Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Adolescent Nicotine Exposure On Drug Dependence In Adulthood, Mai Alajaji

Theses and Dissertations

Nicotine is one of the first and most commonly abused drugs in adolescence. According to The Center for Disease Control, every day more than 6000 adolescents try their first cigarette and over 3000 of them become daily smokers. Smoking among adolescents is a strong predictor of future drug abuse and dependence in adulthood. A number of studies has suggests that adolescents pre-exposed to nicotine may suffer permanent disruption of the brain’s reward systems through changes in dopamine receptor function. We hypothesize that nicotine exposure during adolescence causes long lasting neurobiological alterations that increase the likelihood of cocaine use in adulthood. …

Deficits In Attention To Emotional Stimuli Distinguish Youth With Severe Mood Dysregulation From Youth With Bipolar Disorder., Brendan A Rich, Melissa A Brotman, Daniel P Dickstein, Derek G V Mitchell, R James R Blair, Ellen Leibenluft

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Studying attention in the context of emotional stimuli may aid in differentiating pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) from severe mood dysregulation (SMD). SMD is characterized by chronic irritability, arousal, and hyper-reactivity; SMD youth frequently receive a BD diagnosis although they do not meet DSM-IV criteria for BD because they lack manic episodes. We compared 57 BD (14.4 +/- 2.9 years old, 56% male), 41 SMD (12.6 +/- 2.6 years old, 66% male), and 33 control subjects (13.7 +/- 2.5 years old, 52% male) using the Emotional Interrupt task, which examines how attention is impacted by positive, negative, or neutral distracters. We …

The Risks And Benefits Of Long-Term Use Of Hydroxyurea In Sickle Cell Anemia: A 17.5 Year Follow-Up., M. H. Steinberg, W. F. Mccarthy, O. Castro, S. K. Ballas, F. D. Armstrong, W. Smith, K. Ataga, P. Swerdlow, A. Kutlar, L. Decastro, M. A. Waclawiw, E. Orringer, S. Jones, D. Strayhorn, W. Rosse, G. Phillips, D. Pearce, A. Johnson-Telfair, L. Daitch, P. Milner, A. Tracy, S. Valdez, G. E. Allen, J. Moshang, B. Scott, C. Bigelow, A. Anderson, V. Sabahi, T. Harrington, W. Labrousse, C. Pegelow, D. Temple, E. Case, R. Harrell, S. Childerie, S. Embury, B. Schmidt, D. Davies, Y. Saunthararajah, M. Koshy, N. Talischy-Zahed, L. Dorn, G. Pendarvis, M. Mcgee, M. Telfer, A. Davis, O. C. Onyekwere, C. Nwokolo, H. Finke, E. Perlin, J. Siteman, M. Bryan, T. Saunders, Y. Barber, P. Gascon, P. Di Paolo, S. Gargiulo, J. Eckman, E. Carter-Randall, J. H. Bailey, A. Platt, L. Waller, G. Ramirez, V. Knors, S. Hernandez, E. M. Rodriguez, E. Wilkes, E. Vichinsky, W. Hagar, C. Hoehner, E. Hackney-Stevens, S. Claster, A. Earles, K. Kleman, K. Mclaughlin, L. White, B. Maddox, L. Usry, A. Brenner, K. Williams, R. O'Brien, K. Genther, S. Shurin, B. Berman, K. Chiarucci, L. Keverline, N. Olivieri, J. Chow, M. Hui, D. Shaw, N. Lewis, M. Okam, E. Mandell, A. Palmer, K. Bridges, B. Tynan, C. Winograd, R. Bellevue, H. Dosik, M. Sheikhai, P. Ryans, H. Souffrant, B. Adler, A. Johnson-Telfair, L. Eskridge, J. Prchal, J. Braddock, T. Mcardle, T. Carlos, A. Roundtree-Schmotzer, D. Gardner

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

A randomized, controlled clinical trial established the efficacy and safety of short-term use of hydroxyurea in adult sickle cell anemia. To examine the risks and benefits of long-term hydroxyurea usage, patients in this trial were followed for 17.5 years during which they could start or stop hydroxyurea. The purpose of this follow-up was to search for adverse outcomes and estimate mortality. For each outcome and for mortality, exact 95% confidence intervals were calculated, or tests were conducted at alpha = 0.05 level (P-value <0.05 for statistical significance). Although the death rate in the overall study cohort was high (43.1%; 4.4 per 100 person-years), mortality was reduced in individuals with long-term exposure to hydroxyurea. Survival curves demonstrated a significant reduction in deaths with long-term exposure. Twenty-four percent of deaths were due to pulmonary complications; 87.1% occurred in patients who never took hydroxyurea or took it for <5 years. Stroke, organ dysfunction, infection, and malignancy were similar in all groups. Our results, while no longer the product of a randomized study because of the ethical concerns of withholding an efficacious treatment, suggest that long-term use of hydroxyurea is safe and might decrease mortality.

