Visual response latencies in temporal lobe structures as a function of stimulus information load.

In a monkey performing a visual delayed matching-to-sample task, units and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were sampled from the inferior bank of the superior temporal sulcus (STS; Areas TEa and IPa), the hippocampus, and the presubiculum. VEP latencies indicated that flash information--signaling the imminent presentation of a color sample to be retained--reached the presubiculum and the hippocampus substantially earlier than the STS. In contrast, color sample VEP latencies did not differ between sites, arriving at all sites appreciably later than flash VEPs.

A multicentre double-blind comparative trial of fluvoxamine versus lorazepam in mixed anxiety and depression treated in general practice.

Fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, was compared with lorazepam in a multicentre double-blind, parallel group study in 112 general practice patients with mixed anxiety and depression. For inclusion, patients were required to have minimum baseline scores of 21 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and 11 on the Clinical Anxiety Scale (CAS). Treatment was for 6 weeks.

Juvenile recidivism: a comparison of three prediction instruments.

Risk-assessment instruments are increasingly being used, the majority of research evaluating such instruments with adult offenders. The purpose of this study was to compare three models being used to predict recidivism in juvenile offenders. Discriminant analysis was used to examine the extent to which these various models could discriminate between recidivists and nonrecidivists.

A double-blind, randomized comparison of fluvoxamine with mianserin in depressive illness.

The efficacy and CNS effects of the selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor fluvoxamine were compared with mianserin in depressed hospital out-patients in a double-blind randomized trial. Patients had to meet DSM-III criteria for Major Depressive Episode and achieve a score of at least 30 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) after a 1-week placebo baseline period. Active treatment was for 6 weeks with an initial dose of either 100 mg fluvoxamine or 60 mg mianserin; after 1 week the dosage could be increased to 300 mg or 180 mg, respectively.

Energy expenditure of Gambian women during peak agricultural activity measured by the doubly-labelled water method.

The doubly-labelled water (2H218O) method was used to measure total energy expenditure (TEE) in ten non-pregnant, non-lactating (NPNL), six pregnant (P) and fourteen lactating (L) women in a rural Gambian community. Measurements were made on free-living subjects at a period of peak energetic stress when high agricultural work loads coincided with a hungary season to induce moderately severe negative energy balance. TEE averaged 10.

Alzheimer patient evaluation and the mini-mental state: item characteristic curve analysis.

To develop a tool for precisely assessing dementia severity, items should be selected according to their relationship to the overall progression of the disease. Using an item characteristic curve analysis (ICC), items were examined from the Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), a useful clinical tool for evaluating dementia. MMSE data were available for 86 patients who met DSM-III criteria for primary degenerative dementia -- possible or probable Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Cerebral glucose metabolic patterns in Alzheimer's disease. Effect of gender and age at dementia onset.

No previous study of Alzheimer's disease has, to our knowledge, assessed the effect of both age at dementia onset and gender on cerebral glucose metabolic patterns. To this end, we used positron emission tomography (fludeoxyglucose F 18 method) to study 24 patients with clinical diagnoses of probable Alzheimer's disease. Comparisons of the 13 patients with early-onset dementia (less than 65 years of age) with the 11 patients with late-onset dementia (greater than 65 years of age) revealed significantly lower left parietal metabolic ratios (left posterior parietal region divided by the hemispheric average) in the early-onset group.

Advances in Alzheimer therapy: cholinesterase inhibitors.

After a decade of intense study of cholinergic therapies for Alzheimer's disease, three conditions in this field are apparent: 1) The potential that cholinergic agents will ameliorate the memory dysfunction of Alzheimer patients (as 1-dopa benefits Parkinson patients) is still a stimulus for research. 2) Cholinergic neuropharmacology and its impact on the therapy of memory disorders associated with cholinergic dysfunction needs to be further characterized and understood. 3) While there is still a search for a symptomatic treatment for AD, the path to find a treatment for the Alzheimer disease process must first pass through a phase of basic research to find the cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Neuropsychological "systems efficiency" and positron emission tomography.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has dramatically improved our ability to examine the functioning of the living brain. PET studies of neural pathways of the major sensory modalities--auditory, visual, somatosensory--have confirmed many traditional neuropsychological concepts, such as cross-lateral representation and regional functioning to particular primary sensory cortical areas. Other PET studies have used radioisotopes to examine relationships between radiopharmaceutical agents and neurobehavioral functioning in both normal and neuropathological states.

