Electroencephalographic Study of Mentally Retarded Twins

1976 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-162
Author(s):  
Takao Hattori

The EEGs of twenty-five pairs of twins, one or both of whom were mentally retarded, were studied. The concordance rate for mental retardation in monozygotic twins was higher than that in dizygotic twins. The vast majority of cases of mental retardation were considered to be caused by genotype but some exogenous causes were observed in discordant monozygotic twins. Paroxysmal discharges in the EEG especially those of centrencephalic type were suspected to be bio-electrical expressions of a transmissible cerebral susceptibility which may easily lead to intellectual deterioration by brain damage or epilepsy.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1174-1176
Author(s):  
Saul Krugman

Sixteen years have elapsed since the last major epidemic of rubella in the United States. Prior to 1964, extensive outbreaks occurred at about six- to nine-year intervals. These outbreaks were associated with the birth of many thousands of infants with one or more of the following defects: cataracts, deafness, cardiac malformations, and brain damage causing mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or severe behavior disorders. In addition, many pregnancies were terminated by spontaneous or therapeutic abortions. This devastating "rubella problem" provided the motivation for the development of rubella vaccine. The live attenuated rubella vaccine was licensed for use in 1969—two to four years before the next anticipated epidemic.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 586-589
Author(s):  
George Link Spaeth ◽  
G. Winston Barber

The prevalence of homocystinuria in patients with mental retardation institutionalized in the United States is about 0.02%; this is lower than a previous estimation from Northern Ireland (0.3%). On the other hand, about 5% of patients with dislocated lenses may be expected to have the disease. A silver-nitroprusside test which is almost completely specific for homocystine has been evaluated. It should be useful for screening.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 655-660
Author(s):  
Bernard E. Cohen ◽  
Arieh Szeinberg ◽  
Wifred Berman ◽  
Yermiahu Aviad ◽  
Moshe Crispin ◽  
...  

A highly inbred family with five mentally retarded persons is described. Two sibs presented typical characteristics of phenylketonuria, while one mentally retarded sib did not show any biochemical abnormality. The mother and maternal uncle had mild hyperphenylalaninemia. It is pointed out in the discussion that, while the mental retardation (at least in some of these subjects) may be independent of disturbances of phenylalanine metabolism, it is possible also to explain all the findings in the family on a unified basis, involving a variant hyperphenylalaninemia with tolerance increasing with age and "maternal phenylketonuia."


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 478-485
Author(s):  
Gerald D. LaVeck ◽  
Felix de la Cruz

A series of 578 institutionalized mentally retarded patients was evaluated by a multi-discipline approach in order to establish a presumptive etiologic diagnosis. Abnormal electroencephalographic findings were found to be related to the age of the patient, the severity of retardation, and the presence of seizures or motor dysfunction. In this series 65.9% had abnormal tracings, and the most frequent abnormality was a focal change in 18.7%. However, focal abnormalities correlated with seizures and motor dysfunction so that no specific electroencephalographic aberration was characteristic of mental subnormality. Abnormal tracings were most frequent in nonseizure patients when subnormality was caused by intoxication, new growths, metabolic disorders, infectious processes, trauma, and encephalopathy of unknown cause in decreasing order of frequency. Abnormalities were seen in 36.4% of "cultural-familial" defectives and those whose intellectual defect was presumably due to psychologic factors. It is believed that electroencephalography is a valuable diagnostic aid in the evaluation of mentally retarded children.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-798

In the January 1972 issue in Dr. Paul H. Pearson's review of the book Mental Retardation and Its Social Dimensions by Margaret Adams, the fifth paragraph of the right hand column on page 161 should read as follows: "In all fairness, Miss Adanis goes on to point up the essential need of a multidisciplinary approach to the multivariant needs of the retarded. She points out the ways in which the efforts of the social work profession are integrated with those of medicine, education and psychology to bring about, through preventive and habilitative measures, optimal social functioning of the mentally retarded within our society."


1969 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 687-694
Author(s):  
Robert M. Anderson ◽  
Godfrey D. Stevens

Information including epidemiological data from 6 residential schools for the deaf was collected. It included data relative to prevalence, classification, and nomenclature; numbers and kinds of disabilities in addition to deafness and mental retardation; and estimations of projected grade level expectancy for mentally retarded deaf children. A total of 304 (19 percent of the pupil population) pupils with an IQ of below 83 were enrolled in these schools; 132 of these children were classified as mentally retarded. Seventy-three children were reported to have one or more disabilities in addition to deafness and mental retardation. A mean grade level expectancy of 4.3 was predicted for 117 of the children.


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