Body Weight and Achilles Reflex Time
Authors: VICTOR BURT
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1964)

Brief Communications1 May 1964Body Weight and Achilles Reflex TimeVICTOR BURT, M.D., ALBERT STUNKARD, M.D.VICTOR BURT, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, ALBERT STUNKARD, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-60-5-900 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThis report describes the distribution of Achilles tendon reflex times in a sample of 244 men drawn from a larger, well-defined population containing both obese and nonobese persons. It was stimulated by the many recent reports of disturbed lipid metabolism in obesity, and particularly by the work of Gordon (1). He has described a hypometabolic obese syndrome and has estimated that it is present in 25 per cent of the obese patients seen in his laboratory (2). One of the criteria utilized in the diagnosis of this syndrome is the presence of a markedly prolonged Achilles reflex time. Measurement of...References1. GORDON E: Abnormal energy metabolism in obesity. Trans. Ass. Amer. Physicians. 75: 118, 1962. MedlineGoogle Scholar2. GORDON E: Personal communication. Google Scholar3. New weight standards for men and women. Statist. Bull. Metrop. Life Insur. Co. 40: November-December, 1959. Google Scholar4. GILSON WE: Achilles-reflex recording with simple photomotograph. New Eng. J. Med. 260: 1027, 1959. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. LAWSON JF: The free Achilles reflex in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. New Eng. J. Med. 259: 761, 1958. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. WEISSBEINLAWSON ASJD: Paradoxical lengthening of muscle contraction time in hypothyroid patients given small doses of l-triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and dessicated thyroid. J. Clin. Endocr. 20: 429, 1959. CrossrefGoogle Scholar7. SHERMANGOLDBERGLARSON LMFC: The Achilles reflex: a diagnostic test of thyroid disfunction. Lancet 1: 243, 1963. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. LAMBERTUNDERDAHLBECKETTMADEROS EHLDSLO: A study of the ankle jerk in myxedema. J. Clin. Endocr. 11: 1186, 1951. CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. SIMPSONBLAIRNARTOWICZ GMJHGR: Diagnostic limitations of Achilles tendon reflex in thyroid disease. New York J. Med. 63: 1148, 1963. MedlineGoogle Scholar10. CHANEY WC: Tendon reflexes in myxedema: a valuable aid in diagnosis. JAMA 82: 2013, 1924. CrossrefGoogle Scholar11. RICHARDS AG: The "myxedema reflex" as a presenting sign in sarcoidosis. Canad. Med. Ass. J. 86: 32, 1962. MedlineGoogle Scholar12. SIMPSONBLAIRNARTOWICZ GMJHGR: Prolonged Achilles reflex in neurosyphilis simulating the "myxedema reflex." New Eng. J. Med. 268: 89, 1963. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. CARRGILLHENKINBARTTER AAJRRIFC: The relationship of potassium metabolism to the Achilles tendon reflex in man. Clin. Res. 11: 215, 1963. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFrom the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.This work was supported in part by a grant from the Smith, Kline & French Foundation and by research grant M-3684 from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service, Bethesda, Maryland.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Albert Stunkard, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byDiet‐induced obesity decreases rate‐dependent depression in the Hoffmann’s reflex in adult miceFettsucht und Diabetes mellitusLiteraturAge-sex specific achilles tendon reflex time in Japanese: A study of atomic bomb survivors, Hiroshima 1 May 1964Volume 60, Issue 5Page: 900-902KeywordsLipid metabolismMedical servicesObesityOverweightPrevention, policy, and public healthPsychiatry and mental healthReflexesResearch grantsResearch laboratoriesTendons Issue Published: 1 May 1964 PDF downloadLoading ...