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Biomedical subjects

G Ransmayr

Publications and source records attributed to G Ransmayr.

71 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Slowing of high-speed memory scanning in Parkinson's disease is related to the severity of parkinsonian motor symptoms.

High-speed memory scanning (Sternberg paradigm) was tested in a collective of 20 parkinsonian patients (10 newly diagnosed, untreated patients, duration of the disease 0.5-3.8, mean 1.5 years; 10 levodopa-treated patients, duration of the disease 4.2 to 11, mean 7.6 years). The levodopa-treated patients stopped taking levodopa before the test. There was a tendency towards retarded memory scanning in the patients' collective compared with 20 healthy controls with similar ages and verbal IQs (p = 0.076, Mann-Whitney U test). The mental slowing correlated significantly with bradykinesia and the sum-score of the Columbia University Parkinson Rating Scale (p = 0.021 and 0.019; Spearman rank correlation). Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA revealed a significant mental slowing in the subgroup of patients with Parkinson's disease for greater than 4 years compared with the newly diagnosed patients and the controls (H = 8.54; p = 0.019 and 0.006, Mann-Whitney U test). The findings suggest a mental slowing in Parkinson's disease, which is associated with the progression of parkinsonian motor symptoms and not with depression.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Intraoperative cryoanalgesia for postthoracotomy pain relief.

In a randomized study, 63 patients were investigated for the benefits of cryoanalgesia after thoracotomy. Analgesia and its dependent effects such as enhancement of mobility, respiratory function, and reduced need of narcotics were evaluated. No significant differences in these variables were observed between the cryoanalgesia group and the control group. However, moderate to severe neuralgia was found in a number of patients in the cryoanalgesia group in the late postoperative period. Cryoanalgesia for pain relief after thoracotomy is not recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Choline acetyltransferase-like immunoreactivity in the hippocampal formation of control subjects and patients with Alzheimer's disease.

A qualitative and quantitative immunohistochemical study of cholinergic systems in the human hippocampal formation was performed with an antibody against choline acetyltransferase. Four control subjects and six patients with Alzheimer's disease, matched for age and post-mortem delay, were examined. Immunoreactive nerve fibres and terminals were visualized, but no cholinergic cell bodies were seen. The distribution of the fibres and terminals suggests that a major afferent cholinergic pathway enters the hippocampus dorsally via the fimbria-fornix, a minor input entering from the temporal lobe along the alvear path. The cholinergic innervation suffers some degenerative change in normal aged subjects, but decreases considerably in density in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The extent of the decrease differs somewhat among the subregions of the hippocampus, but is homogeneously distributed within each subregion, and throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the structure. Compensatory sprouting in reaction to denervation was not detected.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Pharmacological study in Meige's syndrome with predominant blepharospasm.

Objective quantification of the symptoms of Meige's syndrome is difficult and has not been performed in the majority of pharmacological studies of Meige's syndrome published so far. The aim of the present study was to reexamine the therapeutic potential of biperiden, clonazepam, haloperidol, and lisuride using an objective method of quantification of the symptoms. Eleven patients received daily i.v. injections of biperiden, 5.0 mg; clonazepam, 1.0 mg; haloperidol, 2.5 mg; lisuride, 0.05 mg; and placebo in randomized order. The symptoms of the patients [idiopathic blepharospasm (IB), in 11 patients, oromandibular dystonia (OMD) in four patients] were quantified by a blind observer counting the frequencies and recording the cumulative duration of sustained spasms of IB and OMD over periods of 4 min before, and 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after the i.v. challenges. Baseline quantification of IB and OMD was performed at identical intervals on randomized days of the trial. Significant improvement of the IB scores was found in response to biperiden and clonazepam and a trend toward improvement in response to lisuride (Wilcoxon test). Evaluation of the individual IB scores of each patient following the various drug challenges failed to predict the therapeutic potential of these drugs for subsequent oral treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Visuoperception and visuospatial and visuorotational performance in Parkinson's disease.

