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W J McEntee

Publications and source records attributed to W J McEntee.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Neurochemical pathology in Korsakoff's psychosis: implications for other cognitive disorders.

There seems to be an anatomic correspondence between pathways of monoamine-containing neurons and the brainstem and diencephalic lesions associated with Korsakoff's psychosis. In 25 patients with Korsakoff's disease, we found that CSF levels of metabolites of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin were significantly lower than in controls. Norepinephrine metabolite levels were reduced more consistently and extensively than those of dopamine and serotonin. The 25 patients had circumscribed cognitive deficits, but were not demented. We argue that norepinephrine-containing neurons are selectively damaged in Korsakoff's psychosis and that lesions of brain monoamine-containing neurons cause specific cognitive impairments, not global dementia.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1983

Korsakoff's psychosis: noradrenergic systems and cognitive impairment.

Recent studies of patients with Korsakoff's amnesia suggest that central noradrenergic (NE) activity is diminished by the brainstem and diencephalic lesions associated with this disease. Similarly, there is a body of evidence that experimental manipulations of central NE activity affect the ability of animals to learn and remember some conditioned behaviors. The relationship between brain NE activity and human amnesia is underscored by evidence of comparable behavioral deficits in animals with NE depleting lesions and in humans with Korsakoff's psychosis. We argue that diminished NE activity impairs cognitive activation and that this limits processes related to attention and to the information processing capacity of patients with Korsakoff's psychosis.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1983

Semantic encoding deficits in a case of traumatic amnesia.

A 33-year-old patient was studied neuropsychologically 19 years after sustaining severe head trauma. A recent CT scan showed lesions in the left frontal and right temporal regions. Performance on standard memory tests, both verbal and visuospatial, was extremely poor, although other intellectual functioning was relatively spared. The patient showed some interesting deficits in semantic processing. In a depth of processing task there was no advantage for words where semantic encoding had been induced. Neither was there any release from proactive interference after shifts in semantic categories. Deficits were also observed in short-term memory distractor tasks as well as in cueing tasks. These findings suggest that the cognitive deficits commonly observed in Korsakoff's disease can also be present in other amnesic disorders and may in part be related to cortical and especially frontal lobe atrophy.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Stability of monoamine metabolites in human cerebrospinal fluid.

Concentrations of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were measured in human lumbar cerebrospinal fluid following storage at room temperature and 4 degrees C for intervals up to 72 hours. These monoamine metabolites were quantitated using a high-performance liquid chromatographic-electrochemical detector technique. No significant difference could be detected in any of the three metabolites stored at room temperature for up to 48 hours. Addition of ascorbic acid to CSF had no measurable effect on the levels of HVA and 5-HIAA. Repeated thawing and freezing produced no detectable change in metabolite levels. The results indicate that these monoamine metabolites are stable at room temperature for up to 48 hours after lumbar puncture and that the addition of an antioxidant, such as ascorbic acid, is not necessary. The data also demonstrate that immediate refrigeration or freezing of samples is not required for maintenance of metabolite levels.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1980

Memory enhancement in Korsakoff's psychosis by clonidine: further evidence for a noradrenergic deficit.

Three drugs, d-amphetamine, clonidine, and methysertide, which presumably enhance central noradrenergic activity by different pharmacological mechanisms, were administered to eight patients with the Korsakoff syndrome in a two-week subacute, double-blind, counterbalanced experiment to study the effects of these agents on memory function as measured by a neuropsychological test battery. Of the drugs tested, only clonidine, a putative alpha-noradrenergic agonist, was associated with significant improvement in memory. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that damage to ascending norepinephrine-containing neurons in the brainstem and diencephalon may be the basis for amnesia in Korsakoff's psychosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Odor discrimination and memory in Korsakoff's psychosis.

Korsakoff's syndrome is an organic brain disease, characterized by severe amnesia, that has been associated with olfactory perceptual deficits. Two experiments utilized normal observers to describe the effect of similarity on odor recognition memory and to develop methodology to measure odor discrimination and memory in patients with Korsakoff's disease. The results demonstrate an impaired capacity to discriminate between odors among patients with this disease that is not attributable to impaired sensitivity or to rapid decay of memory stores. These results are compared with results from animals with lesions affecting the medial layer of the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and its neocortical projections. This structure is consistently damaged in Korsakoff's disease and receives a major input from primary olfactory cortex.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1980

Adult celiac disease presenting as cerebellar syndrome.

A progressive pancerebellar syndrome in a 57-year-old man heralded what was subsequently diagnosed by malabsorption studies and jejunal biopsy as adult celiac disease. Postmortem examination demonstrated characteristic gastrointestinal and cerebral abnormalities associated with this enteropathy. The neuropathology underlying the ataxia, as well as the clinical features of palatal myoclonus and marked speech impairment, included marked cerebellar cortical atrophy with cell loss in dentate and olivary nuclei. Intestinal-absorption studies are indicated to evaluate patients with any neurologic illness that may be related to malabsorption.

Brain Stem↗
PubMed1978

Memory impairment in Korsakoff's psychosis: a correlation with brain noradrenergic activity.

The concentration of the primary brain metabolite of norepinephrine is diminished in the lumbar spinal fluid of patients with Korsakoff's syndrome. The extent of its reduction is significantly correlated with measures of memory impairment for individual patients. These data suggest that the memory disorder of Korsakoff's syndrome may result from damage to ascending noradrenergic pathways by the diencephalic and brainstem lesions associated with this disease.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1978

Ocular involvement in Whipple's disease: light and electron microscopic observations.

A 52-year-old man had a prolonged history of nondeforming migratory polyarthritis and a short episode of pericarditis preceding the onset of bilateral vitreitis and retinitis. The clinical course was characterized by progressive deterioration of vision, increasing lethargy, and dementia, leading to coma and death from pneumonia (21 months later). No intestinal manifestations were recorded. Both eyes, which were removed postmortem, disclosed numerous PAS-positive macrophages throughout the inner retina and vitreous. Electron microscopic studies of the macrophages displayed intracytoplasmic, degenerating, rod-shaped bacteria and membranous structures identical to those seen in the intestine, brain, heart, and other tissues of patients with Whipple's disease. Clinicians should include Whipple's disease, and reticulum cell sarcoma, in the differential diagnosis of patients with bilateral retinitis and vitreitis, especially if these disorders are associated with CNS manifestations.

Eye Diseases↗
PubMed1977

Ocular bobbing with extra-axial haematoma of posterior fossa.

A patient with a subarachnoid haematoma anterior to the brain stem demonstrated "typical" ocular bobbing. The absence of CNS parenchymal involvement is distinct from previously described posterior fossa lesions associated with this particular eye movement disorder.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Diencephalic amnesia: a reappraisal.

The anatomical basis of memory disorder related to lesions of the diencephalon is a controversial matter. A study of a patient who developed severe amnesia in association with bilateral metastatic tumour invasion of the medial and posterior thalamus is reported. The findings in this case have led to further discussion of this unsettled issue.

Amnesia↗