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Biomedical subjects

M Finlayson

Publications and source records attributed to M Finlayson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Navigating uncharted water: research ethics and emotional engagement in human inquiry.

Sensitive research necessitates routine ethical practices of confidentiality, anonymity and worthiness. However, when co-constructing narratives with participants, the nurse researcher also faces unexplored ethical issues that arise out of the emotional intensity and professional responsibility inherent in the relationship. Such issues may be recognized and managed using clinical supervision in addition to academic supervision. Researcher vulnerability adds depth and complexity to human inquiry.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

Secondary analysis of survey data: a research method with potential for occupational therapists.

The secondary analysis of previously collected survey data can assist occupational therapists to focus research, make policy decisions and test theory. In this paper the authors outline the process of carrying out a secondary analysis using existing survey data. Steps include selecting the research question, and then locating, appraising, acquiring and analysing the data. To illustrate this process, the authors examined the relationships between accidents and mobility impairments among older adults using data previously collected in the National Population Health Survey. Finally, some further examples of occupational therapy research carried out using secondary analysis of survey data are considered.

Accidents↗
PubMed1999

What determines the need for nursing home admission in a universally insured population?

OBJECTIVES: People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to experience disability and cognitive impairments at earlier ages than those in higher status groups. As a result, the need for nursing home care would be expected to be greater among older people of lower socio-economic status. This study examines the effects of income and education on the probability of nursing home entry in a universally insured elderly population. METHODS: Using a prospective observational study design, a range of predictors of nursing home admission was examined over a three-year period in a representative sample of 7220 residents, aged 60 years or older, in a Canadian province. Individual census records and computerized administrative records of health care utilization were linked to form a database for analysis. RESULTS: An increased risk of institutionalization was associated with older age, male gender, unmarried status and self-reported disability. In addition, lower household income and lower attained education were independently associated with a higher risk of nursing home admission. CONCLUSIONS: These results emphasize the independent role of socio-economic status in accentuating or accelerating the need for institutional care towards the end of life. It is important that these effects are recognized in policies that determine the finance of both nursing home care and formal community-based supportive care.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Bowel dysfunction in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The perimenopausal and postmenopausal states are frequently accompanied by a variety of symptoms of hormonal imbalance. Although vasomotor, vaginal and genitourinary symptoms prevail, gastrointestinal complaints such as abdominal bloating may occur. In this study, we investigated the nature and prevalence of gastrointestinal and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-type complaints in women going through their climacteric and postmenopausal periods. PATIENTS/METHODS: 228 women (170 postmenopausal and 58 premenopausal) who presented for evaluation at a primary care practice limited to women's health were evaluated prospectively by a previously validated gastrointestinal symptoms questionnaire designed to evaluate symptoms suggestive of IBS. At the time of their participation in the study, none of these women was presenting for evaluation of abdominal or genitourinary symptoms. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of postmenopausal women reported altered bowel function, in contrast to 14% of premenopausal ones (p < 0.001). Despite this, the two groups did not differ in regards to the occurrence of abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, suggestive of IBS. The prevalence of IBS-type complaints peaked to 36% during the climacteric period (40-49 years). Laxative usage (9.4% prevalence), gaseousness/excessive flatulence (48% prevalence) and heart-burn/acid regurgitation (34% prevalence) were also more common among postmenopausal women. Estrogen use did not affect gastrointestinal symptoms in any of the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although the possible role of aging on symptom perception-regardless of hormonal status-cannot be ruled out, these results suggest that peri- and postmenopausal women have a high prevalence of altered bowel function and IBS-like gastrointestinal complaints that should be carefully assessed. If the diagnosis of IBS is confirmed, appropriate treatment may improve patients' symptoms, although this approach requires further study.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1995

Integrating the concepts of health promotion and community into occupational therapy practice.

Health reform activities in Canada have encouraged health care professionals to examine new and innovative ways to share their skills, not only with other professionals, but with the public. Historically, occupational therapists have been encouraged by leaders in the profession to expand their practice and to share their skills through active participation with their communities. Health promotion has been identified as a process through which this expansion can be pursued. In order for occupational therapists to contribute to their communities in a meaningful way, the concepts of health promotion and community require definition, development and reflection within their model of practice. Through a discussion of these concepts, this paper encourages occupational therapists to develop, expand and integrate new practice roles within the community by integrating health promotion into their practice.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

A post-discharge study on the use of assistive devices.

