Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Leonard

Publications and source records attributed to B Leonard.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Audit: women's perception and knowledge of the 20 weeks anomaly scan.

We surveyed 385 women attending two maternity units for an anomaly scan at 20 weeks' gestation. Ninety-five per cent of the women thought that the purpose of the anomaly scan was to check for structural abnormalities in the fetus, indicating good knowledge. Most women thought the anomaly scan would pick up spinal, limb and kidney abnormalities. There was high expectation of what structural abnormalities the anomaly scan could pick up; 22% and 51% of the women thought the scan would pick up 61-70% and 71-100% of the structural abnormalities, respectively. Only 8% of the women thought, realistically, that the anomaly scan would pick up 50% of the abnormalities. The women's knowledge of soft markers was poor; 92% of them never heard of it. The main source of information about the anomaly scan was the hospital.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The role of noradrenaline and selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibition in depression.

Depression is a common disorder that impacts on all aspects of a person's life. For the past 10 years, clinicians have focused on serotonin in their treatment of depression. This is largely due to the growing acceptance of the efficacy and safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in comparison with older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). However, evidence for a role of noradrenaline in depression has been accumulating for some time, beginning with the discovery that drugs which either caused or alleviated depression acted to alter noradrenaline metabolism. Until recently, the role of noradrenaline in depression was predicted from clinical experience with noradrenergic TCAs (desipramine, nortriptyline and protriptyline) and selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine, milnacipran). The licensing of reboxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor now allows the role of noradrenaline in depression to be investigated directly. This review presents key data from the literature that support a role for noradrenaline in depression taking into account neurophysiology, psychopharmacology and clinical trial data.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗
PubMed2002

Immunological research in clinical psychiatry: report on the consensus debate during the 7th Expert Meeting on Psychiatry and Immunology.

There is convincing evidence that cytokines are involved in the physiology and pathophysiology of brain function and interact with different neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine pathways. The possible involvement of the immune system in the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie psychiatric disorders has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Thus in the last decade, numerous clinical studies have demonstrated dysregulated immune functions in patients with psychiatric disorders. Such findings formed the basis of the 7th Expert Meeting on Psychiatry and Immunology in Muenster, Germany, where a consensus symposium was held to consider the strengths and weaknesses of current research in psychoneuroimmunology. Following a general overview of the field, the following topics were discussed: (1) methodological problems in laboratory procedures and recruitment of clinical samples; (2) the importance of pre-clinical research and animal models in psychiatric research; (3) the problem of statistical vs biological relevance. It was concluded that, despite a fruitful proliferation of research activities throughout the last decade, the continuous elaboration of methodological standards including the implementation of hypothesis-driven research represents a task that is likely to prove crucial for the future development of immunology research in clinical psychiatry.

Allergy and Immunology↗
PubMed2001

Pulmonary rehabilitation after acute COPD exacerbation.

Acute COPD exacerbation provides a window of opportunity for providing teaching, supportive care, and rehabilitation to a group of patients at high risk for complications and re-admissions. This article has attempted to make a case for the unique needs of this group of patients. Treatment of exacerbation is often viewed as "routine" by hospital staff and generally has focused upon the pharmacologic regimen of oxygen therapy, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and steroids. Within a few days, the patient is usually less dyspneic and is discharged with a combination of MDIs and a plan for steroid taper. All too often, the patient returns home with no idea of how to regain lost function or prevent future exacerbations. The use of the MAC provides a more complete picture of the unique needs and capabilities of COPD patients and brings together the collective expertise of the entire health team in designing a plan of rehabilitative care. Planned monitoring of the patient after discharge is an integral component to the success of the rehabilitation approach and the ability of the patient and family to move toward self-management of this chronic disease. Transitional care programs, community nurse referrals, telephone contacts, and outpatient visits are all appropriate methods for providing the type of support required to sustain rehabilitation. Traditionally, nurse researchers have examined psychosocial and functional performance outcomes of rehabilitation, however, nurses are in an ideal position to explore the methods of rehabilitation that yield the most positive outcomes over time and are sustainable over the course of the disease. Nursing can and should assume a leadership role in such initiatives.

Exercise Therapy↗
PubMed2000

Stress, depression and the activation of the immune system.

