Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G M Hunt

Publications and source records attributed to G M Hunt.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

A study of deaths and handicap in a consecutive series of spina bifida treated unselectively from birth.

In a consecutive series of spina bifida operated unselectively at birth 62% reached the twelfth birthday and 54% could be expected to reach the nineteenth. Many of the most severely affected cases survived; if they died the cause was usually renal failure. Bronchopneumonia was the main cause of death in infants and hydrocephalus in the older children. Girls outnumbered boys by 1:1.3 and, although they were more severely affected, their survival equalled the boys'. Awareness of the high survival rate which results from the treatment of spina bifida is important for the parents of a newborn baby. It is also a prerequisite in planning provision for the young adult.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Sensory level and renal prognosis in myelomeningocele.

Two hundred and fourteen cases of spinal dysraphism were studied to investigate the relationship of sensory level and renal damage. It was found that in 72 cases with a high sensory level of T12 and above, 45 cases (62%) had renal damage which was the cause of death in 12; in 142 cases with a low sensory level of L1 and below, 40 cases (28%) had renal damage which was the cause of death in only 2. A palpable bladder and reflux were associated with renal damage in the cases with a low sensory level but some additional factor appears to operate in those with a high sensory level. Other reasons for the poor prognosis in these cases are discussed. The critical level in the spinal cord at which the prognosis for renal damage sharply changes coincides with the sympathetic outflow to the renal tract (T12-L1). Disruption of the spinal cord at or above the renal outflow may be a determining factor in prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Spina bifida: implications for 100 children at school.

One hundred children with spina bifida were examined at home and reviewed at the schools they attended. The severity of the handicap had not been appreciated at the time of school entry. 27 of the 41 children who were over 10 years of age had become wheel-chair dependent; 39 of the 100 children had an IQ below 80, and incontinence remained a problem for 68 children. 64 had visual defects, including two who were totally blind, 27 had epilepsy, and 87 had suffered fractures, burns, scalds or pressure sores. Most of the children had started at an ordinary school. The teachers had to give a disproportionate amount of attention to the handicapped child, but were themselves often given inadequate information and support. Many children had learning difficulties. As they grew older their incontinence was less well tolerated. Wheelchair dependency precluded their admission to an ordinary secondary school with stairs, so the majority of older children attended special schools. Only very few will enter normal employment, and many will require a period of education and training beyond the usual school-leaving age. The education of such children should have realistic goals and aim at achieving the maximum degree of self-care.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1976

Factors relating to intelligence in treated cases of spina bifida cystica.

Analysis of results on 83 survivors of spina bifida cystica showed the following: (1) in the seven children who had had central nervous system (CNS) infection, intelligence was impaired, six being severely retarded. (2) In the nine children who did not suffer CNS infection or require a shunt, intelligence was normal. The need for a shunt was related to radiological appearance (craniolacunae) and to the sensory level at birth. (3) In the 67 children who did not suffer CNS infection but did require a shunt, intelligence was related to sensory level found at birth and to thickness of the pallium measured within four weeks of birth. Their intelligence did not relate to the occipitofrontal circumference at birth, or to its increase before the insertion of the shunt. Intelligence did not relate to the function of the shunt at the time of assessment or to the number of times it had been revised.

Brain Abscess↗
PubMed1975

Some factors relating to intelligence in treated children with spina bifida cystica.

The 83 survivors of a consecutive series of children with spina bifida cystica, born between 1963 and 1971 and treated non-selectively since birth, were assessed by intelligence and developmental testing. In nine of the children who had not required shunts the distribution of intelligence was within the normal range. The need for a shunt was significantly related to the presence of craniolacunae and to the sensory level of the lesion recorded at birth. Seven of the 74 shunt-treated children had suffered ventriculitis, meningitis or septicaemia, and their intelligence was significantly worse than the others. In the 67 shunt-treated children who had not suffered infection, intelligence was significantly related to the thickness of the pallium when the shunt was inserted during the first four weeks of life, and to the sensory level of the lesion recorded at birth. Intelligence was not related to the function of the shunt at time of assessment, to the number of revisions of the shunt, or to the rate of increase in head size during the first four weeks of life. It is concluded that the best indication of later intelligence can be gained at birth from the thickness of the pallium and the sensory level of the lesion.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Computer signal processing of long duration biotelemetric brain data.

The EEG represents brain processing under diverse physiological conditions. A complete system involving acquisition and quantitation of this important information about brain function is described. The time-domain EEG and other biological signals are obtained using a multichannel PAM/FM biotelemeter mounted on the head of the experimental animal. This data is transmitted, demodulated and recorded by electronic recording techniques. A computer-based EEG analysis system is described for acquiring the primary data and transforming it into the frequency domain using Fourier methods. The computing system is developed to semi-automatically signal process about 4 h of eight channel EEG records. Data compression by plotting in a quasi-three-dimensional spectral profile allows visual correlations of pattern features to drug manipulations, etc. The software programs are briefly described for each step in signal processing. The feasibility of the complete system approach is demonstrated using biotelemetry to acquire low voltage EEG signals without behavioral distortions or introduction of artifacts by cables.

Animals↗
PubMed1968

Attack produced by intermittent reinforcement of a concurrent operant response.

Squirrel monkeys pressed a lever to produce food on several fixed-ratio schedules; they could also bite a rubber hose. Biting attack occurred during the postreinforcement pause and in early portions of the ratio response run. Also, biting attacks increased after transitions to higher values of the fixed-ratio requirement and in extinction. The results show that extinction-induced aggression effects occur in primates.

Aggression↗