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Biomedical subjects

D Gregory

Publications and source records attributed to D Gregory.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Health and weight control management among wrestlers. A proposed program for high school athletes.

Weight loss is a part of any competitive sport which matches participants of equal weight or sports where participating at lower weights or with a thinner body habitus is considered an advantage. For some wrestlers, weight loss is excessive and often accomplished by methods that lead to loss of lean body mass and total body water. There is convincing evidence that this excessive weight loss is unhealthy for all individuals who follow these practices. Even greater harm is experienced by high school wrestlers who have not yet completed their growth and development. These health consequences include growth retardation, decreased academic performance, altered endocrine or hormonal function and damage to many vital organs. "cycling" of weight results in decrease in strength, power and endurance which would effect adversely a wrestler's likelihood of success. The VHSL has begun an educational program to inform coaches, wrestlers and parents about the hazards inherent in these weight loss practices. History suggests that education alone will not alter the present practices of weight loss. Therefore a weight management program similar to ones initiated in other states is being pursued by the VHSL. The pilot program this year is scheduled to be followed next year by a more wide-spread voluntary program across the Commonwealth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1992

A population-based study of neuroblastoma incidence, survival, and mortality in North America.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to provide a population-based estimate of neuroblastoma incidence, disease stage and age distribution, and survival and mortality rates in North America; and (2) to compare these figures in the province of Quebec at a time shortly before the institution of province-wide screening with those in a population-based control group, the Greater Delaware Valley (GDV) Pediatric Tumor Registry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In Quebec, the four major pediatric teaching hospital records were searched for children with a diagnosis of neuroblastoma. Tumor board registry data and information supplied to the Division of Vital Statistics were also reviewed. Birth statistics were obtained from the population registry. The GDV Pediatric Tumor Registry is a population-based registry of pediatric cancer covering all of Delaware and parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Age, stage of disease, and follow-up data were obtained through December 31, 1989, with Evans neuroblastoma staging data used for all comparisons. RESULTS: One hundred thirty children with neuroblastoma were identified in Quebec and 165 in the GDV, in a combined population of 3,178,736 children. The annual incidence of neuroblastoma was 10.95/10(6) under the age of 15 years and 27.75/10(6) between the ages of 0 and 4 years. The annual mortality rate due to neuroblastoma was 4.89/10(6) and 9.10/10(6) for the age groups 0 to 14 and 0 to 4, respectively. The overall 10-year survival rate for the 295 cases of neuroblastoma was 55%. The 10-year survival rates for patients with Evans stage I-IV and IVS disease were 88%, 90%, 63%, 21%, and 81%. There was no significant difference observed in the incidence, mortality, or survival in the two populations. CONCLUSION: These data represent the first large, population-based description of the clinical presentation and outcome of patients with neuroblastoma in North America, with no significant differences noted between Quebec patients and the GDV patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Assessment of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a Taenia hydatigena fraction antigen in the diagnosis of cysticercosis in cattle.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a fraction of larval Taenia hydatigena cyst fluid antigen was carried out on 469 bovine sera collected at slaughter from feedlot cattle for the presence of anticysticercosis antibodies. Cysticerci, in low numbers, were found in the heart, tongue and/or masseter muscles of 84 of the 469 cattle at postmortem inspection. Only nine sera gave positive ELISA reactions and in only one of these nine animals were cysticerci found. Within the limitations of this study, the high rate of false negative and false positive reactions suggests that the ELISA with the antigen used is not a satisfactory procedure to diagnose cysticercosis in cattle, at least in animals with light infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Models of state funding for mental health research.

Twenty-eight of 49 states that responded to a survey supported mental health or substance abuse research through at least one of four funding mechanisms--the joint state-university research unit, research grants, state in-house research, and contracts. The authors illustrate the use of these mechanisms with examples from the states. The events leading to the establishment of the new Oklahoma Mental Health Research Institute are described.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1988

Statistical classification of spikes in benign rolandic epilepsy.

