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Biomedical subjects

J W Elias

Publications and source records attributed to J W Elias.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

A survey of the use of community treatment orders by psychiatrists in Saskatchewan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern of use and satisfaction with community treatment orders (CTOs) by psychiatrists in Saskatchewan. METHOD: All psychiatrists who were licensed to practise by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan were surveyed by mail in July 1998. RESULTS: The response rate was 72%. The responding psychiatrists were treating 14 patients on CTOs at the time of the survey. Psychiatrists were generally satisfied with the operation of CTOs, though many felt that commitment of only of 3 months before mandatory renewal was too short a period. Almost one-half expected their use of treatment orders to increase. CONCLUSION: While CTOs are used for only a small number of patients in Saskatchewan, they are a clinically useful tool for dealing with a group of otherwise difficult-to-treat patients.

Catchment Area, Health↗
PubMed1999

Executive function in Parkinson's disease and subcortical disorders.

Changes in cognitive function that accompany the progression of subcortical disorders such as Parkinson's disease are often overlooked in the early stages because of a "context of discovery" that accompanies the diagnostic progress. This article discusses the nature of that context, a subcortical cognitive profile, and the contribution of executive function failure to that profile. The utility of using brief assessments of executive function and other measures, such as a brief screen for apathy, are shown with Parkinson's disease patients. Several suggestions are provided for means by which clinicians can help patients, caregivers, and families adjust to patients' impairments in executive function.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1998

Predicting relapse to substance abuse as a function of personality dimensions.

The goal of the present study was to determine whether personality traits are related to return to heavy drinking or drug use following treatment for substance abuse. Personality characteristics of one hundred and eight patients residing on an inpatient substance abuse treatment program were assessed. Personality traits were examined using the 5-factor model of personality as measured by the NEO-Personality Inventory. These patients were then followed for 1 year after discharge from the treatment program. These substance abuse patients scored higher than the NEO-Personality Inventory normative sample on the personality domains of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. A survival analysis showed that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness from the NEO-Personality Inventory were significant predictors of relapse. Odds ratios showed that the risk of relapsing was greatest for those patients who were both low in conscientiousness and high in neuroticism. The relevance of these two broad personality dimensions to the development and maintenance of addiction is discussed. Treatment implications for patients who possess these personality risk factors are outlined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Levodopa improves spatial contrast sensitivity in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of levodopa on the visual contrast sensitivity of patients with Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: Contrast sensitivity of patients was measured before and after levodopa administration. Patient contrast sensitivity was compared with that of normal controls by repeated-measures analyses of variance. SETTING: Parkinson's disease research center associated with private neurology practice. PATIENTS: Fifteen patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (eight men, seven women; mean age, 71.8 years) and 22 normal controls (10 men, 12 women; mean age, 68.0 years) volunteered for the study. INTERVENTION: Levodopa/carbidopa (Sinemet). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in contrast sensitivity of parkinsonian patients. RESULTS: Following levodopa treatment, the contrast sensitivity of parkinsonian patients improved significantly at the three lowest spatial frequencies tested (0.4, 1, and 2 cycles per degree). CONCLUSIONS: Levodopa improves low-frequency contrast sensitivity in parkinsonian patients. Initially deficient contrast sensitivity in such patients may be restored to near normal levels by levodopa therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Contrast sensitivity dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

We compared the spatial contrast sensitivity of six patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and six age-matched control subjects in a parametric design. Results demonstrate reduced contrast sensitivity in patients with AD at all but the lowest frequency tested. The results suggest that the effect of AD on spatial contrast sensitivity is stronger at higher frequencies and provide a rationale for complaints of poor vision in AD patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Spatial contrast sensitivity is reduced in bilateral Parkinson's disease.

We studied the contrast sensitivity functions of 41 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) with a wide range of parkinsonian symptomatology (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 4) and 22 age-matched control subjects in a parametric design. Results demonstrated reduced contrast sensitivity in PD patients but only in those patients who had progressed beyond Hoehn and Yahr stage 1. Furthermore, there were deficits in contrast sensitivity related to the severity of PD.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

An analysis of task difficulty using the visually degraded stimulus task.

This article discusses the utility of the Visually Degraded Stimulus Task developed in 1986 by Vokey, Baker, Hayman, and Jacoby. The program provides 30 line drawings than can be presented in complete form prior to receiving incomplete forms of the same or similar drawings. In the incomplete form, a small percentage of a drawing can be added with each touch of the computer space bar. By this means the percentage of drawing required for identification can be obtained. In this article, difficulty levels of incomplete picture identification are provided for each drawing under conditions of no previous viewing (no prime), previous viewing in an alternate form (conceptual prime), and previous viewing of the same drawings (exact prime). Modifications to the microprocessor computer program are provided to increase its usefulness as a means of testing priming effects in visual memory. Program applications are provided for the study of memory and neuropsychology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Treatment of chronic Parkinson's disease with controlled-release carbidopa/levodopa.

Controlled-release carbidopa/levodopa 50/200 (SINEMET CR) and standard carbidopa/levodopa (SINEMET 25/100) were compared in a double-blind, six-month, crossover study involving 21 patients with chronic Parkinson's disease and motor response fluctuations. Daily dosage frequency was significantly reduced with SINEMET CR compared with SINEMET 25/100, while the daily amount of levodopa required with SINEMET CR was significantly greater. No significant differences in disability ratings, motor response fluctuations, or safety were detected during double-blind conditions. In the open-label, dose-finding phase of the study, SINEMET CR was superior to standard SINEMET 25/100 in patient ratings of percent "on" time (good motor function), clinical assessments of motor function, and activities of daily living. This finding resulted from a depreciation of the value of the "old drug" rather than an overestimation of the value of the experimental drug. This double-blind study also suggested that elderly male patients with Parkinson's disease derived the greatest benefit from SINEMET CR.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Weight, corticosterone and glucose: changes with time of day after food deprivation.

