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Query: UMLS:C0751295 (memory loss)
 3,619 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The case of a patient with symptoms suggestive of a dissociative disorder is presented. The consultant reviews the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder (MPD) as defined in DSM-III-R and DSM-IV in relation to the patient's dissociative states, hallucinations, memory loss, and other symptoms. He then highlights the distinctions among MPD, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, major depression, and complex partial seizures. After presenting the conceptualization of MPD as a chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, he concludes with a review of treatment approaches that address the traumatic history and that involve hypnosis to gain access to and control dissociative states.
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PMID:A case of probable dissociative disorder. 135 64

Dementia has been described as a clinical syndrome associated with chronic diffuse cerebral hemispheric dysfunction resulting in multiple involvement of cognition, memory, language, visual-spatial skills, and personality. While the specific diseases causing dementia are diverse, the severity of the dementia is directly correlated with the loss of functional brain tissue, independent of the primary neuropathology. Many neurotoxicants are pharmacologically nonselective. Thus, chronic exposure to these agents would be expected to result in progressive, diffuse impairment of CNS functioning that would present clinically as a substance-induced dementia. This suggests that diagnostic techniques developed for the early detection of incipient dementia in the aged might prove useful in screening for dementia in younger populations. A microcomputer based Psychometric Assessment System (PAS) and Dementia Screening Battery (DSB) with high predictive value for differentiating the normal age-related changes in cognition from those associated with incipient dementia in the aged have been developed. The DSB is DSM-III compatible as it evaluates intellectual deterioration, malignant memory loss, amnestic aphasia, and spatial disorientation. A diagnosis of dementia is obtained by findings of intellectual deterioration and malignant memory loss and either amnestic aphasia or spatial deterioration.
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PMID:Dementia in human populations exposed to neurotoxic agents: a portable microcomputerized dementia screening battery. 241 76

We have studied 10 Huntington's disease (HD) outpatients to investigate the relationship between chorea and the psychiatric manifestations of this disease. We used neuropsychological tests sensitive to memory and diffuse cerebral dysfunction and a new, simple, objective test of chorea to study the relationship between chorea and dementia. Using SADS/DSM-III diagnoses, we replicated previous findings of the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders associated with HD. A new finding in this study was the strong relationship between the severity of chorea and that of dementia, particularly regarding memory loss. Implications of this finding are discussed in light of the neuroanatomy of the basal ganglia and frontal lobes.
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PMID:Huntington's disease: correlations of mental status with chorea. 295 91

A study of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in Alzheimer type dementia has been performed on 6 elderly subjects (mean age: 67.5). Patients were included if they met DSM-III criteria for primary degenerative dementia. They presented important loss of memory function (in short-term memory-STM and long-term memory-LTM) and impairment of attention. They were compared to two groups: normal elderly subjects with no memory trouble and no attention dysfunction (12 subjects, mean age: 66) and elderly subjects with minor trouble in STM and little attention disturbance (6 subjects, mean age: 68.5). The chosen procedure is a dichotic listening and selective attention paradigm. Three series of tone bursts occurred in counterbalanced order (frequent tones: 1,000 Hz, 2,000 Hz; rare tones: 1,450 Hz). Rare/frequent ratio was 10/90. Subjects were asked to press a key to the rare tones. During the task, ERPs are recorded with 16 electrodes (cross montage), using 2 different reference electrodes sites: nasion and 7th vertebra. Results are displayed with the use of chronograms, spatio-temporal maps, reaction time histograms. In Alzheimer's group compared to the 2 others: N100, N200, P300 are significantly delayed in latency. P300 has a smaller amplitude. In Alzheimer's, P300 distribution on the scalp is more frequently founded of greater amplitude on the frontal region than on the centro-parietal region while the opposite is found in normal subjects. These results suggest that memory trouble or attention dysfunction are well correlated with the abnormalities of the ERPs.
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PMID:[Memory, attention and evoked potentials during aging and in Alzheimer type senile dementia]. 338 20

In a double-blind study, 48 DSM-III depressed patients were randomly assigned to either the bilateral or nondominant unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) group. Seizure length was monitored by electroencephalography (EEG). When seizures were less than 25 s, ECT was immediately readministered. When length of seizure and pretreatment depression scores were controlled between the two groups, there were no differences in treatment effectiveness, as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Beck Depression Inventory, or in the number of treatments required. This was true after five ECT treatments as well as after completing all ECT treatments. Thus, when ECT is monitored via EEG to assure the presence of an adequate seizure, bilateral and nondominant unilateral placement yield equivalent responses. If ECT had not been readministered immediately following a missed seizure, unilateral patients would have had significantly more missed seizures. Significant difficulties in both short- and long-term memory were found 24 hours after the fifth ECT in bilateral but not in nondominant unilateral patients. No apparent memory loss could be documented in nondominant unilateral ECT.
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PMID:Comparing bilateral to unilateral electroconvulsive therapy in a randomized study with EEG monitoring. 390 56

Altered noradrenergic function is associated with alcoholism. Reduced brain norepinephrine (NE) concentrations and beta-adrenergic receptor supersensitivity following chronic alcohol consumption suggest a reduced level of noradrenergic neurotransmission. To further elucidate the reason for changes in noradrenergic function, we determined the number of melanin-containing noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) postmortem from 11 controls and 7 alcoholics. Controls did not have a known history of psychiatric or neurologic disorders and were drug-free by toxicological screen. The diagnosis of alcohol-dependence was based on DSM-III-R criteria. Alcoholics differed from controls in having 23% fewer LC neurons (control: 43,472 +/- 1,021; alcoholic: 33,398 +/- 2184; P < 0.0005) and 46% lower density of neurons (control: 1,227 +/- 89 cells per mm3; alcoholic: 663 +/- 94 cells per mm3; P = 0.001). The reduction in neurons was bilateral and throughout the middle third of the LC. The two groups did not differ with respect to LC length (control: 16.1 +/- 0.6 mm; alcoholic 15.3 +/- 0.9 mm; P = 0.47) or total LC volume (control: 37.3 +/- 2.8 mm3; alcoholic: 46.5 +/- 4.2 mm3; P = 0.09). Changes in noradrenergic neurotransmission in alcoholics may be due to fewer noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus and may contribute to memory loss and depression, common consequences of alcoholism.
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PMID:Fewer pigmented neurons in the locus coeruleus of uncomplicated alcoholics. 795 60