The occurrence of spikes during an electroencephalogram is a basic feature of Benign Rolandic Epilepsy of Childhood (BREC). In this study we addressed the question of whether the interictal spike structure is different between "typical" and "atypical" BREC patients. Atypical BREC patients are characterized by having other neurological abnormalities in addition to the typical BREC symptoms. This question is of interest given the good prognosis associated with the typical form of BREC. We analyzed data from 12 typical and 12 atypical BREC patients using ten variables to describe spike morphology and topography. The non-parametric method of "classification and regression trees" (CART) was used to detect discriminating features and construct a classification rule. In this way the location and amplitude of the spike were found to provide satisfactory discrimination, suggesting that the two groups may be affected by different epileptic processes. The study showed the effectiveness of the CART methodology in dealing with the categorical and non-normal variables that can be obtained from EEG records. It illustrates a simple but logical approach to the analysis of potentially complex topographic data.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Feasibility of chemical screening of urine for neuroblastoma case finding in infancy in Quebec.

Neuroblastoma is the most common fatal solid tumour of childhood. Studies in Japan suggest that screening urine at 6 months for tumour-derived metabolites greatly improves early case finding and prognosis. The incidence rate of neuroblastoma in Quebec is at least 1 per 10,330 live births, higher than that of all other diseases responding to early treatment except congenital hypothyroidism screened for in the Quebec Network of Genetic Medicine. The feasibility of chemical screening of urine for elevated levels of homovanillic acid and vanillylmandelic acid in Quebec was assessed. The cost-effectiveness of screening 100,000 infants per year would be high (cost-benefit ratio 2.4), with a net saving of about $280,000 and eight lives per year. The estimated cost of adding neuroblastoma screening to the existing urine metabolite screening program is $70,700. The apparent sensitivity of the proposed test is 0.859 and the rate of false-positive results about 0.1%, both acceptable values. The attitude of potential participants toward the present urine screening program and the addition of a "tumour test" was positive. The results indicate that a pilot study of neuroblastoma screening in Quebec could be undertaken.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1986

Phosvitin isolation from fish eggs: methodological improvements including 'specific' phosvitin precipitation with ferric ion.

Modifications of the method of Wallace et al. [Can. J. Biochem. 44, 1647-1655 (1966)] for phosvitin isolation from vertebrate eggs were devised to enhance the method's general effectiveness. Phosvitins which do not precipitate on dilution from solutions of their lipovitellin complexes may be selectively adsorbed onto, and desorbed from, DEAE-cellulose. Phosvitins which are too small for dialysis or ultrafiltration may be concentrated or desalted by precipitation with stoichiometric amounts of ferric ions, followed by iron removal with EDTA on gel filtration. Since phosvitin distribution among ammonium sulfate fractions depends on initial protein and salt concentrations in a species-specific manner, pilot experiments are needed to establish conditions for optimal fractionation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1986

A cooperative taxonomic study of mycobacteria isolated from armadillos infected with Mycobacterium leprae.

Seventeen strains of mycobacteria, recovered from six armadillos experimentally infected with Mycobacterium leprae, were examined in ten different laboratories. This collaborative study included use of conventional bacteriological tests, lipid analyses, determination of mycobactins and peptidoglycans, characterization by Py-MS, and immunological, metabolic, pathological and DNA studies. These armadillo-derived mycobacteria (ADM) formed five homogeneous groups (numbered ADM 1 to 5) on the basis of phenetic analyses. However, DNA studies revealed only four homogeneous groups since group ADM 1 and one of the two strains in group ADM 3 showed a high level of DNA relatedness. The phenetic and DNA studies confirmed that the ADM strains differed from all other known mycobacteria. Cultural, biochemical, metabolic and pathogenic properties as well as DNA-DNA hybridizations clearly differentiated these ADM from M. leprae.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1984

Genetic causes of chronic musculoskeletal disease in childhood are common.

We surveyed admissions to a pediatric orthopedics hospital for calender years 1957 (polio era) and 1982 (post-polio era). The relative importance of genetic causes of musculoskeletal disease increased after poliomyelitis immunization became universal. Admissions for musculoskeletal disease with a genetic cause (chromosomal, Mendelian, multifactorial, and familial) accounted for 45% of the total in 1957 and 57% in 1982 (p less than 0.02); non-genetic causes were 44% in 1957 and 28% in 1982 (p less than 0.001). The high probability of recurrent disease in the families of these patients implies that genetics has an important place in the provision of services and in the education of staff in pediatric orthopedic hospitals.

Bone Diseases↗