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Biomedical subjects

C Lantz

Publications and source records attributed to C Lantz.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Rating specific chiropractic technique procedures for common low back conditions.

OBJECTIVE: To rate specific chiropractic technique procedures used in the treatment of common low back conditions. DESIGN AND METHODS: A panel of chiropractors rated specific chiropractic technique procedures for their effectiveness in the treatment of common low back conditions, based on the quality of supporting evidence after systematic literature reviews and expert clinical opinion. Statements related to the rating process and clinical practice were then developed through a facilitated nominal consensus process. RESULTS: For most low back conditions presented in this study, the three procedures rated most effective were high-velocity, low- amplitude (HVLA) with no drop table (side posture), distraction technique, and HVLA prone with drop table assist. The three rated least effective were upper cervical technique, non-thrust reflex/low force, and lower extremity adjusting. The four conditions rated most amenable to chiropractic treatment were noncomplicated low back pain, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, posterior joint/subluxation, and low back pain with buttock or leg pain. CONCLUSIONS: The ratings for the effectiveness of chiropractic technique procedures for the treatment of common low back conditions are not equal. Those procedures rated highest are supported by the highest quality of literature. Much more evidence is necessary for chiropractors to understand which procedures maximally benefit patients for which conditions.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

The increasing use of polypharmacotherapy for refractory mood disorders: 22 years of study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have approached the subject of polypharmacotherapy systematically. This retrospective review of 178 patients with refractory bipolar disorder or unipolar depression (Research Diagnostic Criteria or DSM-III-R criteria) discharged from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Biological Psychiatry Branch between 1974 and 1996 was conducted to assess the degree and efficacy of "add-on" pharmacotherapy. METHOD: Following completion of formal structured blinded research protocols, patients entered a treatment phase (often again on a blind basis) in which all agents available in the community could be utilized. Each patient's retrospective life chart and all prospective double-blind nurse- and self-rated NIMH data were reviewed. The overall degree of improvement at discharge was assessed by rating on the Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI) as modified for bipolar illness (CGI-BP). RESULTS: A 78% improvement rate (moderate or marked on the CGI) was achieved at the time of discharge. There was a significant relationship between number of medications utilized at discharge as a function of discharge date (r = 0.45, p < .0001). The percentages of patients discharged on treatment with 3 or more medications were 3.3% (1974-1979), 9.3% (1980-1984), 34.9% (1985-1989), and 43.8% (1990-1995). No correlation was found between polypharmacy and age (r = -0.03, p = .66). Patients more recently discharged from the NIMH had an earlier age at illness onset, more lifetime weeks depressed, and a higher rate of rapid cycling than patients in the earlier cohorts. CONCLUSION: Increasing numbers of medications in more recent NIMH cohorts were required to achieve the same degree of improvement at hospital discharge. More systematic approaches to the complex regimens required for treatment of patients with refractory mood disorder are clearly needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The brain tumor experience and quality of life: a qualitative study.

Despite the attention given to quality of life (QOL) in persons with cancer, very little is currently know about QOL in persons with brain tumors. In the past twenty years, less than twenty articles reflect the actual measurement of QOL in adult brain tumor population. The shortage of QOL studies is disturbing considering the slow progress made in extending the life expectancy of many brain tumor patients and the toxicities of many existing treatment protocols. This qualitative study was undertaken to begin to fill the gaps in the existing literature and to more clearly define QOL in persons with brain tumors. The researchers used an exploratory, descriptive design involving semi-structured interviews of adults with brain tumors and their significant others. Twenty-three adults with brain tumors and 21 significant others were interviewed. Data analysis of interview transcripts focused on the identification of key variables contributing to the QOL of adults with brain tumors. Using constant comparative methods, it was found that data could be organized into five thematic categories: (1) The Stigma of a Mind-Body Illness, (2) An Invasive Disease of the Self, (3) My Family has a Brain Tumor, (4) Dealing with the Medical Diplomats, and (5) Quality of Life: No Substitute for Living. These emerging themes provide information which clinicians caring for brain tumor patients can use to provide care and anticipatory guidance. Unique areas for further research elicited in the study include exploration of the "loss of self" theme, how persons use their estimations of QOL in decision-making and examination of the balance between the need for survival and maintaining QOL.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Early infant grasping involves radial fingers.

Halverson's hypothesis states that prehension gradually develops from ulnar to forefinger holding. This hypothesis was tested by measuring the grip force of individual fingers (digits II to V) in 36 healthy children from 2.5 to 7 months of age. The results dismissed Halverson's hypothesis, since it was shown that from an early age the index finger played a leading role in grasping, usually contacting and initiating the grasp prior to the other fingers and producing a stronger grip force.

Child Development↗
PubMed1994

Alcohol, immunomodulation, and disease.

