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Biomedical subjects

T Pitts

Publications and source records attributed to T Pitts.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Right amygdala volume in adolescent and young adult offspring from families at high risk for developing alcoholism.

BACKGROUND: Neurobiological factors have been implicated in the increased susceptibility for developing alcohol dependence that offspring from alcoholic families exhibit. The P300 component of the event-related potential shows developmental changes during childhood and adolescence that appear to be related to risk status. The underlying structural changes that accompany these neurophysiological changes are not well understood. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure cerebral, amygdala, and hippocampal volumes in 17 high-risk adolescent and young adult offspring from multiplex alcoholism families and 17 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched control subjects without a family history for alcoholism or other substance dependence. Twenty-two of the subjects are part of a longitudinal prospective study and have been followed an average of 7.3 years, making it possible to relate P300 developmental trajectories to structural volumes. RESULTS: High-risk adolescents and young adults showed reduced right amygdala volume in comparison with control subjects. Right amygdala volume was significantly correlated with visual P300 amplitude. CONCLUSIONS: Offspring from families having a high density of alcoholism differ in both neurophysiological and neuroanatomical characteristics that could not be explained by personal drinking history or particular childhood and adolescent psychopathology. Because the amygdala tends to increase in volume during childhood and adolescence, smaller volumes in high-risk children may indicate a developmental delay that parallels delays seen in visual P300 amplitude.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Adolescents and sports: risk or benefit?

In order to begin to compensate for a lack of data on the effects of athletic participation in the development of adolescent mental health patterns, as well as to assess general health of the adolescent population, the Juvenile Wellness and Health Inventory (JWHS-76) was administered to 1,769 high school students. Our results indicate that sports participation is associated with self-reported lower total risk scores, mental and physical health benefits, and an increased risk of injury. This suggests a positive role for organized sports participation in youth populations. Prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of different sports, mounting performance pressure, and transition into collegiate levels of participation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Absence of linkage and linkage disequilibrium to chromosome 15q11-q13 markers in 139 multiplex families with autism.

Chromosomal region 15q11-q13 has been implicated to harbor a susceptibility gene or genes underlying autism. Evidence has been derived from the existence of cytogenetic anomalies in this region associated with autism, and the report of linkage in a modest collection of multiplex families. Most recently, linkage disequilibrium with the marker GABRB3-155CA2 in the candidate locus GABRB3, located in this region, has been reported. We searched for linkage using eight microsatellite markers located in this region of chromosome 15 in 147 affected sib-pairs from 139 multiplex autism families. We also tested for linkage disequilibrium in the same set of families with the same markers. We found no evidence for excess allele sharing (linkage) for the markers in this region. Also, we found no evidence of linkage disequilibrium, including for the locus GABRB3-155CA2. Thus, it appears that the role of this region of chromosome 15 is minor, at best, in the majority of individuals with autism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A genomic screen of autism: evidence for a multilocus etiology.

We have conducted a genome screen of autism, by linkage analysis in an initial set of 90 multiplex sibships, with parents, containing 97 independent affected sib pairs (ASPs), with follow-up in 49 additional multiplex sibships, containing 50 ASPs. In total, 519 markers were genotyped, including 362 for the initial screen, and an additional 157 were genotyped in the follow-up. As a control, we also included in the analysis unaffected sibs, which provided 51 discordant sib pairs (DSPs) for the initial screen and 29 for the follow-up. In the initial phase of the work, we observed increased identity by descent (IBD) in the ASPs (sharing of 51.6%) compared with the DSPs (sharing of 50.8%). The excess sharing in the ASPs could not be attributed to the effect of a small number of loci but, rather, was due to the modest increase in the entire distribution of IBD. These results are most compatible with a model specifying a large number of loci (perhaps >/=15) and are less compatible with models specifying </=10 loci. The largest LOD score obtained in the initial scan was for a marker on chromosome 1p; this region also showed positive sharing in the replication family set, giving a maximum multipoint LOD score of 2.15 for both sets combined. Thus, there may exist a gene of moderate effect in this region. We had only modestly positive or negative linkage evidence in candidate regions identified in other studies. Our results suggest that positional cloning of susceptibility loci by linkage analysis may be a formidable task and that other approaches may be necessary.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The Juvenile Wellness and Health Survey (JWHS-76): a school based screening instrument for general and mental health in high school students.

Existing screening instruments address adolescent health from a pediatric/public health perspective. We developed a school based screening instrument (the JWHS-76) for high schools measuring multiple health related domains from a child psychiatric viewpoint. We studied 1769 students in two suburban high schools (48% girls, mean age 16, predominantly white). Factor analyses revealed five coherent factors: general risk taking, mental health problems, sex related risks, eating and dietary problems, and general health problems. Analyses by gender, age and coping style revealed significant and consistent associations. The JWHS-76 is supported by preliminary evidence as a valid screening instrument in high school.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The illusion of control and the importance of community in health care organizations.

The complexity of our health care environment and organizations requires a management style that moves beyond control to empowerment. Even though this complexity minimizes our ability to control events, many organizations are still preoccupied with the illusion of control. This restrains the performance of our health care organizations. Some of the contributing factors supporting this illusion are bureaucracy, scientific methodology, individualism, and our confusion of management with leadership. The concept of "community" is discussed from an organizational perspective. It is suggested that we can improve the performance of our organizations by rediscovering the values of community.

Health Facility Administration↗
PubMed1978

In vitro permeability studies of peritoneal (P), cuprophan (C), and polycarbonate (PCM) membranes.

A unique dialysis device was developed to allow direct comparison of permeability characteristics of different membranes to various solutes under identical conditions. Studies with Cuprophan (CM), polycaronate (PCM), and peritoneal membrane (P) yielded the following results: 1. PCM is similar to CM in permeability to low molecular weight solutes. 2. PCM is significantly more permeable to middle molecular weight substances than CM or P. 3. P is more permeable to middle molecules than CM.

Animals↗