Biomedical subjects

F J Meaney

Publications and source records attributed to F J Meaney.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1985

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis in Prader-Willi syndrome. A follow-up report on 38 cases.

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile (MCPP) was determined on 38 Prader-Willi syndrome individuals and compared with a previous report on 16 patients. Chromosome analysis showed an interstitial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 15 in 20 subjects and normal chromosome results in the remaining 18 individuals. The mean hand profile of 38 individuals was essentially flat while the profiles for the two groups based on chromosome findings were separate in the metacarpal area. Correlation studies confirmed the homogeneity of the deletion group relative to Prader-Willi syndrome individuals with normal chromosomes. Discriminant analysis of Prader-Willi syndrome versus control individuals produced a function of three MCPP variables plus age which may be applied as another diagnostic tool.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Anthropometry and numerical taxonomy in clinical genetics: an example of applied biological anthropology.

Biological anthropologists can contribute a unique perspective as well as technical expertise to the diagnosis and classification of genetic disorders. Anthropometry has been used with increasing frequency to characterize syndromes and to establish ranges of variation within syndromes. The specific anthropometric-radiologic technique of metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis has proven useful in discriminating individuals with the Prader-Labhart-Willi (PLW) syndrome from unaffected persons. Analysis of these data also indicate a negative correlation between age and Z-score transformations of individual hand bone lengths. These findings sound a cautionary note to clinical investigators who would use the Z-score transformation to standardize for age and sex. Problems encountered in the classification of genetic syndromes afford many parallels with those faced by anthropologists in the classification of living and fossil populations. The reliance on "key" traits and the necessity of focusing on pedigree analysis results in a deemphasis of the total range of variation and typological thinking. Application of numerical taxonomic techniques to the classification of the heterogeneous connective tissue disease osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) illustrates the heuristic value of this technique and points out the need to consider phenotypic overlap when defining typologies. Clinical genetics affords just one example of an area in medicine where the unique training and generalist perspective of the biological anthropologist is in demand. The decline in the availability of positions in the traditional academic habitat for biological anthropologists makes it imperative that graduate students be aware of alternatives and that they obtain training in the practical skills which such alternatives will demand.

Anthropology↗

PubMed1982

Prader-Willi syndrome: are there population differences?

A 15 1/2-year-old black female with features consistent with the Prader-Willi syndrome is reported. This is the second case report of a black individual and the first case of a black female with the Prader-Willi syndrome. There is an apparent paucity of blacks reported with this condition. Whether this difference is a true difference or represents under-reporting is not known. We urge reporting of individuals representing other racial groups with this disorder and suggest population studies to determine the incidence as well as the true population difference in the Prader-Willi syndrome.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1982

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis in Prader-Willi syndrome.

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile (MCPP) was determined on 16 Prader-Willi patients. Chromosome analysis of 14 patients showed an interstitial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 15 in seven subjects and normal chromosome results for the remaining individuals. Two separate and distinguishable hand profiles for each group based on the chromosome findings were identified. Correlation studies confirmed the homogeneity of the chromosome deletion group relative to the Prader-Willi individuals with normal chromosomes. Discriminant analysis of Prader-Willi versus normal individuals produces a function of three MCPP variables plus age which may provide a useful tool for diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A case-control study of lung cancer mortality in four rural Arizona smelter towns.

To investigate factors related to lung cancer mortality in four Arizona copper-smelter towns, the authors identified 142 lung cancer cases and 2 matched controls per case from decedent residents during 1979-1990. The authors obtained detailed information on lifetime residential, occupational, and smoking histories via structured telephone interviews with knowledgeable informants. The authors linked estimated historical environmental exposures to smelter emissions (based on atmospheric diffusion modeling of measured sulfur dioxide concentrations) with residential histories to derive individual profiles of residential exposure. The results of this study provided little evidence of a positive association between lung cancer and residential exposure to smelter emissions. Conditional logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive association between lung cancer and reported employment in copper mines and/or smelters, although specific factors associated with the apparently increased risk among these workers could not be identified in this community-based study.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

High density lipoprotein cholesterol. A 16-year longitudinal study in aging male twins.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Twin Study is a collaborative, longitudinal study of white, male twins who were veterans of World War II and were born between 1917 and 1927. The twins were selected from the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Twin Panel and were examined three times (1969-73, 1981-82, and 1986-87). At all three exams, the dizygotic (DZ) twins were found to have a greater total variance for high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than the monozygotic (MZ) twins (p less than 0.05). DZ variance estimates were also larger than the variance of singletons from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. At the third exam, HDL-C was divided by precipitation into HDL2 and HDL3 fractions, and HDL2 was found to be the primary cause of the greater DZ total variance (DZ/MZ HDL2 variance = 2.22). The DZ/MZ variance ratio decreased 9% after adjustment of HDL2 for correlations with plasma triglycerides, alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, and body mass index measured at the third exam. Postulated causes of the difference between MZ and DZ total variances include World War II induction screening, environmental influences unique to one zygosity, and genetic factors related to twinning. Further understanding of the etiology of this striking difference between MZ and DZ twin variance for HDL-C fractions could lead to more effective methods of decreasing the complications of arteriosclerosis.

Adult↗