Monocular contribution to the peak time of the binocular pattern visual evoked potential

The contribution of each monocular pathway to the timing of the binocular pattern visual evoked potential was assessed in situations where a significant interocular timing discrepancy was observed. Monocular and binocular pattern visual evoked potentials to 0.5° checks were recorded from normal subjects, normal subjects in whom one eye was blurred, patients with monocular amblyopia, and patients with resolved unilateral optic neuritis. Normal subjects showed facilitation, while suppression was evidenced in subjects with monocular blurring. In patients with amblyopia, the affected pathway had no effect on binocular pattern visual evoked potential latency, suggesting that the amblyopic eye was suppressed. In contrast, all patients with optic neuritis showed binocular averaging. Our results show that different forms of binocular interaction are evidenced in normal subjects, in amblyopia and in optic neuritis, and suggest that a comparative analysis of monocular and binocular pattern visual evoked potential peak times brings valuable information to the clinical evaluation that could be used to distinguish disease processes further.Abbreviation BPVEP binocular pattern visual evoked potential     

Diagnosing the personality organization of drug abusers by rating ego balance

A community-based case-finding sample of 1824 narcotic abusers in Stockholm County was used to standardize a set of rating scales in order to reflect levels of personality organization (PO), in the spirit of Kernberg's theory. PO is assumed to be a function of the ego's capacity to endure inner and outer stress, which manifests itself in the frequency and depth of regressions and the rate of recovery from them. The principles of a method, Rating Ego Balance, for charting the person's characteristic pattern of regression are presented, and its psychometric properties are described on the basis of item response theory. The scales have satisfactory reliabilities and maximal discrimination at subneurotic levels of PO. They show strong construct validity in relation to Kernberg's theory.     

A blinded,controlled evaluation of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia,as measured by standardized psychometric interview scales

The objective of the study was to evaluate the presence of psychopathology in fibromyalgia patients compared with a control group of other rheumatologic patients with pain. Forty-nine fibromyalgia patients and 33 control patients were interviewed blinded, using standardized psychometric scales. Pain was scored on a visual analogue scale. Fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher than the controls on the Bech-Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale, the Atypical Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. On the Newcastle Depression Scale there was no difference. In both groups a correlation was found between pain score and psychometric scoring. The fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher on pain than the controls. After correcting for this difference, the fibromyalgia patients still scored higher on anxiety and depression.     

A new self-rating scale for depression and anxiety states based on the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale

Self-assessment scales have long been used in psychiatric research even if their validity has often been questioned, one reason being poor the concordance of expert ratings. In clinical practice the use of rating scales is restricted, since they are considered to be time-consuming and perhaps even to disrupt the clinician's rapport with the patient. In the present study, a self-assessment scale, the CPRS Self-rating Scale for Affective Syndromes (CPRS-S-A), was constructed by re-phrasing in a self-rating format 19 items from the original Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and covering depression, anxiety and obsessional symptoms. In a group of 30 patients with depression syndromes and anxiety syndromes, the CPRS-S-A and the original CPRS were both used on 2 occasions. The patient's Global Assessment of Functioning scores ranged from 30 to 76 (mean 58), which suggests a moderate severity of illness, as does the fact that the majority were outpatients. There was a high degree of concordance between the instruments for most items and for the scores on the subscales for both diagnostic groups (i.e., the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Brief Anxiety Scale, which are both subscales drawn from the CPRS). The time taken to complete the CPRS-S-A varied from 5 to 30 min (mean 19 min for depressive and 16 min for anxiety patients on the first occasion, 13 min for both groups on the second), and the self-rating procedure was readily accepted by both groups of patients. The CPRS-S-A would thus seem to be a promising instrument for quantitative rating of symptoms in ambulatory patients, both in clinical practice and in research.     

Does work with visual display units impair visual activities after work?

