PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D F Edwards

Publications and source records attributed to D F Edwards.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Cognitive performance in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type: the Kitchen Task Assessment.

The Kitchen Task Assessment (KTA) is a functional measure that records the level of cognitive support required by a person with Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (SDAT) to complete a cooking task successfully. The results allow the clinician to help caregivers understand the level of support the impaired person needs to perform daily living tasks. This paper presents the validity and internal consistency of the KTA. Data were collected from 106 persons diagnosed with SDAT. Construct validity was established by examining the relationship between subjects' performance on the KTA and standard neuropsychological measures.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Primary ciliary dyskinesia in the dog.

A disorder caused by congenital ciliary dysfunction occurs in dogs. Most of the clinical signs are directly or indirectly attributable to immotile or dyskinetic cilia and spermflagella. Due to severely impaired mucociliary clearance, a continuous mucoid nasal discharge and intermittent sneezing and coughing are typically observed during the neonatal period. Recurrent bacterial rhinosinusitis and bronchopneumonia usually start within a few weeks of birth. Hypoplastic nasal sinuses and atresia of the frontal sinuses are variable features of the disease that may be caused by neonatal colonization of these structures by specific bacteria. Bronchiectasis is an acquired lesion resulting from chronic inflammation and obstruction of airways. A secretory otitis media is caused by dysfunction of the cilia in the middle ear, and is manifested in some dogs by sclerotic tympanic bullae. Male infertility is caused by live, but immotile to hypomotile spermatozoa; however, unexplained oligospermia and azoospermia have been reported. Hydrocephalus and situs inversus are common but variable features of the disease; the genesis of these lesions has not yet been determined. The probable mode of inheritance is autosomal recessive, but dominant mutations cannot be excluded. The diagnosis can be confirmed by demonstrating the absence or near absence of nasal or tracheal mucociliary clearance and the presence of a specific ultrastructural lesion in a large percentage of cilia from multiple sites (airways, middle ear, or oviduct). The ultrastructure of sperm flagella should mirror that of the cilia. Not all dogs have ultrastructural ciliary lesions, and in these cases, results of in vitro analysis of ciliary activity may be highly suggestive, if not diagnostic. In dogs without mucociliary clearance in which structural and functional analysis of cilia are not diagnostic, confirmation of congenital ciliary dysfunction can be established only by ruling out other diseases with similar signs (e.g., congenital immunodeficiency syndromes). The clinical course in an longevity of affected dogs are highly variable. Appropriate antibiotic treatment and pulmonary physical therapy may result in prolonged survival, although cor pulmonale and reactive systemic amyloidosis are potential sequelae of chronic hypoxia and chronic bacterial infection of the airways, respectively.

Animals↗

Neutrophil function in dogs with congenital ciliary dyskinesia.

In vitro neutrophil function was assessed in two English Springer Spaniel dogs, two Bichon Frise dogs, and one Chow Chow dog with congenital ciliary dyskinesia; three clinically normal English Springer Spaniel dogs that were presumed heterozygous for congenital ciliary dyskinesia; and five control dogs. Chemotaxis and random migration in affected and heterozygous dogs were found to be comparable to those of control dogs. Increased (P less than or equal to 0.05) neutrophil adhesion, antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, iodination of proteins, and oxygen radical production in neutrophils from affected dogs were probably the result of chronic bacterial infection in vivo. Bacterial ingestion by neutrophils from the three heterozygous English Springer Spaniel dogs was significantly increased compared to control dogs but was not different from affected English Springer Spaniel dogs, suggesting a breed-related phenomenon. Significant decreases in neutrophil function were not seen in any of the dogs with congenital ciliary dyskinesia, indicating that a defective microtubular system is not shared by respiratory cilia and neutrophils and that defective neutrophil function does not contribute to respiratory infection.

Animals↗

Familial immotile-cilia syndrome in English springer spaniel dogs.

A laboratory-maintained colony of English springer spaniel dogs heterozygous for a putative autosomal recessive immotile-cilia syndrome (ICS) has been studied. Matings between dogs thought to be heterozygous for ICS resulted in 22 pups, five (three males and two females) of which were homozygous for ICS. Four of the five ICS-affected dogs had chronic rhinitis and bronchopneumonia. The other dog had a serious nasal discharge and died at 10 days. Four dogs had situs inversus totalis (kartagener syndrome), and the two males of reproductive age were azoospermic. In the two ICS dogs studied for ciliary function, in vivo mucociliary clearance was absent, and in vitro ciliary beat was rarely observed and of low frequency. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy disclosed the same lesions in respiratory cilia from all dogs with ICS, including random orientation and partial outer dynein arm deficiency. Four of five dogs with ICS had dilated lateral ventricles. One female pup with neonatal rhinitis and bronchopneumonia, situs solitus, and dilated lateral ventricles was presumed to be homozygous for ICS, but died without functional or structural confirmation of defective respiratory cilia. An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance for the ciliary defects and respiratory signs of ICS in these dogs is proposed.

