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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract Tropical myeloneuropathies are a group of neurological disorders known to occur in subtropical and tropical regions. Many aetiologies have been postulated and investigated over the past 100 years, but no single cause has been... more
Abstract Tropical myeloneuropathies are a group of neurological disorders known to occur in subtropical and tropical regions. Many aetiologies have been postulated and investigated over the past 100 years, but no single cause has been found. Recent studies suggest that human T-cell lymphotropic virus HTLV-I is the causative agent of one of these tropical myeloneuropathies, endemic tropical spastic paraparesis, and of a related disorder in southern Japan called HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Endemic tropical spastic paraparesis is now being reported from geographical and climatic regions that were previously thought to be free of these disorders.
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ABSTRACT A 69-year-old male Filipino immigrant developed a clinical syndrome and neuropathologic changes indistinguishable from parkinsonism-dementia (PD). The patient originally migrated from the Ilocos region of the Philippine Islands... more
ABSTRACT A 69-year-old male Filipino immigrant developed a clinical syndrome and neuropathologic changes indistinguishable from parkinsonism-dementia (PD). The patient originally migrated from the Ilocos region of the Philippine Islands to Hawaii and then to Guam, where he remained for 26 years before neurologic symptoms began. This is the first case of clinically and neuropathologically verified PD in a non-Chamorro and supports the notion that long-term continuous exposure to the Guamanian environment increases the risk of developing disease.
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Research Interests: Genetics, Biology, Adolescent, Medicine, Amyloid, and 15 moreDNA, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Middle Aged, Genotype, Adult, Methionine, Genetic variation, Codon, Kuru, Allele, Age of Onset, and Age at Onset(DNA, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Middle Aged, Genotype, Adult, Methionine, Genetic variation, Codon, Kuru, Allele, Age of Onset, and Age at Onset)
(DNA, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Middle Aged, Genotype, Adult, Methionine, Genetic variation, Codon, Kuru, Allele, Age of Onset, and Age at Onset)
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Research Interests: Geology, Peru, Adolescent, Medicine, Humans, and 12 moreChild, South American Indians, Blood Pressure, Female, Pubmed, Male, Heart, Adult, Pulse, Pulse Pressure, Body Weight, and Altitude(Child, South American Indians, Blood Pressure, Female, Pubmed, Male, Heart, Adult, Pulse, Pulse Pressure, Body Weight, and Altitude)
(Child, South American Indians, Blood Pressure, Female, Pubmed, Male, Heart, Adult, Pulse, Pulse Pressure, Body Weight, and Altitude)
Dermatoglyphics from two southern Peruvian Indian groups, Nunoa Quechua and Quechua ‘Pooled’, and a North-Central Peruvian group, Vicos Quechua, were evaluated for\u27 digital and a-b palmar interdigital ridge counts. In addition to total... more
Dermatoglyphics from two southern Peruvian Indian groups, Nunoa Quechua and Quechua ‘Pooled’, and a North-Central Peruvian group, Vicos Quechua, were evaluated for\u27 digital and a-b palmar interdigital ridge counts. In addition to total ridge counts, the results are presented in terms of ulnar and radial counts and by digital pattern. Ridge counts of the southern Peruvian Quechua groups are similar to each other, but are significantly different from the northern Vicos Quechua; all three Peruvian groups have lower ridge counts than the Chipaya Quechua of Bolivia. Differences between ulnar and radial counts of loops and whorls suggest that lateral evaluation of ridge counts may provide additional polymorphic dermatoglyphic markers which could be utilized in anthropological and genetic studies
Research Interests: Genetics, Geography, Biology, Peru, Medicine, and 7 moreHuman Biology, Dermatoglyphics, Humans, South American Indians, Pubmed, Male, and Ridge
HL-A antigens were determined for the A and B loci among 164 Chamorros living on Guam, Rota, and Saipan in the southern Mariana Islands of Micronesia. The overall antigen phenotype and gene frequencies for the Chamorro population are... more
