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Biomedical subjects

J Stiles

Publications and source records attributed to J Stiles.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Respiratory syncytial virus infection following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Respiratory syncytial virus, one of the most common causes of respiratory infections in immunocompetent individuals, is frequently spread to recipients of HSCT by family members, other patients, and health care workers. In immunosuppressed individuals, progression from upper respiratory tract disease to pneumonia is common, and usually fatal if left untreated. We performed a retrospective analysis of RSV infections in recipients of autologous or allogeneic transplants. The incidence of RSV following allogeneic or autologous HSCT was 5.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Of the 58 patients with an RSV infection, 16 of 21 patients identified within the first post-transplant month, developed pneumonia. Seventy-two percent of patients received aerosolized ribavirin and/or RSV-IGIV, including 23 of 25 patients diagnosed with RSV pneumonia. In this aggressively treated patient population, three patients died of RSV disease, each following an unrelated HSCT.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Antifungal activity of sodium acetate and Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

The inhibition of molds by sodium acetate in deMan Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) medium, along with the antifungal activity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus VT1, was studied by the slope agar plate method. MRS agar prepared with and without sodium acetate was used as the agar substrate. A total of 42 strains of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Rhizopus were used to compare sensitivities to the inhibitory activity of sodium acetate and L. rhamnosus VT1. It was found that sodium acetate in MRS medium affected the growth of 33 of the 42 mold strains tested to various degrees. The highest sensitivity to sodium acetate was shown by strains of Fusarium, followed by strains of Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Rhizopus. L. rhamnosus VT1 also inhibited mold growth. A significant finding was that sodium acetate and L. rhamnosus VT1 in combination exhibited a possible synergistic action. Thirty-nine of the 42 mold strains tested were completely inhibited by the presence of both antifungal agents. This finding confirms that sodium acetate, a basic component of commercial MRS medium, has strong antifungal properties, and this must be taken into consideration when evaluating the antifungal activity of Lactobacillus cultures grown in MRS broth.

Agar↗
PubMed2001

Benign outcome of RSV infection in children with cancer.

BACKGROUND: High case-fatality rates have been reported among adults who develop respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection while being treated for oncologic diseases, particularly after bone marrow transplantation. Previous reports of RSV infection among children with primary and acquired immunodeficiencies describe increased morbidity compared with that seen in immunocompetent children, but there have been few reports describing the outcome of RSV infection specifically among pediatric oncology patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all children being treated by the Pediatric Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who had positive tests for RSV between the Fall of 1994 and the Spring of 1998. Patients on the BMT Service were excluded from this analysis. RESULTS: Eighteen RSV infections were identified among pediatric oncology patients, who were being treated with aggressive, predominantly alkylator-based chemotherapy for a variety of oncologic diagnoses. Nine episodes of RSV infection (50%) were treated with specific antiviral therapy. Only one death less than 100 days from the diagnosis of RSV infection occurred among these 18 patients and was attributed to progressive leukemia. The remaining patients recovered fully, although three were readmitted with respiratory symptoms within two weeks of discharge. Seven patients had concurrent infection with other pathogenic organisms. CONCLUSIONS: In striking contrast with the outcome of RSV infection in adult oncology patients, there may be low mortality associated with RSV infection in pediatric oncology patients. It is possible that scheduled anti-neoplastic therapy need not be delayed for these patients when the diagnosis of RSV infection is made.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Improved memory functioning and frontal lobe maturation between childhood and adolescence: a structural MRI study.

