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Biomedical subjects

Y Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to Y Gordon.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Declarative and nondeclarative sequence learning tasks: closed-head injured patients versus control participants.

Patients who sustained closed-head injury (CHI) have been shown to have impaired memory for temporal order when measured under intentional, but not incidental, retrieval conditions. A group of 26 patients who sustained CHI and a matched control group of 26 individuals were tested on a declarative sequence learning task--"Chain Making" (CM), and a nondeclarative sequence learning task--Tower of Hanoi puzzle (TOHP). The TOHP is a problem solving task that requires planning and a strategic approach. The latter are cognitive processes known to be impaired following frontal lobe damage, as has been frequently documented in CHI patients. The goal of the present study was to test whether CHI patients' nondeclarative learning as measured by the TOHP task is preserved, as seen in amnesic patients, or impaired, as would be predicted following frontal lobe damage. Half of the participants in each group underwent active training, and the other half went through passive training of the tasks. The results demonstrate that the control group outperformed the CHI group (in most measures) in both declarative and nondeclarative sequence learning tasks. The effect of type of training differed for the two tasks: while performance of the control group on the TOHP was better under passive training (CHI patients did not improve on either one of the training modes), performance on the CM task was better under active training for both groups. The results are discussed in light of the role of the frontal lobes in memory generally, and in sequence learning particularly.

Adolescent↗

Current awareness in prenatal diagnosis.

In order to keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, John Wiley & Sons are providing a current awareness service in each issue of the journal. The bibliography contains newly published material in the field of prenatal diagnosis. Each bibliography is divided into 17 sections: 1 Books, Reviews & Symposia; 2 General Interest; 3 Normal Fetal Development; 4 Gametogenesis and Pre-implantation Diagnosis; 5 First Trimester Diagnosis; 6 Second Trimester Diagnosis; 7 Fetal Diagnosis by Ultrasound and Other Imaging; 8 Maternal Screening; 9 Screening for Carriers of Genetic Abnormality; 10 Technological Developments; 11 Confined Placental Mosaicism and Uniparental Disomy; 12 Molecular Cytogenetics; 13 Fetal Cells in Maternal Circulation; 14 Fetal Therapy; 15 Psychosocial Aspects; 16 Epidemiology and Environmental Factors; 17 Developmental Pathology. Within each section, articles are listed in alphabetical order with respect to author. If, in the preceding period, no publications are located relevant to any one of these headings, that section will be omitted.

Prenatal Diagnosis↗

Parent-child agreement on symptoms assessed via a clinical research interview for children: the Child Assessment Schedule (CAS).

This study examined the relationship between symptom type and parent-child agreement, as reflected in symptom scores on a structured diagnostic interview, the Child Assessment Schedule (CAS). Forty-eight psychiatric inpatients (mean age 10 years) were administered the CAS. Their mothers were interviewed independently with the parent form. The average time between interviews was 12 days. High parent-child agreement was found for conduct/behavioral problems and moderate agreement for affective symptoms. Parents reported more conduct-related problems; children reported more anxiety and somatic symptoms and more family problems. The pattern of parent-child differences was the same as observed for other interviews.

Adolescent↗

Benign migratory stomatitis: a literature review and case report.

Although benign migratory stomatitis (BMS) was first reported in the literature as early as 1955 (Cooke), fewer than 40 cases have been recorded. This article reviews the literature and describes a case of BMS involving the ventral surface of the tongue of a 74-year-old male. This is the first South African case to be reported.

Aged↗

7S IgM in the sera of patients with arthritis.

Using radial immunodiffusion in 7% agarose, 7S IgM was quantified in the sera of 45 normal individuals, 37 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 18 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 11 patients with ankylosing spondylitis. 7S IgM was only found in the sera of patients with RA, 43% of whom had detectable levels of 7S IgM (median 47.5 micrograms/ml). The patients with 7S IgM had significantly higher IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM RF) and C-reactive protein levels in their sera (p less than 0.005). There was a strong correlation between 7S IgM and IgM RF levels in the sera of these patients. These data demonstrate that patients with more active and severe disease have 7S IgM present in their sera but the absence of 7S IgM from the sera of some patients with high levels of IgM RF and CRP suggest that additional factors may influence the synthesis and secretion of 7S IgM by B cells in RA.

