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Biomedical subjects

H Booth

Publications and source records attributed to H Booth.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Translating traditional principles of system development into a process for designing clinical information systems.

Traditional software development methodologies enhanced by a clinical component result in information systems that support the practice of nursing. This paper describes the clinical informatics model used to develop and evaluate a mobile computer assessment tool. Data entry of atomic-level elements, with storage in a relational database, allows the synthesis and analysis by multiple disciplines to aid in real-time decision making. The system is designed to improve the recording and accessibility of patient data and nursing observations on a geriatric unit at the Salt Lake VA Medical Center.

Clinical Medicine↗

Effect of eight weeks of treatment with salmeterol on bronchoalveolar lavage inflammatory indices in asthmatics.

Using BAL, we studied the effects of 8 wk of treatment with salmeterol on airway inflammation in nine asthmatic subjects in a double-blind crossover placebo-controlled protocol. The study patients were all receiving regular inhaled corticosteroid therapy (400 to 1,000 micrograms beclomethasone dipropionate per day) and inhaled albuterol for symptomatic relief, i.e., subjects who might be considered suitable for treatment with salmeterol. The asthmatic group had significant differences in numbers of epithelial cells and eosinophils in BAL compared with a group of 15 normal control subjects (p < 0.01). During salmeterol treatment mean morning and evening peak flow rates were increased (p < 0.05). There was no significant change in BAL cell profile and no change in percentages of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes or proportion of lymphocytes expressing HLA-DR after salmeterol. In conclusion, we were unable to demonstrate any significant anti-inflammatory effect of regular salmeterol therapy on airway inflammation using BAL in these asthmatic patients. At the same time, there was equally no evidence of a deterioration in the underlying inflammatory disease process.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

The demography of Kiribati: estimates from the 1985 census.

"This paper presents an analysis of the 1985 census [of Kiribati] and compares projections made on the basis of that analysis with the 1990 enumeration. Comparison is made throughout with the estimates derived from [the] 1978 census." Information is provided on population growth and structure, child and adult mortality, marriage and first birth, and fertility.

Birth Order↗

Changes in methacholine induced bronchoconstriction with the long acting beta 2 agonist salmeterol in mild to moderate asthmatic patients.

BACKGROUND: Beta-2 agonists protect against non-specific bronchoconstricting agents such as methacholine, but it has been suggested that the protection afforded by long acting beta 2 agonists wanes rapidly with regular treatment. METHODS: The changes in airway responsiveness were investigated during and after eight weeks of regular treatment with salmeterol 50 micrograms twice daily in 26 adult asthmatic patients, 19 of whom were receiving maintenance inhaled corticosteroids. The study was of a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind design. Airway responsiveness to methacholine was measured as PD20 by a standardised dosimeter technique 12 hours after the first dose, at four weeks and eight weeks during treatment (12 hours after the last dose of test medication), and at 60 hours, one week and two weeks after stopping treatment. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the baseline characteristics of the two groups. A significant improvement in PD20 was seen at all points during treatment with salmeterol compared with the placebo group, with no significant fall off with time. PD20 measurements returned to baseline values after cessation of treatment with no significant difference from the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Salmeterol gave significant protection against methacholine induced bronchoconstriction 12 hours after administration. This protection was of small magnitude, but there was no significant attenuation with eight weeks of regular use and no rebound increase in airway responsiveness on stopping treatment in a group of moderate asthmatic patients, the majority of whom were receiving inhaled corticosteroids.

Adult↗

Cued recall and release from proactive interference in Alzheimer's disease.

Two tasks were administered to 13 mildly to moderately impaired subjects who met clinical research criteria for AD, and 17 controls matched for age and education. In the first task, subjects were administered a cued recall test (Buschke, 1984). AD subjects were found to be variably impaired in their ability to perform the initial stimulus-processing procedure, which involved matching cues with referents. The subsequent cued recall test did not typically facilitate performance. In the second task, subjects were administered a release from proactive interference (PI) paradigm consisting of semantically related and unrelated word lists. AD subjects did not develop the expected proactive interference effect for the semantically related words or show a resulting "release from PI" on related word list recall compared to normal controls. Results are discussed in terms of the role of semantic processing in episodic memory tasks.

Aged↗

Sites and mechanisms for nicotine's action in the brain.

A variety of pharmacologic, behavioral, and receptor-binding studies were performed in an effort to determine the mechanism and site of action of nicotine on the rat brain. When nicotine was given into the lateral or fourth ventricles or directly into the lateral vestibular nuclei of rats, it produced a characteristic prostration often accompanied by tonic seizures and body rotation along a longitudinal axis. Of a variety of brain areas studied, the prostration response could only be elicited from the lateral and, to a lesser extent, medial vestibular nuclei. The response could not be produced by a variety of cholinergic agonists or antagonized with nicotinic cholinergic antagonists, with the possible exception of mecamylamine. A good correlation was observed between the ability of nicotine analogues to antagonize the nicotine-induced prostration and their ability to compete with 3H-nicotine binding to rat brain membranes. 3H-nicotine binding had a high affinity, was stereoselective and concentrated in nerve endings and such brain regions as the thalamus, cerebrum, and hippocampus. When nicotine was administered intraventricularly to rats, it significantly elevated the threshold to an aversive shock. It was concluded that many of the central actions of nicotine could not be explained on the basis of traditional nicotinic cholinergic mechanisms.

Animals↗

Chemical requirements of vasopressins for barrel rotation convulsions and reversal by oxytocin.

When vasopressin is administered into the lateral ventricles of rats it produces severe convulsive activity characterized by a rapid barrel rotation. Electrical recordings from the dorsal hippocampus indicate marked elevations in the amplitude and frequency at doses of 5 microliter of 2 x 10(-5) M vasopressin. No significant behavioral effects were noted with oxytocin, somatostatin, beta-melanophore-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropin, or leu-enkephalin. Pretreatment of the rats with intraventricularly administered oxytocin, beta-MSH, or systemically administered Dilantin prevented the vasopressin-induced seizures. With the use of chemical and enzymic modification procedures, the essential fragment and amino acids of vasopressin needed for the activity were determined. It was concluded that although the peptide could be acting by vasoconstricting blood arterioles and capillaries in the brain, it may also be exerting a direct excitatory action on neurons.

Animals↗

Temporal lobe atrophy in patients with Alzheimer disease: a CT study.

CT was used to document temporal lobe atrophy in 39 patients who were diagnosed clinically as having Alzheimer disease; the results were compared with those from 29 healthy elderly control subjects who were matched for age and education. The diagnosis of Alzheimer disease was made according to clinical criteria consistent with those specified by an NINCDS workshop. These included detailed medical and neuropsychological assessments. Temporal lobe atrophy was assessed by evaluating the temporal horns and sylvian cisterns. Temporal horn measurements greater than 3 mm occurred only in patients with Alzheimer disease while measurements less than or equal to this occurred in both Alzheimer patients and control subjects. Subjective evaluation of the sylvian cistern indicated that 24/29 controls had normal-appearing cisterns while only 5/39 Alzheimer patients had similar findings. In contrast to temporal horns, sylvian cisterns were more sensitive but less specific as discriminators between Alzheimer patients and normal controls.

Aged↗