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Biomedical subjects

J M Hanson

Publications and source records attributed to J M Hanson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Management of stage II (T2N0M0) glottic carcinoma by radiotherapy and conservation surgery.

BACKGROUND: The best therapeutic approach for the treatment of stage II (T2N0M0) glottic carcinoma is controversial. METHODS: A retrospective tumor registry data retrieval of patients with stage II glottic carcinoma treated with curative intent at Washington University Medical Center-Barnes Hospital between January 1971 and December 1989 (surgery) and December 1995 (radiotherapy) was performed. RESULTS: Among 134 patients with stage II glottic carcinomas treated with curative intent and function preservation, there were 47 patients treated with low dose radiotherapy (median dose, 58.5 Gy at 1.5-1.8 Gy daily fractions), 16 patients with high dose radiotherapy (67.5-70 Gy) at higher daily fractionation doses (2-2.25 Gy), and 71 patients underwent conservation surgery. The overall local control rate was 85%. The overall salvage rate was 68%. The 5-year actuarial and disease specific survivals were 81.5% and 92%, respectively. Unaided phonation was achieved in 84.4% of the patients. An incidence of 10.4% regional metastases, 2.2% distant metastases, and 6% second primary tumors was documented. There were no statistical differences in local control, voice preservation, and 5-year actuarial and disease specific cure rates between conservation surgery and high dose radiation (p = .89). Low dose radiation had statistically lower local controls, 5-year survival, and voice preservation (p = .014). In advanced T2B disease, treating the ipsilateral neck nodes reduced regional metastases (p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: High dose and daily fractionation (70 Gy at 2 Gy daily fraction doses) radiation achieved results equivalent to those of conservation surgery in 5-year local control, survival, and voice preservation. In advanced T2B disease, treatment of the ipsilateral neck nodes by radiotherapy or functional neck dissection reduced regional metastases.

Adult

Glutaraldehyde as a possible cause of diarrhoea after sigmoidoscopy.

BACKGROUND: An outbreak of proctitis at the start of a colorectal cancer screening programme utilizing flexible sigmoidoscopy prompted scrutiny of the incidence of this complication and the role of glutaraldehyde in its aetiology. METHODS: Questionnaires completed 1 day and 3 months after sigmoidoscopy were reviewed for 388 patients, and glutaraldehyde levels in the recycled rinse water of the endoscope washing machine were measured. The incidence of symptoms in the subsequent 612 patients after installation of a washer that does not recycle rinse water was examined. RESULTS: Five patients (1.3 per cent) presented to hospital with bloody diarrhoea occurring immediately after a normal flexible sigmoidoscopy. Repeat examination confirmed the presence of proctitis. Symptoms subsided rapidly with either no treatment or steroid enemas. Eight additional patients (2.1 per cent) recorded similar problems but received no treatment and the symptoms settled spontaneously. Glutaraldehyde levels rose progressively in the rinse water after each wash cycle with 2 per cent glutaraldehyde solution. Only one possible case of proctitis (0.2 per cent) was identified from the questionnaires completed by 612 patients after changing to a washer that did not recycle the rinse water. CONCLUSION: These observations should prompt the careful assessment of cleaning techniques. The use of washing machines that do not recycle rinse water may avoid this complication.

Colorectal Neoplasms

Use of stroke distance in the early detection of simulated blood loss.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of simulated and mild actual hemorrhage on parameters used traditionally to assess hemorrhaging patients: heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and Shock Index (SI = HR/systolic BP), with stroke distance (SD) measured ultrasonically as an index of cardiac stroke volume. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hemorrhage was simulated in 19 healthy volunteers by the application of graded lower-body negative pressure (LBNP) (0, -20, -40, and -60 mm Hg) to pool blood in the lower body and reduce venous return. Measurements were also made before and after a standard blood donation (450 mL) in nine healthy volunteers. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: SD decreased significantly and progressively from the baseline level of 23.8+/-5.7 cm (mean+/-SD) at each level of LBNP: by 3.4+/-1.9, 7.4+/-2.5, and 11.8+/-3.2 cm at LBNP of -20, -40, and -60 mm Hg, respectively. Neither HR nor SI changed significantly at the lowest level of LBNP (-20 mm Hg), but they showed progressive, significant increases thereafter. Mean BP did not change significantly at any level of LBNP. Similarly, after a controlled hemorrhage of 450 mL, SD decreased significantly by 3.3+/-1.6 cm from 22.2+/-2.8 cm, whereas HR and SI remained unchanged and mean BP increased slightly. CONCLUSION: Changes in SD may provide an earlier indication of progressive blood loss than either HR or BP alone or in combination.

