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Biomedical subjects

R A Griffiths

Publications and source records attributed to R A Griffiths.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

The treatment of bulimia nervosa.

We review treatment approaches to bulimia nervosa, with particular emphasis on methodology and research design. The following treatments are considered: behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, pharmacological treatment, group therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, self-help and support groups, hypnosis and miscellaneous (family therapy and nutritional approaches). Several directions for future research and methodological recommendations are suggested.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMed1987

An evaluation and follow-up investigation of a behavioural group treatment programme for obesity.

This paper describes an evaluation and 2-year follow-up of a comprehensive behavioural group obesity programme. The sample was made up of three groups totalling 31 patients who were referred to the Weight Reduction Advice Service at Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick. Patients were thoroughly screened prior to treatment and completed psychological questionnaires before and after treatment. The programme consisted of weekly, 1.5- to 2-hour sessions of formal treatment. An additional 2 sessions were held fortnightly. Treatment was conducted by a clinical psychologist, two dietitians and a physiotherapist. Outcome results for the end of treatment and at 2 years follow-up are presented. The implications of the results for the treatment of obesity are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The structure of depressive symptoms in the elderly.

In a structured sample of 100 male and 100 female minimally impaired patients, aged 60 years and over, females were more depressed. Varimax factor analysis demonstrated four factor groupings which have clinical relevance - Depression, Anxiety, Cognitive impairment, and Psychosomatic disorder; their relative importance is different in males and females. Analysis of variance of the scores of clusters generated by cluster analysis demonstrated four groups of subjects - normal, mildly depressed, moderately depressed with borderline dementia and disability, and severely depressed with moderate dementia and frank disability. In the mildly and moderately depressed, symptoms of anxiety predominated.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Depression, dementia and disability in the elderly.

A structured sample of mobile elderly patients in a rural community practice was assessed on validated rating scales for depression, dementia and disability. A total of 62% of the sample was abnormal on at least one variable. The overall prevalence of depression was 13%; the overall prevalence of dementia was either 10 or 18% depending on the criterion of Mental Test Score (MTS). Depression and dementia were related, depression being more common in females. In depressed and demented patients, MTS was age-related in those over 60 years; in depression alone, MTS was not age-related. Dementia was age-related, particularly over the age of 75. Disability increased with age and was more common in females. Disability was associated with both depression and dementia.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1986

Natural environmental cues and circadian rhythms of behaviour--a perspective.

Natural environmental cycles are often extremely difficult to reproduce under laboratory conditions. Laboratory light-dark cycles differ from natural light-dark cycles in terms of intensity and spectral distribution, whilst simulated temperature cycles may differ from natural temperature cycles in waveform. The expression of a free-running rhythm depends upon the 'level' of constant conditions provided. Environmental cues affect the period, phasing, amplitude and activity-rest ratios of circadian rhythms and, if inappropriate, may result in aberrant behaviour patterns which are unlike those observed in nature.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the elderly.

Two hundred subjects aged 60-89 were selected for a study aimed at defining a reference range for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the elderly. The study extended a previous survey in subjects aged 20-65. The results confirmed that the sedimentation rate increases with age and that women have higher values than men but suggested that over half of elderly patients with disease would have rates within the previously defined "normal" range. It is therefore suggested that an erythrocyte sedimentation rate exceeding 19 mm in the first hour in elderly men and 22 mm in the first hour in elderly women warrants investigation.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Pressure induced rhabdomyolysis complicating an undiscovered fall.

An 82-year-old man developed severe pressure-induced rhabdomyolysis after falling and remaining undiscovered on the floor. This unusually severe case is reported to illustrate the features of a condition which in milder degree may be common in old people and give rise to diagnostic confusion.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1982

Congophilic angiopathy of the brain: a clinical and pathological report on two siblings.

Clinical and histological accounts are given of a sister and brother, dying aged 61 and 56 years respectively after illnesses lasting 5-6 years marked by a progressive mental and physical disability. The family history suggested transmission by a dominant gene. The histological findings were of a very severe congophilic angiopathy confined to the brain, spinal cord and leptomeninges and giving rise to multiple haemorrhages and softenings. There were, in addition, abundant amyloid-containing "plaques" of various forms, found principally in the hippocampus and cerebellar cortex. The cases are compared with similar cases in the literature, and reasons given for regarding this condition as a separate entity rather than a variant of Alzheimer's disease.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1977

Progressive supranuclear palsy.

In the past four years, four patients with progressive supranuclear palsy have presented to the Department of Geriatric Medicine, Oxford, under the care of one of us (RAG). They were all females whose symptoms began in the sixth or seventh decade. They died from three to six years after the onset of symptoms. All had neuropathological studies which are described. The presenting characteristics included frequent falls, difficulty in walking, nuchal rigidity, abnormalities of gaze, pseudobulbar features and mild dementia. These are features particularly common in the elderly and it is suggested that the condition may be under-diagnosed.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

The floating-bed.

The classical concept of hospital care has gross limitations. Specialist consultation is episodic; hospitalisation has rigid admission and discharge policies. Floating-bed admission for 2 nights every 2 weeks provides an additional service which reduces the number of beds necessary for the elderly and should be able to contain the rapid increase in demand occasioned by the rising number of elderly patients, particularly those over the age of 75 years.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

The clinical significance of systolic murmurs in the elderly.

A group of 278 patients, over the age of 60 years, and representative of geriatric and general medical admissions to the District General Hospital in Banbury, Oxforshire, was studied to correlate the prevalence of systolic murmurs to age, sex, cardiac failure, ischaemic heart disease, dysrrhythmias, hypertension, peripherial vascular disease and anaemia. The object was to establish the clinical significance of these murmurs and test a postulate that they could not be dismissed as benign. Seventy-five per cent of the murmurs were judged to be aortic and 12 per cent mitral in origin. The prevalence of systolic murmurs increased with age from 32 per cent at 60-64 years to 57 per cent over 85 years, and was greater in females (44 per cent) than in males (34 per cent). The presence of systolic murmurs was related to the presence of cardiac failure, ischaemic heart disease, dysrrhythmias, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease and anemia. Only 8 per cent of patients with systolic murmurs had none of the above-mentioned six cardiovascular abnormalities compared with 36 per cent of patients without such a murmur, while multiple cardiovascular abnormalities were also commoner in the former group. The mortality rate in hospital was similar for patients with or without a systolic murmur.

Age Factors↗