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Biomedical subjects

M Fitzgerald

Publications and source records attributed to M Fitzgerald.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Neonatal capsaicin treatment induces invasion of the substantia gelatinosa by the terminal arborizations of hair follicle afferents in the rat dorsal horn.

Capsaicin, administered on the day of birth, was found to alter laminar distribution, but not the receptive field properties or the morphology of the collateral arborizations of hair follicle afferents (HFAs) intra-axonally injected with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Of the 65 HFA terminal arbors in capsaicin treated rats, 46 (71%) were found to enter the substantia gelatinosa (in control rats, 44/165, 27%). All of the collaterals projected to somatotopically normal areas of cord. Dorsal horn shrinkage (21%), as estimated by planimetric measurements of Nissl and acetylcholinesterase-stained material, was only a partial explanation of this result. This idea was supported by the statistically significant increase (27%, P less than 0.05) in the absolute dorsoventral length of collaterals. The results show that the destruction of unmyelinated fibres during the early postnatal period by capsaicin induces HFA invasion into the area that C fibres normally occupy. This invasion suggests that the laminar termination sites for different primary afferent fibres are not altogether specified and that intact neonatal primary afferents have the capacity to sprout into denervated regions of spinal cord.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Autoradiographic analysis of odontoblast replacement following pulp exposure in primate teeth.

Cell migration and replication associated with odontoblast replacement occurring soon after pulp exposure in primate teeth were studied. Class 5 cavity preparations resulting in pulp exposures were restored with a calcium hydroxide-containing capping agent and amalgam. Eighty-four and 96 h after this the animals were injected with 0.5 microCi/g body wt tritiated thymidine (sp. act. 6.7 Ci/mM). Teeth were extracted 6, 8, 10 and 12 days after treatment. The number of labelled cells as well as the number of grains per labelled cell were counted for odontoblast-like, fibroblast-like and perivascular cells in three 60 x 260 microns zones. These zones represented the odontoblast and cell-free (zone 1), cell-rich (zone 2) and deep pulp (zone 3) areas of normal pulp tissue. Ten sections centred around the mid-point of the exposure were counted for each tooth. Matrix formation and labelled odontoblast-like cells were observed at the interface between the capping agent and the pulp as early as day 8. Other significant findings were: (1) an increase in labelled odontoblast-like cells in zone 1 over time, suggesting a continual influx of differentiating cells; (2) an increase in labelled cells in zone 1 over time with a concurrent decrease in zone 3, suggesting that the influx of cells in zone 1 was from the deeper pulp; and (3) differences in grain counts between zones, treatment times and cell types, indicating that at least two DNA replications had occurred between initial treatment and final odontoblast-like cell differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Healing of primate dental pulps capped with Teflon.

The pulps of Rhesus monkey teeth were exposed and capped with three materials: Teflon, a commercial hard-set calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) material, and Ca(OH)2 plus saline. Experimental test periods were 3, 10, and 21 days, and 5 and 8 weeks. After treatment, the teeth were removed and processed for routine histologic evaluation. Teeth treated with the two Ca(OH)2 materials showed resolution of the inflammatory response and hard tissue formation at the exposure site as early as 10 days postoperatively, with consistent healing at 21 days and longer. Teflon had a similar soft tissue healing pattern but at a slower rate. Hard tissue formation at the exposure site in the teeth treated with Teflon was infrequent at the early time periods and present in only 20% of the teeth treated for 5 and 8 weeks. By evaluating the soft and hard tissue responses of the Ca(OH)2-capped and Teflon-capped teeth it may be possible, in future studies, to identify events unique to odontoblast differentiation during pulpal healing.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The measurement of adolescent adaptive processes in the clinical interview.

A study is described measuring the clinical usefulness of Adolescent Adaptive Process Scales. These processes are measured in three groups of adolescents in which psychopathology is also measured using a standardized psychiatric interview. Inter-rater reliability is calculated between two raters and mean score comparisons are made between the groups using the t-test method. In the study a higher inter-rater reliability and some preliminary evidence of construct validity are found for these scales. The findings indicate that these scales could constitute a useful clinical tool in psychotherapy, research and teaching. They also provide scope for future work in the field.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of psychological distress in Irish female adolescents.

Some female adolescents (N = 132) attending two inner city Dublin schools completed the Youth Self Report Questionnaire (YSRQ). Of this group 15.4 per cent obtained a Total Problem Score in the clinical range. A higher proportion, 23 per cent, obtained a score in the clinical range on one or more problem subscales of the YSRQ. No one scored abnormally on the Social or Competence Scales. A number of interesting and thought provoking responses to individual questions were obtained. The possible clinical relevance of these findings and implications for future planning in schools are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Psychological health status of mothers and the admission of children to hospital for gastroenteritis.

