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Biomedical subjects

H Heimann

Publications and source records attributed to H Heimann.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Specificity and nonspecificity--a major problem in biologically oriented psychopathology.

In the hope of discovering simple disease entities that could permit specific treatment, much effort is currently directed toward the operationalization of psychopathological syndromes. As a necessary supplement to these endeavors, the pathophysiological aspect is emphasized in this study. The nonspecificity of pathophysiological mechanisms with reference to psychiatric syndromes is illustrated using the example of inhibition of the orienting reaction in schizophrenia and depression. It is demonstrated that these mechanisms are meaningful for therapy despite their nosologic nonspecificity.

Arousal↗
PubMed1985

[Cerebral seizures in neuroleptic therapy].

Basing on a review of the literature and on own research, the authors examine the incidence rate of convulsions under neuroleptic treatment. In addition, the authors go into the neurophysiological and neuropharmacological mechanisms of the convulsive action of neuroleptics. An attempt is made to present information on the incidence rate of attacks and on the clinical conditions on the basis of individual case reports and drug studies. Calculation of incidence ratio beyond a rough estimate is rendered difficult by heterogeneity of random samples and incomplete data. The incidence rate was found to be approx. 1 per cent in a random sample of schizophrenics and schizo-affective patients (n = 730) at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Tübingen.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1985

[Renal tumor diagnosis with ultrasound and CT].

The use of sonography and computer tomography has resulted in a marked change in the diagnosis of renal space occupying lesions. The value of these diagnostic tests is analyzed mainly in the diagnosis of solid kidney tumors. The possibilities and limitations are analyzed and the addition of further diagnostic procedures such as fine needle puncture and operative exploration are considered. A proper diagnostic work-up is outlined.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1982

[Ultrasound controlled puncture of renal cysts: biochemical and radiological findings (author's transl)].

Ultrasonographically-guided renal cyst puncture was done in 128 patients on outpatient basis. Cortical renal cysts were seen in both male and female patients in an equal ratio. Mean age was 59.6 years. Complication rate of percutaneous puncture was low. Only twice transient haematuria was observed, needing no treatment. Aspirated fluids were examined cytologically and biochemically. None of the aspirated specimens showed malignant cells. Biochemically lactate dehydrogenase activity and concentrations of total protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, potassium and creatinine were determined. Potassium and creatinine determination were found to be valuable in distinguishing between cystic-like lesions containing secondary urine (like caliceal cysts, hydronephrosis, urinoma) and those containing primary urine (like cortical renal cysts). Thus measurement of potassium and creatinine in aspirated fluids may be helpful in determining the need for open exploratory surgery. In cases where cystic lesions produce urographically visible defects of the pelvic system, a dilatation of this area after evacuation of the cyst can be demonstrated via intravenous urography.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Evoked potentials, expectancy wave, and skin resistance in depressed patients and healthy controls.

Averaged evoked potentials, expectancy waves and number and amplitude of skin resistance responses to auditory stimuli are found to be significantly smaller in a group of 18 patients with primary depression than in 27 healthy controls. AEP amplitude attenuation is shown not to be an averaging artifact, due to varying response latencies. There are no simple relations between electrocortical and electrodermal parameters, but patients display more significant correlations between these two sets of variable than controls. Amplitude attenuations are interpreted as hyporesponsivity resulting from depressive inhibition. The narrower coupling of variables in the depressed group is viewed as a limitation in physiological plasticity.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1980

[Nosology and physiopathology in psychiatry--current aspects of Kraepelin's views on pathology].

Nosological and pathophysiological aspects of psychiatric syndromes in the work of Emil Kraepelin are discussed. A chronological review shows that through developing his nosology, pathophysiological points of view because more and more prominent and nosological aspects got only a relative weight. Considering this background, the still accepted nosology of Kraepelin seems to have only the character of a typology, i.e. operationalizing symptoms on the psychopathological level in order to improve scientific communication. The pathophysiological aspect of a psychiatric nosology, however, allows us to prove--by means of psychophysiological methods--unspecific pathophysiologic mechanisms. These mechanisms characterize the organism affected by a psychiatric illness as having a lower modulatory capacity of psychophysiological systems in comparison with healthy controls. This is demonstrated in the results of the investigations of the Tübingen research group on depressive as well as schizophrenic syndromes.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1980

[On the relevance of clinical measurements testing psychogeriatric drugs (author's transl)].

The role of experience and the strategies of action acquired during life history in testing psychogeriatric drugs by means of quantitative methods is analyzed and the thus unsatisfactory situation in therapeutical tests of these drugs is stressed: The demand of a proximity to real life of the quantitative methods of measurements leads, on the one hand, to the consequence that because of the complexity of this kind of measurements very differential single-case analyses are necessary. It has been shown, on the other hand, that a comparison of test profiles of the results of different common psychometric tests is not very conclusive. Finally, simple methods of testing are mentioned which are based on information theory controlling complexity with regard to information content and rate of discrimination. A neurophysiological correlate of a special decision process: the latency of P300 in evoked potential measurements involving reactions to rarely occurring signals shows a strong linear dependency from processes of aging. The latency of P300 discriminates additionally between demented and not demented patients in all groups of different ages. It is demanded that in testing psychogeriatric drugs, single case analyses of complex situations should likewise be carried on with greatest relevance to real life as these drugs should be proved to have a specific effect on the cortical neuronal activity in the sense of a shortening of P300 latency.

Aged↗