U. S. Study links schizophrenia to physical defects

'Tests show abnormalities in the blood flow in brains of mental patients.

The flow of blood to the crucial centers of reason in the brains of schizophrenics is partially blocked when they are asked to perform intellectual tasks, according to researchers at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

The observations strengthens the growing belief that schizo­phrenia may be a physical disease caused by abnormalities in the brain, rather than a purely mental or emotional problem.

The disturbed blood flow has been seen by National In­stitutes of Mental Health scientists in eight young chronic schizophrenics — men in their 20s and 30s in a research ward at St. Elizabeth’s.

Dr. Daniel Weinberger, head of the institutes’ research team, said that more extensive studies would be needed be­fore the results could be called conclusive.

Four of the eight patients showed a sharp drop in blood flow to the brain’s frontal lobes when they tried to perform a simple card-matching test. All eight showed at least some diminished flow, and none was able to do the card test, one most normally reasoning people would master in minutes.

" A new brain-imaging technique, Dr. Weinberger reported, has shown that in a simple test requiring use of the brain’s frontal lobes, these lobes seem to “turn off”.

If the brain is viewed as a computer, he said, the findings suggest that the patients’ frontal lobes “seem to have a com­puter crash. Their frontal lobes go off-line”.

The human brain has two hemispheres, like the two halves of a walnut, each of which is divided into sections or lobes. The frontal lobes are in many ways the most advanced sec­tions, vital to normal awareness and judgement.

Schizophrenia is characterized by flattened emotions, de­ranged insight, inappropriate behavior and social withdrawal. According to Dr. Weinberger, several lines of evidence sug­gest that this common mental disease involves defects in both frontal lobes and the limbic system, a group of struc­tures within the brain.

“There may be a host of defects in the limbic-frontal ar­rangements” Dr. Weinberger said. The resulting frontal-lobe disorder, he said, may help to explain the illness’s symptoms.

To test this idea, Dr. Weinberger and colleagues at the St. Elizabeth’s research unit asked their patients to breathe some mildly radioactive xenon gas for one minute.

The gas was carried to the brain via the blood. The pa- I ients were then asked to perform the card test — matching colored stars, triangles, crosses and dots on a TV-like screen jr while 32 small detectors measured blood flow in the brain.

The faster the blood flow in any region, the faster the radioactivity dissappeared. In at least half the patients, the sluggish flow in the frontal lobes showed that the blood was not delivering enough glucose to fuel brain cells.

Such physical defects may be hereditary, Dr. Weinberger said, or caused by disease, perhaps “a viral infectidn that has obliterated some connections”.

A physical cause for schizophrenia, some scientists say, does not rule out the part of emotional upset as the element trig­gering the disease in the physically vulnerable.

Task 14. Use these expressions in the sentences of your own to show that you understand the content of the article above:

1) to be asked to do smth.; 2) smth. is caused by smth.; 3) smth. would be needed before smth.; 4) to try to do smth.; 5) to be able to do smth.; 6) the findings suggest that...; 7) smth. is divided into smth.; 8) smth. is charac­terized by smth.; 9) in both ... and 10) to carry smth. via smth.

(a) more extensive studies ...; b) they tried to perform a simple card-matching test; c) each hemisphere is divided into sections or lobes; d) schizophrenia is characterized by inap­propriate behavior, social withdrawal; e) schizophrenics are asked to perform intellectual tasks ...; f) a physical disease caused by abnormalities in the brain ...; g) in both the fron­tal lobes and within the brain; h) the gas was carried to the brain via blood; i) ... the patient’s frontal lobes seem to have a computer crash; j) none was able to do card-test)Task 15. Try to memorize the meaning of some addi­tional clinical terms connected with the pathological conditions of the nervous system:

tumours of brain — growths of brain tissue and meninges of abnormal character syncope ['siqkspi] — a temporary deficiency of blood supply to the brain which causes loss of consciousness or fainting glioma [gh'ouma] — a tumour that arises from supporting structure of nerves — neuroglia. It grows on the brain, spinal cord, etc. glioblastoma Lgliou'blaestsma] — occurs mainly in the cere­brum of adults meningioma [me'nxnd3i:ouma] -^'a tumour from meninges astrocytoma [_/a;stro(u)sai'toma] — a tumour on a star­shaped cell of the brain and spinal cord (most often occurs in childhood in cerebellum) medulloblastoma [.medsla'blaestama] — it is common in childhood and is derived from cerebellar embryonic cells Parkinson’s disease — a degenerative disease of later life, cha­racterized by a rhythmic tremor and muscular rigidity caused by degeneration in the basal ganglia of the brain (Parkinson James — English physician who first described it) myasthenia gravis [, maiaes' 0i:nia ’ grei vis ] — a disease of faulty nerve conduction characterized by weakness and quick fatigue of muscles, especially of the face and neck, lips, tongue, throat

multiple sclerosis — a chronic disease in which there is scattered demyelination of the central nervous system: it is characterized by speech defects, loss of muscular coordi­nation, etc.

