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Biomedical subjects

L Wright

Publications and source records attributed to L Wright.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

On the validity of an Augmented Structured Interview for measuring subcomponents of the Type A behavior pattern.

This study was designed to provide validity data for the Augmented Structured Interview (ASI), which has been developed to measure subcomponents (as opposed to the global) Type A behavior pattern (TABP). Eighty subjects from a large private southwestern medical center were administered a self-report measure of the TABP (the Jenkins Activity Survey--JAS) and the ASI. Forty of the subjects were being treated for post-infarction coronary heart disease (CHD). The remaining forty subjects did not possess documented CHD. The obtained ratings for all the six ASI-measured Type A subcomponents were significantly higher for the CHD than for the non-CHD group. A discriminant functions analysis revealed that the ASI was superior to the JAS in correctly classifying CHD and non-CHD subjects. These outcomes are interpreted as providing initial support for the validity of the ASI.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The OPQ: a proposed instrument for predicting poisoning accident recurrence in young children.

A 26-item self-report questionnaire for parents/guardians was constructed for potential use with first-exposure childhood poisoning victims to predict high risk for subsequent poisoning episodes. Data were obtained from 185 subjects served by 1 of 5 US regional poison control centers. The resulting device was labeled the OPQ. Its retrospective validity (R = 0.71) and test-retest reliability (0.81) are viewed as sufficient. The test itself, with accompanying scoring key and norms, are provided here in the hope that other clinicians and researchers will join in subjecting the OPQ to prospective validity studies and other forms of Scale refinement.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1992

Macular disease in an elderly population.

In order to obtain more accurate information concerning the prevalence of macular diseases in an elderly population, a clinical study was undertaken on a sample of 430 members of the general population over the age of 65 years in London. Degenerative age-related macular changes were clinically visible in about 25%, and 2.8% had a lesion causing loss of visual acuity due to macular disease. Age was the only risk factor identified for age-related changes. No correlation was identified with the prevalence of hypertension, smoking, or diabetes mellitus between groups. In addition, symmetry was shown in the number of drusen, as well as their size, density and fluorescence in the central and peripheral areas between the eyes of affected subjects. The prevalence data from this study represent a baseline for the interpretation of hospital-based data and for the planning of health care.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Newborn screening: the miracle and the challenge.

Modern newborn screening programs are coordinated multi-disorder systems for prevention of infant death and disability, which include statewide infant screening, rapid retrieval, early intervention, and long-term follow-up. Screening programs are dynamic, with new tests being evaluated and added. Because nurses are actively involved in all phases of newborn screening, they must be knowledgeable about each disorder and changing screening requirements. This article reviews basic defects, genetics, incidence, symptoms, treatment, and specific newborn screening requirements for the eight disorders most widely incorporated into statewide newborn screening programs, and discusses practical nursing interventions.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1991

And donor makes three.

A growing number of infertile women are being implanted with embryos conceived from their husband's sperm and eggs donated by other women. Though some clinics report a success rate of one in three, such adopt-an-embryo procedures pose legal, ethical and emotional problems.

Embryo Transfer↗
PubMed1991

Induction of long-term survival of hamster heart xenografts in rats.

The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms responsible for concordant xenograft rejection using the hamster-to-rat heart graft model. Even though it was known that rat CD4 positive T cells proliferated to hamster stimulators in mixed lymphocyte reactions, the depletion of CD4 positive T cells in rat recipients did not lead to an extension of xenograft survival. Suppression of T cell immunity using other monoclonal antibodies or cyclosporine also failed to improve survival. Only by depleting complement with cobra-venom factor could hamster xenograft survival be prolonged, and long-term survival was achieved by combining CsA with COF. High-antibody titers to hamster cells were found after transplantation of hamster hearts, and evidence is presented that rejection of these "concordant" xenografts is mediated primarily by antibody-complement mechanisms. The antihamster antibodies were produced in the absence of T cell help, which suggests that antibody-mediated graft destruction cannot be inhibited by suppression or depletion of T cells. Pharmacologic depletion of complement for the clinical application of concordant xenografts is a promising avenue of future research.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Changes in hepatic glutathione metabolism in diabetes.

