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Biomedical subjects

W D Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to W D Thompson.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1970

Predicting measures of motor performance from multiple cortical spike trains.

Recordings have been obtained simultaneously from several, individually selected neurons in the motor cortex of unanesthetized monkey as the animal performed simple arm movements. With the use of comparatively simple quantitative procedures, the activity of small sets of cells was found to be adequate for rather accurate real-time prediction of the time course of various response measurements. In addition, the results suggest that hypotheses concerning the response variables "controlled" by cortical motor systems may well depend upon whether or not the temporal relations between simultaneously active neurons are taken into account.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of Wnt genes in early wound healing.

The Wnt family of developmental genes has previously been shown to be involved in proliferation, differentiation, and cell to cell signaling during embryogenesis. In addition, several Wnt genes have been shown to be expressed during carcinogenesis. We have investigated these genes during the wound-healing process. Wnt-4 gene expression is found in mouse wounds from 2 hours to 30 hours postwounding. The expression of Wnt-4 is also stimulated by direct trauma to murine fibroblasts in culture, and the expression is greatly enhanced by the addition of a short plasmin digest of fibrin. Therefore the regulation of Wnt-4, appears to be complex, with expression being stimulated both by direct trauma and by the influence of clotting and fibrinolysis products. We propose that the expression of Wnt-4 in the early wound, in response to the provisional fibrin matrix, regulates cell movement and proliferation in the creation of new tissue by mechanisms related to those of embryogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exposure to chemotherapeutic agents and the risk of a second breast cancer: preliminary findings.

Chemotherapeutic treatment for cancer has been successful in prolonging survival but may also lead to the development of second cancers. Two case-control studies presented here suggest, however, that breast cancer patients who receive chemotherapy are at significantly lower risk of a contralateral breast cancer than those who do not. Approximately 300 incident cases of contralateral breast cancer and 300 randomly chosen surviving controls with unilateral breast cancer were identified through the Connecticut Tumor Registry for inclusion in each study. The initial study was based on review of medical records at eight hospitals and indicated that the overall association with chemotherapy was modified by body build. The second study obtained information from in-person interviews, hospital records, and outpatient chemotherapy records from across the state. The preliminary results of this second study confirm the previous findings. Both cytotoxic and hormonal drugs were associated with a reduction in the risk of second breast cancers (OR = 0.5, 95 percent CI: 0.3-1.0; OR = 0.5, 95 percent CI: 0.2-1.2, respectively). Significant interaction with body build was observed for hormonal treatment (ratio of ORs = 5.8, 95 percent CI: 1.0-34.3 for a five-unit change in Quetelet's index), with a nonsignificant but detrimental effect suggested for overweight women (OR = 2.3, 95 percent CI: 0.4-13.9 for a Quetelet's score of 35).

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methodologic perspectives on the study of multiple primary cancers.

Investigations of the patterns of occurrence of multiple primary cancers of the same organ or of different organs provide important data concerning the carcinogenic potential of various therapies used in the treatment of cancer. Associations between cancers arising in different organs may also suggest hypotheses concerning shared risk factors that are strongly related to the incidence of both types of tumors. Studies of multiple primaries of a single organ permit exploration of a number of questions of etiologic interest. First, a strong same-site association over and above what would be expected on the basis of known risk factors suggests that the unexplained proportion of cancer incidence represents relatively stable characteristics of individuals rather than sporadic events. Second, detailed comparisons of risk factors for first versus second primaries of a particular site may help to identify etiologically distinct subtypes of the disease. Third, even if distinct subtypes do not exist, the study of risk factors for a second primary among those who have had a first primary of the same site may enhance the detection of the etiologic role of a particular exposure. Such detection is enhanced when the effects of the exposure are modified by some other factor that is itself a strong risk factor but that is not measured. Finally, studies of multiple primaries of a single site are of particular benefit to clinicians who must decide on appropriate levels of surveillance and preventive intervention.

Adult↗