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Biomedical subjects

K McGarry

Publications and source records attributed to K McGarry.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The role of menopausal hormone therapy in preventing osteoporotic fractures: a critical review of the clinical evidence.

Osteoporosis is a common disease resulting in millions of potentially preventable fractures each year. Women are disproportionately affected by osteoporosis compared to men, with loss of gonadal functioning and aging being the 2 most important contributing factors to osteoporosis. For many decades, menopausal hormone therapy (HT) has been the mainstay for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis among menopausal women. While recent randomized trial data have confirmed findings from observational studies concerning HT's protective effect on osteoporosis, they showed that HT increases the risks of breast cancer, venous thromboses, stroke, and coronary heart disease. With a strong body of evidence showing the benefit of HT in preventing osteoporotic fractures, the challenge facing clinicians is not whether HT helps to prevent osteoporotic fractures, but whether HT's fracture-prevention benefits outweigh its risks. With several medications now available having efficacy comparable to HT in preventing fractures, decisions about therapy for osteoporosis or osteopenia should take into consideration bone mineral density, other risk factors for osteoporotic fracture, and a careful examination of the benefits and risks of each treatment option. After a brief discussion of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of osteoporosis, we review the evidence from observational studies and randomized studies examining the impact of menopausal hormone therapy on osteoporosis. We focus on whether there are specific subgroups of women that accrue greater or smaller benefit from HT in terms of osteoporotic fracture reduction. We then expand our perspective to include clinical endpoints other than osteoporosis, presenting a framework for factoring in the many risks and benefits of HT. We conclude that all women should be informed of all alternative treatment options and allowed to make an informed treatment decision according to their personal risks, preferences, values, and willingness to tolerate the risks of treatment.

Bone Density↗
PubMed2002

The management of acute myocardial infarction--practical problems in implementing the evidence.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Europe. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is among the most common of its manifestations. Women and older patients are under-represented in most trials of treatment for AMI, as are those with significant co-morbidities. These patients also have a worse long term outcome after AMI. We sought to evaluate the management of AMI in a small non-academic general hospital. A review was performed of cases of AMI during 2000. Ninety-two cases were analysed, 69% were male. The mean age was 70 years. In-hospital mortality was 12%; 30-day mortality was 14%. There was no gender or age difference in mortality. Of thirty eligible patients, twenty-eight were thrombolysed (93%). Aspirin (81%) and beta-blocker (41%) prescription on discharge were below published European and American rates. Females were significantly less likely to receive aspirin or beta-blockers on discharge. Those aged 70 years or more were less likely to receive beta-blockers, statins or ACE inhibitors on discharge. Those with co-morbidities were less likely to receive beta-blockers or statins on discharge. This study highlights the difficulty in realising evidence based guidelines optimal management of AMI in clinical practice. While the outcome with regard to mortality is similar to national figures, there is a need to enhance care, with particular emphasis on secondary pharmacological measures prescribed on discharge.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2000

Social security, economic growth, and the rise in elderly widows' independence in the twentieth century.

The percentage of elderly widows living alone rose from 18% in 1940 to 62% in 1990, while the percentage living with adult children declined from 59% to 20%. This study finds that income growth, particularly increased Social Security benefits, was the single most important determinant of living arrangements, accounting for nearly one-half of the increase in independent living. Unlike researchers in earlier studies, we find no evidence that the effect of income become stronger over the period. Changes in age, race, immigrant status, schooling, and completed fertility explain a relatively small share of the changes in living arrangements.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

