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Biomedical subjects

E Berry

Publications and source records attributed to E Berry.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Dual analyte immunoassay in neural tube defect and Down's syndrome screening: results of a multicentre clinical trial.

We report a multicentre clinical field trial of a novel dual analyte enzyme immunoassay method for the simultaneous measurement of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and free beta-human choriogonadotropin (hCG) in the same microtitre well. The assay was shown to have good technical performance in the hands of all trial centres, with between assay coefficients of variation better than 10% for both analyte across the whole of the assay ranges. The method compared well with single analyte measuring procedures and produced acceptable performance as judged by external quality assurance criteria. Recovery of added analyte and analyte dilution curves also showed acceptable performance. In clinical evaluation of a large set of neural tube defect cases, good clinical discrimination from unaffected cases was observed using AFP. With over 150 Down's syndrome cases, the combination of AFP and free beta hCG confirmed the high detection rates achievable using this marker combination, with detection rates in excess of 70% in early gestation. We conclude that the combination of clinically superior markers coupled with technologically innovative assay design will lead to more efficient Down's screening programmes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Acute and chronic effects of dexfenfluramine on glucose and insulin response to intravenous glucose in diabetic and non-diabetic obese subjects.

Fenfluramine improves glucose tolerance in obese subjects independently of its anorectic effect. Increased insulin action has been reported, but such an effect may be secondary to reduced hyperglycemia following augmented insulin secretion. For this reason, we investigated whether the dextro-enantiomer of fenfluramine (dexfenfluramine, dF) has a direct effect on insulin secretion using the glucose infusion test, a technique that can also be used to indirectly evaluate insulin action. Ten lean controls (BMI 21 +/- 0.4 kg/m2), 9 non-diabetic obese subjects (BMI 32.3 +/- 1.1) and 10 obese mild non-insulin dependent diabetics (BMI 36 +/- 2.6, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 7.9 +/- 0.9 mmol/l) were studied with a random, double blind cross-over protocol. Each subject received 15 mg dF (or placebo) twice daily for 3 days prior to glucose infusion; 30 mg dF (or placebo) were given 90 min before the test. Obese control and diabetic subjects continued treatment with either dF or placebo for one month after which they were retested. There was no significant change in weight or fasting plasma glucose or insulin in any group. Biphasic insulin secretion was demonstrated in both non-diabetic groups, whereas a complete lack of first-phase and a delayed and reduced second phase insulin response was demonstrated in the diabetic subjects. There was no acute or chronic (obese subjects) effect of dF on insulin secretion in any group. In lean control subjects, plasma glucose curves during glucose infusion were unchanged by dF, whereas in non-diabetic obese subjects the glucose slope was improved after both acute and chronic dF, implying augmented glucose disposal. In diabetic patients, no significant acute or chronic effect of dF on glucose response was registered. When all obese subjects were re-grouped according to fasting plasma insulin levels (FPI) and not glucose tolerance, those with relative fasting hyperinsulinemia (> 100 pmol/l, mean +/- SE = 144 +/- 12 pmol/l) showed significant improvement of insulin action after dF, whereas those with low FPI (< 100 pmol/l, mean +/- SE = 65 +/- 7 pmol/l) did not. These findings, together with previously published results of improved insulin action in diabetics during hyperinsulinemic clamps, suggest that dF-mediated improvement in glucose clearance may require substantial plasma insulin concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A structural model examining the relationship between physical child abuse, sexual victimization, and marijuana/hashish use in delinquent youth: a longitudinal study.

A structural model of the relationships among physical abuse and sexual victimization experiences, marijuana/hashish use (measured by self-report and urine test data) and self-reported delinquent behavior (theft crimes, index offenses, crimes against persons, drug sales and total delinquency) over time was tested in a longitudinal study of juvenile detainees. The hypothesized model was supported by the data. Theoretical, research and policy implications of the results are drawn.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Haemophilia B Leyden arising de novo by point mutation in the putative factor IX promoter region.

Haemophilia B Leyden is characterized by severe factor IX deficiency during childhood with partial resolution at puberty or following the administration of anabolic steroids. The disorder has recently been associated with point mutations in the putative factor IX promoter region, which contains an imperfect direct repeat spanning a possible start site of transcription. We have identified a T to C transition at position +8 in the promoter region of a patient with the haemophilia B Leyden phenotype. A mutation at this site has not been previously reported and occurs within the repeat consensus sequence in the transcribed but untranslated portion of the gene. There is no family history of haemophilia and sequence analysis of his mother and other family members indicates that the mutation has arisen de novo in this patient. This observation provides further support for a causal relationship between point mutations in the presumptive promoter region of the factor IX gene and the Leyden phenotype.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Juvenile crime and drug abuse: a prospective study of high risk youth.

