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Neuropsychological Sequelae (neuropsychological + sequelae)
Selected AbstractsCerebral dominance and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adults with intellectual disabilityJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2000D. Rowe Abstract Studies of the general population without intellectual disability have suggested an association between atypical handedness and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs). Mixed handedness is taken as an index of diminished cerebral dominance or laterality. The present study addressed the question of whether such findings extend to the neurodevelopmentally ,at risk' population of adults with intellectual disability and SSDs compared with appropriate controls. Fourteen patients with a dual diagnosis of intellectual disability and SSD were compared with 14 controls with intellectual disability alone. Assessments of self-reported hand preference and relative hand skill were completed. Self-report of hand preference revealed highly significantly greater mixed-handedness in the SSD group. Furthermore, relative hand skill performance was significantly diminished for the dominant hand. The discrepancy between dominant and non-dominant hand functioning was lower in the SSD group and this association was highly significant. The results of the present study support the usefulness of such detailed laterality assessment in this population. Mixed laterality, over and above that of the population with general intellectual disability and developmental disorder, was associated with SSD. These results are consistent with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia and its cognitive neuropsychiatric/neuropsychological sequelae. [source] Where to now with carbon monoxide poisoning?EMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA, Issue 2 2004Carlos D Scheinkestel Abstract The controversy regarding the role of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the treatment of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has been re-ignited following the publication of a further randomized controlled trial by Weaver et al., the results of which appear to conflict with our findings. Comparative analysis suggests that the apparent outcome differences may be secondary to the design, analysis and interpretation of the results of the two studies. Following careful analysis of these two papers and further results from a study by Raphael et al on 385 CO-poisoned patients, we can still find no convincing evidence favouring HBO therapy. Pending further research to determine optimal oxygen therapy for CO-poisoning, current therapy should involve stratifying patients for risk of a poor outcome. This stratification may be aided by the evolving availability of biochemical markers of brain injury and the finding that patients with transient loss of consciousness and poor performance on neuropsychological tests of the supervisory attention system are at higher risk of neuropsychological sequelae. We propose that those patients most at risk be admitted and receive more prolonged normobaric oxygen therapy whilst those with more minor CO-poisoning should be provided with normobaric oxygen of no less than 6 h duration and certainly until sign and symptom free. [source] Malnutrition, a Rare Form of Child Abuse: Diagnostic CriteriaJOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 3 2006Marie-Dominique Piercecchi-Marti M.D., Ph.D. ABSTRACT: Infantile malnutrition is often difficult to diagnose as it is rarely observed in industrialized countries. It may be associated with physical violence or occur in isolation. The essential clinical sign is height and weight retardation, but malnutrition also causes a variety of internal and bone lesions, which lead to neuropsychological sequelae and death. We report a rare case of death by malnutrition in a female child aged 6½ months. The infant presented height and weight growth retardation and internal lesions related to prolonged protein,energy malnutrition (fat and muscle wasting, thymic atrophy, liver steatosis) resulting in a picture of marasmus or kwashiorkor. We detail the positive and negative criteria that established the diagnosis of abuse, whereas the parents had claimed a simple dietary error. [source] Screening for distress in patients with brain cancer using the NCCN's rapid screening measurePSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Stephen T. Keir Abstract Goals of work: Patients with brain cancer are at a risk of experiencing elevated levels of distress due to the severe functional, neurocognitive, and neuropsychological sequelae of the disease. Using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Distress Thermometer, we evaluated the extent and sources of distress within a population of patients with brain cancer. Patients and methods: Participants were asked to complete the Distress Thermometer, a single-item rapid screening tool for distress. The Distress Thermometer is a visual analog scale on which participants rate their level of distress from ,0' (none) to ,10' (extreme). Participants were also asked to designate which items from a 34-item list constitute sources of distress. Main results: Fifty-two percent of participants met the ,4 cut-off score for distress. The scores were positively correlated with patient-reported emotional sources of distress (r=0.444, p<0.001), physical sources of stress (r=0.231, p<0.05), and total number of concerns (r=0.368, p<0.001). On average, brain tumor patients reported 5.8 cancer-related items of concern. Conclusion: Brain cancer patients are likely to experience distress at some point during their disease trajectory. Patient-reported emotional sources of distress should be targeted and interventions should be designed to address sources of distress such as worry, sadness, and depression. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||