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Biomedical subjects

C Logan

Publications and source records attributed to C Logan.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Treatment of Paget's disease of bone with salmon calcitonin nasal spray.

Subcutaneous daily or bidaily administration of synthetic salmon calcitonin is an effective form of therapy for Paget's disease, but the requirement for parenteral injection deters geriatric patients from using the drug. This study compares a new intranasal preparation of salmon calcitonin to subcutaneous drug in 18 patients with Paget's disease using two different protocols. In the first protocol, 15 patients not previously treated with salmon calcitonin were given the agent for 3 months by either the intranasal or subcutaneous route. Seven patients treated with intranasal calcitonin had a mean fall in the serum alkaline phosphatase of 33% over a 3-month period compared to a fall of 40% in the subcutaneously treated group; the difference between the two treatment groups was not statistically significant. In the second protocol, three patients previously stabilized on subcutaneous calcitonin were switched to the nasal spray with no subsequent change in alkaline phosphatase values during 6 months of treatment. These results demonstrate that intranasal salmon calcitonin is effective in lowering the serum alkaline phosphatase in Paget's disease. Ease of administration and patient acceptance make intranasal calcitonin a reasonable alternative for geriatric patients.

Administration, Intranasal

A survey of National Health Service dietetics in Scotland.

This report summarizes the main results of a survey completed by every dietitian employed by the National Health Service in Scotland on October 31, 1983. There are currently no norms or standards for dietetic services in the United Kingdom, but these results present an opportunity for comparison among health boards. Staffing is compared with 1977 figures and time spent in different activities is shown.

Dietetics

Linkage analysis of polymorphisms within the DNA fragment XJ cloned from the breakpoint of an X;21 translocation associated with X linked muscular dystrophy.

Cloning of a DNA segment including the translocation breakpoint in a female with an X;21 translocation and X linked muscular dystrophy has led to identification of three subclones which detect polymorphic markers. The alleles of these markers, XJ1 X 1, XJ1 X 2, and XJ2 X 2, are in strong linkage disequilibrium. Linkage analysis in 31 families with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy has shown recombination within the XJ segment in one case, and recombination of DMD with both the XJ segment and the pERT87 segment in a second, but has revealed no recombination between the XJ and pERT87 segments. The XJ markers increase the proportion of DMD and BMD families that are informative for carrier detection and prenatal diagnosis, but in view of the risk of recombination they must be used with caution. The site(s) of the DMD mutation(s) relative to the XJ and pERT87 markers, and the detailed molecular structure of the DMD region, remain to be determined.

Alleles

The evaluation of sexual health services in a medical setting.

An interdisciplinary Sexual Health Services unit has been established at the University of Minnesota Medical School that offers counseling and treatment programs for a wide variety of sex-related concerns and problems. The programs are based on the principles of responsibility for self, permission to be sexual, the use of reeducation, the facilitation of increased awareness in clients, and structured behavior change. The programs have been evaluated according to client satisfaction with the extent to which they have met pretreatment goals and according to results of pre/posttesting with objective instruments. One year follow-up results from 131 clients and immediate posttreatment results from 411 clients show positive change in a large majority of cases.

Behavior Therapy

Cloning of the breakpoint of an X;21 translocation associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder which affects approximately 1 in 3,300 males, making it the most common of the neuromuscular dystrophies. The biochemical basis of the disease is unknown and as yet no effective treatment is available. A small number of females are also affected with the disease, and these have been found to carry X; autosome translocations involving variable autosomal sites but always with a breakpoint within band Xp21 of the X chromosome (implicated by other kinds of genetic evidence as the site of the DMD lesion). In these female patients the normal X chromosome is preferentially inactivated, which it is assumed silences their one normal DMD gene, leading to expression of the disease. In one such affected female the autosomal breakpoint lies in the middle of the short arm of chromosome 21, within a cluster of ribosomal RNA genes. Here we have used rRNA sequences as probes to clone the region spanning the translocation breakpoint. A sequence derived from the X-chromosomal portion of the clone detects a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) which is closely linked to the DMD gene and uncovers chromosomal deletions in some male DMD patients.

Animals

A cDNA clone from the Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy gene.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common of the muscular dystrophies affecting one in 3,000 live male births. Both DMD and the mild form, Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), are X-linked. There are a number of females affected by the disease who all possess an X-autosome translocation, with the exchange point in the X always occurring within chromosome band Xp21. This, together with linkage and deletion data, has localized the gene at band Xp21. DNA fragments from this region have been cloned using a patient with a large Xp21 deletion and from a patient with a t(X:21) translocation. The former clones (pERT 87) comprise the DXS164 locus and the latter clones (XJ) the DXS206 locus. Subclones from both regions allow the detection of deletions in approximately 11% of DMD patients. A fetal muscle complementary DNA clone corresponding to exons in the DXS164 locus has been isolated and detects a 16-kilobase (kb) transcript. We present the isolation of an adult muscle cDNA clone from the DXS206 locus that detects a 16-kb mRNA in adult human muscle. The cDNA clone contains exons that map in the DXS206 locus, the DXS164 locus, and on the centromeric side of these cloned regions. The t(X;21) translocation exchange points occurs within a large intron of 105 kb or larger, indicating that the translocation has disrupted the DMD/BMD gene to cause the disease in this patient.

Chromosome Deletion

Effects of paired and unpaired eye-blink conditioning on Purkinje cell morphology.

This experiment addressed (1) the importance of conjunctive stimulus presentation for morphological plasticity of cerebellar Purkinje cells and inhibitory interneurons and (2) whether plasticity is restricted to the spiny branches of Purkinje cells, which receive parallel fiber input. These issues were investigated in naive rabbits and in rabbits that received paired or unpaired presentations of the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US). To direct CS input to the cerebellar cortex, pontine stimulation served as the CS. Air puffs to the cornea served as the US. Paired condition rabbits received pontine stimulation for 350 msec paired with a coterminating 100-msec air puff. Unpaired condition rabbits received the same stimuli in a pseudorandom order at 1- to 32-sec intervals. Rabbits were trained for a mean of 12 days. Naive rabbits received no treatment. In Golgi-stained Purkinje neurons in lobule HVI, total dendritic length, main branch length, total spiny branch length, and number of spiny branch arbors were all greater in the naive group than in the paired and unpaired groups, which did not differ. No differences were found between the hemispheres ipsilateral and contralateral to the trained eye. The dendritic length and number of branches for inhibitory interneurons did not differ across groups. The Purkinje cell morphological changes detected with these methods do not appear to be uniquely related to the conjunctive activation of the CS and US in the paired condition.

Animals

Medicinal leech therapy: an overview (continuing education credit).

Leech therapy has made a comeback as a legitimate form of therapy for treating venous congestion following grafts and replants. Complications caused directly by leech therapy are minimal, as are the risks, while the benefits can be revascularization of replanted tissue. Nurses are integral in preparing patients for leech therapy.

Adult