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H Strenge

Publications and source records attributed to H Strenge.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

[Self-assessment of post-traumatic stress reactions in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. A survey among medical students].

The present paper describes psychological sequelae of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City in a cohort of 174 medical students (104 females, 70 men, age 18 to 37 years) in their first academic year at the University of Kiel,Germany. For self-report of traumatic stress reactions,the Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) was administered 6 and 9 weeks after the disaster. The students reported weak to moderate levels of distress, the average IES-R scores on the intrusion and avoidance subscales were 11.1 (SD 6.2) and 10.6 (SD 6.4), respectively, and 5.2 (SD 4.1) for the hyperarousal scale. All symptoms had clearly faded at 9 weeks. Students with traumatic life events indicated significantly higher scores in some avoidance items. The current data suggest that the IES-R can be used as a screening measure in future research of trauma-related stress reactions also in people exposed to catastrophes by media coverage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Non-linear electroencephalogram dynamics in patients with spontaneous nocturnal migraine attacks.

The present study was conducted to examine non-linear electroencephalogram (EEG) measures during the development of a spontaneous migraine attack. We investigated the sleep EEG of five patients with migraine without aura in the pain-free interval and at the onset of a nocturnal attack. Sleep EEG recordings were analysed using the method of global dimensional complexity compared to conventional sleep scoring techniques. We found no divergence between classical sleep architecture and the estimated dimensional course nor any relevant short-term changes related to the onset of headache. There was, however, a loss of dimensional complexity in the first two non-rapid eye movement sleep states in the migraine night, with statistical significance during the second sleep cycle. For the first time, these results provide evidence of a global dimension decrease that is related to cortical network changes during a migraine attack.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed2001

Polysomnographic findings in nights preceding a migraine attack.

Sleep recordings were performed in eight patients to analyse sleep alterations preceding migraine attacks. Polysomnographic recordings from nights before an attack were compared with nights without following migraine. We analysed standard sleep parameters and electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectra. The main findings preceding migraine attacks were a significant decrease in the number of arousals, a decrease in rapid eye movement (REM) density, a significant decrease of beta power in the slow wave sleep, and a decrease of alpha power during the first REM period. The results suggest a decrease in cortical activation during sleep preceding migraine attacks. According to the models of sleep regulation, alterations in the function of aminergic or cholinergic brainstem nuclei have to be discussed.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed1999

Contingent negative variation indicates phasic arousal for externally cued unilateral eye blink in human subjects.

The contingent negative variation (CNV) as a slow cortical potential was used to investigate cortical processing of externally cued, voluntary unilateral eye blink. Probands blinked as a response within a modified two-stimulus reaction time paradigm. Reaction time and amplitudes of CNV were determined. The activity of the orbicularis oculi muscles (OO) was registered by surface electromyography (EMG). Probands who performed unilateral eye blinks with accurately inhibiting contralateral OO activity showed a significantly higher negativity of the early CNV component compared with the bilateral eye blink condition. This effect was confined to the beginning of unilateral blinking performance. It is suggested that the unilateral eye blink is a challenging motor task, initially requiring an increased cortically driven arousal and attention as revealed by increased early CNV components.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Fear of death and willingness to consider organ donation among medical students].

The present study represents an attempt to examine the relationship of fear of death and willingness to consider organ donation. A group of 124 medical students, 72 entering and 52 graduating from university, aged 19-37 years, completed a fear of death and dying scale (FVTS of Ochsmann) and a questionnaire about behavioral and attitude variables concerning organ donation. There were no significant sex and age differences on the FVTS in the total sample. 1st-year medical students had higher scores for the fear of meeting death related to lacking experiences with dying friends or patients. Selected item analyses for focus groups of students, who were for or against organ donation, had reservations about donation or had signed an organ donor card, revealed only a few significant differences on the FVTS. Both students without donor card and with reservations about donation scored significantly higher for fear of physical destruction. Organ donor card holders, however, scored significantly lower and accepted autopsy and anatomic dissection of their corpses twice as frequently as the others. Possible implications of these findings for medical education and future research are addressed.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Organ donation from the viewpoint of the medical students].

A questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the attitudes of 125 medical students, aged 19-37 years, toward organ donation. 73 of them were in their first semester and 52 senior students in their last year of the study. A return rate of 88% (senior students: 58%) was achieved. Although 59% (71%) expressed willingness to donate their organs, only 30% (50%) had signed an organ donor card. Concerns regarding definition and declaration of death, benefit of organ donation and feelings of the donor's family were identified in 51% (38%) of the students. 71% (79%) had already discussed this issue with their families. In summary, results of the study indicate that more intensified interdisciplinary discussion and information during the study of medicine could bring about an even more positive attitude toward organ donation.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Cyclandelate in the prophylaxis of migraine: a randomized, parallel, double-blind study in comparison with placebo and propranolol. The Study group.

