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Biomedical subjects

P S Ong

Publications and source records attributed to P S Ong.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Late-life depression: current issues and new challenges.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a common psychiatric disorder in older people but tends to be underrecognised and undertreated, leading to impaired functioning, increased morbidity and mortality including suicide, and greater service utilisation. METHODS: A Medline search of journal articles on depression in older people, which highlighted specific and pertinent issues of prevalence, classification, screening instruments, elderly suicide and various treatment modalities, was done. RESULTS: Late-life depression represents a heterogenous group of mood disturbances that may present with atypical features and occur in a complex medical psychosocial context. Appropriate screening and assessment procedures and holistic, multidisciplinary treatment approaches are discussed. Future challenges lie in areas of early detection and intervention, advances in treatment strategies, training and service developments and effective prevention programmes. CONCLUSION: By raising awareness and understanding of depression among primary healthcare and other healthcare practitioners, more depressed elderly with comorbid medical problems can be successfully identified and helped.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Validation and comparison of three brief depression scales in an elderly Chinese population.

The study aimed to establish the diagnostic accuracy of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression (EBAS DEP), and the single question test for depression in our elderly Chinese population, and to determine if any one instrument was to be preferred. Ninety-eight community-living, socially active and non-depressed elderly and 75 patients diagnosed with depression were administered the three depression scales. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were employed to determine the optimal cut-off scores for the GDS and EBAS DEP, and the diagnostic performance of all three instruments were then compared. ROC analysis indicated an optimal cut-off score of 4 and above for the 15-item GDS, with a sensitivity of 84.0% and a specificity of 85.7%, while the EBAS DEP had 77.3% sensitivity and 89.8% specificity at the optimal cut-off score of 3 and above. The sensitivity and specificity of the single question were 64.0% and 94.9%, respectively. The non-parametric test of the areas-under-the-curve showed no significant difference between the diagnostic performances of the GDS and the EBAS DEP; visually, however, the ROC plot of the GDS was superior. The GDS, the EBAS DEP, and the single question were all valid screening tools for depression in the elderly Chinese population. For busy physicians, there is rationale to first use the single-question test, supplemented where necessary with either the GDS or the EBAS DEP, as an efficient diagnostic strategy for identifying depression amongst older Chinese patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

An alternative approach to the management dilemma of the mildly dyskaryotic smear based on audit of outcome.

We describe a study which takes an alternative approach to the management dilemma of the mildly dyskaryotic cervical smear. Two hundred and fifty women with a smear showing mild dyskaryosis were studied by auditing the clinical outcome as well as the cost. The cost of providing the colposcopy services during the index year was approximately pounds sterling 70000 for an average size district general Hospital. The proportion of women managed by the current guidelines and avoiding colposcopy after a first mildly dyskaryotic smear was only 30%. The majority of patients will eventually have colposcopy despite a policy of cytological surveillance. The alternative approach, to offer colposcopy immediately after the first mildly dyskaryotic smear, would result in a small increase in cost for our unit, equivalent to one extra colposcopy patient per week.

Colposcopy↗
PubMed1996

A comparison of endoscopic and capsule small intestinal biopsy techniques in children with upper gastrointestinal disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the adequacy for histological diagnosis and morphometric analysis of small intestinal biopsies obtained by either endoscopic forceps or a capsule technique. METHODOLOGY: Small intestinal biopsies from 176 children were reviewed, 92 obtained by endoscopy and 84 by capsule. RESULTS: The adequacy for making a histological diagnosis was 96 and 81% for endoscopic and capsule biopsies, respectively, and for morphometric analysis it was 86 and 71%. There were more tissue specimens from children who had endoscopic compared with capsule biopsies (2.3 vs 1.8 specimens per patient). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic biopsies provide better specimens for histological diagnosis and endoscopy has the advantage of allowing macroscopic assessment of the upper gastrointestinal tract which can be of value in recognizing unexpected pathology and in identifying patchy mucosal changes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Colonic stricture in a boy with cystic fibrosis.

