Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 194
Filter
1.
N Z Vet J ; 72(2): 90-95, 2024 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38228160

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To assess whether tibial tuberosity avulsion injury and subsequent surgical repair in skeletally immature dogs are associated with changes in tibial plateau angle (TPA) at skeletal maturity. METHODS: Skeletally mature (> 18 months of age) dogs that had previously undergone unilateral surgery when 4-8 months of age to repair tibial tuberosity avulsion were enrolled. Bilateral, mediolateral stifle radiographs were taken. TPA was measured digitally from the radiographs independently by two readers and compared between sides within dogs. As the number of dogs that would be enrolled for the main part of the study was unknown, to understand how the variation between left and right stifles within dogs would affect the power of the main study, 29 client-owned, skeletally mature dogs without stifle pathology were recruited prior to the main study for bilateral, mediolateral projection stifle radiographs. Variation in the differences in TPA between left and right stifles was used to estimate the likely power of the major part of the study for different numbers of enrolled dogs. RESULTS: From 29 dogs enrolled in the power assessment, the SD of the differences between left and right stifles was 2.1°. With 10 dogs (20 stifles) enrolled within the main part of the study, and if the SD of the differences between operated and non-operated stifles within a dog was the same as the SD of the differences between non-operated stifles within a dog (2.1°), the study would have power ≥ 0.8 if the mean difference in TPA between operated and non-operated stifles was ≥ 2.1°.Ten dogs were enrolled in phase II of the study. In 8/10 of these dogs, the TPA in the operated stifle was less than in the non-operated stifle. The mean TPA on the operated stifle was 6.4° less than on the non-operated stifle (95% CI = 2.4-10.3° less; p = 0.002). For surgery between 4 and 8 months of age, TPA at maturity increased by 2.7° (95% CI = 1.1-4.3°; p = 0.001) for each additional month of age at surgery. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Based on this study, surgical repair of tibial tuberosity avulsion in skeletally immature dogs is associated with a smaller TPA at skeletal maturity. However, causality cannot be established from this cross-sectional study, and this association may be because stifles with a smaller TPA are predisposed to tibial tuberosity avulsion.


Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament , Dog Diseases , Humans , Dogs , Animals , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/surgery , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/pathology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Tibia/surgery , Radiography , Stifle/surgery , Dog Diseases/surgery
2.
Lancet Reg Health Eur ; 12: 100250, 2022 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34950918

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus prevalence studies report large variability across countries that might be due to inconsistent research methods. Our study aimed to report a single Pan-European estimate for tinnitus prevalence and investigate the effect of individual and country-level characteristics on prevalence. We explored the relationships of healthcare resource use and hearing difficulty with tinnitus symptoms. METHODS: Between 2017-2018, a cross-sectional European Tinnitus Survey (ETS) was conducted in 12 European Union nations (Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Spain), using a standardised set of tinnitus-related questions and response options in country-specific languages. We recruited 11,427 adults aged ≥18 years. FINDINGS: Prevalence of any tinnitus was 14·7% (14·0% in men and 15·2% in women), ranging from 8·7% in Ireland to 28·3% in Bulgaria. Severe tinnitus was found in 1·2% participants (1·0% in men and 1·4% in women), ranging from 0·6% in Ireland to 4·2% in Romania. Tinnitus prevalence significantly increased with increasing age and worsening of hearing status. Healthcare resource use for tinnitus increased with increasing tinnitus symptom severity. INTERPRETATION: This is the first multinational report of Pan-European tinnitus prevalence using standardised questions. The overall prevalence estimates refine previous findings, although widespread inter-country heterogeneity was noted. The results indicate that more than 1 in 7 adults in the EU have tinnitus. Extrapolating to the overall population, approximately 65 million adults in EU28 have tinnitus, 26 million have bothersome tinnitus and 4 million have severe tinnitus. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research, European Union's Horizon 2020, Medical Research Council, and GENDER-Net Co-Plus Fund.