HL-A antigens were determined for the A and B loci among 164 Chamorros living on Guam, Rota, and Saipan in the southern Mariana Islands of Micronesia. The overall antigen phenotype and gene frequencies for the Chamorro population are presented. Comparisons were made between Chamorros and other Pacific populations using HL-A antigen phenotype frequency distributions and analysis of genetic distance. Results agree with historical accounts of admixture between Chamorros and Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era, and data from blood group studies which show close similarities between these populations. The disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in very high frequency among Chamorros, also exhibits high local prevalences in Japanese and Filipinos, who are in closest proximity to the Chamorros by genetic distance analysis
Research Interests: Genetics, Population Genetics, Biology, Medicine, Human Biology, and 9 moreHumans, Female, Pubmed, Male, Micronesia, Phenotype, Aged, Middle Aged, and Adult
Digital and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns were analyzed for 362 male Quechua Indians from five populations located in the southern Peruvian highlands. The popidations are resident in varying ecozones at different altitudes representing... more
Digital and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns were analyzed for 362 male Quechua Indians from five populations located in the southern Peruvian highlands. The popidations are resident in varying ecozones at different altitudes representing the altiplano, tierra templada and ceja de la montana.Ethnohistorical information, recent migration patterns, as well as a number of other cultural patterns, appear to indicate sufficient gene flow to maintain genetic continuity between the populations studied. The results of an analysis of digital and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns tend to support this observation and imply a high degree of genetic similarity between all Quechua populations studied, with the exception of the Nunoa Quechua. The palmar patterns of the Nunoa Quechua are very different from those reported for the other populations and a number of interpretations for the observed differences are offered
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The aim of this work was to estimate the incidence of trisomy 21, the Down's syndrome, and the minimal rate of chromosome mutation in the municipality of Rijeka and in the Istrian region for the period 1986-1994. In the same period... more
The aim of this work was to estimate the incidence of trisomy 21, the Down's syndrome, and the minimal rate of chromosome mutation in the municipality of Rijeka and in the Istrian region for the period 1986-1994. In the same period the Institute for Biology of the University of Rijeka School of Medicine has been carrying out prenatal diagnostics, and during this period only one case of DS has been established. However, 59 children with the same syndrome were born within this period. In view of that, we were also interested to find out whether this suggests disregard of negligence of existing indications for prenatal diagnostics, or otherwise the necessity of introducing prenatal screening tests. The incidence of trisomy 21 in the municipality of Rijeka was 1.66/1.000 new-born children, and the minimal rate of chromosome mutation was 8.3x10(-4). In the Istrian region the incidence was 1.51/1.000 with the minimal rate of chromosome mutation of 7.6x10(-4). The mean age of mothers of DS children was 29.4+/-6.7 years, and the paternal mean age was 31.9+/-6.9. The phenomenon of birth order and the Down syn drome indicate that a younger mother ( 34) as the third, fourth or last born child. Out of 58 reported cases of DS, two mothers (3.4%) were of border age (34 years), and ten (17.2%) were over 35. Despite the fact that our sample was relatively small, and thus inappropriate for making conclusions, it should be pointed out that the number of very young mothers of children with DS was higher than expected and that it would be necessary to introduce and apply prenatal screening tests that could cover the entire population of pregnant women.
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Purkinje's Observations (1823) on Finger Prints and Other Skin Features Dermatoglyphic Investigations Embryological Development of Epidermal Ridges and Their Configurations Embryological Development of the Flexion Creases The Role of... more
Purkinje's Observations (1823) on Finger Prints and Other Skin Features Dermatoglyphic Investigations Embryological Development of Epidermal Ridges and Their Configurations Embryological Development of the Flexion Creases The Role of Heredity and Environment on Dermatoglyphic Traits Clinical Aspects of Dermatoglyphics Palmar, Plantar and Digital Flexion Creases.