Through this study of a heterogeneous patient population, the prescription and distribution of assistive devices was found to be a beneficial occupational therapy intervention. Although 97% of patients were satisfied with the education provided during occupational therapy intervention, it was discovered that more time is required to practice tub transfers, as well as to fully explain to patients the benefits of sock-aids. The need for further longitudinally based research in the use of assistive devices is recognized.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Inhibition of Epstein-Barr virus infection in vitro and in vivo by soluble CR2 (CD21) containing two short consensus repeats.

The extracellular domain of CR2, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)/C3d receptor of B lymphocytes, contains 15 or 16 tandemly arranged short consensus repeat elements (SCR). Recombinant CR2 proteins containing SCR 1 and 2 fused to Staphylococcus aureus protein A (PA-CR2) and to murine complement factor H SCR 20 (CR2FH) were expressed in Escherichia coli and in insect cells, respectively. These recombinant CR2 molecules retained functional activity as indicated by their ability to bind to C3dg in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and to inhibit EBV gp350/220 binding to B cells. PA-CR2 and CR2FH were as efficient in blocking EBV gp350/220 binding as the full-length CR2 extracellular domain, indicating that the first two SCR of CR2 contain the majority of the ligand binding activity of the receptor. PA-CR2 and CR2FH inhibited EBV-induced B-cell proliferation in vitro and blocked the development of EBV-induced lymphoproliferative disease in severe combined immunodeficient mice reconstituted with human lymphocytes. These studies indicate that soluble forms of truncated CR2 proteins may have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of EBV-induced lymphoproliferative disorders in humans that involve viral replication.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Genetic contributions to the variation among rabbits of liver microsomal deoxycorticosterone synthesis.

Outbred New Zealand white rabbits exhibit two phenotypes, 21H and 21L, corresponding to rates greater than or less than 1 nmol/min/mg, respectively, for liver microsomal progesterone 21-hydroxylase activity. In contrast, the inbred strain III/J exhibits only the 21L phenotype. Two 21H male New Zealand white rabbits were mated with several female III/J rabbits to produce a total 46 progeny. Both the 21H and 21L phenotypes were evident among male and female offspring in roughly equal numbers. Backcrosses between 21L progeny and III/J rabbits exhibit only the 21L phenotype, whereas 21H offspring yield both 21H and 21L progeny when backcrossed to the 21L inbred strain III/J. These results are consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance of the 21H phenotype. Analysis of Southern blots of genomic DNA digested with the restriction endonuclease KpnI reveals 20-, 13-, and 9-kb fragments that hybridize with a probe derived from the 3'-untranslated region of the 21-hydroxylase cDNA. The 13-kb band is not observed for strain III/J or 21L progeny of strain III/J crossed with 21H rabbits, but it is detected for both 21H fathers and 21H progeny indicating that the genetically determined difference of 21-hydroxylase expression is inherited cis to the gene for P450IIC5, the hepatic progesterone 21-hydroxylase. Electrophoretic analysis of P450IIC5 synthesized in vitro from mRNA isolated from 21L and 21H rabbits reveals that little or no P450IIC5 is synthesized from 21L mRNAs. A second immunoreactive, electrophoretically distinct protein is synthesized from both 21L and 21H mRNAs to a similar extent but in lesser amounts than P450IIC5. The second protein could represent either an allozymic form of the enzyme or the product of a distinct locus. Thus, it is likely that distinct structural genes for P450IIC5 contribute to the differences in P450-mediated metabolism in 21L as compared to 21H rabbits.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Intraspecies individuality for the metabolism of steroids.