Cognitive impairment has been repeatedly shown to be a delirium risk factor. Much indirect evidence suggests that right-hemisphere dysfunction plays a particularly important role. This retrospective, case-controlled study, from a 148-patient memory loss clinic database, compared neuropsychological measures of hemispheric function in cognitively impaired elderly veterans with and without a history of delirium. Eleven study subjects had a history compatible with DSM-III-R criteria for delirium. Controls selected from the same database had no known history of delirium and were matched for Mini-Mental State Examination scores and Geriatric Depression Scale scores. Compared to the controls, subjects with a history of delirium had significantly lower scores on Object Assembly and Visual Reproduction (p < .05), tests that are predominantly right-hemisphere dependent. There were no significant differences in left-hemisphere measures. It is concluded that right-hemisphere dysfunction may prove to be an important risk factor for delirium.
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PMID:Delirium and right-hemisphere dysfunction in cognitively impaired older persons. 911 74

The prevalence of psychotropic medication consumption was assessed in the UK by surveying a representative sample of 4972 non-institutionalized individuals 15 years of age or older (participation rate, 79.6%). A questionnaire was administered over the telephone with the help of the Sleep-Eval Expert System. Topics covered included: type and name of medication, indication, dosage, duration of intake, and medical specialty of prescriber. Also collected were data pertaining to sociodemographics, physical illnesses, and DSM-IV mental disorders. Overall, 3.5% [95% CI: 3-4] of the sample reported current use of psychotropic medication. Consumption was higher among women [4.6% (3.8-5.4)] than men [2.3% (1.7-2.9)], and among the elderly (> or = 65 years of age). The distribution of psychotropics was: hypnotics 1.5%, antidepressants 1.1%, and anxiolytics 0.8%. The median duration of psychotropic intake was 52 weeks. General practitioners were the most common prescribers of psychotropics (over 80% for each class of drug). Nearly half the antidepressant users were diagnosed by the system with a DSM-IV anxiety disorder, and one-fifth the anxiolytic users with a depressive disorder. A marked improvement in sleep quality was reported by half the subjects using a psychotropic for sleep-enhancing purposes. Psychotropic users were more likely than non-users to report episodes of memory loss, vertigo, or anomia. Psychotropic medication consumption is lower and patterns of psychotropic prescription differ in the UK compared with other European and North American countries. Results suggest that physicians may not be sufficiently trained to deal with the overlap between general practice and psychiatry.
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PMID:Psychotropic medication consumption patterns in the UK general population. 949 93

Psychogenic (dissociative) amnesia is a psychiatric disorder characterised by a sudden loss of memory which is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness, but which has no organic disease or explanation. Psychogenic amnesia is categorised among the dissociative disorders in DSM-IV and ICD-10 and begins suddenly, usually after severe psychosocial stress. The prognosis is good with complete recovery, and there is seldom relapse. This article describes a man, 45 years of age, who developed severe depression and amnesia following a very troublesome divorce. He did not talk, he communicated by signs and gestures, and he isolated himself in his mother's home. After being admitted to a psychiatric ward he became anorectic and developed erosive eoesophagitis/gastroduodenitis. Initially he was given perfenazin (Trilafon) 24 mg/day. The psychiatric treatment produced no results for the first three weeks, but the patient gradually recovered when the therapist and the patient recapitulated the conflicts associated with the divorce, using documents from the patient's lawyer as a guide. This method is called "therapeutic anamnesis" and is similar in many ways to psychiatric treatment of post-traumatic stress reactions.
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PMID:[Treatment of patients with psychogenic amnesia with the help of therapeutic anamnesis]. 983 Mar 45

Clinical symptoms and self-reported health status in persons reporting multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) are presented from a 9-year follow-up study. Eighteen (69%) subjects from a sample of 26 persons originally interviewed in 1988 were followed up in 1997 and given structured interviews and self-report questionnaires. In terms of psychiatric diagnosis, 15 (83%) met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime mood disorder, 10 (56%) for a lifetime anxiety disorder, and 10 (56%) for a lifetime somatoform disorder. Seven (39%) of subjects met criteria for a personality disorder using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-IV. Self-report data from the Illness Behavior Questionnaire and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised show little change from 1988. The 10 most frequent complaints attributed to MCS were headache, memory loss, forgetfulness, sore throat, joint aches, trouble thinking, shortness of breath, back pain, muscle aches, and nausea. Global assessment showed that 2 (11%) had "remitted", 8 (45%) were "much" or "very much" improved, 6 (33%) were "improved", and 2 (11%) were "unchanged/worse". Mean scores on the SF-36 health survey showed that, compared to U.S. population means, subjects reported worse physical functioning, more bodily pain, worse general health, worse social functioning, and more emotional-role impairment; self-reported mental health was better than the U.S. population mean. All subjects maintained a belief that they had MCS; 16 (89%) acknowledged that the diagnosis was controversial. It is concluded that the subjects remain strongly committed to their diagnosis of MCS. Most have improved since their original interview, but many remain symptomatic and continue to report ongoing lifestyle changes.
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PMID:The Iowa follow-up of chemically sensitive persons. 1200 35


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