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Biomedical subjects

B Stratford

Publications and source records attributed to B Stratford.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

The United Kingdom population with Down syndrome: present and future projections.

The prevalence of Down syndrome by age and sex was established from questionnaires sent to heads of 30 registers in the United Kingdom covering a general population of over 7 million. Possible underascertainment and factors affecting prevalence were discussed. The overall prevalence of Down syndrome in the United Kingdom was 6.7 per 10,000 general population, representing approximately 30,000 affected individuals. Prevalence was also presented in 5-year age bands. We used two methods of projection and found no significant difference in their results. There was no indication of a sizable reduction in the future Down syndrome population. An incidence- and mortality-based projection method provided evidence that recent reductions in prevalence among the youngest age bands may be explained by changes in the maternal population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Responses to music and movement in the development of children with Down's syndrome.

Physical responses to rhythmic stimuli and music, of different degrees of complexity were registered from 25 children with Down's syndrome and 25 other mentally handicapped children. Required performances were taught and then recorded on video-tape, after which they were assessed by experienced teacher/judges. Whilst there were no overall significant differences between the groups, important differences were detected between the children in different schools with attendant implications for differential treatment. Apart from an overall and general assessment of performance, analysis was made of demographic variables, for example, sex, intelligence, age and social development. It is concluded that specific teaching approaches can significantly effect the development of children with Down's syndrome in such creative aspects of the curriculum as music, movement and dance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Inhibitors of collagenase IV and cell adhesion reduce the invasive activity of malignant tumour cells.

The invasive activities of some malignant cells appear to be activated by contact with laminin. This protein occurs solely in basement membranes and the binding of malignant cells to the surface of this extracellular matrix initiates the invasion process. Passage of the cells across basement membrane requires degradative activity and laminin induces the production of collagenase IV which lyses the collagen IV network. The motility of the cells is enhanced by chemo-attractants and by matrix molecules. Peptides that inhibit the binding of tumour cells to laminin, inhibitors of collagenase IV, and inhibitors of specific pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism prevent invasion as well as the metastasis of malignant cells and could be employed to stop the spread of cancer.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Incidence and prevalence of Down's syndrome--a discussion and report.

This paper seeks to demonstrate that a slow but steady rise in the Down's syndrome population can be expected. Studies concerned with Down's populations have been critically examined along with factors effecting such populations; i.e. better health care, changes in maternal child-bearing age, under-diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis. It is suggested that better health care and a reduction in under-diagnosis could create a recognized increase in the Down's syndrome population, but that the effect of changes in child-bearing age is questionable. The effect of prenatal diagnosis is less than might be anticipated and changes in public attitudes could reduce this effect even further. In view of conflicting data from many of the studies examined, a small investigation was carried out in the Sheffield and Buckinghamshire areas. Results from these surveys indicate a current overall incidence rate of 4.63 per 10 000 though there are differences between the two areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Rhythm and time in the perception of Down's syndrome children.

This investigation attempts to examine a sense of rhythm in relation to levels of response to rhythmic stimuli in normal children and mentally handicapped children, particularly children with Down's syndrome. Ten Down's syndrome (average CA: 158 months, average MA: 43 months), ten other mentally handicapped children (average CA: 147 months, average MA: 44 months), and ten normal children (average CA: 50 months, average MA: 46 months) were required to listen to a rhythm and to shadow certain rhythms by tapping them out simultaneously with the stimuli. Three different rhythms of increasing complexity were used. After a practice session, responses were collected from subjects using a tapping device; these were recorded on a computer. Results obtained in all aspects of the tests were very similar in both normal and Down's syndrome groups. The other mentally handicapped children were considerably weaker than the other two groups. It is suggested that at this level there is no difference between Down's syndrome and normal children of the same mental age in rhythmic discrimination. Differences lie between Down's syndrome and other mentally handicapped children and this comparison could account for the attribution to Down's syndrome children of a higher than normal level of musical skills.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Position cues in discrimination behaviour of normal, Down syndrome and other mentally handicapped children.

Groups comprising twelve Down syndrome, twelve other mentally handicapped children and twelve normal children, matched for M.A., were tested on a visual discrimination task. There was some evidence to support the suggestion that certain types of mentally handicapped children attended to single cues, rather than to total configuration. There was also evidence of perceptual distortion resulting in reversal and attraction to "good form". Differences were detected between Down syndrome and non-Down syndrome handicapped children which were consistent with the suggestion that Down syndrome children characteristically show flexibility in approach to perceptual discrimination tasks. The results were not inconsistent with interpreting perceptual processes in handicapped and normal children as essentially similar.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Preferences in attention to visual cues in Down syndrome and normal children.

Thirty-four children were selected who had reached a criterion on a matching task. Seventeen Down's syndrome were matched on M.A. with seventeen normal children (M.A. 6.0 X 0.5); there were nine females and six males in each group. All subjects were tested on two matching tasks, one involving increasing density of pattern and the other of both increasing size and density of pattern. The tests were repeated with the introduction of a short-term memory variable. Results showed that both groups had a preferred dimension for size over pattern. When size and pattern were combined, the Down syndrome group were confused by the two dimensions, showing preference for one or the other. The performance of the Down syndrome group was significantly weaker than the normal group, who were able to accommodate the imposition of patterns on size. In contrast to the Down syndrome group, attention to two dimensions helped to improve performance in the weaker dimension.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Discrimination of size, form and order in mongol and other mentally handicapped children.

136 mongol, 129 non-mongol subnormal and 152 normal children were tested in a series of experiments to determine visual discrimination and perceptual skills in size, form and order. An attempt was made to demonstrate possible differences in strategies and behaviour in the groups, particularly in the mongol group. It was shown that, in spite of contrary impressions arising from results of normal standardised tests, in these three groups matched on M.A., there was no significant difference in performance when extraneous developmental factors were eliminated. The literature relating to this is discussed. There was further support for the existing experimental evidence that poor short-term memory for visual stimuli in terms of size, form and order is a characteristic weakness of subnormal groups. No relationship was found between M.A. and visual perceptual tasks in any group; supporting the theory that perceptual skills develop independently. A peculiar phenomenon was discovered in the mongol group significant enough to warrant further investigation, viz. a distinctive form of perseveration and a related and clearly marked tendency to order reversal. Suggestions are made and possible reasons presented for this, but, at this stage, without experimental backing.

Down Syndrome↗
PubMed1979

Attraction to "good form" in Down's syndrome.

Seventy-five children were examined in tasks involving matching figures in order to establish whether there exists a specific attraction to symmetrical or Gestalt type "good form" displays in mentally handicapped children and particularly in Down's Syndrome or if the tendency was towards image reversal. Twenty-five children with Down's Syndrome were matched on M.A. with twenty-five non-Down's Syndrome subnormals and twenty-five normal children. Symmetrical and asymmetrical displays were presented to the groups for reproduction and reproduction from memory. The results supported the hypothesis that mentally handicapped children have a significant attraction to symmetrical arrangements and that Down's Syndrome children are more significantly attracted than other handicapped children. Evidence is presented to show that what often is mistaken for a tendency to image reversal is in fact an attraction to "monotonicity" and is more related to "good form" than to reversal.

Adolescent↗