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Biomedical subjects

R A Bornstein

Publications and source records attributed to R A Bornstein.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Phenylethylamine metabolism in Tourette's syndrome.

Beta-phenylethylamine, phenylalanine, and phenylacetic acid were examined in 24-hour urine samples and/or plasma samples obtained from 28 medication-free patients with Tourette's syndrome and 20 control subjects matched for age and education. Statistical analyses revealed that Tourette patients had lower plasma phenylalanine and urinary free beta-phenylethylamine compared with the controls, but did not differ on urinary total levels of phenylacetic acid. Fifty percent of the Tourette patients had a urinary beta-phenylethylamine level that was lower than the lowest control subject. In addition, urinary beta-phenylethylamine levels were inversely related to several scores from the Tourette Syndrome Global Scale. These data suggest that abnormalities in synthesis or metabolism of beta-phenylethylamine may be involved in the etiology of some patients with Tourette's syndrome.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Does hair zinc predict amphetamine improvement of ADD/hyperactivity?

In 18 boys with ADHD (ages 6-12) in a balanced crossover design, parent and teacher hyperactivity rating differences between one month of dextroamphetamine and one month of placebo correlated significantly (p less than .05, 2 tailed) on Pearson's r with baseline hair zinc levels and nonsignificantly with 24-hour urinary zinc excretion. The signs of the correlations were such that a higher baseline zinc predicted a better placebo-controlled response to amphetamine. Patient baseline urinary zinc was significantly (p less than .02) lower than 7 normal controls. These findings are compatible with the possibility that some ADHD children may be mildly deficient in zinc and constitute poorer stimulant responders. Correlations of zinc levels with 24-hour urinary MHPG were in the expected direction but nonsignificantly by 2-tailed test.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1989

Content bias of the MacAndrew's Alcoholism Scale in seizure disorder patients.

The possibility of content bias in the MacAndrew's Alcoholism Scale (MAC) from the MMPI was examined in groups of seizure disorder (n = 35), general medical (n = 25), and psychiatric patients (n = 20). Scores above criteria on the MAC were associated with reported alcohol problems only for the psychiatric patients. Almost 50% of the seizure patients with no such history had scores above criteria on the MAC. This classification inaccuracy is even greater than that reported recently in contemporary normal samples. The results suggest that caution should be used when one is administering the MAC to seizure disorder patients and that further investigation of possible content bias in other MMPI scales or subscales should be pursued.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Differences between IQ and school achievement in anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is a multidimensional syndrome in which perfectionistic striving appears as a common component of the symptom cluster. Multiple studies have linked this character trait to attempts to achieve a "perfect" weight. In contrast, no empirical data are available that document perfectionistic striving outside of food and weight themes. The present study (N = 20) looked for evidence of perfectionistic striving in school behavior by comparing school achievement and IQ scores. School achievement was found to be significantly greater than would be predicted by IQ scores. This finding and directions for future research are discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1989

Neuropsychological deficit and emotional disturbance in head-injured patients.

The relationship between neuropsychological deficit and emotional disturbance was examined in a sample of 124 patients who sustained work-related head injuries. Most injuries met criteria for minor head injury. Since all patients were receiving compensation, the relationship between emotional disturbance and neuro-behavioral deficit does not appear to be related to compensation or litigation factors. There was a positive relationship between degree of neurobehavioral and emotional abnormality. This was not due to the interval between injury and examination, and did not appear to be related to duration of unconsciousness or amnesia, or to the presence of skull fracture or posttraumatic seizures. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and to their implications regarding posttraumatic emotional adjustment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Factor structure of the Wechsler memory scale-revised in relation to age and educational level.

