[The "cognitive pupillary oscillation hypothesis" in patients with neurotic disorders and organic psychosyndrome: reliability and validity of a new psychophysiologic method]. / Die "Kognitive Pupillenoszillationshypothese" bei Patienten mit neurotischen Störungen bzw. organischem Psychosyndrom: Reliabilität und Validität eines neuen psychophysiologischen Verfahrens.

A new psychophysiological method called "cognitive pupillary oscillation hypothesis" is introduced. Under the influence of a cognitive test (simple calculations) changes of the maximal amplitudes of pupillary oscillations, reflecting central nervous activation, are observed. In healthy subjects a retest reliability of 0.75-0.85 was calculated. Furthermore, the data after FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) of pupillary oscillations of two populations of patients (n = 509 and 396, respectively) showed a high stability. The validity of the method was determined by means of a procedure similar to cross validation. The use of the "cognitive pupillary oscillation hypothesis" for the differential diagnosis between patients with neurotic disorders (ICD 9: 300) (n = 73) and patients with organic brain syndrome (ICD 9: 290, ICD 291.2) (n = 34) is demonstrated.

Influence of calcium antagonists on platelet function and vascular prostacyclin production.

It is suggested that calcium antagonists can counteract the process of atherogenesis by influencing different cellular mechanisms, for example, inhibiting cellular migration and proliferation, as well as by having beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and platelet function. In an assessment of the activity of different calcium antagonists in various platelet function tests and prostacyclin (PGI2) synthesis, amlodipine, diltiazem, felodipine, isradipine, nicardipine, nifedipine, nitrendipine and verapamil were tested in vitro for their effects on adenosine diphosphate (ADP)- or collagen-induced platelet aggregation, malondialdehyde (MDA) formation and vascular PGI2 production. Nitrendipine, isradipine and nicardipine were shown to inhibit both ADP- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation at the lowest concentration (0.5 microgram/ml). The half-maximum inhibiting concentration (IC50) of isradipine (4.78 +/- 0.36 micrograms/ml for ADP-induced platelet aggregation) was significantly (p < 0.01) lower than the IC50 of all the other drugs. Nitrendipine, with an IC50 of 44.2 +/- 5.32 micrograms/ml, and nicardipine, with an IC50 of 46.74 +/- 3.83 micrograms/ml, were respectively the second and third most effective compounds. Formation of MDA was also inhibited the most by isradipine, which exerted its inhibitory properties at one-fifth the concentration needed with the other agents: the IC50 of isradipine was 0.98 +/- 0.16 microgram/ml, which was significantly different (p < 0.05) compared with the second most effective agent, verapamil, which had an IC50 of 14.92 +/- 3.78 micrograms/ml. In-vitro PGI2 production was stimulated the most by isradipine as well, producing a significant (p < 0.01) increase to 417.8 +/- 47.6 pg/mg tissue/h (control: 296.4 +/- 17.6 pg/mg tissue/h) at a concentration of 0.5 microgram/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[What value do body weight, age and drug anamnesis have as an index of elevated digoxin level?]. / Welchen Wert haben Körpergewicht, Alter und medikamentöse Anamnese als Indizes eines erhöhten Digoxinspiegels?

A retrospective study of two groups of patients with a different plasma digoxin level (Group A: digoxin greater than or equal to 2 ng/ml, n = 32, Group B: digoxin less than 2 ng/ml, n = 34; total n = 66) showed a significantly lower creatinine clearance (p less than 0.05) in group A. This group also showed a weak correlation between the digoxin level and the length of observation (R = + 0.31, p less than 0.05, n = 29). Furthermore, a weak correlation between digoxin level and the ratio of average daily dosage to creatinine clearance was found for the total sample (R = + 0.30, p less than 0.05, n = 66). Patients treated for less than 7 days and with a higher digoxin level also had a higher dosage and worse renal function (p = 0.05, p = 0.01, respectively). A weak correlation also existed between the digoxin level and creatinine clearance and body weight for the whole sample (R = -0.29, p less than 0.05; R = -0.29, p less than 0.01, respectively; n = 66). The latter correlation was also found within each group. Apart from renal function, the medication taken and body weight seem to be useful variables in predicting impending elevation of the digoxin level. In this study these variables were found to be better suited for the said purpose than the ECG. These conclusions remain to be confirmed by means of a prospective study.

Development of a new shortened version of Raven's matrices test for application and rough assessment of present intellectual capacity within psychopathological investigation.

Based on a sample of 300 psychiatric patients the items of the Standard Progressive Matrices test are analyzed in terms of classical and probabilistic methods, and a version shortened to 30 items is developed. This new version of the test is then standardized from a new sample of 1,200 patients. A table of selected percentiles is computed. Validation with respect to rough classification of intelligence is proved by comparison with results of the WIP .

Somatovariants of females from Northern India.

On the basis of the somatometric data of a series of healthy females (126 individuals 20-30 years old; 219 individuals 31-49 years old) from Northern India (Punjab) a new method is demonstrated for the indication of habitus variants. This method is based on only three measurements. In this study stature, weight and biepicondylar breadth of the humerus were used. This simple method permits instant visualization of the actual class-memberships of each individual (somatovariants). The applicability of the method is shown for intragroup and intergroup comparison. The results are discussed with respect to possible indications of pathologic cases, undernourishment, population specific criteria and age-depending effects. The authors emphasize, however, that this method still needs further elaboration.

