Biomedical subjects

G Brand

Publications and source records attributed to G Brand.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A multicentre longitudinal observational study of changes in self reported health status in people with Parkinson's disease left untreated at diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The issue of when to start treatment in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains controversial. Some favour treatment at diagnosis while others opt for a "wait and watch" policy. The effect of the latter policy on the self reported health status of people with PD is unknown. AIMS: To record self reported health status through longitudinal use of a validated PD specific questionnaire (PDQ-39) in untreated PD patients in multiple centres in the UK. To compare patients who were left untreated with those who were offered treatment during follow-up. METHODS: A multicentre, prospective, "real life" observational audit based study addressing patient reported outcomes in relation to self reported health status and other sociodemographic details. RESULTS: 198 untreated PD were assessed over a mean period of 18 months. During two follow-up assessments, the self reported health status scores in all eight domains of the PDQ-39 and the overall PDQ-39 summary index worsened significantly (p<0.01) in patients left untreated. In a comparative group in whom treatment was initiated at or soon after diagnosis, there was a trend towards improvement in self reported health status scores after treatment was started. CONCLUSIONS: This study addresses for the first time self reported health status, an indicator of health related quality of life, in untreated PD. The findings may strengthen the call for re-evaluation of the policy to delay treatment in newly diagnosed patients with PD.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Effects of toluene inhalation exposure on olfactory functioning: behavioral and histological assessment.

Exposure to pollutant or toxic substances is known to induce adverse health effects but few studies have been devoted to study the impact on olfactory functioning although neuroreceptors in the nasal cavity are directly in contact with volatile molecules. Thus, this work was designed to evaluate in mice the potential modifications of the olfactory functioning during (1 month) and after (1 month) a prolonged toluene exposure at both sensitive/perceptive and cellular levels. Mice were exposed to 1000ppm of toluene for 5h/day, 5days/week for 4 weeks. Firstly, behavioral evaluation (T-maze test) to toluene sensitivity showed a constant decrease during all the 4 weeks of exposure (W1-W4) which continued during 2 weeks after the exposure (W5, W6). In contrast, during the last 2 weeks of the experiment (W7, W8), the sensitivity of mice to toluene went back to normal. Secondly, structural modifications, i.e. density of cells and thickness of olfactory epithelium were observed soon after the outset of exposure. The number of cells did not change at the beginning of exposure (W1, W2), decreased markedly later (W3, W4), increased significantly the first week of the recovery period (W5) and stayed stable during the following weeks (W6-W8). Concerning the thickness of neuroepithelium, the results at W1 showed a decrease followed by an increase suggesting an inflammatory process (W2, W3). In contrast, the results of W4 revealed an abrupt decrease of the thickness whereas the return to normal arose immediately at the outset of recovery period.

Air Pollutants↗

PubMed2006

Evidence for autonomic responses to pungent chemical stimuli applied to the skin vs inhaled via the nasal cavity.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Chemical stimuli can produce different sensations from tingling to pain. Responses to chemical stimuli differ in relation to many factors. This study aims at examining two factors, i.e. the localization of their application and the implied sensory modality. METHODS: Twenty volunteer students participated in the experiment. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded to compare the autonomic nervous activation to maximal stimulation with the same irritant stimulus (mustard oil (MO) diluted at 25%) applied to the skin or delivered into the nasal cavity. RESULTS: The SCRs obtained following maximal nasal stimulation with MO were significantly different from those obtained following maximal skin stimulation. Application of MO on skin elicited higher SCR amplitude as well as a longer rising time and latency when compared to nasal stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the autonomic nervous activation following maximal chemical irritation differ in temporal, amplitude and shape response characteristics. These results are discussed in terms of cutaneous and nasal innervation's.

Administration, Inhalation↗

PubMed2003

Distinct expression of APO-1/Fas and caspase-8 in the human growth plate.