Previous studies conducted by our group have provided evidence for age-related reductions in cortical thickness in dorsal frontal and parietal regions between childhood and adulthood, and gray matter volume increases of mesial temporal and anterior diencephalic structures. The purpose of this study was to describe neurobehavioral correlates of these brain maturational changes using morphometric analyses of brain magnetic resonance images (MRI) and two tests of cognitive abilities. Participants were 35 normal children roughly stratified by age (7 to 16 years) and sex (20 boys and 15 girls) and frontal and mesial temporal regions were anatomically defined in each subjects' MRI data. The California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test were used as measures of verbal and visuospatial memory and organizational abilities. Analyses designed to show regionally specific relationships between the brain and behavioral measures revealed interesting results. Specifically, frontal lobe gray matter thinning was more strongly predictive of delayed verbal memory functioning than was the mesial temporal lobe gray matter volume, and this relationship did not appear to be mediated by factors indexed in chronological age. Similar, but less regionally specific relationships were observed for measures of visuospatial memory abilities and frontal lobe maturation. Functional imaging studies in the literature consistently report activation in frontal regions in adults during retrieval tasks. The relationship between frontal lobe maturation and delayed recall observed here may be reflective of the children's development towards the more adult-like frontal lobe function revealed in the functional imaging studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The efficacy of 0.5% proparacaine stored at room temperature.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of 0.5% proparacaine stored at room temperature for 6 weeks. ANIMALS STUDIED: Six normal dogs, evaluated on a weekly basis for 6 weeks. PROCEDURE: Proparacaine stored at 4 degrees C or at room temperature, was evaluated in the right and left eye of each dog, respectively. Corneal sensitivity was assessed with a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer before and after instillation of proparacaine at each time point. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was seen in corneal sensitivity beginning at week 3 for the eyes receiving room-temperature proparacaine compared to refrigerated proparacaine. Differences were not seen between right and left eyes before instillation of proparacaine for any time point, nor for eyes receiving refrigerated proparacaine over the 6 week study period. CONCLUSION: Short-term storage of proparacaine at room temperature did not affect efficacy, but storage at room temperature for more than 2 weeks resulted in a decrease in drug effect.

Anesthetics, Local↗
PubMed2001

Effects of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor benazepril in cats with induced renal insufficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor benazepril in cats with induced renal insufficiency. ANIMALS: 32 cats. PROCEDURE: Renal mass was surgically reduced, and cats were assigned to 1 of 4 eight-cat groups. Group 1 received placebo, whereas groups 2, 3, and 4 received benazepril hydrochloride orally once daily for approximately 6.5 months at the following doses: group 2, 0.25 to 0.50 mg/kg of body weight; group 3, 0.50 to 1.00 mg/kg; and group 4, 1.00 to 2.00 mg/kg. Arterial blood pressures, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and renal plasma flow were determined before treatment and during the treatment period. Other determinants of renal hemodynamics were measured by use of micropuncture techniques. Renal biopsy specimens were examined microscopically. RESULTS: Compared with cats that received placebo, mean systolic arterial blood pressure was significantly less and GFR significantly greater in cats that received benazepril. Glomerular capillary pressure and the ratio of efferent to afferent arteriolar vascular resistance were also significantly less in treated cats. However, histologic differences in renal specimens were not detected. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Treatment with benazepril sustained single nephron GFR in remnant nephrons of cats with induced renal insufficiency. Administration of benazepril was also associated with a small but significant reduction in degree of systemic hypertension and an increase in whole kidney GFR. Benazepril may be an effective treatment to slow the rate of progression of renal failure in cats with renal disease.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed2000

Feline herpesvirus.

Feline herpesvirus infection is extremely common and may lead to recurring ocular disease in the adult cat. Recognition of the history and clinical signs that are consistent with FHV-1 infection is critical because diagnostic tests may be negative. Although a variety of treatment options are available, no one therapy is successful in every cat, and a small percentage of cats respond poorly to any treatment.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Canine rickettsial infections.

Dogs that live in tick-infested areas are at risk for contracting rickettsial infections. Clinical signs associated with ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever may be dramatic or mild. Clinicians must consider the possibility of rickettsial diseases to request laboratory tests that will permit a proper diagnosis. Specific antimicrobial therapy usually brings about clinical improvement, although some dogs may not be cleared of rickettsial organisms, even with prolonged treatment. A small percentage of dogs die of rickettsial infections, either in the acute stage or owing to chronic bone marrow suppression and generalized debilitation. Ocular lesions are an important clinical sign in canine rickettsial infections and may aid the clinician in making a diagnosis and monitoring response to therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Disseminated toxoplasmosis following T cell-depleted related and unrelated bone marrow transplantation.