Both stress and depression have been associated with impaired immune function and increased susceptibility of the patient to infectious diseases and cancer. While it was initially thought that the hypercorticosolaemia caused a suppression of immune function, it is now apparent that adaptive changes result from chronic stress and depression that lead to a hypoactivity of the glucocorticoid receptors on immune cells and in limbic regions of the brain. Thus depression is now thought to be associated with activation of some aspects of cellular immunity resulting in the hypersecretion of proinflammatory cytokines and the hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. There is also experimental evidence to show that such immune activation induces "stress-like" behavioural and neurochemical changes in rodents which supports the hypothesis that the hypersecretion of proinflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathology of depression. This review attempts to show how the immune, endocrine and neurotransmitter systems are integrated and how the result of such integration may be causally involved in the aetiology of depression.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1999

Youth ice hockey tournament injuries: rates and patterns compared to season play.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively document the incidence of game injury rates in youth ice hockey tournaments to compare with season-long game injury rates and to analyze the injuries occurring at tournaments by mechanism, type, body location, severity, player position, and period of play. DESIGN: A prospective injury report form completed for injured players by the tournament athletic trainer. SETTING: Four boys' tournaments and one girls' tournament during the 1993-94 season. PARTICIPANTS: 807 boys and girls, ages 9-19. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: 60 injuries occurred in boys and 4 occurred in girls. There were 26 boys with significant injuries and no girls with significant injuries. The significant game injury rates per 1000 player hours were 50.9 for boys combined, 57.9 for boys' Peewee A, 42.7 for boys' Bantam A, 64.8 for boys' varsity high school, 44.8 for boys' Junior Gold, and 0 for girls' Peewee A and B. Cerebral concussion comprised 15% of boys' injuries. CONCLUSIONS: The significant injury rate for boys' tournament game play was 4-6 times higher than the season game injury rates in two previous season-long studies. In boys' games, 65% of "all" injuries and 77% of "significant" injuries were related to collisions. The girls' rules of play do not allow body checking, and there were no significant injuries in girls' games. The boys had high rates of cerebral concussion injury at all age levels. Minimizing the frequency and intensity of collisions in the boys' game may decrease the injury rates, especially in the tournament setting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Using "stages of behavioral change" constructs to measure the short-term effects of a worksite-based intervention to increase moderate physical activity.

We evaluated a three-level incentive program to promote regular, moderate physical activity among employees working in a federal agency. The objective was to assess the short-term effects of the intervention by examining the stages people go through as they attempt to make permanent changes in physical activity. Indicators of the process by which changes in physical activity take place were based on a modified version of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior. A one-group pretest/posttest design was used to ascertain which of the stages the 1,192 participants were in both before and after the intervention. Analysis indicated that, of the 1,192 participants, 6.5% regressed one or more stages, 30.3% did not regress or progress from one stage to another, 27.7% remained in the maintenance stage, and 35.4% progressed one (21.1%) or more (14.3%) stages during the 50-day intervention. Among those who progressed, the most common change was from preparation to late preparation (20.8%) and from late preparation to action (19.4%). Findings reinforce the notion that the stages of change concept can serve as indicators of the change process which in turn, can be used as evidence of the short-term effectiveness of interventions. Findings also indicate this type of intervention holds promise for increasing physical activity among willing participants of a worksite population.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1997

Six patients with oral-facial-digital syndrome IV: the case for heterogeneity.

The oral-facial-digital syndromes (OFDS) have in common minor facial and oral anomalies (including tongue lobulation and/ or hamartomas, accessory frenula, and alveolar anomalies) and variable digital defects such as polydactyly. The classification based on the presence of additional findings [Toriello, 1988, 1993] is not perfect, as many reported examples of a particular OFDS have some other condition. Here we describe six children, all diagnosed as having OFDS IV (OFDS with tibial defects), whose manifestations illustrate the apparent genetic heterogeneity.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1997

Comparing scores on spatial-perception tests for intercollegiate athletes and nonathletes.

