Biomedical subjects

Lisa A Morrow

Publications and source records attributed to Lisa A Morrow.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Corpus callosum volume in railroad workers with chronic exposure to solvents.

OBJECTIVE: Changes to cognition and behavior have been reported after long-term exposure to solvents. Solvents are hypothesized to affect brain white matter. To test this, we examined the volume of the corpus callosum in workers with a history of exposure to solvents. METHODS: We manually traced (blind to group membership) the volume of the corpus callosum in 31 railroad workers and 31 matched controls. RESULTS: There was a decrease in the genu of the corpus callosum in the solvent-exposed workers compared with controls. A smaller volume of the genu of the corpus callosum was associated with greater exposure and worse performance on cognitive tasks. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the hypothesis that occupational exposure to solvents affects the anterior white matter of the brain and is related to extent of exposure and degree of cognitive change.

Brain Diseases↗

PubMed2003

Efficacy of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of a complementary analgesic modality, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled clinical trial. SETTING: University of Pittsburgh Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-four English speaking, community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older with CLBP of at least moderate intensity experienced every day or almost every day. INTERVENTION: Subjects were randomized to receive twice-weekly PENS and physical therapy (PT) or sham PENS and physical therapy for 6 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: At baseline, immediately after the 6-week intervention period, and 3 months later, the primary outcome measures pain intensity and pain-related disability were assessed. The secondary outcome measures physical performance (timed chair rise, functional reach, gait speed, static and isoinertial lifting), psychosocial factors (mood, sleep, and life control), and cognitive function (measures of attention, concentration, and mental flexibility) were also collected. RESULTS: Subjects randomized to PENS plus PT displayed significant reductions in pain intensity measures from pre- to posttreatment (P <.001), but the sham PENS plus PT group did not (P =.94). These pain reduction effects were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Similarly, significant reductions in pain-related disability were observed at posttreatment (P =.002) for the PENS plus PT group and were maintained at follow-up, but the sham PENS plus PT group did not show reductions in pain-related disability (P =.81). Of the secondary outcome measures, psychosocial function, timed chair rise, and isoinertial lifting endurance also improved significantly at posttreatment for the PENS plus PT group, and their improvement was sustained at 3-month follow-up, but the sham PENS plus PT did not display significant changes on these measures after treatment. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study suggests that PENS may be a promising treatment modality for community-dwelling older adults with CLBP, as demonstrated by reduction in pain intensity and self-reported disability, and improvement in mood, life control, and physical performance. Larger studies with longer duration of follow-up are needed to validate these findings and support the use of PENS in clinical practice.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Normative data for a working memory test: the four word short-term memory test.

A number of tests of short-term memory based on the Brown-Peterson paradigm (recall of either trigrams or short words after varying distractor intervals) have been utilized by neuropsychologists in both clinical practice and in research protocols. The present study provides normative data for a large group of subjects (N=350) aged 18-65 on the Four Word Short-Term Memory Test, a measure of working memory based on the Brown-Peterson paradigm. The Four Word Short-Term Memory Test presents subjects with four words at the rate of one word per second and subjects are then asked to recall the words following a distractor interval of counting backwards by threes for 5, 15 or 30 s. Normative data is stratified by age and education and presented in overlapping midpoint intervals. Percentile rankings based on age and education are also provided.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Comparison of neuropsychological test scores between men and women with prior exposure to organic solvents.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether men and women with a history of similar exposure to organic solvents demonstrate differences in neuropsychological performance. An equal number of men and women were compared on a battery of neuropsychological tests. Men and women were matched on age, education, and past history of exposure (i.e., length of exposure, recency of exposure, and history of peak exposure). With the exception of 1 test, there were no differences between men and women on any of the cognitive tests. There were also no differences in self-reported psychological symptoms. There was, however, a different pattern of correlations between test scores and exposure for the men and women: In women, exposure was associated with tests of attention and processing speed, whereas in men, exposure was associated with verbal memory. After controlling for age and education, the findings were diminished for men but remained significant for women. Overall, the results show no differences in neuropsychological test scores between men and women when matched on exposure variables but raise the possibility of differences in the pattern of cognitive deficits associated with solvent exposure between men and women.

Adult↗