Hospital mortality of acute myocardial infarction in the thrombolytic era.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the management and outcome of an unselected consecutive series of patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction to a tertiary referral centre. DESIGN: A historical cohort study over a three year period (1992-94) of consecutive unselected admissions with acute myocardial infarction identified using the HIPE (hospital inpatient enquiry) database and validated according to MONICA criteria for definite or probable acute myocardial infarction. SETTING: University teaching hospital and cardiac tertiary referral centre. RESULTS: 1059 patients were included. Mean age was 67 years; 60% were male and 40% female. Rates of coronary care unit (CCU) admission, thrombolysis, and predischarge angiography were 70%, 28%, and 32%, respectively. Overall in-hospital mortality was 18%. Independent predictors of hospital mortality by multivariate analysis were age, left ventricular failure, ventricular arrhythmias, cardiogenic shock, management outside CCU, and reinfarction. Hospital mortality in a small cohort from a non-tertiary referral centre was 14%, a difference largely explained by the lower mean age of these patients (64 years). Five year survival in the cohort was 50%. Only age and left ventricular failure were independent predictors of mortality at follow up. CONCLUSIONS: In unselected consecutive patients the hospital mortality of acute myocardial infarction remains high (18%). Age and the occurrence of left ventricular failure are major determinants of short and long term mortality after acute myocardial infarction.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Medical insurance and the use of health care services by the elderly.

The objective of this paper is to find how health insurance influences the use of health care services by the elderly. On the basis of the first wave of the Asset and Health Dynamics Survey, we find that those who are the most heavily insured use the most health care services. Because our data show little relationship between observable health measures and either the propensity to hold or to purchase private insurance, we interpret this as an effect of the incentives embodied in the insurance, rather than as the result of adverse selection in the purchase of insurance.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Transfer behavior within the family: results from the Asset and Health Dynamics Study.

When individuals fall on hard times, can they rely on their family for financial support? In view of proposed reductions in public assistance programs, it is important to understand the mechanisms through which families provide support for their members. In this article we provide evidence that intrafamily transfers are compensatory, directed disproportionately to less well-off members. In a given year, adult children in the lowest income category are 50 percent more likely to receive a financial transfer from their parents, and on average they receive over $300 more than their siblings who are in the highest income category. The dataset used in the new Asset and Health Dynamics (AHEAD) study contains information on all children in the family; therefore, we are able to estimate models that control for unobserved differences across families. Our results are robust to these specifications. In addition, we do not find evidence that parents provide financial assistance to their children in exchange for caregiving.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Familial Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome maps to a locus on chromosome 7q3.

We have mapped a disease locus for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) and familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC) segregating in a large kindred to chromosome 7 band q3. Although WPW syndrome and FHC have been observed in members of the same family in prior studies, the relationship between these two diseases has remained enigmatic. A large family with 25 surviving individuals who are affected by one or both of these conditions was studied. The disease locus is closely linked to loci D7S688, D7S505, and D7S483 (maximum two point LOD score at D7S505 was 7.80 at theta = 0). While four different FHC loci have been described this is the first locus that can be mutated to cause both WPW and/or FHC.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The access and processing of familiar idioms by brain-damaged and normally aging adults.

Idiom interpretation tasks are routinely used in the clinical evaluation of adults with brain damage, and idiom processing has received increasing attention in the psycholinguistic literature. Clinical evidence suggests that adults with unilateral right-hemisphere damage (RHD) are insensitive to nonliteral meanings conveyed by idiomatic expressions and other figurative forms. However, this portrayal is derived from their terminal responses to tasks that reflect multiple aspects of mental operations (off-line measures), obscuring the source of poor performance. This study used an on-line word-monitoring task to assess RHD, left-hemisphere-damaged, and normally aging adults' implicit knowledge of familiar idiomatic expressions. Brain-damaged subjects performed similarly to normal controls on this task, even though the clinical subjects fared poorly by comparison on an off-line idiom definition measure. These results suggest that adults with unilateral brain damage can activate and retrieve familiar idiomatic forms, and that their idiom-interpretation deficits most likely reflect impairment at some later stage of information processing. Further, error analysis of idiom-definition performance did not support the customary characterization of RHD adults as excessively literal responders. The paper discusses clinical implications of the nature and use of idiom interpretation tasks.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Antihypertensive and renal haemodynamic effects of atenolol and nadolol in elderly hypertensive patients.