Research Interests: Psychology, Physical Anthropology, Medicine, Heredity, Anatomy, and 3 moreDermatoglyphics, Humans, and Pubmed
In the present study we examined five different measures of lateral functional dominance: foot preference (kicking a ball), eye preference, digital interlocking (hand clasping), arm folding and foot overlapping. The calculated frequencies... more
In the present study we examined five different measures of lateral functional dominance: foot preference (kicking a ball), eye preference, digital interlocking (hand clasping), arm folding and foot overlapping. The calculated frequencies of left and right dominance for each of these variables suggested a significant (p < .01) association between the two foot functions, foot preference and foot overlapping, in both males and females. The foot functions also showed a significant association with handedness (handwriting). With the exception of the significant association between eye preference and foot preference in females, the three remaining traits, eye preference, digital interlocking and arm folding were found to be independent of each other, as well as of the two foot functions and handedness. The frequencies of left dominance for the two foot functions, foot preference and foot overlapping were twice as high in males as in females. The other traits showed no sex related differences in lateral dominance. Cross-sectional age comparisons gave no evidence that the frequency of any of the five traits studied change with age once adulthood has been reached. The controversy surrounding the causal explanation for lateral functional dominance, particularly with respect to hand clasping, arm folding, foot preference and eye preference has continued throughout most of this century. Some have suggested a genetic basis for these functional traits while others have attributed lateral dominance to habitual practice, environmental factors or chance phenomena (Lutz, 1908; Downey, 1927, Wiener, 1932; Komai and Fukuoka, 1934; Kawabe, 1949; Freire-Maia et al. 1958; Pons, 1961; Beckman and Elston, 1962; Lai and Walsh, 1965; Freire-Maia and DeAlmeida, 1966; Forrai and Bankovi, 1969; Shastree and Malhotra, 1971; Singh and Malhotra, 1971; Bryden, 1973; Ferronato, et al. 1974; Martin, 1975; Freire-Maia, 1976; Frisancho et al. 1977; Gur and Gur, 1977; Birkett, 1979; McManus and Mascie-Taylor, 1979; Porac and Coren, 1979; Porac et al. 1980). Other controversial issues surround1National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, NIH, 4940 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224 2National Institute of Neurological & Communicative Disorders & Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20205 Human Biology , September 1985 , Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 327-334. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.102 on Sun, 31 Jul 2016 05:06:42 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 328 C. C. Plato, K. M. Fox and R. M. Garruto ing these functional characteristics include differentiation on the basis of sex, age, and their relationship to handedness. Most researchers agree, however, that hand clasping, arm folding, footedness and eyedness work independently of each other (Wiener, 1932; Pons, 1961; Beckman and Elston, 1962; Ferronato et al. 1974). In an attempt to try to clarify these issues we tested participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) at the Gerontology Research Center for sixteen variables of Lateral Functional Dominance. The participants were tested for all variables at the same "sitting". Results of eleven of these tests, which dealt strictly with hand dominance, were reported earlier (Plato et al. 1984). In the present study we report the results of the remaining five traits, foot preference, eye preference, digital interlocking, arm folding and foot overlapping, and the extent of their interrelationship with handwriting, which we previously found to be a reliable indicator of hand dominance (Plato et al. 1984).
Research Interests: Genetics, Sex, Biology, Laterality, Medicine, and 15 moreHuman Biology, Humans, Age, Female, Pubmed, Male, Eye, Aged, Middle Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Foot, Age Factors, Preference, and Functional Laterality(Human Biology, Humans, Age, Female, Pubmed, Male, Eye, Aged, Middle Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Foot, Age Factors, Preference, and Functional Laterality)
(Human Biology, Humans, Age, Female, Pubmed, Male, Eye, Aged, Middle Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Foot, Age Factors, Preference, and Functional Laterality)
1: Hum Biol. 1984 May;56(2):259-75. Measures of lateral functional dominance: hand dominance. Plato CC, Fox KM, Garruto RM. Mesh Terms: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Dominance, Cerebral*; Female; ...