Glutathione is important in the regulation of the redox state, and a decline in its tissue level has often been considered to be indicative of increased oxidative stress in diabetes. In this study of diabetic rats, the level of hepatic glutathione was normal unless food intake was restricted. Thus, the previous report of a reduction in hepatic glutathione in diabetes is likely to be the result of food deprivation rather than diabetes alone. In contrast to changes characteristic of oxidative stress, the efflux of glutathione in bile from diabetic animals was significantly decreased, whereas hepatic mixed disulfides were unchanged, and the hepatic gamma-glutamyltransferase activity was considerably increased. These changes were not reproduced by food deprivation. The decrease in biliary excretion of glutathione in diabetes may reflect an attempt to conserve glutathione by activation of the hepatic gamma-glutamyl cycle. We conclude that the disturbances of glutathione metabolism in diabetes are not typical of those seen in oxidative stress or food restriction.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Very low birth weight outcomes of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Network.

This report describes the neonatal outcomes of 1765 very low birth weight (less than 1500 g) infants delivered from November 1987 through October 1988 at the seven participating centers of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Intensive Care Network. Survival was 34% at less than 751 g birth weight (range between centers 20% to 55%), 66% at 751 through 1000 g (range 42% to 75%), 87% at 1001 through 1250 g (range 84% to 91%), and 93% at 1251 through 1500 g (range 89% to 98%). By obstetric measures of gestation, survival was 23% at 23 weeks (range 0% to 33%), 34% at 24 weeks (range 10% to 57%), and 54% at 25 weeks (range 30% to 72%). Neonatal morbidity included respiratory distress (67%), symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (25%), necrotizing enterocolitis (6%), septicemia (17%), meningitis (2%), urinary tract infection (4%), and intraventricular hemorrhage (45%, 18% grade III and IV). Morbidity increased with decreasing birth weight. Oxygen was administered for greater than or equal to 28 days to 79% of less than 751-g birth weight infants (range between centers 67% to 100%), 45% of 751- through 1000-g infants (range 20% to 68%), and 13% of 1001- through 1500-g infants (range 5% to 23%). Ventilator support for greater than or equal to 28 days was given to 68% of infants at less than 751 g, 29% at 751 through 1000 g, and 4% at greater than 1000 g. Hospital stay was 59 days for survivors vs 15 days for infants who died. Sixty-nine percent of survivors had subnormal (less than 10th percentile) weight at discharge. The data demonstrate important intercenter variation of current neonatal outcomes, as well as differences in philosophy of care and definition and prevalence of morbidity.

Gestational Age↗
PubMed1990

The use of conditioned cues associated with air hunger as reinforcers: a case report.

During the operant conditioning of eating behavior with a 3-year-old boy who breathed with the aid of a respirator, it was discovered serendipitiously that the patient had apparently associated certain secondary cues with the experience of air hunger. An attempt was made to use these cues as secondary reinforcers to condition eating behavior. The results were dramatic. Implications for the use of conditioned cues associated with air hunger as secondary reinforcers in the conditioning of respiratory, and possibly other, patients are discussed.

Anorexia↗
PubMed1990

Effect of coronary stenosis on myocardial blood flow during exercise in the chronically pressure-overloaded hypertrophied left ventricle.

This study was performed to determine if a coronary artery stenosis would result in more-severe perfusion abnormalities in hypertrophied compared with normal canine hearts during exercise. Studies were performed in eight normal control dogs and in seven adult dogs in which a 67% increase in left ventricular mass wa produced by banding the ascending aorta at 9 weeks of age. Myocardial blood flow was measured by the microsphere method during treadmill exercise in the presence of a coronary artery stenosis that decreased distal coronary perfusion pressure to 55 or 42 mm Hg. At a coronary pressure of 55 mm Hg, mean myocardial blood flow was decreased by 23 +/- 5% in normal control dogs but was decreased by 53 +/- 10% in dogs with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (p less than 0.05, comparing normal vs. LVH dogs). Similarly, at a coronary pressure of 42 mm Hg, mean blood flow was decreased by 53 +/- 6% below control in normal dogs but was decreased by 76 +/- 5% below control values in dogs with LVH (p less than 0.01, comparing normal vs. LVH dogs). In both groups of dogs, the stenosis caused a gradient of hypoperfusion, worsening from epicardium to endocardium. However, for each level of stenosis, subendocardial blood flow and the ratio of subendocardial to subepicardial blood flow was less in LVH than in normal canine hearts. These findings demonstrate that the presence of LVH secondary to long-term pressure overload is associated with an increased vulnerability to myocardial hypoperfusion during exercise in the presence of a coronary artery stenosis.

Animals↗