PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M A Kuskowski

Publications and source records attributed to M A Kuskowski.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Vitamin E (tocopherols) in human cerebrospinal fluid.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood were obtained at the time of myelographic examinations from 40 adult, male, human subjects with no neurologic or metabolic abnormalities. Vitamin E (tocopherols) concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography. In subjects with normal concentrations of CSF protein (n = 22), the alpha- and gamma-tocopherol concentrations were 29.2 +/- 9.5 (mean +/- SD) and 6.5 +/- 3.6 nmol/L, respectively, in CSF and 26.0 +/- 8.1 and 6.0 +/- 3.6 mumol/L, respectively, in serum. The concentrations of alpha-tocopherol in CSF correlated significantly (P less than 0.001) with both total protein and albumin concentrations, suggesting that tocopherol transport into CSF is linked with that of plasma proteins. In vitro oxidation of vitamin E in CSF by the free-radical generator 2,2'-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) hydrochloride showed a measurable induction (lag) period. This is due to the presence of other antioxidants in human CSF.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Food deprivation-induced vs. drug-induced feeding: a behavioral evaluation.

Several neuroactive substances including neuropeptide Y (NPY), muscimol, and norepinephrine (NE) stimulate feeding in satiated rats. In the present study, we observed the behavioral patterns of rats stimulated to eat by food deprivation or by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of orexigenic agents to explore the hypothesis that such agents produce a behavioral state resembling hunger. Animals that were food deprived for 24 h spent the majority of their time eating (35%), drinking (5%), resting (44%), and moving (13%) when food was available. If food was removed and substituted with a chewable substrate (plastic tube), they chewed on tubes for a brief period (5%) but spent most of their time moving (14%) or resting (77%). In the absence of food or tubes, they briefly moved about the cage (4%) and spent almost all of their time resting (94%). The patterns observed with the orexigenic drugs were different, particularly in the absence of food. NPY-injected rats were more active than deprived rats, spending 22% of their time moving in the presence of food, 47% in the presence of tubes, and 37% in the absence of food or tubes. Rats injected with muscimol demonstrated a marked increase in the time spent chewing and eating. These rats spent 67% of their time eating in the presence of food and chewed 25% of the time in the absence of either food or tubes. NE-injected rats also chewed when tubes were present (17%) or when no food or tubes were present (10%). Lag sequential analysis further documented differences in behavioral patterns amongst the various treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Longitudinal measurements of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were recorded from 33 patients with mild-to-moderate dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and 16 age-matched normal controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups on any latency measure (wave V latency, I-V and III-V interpeak latencies). Within the DAT group, there was no association between BAEP latency measures and cognitive status, indexed by scores on the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE). Eight of the DAT subjects were retested 6 months and one year later. Despite significant evidence of continued cognitive decline, there were no changes in BAEP latency measures over time. Furthermore, BAEP latency measures at initial testing did not predict the degree of cognitive decline over the one year time interval. The results show that BAEP latency is unaffected in patients with mild-to-moderate DAT.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Smooth pursuit eye movements in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) to a sinusoidally modulated target moving horizontally across a cathode ray tube screen were examined for 17 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and for 14 age-matched control subjects. There were 3 target-motion conditions at frequencies representing varying ranges of target velocity. DAT patients differed from controls on all measures of smooth pursuit quality: their gain was reduced at high target velocities and lower target accelerations, they made more frequent directionally appropriate saccades and had more saccadic intrusions, they led the target with their eyes (phase lead) in all 3 conditions, and lag-adjusted cross-correlation coefficients, computed between digitized eye-movement and target signals, were lower among patients. The cross-correlation measure was most sensitive to between-group variability. These results suggest that the impaired SPEM observed in DAT patients reflect degeneration of cortical oculomotor centers, either through inappropriate saccadic intrusions in smooth pursuit as a result of physiologic disinhibition or through effects on attentional processes or both.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1987

Subtypes of Parkinson's disease defined by intellectual impairment.

Sixty patients with Parkinson's disease were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests. Using regression data from a matched normal control sample, age- and education-residualized test scores were obtained for the patients. Three clusters of patients were identified: those with both verbal memory and visuospatial reasoning disorders (n = 24), those with memory impairment only (n = 17) and those with normal intellectual function (n = 12). Analysis of variance and planned comparisons (Newman-Keuls) were performed to detect group differences. No difference on 9 memory measures were found between the 2 memory-impaired groups. However, these groups differed significantly on all memory measures from the group with normal function. The 2 memory-impaired groups also differed significantly from each other on all 7 measures of visuospatial reasoning. The group with memory loss only was significantly younger than the group with both visuospatial and memory impairment and also demonstrated less bradykinesia. Otherwise, there were no group differences in the severity of motor signs, disease duration or duration of levodopa therapy. These findings support a different etiology for motor and intellectual deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparative effects of phenytoin and/or phenobarbital treatment on sister chromatid exchange.

The potential of the widely prescribed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) phenytoin (PHT) and phenobarbital (PB) to interact with genetic material was tested using sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay. Thirty adult male patients with epilepsy receiving long-term AED therapy (16 with PHT, 6 with PB, and 8 with combined PHT and PB therapy) and 30 healthy controls were selected for the study of SCE frequencies in peripheral lymphocytes. The patients and controls were carefully screened and matched for sex, age, and smoking habits. All potential probands with exposure to factors known or suspected of affecting the SCE frequencies were excluded. Statistical analyses did not show any significant differences between the SCE rates of PHT- and/or PB-treated patients and controls, indicating a lack of mutagenicity of the tested drugs as expressed by induction of SCE on adult recipients. Smoking, however, affected the SCE levels considerably. The smokers had higher SCE frequencies than the nonsmokers, both among patients and controls. Caffeine consumption was also associated with SCE increases in patients but not in controls.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hydergine treatment and psychophysiological measures in primary degenerative dementia.

Changes in smooth pursuit eye movements and the P300 component of the auditory evoked potential were studied in patients with primary degenerative dementia during a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of ergoloid mesylates (Hydergine). After 18 weeks of treatment, P300 latency and amplitude, recorded at three scalp electrode sites, had not changed significantly. Smooth pursuit gain was elevated for the drug group under some stimulus conditions, suggesting a normalization of pursuit eye movement functioning. However, the results of several other measures of the quality of pursuit eye movements failed to corroborate this finding.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A plan for staff development in gerontologic nursing.

Although aging of the population is evident and increased use of health services by the elderly is well-documented, the knowledge base of acute-care nurses in gerontologic nursing may be insufficient. Nursing staff development educators are in a strategic position to respond to this deficit. The approach used by an 800-bed Veterans Administration Hospital to determine the gerontologic learning needs of its nursing staff and a plan to meet these needs is reported. Recommendations for other organizations that plan to provide staff development in gerontologic nursing are offered.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