Research Interests: Genetics, Psychology, Adolescent, Medicine, Human Biology, and 10 moreHumans, Female, Pubmed, Male, Aged, Middle Aged, Concordance, Adult, Age Factors, and Functional Laterality(Humans, Female, Pubmed, Male, Aged, Middle Aged, Concordance, Adult, Age Factors, and Functional Laterality)
(Humans, Female, Pubmed, Male, Aged, Middle Aged, Concordance, Adult, Age Factors, and Functional Laterality)
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The presence of ELISA antibodies to cysticerci of Taenia solium was surveyed in populations of New Guinea, Micronesia, and several areas of Southeast Asia. It is confirmed that cysticercosis in New Guinea remains limited to the primary... more
The presence of ELISA antibodies to cysticerci of Taenia solium was surveyed in populations of New Guinea, Micronesia, and several areas of Southeast Asia. It is confirmed that cysticercosis in New Guinea remains limited to the primary Wissel Lakes focus in Irian Jaya, where the disease was introduced by the importation of infected pigs, and that it has not spread to populations east or south of the Wissel Lakes, or to Papua New Guinea. On the island of Bali, Indonesia, 21% of sera were positive from one village where pigs are especially numerous, whereas in Sumatra, Indonesia, only 3%-4% of sera were positive. In Singapore, there was a higher proportion of positive sera among the Chinese (13%) than among the Indian (5%) or Malay (3%) Moslems. From 3 to 13% of sera from populations in Micronesia, Burma, Vietnam, and the Philippines were also found to react with cysticercus antigen. However, the problem of incomplete ELISA specificity raises the possibility that in areas not known to be endemic for T. solium, seropositive results could represent either subclinical infection with cysticerci or crossreactivity to other parasitic infections.
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Significant differences among diverse human populations have been found in the seroepidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The present report documents a very high rate of early acquisition of antibody to CMV... more
Significant differences among diverse human populations have been found in the seroepidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The present report documents a very high rate of early acquisition of antibody to CMV and EBV among three remote populations living in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the New Hebrides, respectively. These three genetically distinct populations, living in widely different ecologies and social settings, each had the same pattern of early acquisition of infection with both viruses. It is suggested that spread of CMV and EBV is determined by patterns of interpersonal contact as well as by the prevalence of virus-shedders. The large number of handlers of each infant in these studied groups appears directly related to the early acquisition of these viruses.
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Kapingamarangi is the southernmost island of the Caroline Islands of Micronesia, just 1 degree north of the equator in the South Pacific (Figure 1). The island is a typical low ring-shaped coral atoll. However, the Kapingamarangese are... more
Kapingamarangi is the southernmost island of the Caroline Islands of Micronesia, just 1 degree north of the equator in the South Pacific (Figure 1). The island is a typical low ring-shaped coral atoll. However, the Kapingamarangese are the most isolated group in Micronesia. The island lies off the trade routes and is tucked away between Micronesia to the north and Melanesia to the south. Yet, the Kapingamarangese stand in marked contrast in physical type and language as well as culturally to other Micronesians. They are racially and culturally more similar to Polynesians than to Micronesians (Simmons, Graydon, & Semple 1953). The island is inhabited by approximately 500 Kapingamarangese who speak a Polynesian language. Since the atoll is unable to support more individuals, some Kapingamarangese have migrated to the larger Micronesian island of Ponape (Pohnpe) during the past 50 years (Simmons et al. 1953; Simmons & Graydon 1965).
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During the past three decades we have recognized a unique opportunity to study high-incidence foci of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and parkinsonism-dementia (PD) in non-western anthropological populations in the Pacific Basin aimed... more
During the past three decades we have recognized a unique opportunity to study high-incidence foci of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and parkinsonism-dementia (PD) in non-western anthropological populations in the Pacific Basin aimed at identifying their etiology and mechanism of pathogenesis and their relationship to other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, parkinsonism, and early neuronal aging. Pacific ALS and PD are two progressive and fatal neurological disorders that occur hyperendemically in different cultures, in different ecological zones and among genetically divergent populations in the Mariana Islands, in the Kii Peninsula of Japan and in southern West New Guinea. Our cross-disciplinary approach to these intriguing neurological disorders and the accumulated epidemiological, cellular and molecular evidence strongly implicate environmental factors in their causation, specifically the role of aluminum and its interaction with calcium. The remaining question is whether the clinical expressions of these disorders are solely environmentally induced or whether they represent a genetic susceptibility combined with an “environmental trigger”. The dramatic decline of these disorders in all three high-incidence foci over the past 40 years can be supported by both models. A clearer understanding of these natural paradigms will surely have far-reaching implications for Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders with long latency and slow progression. In this paper we concentrate our efforts on the Guamanian focus of ALS and PD which is far and away the best studied of the three high incidence Pacific foci and summarize the results of familial and genetic studies conducted during the past 30 years on Guam.