Forty patients with Parkinson's disease were compared with 33 normal controls with respect to their performance in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests "information", "similarities", "block design", and "picture completion", in a test for visual neglect (Hamsher's line cancellation test) and in tests for visuospatial and visuorotational abilities (cube task from Amthauer's intelligence structure test and Rybakoff figure test, as revised by Meili). The findings show that the patients scored significantly worse than the controls (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.004) in the Rybakoff figure test, testing visual concept finding, imagination and visual rotation. In the other tests no significant differences were found between the patients and the controls. The deficit of the patients in the figure test of Rybakoff correlated significantly with tremor (P = 0.013), akinesia (P = 0.009), disability (P = 0.043), and age (P = 0.004, Spearman rank correlation).

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Experience with selegiline in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

28 patients with Parkinson's disease and long-term levodopa therapy have received additional selegiline (10 mg/d) over the past 3 years and been followed up for a mean period of 18.8 months. Two thirds improved with a reduction of global disability and amelioration of end-of-dose effects, nocturnal and early-morning akinesia. Peak-dose dyskinesias tended to increase with selegiline while biphase and off-period involuntary movements improved in some cases. Patients already on maximally tolerated doses of levodopa and those with severe on-off swings did not gain significant benefit. 8 of 18 responders lost their initial response within 1.5 years.

Disability Evaluation↗
PubMed1987

Therapeutic experiences with an abeorphine derivative in Parkinson's disease.

Marked improvement of the clinical state owing to CI 201-678 treatment was seen in six patients; no definite improvement was achieved in three patients. Daily fluctuations were improved in two patients. CI 201-678 demonstrated a good effect against rigidity, impairment of gait and posture, as well as impaired self-care, although daily levodopa dosage was concomitantly reduced. In two patients, CI 201-678 was discontinued because of side-effects, while one patient stopped treatment for reasons not related to the drug. In contrast to apomorphine and other dopamimetic substances, the emetic side-effect of CI 201-678 is minimal (nausea in one patient). no arterial hypotension was not seen. It has to be mentioned that the two drug-related drop-outs were receiving CI 201-678 in a rapidly increasing dosage. It is likely that the side-effects would have been less pronounced if the dosage had been more slowly increased. However, the preliminary results indicate that CI 201-678 is a promising substance for the treatment of patients with predominant rigid-akinetic symptomatology, in combination with levodopa therapy or in the place of levodopa.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

[Neuropsychologic changes in Parkinson syndrome].

In Parkinson's disease various cognitive deficits occur of which impairments of perception, memory, speech, vigilance, reaction-time, and shifting aptitude in cognitive tasks can be distinguished. Also depression is frequently observed. Personality changes are discussed originating from organic mental factors, the experience of the disease, and possible premorbid personality traits. Mental processing is probably slowed down in Parkinson's disease (bradyphrenia). However, it is not yet clarified in which cognitive categories bradyphrenia may play a role.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1986

Prognostic implications of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease with respect to clinical, computertomographic and psychometric parameters.

Forty-four Parkinson patients (19 patients of the rigid-akinetic type, 13, of the rigid-akinetic-tremor type, and 12, of the tremor type) were included in a study in order to analyse correlations of the expression of the motor symptoms tremor, rigidity, akinesia, with other clinical parameters, computertomographic aspect of brain atrophy and psychometrically assessed cognitive parameters. Rigidity and akinesia are significantly positively correlated with the severity of motor dysability, stage of the disease, and brain atrophy, as is akinesia with a history of pharmacotoxic psychosis. Tremor is significantly negatively correlated with motor dysability, stage of the disease, and history of pharmacotoxic psychosis. Akinesia is correlated with visuomotor dysfunction (tested with Bender Gestalt Test) and rigidity with the depression score (Zung scale). The tremor type is favorable, the rigid-akinetic type unfavorable with respect to motor disability and psychosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Nosography of Parkinson's disease.

Mean-age of onset of Parkinson's disease is 56 years. The older the patient is the more rapid is on average the progression of disability. In the early phase the motor symptoms respond well to therapy. Later, variations of response to therapy and side-effects of therapy occur (wearing-off, end-of-dose akinesia, end-of-dose dystonia, dopaminergic abnormal involuntary movements, pharmacogenic psychoses etc.). Due to the modern pharmacologic treatment of Parkinson's disease with dopaminergic substances disabling stages of the disease occur mean 3 to 5 years later than before levodopa-substitution was initiated. The incidence of depression, distinct cognitive deficits (impairment of memory, visuospatial deficits) and dementia increases in the course of the disease. The tremulous form of Parkinson's disease generally leads to less motor impairment than the rigid-akinetic form. Parkinson's disease of early onset (onset before the age of 40), may be regarded as a subtype of Parkinson's disease. Benign and malignant types of Parkinson's disease may be distinguished, as well as overlaps with multisystem atrophies.

