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Biomedical subjects

J Hodges

Publications and source records attributed to J Hodges.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

The gradual deterioration of syntax and semantics in a patient with progressive aphasia.

FM is a progressive aphasic patient whose language comprehension we studied over a 4-year period. We developed a variety of implicit and explicit tasks to chart progressive changes in the representation of linguistic knowledge (in particular, syntax and semantics) and the automatic and controlled processes which operate on that knowledge. The representation of FM's semantic knowledge remained essentially intact over the years, but she became increasingly impaired at combining the meanings of words. She also showed progressive impairments in the processes of syntactic combination. Thus, FM's disease resulted in a progressive inability to engage in those combinatorial processes necessary for the normal comprehension of a spoken utterance. This is not a selective deficit in the traditional sense of the term, since aspects of both syntax and semantics are implicated; but it is selective in the sense that other aspects of language comprehension remain intact.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1996

Core Assessment Program for Intracerebral Transplantation in Huntington's Disease (CAPIT-HD).

Studies in Parkinson's disease using the Core Assessment Program for Intracerebral Transplantation (CAPIT) protocol have demonstrated that grafts of embryonic mesencephalic cells into striatum can survive, grow, and exert useful clinical effects. Attention in now being directed toward neural grafting in other conditions, such as Huntington's disease. As a precondition for grafting of embryonic striatal cells into diseased striatum in this complex motor and psychiatric disorder, not only is further basic research needed, but also a thorough and wide-ranging assessment protocol is essential. This article presents such a CAPIT-HD assessment protocol.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Progressive supranuclear palsy presenting with dynamic aphasia.

BACKGROUND: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an akinetic-rigid syndrome of unknown aetiology which usually presents with a combination of unsteadiness, bradykinesia, and disordered eye movement. Speech often becomes dysarthric but language disorders are not well recognised. METHODS: Three patients with PSP (pathologically confirmed in two) are reported in which the presenting symptoms were those of difficulty with language output. RESULTS: Neuropsychological testing showed considerable impairment on a range of single word tasks which require active initiation and search strategies (letter and category fluency, sentence completion), and on tests of narrative language production. By contrast, naming from pictures and from verbal descriptions, and word and sentence comprehension were largely intact. The degree of semantic memory impairment was also slight. CONCLUSIONS: Relatively selective involvement of cognitive processes critical for planning and initiating language output may occur in some patients with PSP. This presentation resembles the phenomenon of "verbal adynamia" or "dynamic aphasia" seen in patients with frontal lobe damage. Although definite cortical changes were present at postmortem examination, it is likely that the neuropsychological deficits reflect functional frontal deafferentation secondary to interruption of frontostriatal feedback loops.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Research and development in the blood bank: efforts of a hospital donor center to improve efficiency of in-line leukocyte reduction filters for automated plateletpheresis.

In-line leukocyte reduction filters (LRF) are available for use with an automated plateletpheresis (PPH) system. Initially, 62% of PPH units produced with such a filter (LRF6, N = 29) had postfiltration (POF) white blood cell (WBC) counts < 5 x 10(6), with a mean POF WBC of 42 x 10(6). In an attempt to decrease POF WBCs, PPH were rested 30 to 60 minutes before filtration with LRF6. A new, larger-volume LRF (LRF10) was also assessed for its efficiency of leukodepletion. A total of 625 PPH, 490 filtered with LRF6 and 135 with LRF10, were evaluated using prefiltration (PRF) and POF samples. Mean prefiltration WBC loads averaged 80 x 10(6) (range, 60-88 x 10(6)) using seven combinations of filters, collection software, and PRF rest periods. Ninety-three percent of PPH units rested prior to filtration with LRF6 (N = 237) had < 5 x 10(6) WBC POF, with a mean of 5 x 10(6) WBC POF. All PPH units filtered with LRF10 (N = 135), whether rested or not, had < 5 x 10(6) WBC POF, with a mean WBC count of 0.2 x 10(6) POF. Mean platelet (PLT) yields POF ranged from 3.1 to 3.4 x 10(11). A PRF rest decreased mean POF WBC counts in products filtered with LRF6. The LRF10 consistently produced PPH with < 5 x 10(6) WBC POF. Blood centers must thoroughly validate equipment utilized in the production of blood components.

