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Biomedical subjects

D Sanger

Publications and source records attributed to D Sanger.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Parental report of occurrences and consequences of traumatic brain injury among delinquent and non-delinquent youth.

Completed questionnaires from parents of youths attending a public middle school or high school and parents of youths admitted to an institution for juvenile delinquents provided information about incidents of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in their children. Results revealed that approximately 40% of the non-delinquent youth and 50% of the delinquent youth had sustained one or more TBIs during their childhood or youth. The majority of injuries appeared to be mild and had no permanent consequences. However, the parents of more than one-third of the delinquent youth with TBI histories reported long-term effects on academic performance, behavior and emotional control, activity level, and/or interactions with friends and family members; parental reports of long-term effects occurred significantly less frequently among the non-delinquent youth. The most common causes of TBI differed between the two adolescent populations. Non-delinquent youth sustained TBIs most frequently from blows to the head during sporting events, and delinquent youth sustained TBIs with approximately equal frequency from sporting events, fall, motor vehicle accidents and fights.

Accidental Falls↗

Anxiogenic properties of beta-CCE and FG 7142: a review of promises and pitfalls.

The behavioral effects of the benzodiazepine (BZP)-receptor partial inverse agonists, beta-CCE and FG 7142, are reviewed and the claim that these compounds possess "anxiogenic" properties is examined. Results obtained from human studies and global observations in animals, as well as those from experiments on aggression in animals or from studies of pentylenetetrazole discrimination cannot be considered conclusive. Contradictory findings have been obtained in studies using animal testing procedures derived from BZP-sensitive models of anxiety and in newer experimental situations and these are discussed from various theoretical perspectives: (1) the ability of the models to measure increased anxiety; (2) the possible ability of the drugs to reveal latent anxiety which generalizes from a punished to an otherwise non-fearful component of a testing procedure ("spreading anxiety"); (3) anxiety produced by a pro- or pre-convulsant state. Finally, several hypotheses are considered to account for the behavioral effects of beta-CCE and FG 7142 without assuming anxiogenic properties. These include the possible existence of different forms of anxiety, rate dependency, and drug-induced motivational changes. It is concluded that available data are insufficient to strongly support the notion that FG 7142 and beta-CCE are the anxiogenic drugs "par excellence" they are often claimed to be.

Animals↗

Fengabine, a novel antidepressant GABAergic agent. I. Activity in models for antidepressant drugs and psychopharmacological profile.

Fengabine (SL 79.229) is a novel benzylidene derivative with clinically proven antidepressant action. Fengabine is active in behavioral models for antidepressant drug action, reversing the passive avoidance deficit in olfactory bulbectomized rats, antagonizing the escape deficit in the learned helplessness model and decreasing paradoxical sleep in the rat. In contrast to tricyclic antidepressants, fengabine antagonizes 5-hydroxytryptophan-induced head twitches and only weakly reverses reserpine-induced ptosis. Fengabine inhibits neither monoamine uptake nor monoamine oxidase. A GABAergic mechanism of fengabine is indicated as bicuculline reverses its action in the olfactory bulbectomy and learned helplessness models. The wide-spectrum anticonvulsant action of fengabine is consistent with a GABA-mimetic action and is in contrast to the proconvulsant effect of most classical antidepressants.

Animals↗

Disclosure analysis procedures: reliability issues.

Performing disclosure analyses to supplement assessment procedures and facilitate intervention planning is only valuable if the observations are reliable. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare four methods of assessing reliability on one discourse analysis procedure--a modified version of Damico's Clinical Discourse Analysis (1985a, 1985b, 1992). The selected methods were: (a) Pearson product-moment correlations, (b) interobserver agreement, (c) Cohen's kappa, and (d) generalizability coefficients. Results showed high correlation coefficients and high percentages of interobserver agreement when error type was not taken into account. However, interobserver agreement percentages obtained solely for target behavior occurrences and Cohen's kappa revealed that much of the agreement between rates was due to chance and the high frequency of target behavior non-occurrence. Generalizability coefficients revealed that the procedure was fair to good for discriminating among persons with differing levels of language competency for some aspects of communication performance but was less than desirable for others; the aggregate score was below recommended standards for differentiating among people for diagnostic purposes.

Adolescent↗

[A specific domain (the omega 1 site) of the GABA(A) receptor may be implicated in the hypnotic effects of zolpidem].

Zolpidem (Stilnox) is a new hypnotic belonging to the imidazopyridine series. In animals, in contrast to the benzodiazepines which alter sleep architecture, zolpidem induces a physiological pattern of deep sleep. Zolpidem also differs from the benzodiazepines by its hypnoselective profile (its sedative effects are seen at doses much lower than those needed for anticonvulsant or myorelaxant effects). In this review, the authors analyze the hypothesis that the hypnoselective profile of zolpidem is linked to its interaction with a specific domain, the omega 1 site, of the GABAA receptor complex. This hypothesis is supported by: 1) the high selectivity of zolpidem for omega 1 as compared to omega 2 sites and its high intrinsic activity, 2) autoradiographic studies of the regional distribution of omega 1 and omega 2 sites in the human and non-human primate brains showing that omega 1 sites are located preferentially in sensorimotor cortical regions whereas omega 2 sites predominate in the limbic system and spinal cord. The selectivity of zolpidem for omega 1 sites could also account for the fact that in contrast to the benzodiazepines, this compound does not alter memory functions at hypnotic doses.

Animals↗