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Biomedical subjects

M Finn

Publications and source records attributed to M Finn.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Amebic infections in asymptomatic homosexual men, lack of evidence of invasive disease.

A survey for enteric infections in 140 asymptomatic homosexual men who attended a community clinic revealed a high prevalence of infection with Entamoeba histolytica (27.1 per cent) and Giardia lamblia (15.7 per cent). In contrast, the prevalence of elevated indirect hemagglutination (IHA) titers (greater than or equal to 1:128), which indicate invasive amebiasis, was low (5.7 per cent). Our findings suggest that only a limited amount of invasive amebic disease is occurring in this group of homosexual men.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lipoperoxides as an index of free radical activity in bone marrow transplant recipients. Preliminary observations.

It has been previously demonstrated that the conditioning therapy given to bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients creates a high oxidant stress, resulting in a measured reduction in antioxidants, such as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), vitamin E, and cell peroxide fragilities. As part of a current intervention trial of antioxidant therapy in BMT recipients, plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were measured to assess peroxidation and free radical activity. Measurements were performed before and after conditioning therapy, and then at weekly intervals for a period of 6 wk after transplantation in 20 patients (10 controls and 10 antioxidant therapy [AOT] recipients). The TBARS results were compared with concurrent measurements of more specific elements of the antioxidant pathways, such as red blood cell glutathione peroxidase (RBC-GSH-Px), plasma vitamin C, and serum vitamin E. In all cases, TBARS concentration was significantly increased after conditioning compared with baseline levels (p < 0.001), an increase that correlated inversely with RBC-GSH-Px (r = -0.81; p < 0.01). The TBARS concentration fell gradually after conditioning in all patients. The fall in the AOT group was more rapid than in the control group, and it paralleled the gradual return toward normal levels of the other antioxidants. The change in TBARS concentration occurred faster than changes in other indices, suggesting that TBARS might be a better index of overall free radical activity. Although the patient numbers are small, there is some evidence to suggest that MDA may act as a prognostic marker.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tremulous characteristics of the vacuous jaw movements induced by pilocarpine and ventrolateral striatal dopamine depletions.

Vacuous jaw movements induced by the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine and striatal dopamine depletions were examined using a slow motion videotape system. With this procedure, rats were videotaped in a Plexiglas tube so that the profile of the head region could be seen. Vacuous jaw movements were analyzed by examining the tape at 1/6 normal speed. An observer recorded each jaw movement using a computer, and the computer program re-calculated the temporal characteristics of jaw movement responses back to normal speed. The interresponse time was recorded for each jaw movement, and each jaw movement interresponse time was assigned to a 50 ms wide time bin. Thus, the distribution of interresponse times could be used to analyze the temporal characteristics of jaw movement responses. In the first experiment, rats were administered saline vehicle, 1.0 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg pilocarpine. The rats were videotaped 10-15 min after injection, and the data were analyzed as described above. Pilocarpine induced very high levels of vacuous jaw movements, and the vast majority of all movements occurred in "bursts" with interresponse times of 1.0 s or less. Analysis of the interresponse time distributions showed that most of the jaw movements were within the 150-350 ms range. The modal jaw movement interresponse time was in the 150-200 ms range, which corresponds to a local frequency of 5-6.66 Hz. In the second experiment, the neurotoxic agent 6-hydroxydopamine was injected directly into the ventrolateral striatum in order to produce a local dopamine depletion. The dopamine-depleted rats were observed for jaw movements 7 days after surgery. The overall level of jaw movement activity resulting from dopamine-depletion was much lower than that produced by pilocarpine. There was a significant inverse correlation between ventrolateral striatal dopamine levels and total number of vacuous jaw movements. Videotape analysis indicated that the temporal characteristics of jaw movements induced by dopamine depletions were similar to those shown with pilocarpine. These experiments indicate that vacuous jaw movements induced by pilocarpine and striatal dopamine depletion occur in a frequency range similar to that shown in parkinsonian tremor.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pastoral care: marketing "high touch".

Marketing pastoral care skills is important both within and without the health care organization. To increase administrators' awareness of the value of the pastoral care department, for example, chaplains must be able to demonstrate that their activities can affect the bottom line. They must therefore develop a system of accountability that defines and measures their services in objective terms. Such a system would include the reporting of monthly visit statistics as well as the collection of data from patients and personnel on the adequacy of pastoral care services. Other awareness-building activities could include participation in nursing practice rounds, in-service presentations, involvement in hospital social events, and placement of articles about pastoral care in hospital publications. Activities that would help to foster good community relations and thereby improve census include participation in the area clergy association, work with local church groups that visit the sick and the homebound, providing speakers to community organizations, and sponsoring a memorial Mass for families of patients who have died at the hospital. Pastoral care staff should not feel threatened by the changing health care environment. Instead they must recognize the opportunity it provides to create ways to minister to a new mix of patients and to reach new groups.

Catholicism↗