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Biomedical subjects

J L Melvin

Publications and source records attributed to J L Melvin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Systematic distribution of muscle fiber types in the medial gastrocnemius of the laboratory mouse: a morphometric analysis.

Midbelly cross sections of the medial gastrocnemius muscle of young adult male laboratory mice were subjected to ATPase histochemistry with preincubation at pH 4.6. Through the use of a sampling grid and computer-assisted morphometric analysis, 26 to 35% of the total muscle fibers were sampled and classified as type I, IIa, or IIb. Photomicrographs (16 X 20 in.) of five muscles were divided into octants according to a standardized procedure. Total fiber counts and percent of fibers sampled were determined. Variability of sample size per octant was noted, but when averaged across entire muscles, it was in all instances greater than 33%. Fiber type frequency per octant was tested for goodness of fit to a random model by means of a chi-square statistic for equal expected frequencies. Deviation from random fiber type frequency was significant at the P = 0.001 level for every muscle. More importantly, when these data were pooled and again tested using the same method, the probability estimate was less than P = 0.001. This established that the variations in the fiber type proportions found in each mouse followed a common pattern. The systematic fiber type distribution confirmed by these morphometric and statistical methods supports the impression expressed by many muscle biologists that this muscle displays a consistent and complex intramuscular organization.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

A new era in acute care.

Acute care continues to be the primary place of employment for occupational therapists. It is a challenging environment that requires the skills of our most experienced practitioners. Because the acute care hospital is likely to remain an entry point for rehabilitative care, this area of practice warrants continued attention in our professional literature. We hope this issue will stimulate therapists to write more articles, conduct more research, and develop more programs in acute care occupational therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Electrical blink reflex habituation in mentally retarded adults.

Electrophysiological methods of studying the habituation of the blink reflex have been used, to document by objective means the lack of habituation of the blink reflex in mentally retarded adults. Habituation of the blink reflex to sets of stimuli with decreasing interstimulus duration, which is fixed in each set of stimuli, has been studied in normal human volunteers and mentally retarded subjects. Habituation of direct and indirect R2 has been poor or absent in the mentally retarded subjects. The habituation indices of mentally retarded subjects do not overlap the habituation indices of the normal volunteers. In significant numbers of retarded subjects no habituation of the indirect R2 (P less than 0.00001) and of direct R2 (P less than 0.0005) was noted. No significant difference in habituation of the direct R2 and indirect R2 is noted in normal volunteers.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Roles and functions of occupational therapy in hand rehabilitation.

Occupational therapy makes a major contribution to the practice and continued development of hand rehabilitation. The unique combination of training in physical, functional, psychological, social, and vocational aspects of physical dysfunction enables the occupational therapist to provide comprehensive treatment necessary to return the patient with hand dysfunction to a productive life style.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1984

Neuropathy in end-stage renal disease secondary to primary renal disease and diabetes.

A study was undertaken to critically observe electrophysiologic findings in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) secondary to primary renal disease (PRD) and to compare these with data recorded from patients with ESRD secondary to diabetes mellitus. Motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity studies were performed on 56 patients; 16 parameters were investigated and laboratory data recorded. Our findings reveal that diabetic uremics have more severe peripheral neuropathy electrophysiologically than nondiabetics, indicating that the diabetic component of neuropathy sustains its influence even in the presence of end-stage renal neuropathy. The sural latency and amplitude, median sensory latency and amplitude, H-reflex and facial latency were significantly involved parameters in nondiabetic and diabetic patients. The facial nerve was found to be a sensitive indicator of uremic neuropathy. In 28 nondiabetic uremic patients the mean facial latency was 3.8 +/- 0.5msec compared to 28 diabetic uremic patients with a mean of 5.0 +/- 0.4msec.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Relationship of hypercalciuria to diet and bladder stone formation in spinal cord injury patients.