Chondrocytes in the growth plate undergo a characteristic sequel of differentiation processes, finally leading in their death by apoptosis. The mechanisms that mediate these remarkable biological phenomenon are still widely unknown. For this study, growth plates from five resected polydactylic infantile fingers were taken and immunostained for APO-1 and Caspase-8, two apoptosis-mediating proteins. The expression of both proteins was examined in the resting zone, proliferating zone, and hypertrophic zone, representing the maturation stages of the growth plate. Positive cells for APO-1 and Caspase-8 were found in all zones of the physis with a significant increase from the resting to the hypertrophic zone (from 17.4% to 33.067% for APO-1 and from 13.17% to 28.22% for Caspase-8). Our findings suggest that both APO-1 and Caspase-8 are involved in chondrocyte development in the growth plate, predominantly near to the closure area.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2002

Lateralization in human nasal chemoreception: differences in bilateral electrodermal responses related to olfactory and trigeminal stimuli.

The study of olfactory lateralization in humans has given rise to many publications, but the findings have often been contradictory. There is growing evidence to suggest that the nature of the olfactory stimulus influences the processes of lateralization. An important factor could be the trigeminal component. Indeed, most odorants simultaneously stimulate both olfactory (CN I) and trigeminal (CN V) systems which differ in terms of their central projections, ipsilaterally for CN I and contralaterally for CN V. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in psychophysiological measurements between a nasal input with low (phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA)) and high (allyl isothiocyanate (AIC)) intranal trigeminal stimulation. In a first experiment (20 subjects), the intensity, hedonicity and irritation levels of stimulus were tested with a psychophysical evaluation to study the possible influences of perceptual characteristics. A second experiment (37 subjects) used bilateral electrodermal recordings and compared the skin conductance responses (SCRs) for both nasal inputs on either monorhinal and birhinal stimulations. Firstly, the electrodermal activity (EDA) results showed no differences between the two nostrils for PEA as well as AIC, but differences in relation to the type of stimulus, e.g. higher amplitude in response to AIC versus PEA. Secondly, the results indicated bilateral differences in EDA recordings related to the nature of the stimulus and are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetric activation.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

The potency of acyclovir can be markedly different in different cell types.

Acyclovir is an acyclic guanine analog with a considerable activity against herpes simplex viruses. We studied the antiherpetic activity of acyclovir in macrophages and fibroblast cell lines. Utilising a plaque reduction assay we found that acyclovir potently inhibited the HSV-1 replication in macrophages (EC50) = 0.0025 microM) compared to Vero (EC50 = 8.5 microM) and MRC-5 (EC50 = 3.3 microM) cells. The cytotoxicity of acyclovir was not detected at concentrations < or = 20 microM, thus the selective index in macrophages was >8000. This marked difference in antiherpetic activity between macrophages and fibroblasts was not observed with Foscarnet and PMEA. We suggest that this potent antiviral effect of acyclovir is mainly due to a proficient phosphorylation of the drug and/or a favourable dGTP/acyclovir triphosphate ratio in macrophage cells.

Acrylates↗

PubMed2001

Effects of pleasant and unpleasant ambient odors on human voice pitch.

The perception of odors is well identified as having strong emotional correlates. It is also well known that the acoustic characteristics of the voice differ according to the emotional state. This study compared some acoustic features of the voice of 18 subjects reading the same text in pleasant (lavender) and unpleasant (pyridine) ambient odor conditions. The results revealed that the pitch of the voice was higher in the pleasant than in the unpleasant condition. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of local and functional convergences of encoding vocal emotion and hedonic perception of odors.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Complexity of olfactory lateralization processes revealed by functional imaging: a review.

Currently available techniques used in neurosciences and particularly cerebral imaging are contributing to a better understanding of human perception and the treatment of sensorial information. In this field, the chemical senses (taste and smell) have received little attention when compared with the auditory, visual and tactile senses. Nevertheless, recent research has been trying to overcome this. Brain regions involved in the processing of olfactory information have been investigated in several studies including a large number dealing with the question of lateralization. However, functional asymmetry in olfaction has still not been resolved and the resulting data have not been homogeneous. In this field, the contribution of cerebral imaging studies is very important insofar as it shows that the processes of functional lateralization in olfaction depend on many factors (nature of stimulus, nature of task, characteristics of subjects ...) that future research will have to consider.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Quality of odor and olfactory lateralization processes in humans.

