This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

William H. Wright, MD
San Marino Neurological Center San Marino, Calif

JAMA. 1976;235(18):1967.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The editorial entitled "Minimal Brain Dysfunction" (235: 183, 1976) proposes that it is appropriate to avoid the use of this "wastebasket diagnosis," especially since it is obvious to the editor that grouping children under such a label would apparently prevent determination of the pathogenesis of the underlying disorder or disorders and retard the development of appropriate treatment.

Researchers at Yale apparently were unhampered by this semantic "myth."¹1 They believe that they have developed an experimental model of minimal brain dysfunction in rats that suggests a functional deficiency of brain dopamine in the pathogenesis of minimal brain dysfunction. Such a pathogenesis apparently is supported by recent findings of a significantly reduced turnover of homovanillic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with minimal brain dysfunction.²

If such research can be verified, the obvious potential of early replacement of dopamine may well prevent the development of the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?