PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Twomey

Publications and source records attributed to J Twomey.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Thyroid stimulating hormone response to thyrotropin in prepubertal depression.

In an effort to evaluate whether differences exist in the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis of depressed children, a thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test was administered to 55 prepubertal subjects who were divided into three groups matched for age and sex: a depressed group (endogenous N = 15, nonendogenous N = 15), a psychiatric nondepressed control group (N = 16), and a normal control group (N = 9). Each subject was tested at two dosages of TRH, 2 micrograms/kg and 7 micrograms/kg. Increasing age and female sex were positively correlated with a greater thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) response. TSH response to TRH was examined with subjects reclassified by severe suicidal ideation, severe aggression, and parental history of alcoholism. Results of this study are contrasted with the adult psychiatric literature.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Platelet imipramine binding in children and adolescents with impulsive behavior.

The serotonergic system has been implicated in the regulation of impulsive aggressive behavior either toward oneself or others. Imipramine binding sites were measured in the platelets of 23 impulsive aggressive children. Subjects ratings of total behavior, externalizing behavior, hostility, and aggression, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist, were inversely correlated with the platelet imipramine binding. These findings are consistent with previous studies that suggest that decreased serotonergic activity is associated with impulsive aggressive behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A controlled family history study of prepubertal major depressive disorder.

First-degree (N = 195) and second-degree (N = 785) adult relatives of prepubertal children with major depression (N = 48), children with nonaffective psychiatric disorders (N = 20), and normal children (N = 27) were assessed by the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria method (FH-RDC), except for the adult informant (usually the mother), who was directly interviewed. Compared with normal controls, prepubertal children with major depressive disorder (MDD) had significantly higher familial rates of psychiatric disorders in both first- and second-degree relatives, especially MDD, alcoholism, and "other" (mostly anxiety) diagnoses. Relatives of children in the nonaffective psychiatric control (PC) group had low rates of alcoholism, high rates of other (anxiety) disorder diagnoses, and intermediate rates of MDD (accounted for by those children with separation anxiety). This suggests that prepubertal onset of major depression may be especially likely in families with a high aggregation of affective disorders when these families also have a high prevalence of alcoholism, and that a proportion of children without affective disorder but with separation anxiety disorder in this study were at high risk for the development of affective illness later in life. These results support the validity of prepubertal-onset depressive illness as a diagnostic category, and are consistent with high familial rates of MDD and other psychiatric disorders found in family studies of adolescent and early-onset adult probands with major affective disorders, and with studies of the offspring of parents with major affective disorders. Within the child MDD group substantial heterogeneity was found. Low familial rates of MDD were associated with suicidality and comorbid conduct disorder in the child probands. The highest familial rates of MDD, approximately threefold those in the normal controls, and all the bipolar relatives, were found in the families of prepubertal probands with MDD who never had a concrete suicidal plan or act and who were without comorbid conduct disorder. A useful nosological continuum in which to classify prepubertal MDD may be to place at one end those patients with comorbid conduct disorder and at the other end those patients with manifestations related to bipolarity, including hypomania, mania, and psychotic subtype.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cortisol secretion in prepubertal children with major depressive disorder. Episode and recovery.

Plasma cortisol concentrations were measured every 20 minutes for 24 hours in a group of 45 rigorously assessed, drug-free, prepubertal children who met the unmodified Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD), 20 children with nonaffective psychiatric disorders, and eight normal controls. All children were studied in a low-stress environment. There were no significant differences in plasma cortisol concentration among the three groups as measured by 24-hour mean, peak, nocturnal rise, or nadir values. Division of the MDD group into subgroups based on endogenicity, psychotic symptoms, and suicidality also failed to reveal significant differences for cortisol secretion. Hypersecretion of cortisol (defined as 2 SDs above the grand mean) was identified in only four children with depressive illness and one normal control. Following clinical recovery, 24 depressed children were restudied in a drug-free state and compared with themselves during the episode of illness and with both groups of controls. No significant differences in plasma cortisol concentrations were found. All four depressed hypersecretors were restudied after clinical recovery, and one showed persistence of hypersecretion. These results suggest that abnormalities of cortisol secretion occur infrequently in prepubertal children with major depression when they are studied in a nonstressful environment.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Cortisol secretion in adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Plasma cortisol concentrations were determined every 20 min for 24 h, in a nonstressful environment, among 48 rigorously assessed, mostly outpatient, drug-free adolescent subjects during an episode of major depression (MDD) and among 40 normal adolescent subjects. There were no significant differences in the 24-h mean, peak, or nadir, or the time of the nocturnal rise, in plasma cortisol in the 2 groups. Analyses of different subgroups of MDD adolescents according to suicidality, severity of depression, separation anxiety, psychotic subtype, endogenicity, duration of episode, and sex also revealed no significant group differences. Only one adolescent (with MDD) was identified clearly as a hypersecretor of cortisol. These results indicate that abnormalities of spontaneous cortisol secretion are an unusual finding among adolescents with major depression when studied in a nonstressful environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