Results from an ongoing, longitudinal study of juvenile detainees focusing on the relationship between their drug use and delinquency/crime, are summarized. Three hundred and ninety-nine youths were first interviewed in 1986/87, and 41 percent were found to be urine positive for recent drug use at the time of detention. We reinterviewed 305 of the youths approximately one year later, and found their drug use and delinquency persisted, and in some cases increased, over time. Treatment intervention is needed for the drug involved youths in the study to reduce their cycle of drug use and crime.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Recidivism among high-risk youths: study of a cohort of juvenile detainees.

We report some results from an ongoing, longitudinal study of juvenile detainees. Analyses were directed toward determining whether the youth's alcohol or other drug use and their emotional/psychological problems at entry into the detention center predicted subsequent arrests for new offenses. Statistically significant relationships were found between the youths' demographic characteristics (age, race, gender), referral history, reason for placement in the detention center, and cocaine use (as measured by urinalysis) and recidivism. However, the magnitudes of these relationships were low to moderate in value, suggesting that a longer follow-up period is needed to more meaningfully study this issue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Recidivism among high risk youths: a 2 1/2-year follow-up of a cohort of juvenile detainees.

We report some results from a longitudinal study of juvenile detainees. Analyses were directed toward determining whether the youths' alcohol or other drug use and their emotional/psychological problems at entry into the detention center predicted subsequent arrests for new offenses during the 24 and 30 months following their initial interviews. Statistically significant relationships were found between the youths' demographic characteristics (age, race, gender), referral history, reason for placement in the detention center, cocaine use (as measured by urinalysis), and recidivism. The magnitude of these relationships increased with the length of the follow-up period.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Studies on an unusual von Willebrand's variant--type IID.

We describe a man and his daughter from a large New Zealand family with the extremely rare variant von Willebrand's (VW) disease type IID. These two patients had a severe bleeding history following minor surgery and displayed easy bruising. However, routine laboratory screening tests and factor VIII studies were essentially normal except for slightly reduced ristocetin cofactor activity and prolonged skin bleeding times. Although lacking higher molecular weight forms of VW antigen in common with VW type II's the patients' multimer patterns were clearly different from types IIA and IIB. Instead of showing the characteristic 'triplet' pattern in each multimer band the patients gave a single prominent band with faint satellite bands different in mobility to those in normals. Von Willebrand factor from the patients' platelets gave a similar abnormal pattern. DDAVP failed to correct the bleeding time in either patient and multimer analysis confirmed that there was no increase in the higher molecular weight VWF antigen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Steroid pattern of bile and feces in response to a fruit-enriched diet in hypercholesterolemic hamsters.

The effect of a fruit (apple)-enriched diet on bile secretion and on fecal steroid excretion was studied in two strains of hamster: normal hamsters with normal cholesterolemia and spontaneous hypercholesterolemic hamsters with high-level hepatic cholesterol esters (FEC hamsters). Quantitative and qualitative alterations in the steroid composition in bile and feces were accompanied by changes in intestinal morphology. The fruit diet displayed a choleretic effect and increased the output of bile acids from liver in FEC hamsters. In addition, bile collected continuously from cannulated apple-fed animals was enriched with conjugates of cholic acid. Moreover, apple consumption lowered the lithogenic index of the bile. In response to the fruit diet, fecal excretion of bile acids and neutral sterols increased, essentially in the form of primary bile acids and sterol esters, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Examination of the relationships among drug use, emotional/psychological problems, and crime among youths entering a juvenile detention center.

Urine testing and confidential interviews of youths entering a juvenile detention center in a southeastern city produced some striking results in regard to their drug use, delinquent behavior, and emotional/psychological problems. Recent users of marijuana/hashish and cocaine had higher rates of referral to juvenile court for property and drug offenses than nonusers. The results suggest that interviewing and urine testing of youthful detainees for drug use at the point of entry into secure detention is a promising method for screening youngsters with histories of delinquent behavior. Implications of these findings are drawn.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A longitudinal study of the relationships among alcohol use, marijuana/hashish use, cocaine use, and emotional/psychological functioning problems in a cohort of high-risk youths.

There is increasing recognition that children involved in the justice system often have serious, multiple problems in the areas of physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and alcohol/other drug use (ADM). Using data collected in a longitudinal study of detained juveniles, we test a model of the relationships of these problems. Significant over-time interrelationships are found among these problems. Research and policy implications of these important findings are drawn.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Physical abuse, sexual victimization, and illicit drug use: replication of a structural analysis among a new sample of high-risk youths.