A variety of regulatory factors contribute to differences in the rates of 6 beta-hydroxylation, 16 alpha-hydroxylation and 21-hydroxylation of progesterone as catalysed by liver microsomes prepared from individual rabbits. It is likely that the 6 beta-hydroxylation of progesterone is catalysed primarily by cytochrome P-450 3c, an enzyme that exhibits allosteric activation by alpha-napthoflavone, and by a form of P-450 3b, 6 beta+, that is expressed in some rabbits in an autosomal dominant manner. The mechanism of activation for P-450 3c appears to reflect an effector mediated increase of the affinity of the enzyme for substrate as judged by substrate binding studies. A second form of P-450 3b, 6 beta-, catalyses a major portion of hepatic progesterone 16 alpha-hydroxylation and exhibits activation by a variety of C21 steroids of which 5 beta-pregnane-3 beta,20 alpha-diol is the most efficacious. P-450 1, which catalyses the 21-hydroxylation of progesterone, is expressed at 10-fold higher levels in the 21H phenotype than the 21L phenotype, and the former is inherited as an autosomal dominant characteristic. A cDNA encoding a P-450 1-related gene product exhibits a predicted amino acid sequence that is 95% homologous to that of P-450 1. The P-450 1-related gene product is expressed in liver to a similar degree in both 21H and 21L rabbits.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1985

Characterization of variations in rabbit hepatic progesterone 21-hydroxylase activity by serial biopsy.

Earlier work has shown that the 21-hydroxylation of progesterone in the hepatic microsomal fraction of outbred New Zealand White rabbits varies over a 10-fold range. To determine whether the differences in 21-hydroxylase activity were due to a transient inductive effect, livers from a group of 28 rabbits were serially biopsied at least three times over a minimum period of two months. Both progesterone 21- and 16 alpha-hydroxylase activities were determined in the post-8700g supernatant of homogenates prepared from these biopsy samples. A substantial variability in both the 21- and 16 alpha-hydroxylase activity was observed for serial biopsy samples from individual rabbits. Each animal was found, however, to maintain relatively constant ratios of 21/16 alpha-hydroxylase activity throughout the course of the study. Previous studies have indicated that the 21-hydroxylase activity does not correlate with the 16 alpha-hydroxylase activity and that the 21-hydroxylase phenotype could be determined from the ratio of these activities. On the basis of this ratio, two groups of animals could be distinguished in the present study. Approximately 25% of the animals exhibited an elevated 21/16 alpha-hydroxylase ratio (greater than 1.5), the remainder were below this level. Furthermore, the expression of elevated levels of the 21-hydroxylase activity were found to be consistent within this subpopulation suggesting that a transient inductive effect is not responsible for the differences in 21-hydroxylase activity among populations of outbred New Zealand White rabbits. This study demonstrates the determination of the hepatic enzymatic phenotype while maintaining the animal for long periods of time and for subsequent investigations.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Evidence that variation among untreated rabbits in hepatic progesterone 21-hydroxylase activity is indicative of enzyme heterogeneity rather than a transient inductive effect.

Previous work has shown that the 21-hydroxylation of progesterone in the hepatic microsomal fraction of outbred NZW rabbits varies over a tenfold range. In contrast, the 16-hydroxylase activity is relatively constant and is not correlated to the activity of the 21-hydroxylase. The distribution of the 21-hydroxylase activity is roughly bimodal with about one-third of the animals (21-H) exhibiting 21-hydroxylase activity exceeding 1 nmol/min/mg microsomal protein, whereas the remainder (21-L) generally exhibit an activity that is less than 1 nmol/min/mg protein. To determine if this was due to a transient phenomenon, liver punch biopsies were collected from 28 rabbits at intervals of approximately three weeks for at least three serial samples. The 21- and 16-hydroxylase activities were determined in the postmitochondrial fractions of these biopsy samples. A substantial variability in both 21- and 16-hydroxylase activities was observed for serial biopsy samples from individual rabbits. The variation of the 16-hydroxylase activity paralleled, however, that of the 21-hydroxylase, thus suggesting that the variation between biopsy samples for individual rabbits was due to factors such as contamination with blood and connective tissue, which would affect both activities equally. Rabbits, therefore, were phenotyped as 21-H or 21-L on the basis of the 21/16-hydroxylase ratio. The mean ratio was 3.2 +/- 1.2 and 0.8 +/- 0.3 for rabbits phenotyped as 21-H and 21-L, respectively. Similar values for this ratio were obtained for the other group of rabbits phenotyped as 21-H and 21-L, 3.8 +/- 1.6 and 0.5 +/- 0.2, respectively, following the isolation of microsomes from whole liver homogenates. The ratio of 21/16-hydroxylase activity was found to be relatively constant for biopsy samples obtained from the same animal over the course of this study, thus indicating that the elevated 21-hydroxylase activity is not a transient phenomenon.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Neck tongue syndrome: operative management.

