Biomedical subjects

J Wendlandt

Publications and source records attributed to J Wendlandt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Baclofen treatment in Tourette syndrome: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of baclofen for the treatment of tics in children with Tourette syndrome (TS). BACKGROUND: Baclofen, which contains both gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and phenylethylamine moieties, was suggested in an open-label protocol to be an effective treatment for TS. This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate this medication in children with TS. METHODS: Subjects received, in a randomized sequence, 4-week medication cycles of baclofen (20 mg three times daily) and placebo with a 2-week intervening washout period between the cycles. Outcome measures included the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, and the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), the latter including subscales for total tics and overall impairment. Measures were assessed at baseline and on days 28, 42, and 70 of the study. RESULTS: Ten children (seven boys and three girls, aged 8 to 14) with TS participated. Nine subjects completed the protocol; one dropped out for psychosocial reasons. No major side effects were reported. The mean change in CGI score (-0.9) after 4 weeks of baclofen treatment as compared with placebo treatment showed a significant improvement (95% CI, -1.7 to -0.1; p = 0.04). All subjects showed some amelioration in total YGTSS score during baclofen treatment. The mean change in total YGTSS score (-14.7) approached significance (95% CI, -30.3 to 0.9; p = 0.06). Examination of differences between baclofen and placebo treatment groups expressed as a percent change from baseline showed that baclofen had a statistically significant effect on both outcome measures. Subscales of the YGTSS showed that the reduction in total tic scores was primarily due to a reduction in the impairment score rather than a decrease in tics. CONCLUSIONS: Children with TS may benefit from treatment with baclofen, although improvements may be related to factors other than tics. Larger studies directly comparing baclofen against other tic-suppressing agents are recommended.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

ICTS, an interventional cardiology training system.

In this article, we present an Interventional Cardiology Training System developed by the Medical Application Group at Mitsubishi Electric in collaboration with the Center for Innovative Minimally Invasive Therapy. The core of the ICTS is a computer simulation of interventional cardiology catheterization. This simulation integrates clinical expertise, research in learning, and technical innovations to create a realistic simulated environment. The goal of this training system is to augment the training of new cardiology fellows as well as to introduce cardiologists to new devices and procedures. To achieve this goal, both the technical components and the educational content of the ICTS bring new and unique features: a simulated fluoroscope, a physics model of a catheter, a haptic interface, a fluid flow simulation combined with a hemodynamic model and a learning system integrated in a user interface. The simulator is currently able to generate--in real-time--high quality x-ray images from a 3D anatomical model of the thorax, including a beating heart and animated lungs. The heart and lung motion is controlled by the hemodynamic model, which also computes blood pressure and EKG. The blood flow is then calculated according to the blood pressure and blood vessel characteristics. Any vascular tool, such as a catheter, guide wire or angioplasty balloon can be represented and accurately deformed by the flexible tool physics model. The haptics device controls the tool and provides appropriate feedback when contact with a vessel wall is detected. When the catheter is in place, a contrast agent can be injected into the coronary arteries; blood and contrast mixing is computed and a visual representation of the angiogram is displayed by the x-ray renderer. By bringing key advances in the area of medical simulation--with the real-time x-ray renderer for instance--and by integrating in a single system both high quality simulation and learning tools, the ICTS opens new perspectives for computer based training systems.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

PubMed1999

Corpus callosum measurements in girls with Tourette syndrome.

The objective of this study was to examine whether abnormalities in corpus callosum morphology, previously reported in boys with Tourette syndrome (TS), were also present in girls with this disorder. Among the three groups of girls-TS, TS and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and controls-there were no significant differences in the size of the corpus callosum or any of five individual subregions. The findings suggest that abnormalities in corpus callosum morphology in TS are a gender-related phenomenon.

Adolescent↗