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Biomedical subjects

J T Hutton

Publications and source records attributed to J T Hutton.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Sources, symptoms, and signs of arsenic poisoning.

Arsenic poisoning continues to be a serious medical problem that may easily be overlooked or misdiagnosed. The broad constellation of symptoms and signs in arsenic poisoning, along with changing sources of this toxin, contributes to misdiagnosis. A re-examination of current potential sources was carried out. Sources were determined in 17 of 20 documented cases of arsenic poisoning. Fourteen cases resulted from ingestion of a single, commonly available, arsenic-containing ant killer. In contrast to earlier reports, this survey found that agricultural and industrial sources were relatively uncommon. A peculiar posturing of the hand is commonly seen in the early stages of arsenic poisoning prior to the development of Mee's lines or palmar hyperkeratosis. An illustrative case is reported that resulted from intermittent self-administration of an arsenic-containing ant killer in order to maintain a state of chronic invalidism.

Arsenic Poisoning↗
PubMed1982

Functional significance of restricted upgaze.

Restriction of conjugate vertical eye movements among the elderly has been described as a normal neurologic finding. A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of restriction of upgaze among elderly nursing home residents and to assess the functional significance of restricted upgaze alone and in combination with other factors. This study reports that limitation of upgaze is of functional significance when simultaneous restriction of neck mobility exists. Implications for nursing home design and for improved communication with elderly patients are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Computerized tomography in the diagnosis of central and extrapontine myelinolysis.

In two patients the diagnosis of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM), suspected on clinical grounds, was supported by computerized tomographic (CT) sections made perpendicular to the pons, and confirmed on postmortem examination. Extrapontine myelinolysis was suggested on CT scans in both cases, and confirmed in one. Computerized tomography may prove to be a sensitive and accurate diagnostic test for CPM, and may aid in the detection of associated extrapontine lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Oculomotor programming disturbances in the dementia syndrome.

Three types of oculomotor programming disturbances are described in patients with the dementia syndrome. This report describes two of these abnormalities, poorly regulated gaze patterns and a programming type of gaze perseveration. All patients showed poorly regulated gaze patterns in contrast to the normal controls, whereas on the whole only the moderately affected patients showed the programming type of gaze perseveration. The third type of oculomotor programming disturbance is efferent perseveration of gaze (a hypokinetic, "staring" type of gaze pattern) and can be seen with severe dementia. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

On the problems of speech compensation and fluctuating intellectual performance.

Some of the factors involved in compensation of speech deficits following local brain lesions are enumerated. An illustrative case is presented of a right-handed patient who failed to become aphasic despite massive resections for glioma from the left hemisphere. The surprising degree of speech intactness is discussed according to theories of interhemispheric transfer of speech function and the possibility that the right hemisphere had originally been the dominant hemisphere for speech, a so-called "ectopic speech center." It has been known for many years that an aphasic patient with a left hemisphere lesion has a better prognosis if a family history of left handedness is present. A sister of the patient reported here, although right-handed, is shown by dichotic listening studies to be right hemisphere dominant for speech. Thus, it is suggested that this finding on dichotic listening tests in a close relative may prove to be a favorable prognostic sign for compensation of the speech function. The patient also showed fluctuating intellectual performance and a curious "warming up" phase for the individual neuropsychological tasks. Data is presented from simultaneous neuropsychological testing and an integrated EEG frequency analysis which demonstrates an electrophysiological and behavioral correlation. The question arises as to whether the fluctuations frequently seen in brain-damaged patients might have a similar electrophysiological association.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Asymmetry of the lateral (sylvian) fissures in man.

We compared the courses of right and left lateral (sylvian) fissures by superimposing left lateral and reversed right lateral photographic slide projections and tracing the sulci and fissures of each hemisphere in different colors. A characteristic pattern of divergence of posterior regions of the lateral fissures was noted in 25 of 36 adult brains. After pursuing similar courses, the right lateral fissure angulates sharply upward into the inferior parietal area while the left one continues posteriorly. As a consequence, on the right, there is a smaller parietal operculum, a shorter planum temporale, a higher sylvian point, and compensatory expansion of the inferior parietal region posterior to the lateral fissure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Reye's syndrome.

Although frequently unrecognized, Reye's syndrome is a significant cause of serious illness and death in children. Erroneous diagnoses include gastroenteritis, meningoencephalitis, metabolic encephalopathy, drug overdose and primary psychiatric disease. No specific cure is known but early diagnosis and vigorous empirical treatment may increase chances of survival. Although the EEG may be a useful tool in prognosis, it cannot be relied upon in deciding when to initiate or abandon aggressive therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Brain reactive antibodies and the blood-brain barrier: observations in aging rodents and the effects of peripheral kainic acid.

This study was initiated to confirm the existence of brain-reactive autoantibodies and to determine if such antibodies have higher affinity for brain regions especially affected in Alzheimer's disease. Serum collected from 90, 300, and 600 day old mice was incubated against brain tissues from these same mice, followed by incubation with fluorescently tagged rabbit antimouse IgG. No antibodies were present in the youngest serum, but considerable antibodies were present at 300 and, especially, at 600 days. Such antibodies were present in the blood vessels, but not in the brains of older animals. These antibodies, applied exogenously, labeled cells equally in all three ages of brains including most cortical and many other neurons, indicating that they are not neurotransmitter specific. In a further study, kainic acid or saline was administered peripherally to 15-month old rats. Kainic acid damaged the blood brain barrier and allowed the CNS entry of brain-reactive antibodies, especially into the subregions of hippocampus most damaged in Alzheimer's.

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in the performance of parkinsonian patients and normal aged on the Benton Visual Retention Test.

Performance on the Benton Visual Retention Test was compared between those with Parkinson's disease (PD) and age-equivalent controls. The major difference between groups was that those with PD showed an increase in figural reproduction errors between test periods spaced six months apart, while controls showed little increase in errors over this time and made fewer errors at each time of testing. Age and IQ accounted for major proportions of variance in performance for both groups (about 50%), far more than that attributable to group membership. Within the PD group, however, age and disease onset were confounded (r = .92), indicating that age as a variable is quite when disease onset is considered. The results support the notion that PD is associated with change in visual-spatial memory, beyond that predicted by age per se.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of intellectual functioning of patients with Parkinson's disease using the Satz-Mogel (1962) short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the Satz-Mogel (S-M) short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (WAIS-R) with the full-scale WAIS-R to establish its utility in the assessment of intellectual functioning in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients and elderly control subjects were administered a neuropsychological test battery that included the complete WAIS-R or the S-M. Results indicated that the S-M was a reliable measure of IQ. The PD subjects' Verbal, Performance, and Full-Scale IQ scores were inferior to that of controls, regardless of test form. Adjustments for depression and age did not alter these results. PD patients with more severe disease scored lower on some visual-spatial measures. Verbal decrements among PD patients may relate to problems in verbal fluency, categorical thinking, and impaired retrieval of verbal material. PD patients may experience patterns of subtle cognitive changes that include deterioration of some specific abilities as the disease progresses.

Aged↗