Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Timp-1 Expression Is Increased In X-Linked Progressive Retinal Atrophy Despite Its Exclusion As A Candidate Gene, Caroline Zeiss, Gregory M. Acland, Gustavo D. Aguirre, Kunal Ray

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

D'Oh! An Analysis Of The Medical Care Provided To The Family Of Homer J. Simpson, Robert Patterson, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Projections Of Alzheimer's Disease In The United States And The Public Health Impact Of Delaying Disease Onset., Ron Brookmeyer, Sarah Gray, Claudia Kawas

Ron Brookmeyer

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to project the future prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States and the potential impact of interventions to delay disease onset.

METHODS: The numbers of individuals in the United States with Alzheimer's disease and the numbers of newly diagnosed cases that can be expected over the next 50 years were estimated from a model that used age-specific incidence rates summarized from several epidemiological studies, US mortality rates, and US Bureau of the Census projections.

RESULTS: in 1997, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States was 2.32 million (range: …

Monitoring Informed Consent In An Oncology Study Posing Serious Risk To Subjects, Myrian Skrutkowski, Charles Weijer, Stan Shapiro, Abraham Fuks, Adrian Langleben, Benjamin Freedman

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Bioethics For Clinicians: 16. Dealing With Demands For Inappropriate Treatment, Charles Weijer, Peter Singer, Bernard Dickens, Stephen Workman

Charles Weijer

Demands by Patients or their Families for treatment thought to be inappropriate by health care providers constitute an important set of moral problems in clinical practice. A variety of approaches to such cases have been described in the literature, including medical futility, standard of care and negotiation. Medical futility fails because it confounds morally distinct cases: demand for an ineffective treatment and demand for an effective treatment that supports a controversial end (e.g., permanent unconsciousness). Medical futility is not necessary in the first case and is harmful in the second. Ineffective treatment falls outside the standard of care, and thus …

Variability Of Target Volume Delineation In Cervical Esophageal Cancer, Patricia Tai, Jake Van Dyk, Edward Yu, Jerry Battista, Larry Stitt, Terry Coad

Edward Yu

PURPOSE: Three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy (CRT) assumes and requires the precise delineation of the target volume. To assess the consistency of target volume delineation by radiation oncologists, who treat esophageal cancers, we have performed a transCanada survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One of three case presentations, including CT scan images, of different stages of cervical esophageal cancer was randomly chosen and sent by mail. Respondents were asked to fill in questionnaires regarding treatment techniques and to outline boost target volumes for the primary tumor on CT scans, using ICRU-50 definitions. RESULTS: Of 58 radiation oncologists who agreed to participate, 48 …

Canine Cone Transducin-Gamma Gene And Cone Degeneration In The Cd Dog, Gustavo D. Aguirre

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Identification Of A Rapd Marker Linked To Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration In Dogs, Weikuan Gu, Gregory M. Acland, Amelia A. Langston, Elaine A. Ostrander, Gustavo D. Aguirre, Kunal Ray

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Characterization Of Canine Photoreceptor Phosducin Cdna And Identification Of A Sequence Variant In Dogs With Photoreceptor Dysplasia, Qi Zhang, Gregory M. Acland, Charles J. Parhsall, Jeanette Haskell, Kunal Ray, Gustavo D. Aguirre

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Infrared Imaging Of The Breast: Initial Reappraisal Using High-Resolution Digital Technology In 100 Successive Cases Of Stage I And Ii Breast Cancer, J. Keyserlingk, P. Ahlgren, E. Yu, N. Belliveau

Edward Yu

There is a general consensus that earlier detection of breast cancer should result in improved survival. Current breast imaging relies primarily on mammography. Despite better equipement and regulation, variability in interpretation and tissue density still affect accuracy. A number of adjuvant imaging techniques are currently being used, including doppler ultrasound and gadolinium-enhanced MRI, which can detect cancer-induced neovascularity. In order to assess the potential contribution of currently available high-resolution digital infrared technology capable of recognizing minute regional vascular flow related temperature variation, we retrospecitively reviewed the relative ability of our preoperative clinical exam, mammography, and infrared imaging to detect 100 …

Cpr For Patients In A Persistent Vegetative State?, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Self Interest Is Not The Sole Legitimate Basis For Making Decisions, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Does Delay In Breast Irradiation Following Conservative Breast Surgery In Node-Negative Breast Cancer Patients Have An Impact On Risk Of Recurrence?, Olga Vujovic, Francisco Perera, A. Dar, Larry Stitt, Edward Yu, Sachi Voruganti, Pauline Truong

