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Biomedical subjects

L Berg

Publications and source records attributed to L Berg.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Psychometric differentiation of mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

A brief (ten-minute), easily administered battery of four psychological tests was developed to classify successfully 98% of patients with mild dementia of the Alzheimer's type and healthy older persons matched for age, sex, and social position. Only two of 84 persons (one demented, one healthy) were misclassified. The four tests are the logical memory and mental control subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale, Form A of the Trailmaking Test, and word fluency for letters S and P.

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PubMed1984

Predictive features in mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Forty-three subjects with mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, diagnosed and staged by clinical research criteria, were studied with clinical, psychometric, EEG, visual evoked potential, and CT measures. During the 12 months following entry into the study, 21 subjects progressed to moderate or severe dementia, 21 remained mild, and one was lost to follow-up. Many of the clinical and psychometric measures of impairment were predictive of the progression to moderate or severe dementia. Electrophysiologic and CT measures were not. In a discriminant function analysis, the scores on two measures (the digit symbol subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and an Aphasia Battery) correctly predicted the stage of dementia 1 year later in 95% of the subjects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1983

Frequency analysis of the resting awake EEG in mild senile dementia of Alzheimer type.

Spontaneous resting electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded from 40 subjects with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 40 individually matched elderly controls at entry into a longitudinal study of SDAT. All of the demented subjects had only a mild degree of dementia, and all were still living in the community. Several measures of EEG activity were calculated, based upon the power spectra of the EEG samples from left and right occipital-to-vertex derivations. Paired t tests showed significant differences between demented and control group means for measures of theta and beta activity, but not for measures of alpha and delta activity. A significant decrease in the 'average mean frequency' in demented subjects was attributed to the combination of decreased beta and increased theta activity. The earliest changes in the resting EEG in SDAT are increased theta and decreased beta power. These changes are not identical to those reported in normal aging, in which a decrease in alpha activity accompanies the changes in theta and beta.

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PubMed1983

Bovine papilloma virus contains an activator of gene expression at the distal end of the early transcription unit.

Bovine papilloma virus (BPV) contains a cis-acting DNA element which can enhance transcription of distal promoters. Utilizing both direct and indirect transient transfection assays, we showed that a 59-base-pair DNA sequence from the BPV genome could activate the simian virus 40 promoter from distances exceeding 2.5 kilobases and in an orientation-independent manner. In contrast to the promoter 5'-proximal localization of other known viral activators, this element was located immediately 3' to the early polyadenylation signal in the BPV genome. Deletion of these sequences from the BPV genome inactivated the transforming ability of BPV recombinant plasmids. Orientation-independent reinsertion of this 59-base-pair sequence, or alternatively of activator DNA sequences from simian virus 40 or polyoma virus, restored the transforming activity of the BPV recombinant plasmids. Furthermore, the stable transformation frequency of the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene was enhanced when linked to restriction fragments of BPV DNA which included the defined activator element. This enhancement was orientation independent with respect to the thymidine kinase promoter. The enhancement also appeared to be unrelated to the establishment of the recombinant plasmids as episomes, since in transformed cells these sequences are found linked to high-molecular-weight DNA. We propose that the enhancement of stable transformation frequencies and the activation of transcription units are in this case alternate manifestations of the same biochemical events.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Birth order and maternal age effect in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Birth order and maternal age were unrelated to dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) in a study of 42 probands with clinically diagnosed DAT and 42 age-matched control subjects. Mean birth order in both groups did not differ significantly from the general population. The mean maternal age for the DAT probands was neither significantly different from that for the controls nor from that for the 1920 U.S. Caucasian population. Since the diagnostic criteria for the DAT group were only clinical, an additional 14 probands with DAT confirmed by autopsy were studied. Mean maternal age did not differ significantly in this group from the controls, the general population, or the clinically diagnosed DAT group. It was concluded that maternal age and birth order bear no special relationship to DAT in this sample.

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PubMed1982

Mild senile dementia of Alzheimer type: research diagnostic criteria, recruitment, and description of a study population.