More than 95% of reported cases of disseminated toxoplasmosis following BMT have occurred following an unmodified transplant. Most have been fatal, diagnosed at autopsy and without antemortem institution of specific therapy. From 1989 to 1999, we identified 10 cases of disseminated toxoplasmosis, in 463 consecutive recipients of a T cell-depleted (TCD) BMT. Transplants were from an unrelated donor (n = 5), an HLA-matched sibling (n = 4) or an HLA-mismatched father (n = 1). In 40%, both the donor and recipient had positive IgG titers against T. gondii pre-transplant; in 30%, only the recipient was sero-positive. Three recipients of an unrelated TCD BMT developed toxoplasmosis despite both donor and host testing negative pretransplant. All 10 patients presented with high grade fever. CNS involvement ultimately occurred in seven patients, with refractory respiratory failure and hypotension developing in nine. Eight of 10 cases were found only at autopsy, involving the lungs (n = 7), heart (n = 5), GI tract (n = 5), brain (n = 8), liver and/or spleen (n = 5). The only survivor, treated on the day of presentation with fever and headache, was diagnosed by detection of T. gondii DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed on the blood and spinal fluid. This study demonstrates the similar incidence of toxoplasmosis following TCD BMT and that reported post T cell-replete BMT, and underscores the need for rapid diagnostic tests in an effort to improve outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Regional size reduction in the human corpus callosum following pre- and perinatal brain injury.

This morphometric study examined two aspects of corpus callosum development: pediatric cortico-callosal topography and developmental neuroplasticity subsequent to perinatal brain injury. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify the total midsagittal cross-sectional area and five anterioposterior subregions of the callosum in 10 children with focal lesions and 86 healthy volunteer control subjects. Nine of the ten children with early injury showed a reduction in the total area of the callosum relative to matched controls. The area of the total callosum cross-section was inversely proportional to the size of lesion. All patients displayed region-specific size reduction. This regional thinning bore a topographical relationship to the lesion sites. Reduction in anterior subregions 1, 2 and 3 was respectively associated with lesions in the anterior inferior frontal area, the middle and superior frontal region, and the precentral area. Attenuation of subregion 4 corresponded to anterior parietal lesions, and thinning of subregion 5 occurred with posterior parietal injury. This cortical-callosal pattern coincides with adult and nonhuman primate mappings. Callosal thinning despite the early onset of the lesions suggests limits to developmental neuroplasticity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Drawing abilities in Williams syndrome: a case study.

Children with Williams syndrome (WS) have been reported to exhibit an unusual cognitive profile characterized by marked preservation of linguistic abilities and poor visuospatial abilities against a backdrop of generalized mental retardation. Much of the data documenting this profile come from studies of older children and adults with WS. Very few studies have reported findings from the preschool and early school-age period. As a result, little is known about the early development of cognitive processes in children with WS. Capirci, Sabbadini, and Volterra (1996) reported data from a longitudinal case study of early language development in a young child with WS. This article presents the longitudinal profile of visuospatial abilities in this same child. Data on copying and free drawing collected over a period extending from late preschool to early school age are reported. It is clear from these data that this child does indeed exhibit deficits in visuospatial abilities. Her performance clearly improved with age, but deficits persist.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Neural plasticity and cognitive development.

It has been well documented that the effects of early occurring brain injury are often attenuated relative to later occurring injury. The traditional neuropsychological account of these observations is that, although the developing neural system normally proceeds along a well-specified maturational course, it has a transient capacity for plastic reorganization that can be recruited in the wake of injury. This characterization of early neural plasticity is limited and fails to capture the much more pervasive role of plasticity in development. This article examines the role of neural plasticity in development and learning. Data from both animal and human studies show that plasticity plays a central role in the normal development of neural systems allowing for adaptation and response to both exogenous and endogenous input. The capacity for reorganization and change is a critical feature of neural development, particularly in the postnatal period. Subtractive processes play a major role in the shaping and sculpting of neural organization. However, plasticity is neither transient nor unique to developing organisms. With development, neural systems stabilize and optimal patterns of functioning are achieved. Stabilization reduces, but does not eliminate, the capacity of the system to adapt. As the system stabilizes, plasticity becomes a less prominent feature of neural functioning, but it is not absent from the adult system. The implications of this broader view of plasticity for our understanding of development following early brain damage are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Effects of 0.005% latanoprost solution on intraocular pressure in healthy dogs and cats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effects of daily topical ocular administration of latanoprost solution on intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy cats and dogs. ANIMALS: 9 domestic shorthair cats and 14 dogs. PROCEDURE: Latanoprost solution (0.005%) was administered topically to 1 eye (treated) and vehicle to the other eye (control) of all animals once daily in the morning for 8 days. Intraocular pressure was measured twice daily for the 5 days preceding treatment, and IOP, pupillary diameter, conjunctival hyperemia, and blepharospasm were measured 0, 1, 6, and 12 hours after the first 4 treatments and 0 and 12 hours after the final 4 treatments. Measurements continued twice a day for 5 days after treatment was discontinued. Aqueous flare was measured once daily during and for 5 days after the treatment period. RESULTS: Intraocular pressure and pupillary diameter were significantly decreased in the treated eye of dogs, compared with the control eye. Mild conjunctival hyperemia was also detected, but severity did not differ significantly between eyes. Blepharospasm and aqueous flare were not detected in either eye. Intraocular pressure in cats was not significantly affected by treatment with latanoprost. However, pupillary diameter was significantly decreased in the treated eye, compared with the control eye. Conjunctival hyperemia, aqueous flare, and blepharospasm were not detected in either eye. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Once-daily topical ocular administration of latanoprost solution (0.005%) reduced IOP in healthy dogs without inducing adverse effects but did not affect IOP in healthy cats. Latanoprost may be useful for treating glaucoma in dogs.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1999

