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Biomedical subjects

G S Rai

Publications and source records attributed to G S Rai.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Terodiline with bladder retraining for treating detrusor instability in elderly people.

OBJECTIVE: To compare terodiline with bladder retraining against placebo with bladder retraining in the treatment of detrusor instability in frail elderly patients. DESIGN: Randomised, double blind, parallel group study. Treatment lasted for six weeks. Frequency of micturition and episodes of incontinence recorded on diary chart by patients. SETTING: Incontinence clinic and a geriatric day hospital at two teaching hospitals. PATIENTS: 37 frail but ambulant patients, mean (range) age 80.4 (70-89) years with urinary frequency and urge incontinence, due to detrusor instability. Two patients withdrew before the first assessment (one in each group) and one could not complete the diary chart (placebo group). INTERVENTIONS: 19 patients received bladder retraining and terodiline 25 mg daily and 18 bladder retraining and placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in urinary frequency and number of episodes of incontinence after six weeks' treatment. Patient's subjective evaluation of symptoms. RESULTS: Little difference was found in the results of treatment with terodiline and placebo. The change in episodes of incontinence per 24 hours was no different in the two groups (95% confidence interval -0.6 to 1.2; p = 0.75) and the difference between treatments in the change in frequency of micturition per 24 hours (-0.2) was not significant (-1.1 to 1.2; p = 0.76). Ten patients taking terodiline thought they had improved compared with seven receiving placebo; this difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: Although the number of patients in each group was small and may have been insufficient to detect a drug effect, the possible benefit of terodiline is likely to be small.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

A double-blind, placebo controlled study of Ginkgo biloba extract ('tanakan') in elderly outpatients with mild to moderate memory impairment.

Thirty-one patients over the age of 50 years and showing a mild to moderate degree of memory impairment entered a 6-month double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group design study to assess the effects of a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (containing 24% flavonoid glycosides and 6% terpenes) on cognitive function. Patients were allocated at random to receive oral doses of 40 mg Ginkgo biloba extract or identical placebo 3-times daily. Assessments were made at baseline and after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment using a range of psychometric tests. Efficacy data were available for 27 patients (15 in the placebo group and 12 in the active treatment group). Statistical analysis of the data as compared to baseline suggests that Ginkgo biloba extract had a beneficial effect on cognitive function in this group of patients. Performance on the Digit Copying sub-test of the Kendrick battery was significantly improved at both 12 and 24 weeks, while the median speed of response on a computerized version of a classification task also showed a significant superiority over placebo at 24 weeks.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1991

An audit of rectal examination on general/geriatric wards in a district general hospital.

A study of 187 in-patients on designated medical/geriatric wards revealed that rectal examination was performed as part of physical examination in only 25% of patients. In the elderly (118 patients) it was performed in 36%. A prospective analysis of 100 elderly patients, in whom digital rectal examination was performed, revealed that 46 patients had significant findings. In only 33 of these were there any gastrointestinal or genitourinary symptoms or signs. As a result of these findings it is recommended that digital rectal examination be considered mandatory in the elderly admitted into hospital.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Assessment of anomalous sentences repetition test.

Use of Anomalous Sentences Repetition Test (ASRT) in 16 patients with diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer's type, 16 normal elderly and 18 patients with depression revealed no difference in the age adjusted scores between the three groups, suggesting that it is not a good test for diagnosing dementia or differentiating dementia from depression.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Relationship between the P300 auditory event-related potential and automated psychometric tests.

Event-related potentials particularly the P3 component have been noted to be abnormal in illnesses affecting cognitive processes, such as dementia. The relationship between the P3 latency and objective tests of mental function in patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia has been studied. A significant correlation was demonstrated between P3 latency and automated psychometric tests in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

The beneficial effects of joint orthopaedic-geriatric rehabilitation.

A London inner city Health District has had joint orthopaedic geriatric beds (RU) for rehabilitation of elderly orthopaedic patients since 1981. The effect of this on the orthopaedic department was studied by means of Hospital Activity Analysis data for 1980-85. The results showed that in patients greater than or equal to 60 years this approach leads to a significant reduction in length of stay for those with and without the diagnosis of fractured neck of femur and in the numbers staying 60+ days and 90+ days. The combined approach produced a saving of 46% in bed-days for fractured neck of femur alone. The relatively long duration of stay in the acute orthopaedic unit prior to admission to the RU suggests that intervention by the joint approach from the date of admission is required to maximize efficiency.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Nephrotic syndrome in the elderly.

Study of hospital activity analysis data over a ten-year period in a district general hospital show that nephrotic syndrome is uncommon in the elderly. The spectrum of histology, however, is no different from the younger adults. The other interesting findings were: diabetic elderly with nephrotic syndrome may have minimal change, therefore should have renal biopsy; and occurrence of sero-negative lupus nephritis in a 90-year-old male and a focal glomerulo-nephritis in a 75-year-old female.

Aged↗