Cognition↗
PubMed1983

Deprenyl (selegiline) in combination treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Long-term treatment of parkinsonian patients with levodopa (plus decarboxylase inhibitor) leads to decreasing levodopa efficacy and increasing side-effects. Then main therapeutic problems are on-off phenomena, end-of-dose akinesia and levodopa-induced dyskinesias. Deprenyl, a selective MAO-B inhibitor, has produced good therapeutic effects in combination either with levodopa alone or with levodopa plus decarboxylase inhibitor in the treatment of end-of-dose akinesia and on-off phenomena. In an open trial with 48 parkinsonian patients deprenyl was added to previous levodopa plus decarboxylase-inhibitor therapy. Good effects were achieved in respect of mild on-off phenomena and end-of-dose akinesia, minor success in the alleviation of dyskinesia and depression. In four further patients with a post-traumatic parkinsonian syndrome, no improvement of rigidospasticity and vigilance was demonstrable.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Premorbid personality of Parkinson patients.

In a preliminary study 28 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (14 males, 14 females; mean age 67 years, mean disease duration 9 years) were tested with the GIESSEN-TEST (GT) personality inventory in an attempt to define distinctive premorbid personality features of Parkinson's disease. Patients and close relatives were asked to fill out the test questionnaires with a retrospective judgement of healthy times; at the same time patients and relatives were interviewed for premorbid habits and personality traits of the patients. The results obtained suggest that parkinsonian patients are of an introverted and anancastic premorbid personality type. In the GIESSEN-TEST (GT) marked trends toward "overcontrol"; "depressiveness", "positive social resonance", and "social impotency" were observed. The results are discussed and related to findings of distinctive premorbid smoking and drinking habits of parkinsonian patients.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

APP peptides stimulate lymphocyte proliferation in normals, but not in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

We hypothesized that metabolic products of the Alzheimer beta amyloid precursor protein (APP) might be targets for cells of the immune system. To test this hypothesis, peripheral blood lymphocytes from young and old healthy blood donors and patients with Alzheimer's disease were analysed for their responsiveness upon stimulation with amyloid beta protein as well as with four other synthetic peptides corresponding to parts of the APP sequence. Stimulation of resting blood lymphocytes from young and old healthy blood donors resulted in IL-2 receptor expression and proliferation in both age groups. In contrast, lymphocytes from the majority of patients with Alzheimer's disease did not proliferate, when stimulated with APP peptides, while their proliferative response to anti-CD3 was unimpaired. This lack of proliferative responsiveness to APP peptides was not due to apoptosis, but could reflect T cell anergy, as it was accompanied by unimpaired IL-2 receptor expression. The results suggest that autoreactive lymphocytes with specificity for metabolic products of APP occur in healthy individuals. These cells may be of relevance for the elimination of potentially amyloidogenic substances. This mechanism could be impaired in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression, but not activity, of neuronal nitric oxide synthase is regionally increased in the alcoholic brain.

The regional distribution of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) was investigated in alcoholic post-mortem brains compared with brains of non-alcoholic control individuals. Total enzyme activity in 28 brain regions was determined using the [(3)H]l-citrulline formation assay, whereas Western blot analyses were used for semi-quantitative measurement of the neuronal isoform of NOS (nNOS). In the alcoholic brain, nNOS protein expression was increased in the following regions: frontal cortex (85%), the cingulate gyrus (294%), the nucleus accumbens (54%), the entorhinal cortex (85%) and the thalamus (51%). These increases were, however, not associated with higher total NOS activity. Interestingly, nNOS protein content was increased in the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens, brain regions which are suggested to be involved in the dopaminergic mesolimbic reward system. It is concluded that upregulation of signal transduction pathways, such as the adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and the protein kinase C-dependent pathway, due to stimulation of G-protein-coupled neurotransmitter receptor regulation, as a form of functional tolerance, could be responsible for increased nNOS protein expression, and downregulation of NOS enzyme activity in these brain regions.

Adult↗