3.
Trends Hear ; 25: 2331216520986303, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33663298

ABSTRACT

Residual inhibition, that is, the temporary suppression of tinnitus loudness after acoustic stimulation, is a frequently observed phenomenon that may have prognostic value for clinical applications. However, it is unclear in which subjects residual inhibition is more likely and how stable the effect of inhibition is over multiple repetitions. The primary aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of hearing loss and tinnitus chronicity on residual inhibition susceptibility. The secondary aim was to investigate the short-term repeatability of residual inhibition. Residual inhibition was assessed in 74 tinnitus subjects with 60-second narrow-band noise stimuli in 10 consecutive trials. The subjects were assigned to groups according to their depth of suppression (substantial residual inhibition vs. comparator group). In addition, a categorization in normal hearing and hearing loss groups, related to the degree of hearing loss at the frequency corresponding to the tinnitus pitch, was made. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with susceptibility to residual inhibition. Repeatability of residual inhibition was assessed using mixed-effects ordinal regression including poststimulus time and repetitions as factors. Tinnitus chronicity was not associated with residual inhibition for subjects with hearing loss, while a statistically significant negative association between tinnitus chronicity and residual inhibition susceptibility was observed in normal hearing subjects (odds ratio: 0.63; p = .0076). Moreover, repeated states of suppression can be stably induced, reinforcing the use of residual inhibition for within-subject comparison studies.


Subject(s)
Hearing Loss , Tinnitus , Acoustic Stimulation , Hearing Loss/diagnosis , Hearing Tests , Humans , Noise , Tinnitus/diagnosis , Tinnitus/therapy
4.
Biosens Bioelectron ; 119: 230-236, 2018 Nov 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30144754

ABSTRACT

Access to affordable and field deployable diagnostics are key barriers to the control and eradication of many endemic and emerging infectious diseases. While cost, accuracy, and usability have all improved in recent years, there remains a pressing need for even less expensive and more scalable technologies. To that end, we explored new methods to inexpensively produce and couple protein-based biosensing molecules (affinity reagents) with scalable electrochemical sensors. Previous whole-cell constructs resulted in confounding measurements in clinical testing due to significant cross-reactivity when probing for host-immune (antibody) response to infection. To address this, we developed two complimentary strategies based on either the release of surface displayed or secretion of fusion proteins. These dual affinity biosensing elements couple antibody recognition (using antigen) and sensor surface adhesion (using gold-binding peptide-GBP) to allow single-step reagent production, purification, and biosensor assembly. As a proof-of-concept, we developed Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-core antigen-GBP fusion proteins. These constructs were first tested and optimized for consistent surface adhesion then the assembled immunosensors were tested for cross-reactivity and evaluated for performance in vitro. We observed loss of function of the released reagents while secreted constructs performed well in in vitro testing with 2 orders of dynamic range, and a limit of detection of 32 nM. Finally, we validated the secreted platform with clinical isolates (n = 3) with statistically significant differentiation of positive vs. non-infected serum (p < 0.0001) demonstrating the ability to clearly distinguish HCV positive and negative clinical samples.


Subject(s)
Biosensing Techniques/methods , Gold/chemistry , Hepatitis C/diagnosis , Antigens, Viral/metabolism , Hepacivirus , Humans , Limit of Detection , Peptides/metabolism , Recombinant Fusion Proteins
6.
Health Qual Life Outcomes ; 14(1): 124, 2016 Sep 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27600656

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: People with troublesome tinnitus often experience emotional distress. Therefore a psychometrically sound instrument which can evaluate levels of distress and change over time is necessary to understand this experience. Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM) is a measure of emotional distress which has been widely used in mental health research. Although originally designed as a 4-factor questionnaire, factor analyses have not supported this structure and a number of alternative factor structures have been proposed in different samples. The aims of this study were to test the factor structure of the CORE-OM using a large representative tinnitus sample and to use it to investigate levels of emotional distress amongst people with a range of tinnitus experience. METHODS: The CORE-OM was completed by 342 people experiencing tinnitus who self-rated their tinnitus on a 5-point scale from 'not a problem' to 'a very big problem'. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test all ten factor models which have been previously derived across a range of population samples. Model fit was assessed using fit criterion and theoretical considerations. Mean scores on the full questionnaire and its subscales were compared between tinnitus problem categories using one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: The best fitting model included 33 of the 34 original items and was divided into three factors: negatively worded items, positively worded items and risk. The full questionnaire and each factor were found to have good internal consistency and factor loadings were high. There was a statistically significant difference in total CORE-OM scores across the five tinnitus problem categories. However there was no significant difference between those who rated their tinnitus 'not a problem', and 'a small problem' or 'a moderate problem.' CONCLUSION: This study found a 3-factor structure for the CORE-OM to be a good fit for a tinnitus population. It also found evidence of a relationship between emotional distress as measured by CORE-OM and perception of tinnitus as a problem. Its use in tinnitus clinics is to be recommended, particularly when emotional distress is a target of therapy.