Adult

A comparison of RIGR and SVD dynamic imaging methods.

Several constrained imaging methods have recently been proposed for dynamic imaging applications. This paper compares two of these methods: the Reduced-encoding Imaging by Generalized-series Reconstruction (RIGR) and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) methods. RIGR utilizes a priori data for optimal image reconstruction whereas the SVD method seeks to optimize data acquisition. However, this study shows that the existing SVD encoding method tends to bias the data acquisition scheme toward reproducing the known features in the reference image. This characteristic of the SVD encoding method reduces its capability to capture new image features and makes it less suitable than RIGR for dynamic imaging applications.

Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

Posturographic evidence of nonorganic sway patterns in normal subjects, patients, and suspected malingerers.

During the last 10 years, computerized dynamic posturography has yielded various patterns of sway on the sensory organization test and the motor control test that have been associated with a variety of organic balance disorders. Some aspects of performance during computerized dynamic posturography, however, are under conscious control. Voluntary movements not indicative of physiologic response to balance system stimulation can also affect computerized dynamic posturography results. Quantification of nonorganic or "aphysiologic" response patterns in normal subjects, patients, and suspected malingerers is crucial to justify use of computerized dynamic posturography for identification of physiologically inconsistent results. For this purpose the computerized dynamic posturography records of 122 normal subjects, 347 patients with known or suspected balance disorders, and 72 subjects instructed to feign a balance disturbance were critically evaluated by use of seven measurement criteria, which were postulated as indicating aphysiologic sway. Each criterion was scored with a standard calculation of the raw data in a random, blinded fashion. The results of this multicenter study show that three of the seven criteria are significantly different in the suspected "malingerer" group when compared with either the normal or patient group. The relative strength of each criterion in discerning organic from nonorganic sway provides the examiner with a measure of reliability during platform posture testing. This study demonstrates that computerized dynamic posturography can accurately identify and document nonorganic sway patterns during routine assessment of posture control.

Adult

Idiopathic bilateral vestibular loss.

We describe the clinical and laboratory features of 13 patients with bilateral loss of peripheral vestibular sensitivity of no known cause. In the office, screening for this condition was possible using illegible e-testing and examination of the patient for refixation saccades after brisk head movements while attempting visual fixation. Diagnosis was confirmed by bilaterally reduced caloric responses (< 20 degrees/second on all 4 caloric irrigations) and abnormally low gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex on rotational chair testing. The mean age of the patients was 68 years. We noted two patterns of symptom onset: onset associated with vertigo (10 patients) and insidious progressive disequilibrium not associated with vertigo (3 patients). Only 38% of the patients complained of subjective oscillopsia. The subjects performed poorly on platform posturography, particularly when deprived of visual and somatosensory feedback. When associated with vertigo, bilateral vestibular loss may be the result of bilateral sequential vestibular neuritis; when not associated with vertigo, disequilibrium may be caused by slow, symmetrical loss of peripheral function as a result of aging. Although the subjects in this report were elderly, idiopathic bilateral vestibular loss has been reported in patients of all ages.

Aged

A software system for interactive MR signal processing.

This paper describes a new software platform called "V" which is designed for interactive processing of magnetic resonance data. The package currently contains a variety of functions for image reconstruction and spectral data analysis. More importantly, it provides a framework to facilitate the exchange and application of processing algorithms among researchers in the field. We discuss the architecture of the package, give an example to demonstrate its operation and provide instructions for obtaining the software.

Algorithms

Whole body positron emission tomography imaging of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus macaques.

Pathogenesis of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in rhesus macaques begins with acute viremia and then progresses to a distributed infection in the solid lymphoid tissues, which is followed by a process of cellular destruction leading to terminal disease and death. Blood and tissue specimens show the progress of infection at the cellular level but do not reveal the pattern of infection and host responses occurring throughout the body. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with intravenous 2-18F-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) could identify activated lymphoid tissues in a living animal and whether this pattern would reflect the extent of SIV infection. PET images from SIV-infected animals were distinguishable from uninfected controls and revealed a pattern consistent with widespread lymphoid tissue activation. Significant FDG accumulation in colon along with mesenteric and ileocaecal lymph nodes was found in SIV infection, especially during terminal disease stages. Areas of elevated FDG uptake in the PET images were correlated with productive SIV infection using in situ hybridization as a test for virus replication. PET-FDG images of SIV-infected animals correlated sites of virus replication with high FDG accumulation. These data show that the method can be used to evaluate the distribution and activity of infected tissues in a living animal without biopsy. Fewer tissues had high FDG uptake in terminal animals than midstage animals, and both were clearly distinguishable from uninfected animal scans.

Animals

Fast dynamic imaging using two reference images.

