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Biomedical subjects

M Sheehy

Publications and source records attributed to M Sheehy.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Subclinical anaemia of chronic disease in adult patients with cystic fibrosis.

Patients with chronic hypoxaemia develop secondary polycythaemia that improves oxygen-carrying capacity. Therefore, normal haemoglobin and haematocrit values in the presence of chronic arterial hypoxaemia in cystic fibrosis constitute 'relative anaemia'. We sought to determine the cause of this relative anaemia in patients with cystic fibrosis. We studied haematological indices and oxygen saturation in healthy volunteers (n=17) and in adult patients with cystic fibrosis (n=15). Patients with cystic fibrosis had lower resting arterial oxygen saturation when compared with normal volunteers (P<0.0001), and exercise led to a greater reduction in arterial oxygen saturation (P<0.0001). However, haemoglobin and haematocrit values in patients with cystic fibrosis did not significantly differ from normal volunteers. Serum iron (P=0.002), transferrin (P=0.02), and total iron-binding capacity (P=0.01) were lower in patients with cystic fibrosis. There were no significant differences in serum ferritin, percentage iron saturation, serum erythropoietin or red cell volume between the groups. The data presented demonstrate a characteristic picture of anaemia of chronic disease in adult patients with cystic fibrosis, except for normal haemoglobin and haematocrit values. Normal haemoglobin and haematocrit values in patients with cystic fibrosis appear to represent a combination of the effects of arterial hypoxaemia promoting polycythaemia, counterbalanced by chronic inflammation promoting anaemia of chronic disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Respiratory symptoms at age 8 years in a cohort of very low birth weight children.

The childhood respiratory consequences of very low birth weight (birth weight < or =1,500 g) are incompletely understood, especially since the introduction of recent changes in neonatal care. To assess prevalence, trends, and risk factors for respiratory symptoms, the authors followed to age 8 years a cohort of 384 very low birth weight children from six regional neonatal intensive care units in Wisconsin and Iowa who were born between August 1, 1988, and June 30, 1991. A control group of 154 Wisconsin schoolchildren was also assembled. Respiratory symptoms in the past 12 months and history of asthma ("asthma ever") were reported by parents on a questionnaire used in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Control group prevalence resembled ISAAC prevalence worldwide and in Canada, but respiratory symptoms were twice as common among very low birth weight children. With advent of the availability of pulmonary surfactants, the prevalence of wheezing at age 8 decreased from 50% to 16% (p = 0.002) among children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but it increased from 14% to 38% among those with milder neonatal respiratory disease. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, family history of asthma, smoking in the household, and patent ductus arteriosus were predictive of wheezing in the previous 12 months. Antenatal steroid therapy had a borderline-significant protective association with wheezing (odds ratio = 0.56, 95% confidence interval: 0.29, 1.1). There were interaction effects between several of the predictors.

Asthma↗
PubMed1992

Psychophysiological investigations of patients with unilateral symptoms in the hyperventilation syndrome.

Anxiety states sometimes lead to hyperventilation (HV) which may, in turn, give rise to a variety of physical symptoms. One way in which HV may present is with unilateral somatosensory symptoms, often left-sided. We report nine such cases. The mechanisms of lateralisation was examined using EEG and bilateral somatosensory evoked potentials which were carried out before and after HV. No difference in conduction velocity was found between affected and unaffected arms, but non-specific abnormalities were frequently noted in the EEGs. The results support the role of a central rather than a peripheral mechanism in the production of unilateral symptoms in HV.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Human T cell receptor V alpha gene polymorphism.

The T cell receptor (TcR) is a heterodimer composed of an alpha,beta- or a gamma,delta-chain. The receptor is expressed on the cell surface in association with the CD3 complex, which in turn is composed of at least four chains (gamma, delta, epsilon, and zeta). In this review, we will summarize the recent findings on the genomic organization of the four T cell receptor genes, and the polymorphisms detected in the variable regions of these genes.

DNA Probes↗
PubMed1989

Polymorphism of the human T cell receptor alpha chain variable genes: identification of a highly polymorphic V gene probe.

In this study, we report the RFLP of the human T cell receptor (TCR) alpha chain variable gene segments. Using DNA samples from 20 individuals and three restriction endonucleases (BamHI, EcoRI and HindIII), the degree of RFLP of a number of different V gene segments was defined. Half of the V alpha subfamilies (6/12) were characterized by a predominant hybridization pattern, with only a few individuals displaying a second pattern. However, one particular V gene family, V alpha 6, has at least five allelic forms that segregated consistently in familial studies. The V alpha polymorphisms revealed in this study, together with those exhibited by V beta gene subfamilies, should prove useful in studying possible associations between TCR gene usage and disorders of the immune system.

