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Biomedical subjects

A C Higgins

Publications and source records attributed to A C Higgins.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Impact of the Higgins Nutrition Intervention Program on birth weight: a within-mother analysis.

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the Higgins Nutrition Intervention Program of individual nutritional assessment and rehabilitation on pregnancy outcome in a group of urban low-income women. Developed as an adjunct to routine prenatal care, the Higgins program utilizes an individualized approach to dietary treatment that combines an assessment of the risk profile for the presenting pregnancy with the application of specific nutritional rehabilitation allowances to compensate for the negative impact of diagnosed risks. This report presents results of analyses evaluating differences in birth outcomes between 552 sibling pairs; each mother had participated in the Higgins program during the pregnancy of the second-born, but not of the first-born, member of her pair. After adjustment for parity and sex, the intervention infants weighed an average of 107 gm more than their matched siblings at birth (p less than .01). The rate of low birth weight was 50% lower among the intervention infants than among their siblings (p less than .01); rates of intra-uterine growth retardation and perinatal mortality were also lower in the intervention group. The high risk of poor pregnancy outcome in this group of urban low-income women was reduced by the Higgins program.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Intraoperative evoked potentials recorded in man directly from dorsal roots and spinal cord.

Direct spinal cord surface recordings of evoked spinal cord potentials have been made in 26 patients during neurosurgical procedures for intractable pain. Monopolar recordings at the dorsal root entry zone after peripheral nerve stimulation have been made at multiple levels for segmental localization and to monitor the state of the afferent path and dorsal horn. Dorsal root and dorsal column conduction has been tested on diseased and intact sides. Normal afferent conduction velocity was found to have an overall mean of 61.33 m/sec for cervicothoracic and lumbosacral peripheral nerves, and 50 m/sec for the dorsal columns. The normal mean amplitude for the slow negative wave (N1) recorded at the root entry was 52.54 muV, while that for the dorsal column conducted response recorded within 4 cm of the stimulus point on the dorsal columns was 347.5 muV. Several different placements of stimulating and recording electrodes are described, as well as their application. An interpretation of the resulting data is proposed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder): a new approach to its management.

Fifty-six shoulders in 50 patients with adhesive capsulitis were divided into 2 groups, using different treatment programs. Group A comprised 28 shoulders in 26 patients. These were treated by therapeutic heating modalities followed by therapeutic exercises and gentle rhythmic stabilization manipulation. Group B totaled 28 shoulders in 24 patients. These were treated by prolonged pulley traction accompanied by transcutaneous nerve stimulation. Group B demonstrated much greater improvement than Group A.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1981

Effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on long-tract neuronal conduction in the acute phase of spinal cord injury.

To study the acute effects of hyperbaric oxygen ventilation (HBO) on long-tract function following spinal cord trauma, the authors employed a technique for monitoring spinal cord evoked potentials (SCEP) as an objective measure of translesion neuronal conduction in cats subjected to transdural impact injuries of the spinal cord. Control animals subjected to injuries of a magnitude of 400 or 500 gm-cm occasionally demonstrated spontaneous return of translesion SCEP within 2 hours of injury when maintained by pentobarbital anesthesia and by ventilation with ambient room air at 1 atmosphere absolute pressure (1 ATA). Animals sustaining corresponding injuries but receiving immediate treatment with HBO at 2 ATA for a period of 3 hours following impact demonstrated variable responses to this treatment modality. Animals sustaining injuries of 400 gm-cm magnitude showed recovery of translesion SCEP in four of five cases, while animals sustaining injuries of 500 gm-cm magnitude responded to HBO treatment by recovery of SCEP no more frequently than did control animals. When the onset of HBO therapy was delayed by 2 hours following impact, there appeared to be no demonstrable protective effect on long-tract neuronal conduction mediated by HBO alone. The observations suggest that HBO treatments can mediate preservation of marginally injured neuronal elements of the spinal cord long tracts during the early phases of traumatic spinal cord injury. These protective effects may be based upon the reversal of focal tissue hypoxia, or by reduction of tissue edema. HBO treatment markedly diminished the protective effects of HBO on long-tract neuronal conduction following traumatic spinal cord injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Stereotactic evacuation of large intracerebral hematoma.

Despite the declining incidence of strokes, statistics regarding intracerebral hemorrhage indicate a relatively stable incidence in this form of cerebral insult over the past 20 years. Intracerebral hemorrhage accounts for 10% of all strokes, and is fatal to 50-60% of its victims. Until the advent of computer-assisted tomography, surgical intervention offered little benefit to patients suffering primary hemorrhage within the deep gray structures of the cerebral hemispheres. Technical advances in both diagnostic and therapeutic instrumentation now permit stereotactic subtotal evacuation of deep intracerebral hematomas.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

CT-guided stereotaxis using a modified conventional stereotaxic frame.

Computed tomographic (CT)-guided stereotaxic procedure have become established in a few major centers but a single optimal system has not yet emerged. At Duke University Medical Center, availability of a stereotaxic frame with design features that lend themselves to CT adaptation made modification of this unit, rather than construction of a new dedicated frame, cost-effective. As other centers may seek to modify available stereotaxic equipment in a similar way, this report documents the modifications ans the early clinical experience in four patients in whom CT-guided stereotaxic biopsy procedures were performed.

Adolescent↗