The effects of constant food deprivation, terminated at different times of day were examined with respect to percent body weight loss (%BWL), plasma corticosterone (PC) and plasma glucose (PG). A 19-hour food deprivation paradigm schedule staggered around varying times of the day-night cycle was used. Patterns of %BWL related to nocturnal lipogenesis and diurnal lipolysis showed the greatest loss (10%) occurring at 0700 hr, while in evening hours, there was an increasing pattern of weight loss, with the greatest amount (7%) occurring at 2200 hr. A pattern suggestive of neuroregulatory cycles of glucocorticoid release was evident for PC levels; maximum levels for PC (23.2 micrograms%) were reported at 0700 hr and at 1900 hr (16.6 micrograms%). Similar patterns were also noted in PG levels, with respective maximum levels of 138.0 mg% and 125.8 mg% occurring at 0700 hr and 1900 hr. These results indicate that the time of day that a deprivation schedule is initiated and terminated is an important consideration due to the impact of circadian photoperiodism. Time of day should be an essential consideration when utilizing deprivation paradigms.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Age, affect, and memory for pictorial story sequences.

Sixteen young (19.1 mean years), 16 middle-aged (39.4 mean years), and 16 older women (71.1 mean years) were presented with simple stories in an eight-frame pictorial format. The stories contained no verbal information and were designed to have emotional or neutral affective content. Immediate and delayed (72 hours later) recall were measured in terms of response to specific questions (structured recall) and total number of written propositions (free recall). Recall of affective content was greater for both structured and free recall conditions for all age groups. The superior recall of affective as compared to neutral material became more important with delay although the elderly did not differentially benefit from this relationship. The primary conclusion drawn was that affective content has similar effects on recall at all ages.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Factor invariance and the Life Satisfaction Index.

This investigation of the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI) supports findings by Hoyt and Creech (1983) that indicate Adams' (1969) proposed factor structure is not invariant across groups. Two reduced factor models, proposed by Hoyt and Creech and based on a subset of LSI items, were studied with our sample (two levels each of income and age, N = 791). Our work confirms that the Hoyt and Creech 8-item LSI reveals the more stable factor structure of those examined. In addition, we found that the 8-item index has adequate statistical power to be of benefit to those investigators looking at quantitative differences in life satisfaction, with reasonable assurance that older and/or higher-income individuals are interpreting the items in similar ways.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Synthetic progestins and sweetness preference in intact female Sprague-Dawley rats.

Intact Sprague-Dawley female rats were treated with 0.25 microgram or 1.25 micrograms ethinyl-estradiol (EE) in combination with one of 3 synthetic progestins: (5 micrograms) norethindrone, norethynodrel, or norgestrel. In Experiment 1 both dosages of EE in combination with the synthetic progestins suppressed sweetness preference, with a somewhat greater effect for the 1.25 micrograms EE dosage. Norgestrel in combination with EE produced the longest suppression of sweetness preference. In Experiment 2 progestins administered in the absence of EE showed no significant effect on sweetness preference. When 1.25 micrograms EE was administered singularly, a significant decline in sweetness preference occurred, but not as great a decline as in combination with a progestin.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1983

Left hemispheric advantage for a visuopatial-dichaptic matching task.

Twenty right handed, female subjects performed a visuospatial-dichaptic matching task which required them to view a single shape for a brief period of time while palpating two shapes, one in each hand. There was an identification and reaction time advantage for right hand responses, which allowed the inference of a left hemispheric advantage for this particular matching task. These results are discussed in reference to factors that may modify the typical right hemispheric superiority for the processing of spatial information, i.e., motor feedback, concurrent memory load, and the differential use of spatial cues.

Discrimination Learning↗
PubMed1983

Short term augmentation of amphetamine-induced rotation bias.

Using measures of stereotypy such as rearing, licking, and chewing, low dosage administration of amphetamine can be shown to produce increased stereotypy over a period of days. In the present study amphetamine-induced perservation was observed in two sessions when rotational behaviors were used as a behavioral measure. Rotational perseveration occurred in animals receiving both drug and testing experience in session one and session two. Animals receiving either drug or testing experience in session one did not show perseveration with drug and testing experience in session two.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Cerebral asymmetry in word-object matching by appearance and by function.

Subjects were asked to say whether a word presented monaurally to the right or left ear matched a presented object. Analysis of vocal response latencies indicated that words relating to the function of the object were responded to more quickly when presented to the left ear and, by inference, the right hemisphere. Words relating to a physical characteristic of the object (e.g. color) were responded to more quickly when presented to the right ear and, by inference, the left hemisphere.

Discrimination Learning↗
PubMed1981

Gender by assertiveness interaction in delayed auditory feedback.

The College Self-Expression and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scales were given to 144 undergraduates. High (N; 10 M; 10 F) and Low (N; 10 M 10 F) Assertiveness Ss were given a DAF test with a 'Phonic Mirror" and the Stroop test (naming the color of a word printed in a different color). DAF performance did not differ among the 4 subgroups (M and F, High and Low Assertiveness), except that Low Assertiveness women showed significantly greater DAF interference than the other subgroups. There was no significant correlation between the continuous interference of the DAF vs the discontinuous of the Stroop test. The difference may reside in the time available and the consequent reduction in anxiety, for the next stimulus in the Stroop test. These data show that, under certain circumstances, personality factors such as assertiveness can interact with gender to affect speech fluency and production. The ability to overcome feedback-related disfluencies in speech may be partially aided by improvement in self-concept or specific training in such behaviors as assertiveness, and this may be more important for females than males.

Acoustic Stimulation↗