Arthritis↗

Synovial fluid mononuclear cells exhibit a spontaneous HLA-DR driven proliferative response.

We have tested the hypothesis that the spontaneous proliferation of synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMC) observed during in vitro culture is due to a mechanism analogous to the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR). Thus by observing the effect of addition of cyclosporin A, monoclonal anti-HLA-DR antibody, and recombinant interleukin 2 (rIL-2) on the spontaneous proliferation of SFMC from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a wide range of seronegative spondyloarthritides (SN), we have demonstrated that this phenomenon is: (i) a T cell response, (ii) inhibited by the addition of cyclosporin A or monoclonal anti-HLA-DR antibody, (iii) enhanced by the addition of rIL-2 and (iv) the rIL-2 enhancement of the spontaneous proliferation is inhibited by a monoclonal anti-HLA-DR antibody. These observations suggest that the spontaneous proliferation of SFMC is at least in part an HLA-DR driven, IL-2 dependent event analogous to the AMLR, and support the concept derived from immunohistological studies of an important role for an antigen-presenting cell/T cell interaction occurring in the synovial membrane in inflammatory joint diseases such as RA.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

Prevalence of dental caries, patterns of sugar consumption and oral hygiene practices in infancy in S. Africa.

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases of man and is the major cause of tooth mortality in the young. Although the precise aetiology of the disease is unknown, scientific evidence incriminates the interaction of three factors, viz. diet, plaque and the tooth. Several studies demonstrate a positive correlation between patterns of sugar consumption and caries experience. In contrast other studies showed no such association. This study investigated the frequency of sugar consumption habits, the mother's knowledge of oral hygiene as well as the oral hygiene methods she applies to her child and the prevalence of dental caries in infants between 1-2 yr of age. A representative sample of 100 mothers and infants from 10 child health clinics were interviewed. The results show that: mothers have a limited knowledge about oral hygiene and oral hygiene practices; infant sugar consumption habits seem to be influenced by the mother's sugar consumption habits; infants are introduced to sucrose containing food and drinks at the time of the eruption of the first tooth; the mean dmft(t) value in this group of infants was 2.37.

Dental Caries↗

Is there more than one signal for an acute phase response?

Prealbumin was shown to be a sensitive indicator of disease activity in a prospective study of 21 patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who were treated with 3 intravenous pulses of methylprednisolone and its concentration was found to change at a different rate to C-reactive protein (CRP). In those diseases in which CRP concentration rises with active disease, i.e., rheumatoid arthritis, AS and Crohn's disease, prealbumin fell, but in those diseases in which CRP rises only slightly, i.e., systemic lupus erythematosus, progressive systemic sclerosis and ulcerative colitis, there was nevertheless a fall in serum prealbumin, indicating that there was an acute phase response occurring. Fever, arthritis and infection were the only disease manifestations that were associated with an elevated CRP in both groups of diseases. There is therefore more than one signal for an acute phase response depending on the nature of the disease pathology.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

A low thymidine kinase-producing mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 causes latent trigeminal ganglia infections in mice.

The wild type NIH strain of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has a mixed plaque morphology of both large and small plaques. From this virus we selected a large plaque isolate that was a high producer of thymidine kinase (TK) activity (designated TK+) and a small plaque isolate that produced 25 per cent of the TK activity of the large plaque mutant (designated TK 1/4). A TK- mutant of the large plaque virus was obtained after passage of the virus in the presence of BUdR. The pathogenicity of the TK 1/4 virus strain in relation to the TK+ and TK- strains was investigated in mice after inoculation of the virus into the eyes by corneal scarification. The TK+ strain was highly pathogenic, caused encephalitis and killed most of the mice, whereas the TK- strain did not cause latent infections in the trigeminal ganglia or kill the mice. The TK 1/4 virus strain replicated in the eyes within 24 hours after inoculation and entered the trigeminal ganglia, establishing a latent infection in almost all of the mice. By increasing the infectious dose tenfold, the TK 1/4 virus caused an active infection in the trigeminal ganglia (ganglionitis), migrated to the brain, and killed the mice. The results indicate that not only is a low level of TK required to establish latent infections in mice, but also the degree of virulence is determined by the amount of TK produced by the infecting virus.

Animals↗