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Biomedical subjects

H L Thacker

Publications and source records attributed to H L Thacker.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Risk assessment of the menopausal patient.

Menopause is a physiologic event that gives a woman the opportunity to become involved in a preventive health program. Menopause is not a disease; however, it does cause symptoms in a significant percentage of women. Medical evaluation with an emphasis on health maintenance and lifestyle measures is important for menopausal women. Tailoring an individual program for women, which may include HRT and other therapeutic options, is guided by the menopausal risk assessment.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1999

Medical aspects of pregnancy.

Women's health physicians should play a key role in preconception counseling and management of medical problems during pregnancy. Precautions recommended to reduce the risk of exposure to potential teratogens, medications, and medical interventions are discussed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration categorization of medications given during pregnancy is reviewed, and medications commonly used in pregnancy are listed. The basics of preconception counseling and routine prenatal care are reviewed, and guidelines for optimum preconception control of common medical conditions are summarized. Serious medical problems in pregnancy include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, thromboembolic disorders, asthma, thyroid disease, seizure disorder, infections, systemic lupus erythematosus, hematologic disorders, cardiac disease, and gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, both physician and patient need to emphasize a preventive medicine approach to ensure the best outcome for both mother and child.

Counseling↗
PubMed1999

Management of perimenopause: focus on alternative therapies.

A variety of herbs and other "natural alternative medicines" are marketed directly to consumers and sold over-the-counter as treatments for perimenopausal symptoms. Far from being innocuous placebos, many of these substances have real physiologic effects, including potential adverse effects and drug interactions. Yet they are largely untested and, by law, totally unregulated. This article reviews a few of the untested substances your patients may be taking, along with established treatments.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

New drugs for reducing cardiovascular risk in women.

Atherosclerosis is largely preventable in women. Clinicians need to appreciate the gender-associated risks of cardiovascular disease and emphasize to their women patients that life-style changes can reduce cardiovascular risk. However, newer oral agents for diabetes and the statins for hyperlipidemia are important pharmacological adjuncts.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1997

Menopause.

Most women live long enough to become postmenopausal. Menopause is not a disease, but it can be associated with discomfort, a decreased quality of life, and an increase in the disease risks of osteoporosis and coronary heart disease. The onset of menopause is an excellent time for a women's primary care physician to assess her overall health and the need for health maintenance measures, which may include hormone replacement therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Development of an L6 myoblast in vitro model of moniliformin toxicosis.

L6 myoblasts were used as an in vitro model to investigate the role of moniliformin and its interaction with monensin in turkey knockdown syndrome and sudden death syndromes in poultry. Cell viability and microscopic and ultrastructural alterations noted in L6 myoblasts cultured in the presence of moniliformin (0.0-0.3 microgram/microliter) were compared to those observed in parallel cultures also containing one of the following compounds: selenium (0-0.004 ng/microliter), thiamine (0-0.3 microgram/microliter), or pyruvate (0-0.46 microgram/microliter). Marked dilation of the RER, membranous whorls, glycogen deposition, membrane-bound cytoplasmic inclusions and necrosis were observed in myoblasts exposed to 0.03-0.30 microgram moniliformin/microliter medium. Supplementation of medium with thiamine and pyruvate, or selenium, provided significant protection to cells exposed to 0.0-0.3 microgram/microliter or 0.0-0.15 microgram moniliformin/microliter, respectively. Dose-dependent differences in protein and ATP production were not detected. Myoblasts grown in medium containing 0-0.15 microgram moniliformin/microliter and 7.5-50.0 microM A23187, beauvericin or monensin had degrees of cytotoxicity similar to parallel cultures receiving only an ionophore. L6 myoblasts were a useful model of moniliformin toxicosis. The findings of this study suggest cytotoxicity due to moniliformin in L6 myoblasts may be due in part to oxidative damage and altered pyruvate metabolism, and that moniliformin does not predispose myoblasts to ionophore toxicosis. This study supports the results of in vivo investigations in poultry that moniliformin and monensin do not act synergistically to induce knockdown or monensin toxicosis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1996

Purified moniliformin does not affect the force or rate of contraction of isolated guinea pig atria.

Chronic exposure to moniliformin results in the development of myocardial hypertrophy and degeneration. The cause of this hypertrophy is unknown. However, moniliformin-induced hypoxia or altered function of cardiac pyruvate dehydrogenase, rather than direct cardiostimulation have been proposed as potential mechanisms. Isolated guinea pig atria were used in a cumulative concentration-response model to evaluate the direct effect of moniliformin on the rate and force of atrial contraction. Moniliformin did not affect the rate or force of atrial contraction. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that moniliformin does not have a cardiostimulatory effect. Therefore cardiac stimulation. e.g. stimulation of beta-adrenergic receptors, is unlikely to be the cause of the myocardial hypertrophy observed in poultry chronically intoxicated with moniliformin.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Experimental infection of laying hens with Salmonella enteritidis strains that express different types of fimbriae.

A study was conducted to compare the pathogenicity of three Salmonella enteritidis phage type 8 strains (9, 21, and 30) in 30-wk-old laying hens. Strain 9 expressed two types of fimbriae of 14 and 21 kDa. Strain 30 expressed a single fimbrial type (21 kDa). Strain 21 did not express any fimbrial protein. Laying hens were divided into three groups of 35 each and each group was orally inoculated with a single S. enteritidis strain (1 x 10(8) cfu per bird). Significantly less intensive cecal colonization and fecal shedding of the organism were observed in hens that were inoculated with the strain that did not express fimbriae than in birds inoculated with other two strains (P < 0.05). Isolation of S. enteritidis from liver, spleen, reproductive organs, and egg contents did not differ between groups. Mean serum S. enteritidis lipopolysaccharide-specific antibody titers of birds inoculated with strain 21 were lower than titers of hens that were inoculated with the other two strains from the 5th wk through the end of the trial. Immunoblot of the bacterial outer membrane structures revealed the presence of serum antibodies against lipopolysaccharide, membrane-associated proteins, and purified 14 kDa fimbrial protein in birds inoculated with strain 9 as late as 9 wk postinoculation. Results of this study are consistent with a role for fimbrial proteins in the cecal colonization by S. enteritidis. In addition, cecal colonization mediated by fimbrial proteins may enhance the elicitation of humoral immune response against S. enteritidis.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Current issues in menopausal hormone replacement therapy.