A combined needle holder and scissors.

A combined needle holder and scissors was designed in two sizes, one for use in muscle surgery and oculoplastic surgery and the other in microsurgery. They have been used with suture sizes 10-0 to 6-0 and needles from 75 to 200 micron in diameter and have been found to be useful in cataract, squint, and oculoplastic surgery.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1987

The clinical picture of major depression in children and adolescents.

Symptom frequency and severity were compared in two sequential clinically referred samples of 95 children and 92 adolescents, aged 6 to 18 years, all medically healthy, assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Present Episode, who met unmodified Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the majority of depressive symptoms. However, prepubertal children had greater depressed appearance, somatic complaints, psychomotor agitation, separation anxiety, phobias, and hallucinations, whereas adolescents had greater anhedonia, hopelessness, hypersomnia, weight change, use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and lethality of suicide attempt, but not severity of suicidal ideation or intent. Adolescents with a duration of the depressive episode of two years or greater had significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation and intent, lethality, and number of suicide attempts than youngsters with depressive episodes of shorter duration. A principal components factor analysis of psychiatric symptoms was carried out in all 296 youngsters evaluated during the same period who met DSM-III criteria for any Axis I diagnosis. The majority had an affective disorder. Factors were quite similar for both adolescents and children and included an "endogenous" and an "anxious" factor, as in many studies of adult depression. In addition, three other factors were found: negative cognitions, appetite and weight changes, and a conduct factor. Suicidal ideation was a component of both the negative cognitions factor and the conduct factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Local authority fiscal stance and the pattern of residential migration in the north west of England.

The degree of fiscal mobility present in household migration flows between local authority areas in northwestern England is assessed. Following an introduction, the paper is divided into three sections. "The first reviews the methodologies of previous attempts to assess the extent of fiscally induced migration, noting the dominance of American studies, and outlines a choice-theoretic structure within which it is possible to model human migration patterns. Section III considers the problems inherent in modelling migration flows, and Section IV presents results for a Compound Poisson analysis of migration between local authority areas within the four counties of the North West region of England, as well as an assessment of the prevalence of fiscal mobility."

Demography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reducing child hazards in the home. A joint venture in injury control.

Injuries are a leading cause of childhood mortality and morbidity in the home, particularly in children less than 6 years of age. In an effort to prevent childhood injuries, the Hennepin County Burn Center began a joint venture with a public health agency to reduce home hazards for children less than 6 years of age who were treated at the burn center. Children were referred to a public health nurse for a home safety assessment. During the initial visit, child hazards were identified and recommendations were made for reducing injury risk. Parental compliance with recommendations was evaluated during a second home visit approximately 1 month later. Home safety assessments were completed in 21 homes, and a total of 131 recommendations were made. Burn prevention recommendations accounted for 43.5% of the total recommendations, poison control recommendations accounted for 36.6%, and other injury control recommendations accounted for 19.9%. Parents complied with 43.5% of the total 131 recommendations. Burn prevention recommendations had a compliance rate of 42%. Poison control recommendations had the highest rate of compliance at 58%. Other injury control recommendations had a compliance rate of 19%. The program had a positive effect on reducing home hazards. It was an appropriate response by practitioners already involved in the care of children, many of whom are at risk of injury.

Accidents, Home↗