Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Cook.
Professional athletes present unique issues in the treatment of spinal injuries for clinicians, physical therapists, and trainers. This article describes the special concerns in developing a program for retraining the professional athlete with a back injury.
Ex vivo synthesis of nitrite (NO2-) by nephritic glomeruli provides evidence of induction of nitric oxide (NO) in glomerulonephritis (GN). In macrophage-associated GN, the major source is infiltrating macrophages. As induction of NO synthesis has now been shown in cultured mesangial cells, we have examined whether in vivo mesangial proliferation is a source of NO2-. Mesangial proliferative GN was induced by intravenous anti-Thy1.1 (monoclonal antibody ER4). Isolated glomeruli were assayed for NO2- synthesis and macrophage infiltration on day 4 (mesangiolytic phase) and on day 7 (mesangial proliferation). On day 4, but not on day 7, basal NO2- was increased (8.3 +/- 1.8, controls 0.7 +/- 0.1 nmol/2,000 glomeruli/48 h; p = 0.05) and there was macrophage infiltration (60 +/- 15; controls 14 macrophages/glomerulus). At both times NO2- was elevated by exogenous IL1 or LPS, more significantly on day 4 than on day 7. Thus, mesangial proliferative lesions are not a source of basal NO2-, and macrophages are the most likely source. However, NO2- can be induced in mesangial proliferative glomeruli by exogenous stimuli, findings similar to those reported in cultured mesangial cells. Irradiation experiments in normal rats show that stimulated NO2- synthesis is inhibited by macrophage depletion. Therefore in neither normal nor proliferative glomeruli is there evidence for mesangial cell production of NO2-.
A review of pre- and postoperative prone knee flexion (PKF) data after isolated hamstring tenotomy for 52 patients with cerebral palsy (CP) at an average follow-up of 3 years 4 months showed the frequency of diminished knee flexion to be 71%. Twenty-three percent of the knees actually had improved flexion, whereas 6% were unchanged. On the average, patients' flexion decreased 14.4 degrees from a preoperative PKF of 131.5 degrees to 117.1 degrees postoperatively (p < 0.0001). Only 11.5% of patients had PKF < 90 degrees at most recent follow-up, however; only 1.9% had PKF < 60 degrees. Thirteen percent of ambulators eventually required a rectus femoris transfer to correct "stiff-legged gait."