Clinical characterization of Alzheimer's disease: reliability of 'age at onset' and a new descriptor, 'age at shift'.

To determine the interrater reliability of clinical descriptors for Alzheimer's disease (AD), we assessed the degree of agreement among four clinicians who rated 21 patients during a longitudinal study. Despite variability in response patterns, degree of agreement for determining age at onset of dementia was statistically significant (P less than 0.005).

Silicone oil as a reservoir for nosocomial infection.

Two episodes of infection with epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (EMRSA) associated with silicone oil baths are described. In vitro studies indicated that certain organisms, including EMRSA, can survive in silicone oil for several days. We conclude that the oil acted as a reservoir for continuing infection in our patients.

Affective disorders in general practice. Treatment of 6000 patients with fluvoxamine.

A total of 6258 patients seen in general practice complaining of low mood with or without associated somatic symptoms was studied. The mean patient entry score on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was 29.69 (moderately severe depressive disorder).

Some studies of the action of betahistine at H1 and H2 receptors for histamine.

Betahistine produced a concentration-dependent contraction of the guinea-pig ileum and was about 27 times less active than histamine in this respect. Betahistine induced desensitization of contractile responses to histamine in the guinea-pig ileum. The H1 histamine receptor antagonist mepyramine was a competitive antagonist of the action of betahistine on the guinea-pig ileum.

High levels of energy expenditure in obese women.

Total free living energy expenditure was compared in lean and obese women by the new doubly labelled water method and partitioned into basal metabolism and thermogenesis plus activity by whole body calorimetry. Average energy expenditure was significantly higher in the obese group (10.22 versus 7.

Nulliparity in women with double primary cancers in both breast and endometrium.

A hospital-based diagnostic index revealed 340 women with endometrial carcinoma diagnosed over the 5-year period 1974 to 1979. On later review, 12 had histological evidence of a separate primary in the breast, developing either prior or subsequent to the endometrial primary. Fifty-eight per cent (n = 7) of these women were nulliparous, which was significantly greater than the nulliparity rate of 23% observed in a sample of the remaining women with endometrial cancer.

Occipital and inferotemporal responses to visual signals in the monkey.

This study analyzes cellular and field-potential responses in striate and inferotemporal cortex to visual stimuli in monkeys performing a memory task (delayed matching-to-sample). Each trial was initiated by a brief alerting diffuse flash preceding presentation of the memorandum (sample); the latter was a lighted circle (red or green, 1.5 s) to be retained by the animal during a subsequent delay for correct behavioral response (color match).

The elgiloy microelectrode: fabrication techniques and characteristics.

A glass-insulated microelectrode made from elgiloy orthodontic wire, a stainless cobalt-chromium alloy containing 15% iron, was described by Suzuki and Azuma (1976). Here, we detail a set of modified electrode fabrication procedures, including techniques for hardening and etching the wire, specifying the size, geometry and exposure of the tip, and adjusting tip impedance over a wide range. Accurate insulation of the tip with molten solder glass produces microelectrodes suitable for extracellular recording from single or multiple units and simultaneous recording of evoked potentials.

Unexpectedly low levels of energy expenditure in healthy women.

A new method for measuring total energy expenditure (TEE) with stable isotopically labelled water (2H218O) was used to measure average daily energy expenditure over 14-21 day periods in 12 healthy women following their normal activity patterns. TEE expressed as a multiple of basal metabolic rate (TEE/BMR) averaged only 1 X 38 +/- 0 X 04. This result is at variance with the widely held assumption that minimum maintenance requirements are 1 X 5 times BMR.

Writing all prescriptions by computer.

The information needed for safe prescribing is voluminous, complex and subject to continuous change. The computer makes an ideal instrument on which to store, access, and update general practice prescribing information. By using a desktop computer to check and write all prescriptions, it is possible for the general practitioner to build up a medication data base which has the capacity to record response to treatment and to supply information which can be reported to a remote central drug authority on a regular basis.