Subject(s)
Quality of Life/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Tinnitus/psychology , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires
7.
Int J Audiol ; 53(3): 192-8, 2014 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24200464

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uncovers correlated activity between spatially distinct functionally related brain regions and offers clues about the integrity of functional brain circuits in people with chronic subjective tinnitus. We chose to investigate auditory network connectivity, adopting and extending previously used analyses methods to provide an independent evaluation of replicability. DESIGN: Independent components analysis (ICA) was used to identify coherent patterns arising from spontaneous brain signals within the resting-state data. The auditory network component was extracted and evaluated. Bivariate and partial correlation analyses were performed on pre-defined regions of bilateral auditory cortex to assess functional connectivity. STUDY SAMPLE: Our design carefully matched participant groups for possible confounds, such as hearing status. Twelve patients (seven male, five female; mean age 66 years) all with chronic constant tinnitus and eleven controls (eight male, three female; mean age 68 years) took part. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in auditory network connectivity between groups after correcting for multiple statistical comparisons in the analysis. This contradicts previous findings reporting reduced auditory network connectivity; albeit at a less stringent statistical threshold. CONCLUSIONS: Auditory network connectivity does not appear to be reliably altered by the experience of chronic subjective tinnitus.


Subject(s)
Auditory Cortex/physiopathology , Auditory Pathways/physiopathology , Brain Mapping/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Tinnitus/diagnosis , Aged , Auditory Threshold , Case-Control Studies , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Statistical , Predictive Value of Tests , Tinnitus/physiopathology , Tinnitus/psychology
8.
Br J Pharmacol ; 166(6): 1774-92, 2012 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22335621

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The operational model provides a key conceptual framework for the analysis of pharmacological data. However, this model does not include constitutive receptor activity, a frequent phenomenon in modern pharmacology, particularly in recombinant systems. Here, we developed extensions of the operational model which include constitutive activity and applied them to effects of agonists at the chemokine receptor CCR4. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The effects of agonists of CCR4 on [(35) S]GTPγS binding to recombinant cell membranes and on the filamentous (F-) actin content of human CD4(+) CCR4(+) T cells were determined. The basal [(35) S]GTPγS binding was changed by varying the GDP concentration whilst the basal F-actin contents of the higher expressing T cell populations were elevated, suggesting constitutive activity of CCR4. Both sets of data were analysed using the mathematical models. RESULTS The affinity of CCL17 (also known as TARC) derived from analysis of the T cell data (pK(a) = 9.61 ± 0.17) was consistent with radioligand binding experiments (9.50 ± 0.11) while that from the [(35) S]GTPγS binding experiments was lower (8.27 ± 0.09). Its intrinsic efficacy differed between the two systems (110 in T cells vs. 11). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The presence of constitutive receptor activity allows the absolute intrinsic efficacy of agonists to be determined without a contribution from the signal transduction system. Intrinsic efficacy estimated in this way is consistent with Furchgott's definition of this property. CCL17 may have a higher intrinsic efficacy at CCR4 in human T cells than that expressed recombinantly in CHO cells.