Many researchers believe that the amount of testosterone in the blood is directly associated with visuospatial perception. If this is the case, men and women who participate in intercollegiate athletics (and have high androgen levels) should show significantly better spatial ability than nonathletes. Two paper-and-pencil tests to measure spatial ability were given to 200 men and women on university sport teams. Men's scores, compared to national norms, were significantly lower than those in the national sample but no difference was found between the women athletes and the national sample or between the male and female athletes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Fair-play rules and injury reduction in ice hockey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate, type, and severity of injuries incurred and penalties assessed during the qualifying fair-play (points for playing without excessive penalties) and championship "regular" rules (winner advances) portions of a 1994 Junior Gold ice hockey tournament. DESIGN: A prospective evaluation of injuries by certified athletic trainers at the tournament site. SETTING: A community-organized, 3-day, 31-game tournament in Minnesota. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred seventy-three male players, younger than 20 years and in high school. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: Injuries were recorded by an on-site certified athletic trainer, and the penalties were tallied from the score sheets. The injury rates for the total number of injuries were 26.4 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures and 273.8 injuries per 1000 player hours. When only notable injuries (concussion, facial laceration, or moderate level of severity and above) were considered, the injury rates were 10 per 1000 athlete exposures and 103.9 per 1000 player hours. The ratio of notable fair-play to notable regular-rules injuries was 1:4.8. The number of penalties assessed per game averaged 7.1 penalties during fair-play rules and 13 penalties during the regular-rules competition. Penalties related to rough play and injury occurred four times more frequently during games with regular rules than those with fair-play rules. CONCLUSIONS: The fair-play concept can reduce injury rates, penalty rates, and severity of penalties and should be considered for ice hockey at all levels of play. The fair-play concept could be applied to other contact sports to reduce injury rates and rules infractions.

Athletic Injuries↗
PubMed1995

Effects of cooperative learning groups during social studies for students with autism and fourth-grade peers.

We investigated the use of cooperative learning groups as an instructional strategy for integrating 2 students with autism into a fourth-grade social studies class. Baseline consisted of 40 min of teacher-led sessions including lecture, questions and discussion with students, and the use of maps. The intervention condition consisted of 10 min of teacher introduction of new material, followed by cooperative learning groups that included tutoring on key words and facts, a team activity, and a whole class wrap-up and review. An ABAB design showed increases for target students and peers for the number of items gained on weekly pretests and posttests, the percentage of academic engagement during sessions, and durations of student interaction during the intervention.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1995

Interactions between location and task affect the spatial and directional firing of hippocampal neurons.

When rats forage for randomly dispersed food in a high walled cylinder the firing of their hippocampal "place" cells exhibits little dependence on the direction faced by the rat. On radial arm mazes and similar tasks, place cells are strongly directionally selective within their fields. These tasks differ in several respects, including the visual environment, configuration of the traversable space, motor behavior (e.g., linear and angular velocities), and behavioral context (e.g., presence of specific, consistent goal locations within the environment). The contributions of these factors to spatial and directional tuning of hippocampal neurons was systematically examined in rats performing several tasks in either an enriched or a sparse visual environment, and on different apparati. Place fields were more spatially and directionally selective on a radial maze than on an open, circular platform, regardless of the visual environment. On the platform, fields were more directional when the rat searched for food at fixed locations, in a stereotypic and directed manner, than when the food was scattered randomly. Thus, it seems that place fields are more directional when the animal is planning or following a route between points of special significance. This might be related to the spatial focus of the rat's attention (e.g., a particular reference point). Changing the behavioral task was also accompanied by a change in firing location in about one-third of the cells. Thus, hippocampal neuronal activity appears to encode a complex interaction between locations, their significance and the behaviors the rat is called upon to execute.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

NG-Nitro-L-arginine protects against ischaemia-induced increases in nitric oxide and hippocampal neuro-degeneration in the gerbil.

To assess the effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-Nitro-L-arginine on behavioural, biochemical and histological changes following global ischaemia, the Mongolian gerbil was used. Ischaemia was induced by bilateral carotid occlusion for 5 min. NG-Nitro-L-arginine was administered i.p. at either 1 or 10 mg/kg 30 min, 6, 24, and 48 h after surgery. 5 min bilateral carotid occluded animals were hyperactive 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery. NG-Nitro-L-arginine caused some attenuation in this hyperactivity. The activity of nitric oxide synthase was increased in the cerebellum, brain stem, striatum, cerebral cortex and hippocampus of 5 min bilateral carotid occluded animals. NG-Nitro-L-arginine reversed the increase in nitric oxide synthase activity in all brain regions. Extensive neuronal death was observed in the CA1 layer of the hippocampus in 5 min bilateral carotid occluded animals 96 h after surgery. NG-Nitro-L-arginine significantly protected against the neuronal death of cells in the CA1 layer.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1993

Macrophage control of Brucella abortus: role of reactive oxygen intermediates and nitric oxide.