Filtration↗
PubMed1994

Management of heart failure. III. The role of revascularization in the treatment of patients with moderate or severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the benefits and risks of coronary artery bypass grafting and angioplasty for patients with moderate or severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction and summarizes the recommendations of the expert panel for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Heart Failure Guideline. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained from studies published in English and referenced in MEDLINE or EMBASE between 1966 and 1993. We used the search terms heart failure, congestive; congestive heart failure; heart failure; cardiac failure; and dilated cardiomyopathy in conjunction with the terms coronary artery bypass grafting and angioplasty. STUDY SELECTION: All cohort studies and case series that provided separate outcomes data on a subgroup of patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction less than 0.40 were reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Studies were reviewed for inclusion and exclusion criteria, survival, and functional status measures using a standardized form. Cohort studies were assessed on eight aspects of study quality using a defined list of study flaws. CONCLUSION: Coronary artery bypass grafting improves 3-year survival by approximately 30% to 50% and physical functioning by approximately one New York Heart Association class in patients with moderate to severe left ventricular dysfunction and limiting angina. However, the operative mortality ranges from 5% to 30% depending on patients' ejection fractions and comorbidity. It is not clear whether patients whose predominant symptom is heart failure rather than angina benefit from bypass surgery or how much ischemia is required to justify surgical intervention. Clinical outcomes after angioplasty have not been adequately studied to determine the relative risks and benefits compared with bypass grafting.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Personality types of flight crew members in a hospital-based helicopter program.

PURPOSE: To determine the personality preferences of flight crew members in a hospital-based helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and to differentiate and compare these preferences between crew specialties and a historical control population. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted of all active crew members (nurses, respiratory therapists and pilots) in a hospital-based flight program. Data collected included the results of the MBTI, gender, age and years of flight experience. RESULTS: Crew members were represented by 14 of 16 possible MBTI personality types, with three types predominating. For each crew specialty, extroversion preferences predominated over introversion, and perceiving characteristics predominated over judging characteristics. Differences existed by crew specialty for the sensing-intuition and thinking-feeling dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: A personality typology has been established for individual and group preferences within one hospital-based HEMS program. This data begins to develop a data base and an investigative protocol for understanding some of the human factors regarding flight programs. Future research should focus on expanding the data base and exploring specific crew interactions based on additional diagnostic and evaluative methodologies.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Increased insulin responsiveness in isolated rat hepatocytes incubated with free fatty acid-poor albumin.

Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes incubated in a medium containing bovine serum albumin partially purified by charcoal treatment at pH 3 are three times more responsive to insulin with regard to alpha-aminoisobutyric acid uptake than those incubated in medium containing regular bovine serum albumin. This finding should facilitate future work in isolated hepatocytes, a cell system that for the most part has been considered relatively unresponsive to insulin.

Aminoisobutyric Acids↗
PubMed1989

IQ and behavioural adjustment of ex-institutional adolescents.

A group of children raised in institutions until at least 2 years of age, then adopted or restored to a biological parent, have been followed longitudinally into mid-adolescence. No effect of early institutionalisation was found on IQ which depended largely on the type of family placement. Behavioural and emotional difficulties were more common in the ex-institutional group than in a matched comparison group, according to teacher questionnaires and interviews with the adolescents and their parents. The findings are discussed in relation to placement policy and the question of the long-term effects of early experience.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Social and family relationships of ex-institutional adolescents.

The adolescents described in the preceding companion article (J. Child Psychol. Psychiat. 30, 53-75, 1989) had experienced multiple changing caregivers until at least 2 years old. Such maternal deprivation did not necessarily prevent them forming strong and lasting attachments to parents once placed in families, but whether such attachments developed depended on the family environment, being much more common in adopted children than in those restored to a biological parent. Both these groups alike, however, were more oriented towards adult attention, and had more difficulties with peers and fewer close relationships than matched comparison adolescents, indicating some long term effects of their early institutional experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Late rupture of a mycotic aneurysm after "cure" of bacterial endocarditis.

Rupture of a mycotic aneurysm often occurs before the diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis is made or whilst the patient is being treated with antibiotics. It is recognised that cerebral embolism continues to occur after adequate antibiotic treatment, but the late rupture of a mycotic aneurysm seems to be very unusual. We report such a case where rupture of a peripherally sited aneurysm, demonstrated angiographically and pathologically, occurred 6 months after bacteriologically adequate treatment of streptococcal bacterial endocarditis.

Aneurysm, Infected↗
PubMed1986

Subdural empyema--continuing diagnostic problems in the CT scan era.

Fourteen cases of subdural empyema seen in Oxford since the introduction of the CT scanner are reviewed; 11 were male and 12 survived. The clinical presentation was stereotyped and characterised by severe headache, fever and meningism followed after a few days by rapidly progressive drowsiness, focal signs, papilloedema and seizures. All had radiological evidence of paranasal sinus disease (particularly frontal) although this was not apparent clinically in the majority. Plain skull and sinus radiographs remain important early investigations. Over-reliance can be placed on the CT scan which initially may be normal or show only non-specific hemisphere swelling. Parafalcine collections are easily missed. The diagnosis of subdural empyema remains difficult and a high index of clinical suspicion is required. Outcome depends on prompt treatment with parenteral antibiotics and surgical drainage.

Adolescent↗