Subject(s)
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , Chemokine CCL17/metabolism , Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate)/metabolism , Models, Biological , Receptors, CCR4/metabolism , Animals , CHO Cells , Cells, Cultured , Computer Simulation , Cricetinae , Cricetulus , Humans , Monte Carlo Method
9.
Br J Pharmacol ; 164(6): 1627-41, 2011 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22022805

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Preclinical pharmacological characterization of GSK1004723, a novel, dual histamine H(1) and H(3) receptor antagonist. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: GSK1004723 was characterized in vitro and in vivo using methods that included radioligand binding, intracellular calcium mobilization, cAMP production, GTPγS binding, superfused human bronchus and guinea pig whole body plethysmography. KEY RESULTS: In cell membranes over-expressing human recombinant H(1) and H(3) receptors, GSK1004723 displayed high affinity, competitive binding (H(1) pKi = 10.2; H(3) pKi = 10.6). In addition, GSK1004723 demonstrated slow dissociation from both receptors with a t(1/2) of 1.2 and 1.5 h for H(1) and H(3) respectively. GSK1004723 specifically antagonized H(1) receptor mediated increases in intracellular calcium and H(3) receptor mediated increases in GTPγS binding. The antagonism exerted was retained after cell washing, consistent with slow dissociation from H(1) and H(3) receptors. Duration of action was further evaluated using superfused human bronchus preparations. GSK1004723 (100 nmol·L(-1) ) reversed an established contractile response to histamine. When GSK1004723 was removed from the perfusate, only 20% recovery of the histamine response was observed over 10 h. Moreover, 21 h post-exposure to GSK1004723 there remained almost complete antagonism of responses to histamine. In vivo pharmacology was studied in conscious guinea pigs in which nasal congestion induced by intranasal histamine was measured indirectly (plethysmography). GSK1004723 (0.1 and 1 mg·mL(-1) intranasal) antagonized the histamine-induced response with a duration of up to 72 h. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: GSK1004723 is a potent and selective histamine H(1) and H(3) receptor antagonist with a long duration of action and represents a potential novel therapy for allergic rhinitis.


Subject(s)
Bronchi/drug effects , Histamine H1 Antagonists/pharmacology , Histamine H3 Antagonists/pharmacology , Phthalazines/pharmacology , Piperidines/pharmacology , Receptors, Histamine H1/metabolism , Receptors, Histamine H3/metabolism , Allergens , Animals , Benzazepines/pharmacology , Binding, Competitive , Bronchi/physiology , Bronchial Provocation Tests , Bronchoconstriction/drug effects , CHO Cells , Carbachol , Cell Line , Cricetinae , Cricetulus , Female , Guinea Pigs , Histamine/pharmacology , Humans , In Vitro Techniques , Niacinamide/analogs & derivatives , Niacinamide/pharmacology , Ovalbumin , Pyrilamine/pharmacology , Receptors, Histamine H1/genetics , Receptors, Histamine H3/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/metabolism , Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial , Transfection
10.
Parkinsonism Relat Disord ; 16(9): 608-11, 2010 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20702130

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine if patients with parkinsonism and fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene expansions have a striatal dopamine deficit similar to Parkinson disease (PD) patients. SCOPE: The authors studied three patients with parkinsonism carrying small expansions in the FMR1 gene (41-60 CGG) with [(123)I]ß-CIT SPECT imaging. The patients responded to dopaminergic medications, but had preserved dopamine transporter density. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that parkinsonism associated with smaller FMR1 expansions may be related to mechanisms other than pre-synaptic dopaminergic changes and may represent a potential explanation for at least some parkinsonian cases with scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficits (SWEDD).


Subject(s)
Dopamine/deficiency , Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/genetics , Parkinsonian Disorders/genetics , Parkinsonian Disorders/metabolism , Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion/genetics , Aged , Cocaine/analogs & derivatives , Corpus Striatum/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinsonian Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Parkinsonian Disorders/pathology , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon/methods
11.
Biosens Bioelectron ; 25(9): 2051-7, 2010 May 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20207130

ABSTRACT

Giant magnetoresistive biosensors are becoming more prevalent for sensitive, quantifiable biomolecular detection. However, in order for magnetic biosensing to become competitive with current optical protein microarray technology, there is a need to increase the number of sensors while maintaining the high sensitivity and fast readout time characteristic of smaller arrays (1-8 sensors). In this paper, we present a circuit architecture scalable for larger sensor arrays (64 individually addressable sensors) while maintaining a high readout rate (scanning the entire array in less than 4s). The system utilizes both time domain multiplexing and frequency domain multiplexing in order to achieve this scan rate. For the implementation, we propose a new circuit architecture that does not use a classical Wheatstone bridge to measure the small change in resistance of the sensor. Instead, an architecture designed around a transimpedance amplifier is employed. A detailed analysis of this architecture including the noise, distortion, and potential sources of errors is presented, followed by a global optimization strategy for the entire system comprising the magnetic tags, sensors, and interface electronics. To demonstrate the sensitivity, quantifiable detection of two blindly spiked samples of unknown concentrations has been performed at concentrations below the limit of detection for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lastly, the multiplexing capability and reproducibility of the system was demonstrated by simultaneously monitoring sensors functionalized with three unique proteins at different concentrations in real-time.


