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Biomedical subjects

J F Connolly

Publications and source records attributed to J F Connolly.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Under-reporting of suicide in an Irish county.

It is clearly important to have accurate figures on suicides, but official statistics may not always reflect the true numbers of suicides. In this paper, the authors describe how the files of all deaths reported to the coroners of County Mayo, Ireland, for the period 1978-1992 were examined. Those deaths considered to be suicide by the authors were abstracted. Of these deaths, it was found that 7.3% had not been officially registered. The remainder were coded to three different categories in official returns: suicide, undetermined, and accident. In all, 35% of deaths were, in the author's opinion, miscoded or unregistered. The authors compared these three groups on a number of demographic variables with the expectation that if suicide deaths were being miscoded to undetermined and accident, no significant difference would be found between the three groups. This was found to be the case other than for mode of death. The authors found the greatest miscoding was for deaths due to drowning. The authors recommended that changes be made in the reporting and coding system for suicide deaths in Ireland.

Accidents↗
PubMed1995

Single road traffic deaths--accident or suicide?

Many authors have suggested that some deaths resulting from road traffic accidents are in fact suicide. The purpose of this study was to examine the circumstances of single road traffic deaths in County Mayo, Ireland, over the 15-year period from 1978 to 1992 inclusive. Using the information available from the coroners' files, evidence was sought to support the hypothesis that some accidental deaths may have been disguised suicides. The authors could find no conclusive evidence to suggest that this hypothesis was true. However, there was suspicion of suicide in six (4.5%) of the 134 fatalities examined. Interesting data regarding gender differences, seasonality, time of accident, and the consumption of alcohol were found.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1995

Assessing adult receptive vocabulary with event-related potentials: an investigation of cross-modal and cross-form priming.

This experiment investigated whether a relationship existed between event-related potentials (ERPs) and performance on a standardized measure of receptive vocabulary; a computer adapted version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R); using Preschooler, Child, and Adult levels of difficulty. Pictures (N = 90) were presented twice, once paired with a congruent spoken word and again paired with an incongruent word. Two ERP components (PMN and N400) were clearly and reliably larger in response to incongruent than congruent picture/spoken-word pairs. Importantly, ERP differentiation of congruent and incongruent pairs occurred only at vocabulary levels at or below the subjects' psychometrically determined vocabulary range. ERP differentiation did not occur at the highest level of vocabulary where subjects experienced more uncertainty and made more behavioral errors. These results are discussed in relation to the use of ERP measures in the assessment of receptive vocabulary levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

An innovative method to assess the receptive vocabulary of children with cerebral palsy using event-related brain potentials.

This single-case, multiple-control study illustrates the clinical use of ERPs as part of the linguistic and cognitive assessment of individuals who are unable to provide verbal or motor responses due to their multiple handicaps. The single-word receptive vocabulary of a 17-year-old patient with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and three age-matched controls was measured using an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) was adapted for computer presentation, with three levels of difficulty (Preschool, Child, Adult). Individual pictures were presented successively, and correctly (congruent) or incorrectly (incongruent) named auditorially. ERP components were derived for both the congruent and incongruent picture-word pairs. As predicted, the N400 ERP component had a higher peak for the incongruent picture-word pairs at the Preschool and Child levels. At the Adult level, the ERP pattern was reversed (higher peak in congruent condition) for the CP patient and for two of the three controls and, it was substantially attenuated for the third control. These ERP findings indicated that picture-word pairs within the range of acquired receptive vocabulary were identified as correct or incorrect but picture-word pairs above an individual's level could not be differentiated as clearly. The findings demonstrate the clinical application of this paradigm to assessing receptive vocabulary in motor- and communication-impaired patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The role of a composite, demineralized bone matrix and bone marrow in the treatment of osseous defects.

The efficacy of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) used alone and with bone marrow as a graft material in the treatment of osseous defects was evaluated in 48 patients. Of these 48 patients, 39 were available to follow up and review. Follow up averaged 19 months for all patients. In the entire series, 30 of 39 patients demonstrated osseous union for a 77% success rate. Patients with fracture nonunion represented the most recalcitrant group clinically, with union achieved in only 61% of these cases. Overall, the 39 patients grafted with DBM demonstrated healing that was comparable to results achieved with standard iliac crest bone graft. The results indicate the DBM and marrow composite grafting is a suitable alternative to autologous iliac crest bone graft for use in certain clinical situations, such as bone defects in children, comminuted fractures with associated bone loss, nonunited fractures, or to augment an intended arthrodesis site.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Injectable bone marrow preparations to stimulate osteogenic repair.

