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Biomedical subjects

L Cunningham

Publications and source records attributed to L Cunningham.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Computer-assisted derivation of a screening interview for alcoholism.

A short screening interview for the diagnosis of alcoholism has been developed with the assistance of the automatic interaction detector (AID) program (a multivariate sequential analysis strategy) that is part of the OSIRIS statistical package. Retrospective and prospective tests of the effectiveness of the interview have shown that it permits a diagnosis of alcoholism with less effort than a larger, more comprehansive research interview. The performance of the screening and research interviews have been compared to assess the effects of severity of illness and reliability of individual replies on the diagnoses made by each interview.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1975

Studies of adoptees from psychiatrically disturbed biologic parents. II. Temperament, hyperactive, antisocial, and developmental variables.

Temperament, hyperactivity, antisocial behavior, and developmental milestones were assessed in two groups of adoptees by interviewing the adoptive parents. One group, the "experimental," was born of psychiatrically disturbed biologic parents (N = 59). The second group, the "control," had psychiatrically "normal" parents (N = 54). Infants in each group were separated from their biologic parents at birth and had no further contact with them. Male "experimental" adoptees had excess number of temperament traits characteristic of the "difficult" child, as well as an excess of antisocial behaviors when contrasted with male control subjects. No differences between control and experimental females were found for these variables. Hyperactive behavior in the adoptees of each sex was associated more with antisocial parentage than in those of "normal" parentage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Studies of adoptees from psychiatrically disturbed biological parents: psychiatric conditions in childhood and adolescence.

Psychiatric problems were assessed in two groups of adoptees by interviewing the adopting parents. One group of 59 adoptees, the "experimental', were born of psychiatrically disturbed biological parents; the other group, the "control' of 54 adoptees, had psychiatrically "normal' biological parents. Both groups had been separated from biological parents at birth. The incidence of psychiatric conditions requiring professional care was significantly higher in the experimental than in the controls (37 per cent vs. 14 per cent). In the experimental group more males than females were disturbed (59 per cent vs. 30 per cent). Most of the excess of disordered males were diagnosed hyperactive. There was some evidence of correlation of the type of psychiatric diagnosis of the biological parent with that of the adoptee.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Single-organism model of host defense against infection: a novel immunotoxicologic approach to evaluate immunomodulatory drugs.

The immunotoxicologic effects of drugs on host defense have been studied widely using various animal models of infection. Here we describe a new approach to testing host defense by using a single organism (Candida albicans) in CBA/J mice. The model is configured to test 3 effector systems via different routes of inoculation to stimulate different effector arms of the immune response. Nonspecific immunity was evaluated by C. albicans colony-forming unit (CFU) count from the spleen at 2 hr (uptake) and > or = 22 hr (clearance) following intravenous inoculation. Cell-mediated immunity was assessed by CFU count from an intramuscular injection site 6 days postinoculation. Humoral immunity was assessed by anti-Candida antibody titer, following multiple subcutaneous immunizations with C. albicans. Finally, overall immunity was evaluated following intravenous injection using survival as the endpoint. Histopathological, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic evaluation of selected tissues revealed the involvement of the expected cell types in the different effector systems. Several immunomodulatory drugs--dexamethasone, cyclosporine, liposomal muramyltripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine, and SK&F 105685--were evaluated in the C. albicans model. Dexamethasone impaired host defense against C. albicans by suppressing all endpoints measured. Similarly, cyclosporine showed broad immunosuppressive activity, with the exception of yeast uptake from the spleen. In contrast, muramyl tripeptide-phosphatidylethanolamine enhanced all but cell-mediated immunity to C. albicans. SK&F 105685 displayed both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on immune responses to the infection. Our studies demonstrate that a single organism-based approach can be a useful method for evaluating the immunological hazards of drugs on host resistance to infection.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