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Biomedical subjects

R C Duncan

Publications and source records attributed to R C Duncan.

95 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
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Evaluation of kinetic therapy in the prevention of complications of prolonged bed rest secondary to stroke.

We performed a prospective, controlled study of kinetic therapy in acute, severe stroke. This therapy involved continuous mobilization of a bedridden patient by means of a specially designed rotating bed. All patients with acute stroke presenting to the Neurology Service over an 18-month period were screened, and those that qualified were assigned to confinement in either a routine hospital bed or a rotating bed. We found that the most common complication of stroke with bed confinement of 4 days or longer was bacterial infection consisting of either pneumonia, sepsis, or urinary tract infection. The two variables found to be of greatest significance in affecting the rate of infection were length of bed confinement, especially for greater than 13 days (2.3-fold increased risk, p less than 0.04), and placement in a routine hospital bed (2.9-fold increased risk, p = 0.023).

Bed Rest↗
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Immunologic parameters in Down's syndrome.

Down's syndrome children are known to have increased susceptibility to respiratory infections. Quantitative or qualitative differences in the various components of the immune system could account for increased susceptibility to infection involving the upper respiratory tract. In an effort to establish certain normal values and to determine if humoral immune abnormalities are associated with the chromosomal anomalies of Down's syndrome, immunoglobulin levels, certain complement component levels, viral antibodies, hepatitis B surface antigen and milk precipitins from a population of inpatients and outpatients were compared with those of age, sex and race matched control populations. It does not appear that the upper respiratory infections are associated with abnormally low levels of immunoglobulins or complement, with the possible exception of IgM. Both the inpatient and outpatient Down's syndrome populations had decreased levels of IgM, indicating a possible relationship with the syndrome itself. In addition, the symptomatology does not seem to be due to IgE mediated atopic sensitivity. Hepatitis B surface antigen was found only in institutionalized Down's syndrome patients, but it did not seem to be related to the other immune components studied.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MIF-like activity in non-stimulated and virus infected cell cultures.

Macrophage-migration inhibition factor (MIF) is a lymphocyte-derived substance which plays an important role in cell mediated immunity. Soluble factors containing MIF-like activity and produced by non-stimulated and virus-infected non-lymphoid cell cultures have also been reported. In the present study, a MIF-like factor was repeatedly detected in Buffalo green monkey kidney cells infected with mumps and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) indicating that this substance is reproducible and can be stimulated by two viruses of widely varying groups. Wistar-38 (WI-38) cell cultures also increased production of this substance in response to mumps but not HSV-1 infection, indicating that the production of this factor is not necessarily induced by all viruses. A factor which stimulated the spread of macrophages was also found to be induced in WI-38 cells by both viruses, suggesting yet another substance produced by non-lymphoid cells in response to viral infection. The ability of non-stimulated WI-38 cells to produce MIF-like activity was also confirmed, and this factor could be further stimulated or opposed by viral infection.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prenatal fluoride tablet supplementation and improved molar occlusal morphology: part V.

This article is a report of an in vivo clinical study in which the relationship of sodium fluoride supplementation during pregnancy to the improved occlusal morphology of molar teeth seen in an animal model was determined. Two hundred randomly selected children composed the study population. The mothers of 100 of them had been on the prenatal supplementation (PNF) regimen and 100 whose mothers were not were found to have statistically significant differences in their occlusal molar morphology. Ninety-eight percent of the PNF children have a smooth, naturally sealed appearance to the occlusal surfaces of their primary molars and permanent first molars. The authors conclude that pitted and fissured molars are produced as a result of fluoride deficiency during the secretory phase of crown formation.

Child↗