We have investigated the effectiveness of a low calcium diet, low sodium diet, and hydrochlorthiazide to reduce urinary calcium excretion in ten spinal cord injured patients during the early phase of their rehabilitation. Five patients were given the regular hospital diet and low calcium diet (300 mg calcium/day diet) on a randomized cross-over design. The other five patients were given four treatment modalities: a. regular diet, b. low calcium diet, c. low sodium diet (2 gm sodium/day diet), d. low calcium diet plus hydrochlorthiazide 25 mg twice a day according to a cross-over randomized block design. Each treatment regimen lasted two weeks and 24-hour urinary calcium concentrations were determined weekly. The result indicated that low calcium diet, low sodium diet or low calcium diet plus hydrochlorthiazide reduced hypercalciuria significantly (P less than 0.01). Low calcium diet combined with hydrochlorthiazide was the most effective treatment for hypercalciuria. In retrospective studies, we found that recently injured patients developed hypercalciuria, however, there was no significant difference in the incidence of bladder stone formation in patients with hypercalciuria compared with those with normal urinary calcium excretion.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Somatosensory evoked potentials: their predictive value in right hemiplegia.

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation, if any, between the status of the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and functional change in the right upper extremity of patients with right hemiplegia following stroke. Sixty-eight such patients were admitted to a rehabilitation hospital for intensive treatment from 3 to 8 weeks after onset. All had SEP studies by stimulation of the median nerves of the upper extremities and had complete medical, neurologic and functional evaluations. Forty-two patients had an absent SEP; of these only one showed some functional gain in the right upper extremity (RUE) at discharge. Of 14 patients having diminished SEP, 5 (36%) had some functional gain in RUE at discharge. Of 8 having normal SEP, 3 (38%) showed some functional gain on discharge. None of these 64 patients had any function in RUE on admission. Four patients had a normal SEP and some function on admission, with an increase of function on discharge. Of right hemiplegic patients who showed absence of SEP and nonfunction of RUE on admission, 98% gained no functional return in RUE during hospitalization. These data suggest that SEP studies in stroke patients offer useful information for prognosis and rehabilitation programming.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Training apartment in community for spinal cord injured patients: a model.

This paper describes the setting of a spinal cord injury (SCI) training apartment in the community. The purposes of its location in the community as a predischarge strategy are to regain confidence in the skills relearned to live independently, to initiate positive interpersonal relationships between individuals and family or other significant caretaker persons after the separation due to long hospitalization, to aid the patient and the rehabilitation team in determining the need for further rehabilitation, and to reduce length of hospitalization. The management and accountability, physical design and layout of the apartment, and patient assignments are described. All of the 32 patients were discharged to noninstitutional settings, 30 to homes and 2 to residential schools. After 15 months none required readmission for preventable complications.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1979

Upper extremity edema control: rationale of the techniques.

Edema of the upper extremity is a condition frequently encountered by those interested in hand rehabilitation. It frequently accompanies other problems associated with functional restrictions of the upper extremities. Its control and prevention are a part of the total rehabilitation of these extremities. Persistent edema becomes painful, disfiguring, and disabling. Fibrosis develops in the edematous tissue leading to contractures. The susceptibility for infection increases and the functional ability of the limb decreases. Treatment is based upon an understanding of the pathophysiology of edema. Edema occurs when there is an imbalance of effective pressures across the capillary membrane or when there is an obstruction to venous and lymphatic flow. The conservative treatment program consists of elevation, massage, use of external compression devices, exercises, and instructions to avoid contributing factors. This paper will discuss the physiologic rationale for the effectiveness of these treatment methods.

Arm↗
PubMed1976

Measurement of motor unit action potentials: procedural considerations.

Many factors influence the observed magnitude and shape of motor unit action potentials (MUAP). Several of these are related to procedures used during the electromyographic examination. An examiner must be aware of the procedural factors which may alter his observations. These include the following: strength of contraction; placement of the ground and reference electrodes; site, depth and pattern of electrode penetration; distance of active electrode penetration; distance of active electrode discharging unit; and separation of observation sites. The number of different MUAP observed and the number of observations of each MUAP become important when formulating a statistical report. The acceptable level of variation between serial samples of the same motor unit may determine the number of different units available for analysis. The selection of the point where the MUAP begins, ends and deflects maximally can influence the recorded observations.

Action Potentials↗