Bold Signal In Both Ipsilateral And Contralateral Retinotopic Cortex Modulates With Perceptual Fading, Po-Jang Hsieh, Peter U. Tse

Dartmouth Scholarship

Under conditions of visual fixation, perceptual fading occurs when a stationary object, though present in the world and continually casting light upon the retina, vanishes from visual consciousness. The neural correlates of the consciousness of such an object will presumably modulate in activity with the onset and cessation of perceptual fading.

Method: In order to localize the neural correlates of perceptual fading, a green disk that had been individually set to be equiluminant with the orange background, was presented in one of the four visual quadrants; Subjects indicated with a button press whether or not the disk was subjectively visible …

Psychological Characteristics Of Adolescent Suicide Attempters Presenting To A Pediatric Emergency Service, Di̇lek Di̇lli̇, Yildiz Dallar, İlyas Çakir

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To determine the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics of adolescents who attempt suicide and evaluate them by different scales. Materials and methods: The study was conducted with 116 adolescent suicide attempters and 98 age-matched healthy controls. Results: The mean age of all adolescents was 13.8 ± 1.2 years, with ages ranging from 11 to 16 years. Of these adolescents, 82.7% were girls. The total Suicide Probability Scale score was negatively correlated with the total Reasons for Living Inventory (r = -0.42, P = 0.001) and positively correlated with the Problem Solving Inventory score, which is indicative of low problem-solving capabilities (r …

Subclinical Hypothyroidism In Obese Turkish Adolescents: The Relationship With Anthropometry And Fatty Liver, Şami̇l Hizli, Nur Arslan, Ayhan Abaci, Benal Büyükgebi̇z

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To evaluate whether subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is associated with anthropometry and fatty infiltration of liver in obese adolescents. Materials and methods: The adolescents attended with the complaint of obesity aged 11 to 15 years included in the study. Patients were diagnosed as obese adolescents with fatty liver. Age-, gender-, and body weight-matched obese adolescents without fatty liver seen during the same period served as controls. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) of both groups were compared. Results: The study population included 218 adolescents with obesity. Of 218, 30 (13.7%) had fatty liver at ultrasonography (group 1) …

Trace Elements And Physical Activity In Children And Adolescents With Depression, M. Meti̇n Donma, Orki̇de Donma

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Depression is a common mental health problem among adolescents. Depressive symptoms are also important and may appear even during the preschool period. Physical activity, which may improve some mental health problems, is inversely associated with depression. Due to the presence of some clinical evidence about the relation between the use of antidepressants and suicide, there is a need for supportive agents during antidepressant therapy. Within this context, essential trace elements gain importance for further consideration. Protection of the developing brain from the negative effects of iron deficiency is important because of iron deficiency's association with poor mental development. Reactions between …

The Role Of Ultrasonographic Hepatic Artery Resistive Index In The Diagnosis Of Insulin Resistance In Obese Children With Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Şami̇l Hizli, Ali̇ Koçyi̇ği̇t, Nur Arslan, Sedat Alpaslan Tuncel, Fati̇h Demi̇rci̇oğlu, Handan Çakmakçi, Benal Büyükgebi̇z

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To determine the role of hepatic artery resistive index (HARI) measurement in the prediction of insulin resistance (IR) in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials and methods: A total of 64 obese subjects with NAFLD (13.5 ± 1.36 years of age, 34 male) and 32 age- and gender-matched control subjects (13.8 ± 1.24 years of age, 16 male) were enrolled in the study. All subjects underwent a physical examination, laboratory tests, and ultrasonographic and Doppler examinations of the liver. The homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) was used for the IR diagnosis. Results: Obese subjects with NAFLD …