Cyclandelate inhibits calcium-induced contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells, platelet aggregation induced by thrombin, platelet-activating-factor and adenosine, and also suppresses a provoked 5HT release from platelets. This pharmacological profile suggests that cyclandelate may have a potential prophylactic effect in migraine. To test this hypothesis, a double-blind multicentre study was performed in 214 patients to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of cyclandelate compared to placebo and propranolol. After a 4-week baseline period, eligible patients (randomization 3:2:3) were treated for 12 weeks with daily doses of 1.200 mg cyclandelate (n = 81), placebo (n = 55) or 120 mg propranolol (n = 78). The number of migraine attacks (> or = 50% responders) and the migraine duration/month were compared based on the difference between baseline and the last 4 weeks of prophylactic treatment. The percentage of patients with a reduction in migraine attacks of > or = 50% treated with cyclandelate (37.0%) or propranolol (42.3%) was not significantly superior to placebo (30.9%; p > 0.025). The mean duration of migraine in hours (h) per month decreased in both active treatment groups (cyclandelate: 36.8 h, p = 0.046; propranolol: 34.4 h, p = 0.039) compared to placebo (13.7 h) without reaching statistical significance (alpha/2 = 0.025). The clinical efficacy of cyclandelate and propranolol was comparable. Adverse experiences were reported by 13 patients (16.0%) treated with cyclandelate, by 5 patients (9.1%) treated with placebo and by 19 patients (24.4%) treated with propranolol. These were drug-related in 7.1% (n = 6) of patients treated with cyclandelate and in 9% (n = 7) of patients treated with propranolol. In summary, cyclandelate has a comparable efficacy to that of propranolol, an established drug of first choice in the prophylaxis of migraine. Both drugs were better than placebo, but not significantly so. Both active treatments were well tolerated.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Psychogenic hand dystonia and hereditary polyneuropathy with liability to pressure palsies. A contribution to etiology of dystonias].

We report on a case of a female who had developed a fixed flexion contracture of the 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand which was painless and at-rest right in the beginning at the age of 19. By means of neurographical examinations a hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies was established in her and her mother, which had clinically manifested with symptoms of the ulnar nerve at the affected hand. The dystonic symptoms did not show any progression within ten years follow-up. A remarkable feature of the course was the twice repeated occurrence of short, sudden and complete remissions immediately following invasive diagnostic procedures. The thorough discussion of differential diagnostic aspects and the analysis of the familiar situation and psychodynamics of the patient resulted in the diagnosis of a psychogenic hand dystonia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Psychosocial, neuropsychological and neurological status in a sample of heart transplant recipients.

The sample for this psychosocial follow-up study was formed using the 71 surviving patients from a total of 100 who underwent heart transplantation up until March 1990 at Kiel University Hospital. Forty of these could be investigated comprehensively. The neurological investigation comprised EEG and auditory and visually evoked potentials. The psychological investigation started with several neuropsychological tests; additionally all patients were interviewed and they completed questionnaires concerning anxiety, depression, ways of coping, personality characteristics and life satisfaction. Within the entire sample, there were few indications for specific psychological impairment. The psychosocial status of the patients was not significantly related to the time which had elapsed since they underwent transplantation. There were few associations between neuropsychological and psychosocial data, and several indicators of early postoperative complications which are described in the literature (e.g., length of stay in the intensive care unit). Clinically relevant subgroups (formed on the basis of neuropsychological test results, anxiety and depression) did not differ in terms of these indicators. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of the patients (25%) were characterized by having a higher level of affective and neuropsychological impairment. Although based upon retrospective investigations, the results of this follow-up generally correlate with those gained from Anglo-American countries. In interpreting the results one needs to consider the possible influence of premorbid personality characteristics as well as denial which may be typical for patients undergoing heart transplantation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Preoperative and late postoperative psychosocial state following coronary artery bypass surgery.

In a prospective study of psychological and neurological reactions to coronary artery bypass surgery, 45 patients were examined preoperatively, postoperatively, and 21 to 27 months after, using a variety of neurological, psychiatric, and psychological investigations. Within the follow-up sample, three subgroups of patients could be identified by cluster analysis who differed with respect to their emotional status and life satisfaction. One group (24% of the total sample) was characterized by high levels of anxiety, depression and life dissatisfaction and appears as a risk population. The other groups could be described as either average (42%) or stable (33%). At the follow up, the risk group further indicated a preference for depressive coping styles, a slightly higher degree of cognitive impairment, more neurological and psychopathological symptoms (specifically giving-up and hostility), a considerably lower return-to-work rate, more subjective physical complaints and a poorer attitude toward the outcome. While postoperative measurements (obtained 2-3 and 6-8 days after surgery) as well as intraoperative parameters did not reveal significant group differences, the analysis yielded an increased impairment within the risk group already prior to surgery, especially emotional problems, specific health-related cognitions and a more fatalistic attitude. The results are in line with those of other studies investigating the late postoperative psychological status with regard to the proportion of patients showing psychological impairments as well as to their specific psychological characteristics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

[Polyneuropathy and central nervous system diseases before and after heart transplantation. Is cyclosporin neurotoxic?].