The prevalence of psychological distress was measured by the 30-item general health questionnaire in two populations of mothers: those who had children hospitalized for gastroenteritis and those who cared for children with gastroenteritis at home. Significant differences emerged, with mothers of hospitalized children reporting higher levels of psychological distress. There were no differences in severity of the children's illness between the two groups as indicated by blind ratings of symptomatology from six infectious diseases hospital doctors. Thus hospitalization of children for gastroenteritis was not contingent on medical symptomatology. Instead the evidence indicates that the psychological status of mothers may influence doctors' management decisions on childhood gastroenteritis. Significant positive associations between poor psychological status and poor social resources illustrate the social context in which maternal vulnerability may influence child health care generally. The impact of maternal psychological status on decisions about paediatric care is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Transcription of the rat and mouse proenkephalin genes is initiated at distinct sites in spermatogenic and somatic cells.

During spermatogenesis, several genes are expressed in a germ cell-specific manner. Previous studies have demonstrated that rat and mouse spermatogenic cells produce a 1,700-nucleotide proenkephalin RNA, while somatic cells that express the proenkephalin gene contain a 1,450-nucleotide transcript. Using cDNA cloning, RNA protection, and primer extension analyses, we showed that transcription of the rat and mouse spermatogenic-cell RNAs is initiated downstream from the proenkephalin somatic promoter in the first somatic intron (intron As). In both species, the germ cell cap site region consists of multiple start sites distributed over a length of approximately 30 base pairs. Within rat and mouse intron As, the region upstream of the germ cell cap sites is GC rich and lacks TATA sequences. A consensus binding site for the transcription factor SP1 was identified in intron As downstream of the proenkephalin germ cell cap site region. These features are characteristic of several previously described promoters that lack TATA sequences. Homologies were also identified between the proenkephalin and rat cytochrome c spermatogenic-cell promoters, including the absence of a TATA box, a multiple start site region, and several common sequences. This promoter motif thus may be shared with other genes expressed in male germ cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Teaching recognition skills to improve products.

All 86 first year dental students in a Conservative Restorations course completed five sets of instructional tasks. Tasks followed a discrimination learning paradigm, a sequence based on the principal that recognition skills are a prerequisite for production skills. Recognition skill measures and production quality measures were collected for pre- and post-test Class 1 amalgam preparations. Significant improvement was found in three of the five recognition skill measures and in quality of production. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that a measure of student agreement with faculty evaluations accounted for 46.3 percent of the variance in post-test production scores whereas traditional admissions measures accounted for less than 4 percent of the variance. Additionally, students who improved recognition skill showed a corresponding improvement in products. The paradigmatic teaching model appears to be valid for Class 1 cavity preparations.

Dental Amalgam↗
PubMed1989

Morphology and somatotopic organization of the central terminals of hindlimb hair follicle afferents in the rat lumbar spinal cord.

The morphology of the central collateral arborizations of 24 A-beta hair follicle afferents (HFAs) innervating different regions of the skin of the hindlimb were studied by the intra-axonal injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in adult rats. A total of 236 collaterals were recovered. These fell into three classes--complex, simple, and blind-ending--based on numbers of boutons and terminal branch patterns. The morphology of the HFA central arbors innervating the lateral and medial leg and dorsum of the foot was flame-shaped. Afferents with receptive fields on the glabrous-hairy skin border consistently had extra terminal branches running ventromedially into laminae IV/V. Differences in the width of terminal arbors were found. HFA terminals innervating the lateral leg formed narrower sheets than those innervating the dorsum of the foot and toes. The somatotopic organization of the collaterals and terminal arborizations of individual afferents were analyzed both by considering all the collaterals along an axon's rostrocaudal extent and by only examining arbors with boutons (the complex and simple arbors). Thirty-seven percent of blind-ending and 18% of simple collaterals were found to overlap in the rostrocaudal direction with the complex arborizations of afferents whose receptive fields were in a different cutaneous nerve territory. There was no overlap between complex arborizations of afferents from different nerve territories. However, the complex arbors of afferents with receptive fields within a particular nerve territory showed considerable terminal overlap even if they had nonadjacent peripheral receptive fields. The topographical organization of the central terminals of HFAs, forms a coarse somatotopic map of overlapping terminals whereby a particular region of dorsal horn has a maximal, but not exclusive, input from a particular area of skin.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Cardiac transplantation in the seventh decade of life.