This paper presents a fast dynamic imaging method which is characterized by the acquisition of two high-resolution reference images and a sequence of low-resolution dynamic data sets. Image reconstruction is accomplished using a generalized series based algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that dynamic images with high temporal resolution can be obtained while maintaining excellent spatial resolution. This method will be useful for a variety of dynamic imaging applications including contrast-enhanced dynamic imaging and functional brain studies.

Algorithms

Head-shake vestibulo-ocular reflex testing: comparison of results with rotational chair testing.

The currently accepted "gold standard" for rotational testing of the vestibulo-ocular reflex uses a servo-controlled chair for sinusoidal whole-body rotation. Previous work in our laboratory has shown good concordance between conventional rotational chair testing and head-on-body (or "head-shake") testing for gain and phase values of the vestibulo-ocular reflex as recorded and analyzed on our rotational chair system's software. In this article we describe results obtained from 10 normal subjects and 20 patients with reduced caloric responses using a portable system being developed in our laboratory that allows an examiner to generate both whole-body and head-on-body rotational stimuli. Test frequencies within the range 0.25 to 1.0 Hz were chosen for comparison with results obtained by conventional rotational chair testing. Visual conditions for all tests included both visually enhanced vestibulo-ocular reflex (real earth-fixed target) and mentally enhanced vestibulo-ocular reflex (imagined earth-fixed target, in darkness or with vision obscured) paradigms. Our results show general agreement between head-shake and rotational chair testing and both manual whole-body rotation and head-shake testing on our portable system for vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and phase testing, with the largest differences noted at 1.0 Hz. Portable rotational testing was well tolerated by young and elderly subjects alike. We expect manual whole-body rotation and head-shake testing will be useful adjuncts for examining vestibulo-ocular reflex function when more formal rotational chair testing is not possible.

Adult

Estrogen replacement therapy and postural stability in the elderly.

Postural instability and falls in the elderly patient constitute a major health care problem. The etiology is often multifactorial, involving abnormal sensory input (visual, vestibular, and somatosensory), poor central processing, and suboptimal musculoskeletal biomechanics. Estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to prevent Alzheimer's disease and to improve cognitive performance in women with dementia. It was, therefore, postulated that estrogen replacement may improve central processing speed, which would result in improved postural stability. In this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study, 87 elderly female subjects (age > 69) were examined by repeated dynamic platform posturography, to measure the effect of estrogen therapy versus placebo upon postural stability. Results indicate that those receiving estrogen had no significant improvement in postural stability at 2 and 8 months of treatment relative to those receiving placebo. Trail Making B test was used as the psychometric test of central processing speed. There was no significant effect of estrogen on this measure over the 8 months of observations. It is concluded that 8 months of estrogen replacement therapy has no significant effect on central processing speed or postural stability in a healthy older female population.

Aged

Cerebral vasocapacitance in human aging.

To show a relationship between age and cerebral blood flow as well as between age and cerebral vasocapacitance to induced hypercapnia or cerebral reserve percentage, positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18-fluoromethane was used to study 36 normal subjects and 36 patients, all free of stroke, who presented with transient ischemic attacks in a unilateral carotid distribution. Symptomatic-side data have been published elsewhere. All asymptomatic carotid arteries were either normal or had nonstenotic plaque, and subjects were free of intracranial stenoses. Cerebral blood flow and cerebral reserve percentage were calculated for both middle cerebral artery flow territories. Serum hematocrit, expired carbon dioxide tension, and mean arterial blood pressure did not distinguish the two groups of patients or show an age effect. For the 72 normal nonstenotic sides in the volunteers, linear regression showed that while increasing age was significantly related to decreasing cerebral blood flow in the middle cerebral artery, there was no particular relationship between age and decreasing cerebral reserve percentage. In patients, while no overwhelming linear relationships were found between age and decreases in either cerebral blood flow or cerebral reserve percentage, the latter values approached significance as declining cerebral reserve percentage did relate to increasing age. Over a 60-year range in normal subjects, cerebral blood flow declined 37% with age; there was a 21% age-related decrease when normal subjects 50 years and younger were compared to those 50 years and older.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

The effect of audit and feedback on data recording in the accident and emergency department.