The study of olfactory lateralization processes in humans has given rise to many publications, but the resulting data have not been homogeneous. Sensorial cerebral asymmetry depends on several factors (nature of task, characteristics of subjects, etc.) and could also depend on the quality of the stimulus, especially in olfaction. This field appears to be widely unexplored and the quality of odor is a complex property. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in psychophysiological measurements (bilateral electrodermal recordings) related to the quality of odors. Electrodermal asymmetries were used as a function of differential hemispheric activation. Two major characteristics of odor were explored, the hedonic valence (pleasant/unpleasant) and the trigeminal component (irritant/non-irritant). The results obtained in a sample of 30 right-handed subjects (15 males and 15 females) showed a predominance of the right hemisphere in the treatment of olfactory information not depending on the quality of odor, except the trigeminal-nerve activation.

Autonomic Nervous System↗

PubMed2001

Sex differences in human olfaction: between evidence and enigma.

The sex of individuals plays an important part in determining their olfactory abilities, with females generally being superior to males. The present review examines the way in which sex differences influence sensitivity, identification, familiarity, and recognition of odours. It also examines whether sex differences are more pronounced with some odours than others, and how sex differences are affected by the manner of testing. Two different explanations for the superiority of females over males in olfaction are evaluated.

Female↗

PubMed2001

Intercorrelations among tests of lateralisation in the BALB/c mouse.

In order to examine the reliability of lateralised behaviours, BALB/c mice were tested in three different situations: the Collins paw preference test (PPT), the rotatory swimming test (RST), and the T maze test (TMT). The results showed a significant correlation between the scores of lateralisation in the PPT and the RST, but a lack of lateralisation in the TMT. Considering the tasks involved in these tests, these results appear to support the hypothesis of close links between lateralised behaviours, emotional processes, and neural pathways.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Comparison between monorhinal and birhinal olfactory stimulations in bilateral electrodermal recordings.

The study of olfactory lateralization in human subjects has given rise to many publications, but the findings have often been contradictory. Most research used either birhinal or monorhinal stimulations, but rarely a comparison between these two types of olfactory input. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in psychophysiological measurements and test each side of the nose and binasal performances. This work used bilateral electrodermal recordings and compared the skin conductance responses (SCRs) for a pleasant odorant (isoamyl acetate) and an unpleasant odorant (triethylamine) in a suprathreshold concentration on 30 dextral subjects (16 females and 14 males). First, the results reported no differences between the two nostrils but differences in electrodermal activity (EDA) in relation to the odorant: 1) higher amplitude in response to unpleasant versus pleasant odorant; 2) no differences between monorhinal and birhinal stimulations for the unpleasant odour but higher amplitude in response to birhinal versus monorhinal for the pleasant odour. Second, the results showed constant bilateral differences in EDA recordings and are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetry activation.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Behavioral lateralization during spontaneous smelling tasks.

The smelling behavior of 52 right-handed subjects was videotaped during tasks involving identification and recognition of different odors. Analysis showed that men more often used the right nostril than the left whatever the odor. There was no significant difference for the women. These results support a more marked cerebral asymmetry in men than in women and a main involvement of the right cerebral hemisphere in the olfactory processes at least by right-handed men.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

[Olfactory lateralization in humans: a review of the literature].

In the field of human perception, the chemical senses (taste and smell) have received little attention from neuroscience research when compared with auditory, visual and tactile senses. In the case of olfaction, it would appear that the publications over the last few years have been trying to overcome this lack of research. Many investigations have been carried out on lateralization, mainly in relation to specific pathologies (i.e., epilepsy, split-brain, lobotomy, etc.), while there have been few studies of healthy subjects. The results are often contradictory due particularly to special features of the olfactory system. However, consensus is emerging concerning, first, the fact that if both hemispheres are involved in the olfactory process, it is probable that one is more dominant than the other (many studies have revealed a greater impact on the right hemisphere in the treatment of olfactory information, but the dominance has not been clearly established). Second, the simple detection process would appear not to be lateralized whereas the higher-order olfactory tasks which involve memory processes and lexical aspects could be. The exact conditions governing lateralization still require more clarification by systematically taking into consideration the characteristics of the individual subjects, as well as those of the odorant stimuli and the test conditions. Finally, currently available techniques used in neurosciences and particularly cerebral imagery will contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of cerebral asymmetry in olfaction.