Animals↗

Utilization of digital image processing to study dynein arms (ATPase) in normal and immotile cilia.

Tracheal ciliary cross sections were examined with scanning transmission electron microscopy and the resultant images were digitized for image enhancement. A gray-scale histogram of each ciliary image was produced and manipulated to enhance the image for dynein arms. Tracheal epithelial tissue from the pig, rabbit, and dog, including dogs with immotile cilia syndrome, was examined by using this technique. Tissue from each animal was fixed with each of three different fixatives and sections were evaluated for preservation of dynein arms. The same fixative did not consistently provide optimal fixation for ciliary dynein arms in all three species examined. Each species, therefore, must be evaluated to determine the optimal fixative for preservation of normal ciliary ultrastructure. Digital image processing provides a mechanism for enhancing dynein arms in situ without the need for addition of special stains or the use of techniques such as image summation. With this technique it has been shown that about two-thirds of outer dynein arms are partially or completely missing on cilia from dogs with immotile cilia syndrome.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Hypoglycemia and chronic renal failure in a cat.

Spontaneous hypoglycemia developed in a 9-year-old cat with chronic renal failure. Resulting seizures stopped after intravenous administration of glucose, but the cat died within 10 hours. This case and reports in human beings suggest that hypoglycemia should be considered in any cat with chronic renal failure that experiences sudden deterioration in mental status or begins having seizures.

Animals↗

Longitudinal change in three brief assessments of SDAT.

Previous research has shown that there is considerable interest in the development of brief indices for use in the diagnosis and staging of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT). Examples of such measures include the Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS) and Pfeiffer's Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). A third measure used in the assessment of organic cognitive impairment is the Face-Hand Test (FHT). This study, which was part of a large longitudinal investigation of SDAT, examined the performance of 43 subjects with SDAT and 57 healthy controls over 30 months. The subjects were assessed three times during this period. In addition to the brief measures (BDS, SPMSQ, and FHT) all subjects were rated on a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale based on a lengthy clinical interview. The data were analyzed by means of a series of univariate, repeated measures ANOVAs, and discriminant analysis. Results indicate: control scores did not change over time on any of the measures; when classified according to severity of SDAT, different patterns of performance emerged over time for each measure; and it is difficult to accurately predict progression of SDAT from the three scores.

Aged↗

Weight and vaginal opening in the albino rat.

The body weight of rats at spontaneous vaginal opening (Wvo) was related to the weight at weaning (Ww) and the time elapsed between the two events (tvo) by the following equation: Wvo = aj + bWw + ctvo + residual where aj is the litter effect present when both the male and female young are reared together. When only female young are raised, aj may be replaced by a, so that in this instance there is no litter effect. Further model differences were noted for young raised under different conditions.

Animals↗

Treatment of canine blastomycosis with amphotericin B and ketoconazole.

The treatment of 62 dogs with blastomycosis was reviewed to identify prognostic factors and response to various treatment regimens. Severity of lung involvement, as determined by radiography, and the number of nonsegmented neutrophils were useful prognostic factors. Females survived treatment better than did males, but females were more prone to relapse. Ketoconazole treatment at a dose of 10 mg/kg daily for 60 days was not as effective as amphotericin B. The most notable adverse effect of amphotericin B treatment was nephrotoxicosis . Treatment with amphotericin B followed by ketoconazole was as effective as amphotericin B alone and resulted in less nephrotoxicosis . Most dogs that had relapses were retreated effectively with amphotericin B and/or ketoconazole. Canine blastomycosis was shown to be a treatable disease, with a cure rate of approximately 75%.

Amphotericin B↗

Initiating occupational therapy clinical research.

The purpose of research is to give us indications of what the effectiveness of particular treatments are on groups of people. The similarities between what we accept as a standard of education and practice and what we conceive to be research are striking. In both cases, these are disciplined methods of collecting and analyzing data, and acting upon the results of it. Those of us with clinical populations have unanswered questions and thus, good reasons for conducting research. The professional who wants answers must be willing to work for them knowing that the rewards and personal satisfaction will be great. Hopefully, the membership will recognize the importance of providing support to research and will be generous in their contribution to the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. The AOTF provides the necessary seed money to answer the questions that we are all facing.

Foundations↗