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- Fäldt, Roger, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence of thyroid hormone abnormalities in elderly patients with symptoms of organic brain disease.
- 1996
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In: Aging (Milan, Italy). - 0394-9532. ; 8:5, s. 347-357
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Analysis of the serum concentrations of free thyroid hormones (fT3, fT4) and thyrotropin (TSH) in 173 psychogeriatric patients (94 females and 79 males, mean age 79 +/- 8 years) disclosed that the hormone levels were related to sex, psychiatric diagnosis, medication and the presence of nonthyroid illness (NTI). Subnormal concentrations of thyroid hormones and/or TSH were found in 25% of the patients. In addition, fT3 and fT4 concentrations were significantly lower (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively) in demented males compared with demented females although the levels were within the reference limits. Strongly negative correlations between fT3 and age (p < 0.001), and between fT3 and the sedimentation rate (SR) (p < 0.01) were found in demented but not in non-demented patients. These correlations were most pronounced in (age) or restricted to (SR) demented males. In addition, the correlation between fT3 and Hb was strongly positive (p < 0.001) in demented as well as in nondemented patients, particularly in males. The concentration of fT4 was positively correlated to Hb in demented males (p < 0.001), whereas TSH concentration was positively correlated to Hb in demented females (p < 0.05). The results show that TSH is not sufficient as the sole screening assay for evaluation of possible thyroid dysfunction in psychogeriatric patients. In addition, central (hypothalamic?) hypothyroidism may be present in a substantial amount of psychogeriatric patients, as we found an adequate TSH response to exogenous thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) also in patients with decreased fT3/fT4 and no signs of non thyroid diseases. Furthermore, there was an apparent lack of correlation between thyroid hormone levels and dementia (or subgroups of dementia), even though thyroid hormone abnormalities seemed to be rather common in frontotemporal dementia (38%) and non specified dementia (36%).
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| 2. |
- Minthon, Lennart, et al.
(author)
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Somatostatin and neuropeptide Y in cerebrospinal fluid: correlations with severity of disease and clinical signs in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia
- 1997
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In: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1421-9824 .- 1420-8008. ; 8:4, s. 232-239
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are the most common types of progressive neurodegenerative disorder in our catchment area. The distribution of cortical degeneration in FTD is mainly the reverse of that in AD, while there are both differences and similarities in the clinical characteristics. Somatostatin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are neuropeptides with a widespread distribution in the human cerebral cortex. Somatostatin is involved in the regulation of hormone release from the anterior pituitary and may act as a neurotransmitter-modulator. NPY is a potent anxiolytic neuropeptide. Somatostatin and NPY coexist in the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and in amygdaloid complexes. The present study of AD (n = 34) and FTD (n = 22) analyses the cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) levels of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity and NPY-like immunoreactivity and correlates their levels to 54 different clinical items, such as restlessness, anxiety, irritability and depression. The CSF levels of the two neuropeptides somatostatin and NPY were significantly correlated in FTD (p < 0.02), but not in AD. Several significant correlations to the clinical signs were found: in AD disorientation and dyspraxia, and in FTD agitation, irritability and restlessness. Somatostatin showed a significant negative correlation with severity of dementia in AD (p < 0.013).
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| 3. |
- Minthon, Lennart, et al.
(author)
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Tacrine treatment modifies cerebrospinal fluid neuropeptide levels in Alzheimer's disease
- 1994
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In: Dementia (Switzerland). - : S. Karger AG. - 1013-7424. ; 5:6, s. 295-301
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biochemical and histochemical studies have demonstrated a widespread deficit in the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (DAT). Multiple disturbances in several transmitter systems have been found. The most consistent neurochemical changes in DAT are reductions in the cholinergic system. The major pharmacological approach today in DAT is based on the cholinergic theory assuming that acetylcholine has a major cortical impact on cognitive processes. Tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA, tacrine) is a centrally active reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. A large number of trials have been performed in patients with DAT. This article was to evaluate whether THA treatment induced neuropeptide alteration in DAT before and after 1 year on oral THA treatment.
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| 4. |
- Levi, Richard, et al.
(author)
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The Stockholm Spinal Cord Injury Study : 2. Associations between clinical patient characteristics and post-acute medical problems.