Sino-orbital aspergillosis in a dog.

Fungal rhinitis-sinusitis with orbital involvement was diagnosed in a dog with profuse unilateral ocular and bilateral nasal discharge, enophthalmos, and a corneal descemetocele. The descemetocele was treated with a conjunctival pedicle graft. Frontal sinusotomy was performed, and clotrimazole was infused through catheters placed in the frontal sinuses and nasal cavities to saturate the tissues for 1 hour. Successful resolution of orbital infection may have been aided by a fistula between the frontal sinus and orbit that allowed delivery of clotrimazole to the orbit. The dog retained sight in the affected eye, and clinical signs of infection were not detected 14 months later, although enophthalmos and medial strabismus may have been caused by persistent postinflammatory fibrosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Brow suspension for treatment of ptosis and entropion in dogs with redundant facial skin folds.

Brow suspension surgery was performed on 7 dogs with redundant facial skin folds, associated ptosis, and entropion. The surgical technique involved subcutaneous placement of polyester mesh strips to suspend the upper eyelid from the dorsal frontalis muscle and the underlying periosteum of the skull. Visual impairment associated with ptosis was resolved in all dogs at the 2 week reevaluation period. Upper eyelid position was maintained in 4 of 7 dogs available for long-term follow-up. One dog developed persistent draining tracts in the region of the implant, and removal of part of the implanted mesh was eventually required. Upper eyelid height in this dog, however, was maintained following mesh removal, probably because of fibrosis around the implant. Brow suspension is an option for surgical management of upper eyelid ptosis and entropion in dogs with redundant skin folds and avoids the need for facial skin fold excision.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Spatial grouping activity in children with early cortical and subcortical lesions.

Spatial construction skills were examined in 3- to 5-year-old children with prenatal or perinatal focal brain injury. In earlier work, a dissociation was reported between children with injury to the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere, right-hemisphere injury resulting in significantly lower levels of performance. In the current paper, the effect of isolated unilateral subcortical injury was explored. Thirty-four children with early focal brain injury were tested in a task which required them to copy a series of simple block constructions. There were approximately equal numbers of children with right-hemisphere and left-hemisphere injury; within each of these groups approximately half of the children had injury involving only subcortical regions. Consistent with the earlier work, children with right-hemisphere injury performed significantly below children with left-hemisphere injury and the normal controls. Importantly, no differences were observed between the children with isolated subcortical injury and children with injury involving both cortical and subcortical brain areas.

Apraxias↗
PubMed1997

Hemispheric asymmetries in global and local processing: evidence from fMRI.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to explore the brain substrate associated with global and local processing of visuospatial patterns. Systematic differences in activation, consistent with differences observed in reaction time data collected under conditions of visual hemifield presentation, were found in occipitotemporal regions of the right and left hemispheres. Within the right hemisphere, area of activation and fractional signal changes were greater under conditions of global processing than under local processing conditions. In the left hemisphere, activation to global and local input was high and comparable.

Adult↗