Functional Laterality↗

PubMed1999

Differential effects of cyclopolyamines on the stability and conformation of triplex DNA.

Linear polyamines are excellent promoters of triplex DNA formation. The effects of structural rigidization of polyamines on triplex DNA stability are not known at present. We wished to develop a series of polyamine analogs as secondary ligands for triplex DNA stabilization for antigene applications. To accomplish this goal, we synthesized cyclopolyamines by interconnecting the two amino or imino groups of linear polyamines with a --(CH2)n-bridge (n=3,4,5). Melting temperature (Tm) data showed that [4,3]-spermine and [4,4]-spermine stabilized poly(dA) x 2poly(dT) triplex at >25 microM concentrations (Tm = 71 degrees C at 100 microM). The dTm/dlog [polyamine] values for these compounds were 26 and 40, respectively. [4,3]-Spermine and [4,4]-spermine also stabilized triplex DNA formed by a purine-motif triplex-forming oligonucleotide, TG3TG4TG4TG3T with its target duplex, as determined by Tm, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). In contrast, [4,4]-putrescine and [4,5]-putrescine as well as [4,5]-spermine had no triplex DNA stabilizing effect. CD spectra also showed triplex DNA aggregation and psi-DNA formation at >100 microM [4,3]-spermine. These data demonstrate that structural rigidization of linear polyamines has a profound effect on their ability to stabilize triplex DNA and provoke conformational transitions.

Circular Dichroism↗

PubMed1999

Olfaction and hemispheric asymmetry: unilateral stimulation and bilateral electrodermal recordings.

The study of hemispheric asymmetry in olfaction in human subjects has given rise to many publications, but the findings have often been contradictory. This study used bilateral electrodermal activity recordings with unilateral stimulation as a measure of functional hemispheric asymmetry. A specific odorant (lavender) was used by monorhinic (single nostril) stimulation on 30 dextral subjects (20 females and 10 males). Intraindividually, the results showed no difference between the two nostrils, but all subjects exhibited a constant direction of electrodermal asymmetry: 20 subjects systematically showed a greater response amplitude for the right hand and 10 subjects systematically showed a greater response amplitude for the left hand, whatever hemisphere stimulated.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1997

A survey of injection site lesions in fed cattle in Canada.

During November 1996 to January 1997, a survey was conducted at 5 Canadian purveyors to measure the prevalence of injection site lesions in the top butt, boneless blade, outside round, inside round, and eye of the round. As trimmers were cutting these subprimals into steaks, technicians monitored each steak for grossly obvious scars. These scars were trimmed, weighed, and scored as either a "clear scar," "woody callus," or "cyst." All scars were subsequently examined histologically and classified as a "clear scar," "woody callus," "scar with nodules," "mineralized scar," or "cyst." Pieces were observed for broken needles while being processed and none were found. The estimated prevalence of injection site lesions was 18.8% (95% CI, 16.4% to 21.2%) in top butts, 22.2% (95% CI, 18.8% to 25.7%) in boneless blades, 4.9% (95% CI, 3.6% to 6.3%) in the eye of round, 1.8% (95% CI, 1.1% to 2.9%) in the inside round, and 7.6% (95% CI, 5.6% to 9.8%) in the outside round. Some top butts originated from American fed cattle; the estimated prevalence of lesions was 9.0% (95% CI, 5.9% to 12.9%) in American top butts and 22.3% (95% CI, 19.4% to 25.3%) in Canadian top butts. The median weight of the lesions varied among subprimals and ranged from 64 g to 117 g. Histologically, 13% of the scars were clear scars, 47% were woody calluses, 5% were mineralized scars, 34% were scars with nodules, 0.2% were cysts, and 0.9% were normal fat infiltrations. An economic analysis estimated an average loss of $8.95 per fed animal processed or $19 million dollars annually to the Canadian beef industry from injection scars.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

[Social synchronizers and infradian variations of reaction time].

This work concerns the course of reaction time after a "change of activity" (weekend, holidays) in a student population. Different tests are used (visual or auditory stimuli, with or without choice). The results show that the performance progresses regularly during the immediate period after the change of activity.

Activity Cycles↗