Macrophages infected with Brucella abortus are able to kill intracellular brucellae over the first 12 to 24 hr following infection. Thereafter, the surviving brucellae replicate. We have shown previously that macrophages activated with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) have enhanced brucellacidal and brucellastatic activities. In studies reported here, treatment of macrophages with methylene blue, an electron carrier, enhanced the initial killing of intracellular brucellae, indicating their susceptibility to reactive oxygen intermediates. In addition, inhibitors of reactive oxygen intermediates partially blocked the antibrucella activities exhibited by both non-cytokine-treated and IFN-gamma-activated macrophages. In contrast, addition of up to 5 mM NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, to block generation of nitric oxide, resulted in minor but significant levels of blocking of macrophage antibrucella activities only when macrophages were not maximally activated even though maximally activated macrophages produced nitric oxide as indicated by accumulation of nitrite in culture supernatants. In addition, while the J774A.1 macrophage cell line had antibrucella activities which were enhanced by IFN-gamma activation, it did not produce nitric oxide when activated with IFN-gamma and infected with B. abortus. Finally, the IFN-gamma-induced enhancement of antibrucella activities by peritoneal macrophages was inhibited by addition of antitumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antibodies to the cultures, indicating that TNF-alpha is necessary for full expression of the macrophage antibrucella activities.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Mucosal and disseminated candidiasis in gnotobiotic SCID mice.

The alimentary tracts of germ-free SCID (severe combined immunodeficient) mice were susceptible to colonization with Candida albicans. Large viable populations (10(6)-10(8) colony forming units g-1) of C. albicans, in pure culture, were present in all sections of the intestinal tract. Candida-colonized SCID mice, sacrificed at various time intervals over a 16 week study, manifested chronic superficial mucosal candidiasis of keratinized epithelial surfaces (tongue and stomach). Despite the continuous presence of large viable populations of C. albicans in their intestinal tract, only superficial mucosal candidiasis and no progressive disseminated candidiasis of endogenous origin was evident in these mice. Treatment with cyclophosphamide (100 mg kg-1, intraperitoneally) enhanced the susceptibility of SCID mice to mucosal (tongue and stomach) candidiasis. Gnotobiotic (C. albicans-colonized) SCID mice were also found to be as resistant as immunocompetent BALB/c mice to acute (intravenous challenge) renal candidiasis. Colonization of the alimentary tract with a bacterial flora appeared to enhance the resistance of SCID mice to disseminated candidiasis. This study demonstrates that innate immune mechanisms (phagocytic and/or NK cells), in the absence of functional T- and B-cells, play an important role in the resistance of SCID mice to mucosal and disseminated candidiasis of endogenous (intestinal tract) or acute (intravenous challenge) origin.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Caregivers of frail elderly and medically fragile children: perceptions of ability to continue to provide home health care.

The purposes of this study were to compare the characteristics and support systems of caregivers of frail elderly and medically fragile children and to determine what factors discriminated between caregivers who could (and could not) continue to provide home health care. Caregivers of children were significantly more likely (chi 2 = 52.30)2), p = < .0000) to report that they were managing OK than caregivers of frail elderly. They also reported receiving more support and assistance from formal and informal sources, although in general, less than 30% of the caregivers received any help. Five variables (Mental impairment of the elder, poor physical and mental health of the caregiver, high monthly caregiving-related expenses, and use of paid in-home assistance) explained 35% of the variance between caregivers of frail elderly who were managing OK and those who were unable to continue to manage. Six variables (physical and mental impairment of the child, physical health of the caregiver, feeling like there were no alternative providers, time demand and lack of assistance from others) explained 26.57% of the variance between caregivers of children who were managing OK and those who were unable to continue to manage. The findings suggest that a strong objective stressor, combined with a lack of personal and social resources are associated with caregivers' perceptions that they cannot continue to manage home health care.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Induction of chromosome changes by metal compounds in cultured CHO cells.

The effect of 4 metal salts on the induction of chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was investigated. It was observed that CdCl2, NiCl2, CrO3 and HgCl2 were effective in causing various types of chromosome aberrations. The percentages of abnormalities increased with increasing doses of the metals used. These metal compounds also raised the SCE rates compared to 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine controls. The importance of rapid screening of potentially hazardous metals is described.

Animals↗