Twenty-five patients older than 60 years of age underwent cardiac transplantation using an immunosuppression protocol with cyclosporin and azathioprine, but without routine use of oral steroids. There were 24 men and 1 woman (age range 60 to 69 years, mean 63). The etiology of heart disease was coronary artery disease in 21 and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in 4. Six patients had previous coronary artery bypass operations, 1 had undergone repair of an abdominal aneurysm and 1 had pulmonary embolism. Sixteen patients were in New York Heart Association class IV and 9 in class III. Donor mean age was 30 (14 to 46) years. Hospital stay after transplantation was 10 to 90 days (median 11). Four died within 30 days and none from 5 to 59 months (mean 22). The 1-year actuarial survival was 84%. The incidence of rejection was 2.16 episodes per patient. Only 1 patient (4%) had serious infection. Six patients received antihypertensive treatment, 3 had reversible impairment of renal function, 2 had gout and 1 had drop foot. No patient had convulsions, transient ischemic attack or cerebrovascular accident. None had significant psychological problems. The 21 patients currently alive are in New York Heart Association class I. Quality of life, assessed by the Nottingham Health Profile, showed marked improvement. It is concluded that the initial results of cardiac transplantation in the seventh decade of life are encouraging.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1989

Marital adjustment and behaviour problems in children.

Previous research has suggested links between marital unhappiness and behaviour problems in children. A survey was carried out in a community based Child Psychiatric clinic in Ireland to investigate these links. Methods used involved self report questionnaires administered to mothers of forty-eight children attending the clinic. A control group was selected for comparison. Tests of correlation indicate significant associations between marital adjustment and behaviour problems for both clinic and control populations. Some possible mechanisms are suggested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A study of emotion and behaviour in children attending a normal school in an urban area.

Anxiety, depression, self-esteem, behavioural deviance and prosocial behaviour were studied in children attending a normal school in a disadvantaged urban area, using self-rated and teacher-rated questionnaires. The prevalence of depression was rated as 5%. 15% described frequent suicidal thoughts. 40% scored as behaviourally deviant. Significant correlations were found between the variables studied. The rates of depression and behavioural deviance were higher than in comparable British populations.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Differences in the chemical expression of rat primary afferent neurons which innervate skin, muscle or joint.

The fluorescent dye Fast Blue was injected in anaesthetized rats into either skin, muscle or knee joint of the hindlimb. Following retrograde transport of the dye to lumbar dorsal root ganglia, the cell bodies of primary afferent neurons innervating these different target tissues were identified in ganglion sections by fluorescence microscopy. The sections were processed to demonstrate activity of the enzyme thiamine monophosphatase, or immunoreactivity to calcitonin gene-related peptide, substance P, or somatostatin, in Fast Blue labelled neurons. In all cases immunoreactivity to the antineurofilament antibody RT97 was used to classify dorsal root ganglion cells as being either small dark (RT97 negative, unmyelinated axons) or large light (RT97 positive, myelinated axons). The proportion of small dark cells labelled from each target decreased in the order: skin, muscle, joint. Thiamine monophosphatase and somatostatin were present only in small dark cells, while calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P were found in both small dark and large light cells. In large light cells of all three targets, more contained calcitonin gene-related peptide than substance P. Among small dark cells, thiamine monophosphatase and somatostatin were found predominantly in skin afferents, while calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P were more common in muscle and joint afferents. The chemical expression of primary afferents is therefore characteristic of the peripheral target they innervate. This could reflect either a maintained influence of the target on the afferents, or the factors which operate only during development.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Primary cardiac tumours--is there a place for cardiac transplantation?

Between 1979 and 1985, seven patients (five children and two adults) were treated for primary cardiac tumours other than benign atrial myxomas. There were five malignant neoplasms (two non-classifiable sarcomas, one haemangiosarcoma, one histiocytoma and one neurofibrosarcoma) and two benign tumours (fibromas). Echocardiography, cardiac catheterisation, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging provided diagnostic confirmation. The two patients with fibroma are alive and well 4 and 5 years after radical resection of the tumours from the interventricular septum. The patient with a neurofibrosarcoma underwent orthotopic cardiac transplantation and is well 5.5 years postoperatively with no evidence of residual disease or recurrence. One patient died awaiting a donor heart for transplantation. Another patient who was a candidate for heart and lung transplantation was found to have an unresectable tumour at the time of operation. One patient with sarcoma who underwent a successful emergency partial resection for relief of cardiac tamponade died 18 months later from widespread metastases. The seventh patient was inoperable due to multiple secondaries. It is concluded that radical resection of large, benign, cardiac tumours can give good results and that early cardiac transplantation probably offers the only hope for patients with malignant tumours of the heart.

Adolescent↗