Alleles↗
PubMed1988

Diabetic neuropathy in the upper limb and the effect of twelve months sorbinil treatment.

Clinical and neurophysiological studies were undertaken, with particular reference to the arms, in 39 patients with diabetic neuropathy. The effects of an aldose reductase inhibitor, sorbinil, on neuropathy in these patients were studied in a 12 month double blind placebo controlled trial. Neurophysiological measurements, particularly of sensory amplitude, were considerably more sensitive than measurements of temperature and vibration sensation and remain of fundamental importance in measuring diabetic neuropathy at an early and potentially reversible stage. There was no significantly beneficial effect of sorbinil on clinical or neurophysiological measurements of nerve function in patients with established diabetic neuropathy. These results indicate that neurophysiological techniques are necessary, in conjunction with clinical measurements, for the assessment of 'early' diabetic neuropathy and that aldose reductase inhibitors are not effective in the treatment of established diabetic neuropathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine modulation of brain dopamine function: implications for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

1 Dopamine deficiency in the brain is the prime biochemical deficit in Parkinson's disease, but loss of noradrenaline and 5HT also may contribute. 2 In rats, 5HT-containing neurones originating from the dorsal and median raphe nuclei innervate forebrain dopamine-containing areas so as to impose an inhibitory regulatory tone on dopamine function. However, this interaction between brain dopamine and 5HT-containing neuronal systems is complex, and the effect produced appears dependent on the relative activity of each system. 3 Anatomical evidence for innervation of dopamine-containing brain regions by noradrenaline fibres in the rat is scanty, but functional studies suggest the existence of inputs which facilitate dopamine function. 4 Drug therapy designed to increase or decrease brain 5HT function has had no consistent effect in Parkinson's disease. 5 Manipulation of brain noradrenergic activity in Parkinson's disease had little effect, although the noradrenaline precursor L-threo-DOPS may reduce freezing attacks. 6 Until more specific drug molecules are available the role of brain noradrenergic and 5HT mechanisms in Parkinson's disease remains uncertain.

Brain↗
PubMed1980

A comparative study of borderline patients in a psychiatric outpatient clinic.

The authors applied a list of operational criteria to all new patients in a large psychiatric outpatient department over a one-year period. A randomly selected group of patients clinically diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder was compared with groups with the diagnoses of schizophrenia, neurosis, and nonborderline personality disorder. The group with borderline personality disorder was significantly different from the other groups according to the criteria, especially on items reflecting impulsivity, affectivity, and overvaluation/derogation of others. Impaired reality testing proved a useful distinguishing criterion as well and should be retained as part of the borderline concept.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Evaluation of Problem Oriented Treatment Planning in outpatient psychotherapy.

The paper presents systematic evaluation of a modified problem oriented medical record approach to treatment planning in outpatient psychotherapy. By comparison with a four year period prior to the institution of problem oriented treatment planning (POTP), data from a year in which POTP was used indicated a 50% reduction in patient drop out but no change in clinician rated condition of patients at termination. Findings of the report suggest an optimistic stance on the part of the clinician regarding accomplishment of goals in six weeks when patient and clinician are in agreement as to problem and goal even if the goal entails adjustment to psychological conflict. Contrary to authors' expectations staff acceptance of POTP was good.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1976

The broad role of Ego Functions Assessment.

The need for accurate assessment and accountability is of paramount professional concern to psychiatry. The authors state that ego functions assessment (EFA) is reliable and valid quantitative technique, useful for these purposes in a variety of psychiatric settings. They suggest the various uses of EFA in five such areas: Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSRO) and third-party funding, forensic psychiatry and legal responsibility, the monitoring of psychotherapeutic drugs, research and planning in psychotherapy, and psychological testing. The authors condlude the EFA is a dynamically sophisticated and easily learned form of mental status examination and that its refinement by extensive use and simplification is likely.

Adult↗
PubMed1966

Cyanide intoxication: protection with oxygen.

Prophylactic protection against cyanide intoxication in mice can be enhanced by the administration of oxygen, especially when it is used in combination with the conventional cyanide antidotes, sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate. The LD(50) values were compared in groups of mice premedicated with sodium thiosulfate or sodium nitrite, or both, in air and in oxygen. These results indicate that oxygen alone provides only minimal protection. Although oxygen enhances the protective effect of sodium thiosulfate to a minor degree, it does not enhance the protection of sodium nitrite at all; and yet, it potentiates the effectiveness of a combination of these two antagonists against cyanide intoxication.

Animals↗