Thirteen newly appointed senior house officers (SHOs) at two hospitals were assessed in the recording of two variables: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and diagnostic coding at Hospital A, and GCS at Hospital B. At Hospitals A and B baseline recordings of these variables were established. Active feedback (in the form of data presentation and discussion) was given at 6 and 11 weeks and a final 4-week audit was performed on GCS recordings at 20 weeks. Analysis of GCS recordings of head injuries at Hospitals A and B showed an increase from baseline values of 162/401 (40%) to 336/420 (80%) after feedback 1, and after feedback 2 recordings increased to 379/429 (88%). This was maintained in the last 4-week audit which showed recordings of 220/244 (90%). Further analysis of Hospital A's data showed the SHOs recorded diagnostic coding in 1335/4406 (30%) of cases. After feedback 1, recordings increased to 2550/3327 (77%). After feedback 2 there was no change in recording 2712/3530 (77%). Active feedback improves data recording. The first feedback has a greater impact than the second. Two feedbacks produce a sustained effect in 6 months.

Craniocerebral Trauma

Acute changes in glucose uptake after treatment: the effects of carmustine (BCNU) on human glioblastoma multiforme.

Sequential positron emission tomographic scans with [18F]-2-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG) were performed on 6 patients with glioblastoma multiforme who were treated with adjuvant BCNU. Scans were acquired before and 24 hours after BCNU. All patients had prior brain irradiation. Ratios between the maximal tumor FDG uptake and the contralateral white matter FDG uptake, the glucose uptake ratio, were determined. Percent changes in the glucose uptake ratio between the baseline scan and the 24 hour post-treatment scan were of prognostic significance. Patients with the largest percent changes in FDG uptake had the shortest survival. In contrast, neither the baseline glucose uptake ratio nor the visual tumor grade accurately predicted length of survival.

Biological Transport, Active

Early changes in tumor metabolism after treatment: the effects of stereotactic radiotherapy.

Four patients with intracranial neoplasms, two with malignant gliomas and two with brain metastases, were treated with stereotactic radiotherapy. Patients received between 15 and 27.5 Gray of photon irradiation to the central tumor target point; the 80% isodose line covered the periphery of the tumor as determined by contrast enhanced computed tomography. Patients underwent a sequence of three Positron Emission Tomographic scans using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG)--a baseline scan the day before treatment, and follow-up scans 1 and 7 days after treatment. Ratios between the maximal tumor regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRGlu) (T*) and the contralateral remote white matter rCMRGlu (RW), that is, the glucose uptake ratio (T*/RW), were calculated. The percent change in ratios relative to each patient's baseline scan were calculated. Ratios increased 25% to 42% 1 day post-radiotherapy, then decreased to between 10% above and 12% below the baseline value 7 days post-radiotherapy. The T*/RW increased acutely after stereotactic radiotherapy in a fashion similar to that previously described following chemotherapy with a complex multi-drug regimen. A common metabolic pathway may underlie the increase in T*/RW after these different treatments.

Brain Neoplasms

Cerebral diaschisis in patients with malignant glioma.

A positron emission tomography study using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose was undertaken to identify and quantitate whether diaschisis occurred in cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, or thalamus, as well as in cerebellar cortex and dentate nuclei in patients with malignant glioma. The relationship between diaschisis in these cerebral structures and clinically significant hemiparesis in patients was analysed. A 30% decrease in the regional metabolic rate for glucose in the cerebellar hemisphere contralateral to the tumor, and ipsilateral to the motor deficit, was identified and was statistically significant (p greater than 0.001). Decreased metabolism in the cerebellar hemisphere contralateral to the tumor was not seen in patients without hemiparesis. Parietal lobes affected by tumor had a larger decrease in metabolism than did frontal lobes with tumor (p greater than 0.01). The overall metabolism of the unaffected cerebellar hemisphere, relative to the peak metabolic activity of the brain, was not depressed in patients with tumor. In addition, the activity of subcortical nuclei was relatively unaffected by adjacent tumor or motor deficit.

Brain

Cerebral vasocapacitance and TIAs.

We report the vasocapacitance of the cerebral circulation, as determined by cerebral blood flow reactivity to induced hypercapnia using fluoromethane positron emission tomography, in 32 patients with unilateral anterior circulation transient ischemic attacks. A hemodynamic subset of eight patients, defined based on exertional, positional, orthostatic, or cardiac dysrhythmic induction of symptomatology, is characterized by multiple (median, 4.5 attacks per patient), brief (median, 2.5 minutes per attack), continued episodes of hemispheric ischemia including focal limb shaking. Symptomatic middle cerebral artery flow territories show significantly lower (p less than 0.04) and more asymmetric (p = 0.036) vasodilatory responses in the hemodynamic subset. Although ipsilateral internal carotid artery occlusion is more prevalent in the hemodynamic subset, the features of age, mean arterial blood pressure, carbon dioxide values, serum glucose, serum hematocrit, and number or type of risk factors do not differ significantly between groups. These studies of vasocapacitance help validate clinical criteria for cerebral hemodynamic events with an objective physiologic measurement.

Cerebral Angiography