Pathological laughing and/or crying may occur as a concomitant symptom of various diseases of the central nervous system. No known anatomical basis for any of these disorders exists at present. However, references to a disturbance in central serotoninergic neurotransmission have become frequent in the literature, implicating this as an important etiological factor. In the present communication three cases of successful treatment of pathological crying using the SSRI citalopram are reported. Besides the response of pathological crying in cerebral ischemia to SSRIs, which has already been described in earlier publications, this is the first report on the successful administration of citalopram for treating pathological crying in Parkinson's disease. Onset of response was very rapid in all cases.
Electrooculography allows to measure the fundocorneal potential, a standing potential of the eye, under the conditions of light and dark adaptation. The results are expressed as the so-called Arden ratio. As was demon-strated by others in healthy volunteers, the Arden ratio, on the average, de-creases under Lithium treatment. However, in individual cases it can also remain unchanged or even rise. We have performed electrooculographic and adaptometric examinations in ten patients with affective disorders (DSM-III, 296. XX) and schizoaffective psychoses (DSM-III, 295.70). The criteria for the assignment of patients to lithium treatment were derived from a study by Angst. Arden ratios were determined six times, respectively, before lithium application and after a therapeutic lithium serum level (0.6-0.8 mmol/l) had been reached (cf. 5). The values observed during lithium treatment were significantly lower than those measured before lithium application. Dark adaptation, as measured using an adaptometer according to Goldmann-Weekers, was disturbed under lithium. The potential predictor function of these findings with regard to the lithium response is being investigated by means of a prospective study.
Opportunistic infections and neoplasias, which led to the identification and characterisation of AIDS, are the most common manifestations of this disease. The present review gives a comprehensive presentation of the current knowledge on the opportunistic infectious agents concerned and on the resulting clinical pictures with special emphasis on neuropsychiatric symptomatology. Prior to the development of the full syndrome of AIDS, a number of intermediate steps can be observed, the most important of which is persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (PGL). For all stages of the disease, problems of clinical course, risk of transmission, and prognosis are discussed in detail. Neuropsychiatric manifestations of AIDS can occur as sequelae of opportunistic infections, AIDS-associated neoplastic processes or of the retrovirus infection itself. In a number of cases neuropsychiatric manifestations are the presenting symptoms of the disease. Since neuropsychiatric symptoms such as organic brain syndrome or dementia represent crucial determinants of prognosis, they have to be considered in the planning of long-term care for the AIDS patient. Due to certain epidemiological features such as an exponential increase of its incidence during the last few years and the preferential occurrence in homosexuals and drug addicts, AIDS has brought about a number of important psychosocial effects. Since an efficient chemotherapy is not yet available and long-term prognosis is poor, AIDS patients often become isolated, and even medical professionals avoid to have contact with them. To reduce an exaggerated fear of being infected by the AIDS virus and to gain the competence for realistic assessment of the remaining risks, it is necessary to acquire a profound knowledge of the disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.