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Biomedical subjects

A Crocker

Publications and source records attributed to A Crocker.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Concomitant loss of dynorphin, NARP, and orexin in narcolepsy.

BACKGROUND: Narcolepsy with cataplexy is associated with a loss of orexin/hypocretin. It is speculated that an autoimmune process kills the orexin-producing neurons, but these cells may survive yet fail to produce orexin. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether other markers of the orexin neurons are lost in narcolepsy with cataplexy. METHODS: We used immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization to examine the expression of orexin, neuronal activity-regulated pentraxin (NARP), and prodynorphin in hypothalami from five control and two narcoleptic individuals. RESULTS: In the control hypothalami, at least 80% of the orexin-producing neurons also contained prodynorphin mRNA and NARP. In the patients with narcolepsy, the number of cells producing these markers was reduced to about 5 to 10% of normal. CONCLUSIONS: Narcolepsy with cataplexy is likely caused by a loss of the orexin-producing neurons. In addition, loss of dynorphin and neuronal activity-regulated pentraxin may contribute to the symptoms of narcolepsy.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Fitness, responsibility, and judicially ordered assessments.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of individuals assessed for fitness to stand trial (FST) with those assessed for criminal responsibility (CR). METHOD: This study examines all the consecutive requests of FST or CR addressed to the only forensic psychiatric hospital in the province of Quebec and 2 prisons in the Montreal area over a 1-year period. RESULTS: In all, 170 FST, 52 CR, and 29 both FST and CR assessment requests were received (251 subjects). Psychiatrists' recommendations and court verdicts of unfitness to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorders were mostly related to the presence of a psychotic-spectrum disorder. There is generally a good agreement between psychiatric recommendations and verdicts of the court, with the exception of unfitness recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Defendants referred for a FST or a CR assessment displayed similar characteristics. However, although subjects with psychotic disorders represented more than one-half of the unfit or not criminally responsible verdicts, most of the subjects with psychoses were found competent to stand trial or responsible.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Interaction of nutrition and infection: effect of copper deficiency on resistance to Trypanosoma lewisi.

The copper-deficient rat-trypanosome system was used to study copper deficiency in Sprague Dawley rats infected with Trypanosoma lewisi. Throughout the observational period, animals on the deficient diet had lower plasma and liver copper concentrations compared with complete and pair-fed animals. In all dietary groups, the food intake and body weight changes of rats inoculated with T lewisi showed significant increases over the noninoculated controls. The rate of these indices were significantly less in the copper-deficient animals compared with the animals fed complete diets. Copper-deficient and pair-fed control rats showed greater numbers of parasites than controls throughout the infection. The duration of the trypanosomal infection was longer in copper-deficient rats compared with other groups. In all of the dietary groups, severe depression in the primary and secondary antibody responses (IgM and IgG) to in vivo immunization with sheep erythrocytes was observed in infected animals over noninfected controls. The results of the present study indicate that during copper deficiency, there are significant changes in food consumption and body weight and enhanced susceptibility to infection as measured by an increased parasitemia and depression in the antibody responses.

Animals↗