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Biomedical subjects

A A Wilson

Publications and source records attributed to A A Wilson.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Practice characteristics of women dentists.

The literature on practice characteristics of women dentists is discussed to identify the information available on how women practice dentistry. Few reports have been published that describe or analyze such data. Of the available studies, few are national in scope and even fewer compare male and female age-matched graduation cohorts. With the increase in the number of women dentists, human resource planning and analyses and design of educational curricula will require improved knowledge of the practice characteristics of men and women dentists.

Dentists, Women↗

Simplified detection system for neuroreceptor studies in the human brain.

A simple, inexpensive dual-detector system has been developed for measurement of positronemitting receptor-binding drugs in the human brain. This high efficiency coincidence counting system requires that only a few hundred microcuries of labeled drug be administered to the subject, thereby allowing for multiple studies without an excessive radiation dose. Measurement of the binding of [11C]carfentanil, a high affinity synthetic opiate, to opiate receptors in the presence and in the absence of a competitive opiate antagonist indicates the potential utility of this system for estimating different degrees of receptor occupation in the human brain.

Binding, Competitive↗

Factors affecting dental utilization of elders aged 75 years or older.

Data collected from 496 elders aged 75 years or older participating in the Massachusetts Health Care Panel Study were analyzed by means of multiple regression to determine the principal predictors of perceived need for care and of dental users. The relationship between perceived need and use of services also was examined. The significant variables influencing perceived need in elders were poorer self-perceived oral health, having some teeth, and reporting a dental visit within two years. Dental users were best predicted by dentate status, a history of alcohol consumption, and perceived need for care. Although the variables of perceived need and being a user each influenced the other, both were more influenced by a common significant predictor variable, dentate status.

Aged↗

Radiosynthesis of an opiate receptor binding radiotracer: [11C]carfentanil.

Carfentanil, a potent opiate receptor agonist, was labeled with 11C for in vivo studies using positron emission tomography. This synthesis was completed in approximately 30 min using iodomethane as the 11C precursor. The synthesis, purification, characterization, and determination of specific activity are presented and discussed.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗

Effects of age on dopamine and serotonin receptors measured by positron tomography in the living human brain.

D2 dopamine and S2 serotonin receptors were imaged and measured in healthy human subjects by positron emission tomography after intravenous injection of 11C-labeled 3-N-methylspiperone. Levels of receptor in the caudate nucleus, putamen, and frontal cerebral cortex declined over the age span studied (19 to 73 years). The decline in D2 receptor in males was different from that in females.

Aging↗

A multicentre comparison of piroxicam and indomethacin in acute soft tissue sports injuries.

One hundred and five patients suffering from sport-associated soft tissue injuries were included in a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy and side-effects of piroxicam and indomethacin. Patients were treated for 7 days. Both groups showed a similar degree of improvement in joint tenderness, swelling and pain. Eighty-eight per cent of patients on piroxicam showed a marked or moderate improvement in their injury at the end of the trial and 79% of indomethacin-treated patients. Approximately 50% of patients in both groups resumed full activity within 7 days. One patient, in the indomethacin group, was withdrawn from treatment due to a side-effect.

Athletic Injuries↗

Identification of a component of crystalline egg albumin bactericidal for thermophilic aerobic sporeformers.

During an investigation of the effect of basic and acidic proteins on the growth of thermophilic aerobic sporeformers, crystalline egg albumin was found to be strongly bactericidal. This finding was uncharacteristic of acidic proteins. The bactericidal fraction was heat sensitive and separated from the non-bactericidal albumin fraction during gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. Cells of Micrococcus lysodeikticus and Bacillus stearothermophilus were lysed rapidly by the bactericidal component, leading to its tentative identification as lysozyme. The bactericidal substance possessed an electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide gel containing sodium dodecyl sulfate identical to that of crystalline egg white lysozyme. Users of crystalline egg albumin are cautioned that commerical preparations may be contaminated with lysozyme. Destruction of the thermophilic aerobes by lysozyme should be considered when performing counts on egg products.

Aerobiosis↗

Two-phase [11C]L-methionine PET in childhood brain tumors.

Thirteen children (1.8-15.8 years of age) with brain tumors were studied with [11C]L-methionine positron emission tomography (METPET). Patients were injected intravenously with tracer before a baseline PET scan was obtained. To assess the sensitivity of [11C]L-methionine uptake to competitive inhibition, 10 patients received oral L-phenylalanine (100 mg/kg); 1 hour later, a second METPET was obtained. Subjective assessment of [11C]L-methionine uptake closely paralleled results of quantitative examination (r = 0.81). [11C]L-methionine uptake in tumor-containing brain was increased in 11 patients (mean ratio of [11C] radioactivity in tumor to normal brain: 1.5 +/- 0.57; range: 1.13-2.98). Increased tracer uptake occurred in ependymomas (3), medulloblastoma (1), and astrocytomas (5), but was less intense in low-grade tumors. L-phenylalanine reduced L-methionine uptake (25-69%) in 70% of studies. L-methionine uptake was not sensitive to competitive inhibition in brain radiation injury. Two-phase METPET is of potential value in difficult clinical situations evident in children with brain tumors, including the differential diagnosis of tumor recurrence and cerebral radiation injury.

Adolescent↗

Imaging opiate receptors in the human brain by positron tomography.

Carfentanil is a potent, synthetic opiate that binds to mu opiate receptors with very high affinity (KI = 0.051 nM, 37 degrees C). In rat brain, carfentanil is 90 and 250 times more selective for mu opiate receptors compared with delta and kappa opiate receptors, respectively. Carbon-11-carfentanil was synthesized by reacting [11C]methyliodide with the carboxylic acid precursor of carfentanil. Carbon-11-carfentanil was injected intravenously in man and a baboon and the distribution of the radioactivity in the brain was monitored using positron emission tomography. High concentrations of radioactivity were observed in the basal ganglia and thalamus, intermediate concentrations in the frontal and parietal cerebral cortex, and low concentrations in the cerebellum and occipital cortex; this distribution corresponds to the known regional density of opiate receptors measured using in vitro techniques. This heterogeneous distribution could be abolished by pretreatment with naloxone (1 mg/kg), an opiate antagonist. The percent inhibition of binding by naloxone is approximately 90% in the caudate nucleus and medial thalamus for the period 30-60 min after injection; therefore, this method is associated with a high level of specific binding to opiate receptors compared with nonspecific binding sites. The ability to measure opiate receptors in vivo in man makes it possible to study a variety of neurologic and psychiatric disorders in which opiate receptors are thought to be abnormal and to study physiologic role of opiate receptors in the central nervous system.

Animals↗

Normative treatment guidelines in home care: building the case.

To effectively market programs and maximize resources under a prospective payment system, home healthcare agencies need to look closely at standardizing treatment practices by using normative treatment guidelines as a mechanism to link patient outcomes to the care provided, which can improve quality without increasing costs. This article discusses the issues, methods, and processes used to test treatment guidelines and strategies to improve existing guidelines through evidence-based research.

Disease Management↗