valid.

Adolescent↗