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Biomedical subjects

D Avery

Publications and source records attributed to D Avery.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Adverse effects of dextromethorphan on the spatial learning of rats in the Morris water maze.

The effects of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphan on spatial learning were assessed using the Morris water maze. Dextromethorphan was administered to 4 groups of rats in 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg doses. An additional group of rats was administered saline to serve as a vehicle control group. Dextromethorphan impaired learning dose dependently in the initial training phase of the experiment. During the probe trial, dose-dependent performance deficits were noted in the first 15 s of the trial only. Search strategy differences between the lowest and highest dose groups were also observed during the probe trial. During the reversal training phase, when the platform was moved to a new location, the dose-dependent impairment was seen again, but the 40 mg/kg group perseverated to the former location longer than the other groups. A cued control trial indicated that in addition to the learning impairment produced, the highest dose of dextromethorphan may also impair sensory-motor coordination.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Delaney reform.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Codon usage and bias among individual genes of the coccidia and piroplasms.

Codon usage has been analysed in individual gene sequences, derived from a variety of parasitic protozoa in the class Sporozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa using metric multidimensional scaling. The two groups of codon usage patterns detected reflect the two main subgroups of organisms studied (the coccidia and the piroplasms), and it is the pattern of usage of synonymous codons that has the largest influence on overall codon usage in the individual genes, rather than being the pattern of amino acid composition of the gene product. The magnitude of the codon usage bias in the sequences was determined using three commonly used indices-NC, GC3S and B. In general, although relatively low levels of codon usage bias were detected in these gene sequences, codon usage bias does explain at least some of the codon usage patterns observed. Codon usage bias was observed to be dependent on the overall base composition of the genes analysed, which in turn was reflected in the types of codons that were either over- or under-represented in the nucleotide sequences. In keeping with observations on prokaryotic organisms, it is speculated that the codon usage patterns detected in these parasitic protozoa are the result of directional mutation pressure on the base composition of the genomic DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Lyme disease: a search for a causative agent in ticks in south-eastern Australia.

Attempts were made to identify the causative organism of Lyme disease in Australia from possible tick vectors. Ticks were collected in coastal areas of New South Wales, Australia, from localities associated with putative human infections. The ticks were dissected; a portion of the gut contents was examined for spirochaetes by microscopy, the remaining portion inoculated into culture media. The detection of spirochaetes in culture was performed using microscopy, and immunochemical and molecular (PCR) techniques. Additionally, whole ticks were tested with PCR for spirochaetes. From 1990 to 1992, approximately 12,000 ticks were processed for spirochaetes. No evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi or any other spirochaete was recovered from or detected in likely tick vectors. Some spirochaete-like objects detected in the cultures were shown to be artifacts, probably aggregates of bacterial flagellae. There is no definitive evidence for the existence in Australia of B. burgdorferi the causative agent of true Lyme disease, or for any other tick-borne spirochaete that may be responsible for a local syndrome being reported as Lyme disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Bright dawn simulation compared with bright morning light in the treatment of winter depression.

In a randomized cross-over design, 7 patients with winter depression were treated with a week of a bright (1700 lx) dawn simulation (0400 to 0600) and a week of standard bright (1700 lx) morning (0600 to 0800) light therapy. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores decreased significantly for the standard light therapy (18.9 to 6.6) but not for the bright dawn therapy (18.0 to 11.3). Early morning awakening was a frequent side effect with the bright dawn simulation. Although dawn simulation at a lower illuminance may be an effective treatment, the bright dawn used in this study showed only a nonsignificant trend to lower depression ratings. The illuminance of dawn simulation should be adjusted to minimize side effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Adinazolam--a new antidepressant: findings of a placebo-controlled, double-blind study in outpatients with major depression.

