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Biomedical subjects

C Finley

Publications and source records attributed to C Finley.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Disparities in hormone replacement therapy use by socioeconomic status in a primary care population.

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a controversial decision for many women, yet few studies have evaluated the socio-demographic, psychological, and behavioral correlates of HRT use. This cross-sectional, mailed survey evaluated the associations of socioeconomic status, preventive health behaviors, knowledge and perceptions about HRT-related risks and benefits with HRT use among 428 women 50-70 years old in Vermont. The overall prevalence of HRT use was 40%. Women of moderate to high income were three times more likely than those of low income to use HRT. HRT use was significantly higher among women whose physician had encouraged use (58%) than among those who received ambivalent recommendations from their physicians (20%). Hysterectomy, higher income, younger age, regular adherence to cervical cancer screening, and recommendation by a provider were significantly associated with HRT use in multivariate analyses. There were no differences in HRT use according to level of concern about heart disease, osteoporosis, or breast cancer. A recommendation by a health care provider is a powerful predictor of HRT use, but disparities in use exist by socioeconomic status. Future research should examine why lower income women are less likely to use HRT and whether the discrepancy is due to inconsistent recommendations by health care providers.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

The patterns of late deterioration in patients with transitional lipomyelomeningocele.

INTRODUCTION: Tethering is assumed to be the primary cause of deterioration seen in children with transitional lipomyelomeningocele as they age. The inevitability of deterioration has led to recommendations for prophylactic interventions to stabilize or prevent further clinical deterioration. OBJECTIVE: Determine the frequency and patterns of functional deterioration observed after successful untethering in patients with transitional lipomyelomeningocele and compare functional outcomes with what is known regarding untreated patients. METHODS: Fifty patients having transitional LMMC, treated at a single institution and followed in a multidisciplinary clinic were retrospectively reviewed to determine their clinical status prior to untethering, and the time to development of new symptoms or signs following untethering. RESULTS: 82% of patients were diagnosed and 78% underwent untethering prior to one year of age. All patients had a cutaneous lumbosacral lipoma, 22 patients were considered normal at presentation and 28 showed abnormalities on clinical examination. Forty-nine patients were untethered successfully and all were available for follow-up ranging from 2 to 138 months (mean 39 months). Acute morbidity was limited to transient neurogenic bladder dysfunction and minor wound complications. Late clinical deterioration occurred in the majority of patients. Orthopedic and neurological deterioration occurred over the first 60 months following untethering and urological deterioration occurred thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Functional loss after untethering is common and the pattern of loss is likely a reflection of the ability to detect abnormalities in this infant population. Untethering does not usually result in permanent acute morbidity, and does not prevent longer-term functional deterioration. The ratio of asymptomatic to symptomatic patients at follow-up in this operative series is similar to age-matched historical series of untreated patients.

British Columbia↗
PubMed1998

Evidence for the participation of arachidonic acid metabolites in trehalose efflux from the hormone activated fat body of the cockroach (Periplaneta americana).

The hypertrehalosemic hormones, HTH-I and HTH-II, activate trehalose synthesis and increase the rate of sugar efflux from Periplaneta americana fat body in vitro. These processes are unaffected by the diacylglycerol, 1-oleyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol, an activator of protein kinase C. Similarly, H-7 and spingosine, inhibitors of protein kinase C, are also inactive against trehalose efflux. The possibility that diacylglycerol lipase might generate an active fatty acid species was ruled out because of the failure of the inhibitor RHC-80267 to inhibit trehalose efflux. Activation of trehalose efflux from the intact fat body by HTH-I was strongly inhibited in a concentration dependent manner by the cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin and diclofenac, but not by acetylsalicylic acid. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid, a lipoxygenase inhibitor, also blocked HTH-I activated trehalose efflux in a concentration dependent fashion. The phospholipase A(2) inhibitors mepacrine and 4'-bromophenacyl bromide were also effective in decreasing the efflux of trehalose from HTH-I challenged fat body. The data suggest possible roles for arachidonic acid metabolites in the regulation of trehalose synthesis and in the efflux of the sugar from the fat body.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Gift-giving or influence peddling: can you tell the difference?

Physical therapists are faced with an ever-increasing array of advertising ventures, "free" gifts, and enticing offers from equipment and supply companies and various health care agencies. Concerns are raised about the ethical implications of gift exchange in professional activities. Basic motives governing gift exchange are examined from a sociological standpoint. The obligation of the professional to act in the best interest of the patient and to guard against the impression of impropriety to the public is paramount in decisions concerning gifts. Opinions from the medical and pharmaceutical professions are explored to glean criteria that have applicability to physical therapy. These criteria are presented in the form of questions that may be helpful for physical therapists.

Advertising↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of hemispheric asymmetries in speech-related brain potentials of autistic and dysphasic children.

In a previous study (G. Dawson, C. Finley, S. Phillips, & L. Galpert, 1986, Child Development, 57, 1440-1453) it was found that measures of hemispheric asymmetry during speech processing were predictive of level of language ability in autistic children. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a similar relationship between pattern of hemispheric asymmetry and language ability exists for language-impaired children without autism. Ten autistic children (8-13 years), 10 dysphasic children (6-15 years), and 10 normal children (8-13 years) were compared in terms of their patterns of hemispheric asymmetry in the averaged cortical evoked response to a simple speech stimulus, and the relationship between pattern of hemispheric asymmetry and language ability was assessed for each clinical group. It was found that, for both the autistic and dysphasic groups, the majority of subjects showed a reversed direction of hemispheric asymmetry from that characteristic of the normal group. A strong relationship between pattern of asymmetry and level of language ability was found for autistic subjects; autistic subjects with more severe language impairments were more likely to show reversed asymmetry than subjects with less severe language impairments. In contrast, no relationship between language ability and direction of hemispheric asymmetry in the evoked response was found for dysphasic subjects. Separate analyses of right and left hemisphere evoked responses indicated that language ability was related to right hemisphere activity for autistic subjects, and to left hemisphere activity for dysphasic subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Reduced P3 amplitude of the event-related brain potential: its relationship to language ability in autism.

