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Biomedical subjects

W Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to W Roberts.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Methylphenidate slows right hemisphere processing in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

To examine the effects and particularly, any potential detrimental effects of methylphenidate on right hemisphere processing in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the performance of 26 children (aged 8-15 years) with ADHD was compared under methylphenidate and placebo on various cognitive tasks in a double-blind within-subjects design. Results indicated that reaction times on a tachistoscopic task were slower on methylphenidate for stimuli that produced a left visual field advantage (reflecting better right hemisphere functioning) but not for stimuli that produced a right visual field advantage (reflecting better left hemisphere functioning) or for bilateral stimuli. It is argued that methylphenidate induces a slower response on tasks involving right hemisphere processing, resulting in slower reaction times and unchanged accuracy rates. Findings on two tasks that more closely reflect classroom-type tasks revealed an improvement in performance on methylphenidate, suggesting that any stimulant-induced benefits on learning style may have overcome detrimental effects on unilateral processing. These findings may help understand the complex, diverse, and sometimes unpredictable effects of psychostimulants on cognitive functioning that are observed clinically in individuals treated for ADHD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

One Touch II hospital system for neonates: correlation with serum glucose values.

A correlation study was conducted to examine the relationship between results from LifeScan's One Touch II blood glucose monitoring system and laboratory analysis of serum glucose values in neonates. A total of 327 blood samples was obtained from newborn infants in a Level III NICU. The comparison of the paired results showed that the r value was .902. The overall results suggest that the LifeScan One Touch II set in the neonatal mode gives results showing good agreement with standard serum glucose values in neonates with serum glucose values < 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/liter).

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1996

Developmental monitoring in primary care.

Monitoring child development is an essential part of primary health care. Successful surveillance depends on physicians' thorough knowledge of normal progress along the four developmental streams: motor, language, cognitive, and social and emotional. Being alert to "red flags" that suggest problems is important. Effective interventions can minimize developmental problems.

Child↗
PubMed1995

Anesthesia for scoliosis: dwarfism and congenitally absent odontoid process.

Scoliosis surgery presents the anesthetist with specific clinical challenges. Since scoliosis is the most common problem for which patients of congenitally short stature present to the operating room, the preoperative evaluation of dwarfs is discussed here in the context of a patient with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. In the case described, many of the deformities associated with dwarfism were present. The significance of these to the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care is discussed. Consideration is given to cervical spine abnormalities, congenital absence of the odontoid process, pulmonary function abnormalities, and mucopolysaccharidosis (a syndrome which may compromise airway management). The intraoperative monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials and their significance are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Immunophenotypic differences between putative hematopoietic stem cells and childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

Acute leukemia cells express myeloid, B-lymphoid and T-lymphoid lineage specific antigens. Many acute leukemias express the hematopoietic progenitor cell antigen CD34. Three proposed models of the normal human hematopoietic stem cell include CD34+ Thy-1low Lin-, CD34+ CD38-, and CD34+ HLA-DR-. The patterns of expression of CD34, Thy-1, CD38, HLA-DR, and multiple lineage-specific antigens on 49 consecutive pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases submitted for immunophenotyping (36 at first diagnosis, 13 at relapse) were analyzed. CD34+ expression was observed in 67% of the cases. CD34+ expression correlated with Thy-1low expression and expression of myeloid antigens (p < 0.001 and < 0.025, respectively). The CD34+ Thy-1low phenotype was observed in 65% of the cases; the CD34+ CD38- or CD34+ HLA-DR- phenotypes were observed in only three cases. Examples of heterogeneous expression of CD34 and Thy-1 were found in six cases, but CD38 expression was always bright and homogeneous in all positive cases. The data from this analysis indicates that the CD34+ CD38- or CD34+ HLA-DR- phenotypes would be more useful than the CD34+ Thy-1low phenotype for distinguishing normal hematopoietic stem cells from leukemic cells in childhood B-cell precursor ALL.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗
PubMed1994

Teacher-identified oral language difficulties among boys with attention problems.

Teachers evaluated the language functioning of 95 boys, aged 6.5 to 13.8 years, identified as having attention problems (AP, n = 30), learning disability (LD, n = 33), or average achievement (AA, n = 32). The three groups did not differ significantly (p > .05) in their frequency of articulation problems. Significantly (p < .05) more AP boys were rated as having pragmatics problems than both of the other groups. AP boys were also viewed as having a higher frequency of receptive/expressive language problems than were AA boys, but not compared with LD boys. LD and AA boys did not differ in their ratings for pragmatics problems, but more LD than AA boys were perceived as having receptive/expressive problems. The average incidence of all types of language problems was highest for the AP boys at 42% with poor pragmatics representing their most frequently rated language difficulty. AP boys' pragmatics difficulties seemed to be characterized by greater difficulty in maintaining than initiating a conversation compared with the other two groups. This difficulty was positively associated with the teachers' ratings of the AP boys' impulsivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Omeprazole is superior to ranitidine plus metoclopramide in the short-term treatment of erosive oesophagitis.

Histamine H2-receptor antagonists are moderately effective in symptomatic treatment and healing of erosive oesophagitis, but they are not as effective as the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole. In some studies prokinetic agents seem to increase the effectiveness of H2-antagonists, but no study comparing the efficacy of omeprazole to H2-antagonists plus prokinetic agents has been performed. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of 20 mg omeprazole daily with 150 mg ranitidine b.d.s. plus the prokinetic agent 10 mg metoclopramide q.d.s. in patients with erosive oesophagitis. After both 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, omeprazole healed the mucosa in significantly more patients than did ranitidine plus metoclopramide. Omeprazole also provided significantly greater relief from daytime heartburn, nighttime heartburn, and acid regurgitation, and was associated with decreased concomitant antacid use. Although the overall incidence of adverse events was similar in the two treatment groups, a significantly higher number of treatment-related adverse events and more treatment-related withdrawals from the study occurred in the ranitidine plus metoclopramide treatment group. Omeprazole is more effective and better tolerated than the combination of standard dose ranitidine plus metoclopramide for patients with erosive oesophagitis.

Adult↗