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The present study represents a continuation of our efforts to further define the genetic structure of the Chamorro population of Guam. The dermatoglyphic features of Guamanian Chamorros differ significantly from those of Western... more
The present study represents a continuation of our efforts to further define the genetic structure of the Chamorro population of Guam. The dermatoglyphic features of Guamanian Chamorros differ significantly from those of Western Carolinians from the Outer Islands of Yap in fingerprint patterns, model types of C line, frequency of patterns in the thenar/I area and in the presence of Sydney creases. The results of this analysis confirm earlier data from serological and other genetic markers that Guamanian Chamorros are genetically more closely related to the people of southeastern Asia than to their Micronesian neighbors to the south.
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Research Interests:
Frequency distributions were determined for 24 red cell enzyme and four serum protein systems, in an attempt to identify a genetic marker associated with either amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or parkinsonism‐dementia (PD), two... more
Frequency distributions were determined for 24 red cell enzyme and four serum protein systems, in an attempt to identify a genetic marker associated with either amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or parkinsonism‐dementia (PD), two progressive and fatal neurological disorders of unknown cause found with unusually high incidence among the Chamorros of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. No striking associations were identified between either disorder and any of the gene markers tested. Thus, no genetic cause is known for either disease; local environmental factors are most likely involved in pathogenesis.
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Polymers, Medicine, Theoretical biology, Biological Sciences, and 10 moreAluminum, Humans, Toxicity, Mathematical Sciences, Animals, Ion, Aluminium, Turbidity, Cell Membrane, and clarifier(Aluminum, Humans, Toxicity, Mathematical Sciences, Animals, Ion, Aluminium, Turbidity, Cell Membrane, and clarifier)
(Aluminum, Humans, Toxicity, Mathematical Sciences, Animals, Ion, Aluminium, Turbidity, Cell Membrane, and clarifier)
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We report clinical and laboratory investigations of 47 native-born Jamaican patients with endemic tropical spastic paraparesis and of 1 patient with tropical ataxic neuropathy. Mean age at onset was 40 years, with a female-male... more
We report clinical and laboratory investigations of 47 native-born Jamaican patients with endemic tropical spastic paraparesis and of 1 patient with tropical ataxic neuropathy. Mean age at onset was 40 years, with a female-male preponderance (2.7:1). Neurological features of endemic tropical spastic paraparesis are predominantly those of a spastic paraparesis with variable degrees of proprioceptive and/or superficial sensory impairment. Using enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), IgG antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) were present in 82% of sera and 77% of cerebrospinal fluids. On Western blot analysis, IgG antibodies detected the p19 and p24 gag-encoded core proteins in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Titers were tenfold higher by ELISA in serum than in cerebrospinal fluid, and some oligoclonal bands present in fluid were not seen in serum. Serum-cerebrospinal fluid albumin ratios were normal, and IgG indexes indicated intrathecal IgG synthesis. Histopathological changes showed a chronic inflammatory reaction with mononuclear cell infiltration, perivascular cuffing, and demyelination that was predominant in the lateral columns. In 1 patient, a retrovirus morphologically similar to HTLV-I on electron microscopy was isolated from spinal fluid. Our investigations show that endemic tropical spastic paraparesis in Jamaica is a retrovirus-associated myelopathy and that HTLV-I or an antigenically similar retrovirus is the causal agent.