Several studies have found that P3 amplitude of the auditory event-related potential is smaller in autistic than in normal children. The present study investigated whether this characteristic bears any relationship to the degree of language impairment and/or level of intellectual ability of autistic persons. Seventeen autistic children, ranging from 8-19 years of age, and 17 age- and gender-matched normal children participated. Event-related potentials to phonetic ("Da") and chord (piano) stimuli were recorded from three scalp locations: vertex (Cz), right hemisphere (RH), and left hemisphere (LH), during a discrimination task. A battery of language tests was given to autistic children. Compared to normal subjects, autistic subjects showed a significantly smaller P3 amplitude to phonetic stimuli for Cz and LH recording sites. However, no group difference in P3 amplitude to the phonetic stimulus was found for the RH. Furthermore, no group differences in P3 amplitude were found for the chord stimulus at any recording site. Impaired language ability was related to greater RH P3 amplitude, particularly to the chord stimulus. The possibility of differential hemispheric involvement in the attentional deficits of autistic children is raised.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Mandatory continuing education--a survey of current activity. A special communication.

The purposes of this article are 1) to present a review of the literature addressing issues related to mandatory continuing education (MCE) and 2) to report the responses from three surveys conducted by the Task Force on Mandatory Continuing Education of the Florida Physical Therapy Association, Inc. Questionnaires were sent to appropriate representatives in 1) American Physical Therapy Association chapters of all states with MCE required for relicensure, 2) APTA chapters of all states without MCE required for relicensure, and 3) state headquarters of nine other health-related associations with MCE required for relicensure in Florida. Feedback from respondents is presented concerning state requirements for MCE, the process of MCE, and overall sentiment of the membership concerning this requirement. In general, states with MCE required for relicensure and selected associations in Florida with this requirement responded positively toward MCE, whereas states without the MCE requirement responded negatively. All three groups expressed a growing concern for a system to ensure practitioner currency.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

Hemophilus influenzae meningitis in the rat: behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical consequences.

Hemophilus influenzae is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in children, and a high percentage of survivors are at risk for long-term sequelae. To explore the mechanisms responsible for these sequelae, a neonatal rat model was used to define the behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical changes following meningitis. Three days after inoculation of 6-day-old rats with a minimum of 1 X 10(7) colony-forming units of a virulent Hemophilus influenzae, type b, cerebrospinal fluid and blood were cultured to confirm the presence of meningitis and bacteremia, respectively. At this time, forebrain norepinephrine and dopamine levels were significantly elevated in meningitic rats when standardized on a wet-weight basis. No changes in brain serotonin or heart norepinephrine levels could be found in the 9-day-old rats. No residual changes were found in steady-state concentrations of norepinephrine or dopamine in surviving adult rats. However, survivors that had had meningitis as neonates showed significant impairment in active and passive avoidance learning tasks and demonstrated a significantly higher level of activity during a habituation period in circular photocell activity cages. No change in the flinch-jump threshold was detected. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials showed delays of various waves in 3 of 10 Hemophilus influenzae type b-treated adult rats tested. These rats also exhibited markedly augmented locomotory responses to d-amphetamine (1 mg/kg), suggesting a long-lasting perturbation of central monoamine neuronal transmission.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

Hemispheric specialization and the language abilities of autistic children.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between patterns of hemispheric specialization for speech processing and language ability in autistic children. 17 male autistic children, 6-18 years of age, and 17 normal children, matched for chronological age and gender, were tested. Measures of hemispheric asymmetry were differences in the averaged cortical evoked responses taken from right and left hemisphere scalp locations to linguistic and nonlinguistic auditory stimuli. A comprehensive battery of language tests was administered to autistic subjects. Autistic children's direction of hemispheric asymmetry in response to linguistic stimuli differed significantly from that of normal subjects. The majority of autistic subjects showed reversed (right hemisphere dominant), but not necessarily reduced, patterns of hemispheric asymmetry. Autistic children with more advanced language abilities were more likely to exhibit a normal direction of hemispheric asymmetry. The possibility that a shift from right to left hemisphere processing of speech occurs as the autistic child acquires spoken language is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Attention deficit disorders in adults.

Twenty-two adults who met DSM-III criteria for "Attention Deficit Disorder, Residual Type" (ADD-RT) were evaluated in a series of clinical experiments. Although certain personality and psychological factors typified the ADD-RT group, methylphenidate blood levels, the growth hormone response to methylphenidate, and the brainstem evoked response did not distinguish subjects from matched controls. Male subjects seemed to be a more homogeneous group than female subjects. Socioeconomic status and IQ, but not severity of ADD symptoms, were found to predict outcome. ADD adults seem to be numerous and easy to identify, at least on the basis of symptoms. However, the validity of ADD-RT as a "distinct clinical entity" is open to question.

Adult↗