Adinazolam mesylate, a new triazolobenzodiazepine with antidepressant properties, was significantly superior to placebo based on the following efficacy measures: number of subjects who completed the study; number of subjects whose total score on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) decreased by 50% or more; and number of subjects who reported that the drug helped them. Mean scores on three HAM-D clusters (anxiety/somatization, sleep disturbance, and an endogenomorphic cluster) also showed significant differences in favor of adinazolam. Side effects were generally mild and transient; however, a seizure of moderate intensity occurred during rapid tapering of adinazolam from 90 to 40 mg/day. There were no significant anticholinergic effects, and no mania or hypomania was reported in any subject. No consistently significant differences were observed between subjects whose primary diagnosis was major depression and those with a diagnosis of bipolar II depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Induction of immunotoxicity in mice by polyhalogenated biphenyls.

Acute administration of Aroclor-1254 (500 mg/kg) or 3,4,5,3',4',5'-hexabromobiphenyl (HBB) (2-6 mg/kg) IP, profoundly inhibited the plaque forming response to subsequent challenge with sheep erythrocytes in Ah locus positive (C57Bl/6N or B6C3F1N) mice. These studies showed: the immunotoxicity results paralleled enzyme induction results insofar as HBB was approximately 100 times more potent than Aroclor 1254; neither Aroclor nor HBB treatment caused significant induction in the Ah locus negative DBA/2N mice; when B6C3F1 mice were challenged with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) 6 or 16 weeks post Aroclor 1254 treatment, substantial recovery of a PFC response was observed; when these compounds were administered to older (76-week-old) (B6C3F1 mice, severe depression of a PFC response was observed. In contrast to its profound depression of a PFC response, Aroclor-1254 (up to 1250 mg/kg) caused slight increases in lymphocyte proliferation induced by either T or B cell mitogens. A single 500 mg/kg dose of Aroclor-1254 also suppressed the ability of recipient B6C3F1 animals to reject a challenge with either the syngenic fibrosarcoma (PYB6) or the gram negative pathogen (Listeria monocytogenes).

Aging↗
PubMed1984

Psychomotor retardation and agitation in depression. Relationship to age, sex, and response to treatment.

Patients with primary affective disorder who had either psychomotor agitation alone or psychomotor retardation alone were studied. Compared to psychomotor retardation, psychomotor agitation appears to be seen more frequently in women, older patients, and individuals who have a late onset to their illness. In addition, those with agitation alone appeared to have a better and faster response to electroconvulsive therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Depression treated with imipramine and ECT: the DeCarolis study reconsidered.

The authors reevaluate a large prospective Italian study (437 patients) that compared high-dose imipramine with ECT treatment in the treatment of depression. The superiority of ECT was evident among patients with endogenous depression, and especially evident among those with delusional depression (83% improved with ECT versus 40% with imipramine) and depressions defined as severe (83% versus 35%).

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1978

Suicide, attempted suicide, and relapse rates in depression.

Suicide, attempted suicide, and relapse rates in 519 depressives were examined, comparing the effects of different treatments. After six months, suicide attempts were seen significantly less frequently in the ECT groups (0.8%) than in the antidepressant group (4.2%) or the "adequate" antidepressant subgroup (7.0%) Fewer suicide attempts occurred in the ECT group compared to the antidepressant group among both in those who had attempted suicide prior to admission (0% vs 10%) and in those who had not (1.1% vs 3.6%). A history of attempted suicide showed a greater risk of both suicide (2.9%) in the following year and subsequent suicide attempt (5.9%). A depressive diagnosis may be as good a predictor of suicidal behavior as a history of attempted suicide. Relapse rates did not differ between treatment groups.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1977

The efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressants in depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), antidepressants, and neither treatment were compared by reviewing 609 hospitalizations for depression from 1959 to 1969. The groups receiving ECT had a significantly (p less than 0.001) greater percentage of patient who had marked improvement or a complete response (49%) than either adequate or inadequate antidepressant therapy groups (27%) or the group which received neither ECT nor antidepressants (25%). If antidepressant failures who require ECT are included in the evaluation, the percentage total improvement with ECT (90%) is significantly (p less than 0.001) greater than the adequate (74%) or inadequate (60%) antidepressant groups, or neither treatment (60%). At the end of 7 weeks of hospitalization, 74% of the ECT group had been discharged, significantly more (p less than 0.001) than the adequate antidepressant group, 54%. Delusional depressed patients responded much mor frequently to ECT.

Adjustment Disorders↗