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Research Interests: Psychology, Biology, Medicine, In Situ Hybridization, Amyloid, and 14 moreHippocampus, Animals, Nucleic acid hybridization, Neurons, Astrocytes, Clinical Sciences, Experimental Neurology, Rabbits, Alzheimer Disease, Neurosciences, Amyloid Beta Precursor Protein, Senile Plaques, Hippocampal formation, and In Vitro Techniques
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Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Demography, Archaeology, Anthropology, Biology, and 14 moreVitamin D, Physical Anthropology, Medicine, Clusters, Heterogeneity, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Population, Humans, Phenotype, Genetic Polymorphism, Allele, Protein Binding, Allele Frequency, and alleles
Plaque reduction neutralization tests, using five group A arboviruses (chikungunya, Ross River, Getah, Bebaru and Sindbis), were done on sera from human populations in 44 Southeast Asia and Pacific island localities. Specificity of the... more
Plaque reduction neutralization tests, using five group A arboviruses (chikungunya, Ross River, Getah, Bebaru and Sindbis), were done on sera from human populations in 44 Southeast Asia and Pacific island localities. Specificity of the plaque neutralization test was determined by examining convalescent sera from patients with known alphavirus infections. Chikungunya-specific neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sera of persons living in South Vietnam, Northern Malaysia, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sulawesi), as well as Luzon, Marinduque, Cebu and Mindanao islands in the Philippines. Evidence of Ross River virus infection was found among populations living in West New Guinea and Papua New Guinea mainland, the Bismark Archipelago, Rossel Island and the Solomon Islands. There appeared to be no geographic overlap in the distribution of chikungunya and Ross River viruses, with the separation in their distribution corresponding with Weber&#39;s line in the Pacific. Sindbis neutralizing antibodies were found in 7 of 21 populations sampled, but in general the prevalence of infection was low. Four sera, from Vietnam, Malaysia and Mindanao gave monospecific reactions with Getah virus. No evidence of specific Bebaru virus infection was detected. The epidemiology of these five alphaviruses in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands is discussed.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which occurs in unusually high incidence among the Chamorro people on the island of Guam, has developed in 28 Chamorro migrants‐24 of whom had onset in the United States, Japan, Germany, or... more
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which occurs in unusually high incidence among the Chamorro people on the island of Guam, has developed in 28 Chamorro migrants‐24 of whom had onset in the United States, Japan, Germany, or Korea‐‐after periods of absence from Guam of 1 to 34 years. Thus, the latency period for the disease, if caused by environmental factors on Guam, may be over three decades. Four further patients developed ALS within 1 to 14 years of their return to Guam after long‐term residence in the continental United States. The minimum exposure time to environmental variables on Guam, based on age at migration, was 18 years, and all patients had spent their childhood and adolescence on Guam. Estimates of crude mortality rates for ALS from these data are considerably higher than for the United States population, and lower than the ALS mortality rates for nonmigrant Chamorros on Guam.
Research Interests: Demography, Japan, Medicine, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Humans, and 13 moreKorea, United States, Female, West Germany, Male, Guam, Ethnic Groups, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Residence, and Neurosciences(Korea, United States, Female, West Germany, Male, Guam, Ethnic Groups, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Residence, and Neurosciences)
(Korea, United States, Female, West Germany, Male, Guam, Ethnic Groups, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Residence, and Neurosciences)
A motor neuron, by strict definition, is any neuron that functionally innervates a muscle fiber. In common usage, however, this term refers to both the supraspinal descending neurons of the motor pathways (upper motor neurons, UMN) and... more
A motor neuron, by strict definition, is any neuron that functionally innervates a muscle fiber. In common usage, however, this term refers to both the supraspinal descending neurons of the motor pathways (upper motor neurons, UMN) and lower motor neurons (LMN). By analogy, the term motor neuron degeneration does not imply a disease state or process restricted to a single motor pathway. Because the manifestations of motor neuron degeneration, whether UMN or LMN, are ultimately governed by the motor unit consisting of the alpha motor neuron, its axon, and muscle fibers, only a limited repertoire of clinical phenomenology is possible for a relatively broad group of degenerative or toxic states. Therefore, in designing paradigms of motor neuron degeneration, it is important to differentiate among those degenerative processes that can affect upper or lower motor neurons selectively or in a combination, and yet still yield relatively similar disease states.