On the variability of "flexion creases" in the distal plantar areas of newborns.

The plantae of 83 male and 95 female healthy, full-term Caucasian newborns from Austria (gestational age 235-301 days) were photographed and the flexion creases in the distal part were examined. Analysis of the creases was done under four different aspects, the main evaluation based on a scheme of nine creases introduced by Schenk and Patzer (1959). Two transversal (No. 1 and No. 9) and three longitudinal (Nos. 3, 6, and 7) creases are always or predominantly present, a finding corresponding with the data of Schenk on 52 male and 48 female newborns from Germany. In addition, the nine plantar creases were evaluated according to six degrees of expression, and some typical cease combinations are shown. Bilateral and bisexual similarity prevails. The results of this study might serve investigations of different populations and of medical disorders.

[Reactivity of patients under lithium-therapy/assessment of multivariate relationships (author's transl)]. / Multivariate Zusammenhänge im Leistungsverhalten von Lithium-Patienten.

A representative sample of patients under long-term lithium therapy was examined with respect to performance in reaction task, mood, and attitude toward lithium therapy. Reaction time to simple acoustic or visual stimuli as well as reactivity in complex settings under power- and speed-conditions requiring psychomotoric response represent the bulk of the data. Significant effects of additional medication, sex and duration of lithium therapy are assessed by univariate and multivariate data analysis. A hierarchic cluster analysis results in 5 well interpretable clusters. The clusters, furthermore, demonstrate the importance of attitude and other psychological variable, e.g. morning-/evening-type.

[Statistical data analysis of physiologic parameters in patients with endomorphic-depressive phases. An attempt to explore the changeable effects between physiologic parameters, examination times during the phase and various experimental conditions]. / Statistische Analysen physiologischen Datenmaterials von Patientinnen mit endomorph-depressiven Phasenverläufen. Ein Versuch, Wechselwirkungen zwischen physiologischen Parametern, Untersuchungszeitpunkten im Verlauf der Phase und verschiedenen experimentellen Bedingungen zu objektivieren.

Range-corrected (according to Lykken) physiological data from the parameters of heart rate (HF), respiratory rate (AF), skin potential (skin potential level; SPL; skin potential response, SPR) and skin resistance level, SRL; skin resistance response, SRR) were obtained under an acoustic activation paradigm in the course of a longitudinal investigation on 7 women with endomorph depression treated with thymoleptic medication. These data form the matrix for two- and threefold analyses of variance as well as for concordance analyses according to Kendall. During six measurements (three each taken in the morning and evening) one finds differing levels of activation: relatively low ones at the beginning and at the end, high ones during the 'labilization phase' of the treatment. The varying 'reactivity' to the diverse examination sequences of an acoustic activation program is little affected by the degree of these changes; patient-specific 'characteristics' of the course of the activation are just as recognizable throughout the course of the investigation as are 'stimulus-specific' reactions. Each of the parameters is appropriate for the estimation of different physiological variables; SPR seems rather to be a situation-specific variable, HF and AF are probably suitable for establishing the level of activation, while changes in SPL seem to represent patient-specific characteristics.

[Plantar zygodactylous triradii in a population comparison]. / Populationsvergleiche plantarer zygodaktyler Triradien.

The plantar prints of 125 male Japanese were examined with regard to the frequencies of zygodactylous triradii and their expression types. Comparing the results with those of 500 males Viennese the two samples proved to be significantly different. The differences amount to such an extent that even by enlarging the Japanese sample no fundamental changes in the relations between the two populations might be expected. In Japanese the medium expression occurs in very low frequencies and the strong one not at all, while Europeans show those traits in about 60%. Comparing the pattern types characteristic for zygodactylous triradii, the Japanese revealed almost no proximal loops in the second and almost no whorls in the third interdigital area whereas Viennese showed high frequencies of both types. The findings of a sample of Angolan Bantus as well as those of a German one differ from the Japanese in the same way as the Viennese. It was observed that the line connecting the distal ends of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th toes is formed rather transversally in Japanese, while it is declining towards the 5th toe in Europeans and in Bantus. It requires further studies to prove if there exists a relation between this anatomical trait and the occurrence of zygodactylous triradii.

Variability of plantar zygodactylous triradii in monozygotic and dizygotic twins.

Using a special method, the dermatoglyphics of the plantar interdigital areas of 86 monozygotic and 76 dizygotic Polish twin pairs were obtained. The frequencies of different types of zygodactylous triradii were estimated using a recently published new scheme of classification. The second, third, and fourth interdigital areas were grouped together. The findings indicate a high heritability which suggest that zygodactylous triradii might be used as a valuable genetic marker.

[Relations between subjective-psychological, physiological and behavioral levels in endogenous depressions]. / Zur Frage kongruenter Beziehungen zwischen Befindens-, physiologischen und psychopathologischen Daten im Verlauf endogen depressiver Phasen.

In a longitudinal study of depressed episodes, changes in patients' state were examined by variables on the subjective-psychological, physiological and behavioral levels, respectively. Starting from the hypothesis of a systematic connection of these variables changes in patients' condition were defined from merely one of the above-mentioned levels, i.e. the test-psychological criteria relating to the subjective-psychological level ('Polaritätsprofil'). Results based on the rank analysis of covariance are presented which show the complex multivariate correlations between the three levels.