It is well established that visual display unit (VDU) operators complain of visual fatigue and visual stress during after-work hours. The present study was divided into two parts. In the first part, standard eye examinations were performed on a group of VDU workers (n = 32) and a control group (n = 15); those subjects who were found to have correct vision (n = 16 and 13, respectively) participated in the second part. The eye examinations revealed that on the average, the VDU workers suffered more than twice as many visual impairments as the controls. In those with correct vision, the near point of accommodation was measured at the beginning of the workday at the start of the week, and at the end of the workday, four days later. In the VDU group, the decrease in accommodation was uniformally distributed between zero and 1.0 diopter, whereas among the non-VDU workers, 77% of the decrease was between zero and 0.25 diopter. The dynamic range of accommodation in the VDU workers on the second examination was smaller than on the first. We conclude that some of the visual stress and visual fatigue that developed at work hindered visual activities after work.     

Platelet aggregation,disc haemorrhage and progressive loss of visual fields in glaucoma

Platelet aggregationin vitro, deterioration of visual field defects (VFD) and the prevalence of disc haemorrhages (DH) were assessed in 49 patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and compared with the findings for 67 individuals with suspected glaucoma (GS) in a seven-year follow-up study (range 5.8 to 8.2 years). The percentage patients with spontaneous platelet aggregation (SPA) was higher for POAG patients with visual field deterioration (60%) than both POAG patients without progressive loss of visual fields (12.5%; P<0.005) and those with suspected glaucoma (22.4%; P<0.005). The occurrence of DH was higher among POAG patients with progressive loss of visual field (28%) compared to the GS group (8.4%; P<0.025) and the group of patients consisting of POAG patients without deterioration of VFD and GS (9.9%; P<0.05). DH also occurred more often in patients with low tension glaucoma (41.6%) than in the remaining POAG patients (13.5%; P<0.05). No relation between the patients with SPA and the patients with DH was observed.Abbreviations NPB normal platelet behavior - SPA spontaneous platelet aggregation - DH disc haemorrhage     

Salivary gland 99mTc-scintigraphy: a grading scale and correlation with major salivary gland flow rates

Sequential salivary gland scintigraphy with 99mTc-technetium pertechnetate (Tc-99) is a safe, minimally invasive test for study of major salivary glands. However, its relationship to salivary function has not been investigated in detail. We have investigated the relationship between major salivary gland flow rates and Tc-99 scans and developed a new rating scale using scans of a control group with normal salivary function. Salivary flow rates and Tc-99 scans were obtained from healthy, non-medicated subjects (n = 33) and from xerostomic patients (n = 22). There were significant differences between the groups for salivary flow rates and Tc-99 ratings. Significant correlations were found between salivary flow rates and Tc-99 ratings in the control and xerostomic groups. The Tc-99 rating scale proved reliable in assessing salivary dysfunction, and showed a high inter-examiner correlation. These results demonstrate the usefulness of salivary gland scintigraphy in assessing major salivary gland flow rates and the utility of a new rating scale.     

Separation discrimination with embedded targets

Previous research has shown that separation discrimination thresholds are independent of the internal spatial scale (local spatial frequency) of the targets whose separation is being judged. The experiments reported here tested the generality of this conclusion for separation discrimination of targets that were embedded in an array of identical objects, where crowding could enhance the importance of the scale at which the individual target locations are encoded. No effect of the local spatial scale of the targets was found under these conditions.     

闪光视觉诱发电位监测甘露醇降颅压效果的临床研究

目的利用闪光视觉诱发电位监测颅内高压患者颅压水平,研究降颅压效果与甘露醇用量以及其他影响因素的关系。方法选择60例颅内高压患者,应用NIP-200型无创颅内压监测仪监测患者每日颅压,计算最高颅压与最低颅压间的差值(降颅压效果),采用多元逐步回归方法分析降颅压效果与性别,年龄,最高颅压时的心率、血压以及降至最低颅压时甘露醇总用量的关系。结果60例患者最低颅压平均值为(213·4±66·8)mmH2O(83·5~364·5mmH2O),患者的颅压水平从入院至最低值时甘露醇总用量的平均值为(1870·8±861·9)ml(375~4000ml)。降颅压效果与最高颅压时的血压(舒张压和收缩压)和心率无相关性(P>0·05),与性别、年龄显著相关(P<0·05),与甘露醇用量显著相关(P<0·01)。结论甘露醇有明显的降颅压作用,但是用到一定的剂量后,便不再有降颅压作用。女性患者比男性患者降颅压的效果好。患者年龄越小,降颅压效果越好。