As little is known of the antihypertensive efficacy or renal haemodynamic effects of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs in the elderly we studied two such drugs, atenolol and nadolol, in elderly hypertensive patients. Ten patients took part in a placebo-controlled double-blind study of atenolol and 10 received nadolol in a single-blind placebo-controlled study. Treatment phases lasted 12 weeks for atenolol or 10 weeks for nadolol. Blood pressure, effective renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate data obtained at the end of each treatment phase were analysed. Atenolol lowered mean arterial pressure (mean +/- s.e. mean) from 129.9 +/- 1.5 to 108.2 +/- 2.3 mm Hg (P less than 0.01) while it increased mean effective renal blood flow 512.5 +/- 86.6 to 646.0 +/- 116.1 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 (P less than 0.05). Nadolol reduced mean arterial pressure from 133.2 +/- 2.0 to 113.5 +/- 3 mm Hg (P less than 0.001) but reduced mean effective renal blood flow from 558.8 +/- 32.2 to 446.0 +/- 26.9 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 (P less than 0.05). Glomerular filtration did not alter significantly with either drug. We conclude that beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs are effective antihypertensive agents in the elderly but have disparate effects on effective renal blood flow perhaps because of differences in cardioselectivity. These data suggest that comparative studies with thiazide diuretics and beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs are warranted in elderly hypertensives.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1982

Bioavailability of labetalol increases with age.

The antihypertensive drug labetalol was administered orally and intravenously to ten hypertensive patients aged between 28 and 75 years. There was a significant increase with age in both bioavailability and half-life of labetalol. Clearance tended to be lower in the elderly subjects. First pass metabolism results in variable oral bioavailability of labetalol which is greater in the elderly and this should be borne in mind when using the drug in this age group.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Which beta-blocker?

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1981

Clinical pharmacology of tolmesoxide in refractory heart failure.

The haemodynamic effects and pharmacokinetics of single intravenous doses of tolmesoxide, a new vasodilator agent, were studied in 6 patients with severe cardiac failure secondary to ischaemic cardiomyopathy and refractory to conventional therapy. The mean (+ SEM) baseline cardiac index (CI) and pulmonary artery diastolic pressure (PADP) were 1.7 +0.11/min/m2 and 30.5 +4.1 mm Hg respectively. The mean % rise in CI was 78.8 +23.3 and the mean % fall in PADP was 35.2 +5.2. The mean half life of tolmesoxide in these patients was markedly prolonged at 15.6 +6.6h. Side effects were minimal - vomiting was seen in 1 patient. This agent warrants further study in the long term management of refractory cardiac failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Management of pregnancy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The outcome of 54 pregnancies in 23 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was analysed. No mother or infant died in the perinatal period. Six patients developed dyspnoea requiring treatment with diuretics. Beta-adrenergic blocking drugs were given in 18 pregnancies and three of the infants in this were small for dates and in two fetal bradycardia occurred. The results comfirmed that pregnancy is safe in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A flexible approach should be adopted towards administering beta-adrenergic blocking drugs to pregnant women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Many such patients do well without these drugs and can thus avoid the potential hazards--namely, small-for-dates babies and fetal bradycardia--that are associated with them.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Deliberate self-poisoning in an Irish county hospital.

BACKGROUND: In 1997, 433 people committed suicide in Ireland, one-quarter of whom were less than 24 years of age. AIM: To determine demographics, agent choice and source, suicidality and follow-up care of deliberate self-poisoning patients. METHOD: Details of 111 patients admitted to one hospital in 1997 following drug overdose were studied retrospectively. Eleven had been accidental ingestions, the remaining 100 were deliberate self-poisoning. RESULTS: Men accounted for 38% of the presentations and were more likely to have suicidal intent than women. An average of 2.3 different agents were used. Paracetamol was taken by 37%, hypnotics/anxiolytics by 33% and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories by 17%. Alcohol was consumed synchronously by 51% and 17% fulfilled criteria for alcohol dependency. One-third of patients were clinically depressed. All six patients requiring ventilation had consumed a combination of tricyclic antidepressants and alcohol. There were no deaths. CONCLUSION: Deliberate self-poisoning remains a significant problem. Paracetamol and alcohol use are particularly marked in this population. The combination of tricyclic antidepressant drugs and alcohol were the most dangerous.

Acetaminophen↗