The great versatility of bone marrow transplants based on stem cell activity has been demonstrated successfully for a variety of previously untreatable hemopoietic conditions. Autologous bone marrow delivered by percutaneous injection or by direct transplant as a composite graft also has proven effective for osteogenic stimulation in a series of 100 skeletal healing problems, including delayed unions and nonunions of fractures, arthrodeses, and bone defects. The efficiency of marrow to form bone can be increased by a number of methods, including differential centrifugation and composite grafts of marrow with demineralized bone matrix and other carriers or stimulatory factors.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Validation of the Quick Cognitive Screening Test.

Reports in the literature suggest that 70% to 80% of cognitive deficits with probable organic basis are undetected in patients at risk, especially if symptoms are minimal. Studies have shown that clinically convenient beside screening tests show low sensitivity with a high rate of false-negative results. The purpose of this study was to validate a sensitive mid-range cognitive screening test to detect cognitive deficits, including those not usually identified by bedside mental status examinations. The Quick Cognitive Screening Test (QCST) was initially developed and subsequently adapted from original unpublished work by the late John McFie. The test was designed to detect global cognitive dysfunction and specific areas of cognitive dysfunction. Areas assessed included orientation, attention and concentration, memory, language, construction, perception, spatial ability, and abstract reasoning. Scoring is multidimensional, each subtest having a score, plus summary and global scores. Thirty-eight neurological patients with a cerebrovascular accident, traumatic brain injury, and other miscellaneous diagnoses, were recruited from a tertiary care center for physical rehabilitation. Fifteen residents from a psychiatric rehabilitation center were also recruited. Thirty-two healthy volunteers from the community served as age-matched controls. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) was used to establish reliability and validity of the QCST. The National Adult Reading Test (NART) was used to estimate premorbid intellectual functioning. Results showed that the QCST identified cognitive impairment in all of the neurological and psychiatric patients assessed. Oneway analyses of variance of five summary scores showed significant differences between the groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The influence of stimulus intensity, contralateral masking and handedness on the temporal N1 and the T complex components of the auditory N1 wave.

Components of the auditory N1 wave were recorded to confirm previous findings of contralateral dominance of the negative component (Tb) of the T complex and to examine the differential sensitivity of N1 components to stimulus intensity, contralateral masking and handedness. EEG was recorded from Cz, T3, T4, T5, T6, and at points midway between C3 and T3 and C4 and T4 using a non-cephalic (S-V) reference. Stimuli of 70 and 90 dB SL were presented monaurally with and without contralateral white noise masking. The N100 component generally occurred at all sites and at temporal sites tended to be larger ipsilateral to stimulation and occurred earlier at ipsilateral compared to contralateral sites. Tb was seen at temporal sites and proved to be larger and earlier contralaterally. The positive component (Ta) of the T complex tended to be larger ipsilaterally although its latencies, like Tb, were earlier contralaterally. Although ERP differences associated with handedness were observed they were unrelated to ipsilateral/contralateral auditory pathway patterns. Results are discussed in terms of the functional independence of negativities recorded at temporal sites and the differential utility of these negativities in the examination of auditory pathway function.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1993

Cerebral asymmetries and stimulus intensity relationships in EEG spectra of VEPs in unmedicated schizophrenic patients: relationships with Active and Withdrawn syndromes.

Active and Withdrawn syndromes in schizophrenia have been associated with different patterns of lateral asymmetry: higher left than right hemisphere activity in the Active syndrome and the opposite pattern in the Withdrawn syndrome. Here validation was explored with a power spectral analysis of the visual evoked potential recorded to flashes of five different intensities from primary sensory occipital cortex (O1, O2) and from temporal (T3, T4) cortex. Unmedicated schizophrenic patients were categorised as Active or Withdrawn syndrome by clinical ratings. Pattern of lateral asymmetry of electrodermal orienting responses was recorded and was found to be as predicted: larger on the left than right hand in the Active syndrome with the opposite pattern in the Withdrawn syndrome. Normal controls were also examined. At occipital placements the main results were in beta (18-22 Hz) in which (1), syndromes showed opposite asymmetry patterns consistent with predictions: higher power on the left in the Active syndrome and on the right in the Withdrawn syndrome and (2), there was an absence of normal stimulus intensity/beta power relations in the Withdrawn syndrome. The Active syndrome showed abnormal relations at the temporal location, reflected in high alpha activity (10-14 Hz), together with an abnormal asymmetry in 2-6 Hz activity in the direction of more slow wave activity in the right hemisphere, a lateral asymmetry consistent with the model. When compared with the controls the Withdrawn syndrome was dysfunctional at lower, sensory cortex, levels of processing while the Active syndrome was dysfunctional at higher, temporal cortex, stages of processing. Schizophrenic patients as a group were characterised by abnormal desynchronisation of left temporal activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Event-related potential sensitivity to acoustic and semantic properties of terminal words in sentences.

