Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S K Hoge.
Preliminary findings on the effects of the Massachusetts ruling in Rogers v. Commissioner, an important right to refuse treatment case, are compared with models in other jurisdictions. In sum, few cases are reviewed; in almost all reviewed, the court overrides the patients' refusal. The case raises troubling implications about due process and quality of care.
Results of liver function tests in 42 children and adolescents treated with desipramine for up to 24 months were unchanged. Although tricyclic-related hepatotoxicity cannot be ruled out with a small sample, it does not appear to be a dose- or time-related phenomenon in this age group.
In a family study of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), we collected data on first-degree relatives of 22 children with ADD and 20 normal children. The morbidity risk for ADD was 31.5% in the first group. This was significantly higher than the rate of 5.7% in the control group. Relatives of ADD probands were also shown to be at higher risk for Oppositional Disorders and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The findings indicate that ADD is a familial disorder associated with increased familial risk of other psychiatric disorders.
Therapy for Tourette's syndrome with tricyclic antidepressants has had varied results. Previous reports have not addressed the frequent association of symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADD) with Tourette's syndrome or the plasma levels of tricyclic antidepressants. A boy with Tourette's syndrome and ADD-like symptoms was treated with desipramine, and all the symptoms improved. This drug may be effective therapy for patients with Tourette's syndrome and ADD-like symptoms.