A 53-year-old woman with assimilation of the atlas to the occiput presented with paraesthesiae in the right half of her tongue and ipsilateral neck pain aggravated by head turning. After being intermittent for several years, the symptoms eventually became persistent and increasingly incapacitating. At operation, the C2 spinal nerves were found to be compressed by protuberant atlanto-axial joints, particularly on the right side. The superficial parts of the resected C2 spinal nerves showed a loss of both myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibres. After operation, the patient experienced partial relief of her symptoms.

Atlanto-Axial Joint↗
PubMed1983

Differential effects of diabetes on microsomal metabolism of various substrates. Comparison of streptozotocin and spontaneously diabetic Wistar rats.

We have examined the effect of recent onset diabetes on several aspects of hepatic microsomal metabolism in both streptozotocin (STZ)-induced and spontaneously diabetic BioBreeding (BB) male and female Wistar rats. Differential alterations of the diabetic state on hepatic microsomal enzyme activities were observed. Female diabetic rats exhibited no change in benzo [a]pyrene (BP) hydroxylase activity, a decrease in testosterone delta 4-hydrogenase, and an increase in aniline hydroxylase. On the other hand, male diabetic rats demonstrated a decrease in hepatic BP hydroxylase activity, no change in testosterone delta 4-hydrogenase, and an increase in aniline hydroxylase. Insulin treatment corrected these effects. No change in kidney BP hydroxylase activity was apparent in either female or male diabetics. There were no marked differences between the chemically induced and genetic models of diabetes with respect to the metabolism studies. Serum testosterone levels were significantly lower than control in male BB diabetics, whereas no change was apparent in female diabetics. Light microscopy and serum insulin determinations indicated that the spontaneously diabetic animals we examined were not severely diabetic. From electrophoresis of hepatic microsomal proteins we determined that spontaneous diabetes of short duration does alter the protein distribution in the cytochrome P-450 region. We conclude that the acute effects of STZ-induced and spontaneous diabetes on hepatic microsomal metabolism are quantitatively and qualitatively similar, despite probable differences in etiology of the diabetic state.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Giant cell astrocytoma with histiocytic infiltrate. Definition of a subgroup of monstrocellular brain tumors.

The neoplastic cells of a monstrocellular brain tumor were poorly differentiated, but some had the ultrastructural and immunohistochemical features of astrocytes. Mononuclear cells, mainly histiocytes, were prominent around vessels and throughout the tumor, and were even found within tumor giant cells. The lesion was a circumscribed nodule, and other features included frequent mitoses, perivascular reticulin fibers, and endothelial reaction less severe than usual in a poorly differentiated glioma. A surprising number of cerebral giant cell neoplasms have had similar morphology, and it is likely that giant cell astrocytomas with histiocytic infiltrates form a definite subgroup of these tumors that are more amenable to surgical treatment and have a slightly better prognosis than the usual poorly differentiated glioma.

Astrocytes↗
PubMed1983

Cauda equina paraganglioma.

Two paragangliomas resected from the cauda equina had similar morphology, both containing cells having dense core secretory granules with no associated sustentacular or supporting cells. The cells were arranged in characteristic lobules that were surrounded by basement membrane and separated by a fibrovascular stroma. This tumor, although rarely found elsewhere in the central nervous system, does occur in the region of the filum terminale, and causes a clinical syndrome typical of tumors in that area.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Peripheral neuropathy with IgM kappa monoclonal immunoglobulin directed against myelin-associated glycoprotein.

Three patients with a monoclonal IgM kappa paraproteinemia had a slowly progressive segmental demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsies showed predominantly large fiber loss, with widening of the intraperiod line of myelin associated with active demyelination. Immunoblot analysis showed reactivity of IgM to myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) of human myelin. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to provide a simple quantitative technique for detection of antibodies to MAG. Treatment with corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents, and plasmapheresis produced no significant improvement.

Aged↗