- 1995
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In: Paraplegia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0031-1758. ; 33:10, s. 585-594
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Stockholm Spinal Cord Injury Study (SSCIS) is an extensive evaluation of a sample of 353 subjects with traumatic SCI, constituting 93% of the known regional prevalence population with this diagnosis. In a previous analysis of this group, symptoms such as pain, incontinence, sexual dysfunction and neurological deterioration, as well as secondary complications, such as decubitus ulcers, urinary tract infections, spinal deformity and fractures, were found to be common. In the present report, we investigate associations between a few commonly used patient characteristics, ie gender, age at injury, duration of injury and extent of neurological compromise, and the occurrence of such problems, to assess differences in vulnerability in SCI subgroups. Results generally indicate an increased vulnerability in subjects with extensive neurological deficits, as well as a cumulation of complications with the increasing duration of injury. However, some exceptions are found, possibly indicating differences in temporal patterns of the occurrence of various complications, as well as certain gender-, age-, and lesion-associated variations in vulnerability. Symptoms directly related to the spinal cord lesion, eg neurogenic pain and neurological deterioration, seem to present rather soon post-injury. Males are more prone to experience excessive spasticity and sexual problems. Females experience more fractures and spinal deformity. Younger age at injury is associated with more spinal deformity but less severe pain problems. Higher age at injury is not found to be associated with more medical problems, with the exception of neurogenic pain, among post-acute, post-discharge survivors. The latter finding does not, however, preclude more such problems in the acute stage, since the present study neither addresses the pre-discharge period, nor includes information about mortality. Finally, the ASIA/IMSOP Impairment Scale Grade E-rated subjects were found to report problems to an extent that underlines the restricted sensorimotor sense in which this rating reflects recovery.
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| 7. |
- Bejerot, Susanne, 1955-, et al.
(author)
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Personality disorders and relationship to personality dimensions measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder
- 1998
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In: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. - Copenhagen, Denmark : Munksgaard Forlag. - 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 98:3, s. 243-249
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The occurrence of personality disorders was investigated in 36 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder by means of the SCID Screen questionnaire. In addition, the personality dimensions were explored by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). In total, 75% of the patients fulfilled the criteria for a personality disorder according to the SCID Screen questionnaire, mostly (55%) within cluster C. Several significant correlations were found between the separate personality disorders (PD) and subscales of the TCI, the most pronounced being between avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PD and novelty-seeking and self-directedness. Strong correlations were also found between self-directedness and paranoid and borderline PD. In multiple regressions where the presence of PD in clusters A, B and C, respectively, were used as dependent variables and where the separate subscales of the TCI were used as independent variables, the multiple R reached 0.68, 0.76 and 0.80 in clusters A, B and C, respectively. Thus 46-64% of the variance in the personality disorder clusters could be explained by the TCI subscales.
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| 8. |
- Södergård, Susanne, et al.
(author)
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Intima kroppsberöringar och intimt tal mellan föräldrar och barn
- 1998
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Syftet är att studera förekomst av intima kroppsberöringar och intimt tal mellan föräldrar och barn upp till 12 års ålder. Ett antal föräldrar (50 kvinnor, 46 mmän) besvarade en utdelad enkät. Enligt resultaten förekommer intima beröringar i en mängd varierande situationer, t ex toabesök, sovande, nyfikenhet, tröst, amning, bad, lek, medicinsk anledning. Mer än hälften av alla beröringar från föräldrar gentemot egna barn sker vid hygienskötsel. Barn kommenterar skillnader mellan könen, mellan sig själv och vuxna och kommenterar amning och graviditet, könsorgan och bröst samt ställer frågor inom dessa områden.
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| 9. |
- Edberg, Anna-Karin, et al.
(author)
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Effects of clinical supervision on nurse-patient cooperation quality - A controlled study in dementia care.
- 1996
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In: Clinical Nursing Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1054-7738 .- 1552-3799. ; 5:2, s. 127-146
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An intervention consisting of individualized planned care for patients and regular clinical systematic supervision for nurses was carried out on a ward for dementia care (the experimental ward, EW). On a similar control ward (CW), no changes were made. Observations of nurse-patient cooperation during morning care were collected at both wards, before and during the intervention. The observations (N = 107) were analyzed blindly and sorted into already-developed categories. The distribution of the cooperation-style categories was then analyzed statistically. The patients who survived throughout the study period (N = 18) were also compared over time. Nurse-patient cooperation at the EW improved significantly during the intervention period, whereas, at the CW, it deteriorated (p = .02). Status of surviving patients followed the same pattern (p = .001). The findings indicate that such interventions can improve the quality of nurse-patient cooperation in dementia care.
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| 10. |
- Elfgren, C., et al.
(author)
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Neuropsychological tests as discriminators between dementia of Alzheimer type and frontotemporal dementia
- 1994
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In: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 1099-1166 .- 0885-6230. ; 9:8, s. 635-642
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to examine whether cognitive test performance alone could distinguish patients with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) from those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Scores from three neuropsychological tests were used as discriminating variables in 28 cases with postmortem verified diagnoses. The selected tests measured verbal ability, visuospatial ability and verbal memory. Eighty-nine per cent of the sample was correctly classified by discriminant analysis. Evaluating the ability of the obtained discriminant function to differentiate between groups of DAT and FTD in a new, clinically diagnosed sample of 38 cases yielded an overall success rate of 84%. The results suggest that cognitive tests may be helpful for differential diagnosis in the context of a neuropsychiatric examination.
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