Biomedical subjects

C Orengo

Publications and source records attributed to C Orengo.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Clinical and ethical implications of impaired executive control functions for patient autonomy.

The authors identify the clinical and ethical implications of impaired executive control functions for patient autonomy. Executive control functions are processes that orchestrate relatively simple ideas, movements, or actions into complex goal-directed behavior, and impairments in these functions are becoming more common as the population ages. The authors examine difficulties that individuals with impaired executive control functions may have in making treatment decisions and describe a practical, ethically justified framework for making treatment decisions for patients with impairments in these functions. Three components of autonomy are identified-intentionality, understanding, and voluntariness. Intentionality and voluntariness are especially affected by impaired executive control functions. Impairments of these aspects of autonomy may often be overlooked when only traditional mental status examinations are employed, with adverse consequences for the health of patients wrongly thought to possess intact ability to make and carry out plans of care. Two case vignettes illustrate the complexities faced by clinicians intervening with patients who have deficits in decision-making capacity caused by impaired executive control functions.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Cross-cultural differences in demented geropsychiatric inpatients with behavioral disturbances.

OBJECTIVE: Cross-cultural differences in treatment and diagnosis exist in several psychiatric disorders. This study examines phenomenological and treatment differences between Caucasian and African-American patients presenting to a geropsychiatric unit for treatment of behavioral disturbances associated with dementia. METHODS: One hundred and forty-one Caucasian patients were compared to 56 African-American patients consecutively admitted to a VA geropsychiatric inpatient unit. At admission, differences in behavior disturbances between the two groups were examined using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia (PANSS). Differences in treatment were assessed by comparing medication types and doses between the two groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Results showed that Caucasian and African-American patients with dementia and behavioral disturbances presented and responded similarly to like treatment on an inpatient geropsychiatric unit. The similarity between the two groups may be explained by the multi-ethnic make-up of the interdisciplinary treatment team and by the use of standardized scales to measure symptomatology and response.

Black or African American↗

PubMed1998

Homology-based fold predictions for Mycoplasma genitalium proteins.

Homology search techniques based on the iterative PSI-BLAST method in combination with various filters for low sequence complexity are applied to assign folds to all Mycoplasma genitalium proteins. The resulting procedure (implemented as a web server) is able to predict at least one domain in 37% of these proteins automatically, with an estimated accuracy higher than 98%. Taking structural features such as coiled coil or transmembrane regions aside, folds can be assigned to more than half of the globular proteins in a bacterium just by iterative sequence comparison.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1998

Domain assignment for protein structures using a consensus approach: characterization and analysis.

A consensus approach for the assignment of structural domains in proteins is presented. The approach combines a number of previously published algorithms, and takes advantage of the elevated accuracy obtained when assignments from the individual algorithms are in agreement. The consensus approach is tested on a data set of 55 protein chains, for which domain assignments from four automated methods were known, and for which crystallographers assignments had been reported in the literature. Accuracy was found to increase in this test from 72% using individual algorithms to 100% when all four methods were in agreement. However a consensus prediction using all four methods was only possible for 52% of the dataset. The consensus approach [using three publicly available domain assignment algorithms (PUU, DETECTIVE, DOMAK)] was then used to make domain assignments for a data set of 787 protein chains from the Protein Data Bank. Analysis of the assignments showed 55.7% of assignments could be made automatically, and of these, 13.5% were multi-domain proteins. Of the remaining 44.3% that could not be assigned by the consensus procedure 90.4% had their domain boundaries assigned correctly by at least one of the algorithms. Once identified, these domains were analyzed for trends in their size and secondary structure class. In addition, the discontinuity of each domain along the protein chain was considered.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1996

The benefits of psychiatric hospitalization for older nursing home residents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the demographic characteristics and treatment outcomes of nursing home residents admitted to a geropsychiatric inpatient unit. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort design based on an ongoing data base effort. SETTING: The geropsychiatric inpatient unit of the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: All admissions to the unit from nursing homes during an 18-month period. MEASUREMENTS: Mini-Mental State Examination, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, Rating Scale for Side Effects, and Global Assessment of Functioning were administered on admission and discharge. RESULTS: Paired t tests comparing change scores revealed significant decreases in general psychiatric symptoms (P < .001), depression (P < .001), and agitation (P < .001); significant improvement in global functioning (P < .001); with no significant changes in cognitive status (P = .485) or side effects (P = .120). When the patients were subgrouped according to reasons for admission, paired t tests revealed decreases in violence (CMAI Factor 1; P = .000), psychosis (BPRS thought disorder scale; P = .000 and hostility subscale; P < .008), and depression (HAM-D; P = .002). Four patients were discharged to less restrictive environments, all with chronic mental illnesses. CONCLUSION: Inpatient psychiatric hospitalization significantly benefits nursing home residents with and without dementia who are admitted for severe behavior problems.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Biosynthesis of androgens and pheromonal steroids in neonatal porcine testicular preparations.

The biosynthesis of testosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione and some 16-androstenes has been studied in homogenates or subcellular fractions of testes from 3-week-old Landrace piglets. Pregnenolone was converted into 5,16-androstadien-3 beta-ol, 4,16-androstadien-3-one, 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one and 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3 alpha- and 3 beta-ols, but the quantities were some 50 times less than those formed in the mature boar testis. Androgens were also formed in the microsomal fractions but the quantities of 4-androstene-3,17-dione (from side-chain cleavage of 17-hydroxyprogesterone) and of testosterone (from reduction of 4-androstene-3,17-dione) were 50-70 times lower than in the adult animal. The kinetic parameters and cofactor preference of the 3 alpha- and 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases were determined in the cytosolic, microsomal and mitochondrial fractions of neonatal porcine testes.

17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