Clinical investigations of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type require establishment of explicit clinical diagnostic criteria before histological confirmation is possible. Criteria for selection of mildly impaired subjects with senile dementia of Alzheimer type, free of other major disease, are proposed. Problems of recruitment of this select population for a longitudinal study are discussed. A study population with matched healthy control subjects has been enrolled and described. Short term follow-up has provided preliminary support for the diagnostic criteria.

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PubMed1982

Volumetric measurements of the cerebrospinal fluid spaces in demented subjects and controls.

Forty-seven subjects 65 to 80 years of age, of whom 20 were demented and 27 were normal, were studied by computed tomography. Volumetric indices of ventricular (V%) and sulcal size (S%) were determined by pixel counts without knowledge of clinical status. V% was 5.30 (+/- 1.92) for the controls and 10.46 (+/- 4.78) for the demented subjects. S% was 6.14 (+/- 2.51) for the controls and 10.61 (+/- 3.32) for the demented subjects. In each case, differences between the two groups were significant (P less than 0.0001). When a subsample of 29 scans were analyzed using linear and volumetric measurements, the linear measurements showed less pronounced differences between the demented subjects and the controls. These findings explain the conflicting results of different investigators concerning variations in ventricular and sulcal size in dementia and normal aging.

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PubMed1982

A new clinical scale for the staging of dementia.

Accurate clinical staging of dementia in older subjects has not previously been achieved despite the use of such methods as psychometric testing, behavioural rating, and various combinations of simpler psychometric and behavioural evaluations. The Clinical Dementia Rating (CRD), a global rating device, was developed for a prospective study of mild senile dementia--Alzheimer type (SDAT). Reliability, validity, and correlational data are discussed. The CRD was found to distinguish unambiguously among older subjects with a wide range of cognitive function, from healthy to severely impaired.

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PubMed1979

Atrial myxoma with intellectual decline and cerebral growths on CT scan.

A woman with left atrial myxoma had progressive disturbance of intellectual function, headache, and prominent constitutional symptoms. The absence of stroke is noteworthy. Multiple high-density lesions with contrast enhancement were seen by CT scan, suggesting metastatic neoplasms, hematomas, or hemorrhagic infarcts. Serial study showed progressive enlargement of the lesions. The only cerebral lesion examined histologically proved to be an organizing hematoma, originating most likely from adjacent small arteries found to be plugged by embolic myxoma.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1979

Untreated periodontal disease: a longitudinal study.

Thirty diagnosed but untreated patients with moderate to advanced periodontal disease were examined a minimum of two times. The examination time intervals ranged between 18 and 115 months. 2. A total of 83 teeth were lost between examinations. 3. Excluding a patient who lost 25 teeth, a total of 58 teeth were lost. The adjusted tooth loss was 0.61 tooth per patient per year (or 0.36 with the elimination of 22 "hopeless" teeth). 4. The mandibular and maxillary molars had the greatest percentage of tooth loss between examinations. 5. All 29 patients completing the study had progessive increases in pocket depth during their time in the study. Increases in the mean annual pocket depths per tooth per patient varied from 0.24 millimeter per year to 2.46 millimeters per year. 6. The disto-lingual and mesio-lingual interproximal surfaces had the greatest increases in surface pocket depths. The lingual and buccal surfaces had the smallest increases in pocket depth. 7. The rate of increase in pocket depths was less in patients over 44 years of age. 8. The teeth which were lost had greater initial pocket depths and mobility scores than those which were present at both examinations. 9. There was no correlation between increases in pocket depth and changes in mobility. 10. All 29 patients showed radiographic evidence of progressive bone resorption between examinations. The posterior segments of the mouth had the largest amounts of bone loss between the first and last examinations.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Adult idiopathic communicating hydrocephalus with and without shunting.

The outcome in 37 adult patients with idiopathic communicating hydrocephalus treated by ventriculoatrial shunting is presented. Only 33% showed definite improvement, and no diagnostic procedures accurately predicted the outcome of surgery. These were compared with a "control" group of 12 patients who were not shunted; 50% of these were stable for up to 36 months. These findings, and the high frequency of serious complications (35%), suggest caution in recommending a shunt procedure.

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