Biomedical subjects

J Aston

Publications and source records attributed to J Aston.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Early detection and treatment of schizophrenia: how early?

OBJECTIVE: Whereas early detection and therapy of schizophrenic psychoses until some time ago concentrated on frank schizophrenia, during the last years some centres have also started to treat patients even before a clear diagnosis could be established. This paper attempts to discuss if and when this is justified in the light of recent research. METHOD: Mini review of literature. RESULTS: The rationale for early detection and treatment of schizophrenia is based on several observations: diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia are often seriously delayed. Consequences of the disease are severe already in the early undiagnosed phase of the disorder and early treatment seems to improve the course of the disease. It can therefore be stated quite safely that patients should be treated as early as possible. However, the question of how early has not been sufficiently answered up to now. CONCLUSION: We are at the moment in an ethical dilemma between either diagnosing and treating this disorder too late or too early. The only way and prerequisite for solving this dilemma is a more reliable identification of individuals at risk and the beginning disease process.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

PubMed2006

Radiological findings in individuals at high risk of psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of radiological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in individuals at high risk of schizophrenia. METHODS: MRI scans from individuals at high risk of schizophrenia (HR; n = 37) were assessed by a radiologist blind to group status and compared with scans from patients with first episode psychosis (FE; n = 30), depressive controls (DC; n = 17), and healthy controls (HC; n = 26). RESULTS: There was a significantly higher proportion of radiological findings in individuals at high risk of schizophrenia (35%) and patients with first-episode psychosis (40%) than in patients with depression (18%) or healthy controls (12%). These differences were specific to findings regarded as potentially clinically significant as opposed to normal variants; however, there was no indication for medical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a large proportion of those at high risk of psychosis have radiological findings on MRI scanning, and that the prevalence of radiological findings in this group is similar to that in patients with first episode psychosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

[Chronic subdural hemorrhage in a patient with suspected schizophrenia prodrome].

A patient showing "prodromal symptoms" of suspected psychosis was referred to our clinic specialized in early recognition of schizophrenia where an MRI brain scan showed a chronic subdural hemorrhage. Based on this case, it will be shown that organic brain disease, in addition to incipient schizophrenia, needs to be considered in patients with marked personality changes, social withdrawal, aggressiveness, and suspiciousness. Diagnosis of the first episode and prodromal stage of schizophrenia should include-apart from the case history as well as the psychopathological and physiological findings-certain obligatory medical examinations (EEG, cCT, or MRI) in order to identify possible organic causes and avoid misdiagnoses.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Neuropsychological and neurophysiological findings in individuals suspected to be at risk for schizophrenia: preliminary results from the Basel early detection of psychosis study - Früherkennung von Psychosen (FEPSY).

OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to establish a scientific basis for the very early detection of patients at risk for schizophrenia during the nonspecific prodromal phase of the disorder and to predict its outbreak. METHOD: A multidomain approach is used. After screening, approved psychopathological, neurophysiological, neuropsychological and neuroradiological investigations are used to assess a sample of individuals suspected to be at risk for schizophrenia. RESULTS: Neuropsychological and fine motor functioning tests as well as eye movement measurements showed statistically significant differences (P<0.01) between individuals suspected to be at risk for schizophrenia and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Individuals suspected to be at risk for schizophrenia show specific impairments in various investigations including neuropsychological and fine motor functioning tests as well as eye movement measurements. A set of methods sensitive to even subtle changes in normal functioning may prove useful in predicting the subsequent outbreak of schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

A general statistical analysis for fMRI data.

We propose a method for the statistical analysis of fMRI data that seeks a compromise between efficiency, generality, validity, simplicity, and execution speed. The main differences between this analysis and previous ones are: a simple bias reduction and regularization for voxel-wise autoregressive model parameters; the combination of effects and their estimated standard deviations across different runs/sessions/subjects via a hierarchical random effects analysis using the EM algorithm; overcoming the problem of a small number of runs/session/subjects using a regularized variance ratio to increase the degrees of freedom.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1993

The health of women in paid employment: effects of quality of work role, social support and cynicism on psychological and physical well-being.

The possible benefits of the workplace experience for women were examined in terms of four determinants; rewards and concerns intrinsic to the job, rewards and concerns extrinsic to the job, social support and cynicism as a measure of attitude. Benefits were identified in terms of three psychological well-being measures: self-esteem, depression and quality of life and in terms of one physical well-being measure: symptomatology. Data were obtained from one hundred and twenty Canadian women in managerial or professional occupations and in clerical-type occupations. Analyses consisted of correlations and hierarchical multiple regression. Intrinsic factors were generally related to psychological well-being while extrinsic factors were more closely associated with physical health. Findings with regard to the beneficial effects of social support in the workplace were not specific, however a cynical attitude can influence the value of the work role, with effects being particularly marked in the clerical group. Because of its relationship with health, it is recommended that cynicism is included in future women's studies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pathologic gambling in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Patients with Parkinson's disease frequently have depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We observed two patients who had episodes of pathologic gambling. At the same time, their Parkinson's disease deteriorated and they initiated self-medication with dopaminergic drugs. In both patients, signs were present of an addiction to dopaminergic medication. Pathologic gambling ceased in these patients after a few months. The significance of an insufficient dopaminergic reward system in patients with stereotypical addictive-like behavior (e.g., pathologic gambling) is discussed in this report. The most likely explanation for this newly recognized behavioral disorder in patients with Parkinson's disease is enhanced novelty seeking as a consequence of overstimulation of mesolimbic dopamine receptors resulting from addiction to dopaminergic drugs.

Antiparkinson Agents↗