In a cross-sectional study, 52 patients (44 men, 8 women, mean age 50.6 [19-68] years) were investigated clinically and electrophysiologically for evidence of peripheral and central nervous system damage before and after heart transplantation. 20 patients were investigated before heart transplantation (group 1), 16 at 7 days to 5 months after transplantation (early post-operative group; group 2) and 16 at 6 to 32 months after transplantation (late post-operative group; group 3). Nerve conduction studies (median, peroneal and sural nerves) revealed polyneuropathy in 14 out of 16 patients in group 2, significantly more than in group 1 (11 out of 19) and group 3 (9 out of 16). The mean blood cyclosporin concentration was 656 ng/ml in group 2 and 409 ng/ml in group 3 (P less than 0.001). Patients in group 3 with polyneuropathy had significantly higher cyclosporin concentrations than patients without polyneuropathy (505 vs 284 ng/ml; P less than 0.01). Among patients who had undergone operations, there were no noteworthy differences between the mean cyclosporin concentrations and clinical data in those with or without central nervous system lesions. There is preliminary evidence of a neurotoxic effect of cyclosporin on the peripheral but not the central nervous system.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Somatosensory evoked potentials in moderate hyperthermia].

The effects of moderate whole-body hyperthermia on the cervical and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) were studied in healthy male subjects, aged 22-32 years. They were immersed in hot water and heated to a median rectal temperature of 39.0 degrees C. Serial SEPs to median nerve stimulation were recorded during cooling at intervals of 0.1 degrees C. The general wave form and the amplitudes did not systematically change. For a 1 degrees C drop there was a median latency increase of 2.6-3.7% in cervical and 1.5-7.4% in cortical SEP components. In individual cases significant latency delays of cervical N13 and cortical N20 could already be observed at differences of 0.2 degrees and 0.5 degrees respectively. All other components showed significant latency changes at temperature intervals of 0.6 to 0.8 degrees C.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Early neurological abnormalities following coronary artery bypass surgery. A prospective study.

A prospective analysis of 78 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS) was carried out to assess clinically the frequency and course of cerebral complications during the 1st postoperative week. Detailed evaluation of the patients showed that neurological abnormalities after CABS were common, occurring in 40 of the 78 patients (51%). However, there were no serious cerebral complications. Changes in reflexes and new focal signs were found in 26 and 25 cases respectively; in 7 patients (9%) they were confined to the first postoperative days. There was no statistically significant correlation between postoperative outcome and age, preoperative neurological state or bypass time. However, some strong associations could be calculated between a history of cerebrovascular signs or symptoms and the appearance of persisting focal signs or development reflexes during the 1st week after CABS.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[The cervical somatosensory evoked potential in lesions of the cortical efferents].

Cervical and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials to median nerve stimulation were analysed in 20 patients with unilateral central paresis of the arm. Neither the configuration nor the latency and amplitude measures of the neck potential did reveal any association with pathological alterations of cortical efferents or with abnormal cortically evoked responses. Thus, also in this population the evaluation of cervical potentials can be done according to the known criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[The cervical somatosensory evoked potential and its relation to F-wave activity].

In 6 healthy volunteers aged 18-25 years cervical somatosensory evoked potentials (CEPs) were recorded following stimulation of the right median nerve at the wrist. At the same time the antidromically elicited individual F-waves evoked by any single impulse were recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis muscle. By means of selective averaging of the neck responses it could be shown that there was a close relationship between an F-wave-activity of 120-150 microV/stimulus or more during the trial and the appearance or the enhancement of a negative peak occurring 0.5-1.4 ms after the main CEP component N13. An F-wave-activity of more than 224 microV/stimulus regularly resulted in a total change of the CEP configuration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Variations in the configuration of somatosensory evoked potentials following stimulation of the median nerve].

The variants of waveform patterns of cervical and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials to median nerve stimulation at the wrist were analysed in 86 normal subjects aged 15 to 71 years. In cervical SEP recordings the components N13, N14 and the trough-shaped variant of P17 showed the highest short-term stability. Immediate changes of the amplitude proportions of subcomponents within the potential, i.e. a lack of uniformity in waveforms, have to be considered normal. Significant associations were found between the occurrence of components N14 and an arm length of more than 68 cm and between the appearance of a plateau configuration of P17 and an age of at least 40 years. Considering definite criteria the latency of P17 can be used as an additional reliable parameter. In cortical SEP recordings the combination of an initial V-shaped pattern and a following bifid W-configuration appeared as the most frequent waveform profile. All parts of the potential but the positive waves of the primary complex revealed a high intraindividual stability.

Adolescent↗