Subject(s)
Biosensing Techniques/instrumentation , Animals , Biosensing Techniques/statistics & numerical data , Carcinoembryonic Antigen/blood , Electric Impedance , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Ferric Compounds , Humans , Magnetics , Metal Nanoparticles , Mice , Proteins/analysis , Streptavidin
12.
Biosens Bioelectron ; 25(9): 2177-81, 2010 May 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20219342

ABSTRACT

Giant magnetoresistive biosensors possess great potential in biomedical applications for quantitatively detecting magnetically tagged biomolecules. Magnetic sensing does not suffer from the high background levels found in optical sensing modalities such as the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay translating into a technology with higher sensitivity. However, to reveal the full potential of these sensors and compensate for non-idealities such as temperature dependence, digital correction and calibration techniques are not only useful but imperative. Using these calibration techniques to correct for process variations and dynamic changes in the sensing environment (such as temperature and magnetic field), we are able to obtain extremely sensitive and, more importantly, reproducible results for quantifiable biomolecular reorganization. The reproducibility of the system was improved by over 3 x using digital correction techniques and the sensors are made temperature independent by using a novel background correction technique.


Subject(s)
Biosensing Techniques/instrumentation , Algorithms , Biosensing Techniques/statistics & numerical data , Magnetics , Proteins/analysis , Reproducibility of Results , Temperature
13.
Allergy ; 65(9): 1126-33, 2010 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20148806

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: CC Chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) is preferentially expressed on Th2 lymphocytes. CCR4-mediated inflammation may be important in the pathology of allergic rhinitis. Disruption of CCR4 - ligand interaction may abrogate allergen-induced inflammation. METHODS: Sixteen allergic rhinitics and six nonatopic individuals underwent both allergen and control (diluent) nasal challenges. Symptom scores and peak nasal inspiratory flow were recorded. Nasal biopsies were taken at 8 h post challenge. Sections were immunostained and examined by light or dual immunofluorescence microscopy for eosinophils, T-lymphocytes, CCR4(+)CD3(+) and CXCR3(+)CD3(+) cells and examined by in situ hybridization for CCR4, IL-4 and IFN-gamma mRNA(+) cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from peripheral blood of nine normal donors and the CCR4(+)CD4(+) cells assessed for actin polymerization in response to the CCR4 ligand macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) and the influence of a CCR4 antagonist tested. RESULTS: Allergic rhinitics had increased early and late phase symptoms after allergen challenge compared to diluent; nonatopics did not respond to either challenge. Eosinophils, but not total numbers of CD3(+) T cells, were increased in rhinitics following allergen challenge. In rhinitics, there was an increase in CCR4(+)CD3(+) protein-positive cells relative to CXCR3(+)CD3(+) cells; CCR4 mRNA+ cells were increased and IL-4 increased to a greater extent than IFN-gamma. CCR4(+)CD4(+) T cells responded to MDC in vitro, and this response was inhibited by the selective CCR4 antagonist. CONCLUSION: Lymphocyte CCR4 expression is closely associated with induction of human allergen-induced late nasal responses. Blocking CCR4-ligand interaction may provide a novel therapeutic approach in allergic disease.