Edward Yu

PURPOSE: This retrospective review was conducted to determine if delay in the start of radiotherapy after definitive breast surgery had any detrimental effect on local recurrence or disease-free survival in node-negative breast cancer patients. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 568 patients with T1-T2, N0 breast cancer were treated with breast-conserving surgery and breast irradiation, without adjuvant systemic therapy between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1992, at the London Regional Cancer Centre. Adjuvant breast irradiation consisted either of 50 Gy in 25 fractions or 40 Gy in 15 or 16 fractions, followed by a boost of 10 Gy or …

The Irb's Role In Assessing The Generalizability Of Non-Nih-Funded Clinical Trials, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Cloning Of The Canine Β-Glucuronidase Cdna, Mutation Identification In Canine Mps Vii, And Retroviral Vector-Mediated Correction Of Mps Vii Cells, Jharna Ray, Alain Bouvet, Christopher Desanto, John Fyfe, Danbin Xu, John Wolfe, Gustavo Aguirre, Donald Patterson, Mark Haskins, Paula Henthorn

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation For Patients In A Persistent Vegetative State: Futile Or Acceptable?, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Interpretation Of Criteria For Clinical Trial Eligibility: A Survey Of Oncology Investigators, Charles Weijer, Benjamin Freedman, Stanley Shapiro, Abraham Fuks, Myriam Skrutkowska, Maria Sigurjonsdottir

Charles Weijer

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether eligibility criteria that exclude the elderly, persons with psychiatric disease, and persons with substance abuse problems from participation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are subjective and hence a source of variability in enrolment decisions and investigator uncertainty.

DESIGN: Survey questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS: Cancer investigators from the United States and Canada.

INTERVENTIONS: Investigators were presented with clinical vignettes from 3 patient categories--eligible, ineligible and uncertain--for each of 5 eligibility criteria--3 subjective and 2 objective--and were asked whether they would enrol the patient in a trial and how sure they were of this decision. Demographic characteristics of the investigators …

A Study In Contrasts: Eligibility Criteria In A Twenty-Year Sample Of Nsabp And Pog Clinical Trials, Abraham Fuks, Charles Weijer, Benjamin Freedman, Stanley Shapiro, Myriam Skrutkowska, Amina Riaz

Charles Weijer

We studied changes in eligibility criteria--the largest impediment to patient accrual--in two samples of clinical trials. Trials from the NSABP (National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Program) and POG (Pediatric Oncology Group) were analyzed. After eliminating duplications, the criteria in each protocol were enumerated and classified according to a novel schema. NSABP trials contained significantly more criteria than POG trials, and added precision criteria (making study populations homogeneous) at a faster rate than POG studies. The difference between NSABP studies (explanatory trials) and POG studies (pragmatic trials) suggest that large numbers of eligibility criteria are not necessary for quality studies. …

The Social Course Of Schizophrenia: Local And Societal Factors., M Hicks, A Kleinman, L Yang

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

In this paper, we propose a model of social course of schizophrenia based on cross-cultural research on the influence of family, wider social network, work, political economy, and legal and mental health care institutions on the experience of illness.

Autocrine Hepatocyte Growth Factor Provides A Local Mechanism For Promoting Axonal Growth, X. Yang, J. Toma, S. Bamji, Daniel Belliveau, J. Kohn, M. Park, F. Miller

Daniel J. Belliveau

In this report, we describe a novel local mechanism necessary for optimal axonal growth that involves hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Sympathetic neurons of the superior cervical ganglion coexpress bioactive HGF and its receptor, the Met tyrosine kinase, both in vivo and in vitro. Exogenous HGF selectively promotes the growth but not survival of cultured sympathetic neurons; the magnitude of this growth effect is similar to that observed with exogenous NGF. Conversely, HGF antibodies that inhibit endogenous HGF decrease sympathetic neuron growth but have no effect on survival. This autocrine HGF is required locally by sympathetic axons for optimal growth, as …

Reb Review Of Research Proposals Involving Placebo Controls, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Family Structure To Adolescent Drug Use, Peer Affiliation, And Perception Of Peer Acceptance Of Drug Use, Jeanne Jenkins, Sabina Zunguze

Jeanne E. Jenkins

The sample consisted of 2,229 high school students who were administered a self-report instrument containing items measuring drug use and psychosocial variables. Dependent variables included frequency of use of five gateway drugs [cigarettes, marijuana, beer, wine coolers, and liquor], degree of affiliation with drug- using peers, and perceptions of peer acceptance of drugs. Comparison groups included single-parent [both mother- and father-headed], step-parent, and intact families. Analysis conducted separately by grade level revealed significant differences between groups on drug use variables in grades 8 and 10, with adolescents from intact families reporting less frequent drug use, fewer drug-using friends, and perceptions …

Society’S Choices: Social And Ethical Decision Making In Biomedicine, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.