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Biomedical subjects

K Nash

Publications and source records attributed to K Nash.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Evidence that the hypothermic response of mice to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is not mediated by changes in thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue.

Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (20 mg/kg i.p.) and propranolol (20 and 50 mg/kg i.p.) produced marked falls in the rectal temperatures of mice kept at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C. Propranolol (50 mg/kg i.p.) also decreased the thermogenic activity of brown fat, as measured by a decrease in the level of [3H]GDP binding to mitochondria obtained from mouse interscapular brown adipose tissue. In contrast, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (20 mg/kg i.p.) did not affect mitochondrial GDP binding even though the dose used was one shown previously to depress heat production. GDP binding was also unaffected by this cannabinoid in brown adipose tissue taken from mice that had been kept at 13 degrees C instead of 22 degrees C. In mice kept at 34 degrees C, isoprenaline (0.25 and 1.0 mg/kg s.c.) induced a marked rise in rectal temperature and increased the level of GDP binding to brown fat mitochondria. Propranolol (50 mg/kg i.p.) prevented the hyperthermic response to isoprenaline, the mice becoming hypothermic instead. Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (20 mg/kg i.p.) had no effect on isoprenaline-induced hyperthermia. We conclude from these data that there is no significant involvement of brown adipose tissue in the hypothermic response of mice to delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Adipose Tissue↗

A randomized trial of Veterans Administration home care for severely disabled veterans.

This randomized study screened hospital admissions to all wards except Psychiatry and Spinal Cord Injured during a 3-year period to identify 233 severely disabled patients (2 impairments on the Katz Index of ADL) and caregivers who were willing to participate in a pretest-multiple posttest trial of the Hines VA Hospital-based Home Care (HBHC) Program. Patient functional status, morale, and satisfaction with care were measured at baseline, 1 month and 6 months post discharge. Caregiver satisfaction and morale were assessed at the same time periods. All health care services used by both groups were tracked over the 6-month period and converted to cost. Findings include improved 1-month satisfaction with care (P = 0.04) and improved 6-month cognitive functioning (P = 0.04) among HBHC patients and improved 1-month (P = 0.04) and 6-month satisfaction with care (P less than 0.01) among their caregivers. A nonsignificant 10% decrease in net cost of care, was found in the treatment group, largely due to lower use of private sector hospital care.

Aftercare↗

Cost-effectiveness of Veterans Administration hospital-based home care. A randomized clinical trial.

A randomized design was used to examine the cost-effectiveness of a Veterans Administration hospital-based home care program that case managed inpatient and outpatient care. Patients (N = 419) with two or more functional impairments or a terminal illness were randomized to hospital-based home care (n = 211) or customary care (n = 208). Functional status, satisfaction with care, and morale were measured at baseline and at 1 and 6 months after discharge from the hospital; health care utilization was tracked for 6 months. Findings included significantly higher (0.1 on a three-point scale) patient and caregiver satisfaction with care at 1 month and lower Veterans Administration and private sector hospital costs ($3000 vs $4245) for the experimental group. Net per person health care costs were also 13% lower in the experimental group. We conclude that this model of hospital-based home care is cost-effective and that its expansion to cover these two patient groups throughout the Veterans Administration system can improve patient care at no additional cost.

Aged↗

New dental graduates: mobility and choice of dental practice arrangement. Bureau of Economic and Behavioral Research.

The key to understanding changes in the distribution of dentists through time is organizing and understanding the location decisions of recent graduates and dentists leaving the armed forces and federal service. New graduates represented approximately 57% of the new practices located between 1976 and 1979, and dentists in institutional service represented 21% of all movers. The migration rate among private practicing dentists who remain in private practice is roughly one-third the rate among all dentists. Further, practitioners who do move do not move very far. The proportion of interstate moves among all private practitioners that moved was only 28%. Apparently, migration among private practicing dentists is a statistically negligible phenomenon, at least in the short run. In contrast, more than 5,000 people have graduated from dental school each year since 1976. Of these, the majority immediately enter private practice, with most of the remainder split between specialty education and some form of institutional practice. Within approximately five years, the transition of the graduation cohort is largely complete. In the three years studied, the number of dentists entering private practice from either dental school or institutional practice is roughly four times the number of private practicing dentists who relocated. Few dentists in private practice do not own or share in the ownership of the practice where they treat patients. Although a higher percentage of the younger, less experienced dentists are in salaried, commissioned, or associate positions compared with all dentists, the majority assumes ownership positions soon after leaving dental school.

Dentists↗

Changes in CNS responses to high pressure during maturation of newborn mice.

From birth to maturity CD-2 mice were exposed to progressively increasing pressures of helium-oxygen. In all age groups a regular progression of changes in locomotor behavior was observed including, in sequence, increased locomotor activity and two types of convulsions designated as types I and II. The effects of altering compression rate and of reserpine pretreatment were recorded for all age groups. Maturation in these mice is associated with increased resistance to high-pressure neurological syndrome convulsions of either type, in contrast to what might have been expected from previous phylogenetic studies. The patterns in development of the two seizure types differ greatly in detail, further supporting the previously advanced inference that they represent neurological events that differ in kind rather than merely quantitatively. The effect of the results on theories that concern the mechanism of action of pressure on the vertebrate central nervous system is discussed.

Aging↗

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor update. Potential adverse food and drug interactions.

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are medicines with potential for therapeutic gains, but they may also have adverse consequences. The risk: benefit ratio is assessed and, in appropriately selected cases, efficacy should outweigh disadvantages. Hypotension is the most prominent side-effect; yet the primary concern in the MAOI-treated person is to prevent co-exposure to substances with indirectly-acting sympathomimetic properties. Such co-utilisations from certain foods or drugs can result in dangerous hypertensive and hyperpyretic crises. A responsible individual should be involved in the administration of these drugs. The patient and family must fully understand the self-discretionary diet avoidance rules, which stress abstinence from high-tyramine foods. Drug prohibitions also emphasise elimination of indirect action sympathomimetics, but all pharmaceutical applications are always strictly controlled by the well informed physician who prescribes MAOIs. Treatment of the hypertensive crisis is urgent and includes alpha-blockade. Overdoses require supportive therapies and may necessitate acidification of the urine.

Drug Interactions↗