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Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Neurology, Incidence Geometry, Medicine, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and 15 morePopulation, Humans, Female, Disease, Male, First Degree Relatives, Guam, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Family Health, Nuclear Family, Neurosciences, Parkinson Disease, and Genetic predisposition to disease
Young adult New Zealand white rabbits, inoculated intracisternally once monthly with 100 micrograms AlCl3, developed progressive hyperreflexia, hypertonia, gait impairment, weight loss, muscle wasting and abnormal righting reflexes over... more
Young adult New Zealand white rabbits, inoculated intracisternally once monthly with 100 micrograms AlCl3, developed progressive hyperreflexia, hypertonia, gait impairment, weight loss, muscle wasting and abnormal righting reflexes over the course of 8 months. No overt encephalopathic features were present. In spinal motor neuron perikarya, dendrites and axonal processes, argentophilic globular inclusions were extensive. Additionally, neurofibrillary tangle-like argentophilic inclusions were consistently present in the gigantocellularis, reticularis, raphe and trapezoid nuclei, but rarely present in the dorsal and ventral subiculum, parasubiculum and anterior thalamus, and never found in the cerebral cortex, substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, or cerebellum. All neuronal inclusions were immunoreactive with monoclonal antibodies recognizing phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated high and intermediate weight neurofilament proteins (SMI 31, SMI 32). Also, some spinal motor neuron inclusion...
Research Interests: Pathology, Motor neuron, Immunohistochemistry, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Medicine, and 13 moreNeurotoxicology, Aluminum, Female, Pubmed, Animals, Substantia nigra, Phosphorylation, Locus coeruleus, Rabbits, Neurosciences, Motor Neurons, Neurofilament proteins, and Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
Research Interests: Ancient History, Genetics, Anthropology, Biology, Biometry, and 5 moreMedicine, Dermatoglyphics, Humans, Pubmed, and Palm
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As part of a multidisciplinary survey of populations in the Banks and Torres Islands of Vanuatu and the Southern and Central Districts of the Solomon Islands, nearly 2,400 persons have been tested for ABO blood groups and a number of... more
As part of a multidisciplinary survey of populations in the Banks and Torres Islands of Vanuatu and the Southern and Central Districts of the Solomon Islands, nearly 2,400 persons have been tested for ABO blood groups and a number of serum protein and red cell enzyme genetic marker systems.For the ABO system, the populations are characterized in general by high gene O and low gene B frequencies except in two of the Polynesian Outlier Islands, Rennell and Bellona, which have high frequencies of B. Among the serum proteins, several alleles have distributions indicating significant movement of people between islands. These include Albumin New Guinea and the transferrin alleles Tf, and Tf, and Tf.Similar specific alleles for red cell enzymes also show distributions reflecting interisland population movement as well as contact with persons from outside the southern Pacific region. Examples are ACP in the acid phosphatase system, PGM and PGM, PGM and PGM, PGK4 and also HbJTongariki.The da...
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Geography, Archaeology, Anthropology, Population Genetics, and 15 moreEthnology, Medicine, Vanuatu, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Melanesia, Enzymes, Population, Humans, Female, Male, American, Hemoglobins, Blood Proteins, Gene frequency, and ABO Blood-Group System
Blood group frequencies, immunoglobulin allotypes, and dermatoglyphic patterns were determined on patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and parkinsonism‐dementia (PD), two chronic, degenerative, neurologic disorders of unknown... more
Blood group frequencies, immunoglobulin allotypes, and dermatoglyphic patterns were determined on patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and parkinsonism‐dementia (PD), two chronic, degenerative, neurologic disorders of unknown cause found commonly among the Chamorros of the Mariana Islands, in an attempt to identify a specific genetic or phenetic marker associated with either disorder. With the exception of the Kidd system, no significant differences were found in blood group frequencies nor in immunoglobulin allotypes between ALS patients, PD patients, and unaffected controls. The dermatoglyphic analysis demonstrated that ALS patients had higher frequencies of palmar patterns and accessory triradii in the IV interdigital area, and PD patients had significantly higher frequencies of complete simian creases and of palmar patterns in the thenar/I interdigital area than unaffected controls. The frequencies of the remaining dermatoglyphic traits showed no significant differe...