Recent research findings point to a spectrum of alcohol-induced immune dysfunctions in animal models and humans. Use of alcohol in vivo causes abnormalities in the function and/or structure of a broad array of cells involved in humoral and cellular immunity, including lymphocytes, Kupffer cells and other macrophages, as well as the endothelium of blood vessels and lymphatics. Regulatory cytokines and neuroendocrine factors can mediate some of these immunomodulatory effects which may be further re-phased, exaggerated or unbalanced by other drugs of misuse. A variety of animal models is available to study acute and chronic alcoholism, non-alcohol drug misuse, AIDS as well as other opportunistic infections, and neoplasias, which hold promise of clarifying the role of alcohol as an immunomodulator.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

The interexaminer reliability of a galvanic skin response instrument.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the interexaminer reliability of a protocol of use of a galvanic skin resistance device for detection of low resistance areas along the spinal column, in relatively pain-free subjects. DESIGN: A blinded investigation of concordance of skin resistance examination findings over the spinal column using two clinicians experienced in the use of the instrument. SETTING: A private practice chiropractic outpatient clinic. PATIENTS: Sixty-four male and female chiropractic college students (mean age: 35 yr). The Visual Analog Pain Scale indicated a mean response of 7.6 mm on a 100-mm range. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Concordance of examiners evaluated with the kappa statistic. RESULTS: The results indicated modest levels of concordance for the first study sample (n = 46). The average kappa was 0.37. The second group assessed (n = 18) also demonstrated only modest levels of interexaminer concordance. The average kappa value for this sample was 0.36. CONCLUSION: The use of the Electrical Conductor Scanner instrument for evaluating putative spinal pathology through manifestations in skin resistance in relatively asymptomatic subjects is not supported by the results of this experiment. The unevenness of data generated from this experiment in certain spinal regions necessitates further investigation prior to making any strong conclusions regarding the usefulness of this instrument in the clinical setting.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Isolation and characterization of a protease-nicked thioredoxin.

An altered form of thioredoxin, composed of two peptides with molecular weights of 7 and 5 X 10(3) has been isolated from Escherichia coli B after chromatography on Ultrogel AcA54. The position of the clip site, determined by amino acid sequencing to lie between Pro(64) and Gly(65), is consistent with a cleavage within the hinge region connecting the two prominent folding domains of thioredoxin. The NH2-terminal domain containing the active site, and the carboxyl-terminal domain correspond to the 7 and 5 X 10(3) fragments, respectively. The two peptides combine to form a tight complex, T'12. At concentrations below 10(-6) M, the clipped species was not efficiently reduced by thioredoxin reductase, showing only half the activity of native thioredoxin at a protein concentration of 9 X 10(-8) M. The Km of the clipped species for thioredoxin reductase (2.9 X 10(-6) M) was nearly equivalent to that of native thioredoxin (2.2 X 10(-6) M), and the Vmax for both native and clipped thioredoxins were nearly identical. These data are taken to imply a reversible association of the fragments to produce a thioredoxin equivalent to the intact species in its interaction with thioredoxin reductase. Some evidence exists for an unfolding of the 7 X 10(3) fragment upon dissociation of the complex. A functional role for the two-domain structure of thioredoxin is proposed in which the carboxyl domain serves to stabilize the active site within the amino domain and confer the species specificity in the binding of thioredoxin to thioredoxin reductase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1970

Quinacrine: mechanisms of antimalarial action.

Two new interesting modes of action of quinacrine have been discovered. The first concerns a dose-related inhibition of uptake of [8-(3)H] adenosine into host cells of parasitized blood. Second, the drug inhibits the incorporation of tritiated adenosine triphosphate primarily into RNA but also into DNA of the erythrocyte-free malarial parasite Plasmodium berghei.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chiropractic technique procedures for specific low back conditions: characterizing the literature.

BACKGROUND: Many original clinical trials and several review papers have come to the conclusion that manipulation is safe and effective for the treatment of low back pain. However, it is necessary to determine which specific types of manipulation and nonmanipulative types of chiropractic adjustive care are most effective for particular types of low back pain across both tissue-specific and functional classifications. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the quantity and quality of literature gathered for an Expert Panel that was convened to rate various specific chiropractic adjustive procedures for the treatment of common types of low back pain, drawing on the clinical expertise of the panel members and the relevant literature. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of treatment-specific, condition-specific trials, studies, and case reports of chiropractic care for low back pain. METHODS: Computerized searching and hand searching were used to identify references in the medical and chiropractic literature pertaining to the chiropractic treatment of low back pain in which both the condition and specific treatment procedures were adequately described. This literature was then categorized according to a variety of characteristics and used by a panel to evaluate the specific procedures. RESULTS: The 3 most studied adjustive procedures are side-posture high-velocity, low-amplitude; distraction (mostly flexion distraction); and mobilization, respectively. The clinical condition most commonly addressed by the included studies is low back pain. The procedure with the widest base of evidence support is side posture manipulation for low back pain.

Chiropractic↗