University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

About: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is a education organization based out in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 14077 authors who have published 26012 publications receiving 973592 citations. The organization is also known as: UAMS.

Measurement of sleep in critically ill patients.

Abstract: Research to evaluate interventions to promote sleep in critically ill patients has been restricted by the lack of brief, inexpensive outcome measures. This article describes the development and testing of an instrument to measure sleep in critically ill patients. A convenience sample of 70 alert, oriented, critically ill males was studied using polysomnography (PSG), the gold standard for sleep measurement, for one night. In the morning the patients completed the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ), a five-item visual analog scale. Internal consistency reliability of the RCSQ was .90 and principal components factor analysis revealed a single factor (Eigenvalue = 3.61, percent variance = 72.2). The RCSQ total score accounted for approximately 33% of the variance in the PSG indicator sleep efficiency index (p < .001). The data provide support for the reliability and validity of the RCSQ.

Higher dietary variety is associated with better nutritional status in frail elderly people.

Abstract: Objective A narrow range of food choices may lead to dietary inadequacies, a particular concern in elderly people. We hypothesized that consumption of a more diverse diet would predict better nutritional status in frail elderly persons. Subjects Subjects included 98 frail nursing home residents (36 men, 62 women), mean age 87.1±5.5 (72 to 98) years. Methods 3-day dietary variety scores ranging from 23 to 48 and fruit and vegetable variety scores ranging from 5 to 20 were calculated from weighed 3-day food records as the number of different food or fruit and vegetable choices consumed. A higher score indicates a more varied diet. Nutritional status was assessed by weight, height, body mass index (BMI), skinfold thickness, circumference measures, calculated mean arm muscle area, total body water, computerized tomography of the thigh, and total body potassium, as well as nutritional analysis, biochemical measures, and subject medical history. Statistical methods Univariate regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between clinical and nutrition variables. Multiple linear regressions were used to develop models relating dietary variety scores to possible etiologic factors as well as indicators of nutritional status. Models were controlled for age, BMI, and energy intake when appropriate. Results Mean dietary variety score was 35.2±4.5, and mean fruit and vegetable variety score was 11.3±3.0. Higher dietary variety score was associated with higher energy intake (β=20.5, P P ≤.05). High dietary variety score was related to high fruit and vegetable variety score and total intake of fruits and vegetables. In men, higher dietary variety score and fruit and vegetable variety score were associated with higher high-density lipoprotein (β=1.02), lower very-low-density lipoprotein (β=−3.58) and triglycerol (β=−3.51), and higher blood folate (β=4.72) concentrations in women ( P ≤.05). In women, high dietary variety score was associated with higher BMI (β=0.34, P P =.02); high fruit and vegetable variety score was associated with higher BMI (β=0.41), mid-arm circumference (β=0.34), and mid-arm muscle area (β=2.94) ( P ≤.03). Dietary variety score was higher (mean 37.6±5.38 vs 34.6±4.14) in those who received assistance with feeding (β=2.67, P =.01). History of cancer (β=−2.04) and gastrointenstinal cancer (β=−3.54) were associated with low dietary variety score ( P ≤.05). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that a highly varied diet in elderly nursing home residents is associated with better nutritional status as assessed by nutrient intake, biochemical measures, and body composition measures. Dietary variety score is a straightforward tool for screening and identifying people at nutritional risk, as well as a mechanism for monitoring response to nutritional, medical, and environmental interventions. Preventive measures to improve dietary variety, as measured by the dietary variety score, should be evaluated and introduced before nutrition and health complications arise. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102:1096–1104.

High Rate of Recurrent De Novo Mutations in Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies

Abstract: Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) is a group of conditions characterized by the co-occurrence of epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID), typically with developmental plateauing or regression associated with frequent epileptiform activity. The cause of DEE remains unknown in the majority of cases. We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in 197 individuals with unexplained DEE and pharmaco-resistant seizures and in their unaffected parents. We focused our attention on de novo mutations (DNMs) and identified candidate genes containing such variants. We sought to identify additional subjects with DNMs in these genes by performing targeted sequencing in another series of individuals with DEE and by mining various sequencing datasets. We also performed meta-analyses to document enrichment of DNMs in candidate genes by leveraging our WGS dataset with those of several DEE and ID series. By combining these strategies, we were able to provide a causal link between DEE and the following genes: NTRK2, GABRB2, CLTC, DHDDS, NUS1, RAB11A, GABBR2, and SNAP25. Overall, we established a molecular diagnosis in 63/197 (32%) individuals in our WGS series. The main cause of DEE in these individuals was de novo point mutations (53/63 solved cases), followed by inherited mutations (6/63 solved cases) and de novo CNVs (4/63 solved cases). De novo missense variants explained a larger proportion of individuals in our series than in other series that were primarily ascertained because of ID. Moreover, these DNMs were more frequently recurrent than those identified in ID series. These observations indicate that the genetic landscape of DEE might be different from that of ID without epilepsy.