Subject(s)
Allergens/immunology , Hypersensitivity, Immediate/immunology , Receptors, CCR4/metabolism , Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial/immunology , Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal/immunology , Th2 Cells/metabolism , Administration, Intranasal , Adult , Allergens/administration & dosage , Biopsy , Female , Humans , Hypersensitivity, Immediate/physiopathology , Inflammation/immunology , Inflammation/physiopathology , Male , Nasal Mucosa/immunology , Nasal Mucosa/metabolism , Receptors, CCR4/genetics , Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial/physiopathology , Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal/physiopathology , Th2 Cells/immunology , Time Factors
15.
Neurology ; 70(16 Pt 2): 1397-402, 2008 Apr 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18057320

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a recently described, underrecognized neurodegenerative disorder of aging fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) premutation carriers, particularly men. Core motor features are action tremor, gait ataxia, and parkinsonism. Carriers have expanded CGG repeats (55 to 200); larger expansions cause fragile X syndrome, the most common heritable cause of mental retardation and autism. This study determines whether CGG repeat length correlates with severity and type of motor dysfunction in premutation carriers. METHODS: Persons aged >or=50 years with a family history of fragile X syndrome underwent structured videotaping. Movement disorder neurologists, blinded to carrier status, scored the tapes using modified standardized rating scales. CGG repeat length analyses for women incorporated the activation ratio, which measures the percentage of normal active chromosome X alleles. RESULTS: Male carriers (n = 54) had significantly worse total motor scores, especially in tremor and ataxia, than age-matched male noncarriers (n = 51). There was a trend toward a difference between women carriers (n = 82) and noncarriers (n = 39). In men, increasing CGG repeat correlated with greater impairment in all motor signs. In women, when activation ratio was considered, increasing CGG correlated with greater ataxia. CONCLUSIONS: CGG repeat size is significantly associated with overall motor impairment in premutation carriers. Whereas this association is most pronounced for men and covers overall motor impairment-tremor, ataxia, and parkinsonism-the association exists for ataxia among women carriers. This is the first report of a significant correlation between the premutation status and a motor feature of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome in women.


Subject(s)
Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/genetics , Fragile X Syndrome/genetics , Genetic Carrier Screening , Movement Disorders/genetics , Mutation/genetics , Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion/genetics , Aged , Female , Fragile X Syndrome/complications , Fragile X Syndrome/diagnosis , Genetic Carrier Screening/methods , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Movement Disorders/complications , Movement Disorders/physiopathology , Predictive Value of Tests , Sex Factors
16.
Hear Res ; 229(1-2): 148-57, 2007 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17275232

ABSTRACT

Our knowledge of the function of the auditory nervous system is based upon a wealth of data obtained, for the most part, in anaesthetised animals. More recently, it has been generally acknowledged that factors such as attention profoundly modulate the activity of sensory systems and this can take place at many levels of processing. Imaging studies, in particular, have revealed the greater activation of auditory areas and areas outside of sensory processing areas when attending to a stimulus. We present here a brief review of the consequences of such non-passive listening and go on to describe some of the experiments we are conducting to investigate them. In imaging studies, using fMRI, we can demonstrate the activation of attention networks that are non-specific to the sensory modality as well as greater and different activation of the areas of the supra-temporal plane that includes primary and secondary auditory areas. The profuse descending connections of the auditory system seem likely to be part of the mechanisms subserving attention to sound. These are generally thought to be largely inactivated by anaesthesia. However, we have been able to demonstrate that even in an anaesthetised preparation, removing the descending control from the cortex leads to quite profound changes in the temporal patterns of activation by sounds in thalamus and inferior colliculus. Some of these effects seem to be specific to the ear of stimulation and affect interaural processing. To bridge these observations we are developing an awake behaving preparation involving freely moving animals in which it will be possible to investigate the effects of consciousness (by contrasting awake and anaesthetized), passive and active listening.


Subject(s)
Auditory Perception/physiology , Acoustic Stimulation , Animals , Attention/physiology , Auditory Cortex/anatomy & histology , Auditory Cortex/physiology , Auditory Pathways/physiology , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Models, Animal , Models, Neurological , Models, Psychological , Visual Cortex/anatomy & histology , Visual Cortex/physiology , Visual Perception/physiology
17.
Clin Otolaryngol ; 31(6): 508-10, 2006 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17184456

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the MR scanning risk to patients with otologic implants. DESIGN: We used a repeated-measures study with an additional control measure to assess two aspects of risk; (i) movement of the device in the magnetic field, and (ii) absorption of energy leading to local heating. We used an ex vivo test method that met with international standards. We measured the effects in a Philips Intera Achieva 3 Tesla (T) MR scanner using a Sense Head 8 channel RF coil. SETTING: University-based magnetic resonance research facility. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Heating or displacement of the stapedectomy pistons. RESULTS: No evidence of displacement or heating was found. CONCLUSION: Complying with the ex vivo standard testing protocols, the Schuknecht and McGee wire pistons (device product numbers 140106 and 140108, respectively) were found to be safe in a 3 T MR scanner. These conclusions can be extrapolated to the in vivo case.