This experiment was concerned with the effects of phonologically correct masking on the electrophysiological responses to terminal words of spoken sentences differing in contextual constraint. Two event-related potential (ERP) components, the N400 and N200, were recorded to the terminal words of high and low constraint sentences in four conditions. In the Control condition, subjects (Ss) simply attended to the sentences with no explicit task instructions. In the Semantic condition, Ss were required to listen to the stimuli in order to make semantic judgements about the terminal word of each sentence. The Control+Masking condition was identical to the Control condition except for the simultaneous presentation of a masking stimulus. The Semantic+Masking condition had Ss listening to sentences in the presence of masking with the task of making semantic judgements about the terminal word of each sentence. ERPs were recorded from Fz, Cz, Pz, T3, and T4 in 10 subjects. Amplitudes of both the N200 and the N400 were sensitive to contextual constraint with larger responses elicited by the terminal words of low constraint sentences. In addition to demonstrating the co-occurrence of the N200 and N400, this experiment highlighted a functional separation between the two components. Masking had no statistically significant effect on N200 latency but N400 latency was delayed in the masked conditions relative to those in the unmasked conditions. It is proposed that the N200 and N400 are manifestations of two different processes; the N200 reflects the acoustic/phonological processing of the terminal word while the N400 reflects the cognitive/linguistic processing. The relationship between the N200 recorded in this experiment and the discrimination N200 is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Healing of a large nonossifying fibroma after grafting with bone matrix and marrow. A case report.

Healing of a large tibial nonossifying fibroma in a 12-year-old girl occurred following excision, curettage, and filling of the bony defect with human demineralized bone matrix powder mixed with a small quantity of the patient's bone marrow. The use of this graft composite was successful in the treatment of the lesion and reduced the potential risk and morbidity associated with pediatric orthopedic surgical procedures with autogeneic iliac crest and other bone grafts.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗
PubMed1991

Autologous marrow injection as a substitute for operative grafting of tibial nonunions.

Autologous marrow injection was used to stimulate healing in 20 ununited tibial fractures over a five-year period. The technique was employed in conjunction with cast immobilization in ten cases and intramedullary nail fixation in ten cases. Marrow stimulated a callus formation sufficient to unite eight of the ten nonunions immobilized with casts and all ten of the fractures immobilized by intramedullary nails. Bone-marrow injection was as effective as past open autologous grafting but with considerably fewer disadvantages. The technique provides a promptly renewable and reliable source of osteogenic stem cells with numerous advantages compared with standard open-grafting techniques.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Treatment of nonunion by percutaneous injection of bone marrow and demineralized bone matrix. An experimental study in dogs.

Successful treatment of nonunited fractures remains a major clinical challenge. Because bone marrow and demineralized bone matrix (DBM) are capable of stimulating osteogenesis, experiments were designed to test the effectiveness of bone marrow or DBM or both when injected percutaneously into a canine nonunion model. Six-millimeter segmental defects were created in the midtibial diaphysis of 24 adult mongrel dogs and held distracted by external fixation. For comparative purposes, a 0.5-mm osteotomy was created in five dogs. Five weeks later, the 6-mm defects were injected with either saline, autogeneic marrow, DBM powder, a composite of bone marrow and DBM, or treated by open grafting techniques with autogenic cancellous bone. Healing of the defect was evaluated roentgenographically, biomechanically (three-point bending), histologically, and biochemically 13 weeks postsurgery. Marrow and DBM stimulated defect healing. However, the combination of bone marrow with DBM produced a synergistic response in the defect, which was greater than the sum of either marrow or DBM alone. Healing in the composite-grafted dogs was comparable to those treated by standard cancellous bone grafting. These data suggest that percutaneous injection of bone marrow and DBM may be a potential alternative that offers numerous advantages over standard open grafting techniques in the treatment of fractures with nonunited defects.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Pulsing direct current-induced repair of articular cartilage in rabbit osteochondral defects.

Osteochondral defects in the distal femoral condyles of rabbits exposed to a pulsing direct current exhibits an enhanced quality of repair. The signal, with a peak value of 2 microA repeating at 100 Hz, imposed an electric field in the tissue of 20-60 mV/cm2. Maximum efficacy was seen with a shorter period of exposure (40 vs. 160 h) initiated 48 h after surgery for 4 h/day. Repair tissue originated primarily from metaplasia of subchondral elements although hyperplasia of pre-existing chondrocytes at the margins of the defect could be detected. Defects in treated joints contained Safranin O staining material that was histologically similar to a disorganized hyaline cartilage. Central areas of the defects in control animals contained Safranin O-negative material that generally extruded over the surface as a pannus. The edges of nontreated defects also had characteristics of cartilaginous healing, stressing the importance of using serial sectioning techniques in this model of cartilage repair.

Animals↗