Minimal brain dysfunction

Conners, C.K. Psychological effects of stimulant drugs in children with minimal brain dysfunction. Pediatrics 49 702-708, 1972. 

Bender-Gestalt Test. The Bender-Gestalt is a nonverbal performance test in which the individual copies a design shown on a card. It is often used to identify a problem of visual perception and/or motor performance or minimal brain dysfunction in children. 

The notion that colors, flavors, and other common food additives could adversely affect children s behavior was widely publicized in the 1970s. According to Feingold (1974), 40-70% of children who exhibited impulsive behavior, learning disabilities, short attention spans, and other symptoms characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD (formerly called hyperkinesis, hyperactivity, or minimal brain dysfunction) showed dramatic improvement when placed on diets without food dyes and other common additives. 

The therapeutic uses of amphetamine are based on its ability to stimulate the CNS. The o-isomer (dextroamphetamine) is three to four times as potent as the L-isomer in producing CNS effects. It has been used in the treatment of obesity because of its anorexic effect, although tolerance to this effect develops rapidly. It prevents or overcomes fatigue and has been used as a CNS stimulant. Amphetamine is no longer recommended for these uses because of its potential for abuse. Amphetamine is useful in certain cases of narcolepsy or minimal brain dysfunction. 

The therapeutic indications for the psychomotor stimulants are quite limited. They are beneficial in the treatment of the hyperkinetic syndrome (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder with minimal brain dysfunction). This is generally a childhood disease characterized by hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, and impulsive behavior. Amphetamines and the more extensively used methylphenidate paradoxically are quite effective in calming a large proportion of children with this disorder. Pemoline Cylert) is also used in the treatment of attention deficit disorder with hyperkinetic behavior. The mechanism by which these compounds are effective in this disorder is not known. 

Wender, P.H., Wood, D.R., and Reimherr, EW. (1985) Pharmacological treatment of attention deficit disorder, residual type (ADDRT, minimal brain dysfunction , hyperactivity ) in adults. Psycho-pharmacol Bull 21 222-232. 

Connors, 1975 MPH 59 (59) 4-5 11 Minimal brain dysfunction Parallel design MPH 11.8 mg/day (MPH 1.5 mg/kg/d) 42 days 27/29 children improved Minimal SEs with a ttend towatd elevated blood ptessute... 

Connors, C.K. (1975) Controlled trial of methylphenidate in preschool children with minimal brain dysfunction. Int J Ment Health 4 61-74. 

Kauffmann, J.M., Hallahan, D.P. Learning disability and hyperactivity (with comments on minimal brain dysfunction). In Lahey, B.B., Kazoin, A.E. (eds) Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, Vol. 2. Plenum, New York, 1979, pp. 71-105. 

Conners CK, Taylor E. Pemoline methylphenidate, and placebo in children with minimal brain dysfunction. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1980 37 922-930. 

These studies offer a new model of concomitant behavioral, chemical, and morphological abnormalities associated with a defined Insult at a critical period 1n dendritic development. This model may have some special Importance 1n relation to minimal brain dysfunctions, particularly since no blood-brain barrier protects the fetal brain from antibodies 1n the maternal circulation. 

Amphetamine is used to treat a condition known as minimal brain dysfunction, a disorder later renamed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

In the 1960s, Ritalin was prescribed for children identified as having personality-driven symptoms—the condition first called MBD (minimal brain dysfunction) and hyperkinetic reaction. Having excessive motor activity was a prerequisite to fit into this category. As a result, many children were not considered eligible for Ritalin. 

Wender, P., Eisenberg, L. (1975). Minimal brain dysfunction in children. In S. Arieti (Ed.), American handbook of psychiatry (Vol. 2). New York Basic Books. 

There is large variation in individual responses to methylphenidate among hyperactive children with minimal brain dysfunction. It is therefore advisable to start with small divided doses, since some sjmptoms (extrapjr-amidal and seizure-like) could be dose-related. 

Attention Deficit Disorder is thought to have a neurological basis, as implied in the name "minimal brain dysfunction." That name was dropped because the exact "dysfunction" could not be proven and "soft" (equivocal) neurological signs are not... 

Approximately 7% of all live-born humans bear birth defects. This value may be as high as 10% if children are evaluated to age 10 years to include subtle structural or functional deficits such as minimal brain dysfunction or attention deficit disorders. More than 560 000 lives out of 3 million births per year in the United States are lost through infant death, spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, and miscarriage due presumably to defective fetal development. The relative contributions to human teratogenesis have been estimated as follows known germinal mutations, 20% chromosomal and gene aberrations, 3-5% environmental causes such as radiation, <1% infections, 2% or 3% maternal metabolic imbalance, 1% or 2% drugs and environmental chemicals, 4% or 5% contributions from maternal dietary deficiencies or excesses and... 

Elsner J. 1991. Tactile-kinesthetic system of rats as an animal model for minimal brain dysfunction. Arch Toxicol 65(6) 465-473. 

David TJ Reactions to dietary tartrazine. Arch Dis Child 62 119-122, 1987 Egger], Graham P], Carter CM, et al Controlled trial of oligoantigenic treatment in the hyperkinetic syndrome. Lancet 1 540-545,1985 Eich WF, Thim EB, Crowder JE Effect of the Feingold Kaiser Permanente diet in minimal brain dysfunction. Journal of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama 49 16-20, 1979... 

Hughes EC, Oettinger L, Johnson F, et al Case report a chemically defined diet in diagnosis and management of food sensitivity in minimal brain dysfunction. Ann Allergy 42 174-176, 1979... 

It is a mild CNS stimulant having a therapeutic potency intermediate to caffeine and amphetamine. It is used in the treatment and management of minimal brain dysfunction in children. 

Wells, G. A. H., McHowell, J. and Gopinath, C. (1976). Experimental lead encephalopathycalves. Histological observations on the nature and distribution of lesions. Neuropathol. Appl. Neurobiol., 2, 605 Wender, P. H. (1978). Minimal brain dysfunction an overview. In Lipton, M. A., DiMascio, A. and Killam, K. F. (eds.). Psychopharmacology A Generation of Progress. (New York Raven Press)... 

Neurobehavioural associations and syndromes of minimal brain dysfunction . In Rose FC (Ed), Clinical Neuroepidemiology. 

Sobotka, T. J. and Cook, M. P. (1974). Postnatal lead acetate exposure in rats. Possible relationship to minimal brain dysfunction. Amer. J. Mental Defic. 79, 5-9. 

Wender, P. H. (1971). Minimal Brain Dysfunction in Children. Wiley, New York. 

Because of the bronchial muscle relaxant effect, caffeine is used in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and for the treatment of asthma. The use of caffeine in the treatment of children with minimal brain dysfunction, to increase the duration of electroconvulsive therapy-induced seizure, for allergic rhinitis, as well as for atopic dermatitis has also been described. Recently, caffeine has been used as a diagnostic test for malignant hyperthermia and in the diagnosis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a complication of neuroleptic therapy. 

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