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Biomedical subjects

H Harrington

Publications and source records attributed to H Harrington.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Persistence and perceived consequences of cannabis use and dependence among young adults: implications for policy.

AIMS: To document patterns of cannabis use and dependence from late-adolescence through to the mid-twenties; to describe perceived consequences of cannabis use among young people; and to consider policy implications of these findings. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study birth cohort with repeated measures of cannabis use at ages 18, 21 and 26 years. RESULTS: Twelve month prevalence rates of cannabis use (just over 50%) and dependence (just under 10%) remained stable between age 21 and 26 years, contrary to an expected decline. Cannabis dependence, as distinct from occasional use, was associated with high rates of harder drug use, selling of drugs and drug conviction. Cumulatively, almost 3/4 of our cohort had tried cannabis by age 26. Young people thought the risk of getting caught using cannabis was trivial, and that using cannabis had few negative social consequences. CONCLUSIONS: The persistent high rates of cannabis use and dependence among young New Zealand adults raises important issues for policy makers. Current laws are not particularly effective in deterring use. Whereas occasional use does not appear to present a serious problem, cannabis dependence among users is a serious public health issue that warrants immediate action.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Children's self-reported psychotic symptoms and adult schizophreniform disorder: a 15-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood risk factors for the development of adult schizophrenia have proved to have only modest and nonspecific effects, and most seem unrelated to the adult phenotype. We report the first direct examination of the longitudinal relationship between psychotic symptoms in childhood and adulthood. METHODS: We analyzed prospective data from a birth cohort (N = 761), in which children were asked about delusional beliefs and hallucinatory experiences at age 11 years, and then followed up to age 26 years. Structured diagnostic interviews were employed at both ages and self-report of schizophreniform symptoms was augmented by other data sources at age 26 years. RESULTS: Self-reported psychotic symptoms at age 11 years predicted a very high risk of a schizophreniform diagnosis at age 26 years (odds ratio, 16.4; 95% confidence interval, 3.9-67.8). In terms of attributable risk, 42% of the age-26 schizophreniform cases in the cohort had reported 1 or more psychotic symptoms at age 11 years. Age-11 psychotic symptoms did not predict mania or depression at age 26 years, suggesting specificity of prediction to schizophreniform disorder. The link between child and adult psychotic symptoms was not simply the result of general childhood psychopathology. CONCLUSION: These findings provide the first evidence for continuity of psychotic symptoms from childhood to adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Personality differences predict health-risk behaviors in young adulthood: evidence from a longitudinal study.

In a longitudinal study of a birth cohort, the authors identified youth involved in each of 4 different health-risk behaviors at age 21: alcohol dependence, violent crime, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving habits. At age 18, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) was used to assess 10 distinct personality traits. At age 3, observational measures were used to classify children into distinct temperament groups. Results showed that a similar constellation of adolescent personality traits, with developmental origins in childhood, is linked to different health-risk behaviors at 21. Associations between the same personality traits and different health-risk behaviors were not an artifact of the same people engaging in different health-risk behaviors; rather, these associations implicated the same personality type in different but related behaviors. In planning campaigns, health professionals may need to design programs that appeal to the unique psychological makeup of persons most at risk for health-risk behaviors.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1992

Randomized controlled study of a retiree health promotion program. The Bank of American Study.

The initial results of a 12-month controlled trial of a health promotion program in 5686 Bank of America retirees, randomized into full program, questionnaire only, and insurance claims only groups, were analyzed to determine whether the health promotion program was effective. Comparisons were between program and questionnaire only groups for self-reported health habit changes, health risk scores, medical care utilization, and days confined to home, and between all groups for insurance claims data. The intervention, or full program, included health habit questionnaires administered every 6 months, individualized time-oriented health risk appraisals, personal recommendation letters, self-management materials, and a health promotion book. Twelve-month changes in health habits, health status, and economic variables favored the full program group in 31 of 32 comparisons and were statistically significant at the .05 level in two-tailed tests in 19 comparisons and at the .01 level in two-tailed tests in 13 comparisons. Over 12 months, overall computed health risk scores decreased by 4.3% in the full program experimental group and increased by 7.2% in the questionnaire only control group. Total direct and indirect costs decreased by 11% in the experimental group and increased by 6.3% in the questionnaire only control group. Analysis of claims data confirmed these trends. A low-cost health promotion program for retirees was effective in changing health behaviors and has potential to decrease health care utilization.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Failure of immunosuppression with a ten- to 14-day course of high-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide to alter the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive disorder of the nervous system for which there is no known treatment. Because recent studies have suggested that there may be abnormalities of the immune function in patients with ALS and since we have found a beneficial effect from a short course of intensive immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide in progressive multiple sclerosis, we treated six patients with ALS with a ten- to 14-day course of intensive immunosuppression in a pilot study. At 18 months following therapy, all patients showed a continued progression of the disease; four of the six patients died. We conclude that this form of immunosuppression does not alter the course of ALS.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Trials of ganglioside therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and diabetic neuropathy.

Double blind placebo controlled trials of dialy intramuscular injections of 40 mg of mixed gangliosides were carried out in ALS and diabetic neuropathy. Forty patients with ALS were treated for six months and monitored with tests of strength and pulmonary function. No effect of gangliosides was found. Forty patients with symptomatic diabetic neuropathy will be treated for three months. Some of the data from the first 25 patients to complete the study were analyzed in a preliminary fashion. While no difference in nerve conduction studies was found in the treated group compared to the control group, there was greater symptomatic improvement in the patients treated with gangliosides.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1984

Ganglioside therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a double-blind controlled trial.

A 6-month double-blind study of bovine brain gangliosides was carried out in 40 patients with ALS. Thirty-two patients completed the study; 18 were treated with gangliosides and 14 with placebo. Using 10 different objective tests of muscle strength, we failed to show a significant difference between the two groups in the progression of weakness. Daily intramuscular injections of 40 mg of brain gangliosides for 6 months had no beneficial effect in ALS.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Intracerebral hemorrhage and oral amphetamine.

Four patients suffered intracerebral hemorrhages following the oral or nasal use of amphetamine or related compounds. Two of these patients had abnormal-appearing cerebral blood vessels on angiography. Review of previously reported cases showed that intracerebral hemorrhage may occur in patients using the drug for the first time and for nonrecreational purposes.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1982

Surgical treatment of post-lumbar puncture dural CSF leak causing chronic headache. Case report.

A 58-year-old woman experienced incapacitating headache and occipital paresthesiae for 5 years after lumbar myelography. Conservative methods of treatment failed. Successive investigations for a suspected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak were unrevealing. Leakage of CSF from the subarachnoid space into the epidural space in the lumbar region was finally confirmed when oil-soluble contrast material (Pantopaque), injected into the cervical subarachnoid space, was revealed by a specific technical modification to be escaping from the lumbar sac. Repair of the dural defect with dorsolumbar fascia resulted in almost complete alleviation of symptoms. This case is unusual because of the radiographic technique used, the duration of symptoms, and the rarity of reports of successful surgical treatment for this serious complication of lumbar puncture.

Cerebrospinal Fluid↗
PubMed1981

Papilloedema in the Landry-Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome.

A patient who had papilloedema associated with the Landry-Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome was studied by means of lumbar puncture, computed axial tomography and radiolabelled isotope cisternography. The results obtained suggest that failure of reabsorption of cerebrospinal fluid is not a factor in the development of the papilloedema.

Humans↗