For most menopausal women, the benefits of hormone replacement therapy outweigh the risks, despite the fears aroused by the unproven link to breast cancer. If the goal is solely to relieve menopausal symptoms, the treatment duration is generally 2 to 3 years and then gradually tapered off. If the goal is to provide cardiac protection and prevent osteoporosis, long-term, possibly lifetime, treatment is needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome: status of 205 patients and results of treatment 2 years after onset.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the course of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome during a 2-year period. DESIGN: 15 physicians completed a structured review form to describe symptoms, physical findings, laboratory data, and responses to treatments in 205 patients with the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome at the onset of illness and after 18 to 24 months of follow-up. SETTING: 15 university and private clinical practice settings. PATIENTS: 205 patients for whom follow-up data were available and who met four criteria at diagnosis: eosinophil count of 1000 cells/mm3 or greater; presence of fasciitis, peripheral neuropathy, polyradiculopathy, interstitial pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, or myocardial involvement; history of L-tryptophan consumption; and absence of other conditions that could account for these findings. INTERVENTION: Empirical interventions by the physicians. MEASUREMENTS: Symptoms, physical findings, laboratory test results, biopsy findings, radiographic reports, therapeutic interventions, and responses to these interventions. RESULTS: After 18 to 24 months, all symptoms except cognitive changes were reported to have improved in most patients. Nearly all physical findings were also reported to have improved or resolved in most patients; only peripheral neuropathy was unchanged. No evidence of ongoing inflammatory disease was reported. Prednisone was reported to be helpful in 79% of patients who received it during the acute phase of the syndrome. No other treatment was reported to be consistently beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: 18 to 24 months after the onset of illness, most symptoms and physical findings in most patients with the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome resolved or improved. Cognitive changes were reported to be worse in 32% of patients. Prednisone was helpful in the acute phase of illness. No treatment was clearly valuable in management of the later phase of the syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Streptococcus suis infection in swine: a retrospective study of 256 cases. Part II. Clinical signs, gross and microscopic lesions, and coexisting microorganisms.

A retrospective study of 256 cases of naturally acquired Streptococcus suis infections in swine submitted to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory from 1985 to 1989 was undertaken to describe the clinical signs, lesions, and coexisting organisms associated with S. suis serotypes 1-8 and 1/2. Infected pigs generally had clinical signs and gross lesions referable to either the respiratory system or to the central nervous system (CNS), but not both. Neurologic signs were inversely related to gross lesions in the respiratory tract (R2 = -0.19, P = 0.003), as were respiratory signs and gross lesions in the CNS (R2 = -0.19, P = 0.003). Suppurative bronchopneumonia was the most common gross lesion observed (55.2%, overall). Fibrinous and/or suppurative pleuritis, epicarditis, pericarditis, arthritis, peritonitis, and polyserositis were also reported. In 68% of the pigs, other bacteria in addition to S. suis were isolated. Escherichia coli (35.0%) and Pasteurella multocida (30.0%) were the most commonly recovered bacterial agents. Mycoplasma and viral agents were identified less often, and their role in the development of streptococcosis was difficult to assess. In pigs infected with serotypes 2-5, 7, 8, and 1/2, suppurative meningitis with suppurative or nonsuppurative encephalitis, suppurative bronchopneumonia, fibrinopurulent epicarditis, multifocal myocarditis, and cardiac vasculitis were the most common microscopic lesions observed, whereas pigs infected with serotype 1 generally presented with suppurative meningitis and interstitial pneumonia. Microscopic lesions were morphologically similar among serotypes and were also similar to those reported with other pyogenic bacteria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Streptococcus suis infection in swine: a retrospective study of 256 cases. Part I. Epidemiologic factors and antibiotic susceptibility patterns.

A retrospective study of 256 cases of naturally acquired Streptococcus suis infections in swine submitted to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory from 1985 to 1989 was performed to determine the epidemiologic factors and antibiotic susceptibility patterns associated with S. suis serotypes 1-8 and 1/2. A standardized computer form was used to record the history, signalment, and clinical signs obtained from the records of selected cases and the microscopic lesions identified after review of the histopathology slides for each case. A computer statistics package (SAS) was used to evaluate the data. Although the number of recovered S. suis isolates increased in the fall and winter months, most serotypes were readily isolated throughout the year; only serotypes 1, 4, 7, and 1/2 increased in frequency of isolation in the fall, winter, and spring months. The majority (61.1%) of infected pigs in this study were < 12 weeks of age. More than 75% of pigs infected with serotypes 1, 6, 7, and 1/2 were < 12 weeks of age. There was extensive overlap in the age distributions for pigs with each serotype, and statistically significant differences for most serotypes were not observed. Fifty percent of pigs infected with S. suis serotypes 1 and 1/2 were 3-10 weeks of age, 50% of pigs infected with serotype 2 were 6-14 weeks of age, and 50% of pigs infected with serotypes 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 were 2-16 weeks of age. Isolates of S. suis were not uniformly susceptible to penicillin, and a large percentage of isolates were resistant to many antibiotics in common usage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