thrombosis — a clot coagulation in a blood vessel or in the heart. It is the most common type of stroke embolism — the obstruction of a blood vessel (including the one leading to the brain) by an embolus (a piece of clot which breaks off from its place of origin) and which is too large to pass through a blood vessel and causes a sudden stroke hemorrhage — the escape of large quantities of blood ves­sel; heavy bleeding because of degeneration of cerebral arteries. They can burst on account of high blood pres­sure, arteriosclerosis. Usually hemorrhage demages the nerve cells in the motor region of the cerebrum and the patient is hemiplegic and aphasic coma a state of deep and prolonged unconsciousness caused by injury or disease; a condition of stupor and lethargy hydrocephalus — a condition characterized by an abnor­mal increase and accumulation of fluid in the cranium, especially in young children, causing enlargement of the head and destruction of the brain meningitis ’-*• inflammation of the meninges, especially, as a result of infection by bacteria or viruses of the subarach­noid space of the meninges epilepsy — a chronic disease of the nervous system, character­ized by convultions and often, unconsciousness (grand mal — convultions and loss of consciousness; petit mal — attacks of momentary unconsciousness without convultions) apoplexy Nj| sudden paralysis with total or partial loss of consciousness and sensation caused by the breaking or obstruction of a blood vessel, in the brain

Task 16. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words given below:

1. Myasthenia gravis can be by quick fatigue of mus­cles. 2. The vision can be #*■'by an oculist (ophthalmolo­gist). 3. Glioma n on the brain and spinal cord. 4. Myelo­meningocele — the condition when the neural tissue .y. to the surface. 5. Will yoti be quiet, because the patient .Ç»,? (5. Many experiments HI that sleep is more necessary for the human being than food. 7. Blood vessels ./Ton account of high blood pressure. 8. Hemorrhage % the nerve cells in the mo-tor region of the cerebrum.

(a — can be checked up; b — protrudes; c — has just fallen asleep; d * have shown; e — can burst; f '«*■■ can be characterized; g — damage; h grows)

Task 17. Build medical terms:

l)-j..thalamus; 2) lumber.3; 3) jG-phasia: 4) polioence- phai p..; Il multiple«; 6) elecft-oencephalofc*^ 7) dys..C~

(a yp ...itis; b — ...sclerosis; cygp.phasia; d ^...gram; e — a...; f — hypo...; g — ...puncture)

Task 18. Choose the proper terms for the definitions:

1. Removal of a “knot” (a mass) of nerve cells serving as a centre from which nerve impulsés are transmitted. 2. In­flammations of à nerve often associated with a degenerative process and accompanied by changes in sensory and motor activity in the région of the affected nerve. 3. An acute in­flammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, caused by various microorganisms and characterized by fe­ver, skin eruptions, etc. 4. Disease of the white matter of the

4. 4

   97

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5. brain. 5. A total or partial loss of the power to use or under­stand words, inability to speak. 6. Inflammation of the spi­nal cord or the bone marrow. 7. A malignant tumour of the bone marrow, consisting generally of abnormal plasma cells.

7. A type of neurosis, usually the result of emotional conflicts characterized by irritability, fatigue, weakness, anxiety, and, often, localized pains or distress without apparent physical causes. 9. A condition of abnormally increased muscular movement. 10. Excessive blood flow under the dura mater.

(a — neuritis; b — leukoencephalopathy; c — aphasia; d — subdural hematoma; e —.myeloma; f —i hyperkinesis (-ia); g — cerebrospinal meningitis; h — neurasthenia; і — myelitis; j — ganglionectomy)

Task 19. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words given below:

1. The cerebrospinal fl. was normal. 2. An isolated abs­cess of the right cerebral^.«*.* was found at necropsy. 3. The patient had constant bad C. and left ,.?*> 4. A high measure of .“ against .^:?-can be given by prophylactic vaccination.

5. The left side of the body was 6. Severely damaged nerve .91 can be restored. 7. There are some effective methods against such grave disorders of the .£-as Parkinson’s ....

(a — protection, poliomyelitis; b — paralyzed; c — headaches, hemiparesis; d — fibres; e — brain, disease; f — hemisphere; g — fluid)