The factor structure of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was examined for 3 age groups ( or= 56) and three educational levels (< 12, 12. > 12) in a large group of patients (n = 434) referred for examination at two large medical centers. The subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale Revised were subjected to principal components factor analyses. A separate set of analyses were performed that included the Verbal IQ and Performance IQ scores from the WAIS-R. Consistent with previous reports of age related changes in spatial function there appeared to be somewhat greater loading of nonverbal memory tests on verbal factors with increasing age. Inclusion of IQ scores appeared to have an affect on the content and relative prominence of the various factors in those subgroups formed on the basis of educational level. The results are discussed in regard to clinical use of the WMS-R and directions for future research.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Effects of seizure type and waveform abnormality on memory and attention.

Deficits in memory, learning, and attention were examined in a sample of 57 patients admitted for investigation of intractable seizure disorder. The patients were grouped according to seizure type and nature of electroencephalographic abnormality. Patients with complex partial seizures were impaired in comparison with controls. Patients with spike-and-wave abnormalities were more impaired on some tests, while those with slow-wave abnormalities were impaired on other tests. These results suggest that, contrary to previous studies, patients with complex partial seizures have greater deficits than other seizure types in some areas of cognitive function.

Attention↗
PubMed1988

Emotional adjustment in compensated head injury patients.

Patterns of emotional adjustment based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were examined in a group of 124 patients who had suffered head injuries, reported postconcussional symptoms, and were receiving compensation. Cluster analytical procedures were used to identify subgroups. The sample was divided into two equivalent groups for purposes of crossvalidation. The results of the analyses in the two samples yielded similar patterns. Within each subgroup, the groups differed on the level and pattern of emotional disturbance. Approximately 65% of the sample had normal profiles or only mild elevations on the "neurotic" scales. The largest subgroup had mild elevations. After the exclusion of invalid profiles, a small proportion had severe disturbances. The injury-related neurological characteristics of these groups are similar. These findings are discussed in terms of the previous literature on the effects of compensation on posttraumatic personality adjustment.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1988

Neuropsychological correlates of urinary amine metabolites in Tourette's syndrome.

The relationships between neuropsychological performance and urinary amine metabolite levels (HVA, 5-HIAA, MHPG) were examined in a sample of 27 medication-free patients with Tourette's Syndrome. Correlations with specific metabolites indicated neuropsychological deficit associated with higher levels of HVA and lower levels of 5-HIAA. Variables computed to express the interaction of the various neurotransmitter systems provided strong and consistent support for such interactions in the underlying mechanism of the neurobehavioral deficits observed in these patients. The implications of these findings and directions for future research were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Short-term retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Battery in a normal sample.

Very few studies have examined short-term retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Battery in patient samples or normal subjects. The present study examined 3-week retest reliability in a sample of normal healthy subjects. Both psychometric and clinical reliability issues were addressed. On most of the tests the changes between testing were nonsignificant. The measures with the greatest changes were those that appear to incorporate a problem-solving or adaptability component. It was concluded that some of the Halstead-Reitan measures may not be useful in studying short-term changes in performance. On the other hand, most of the measures did not demonstrate significant changes over the 3-week interval and may be useful in examining such short-term changes in performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Neuropsychological function in patients after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Neuropsychological testing of 48 patients who had undergone operation for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to aneurysm was performed. Before this, the patients had their level of neurological recovery classified by neurosurgeons (37 good outcome vs. 9 poor outcome). These clinical categories correlated well with the results of neuropsychological testing. The degree of psychological impairment was related to age. The mean duration between SAH and clipping of the ruptured aneurysm was 4.6 days (range, 1-16 days), and 59% had operations on or before Day 3 post-SAH. Of the 37 patients with good neurological outcome, 26 patients had good neuropsychological outcome (no more than mild deficit). Poor neuropsychological outcome was associated with age and anterior communicating artery aneurysms. The incidence of significant neuropsychological deficit was considerably less than in previous reports, and possible explanations are discussed.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗
PubMed1987

Effects of temporal lobectomy for treatment of epilepsy on hemispheric functions ipsilateral to surgery: preliminary findings.

