Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Foster.
3H-Nitrendipine binding was observed in non-neuronal cells derived from fetal mouse spinal cultures grown in 10% fetal calf serum. One class of binding sites was observed with a Kd of 25 nM and a Bmax of 293 fmol/well (13 fmol/micrograms protein). These data suggest that low affinity binding sites for nitrendipine are present on non-neuronal cells.
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Twenty-seven patients with proven longstanding gastro-oesophageal reflux underwent insertion of an Angelchik anti-reflux prosthesis. Preoperative studies included oesophageal manometry, endoscopy, acid reflux provocation test (ARPT) and 24 h oesophageal pH recording (24 h pH). Following operation mean lower oesophageal sphincter pressure was increased from 11 to 20 cmH2O. ARPT revealed significant pre-prandial reflux before operation in 16/24 compared with only 1/20 postoperatively; 24 h pH also showed an improvement in that 21/22 patients refluxed before operation compared with no significant reflux after. Dysphagia for solids of some degree was seen postoperatively in 26 patients and this was also demonstrated by delay in transit of a marsh-mallow swallow test. Severe dysphagia was seen in 4 patients and in 3 of these was related to rotation and displacement of the prosthesis necessitating removal.
Adult rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway were tested for amphetamine-induced rotational asymmetry. In animals with functional deficits a fetal mesencephalic transplant was placed intracranially over the superior colliculus within the caudal end of a 2- to 3-cm-long heterologous sciatic nerve segment laid longitudinally on the skull. Two months later the rostral tip of the peripheral nerve graft was cut and inserted through a burr-hole into the denervated striatum. Animals were tested monthly for 5 months for rotational asymmetry and selected rats were sacrificed for histochemical examination. It was shown that the use of a peripheral nerve segment as a bridge between a distant neuronal transplant and a selected region of the adult host brain resulted in the growth of monoaminergic axons into the denervated striatum from the extracerebrally located grafted neurons. The nerve bridge was cut extracranially in rats whose rotational asymmetry had decreased towards normal levels to determine if this behaviour was dependent on axons reaching the striatum through the graft. Each of these animals exhibited an increase in rotational asymmetry one and three weeks after the transection of the nerve. These anatomical and functional observations suggest that the decrease in rotational asymmetry observed in these animals is related to the growth of long axons from the implanted mesencephalic neurons into the denervated host's striatum which traversed the entire peripheral nerve segment.
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Tuberous sclerosis is a relatively rare autosomal dominant disorder. The only report found in the English literature suggests that the pregnancy course for a woman with this disorder may be uneventful. The present authors report two cases indicating that these patients may be at increased risk in pregnancy.
To evaluate the efficacy and function of EMG feedback (FB) in muscle reeducation, voluntary muscle contractions with and without EMG FB were compared under controlled experimental conditions in normal human subjects (n=10). Each subject was instructed to produce 12 sustained, 30-second contractions of the left abductor hallucis muscle, 6 contractions in each of 2 sessions. For all subjects, EMG FB was provided in half of the trials, alternating with nonfeedback (NFB) trials. A ranking task was included to measure ability to discriminate contractions in the target muscle. EMG activity was significantly greater during muscle contractions attempted with EMG FB; this was due to increased motor unit recruitment early in the course of the trials, a positive response in normal subjects similar to that in paretic subjects in our previous study. Performance on the ranking task also indicated that subjects had little perceptual awareness of their muscle contractions. Our findings suggest that the positive response to EMG FB was due to the precise information it provided concerning small, poorly discriminated muscle contractions.
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Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was determined with tryptamine as substrate for 61 drug-free patients who had a primary major depressive disorder and for 32 normal controls. Although there were no significant differences between the mean platelet MAO activity of 19 bipolar patients (4.94 nmoles/hr/mg of protein), 42 unipolar patients (4.97 nmoles), and the controls (4.78 nmoles), an analysis of variance indicated that the variance of the bipolar group was significantly greater than that of the other groups. This suggests that there may be subgroups of bipolar patients that differ in their platelet MAO activity but that appear to be distinct from the bipolar I vs bipolar II classification.
We studied 12 members of a family with precirrhotic hemochromatosis to define the physiologic abnormalities in the asymptomatic phase of the disease. Six of 12 had increased iron stores; the mode of inheritance was consistent with an autosomal dominant trait. Serum ferritin levels were no more predictive of tissue iron levels than measurements of serum iron, transferrin saturation or chelatable iron excretion. In three affected family members intestinal iron content was normal. Liver proline hydroxylase activity and urinary hydroxyproline excretion did not correlate with tissue iron content, suggesting that, in addition to the possible role of tissue iron, hepatic fibrosis may involve other factors. "Borderline diabetes mellitus" was present in three affected family members, but extensive studies revealed that pituitary dysfunction is uncommon in early hemochromatosis. Increased levels of liver iron proved to be the most reliable marker for the disease.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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This study investigated the relationship between binge eating and the outcome of weight loss treatment. Participants in a 48-week trial of a structured diet combined with exercise and behavior therapy were classified into one of four groups: no overeating; episodic overeating; subthreshold binge-eating disorder(BED); and BED. Binge eating status was not associated with either dropout or adherence to the diet, but did affect weight loss and mood. The BED group lost significantly more weight at the end of treatment than all other groups, even when adjusting for initial weight. At 1-year follow-up, there were no differences among groups in weight loss or weight regain. The BED group began treatment with significantly higher BDI scores, but improvement in mood occurred by week 5. On the basis of these findings, and a review of the recent literature, we conclude that obese binge eaters respond as favorably to standard dietary and behavioral treatments as do obese nonbingers.
A chronic, non-suppurative meningoencephalitis was found in three young striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) during routine neuropathological examination of marine mammals live-stranded on the Scottish coast. In all three dolphins the lesions were associated with the isolation of a Brucella sp. from the brain and with the immunohistochemical detection of brucella antigen. Moreover, antibodies to Brucella spp. were detected in the two dolphins that were subjected to serological examination. Immunohistochemical and serological examinations for morbillivirus antigen and antibodies, respectively, were negative in all cases. Although brucella infection of marine mammals has been extensively documented in recent years, its association with lesions and disease is less well recognized. The present report provides the first description of an association between Brucella sp. infection and neuropathological changes in a cetacean species.
BACKGROUND: Procedural pain management for very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates has been minimal or nonexistent in most neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of developmentally sensitive behavioral interventions (nonnutritive sucking via a pacifier, positioning) and sucrose for relieving procedural pain in VLBW infants and to determine the influence of contextual factors (gestational age, postnatal age, birth weight, severity of illness, frequency of painful procedures) on pain response. METHOD: In a prospective randomized crossover trial, pain was assessed in 122 VLBW neonates using the Premature Infant Pain Profile following four randomly ordered interventions during consecutive routine heel lance procedures. RESULTS: Significant differences in pain existed among treatment interventions (F = 16.20, p < .0001). The pacifier with sucrose (F = 24.09, p < .0001) and pacifier with sterile water (F = 9.00, p = .003) significantly reduced pain. Prone positioning did not decrease pain (F = 2.24, p = .137). Frequency of painful procedures approached significance in influencing pain response (F = 3.59, p = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The most efficacious interventions for reducing pain from single painful events were the pacifier with sucrose and the pacifier with sterile water. Research on the efficacy and safety of implementing these interventions, alone and in combination, for repeated painful procedures is needed. In addition, research is needed on the influence of implementing these interventions on pain response and clinical outcomes (e.g., health status and neurodevelopmental status) in VLBW neonates in the NICU.