Many problems may arise within the gastrointestinal tract of patients with cystic fibrosis. We report a new cause of subacute intestinal obstruction due to a fibrotic stricture of the ascending colon in a child with cystic fibrosis. Treatment was with a right hemicolectomy. There has been no recurrence after nine months follow-up. Recent similar cases suggest that this new pathology is linked to the use of enteric-coated high-strength pancreatin microspheres.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1994

A pilot study into the prevalence of ophthalmic disease in the Indian population of Southall.

A pilot study was carried out to determine the prevalence of ophthalmic disease in the Indian community of Southall and to ascertain the best methods applicable for a larger formal study. Three sites were chosen for the study, a Sikh gurdwara, a mosque and a Hindu temple. The subjects were volunteers aged 30 years and over who had visited the appropriate place of worship at least twice in the previous month. A total of 184 subjects were examined. The prevalence of blindness was 2.7% by the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, while 9.8% had uniocular blindness. The prevalence of glaucoma and ocular hypertension was 2.7% and 7%, respectively. Of the 184 subjects examined, 58% had cataract and 3.8% had age-related maculopathy. The prevalence of visually disabling trachomatous eye disease was 9.7%. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 17.9%, and that of hypertension 22.8%. This small study suggests that people with origins from the Indian subcontinent have a higher prevalence of ophthalmic disease than the Caucasian population.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Production, purification and characterization of thermomycolase, the extracellular serine protease of the thermophilic fungus Malbranchea pulchella var. sulfurea.

The thermophilic fungus Malbranchea pulchella produces a single extracellular, alkaline, serine protease when grown at 45 degrees C, on 2% casein as sole carbon source. The growth-associated production of protease in submerged cultures was inhibited by addition of glucose, amino acids, or yeast extract. A simple four-step purification which yields homogeneous protease in 78% yield is described. The protease has an isoelectric point of 6.0, a pH optimum of 8.5, and is completely inhibited by serine protease inhibitors. A specificity study with small synthetic ester substrates indicated that the protease preferentially hydrolyzed bonds situated on the carboxyl side of aromatic or apolar amino acid residues which are not beta-branched, positively charged or of the D configuration. Peptidase substrates and others such as N-acetyl-L-tyrosine-ethyl ester were not hydrolyzed. The protease was stable over a broad range of pH (6.5-9.5 at 30 degrees C, 20 h), and was particularly thermostable (t1/2 = 110 min at 73 degrees C, pH 7.4) in the presence of Ca2+ (10 mM). Macromolecules and Ca2+ also provide protection against the significant autolysis which occurs at pure protease concentrations greater than 0.01 mg/mo, as well as against surface denaturation which is enhanced by the presence of a silicone antifoam agent. Hence the stability of protease in submerged cultures is rationalized.

Calcium↗
PubMed1976

A syndrome manifested by brittle hair with morphologic and biochemical abnormalities, developmental delay and normal stature.

We have presented 2 affected sibs-a male and female-with unaffected parents and sib from a small remote northern Mexican village. The syndrome includes mental deficit, brittle hair with decreased cuticular layer and an apparently collapsed cortex. The patients' hair contains decreased sulfur content and increased concentrations of trace elements as determined by x-ray fluorescent spectroscopy. Studies are underway to evaluate other apparently similarly affected children from the village where our family originated.

Body Height↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Line-focusing x-ray monochromator for the analysis of trace elements in biological specimens.

A line-focusing x-ray monochromator has been designed and developed to be used with an energy dispersive detection system for the quantitative analysis of trace elements in biological specimens. This instrument uses a cylindrically curved Johansson-type crystal to monochromatize and focus the excitation radiation into a line 0.5 mm wide and 40 mm long. The excitation radiation chosen for these experiments was Mo Kalpha and the total intensity of the line-focused beam was estimated to be 2 X 10(7) cps. Because of the narrow width and high power density of the excitation between beam, small tissue specimens 1 X 1 X 12 mm in size along with a single strand of hair were analyzed for trace elements from Al through Sr. For the transition elements, concentrations of a few parts per million were easily detected with this analyzer.

Hair↗