Several studies have reported a pattern of ipsilateral deficit and contralateral improvement following temporal lobectomy. Presumably the contralateral improvement is due to cessation of commissural spread, and the ipsilateral deficit to surgical damage to that side. If, as hypothesized, the underlying mechanism is cessation of commissural spread of seizure activity, some ipsilateral improvements might also occur. This question was addressed in a small sample of left (N = 4) and right (N = 5) temporal lobectomy patients. It was found that the left-operated patients demonstrated improvements on tests reported to measure left frontal lobe function. In addition, both left- and right-operated patients improved on a dexterity test with the hand ipsilateral to the side of surgery. The ipsilateral improvement would be due to removal of an active electrically discharging focus impairing ipsilateral function and contralateral function by commissural spread. These data were interpreted to suggest that cessation of commissural spread of seizure activity can result in improvement in regions of the hemisphere ipsilateral to surgery, and that the contralateral hemispheric improvements may include psychomotor functions in addition to memory and IQ changes. Seizure control achieved by surgery may have influenced the pattern of results.

Epilepsy↗
PubMed1986

Normative data on intermanual differences on three tests of motor performance.

A study was conducted to examine the actual frequency and distribution of intermanual differences on several motor tasks. In addition, the relationships of age, sex, and education were examined in a sample of 365 nonclinical subjects. There was no consistent relationship between age, educational level, and the difference scores and there were small but significant effects for sex. The distribution of scores essentially confirmed generally used guidelines for evaluation of intermanual differences, but most importantly revealed that a significant proportion of cases exhibited "atypical" patterns of performance. These findings are discussed in regard to previous studies and the implications for interpretation of intermanual differences in motor performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Classification rates obtained with "standard" cut-off scores on selected neuropsychological measures.

Examined in a normal sample (N = 365) the number of subjects was classified as impaired on several commonly used neuropsychological tests (Seashore Rhythm Test, Trail Making Test, Finger Tapping Test, and Grooved Pegboard Test) in reference to conventional cut-off scores. The sample was stratified on the basis of age, sex, and education. For the sample as a whole, the percentage of subjects classified as impaired ranged from 15.6 to 80. In some subgroups on some tests, the percentage so classified was 100. The data were discussed in relation to the need to adjust conventional cut-off scores for the influence of subject variables. In addition, cross-cultural differences on some tests suggested the need for local or national normative studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

An electron-capture gas chromatographic method for analysis of urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol (MHPG).

A sensitive and convenient electron-capture gas chromatographic procedure for analysis of MHPG in small volumes of urine is described. The method involves acetylation under aqueous conditions, extraction with an organic solvent and reaction with trifluoroacetic anhydride under anhydrous conditions. The resultant derivative is separated and quantitated on a gas chromatograph equipped with a fused silica capillary column and an electron-capture detector.

Acetic Anhydrides↗
PubMed1985

Effects of localized lesions on the Verbal Concept Attainment Test.

This study examined the performance of groups of patients (n = 97) with independently localized cerebral lesions on the Verbal Concept Attainment Test (VCAT). It was found that the left frontal group was impaired relative to all the other-lesion groups. In addition frequency distributions were examined in the lesion groups and a large normative sample (n = 360). Although the means of the other-lesion groups were below that of controls, the left frontal group had the lowest mean score, and was characterized by an absence of relatively good scores. Possible cut-off scores were examined for potential clinical utility. The data were discussed in relation to previous studies of frontal-lobe behavioral deficits and in relation to the potential clinical utility of the VCAT in detection of frontal-lobe dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Effects of chronic benzodiazepine administration on neuropsychological performance.

Healthy university undergraduates were enrolled in a double-blind study to assess the neurobehavioral effects of seven consecutive nightly ingestions of therapeutic doses of flurazepam (30 mg) or triazolam (0.5 mg). Subjects received one of the two drugs or a placebo. There were no consistent differences between the groups on a baseline neuropsychological examination, which consisted of measures specifically selected because of previous reports of their sensitivity to hypnotic drugs. Analysis of covariance of the posttreatment neuropsychological data (controlling for initial level of performance) revealed no detrimental effects on performance although both drug groups reported more side effects. Possible explanations for and implications of these data are discussed.

Adult↗