Mounting evidence of serious adverse consequences of childhood physical and sexual abuse has important implications for public health officials and care providers. Given the potential impact on social policy of this area of inquiry, programmatic research is needed for the validation of theoretical models across populations and over time. This study, based on a sample of high-risk youths, replicates a structural model that specified the influence of child physical and sexual abuse on self-derogation and drug use. Results suggest that for male and female youths, physical abuse and sexual victimization had a direct effect on self-derogation and illicit drug use, and an indirect effect on drug use that was mediated by self-derogation. Moreover, structural coefficients for the model were found to be identical across gender. Subsequent analyses demonstrated the equivalence of the structural model of child physical and sexual abuse on drug use across two study cohorts. Implications for the identification and treatment of youths in high-risk groups are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Combined enzymatic assay of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine in amniotic fluid.

We present here a combined, quantitative enzymatic procedure for determining amniotic fluid phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine and relate these findings to the assessment of fetal lung maturity. Under the assay conditions described phospholipase C specifically hydrolyses phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) but not sphingomyelin, precluding the need for removal of sphingomyelin prior to analysis. Solvent extraction of the phospholipids from the amniotic fluid is, however, employed to avoid spurious elevation of PG and PC results by endogenous glycerol and choline. Of 45 amniocentesis fluids examined, 28 yielded detectable PG concentrations (greater than 0.5 mumol/l) and all but three of these exhibited PC concentrations in excess of 10 mumol/l. One case of respiratory distress occurred in an infant of 29 wk gestation with severe intrauterine growth retardation. Of the remaining 17 fluids in which PG was undetected enzymatically (less than or equal to 0.5 mumol/l), 14 also contained PC concentrations less than or equal to 10 mumol/l and all six cases of true respiratory distress syndrome came from within this sub-group. Strong correlations between the PC concentration and the lecithin:sphingomyelin ratio, r = 0.85 (p less than 0.001) and the PC and PG concentrations, r = 0.96 (p less than 0.001) were also found.

Amniocentesis↗
PubMed1988

The relationship between physical and sexual abuse and illicit drug use: a replication among a new sample of youths entering a juvenile detention center.

The relationship between child physical and sexual abuse and illicit drug use are little understood and underinvestigated. Our previous study of this association found that a sample of detained youths' physical and sexual abuse experiences were related significantly and positively to their use of illicit drugs. Data gathered from a new sample of detained juveniles, interviewed 3 years after our first study, relating to this issue were examined and our previous findings were replicated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Analyzing patient satisfaction: a multianalytic approach.

A telephone survey of 9% of first quarter discharges at The New York Hospital was undertaken to identify the dimensions of a patient satisfaction questionnaire and the determinants of patient satisfaction. The questionnaire included measures of overall satisfaction with hospital services, satisfaction with ten aspects of service, and patient expectations. Relatively high inter-item correlations indicate that the questionnaire can be shortened and the same overall dimensions measured. A longer questionnaire would still be necessary to ascertain the relative values of measures within any one dimension. The best determinants of overall satisfaction with hospital care appear to be patient expectations and satisfaction with nursing care. Patient satisfaction with nursing care, however, seems to hinge on satisfaction with services not under a nurse's control.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed1986

Assessment of the AmnioStat-FLM immunoagglutination test for phosphatidylglycerol in amniotic fluid.

One hundred and eight amniotic fluids were assayed by the AmnioStat-FLM (A-FLM) immunological agglutination test for phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and simultaneously measured enzymatically for PG content. Of 52 amniotic fluids found to be PG negative by the A-FLM method, all had enzymatic PG concentrations less than or equal to 1.5 mumol/l. Conversely, of 56 amniotic fluids judged to be either PG positive or weak positive, all but five had enzymatic PG concentrations greater than 1.5 mumol/l. The sensitivity of the A-FLM assay employed clinically for predicting foetal lung maturity was 89% and the specificity was 100%. The overall predictive accuracy of the test could be improved by providing controls at lower, more appropriate PG concentrations. Ninety-one fluids analysed by the A-FLM kit were subsequently tested for the presence of PG by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (2D TLC). A 94%-concordance between the methods was found.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1985

The specificity of triacylglycerol synthesis for medium-chain fatty acids in rat and human adipose preparations.

The availability of medium-chain fatty acids as substrates for triacylglycerol synthesis was studied in cultured and suspended rat adipocytes and in pieces of human adipose tissue. Octanoate was virtually excluded from glycerol 3-phosphate esterification while serving as a substrate for diacylglycerol esterification. This specificity was similar to that of cultured rat hepatocytes.

Adipose Tissue↗