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Biomedical subjects

V J Kattapong

Publications and source records attributed to V J Kattapong.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of vascular- and Alzheimer-type dementia.

OBJECTIVE: To identify biochemical differences in brain tissue between patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and vascular dementia. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to compare 10 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and 8 age-matched patients with vascular dementia. RESULTS: The ratios of N-acetyl groups to creatine and N-acetyl groups to choline were lower in regions of subcortical white matter in patients with vascular dementia than in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (P < .02). CONCLUSION: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy may be useful in distinguishing between dementia of the Alzheimer type and vascular dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Stroke risk factor knowledge in university students.

Cerebrovascular disease is the third leading cause of mortality in this country and is a leading cause of disability. To develop successful prevention programs to decrease the incidence of stroke, individuals should adopt cerebrovascular-healthy behaviors during youth, rather than in middle or old age, when risks for stroke are highest. The authors assessed the knowledge of stroke risk factors in university students presenting to a student health neurology clinic over a 14-month period. Half of the 98 students surveyed thought stress, a very weak risk factor, was a causative factor in the development of stroke. Only one third named hypertension or smoking as a risk factor. No significant gender, ethnic, or age differences were observed in student identification of stroke risk factors. These data indicate that university students have an incomplete understanding of the characteristics that are risk factors for stroke. This knowledge deficit is likely to have a negative influence on students' health behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Familial cerebral cavernous angiomas: clinical and radiologic studies.

Cavernous angiomas are well-circumscribed cerebrovascular malformations whose natural history is poorly understood. We reviewed 5,000 cranial MRI reports of studies performed between 1986 and 1993 and retrospectively evaluated the histories and imaging studies of 29 patients whose lesions were suggestive of cavernous angiomas. Patients ranged from 3 to 66 years and 27 were of Hispanic origin. The number of malformations per patient ranged from one to 30, and 24 patients had more than one lesion. In our series, the number of lesions per patient increased at a rate of one lesion per decade of age, but the mean size of the lesions was smaller with advancing decade (p < 0.05). All patients had MRI evidence of old or recent hemorrhage confined only to the malformation and adjacent brain. In only one patient was it deemed necessary to remove the malformation. Two excluded patients with typical lesions on MRI had small arteriovenous malformations found at surgery. Thus, MRI or CT cannot identify cavernous angiomas with certainty. This study supports studies that propose that cavernous angioma-like lesions, as identified by MRI or CT, are more common in Hispanics. It is possible that patients may not be born with MRI-identifiable malformations, but with advancing age the malformations become MRI-visible through malformation growth, hemorrhage, or both. The declining size by decade favors hemorrhage rather than growth. Cavernous angiomas may be more benign than previously thought.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Ethnic differences in mortality from cerebrovascular disease among New Mexico's Hispanics, Native Americans, and non-Hispanic whites, 1958 through 1987.

We analyzed vital statistics data collected from 1958 through 1987 to determine time trends and ethnic differences in cerebrovascular disease mortality rates in New Mexico's Hispanic, Native American, and non-Hispanic white populations. Over the 30-year period of our study, cerebrovascular disease mortality rates decreased in all three major ethnic groups in the state, comparable to national trends. We found that Native Americans of both sexes had the lowest cerebrovascular disease mortality rates, followed by Hispanics, during the initial 25-year span of our data. In the most recent 5-year period that we examined, 1983 through 1987, Hispanics had the highest cerebrovascular disease mortality rates of the three groups. Our data suggest that Hispanics in New Mexico are now at higher risk for cerebrovascular disease-related mortality than are non-Hispanic whites, and that prevention strategies aimed at decreasing cerebrovascular disease rates should be focused on this segment of the state's population.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stroke risk factor knowledge in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in New Mexico: implications for targeted prevention strategies.

Hispanic women in New Mexico have recently experienced an increase in age-adjusted mortality compared with non-Hispanic white women. Since patients' knowledge of stroke risk factors may affect risk factor control, the present study was undertaken to characterize stroke risk factor understanding in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in New Mexico. We administered a stroke risk factor knowledge survey to 215 women hospitalized in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Patients were classified by each of three dichotomous groupings: stroke or nonstroke diagnosis; Hispanic or non-Hispanic white ethnicity; history of cardiovascular risk factors. The frequency of specific item responses was determined for each patient grouping. Two-way analysis of variance was used to determine whether composite knowledge score differed among patient groups. Stress was the attribute most commonly thought to be a risk factor for stroke. Although no ethnic differences were found on composite knowledge score, Hispanic women were significantly less likely to report hypertension as a stroke risk factor than non-Hispanic white women. We suggest that stroke risk factor understanding in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in New Mexico is inadequate. Insufficient understanding of the consequences of hypertension, including stroke, may diminish the degree of hypertension control that patients achieve. Further study of the relationship between stroke risk factor understanding and health behavior could enhance prevention efforts.

Aged↗