Subject(s)
Ear Diseases/diagnosis , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/adverse effects , Metals , Ossicular Prosthesis , Equipment Safety , Heating , Humans , Prosthesis Design , Prosthesis Failure
18.
Neuroepidemiology ; 26(3): 151-5, 2006.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16493202

ABSTRACT

We reviewed prevalence rates of fragile X mental retardation gene (FMR1) repeat expansions in movement disorder populations. Inclusion criteria included published epidemiological studies from systematic searches of Medline, Pubmed, Cochrane Databases and Web Science. Thirteen cross-sectional studies were carried out between 2003 and 2005. Subjects with ataxia showed higher than expected rates while those with essential tremor and parkinsonism showed lower rates. The heterogeneous design of the studies, inclusion criteria and mean age of subjects may have led to underestimation of FMR1 repeat expansion prevalence rates.


Subject(s)
DNA Repeat Expansion/genetics , Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/genetics , Movement Disorders/genetics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged
19.
Neuroimage ; 30(4): 1112-20, 2006 May 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16473021

ABSTRACT

The medial geniculate body (MGB) of the thalamus is a key component of the auditory system. It is involved in relaying and transforming auditory information to the cortex and in top-down modulation of processing in the midbrain, brainstem, and ear. Functional imaging investigations of this region in humans, however, have been limited by the difficulty of distinguishing MGB from other thalamic nuclei. Here, we introduce two methods for reliably delineating MGB anatomically in individuals based on conventional and diffusion MRI data. The first uses high-resolution proton density weighted scanning optimized for subcortical grey-white contrast. The second uses diffusion-weighted imaging and probabilistic tractography to automatically segment the medial and lateral geniculate nuclei from surrounding structures based on their distinctive patterns of connectivity to the rest of the brain. Both methods produce highly replicable results that are consistent with published atlases. Importantly, both methods rely on commonly available imaging sequences and standard hardware, a significant advantage over previously described approaches. In addition to providing useful approaches for identifying the MGB and LGN in vivo, our study offers further validation of diffusion tractography for the parcellation of grey matter regions on the basis of their connectivity patterns.


Subject(s)
Auditory Pathways/anatomy & histology , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Geniculate Bodies/anatomy & histology , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Thalamic Nuclei/anatomy & histology , Adult , Auditory Cortex/anatomy & histology , Auditory Perception/physiology , Brain Mapping , Brain Stem/anatomy & histology , Dominance, Cerebral/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Reference Values
20.
Neurology ; 65(2): 299-301, 2005 Jul 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16043804

ABSTRACT

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a newly described disorder that occurs in premutation carriers of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Fifty-six patients with FXTAS were given 98 prior diagnoses: most were in the categories of parkinsonism, tremor, ataxia, dementia, or stroke. Data from this study and others were used to develop guidelines for FMR1 diagnostic testing for FXTAS.


Subject(s)
Diagnostic Errors/statistics & numerical data , Fragile X Syndrome/complications , Gait Ataxia/diagnosis , Tremor/diagnosis , Age Factors , Age of Onset , Aged , Atrophy/genetics , Atrophy/pathology , Cerebellum/pathology , Cerebellum/physiopathology , DNA Mutational Analysis , Diagnosis, Differential , Family Health , Female , Fragile X Syndrome/genetics , Gait Ataxia/genetics , Gait Ataxia/physiopathology , Genetic Testing , Health Surveys , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/diagnosis , Parkinson Disease/pathology , Parkinson Disease/physiopathology , Stroke/diagnosis , Stroke/pathology , Stroke/physiopathology , Syndrome , Tremor/genetics , Tremor/physiopathology
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...