Biomedical subjects

S Holroyd

Publications and source records attributed to S Holroyd.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Alzheimer's disease: a review for the ophthalmologist.

Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent dementia. Definitive diagnosis is made only at autopsy, although "probable" diagnoses are made using clinical criteria. Patients with Alzheimer's disease demonstrate severe deficits in memory with cortical features of language difficulty and visuomotor spatial deficits. They also may present with psychotic symptoms of delusions and hallucinations, and personality and behavioral changes. Advancing age, genetics, and environmental risk factors are important in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Visual abnormalities have been described in Alzheimer's disease and may be related to the development of visual hallucinations. Although palliative treatments exist for the cognitive loss and behavioral symptoms, future treatments will focus on both delay of onset and slowing of progression of the disease. Continued research is needed to further understand this devastating disorder, which may in turn lead to more successful treatments.

Alzheimer Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of depression and outcome on the geriatric rehabilitation unit.

Although numerous studies have examined the prevalence of depression after stroke and its relationship to functional outcome, minimal research attention has been focused on depression in the acute inpatient rehabilitation setting. Fifty-one consecutive admissions to a geriatric rehabilitation unit were screened for depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale at both admission and discharge. Depressed v nondepressed patients were compared on the following variables: age, length of stay (days), admission Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score, discharge FIM score, change in FIM score, Mini-Mental State Exam score, and discharge to nursing home v home. Depression was prevalent in 29.4% at admission. Depression at admission was not associated with any significant differences in the above variables, but patients classified as depressed at discharge had lower FIM scores at both admission and discharge. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of psychotic symptoms in delirium.

Psychosis in delirium has been an underresearched area. The authors retrospectively examined the prevalence of psychotic symptoms and possible associated factors in the records of 227 consecutive hospitalized patients. These patients had been diagnosed with delirium, according to the DSM-IV criteria and referred to a psychiatry consult service. The authors compared patients, with or without psychosis, on demographic variables, medical and psychiatric history; number of medications, etiology of delirium, and cognitive state. The prevalence of psychotic symptoms was 42.7% (n = 97) with 27% of patients (n = 61) having visual hallucinations, 12.4% (n = 28) having auditory hallucinations, 2.7% (n = 6) having tactile hallucinations, and 25.6% (n = 58) having delusions. The presence of visual hallucinations, but not delusions or auditory hallucinations, was significantly associated with more active medical diagnoses and multiple etiologies causing the delirium. Psychotic symptoms are not uncommon in delirium, but specific psychotic symptoms may have different factors contributing to their development. Visual hallucinations appear to be associated with a greater number of active medical disorders, but other factors associated with the development of psychotic symptoms in delirium are currently unknown.

Adult↗