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Biomedical subjects

G Cole

Publications and source records attributed to G Cole.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Alexander's disease: case report including histopathological and electron microscopic features.

We report a case of Alexander's disease in a black South African boy of 9 years. The child presented with a grossly abnormal stooped posture, generalised weakness, and slurred nasal speech. Computerised tomography revealed diffuse low radio-density confined to the white matter, and enlarged ventricles. Cerebral biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. The histopathological and electron microscopic features are essentially the same as those described in previous reports. We note the presence of dense clumps of material within some of the Rosenthal fibres, and can find no reference in the literature describing this. Sural nerve biopsy was normal.

Astrocytes↗
PubMed1978

Intracranial space-occupying masses in mental hospital patients: necropsy study.

During a three year period 1970--1973 necropsies were performed on 200 patients who died in a mental hospital in the Transvaal, South Africa. There was no selection of cases other than availability of consent for postmortem examination. The necropsy rate for this period was 56%. The patients belonged to three racial groups, Black, White, and Coloured, the latter being defined as those of mixed blood. Among these 200 cases, 27 were found at necropsy to have an intracranial space-occupying mass. Mention is made of the literature dealing with the incidence and diagnosis of intracranial space-occupying masses in mental hospital patients, and the incidence of intracranial space-occupying masses in the different racial groups in South Africa.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Autopsy findings in mental patients.

Over a 3-year period a total of 200 autopsies were performed on mental patients who died at Sterkfontein Hospital. Examination of the clinical history was made in each case. The main findings are described and discussed.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Is the objective assessment of cerebral palsy gait reproducible?

It is important to determine the reproducibility of objective measures of gait in children with motor disorders in order that the effect of interventions to improve gait can be monitored. Data for walking velocity and vertical ground reaction force expressed as a percentage of body weight were collected from 15 normal children and 11 with spastic cerebral palsy. Five recordings were obtained for each foot of each child on 3 consecutive days, and calculations of variability made for each set of five recordings. Children with cerebral palsy had slower walking velocities and greater ground reaction force values, and both these parameters had low intraindividual variation for both normal children and those with cerebral palsy (coefficients of variation < 12.5%). This good reproducibility applied to intrasubject and intraday variability; no learning effect was seen over 3 days' recordings. There was no significant difference in variability whether the first three recordings or all five were used. These techniques of gait measurement in children have good reproducibility and a potential role in the objective assessment of medical and surgical interventions.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunocytochemical localization of the terminal complement complex in multiple sclerosis.

Granular deposits of C9 and the terminal complement complex, measuring 0.3-1.2 microns, have been demonstrated immunocytochemically in association with capillary endothelial cells, predominantly within plaques and adjacent white matter, in tissue obtained at autopsy from 5/7 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and one individual with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis but not from 7/7 controls. This finding suggests that the evolution of focal tissue damage in MS may involve complement activation associated with passage of humoral and cellular mediators of the immune system through the blood-brain barrier.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The health effects of worksite HIV/AIDS interventions: a review of the research literature.

PURPOSE: To examine the individual and organizational health effects of HIV/AIDS interventions conducted at the worksite. SEARCH METHODS: This review is part of a series of reviews that used search methods described in an introductory article. To supplement these methods, HIV/AIDS-specific periodicals were searched to include journals that might not be incorporated in the computerized databases. Twelve of the 20 articles identified through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our own subsequent searches met the criteria and were included in this review. FINDINGS: Ten of the 12 studies reviewed reported positive effects of employee education programs on knowledge or attitudes. Nine of the studies involved health care workers or employees with potential occupational exposure to HIV, and nine lacked a comparison or control group. None of the studies however, examined the effects of policies, manager training, or family education on the organization or person. CONCLUSIONS: Methodologic weaknesses in many of the studies reviewed, coupled with the small number of studies, led us to conclude that the research literature on worksite HIV/AIDS interventions is weak. Impact is, however, plausible. Future research should be directed toward developing valid measures of key variables, controlling for confounding factors, and ultimately examining the impact of organizational factors.

HIV Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mexican-Americans' use of prenatal care and its relationship to maternal risk factors and pregnancy outcome.

We evaluate the adequacy of prenatal care use and the association of use to a series of maternal risk factors and pregnancy outcomes, such as low birthweight, preterm delivery, and macrosomia in both Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites in Arizona. The data came from all live-birth certificates from 1986 and 1987 for a total of 101,202 (26,826 Mexican-Americans). We evaluated the adequacy of prenatal care using a redesigned index that accounts for three factors: the month when prenatal care began, the number of prenatal care visits, and the duration of pregnancy. From this index we identified six prenatal care groups: intensive, adequate, intermediate, inadequate, no-care, and missing/unknown. Overall, we observed ethnic differences in patterns of prenatal care use, social profiles, and medical risk factors. Non-Hispanic whites, compared to Mexican-Americans, showed a greater risk for low birthweight and preterm delivery in those groups receiving poor prenatal care versus those who received adequate care. Within Mexican-Americans the risk of low birthweight was not the same for all subgroups. A higher overall prevalence of preterm delivery and macrosomia in comparison to low birthweight occurred in Mexican-Americans. We discuss the implications of the results for the identification, interpretation, evaluation, and public health significance of perinatal health problems of Mexican-Americans.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Amyloid plaques in the cerebellum in Alzheimer's disease.

The brains of patients with a clinical history of Alzheimer's disease were collected for study. In 57 cases the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease was confirmed histologically. The disease was of senile onset (over the age of 65 years) in 40 cases, of presenile onset in 8 cases, and there were 9 cases of Down's syndrome with Alzheimer's disease. In each case the cerebellum was examined for the presence of amyloid plaques. Cerebellar amyloid plaques were found in 31 of the 57 cases (52%) and were present in all 3 clinical groups. Amyloid involvement of the cerebral and cerebellar arteries was marked in many but not all of the cases with cerebellar amyloid plaques. The significance of cerebellar plaques is uncertain, but their presence in Alzheimer's disease is by no means as rare as previously thought. The findings are described and some preliminary clinicopathological correlations are made.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long survival after cardiac arrest: case report and neuropathological findings.

A 14-year-old male survived for nearly 3 years following a cardiac arrest. During this period he remained unconscious and electroencephalogram recordings indicated a virtual absence of neocortical activity. Clinically there was some retention of brainstem function evidenced by spontaneous respiration, eye movements, cough and swallow reflex. He was in a persistent vegetative state until his death. We believe this to be one of the longest surviving cases to be recorded. Neuropathological findings correlated with the clinical picture, and demonstrated the selective vulnerability of various areas within the brain. The brain was reduced in weight to 880 g. There was extensive necrosis affecting the cortex and basal ganglia and the cerebellum showed severe loss of Purkinje and granule cells. In certain nuclei of the thalamus there was neuronal loss and gliosis. There was relative sparing of the brain stem. The superimposed effects of retrograde degeneration is demonstrated in various sites.

Adolescent↗