University of Colorado Denver

About: University of Colorado Denver is a education organization based out in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 27444 authors who have published 57213 publications receiving 2539937 citations. The organization is also known as: CU Denver & UCD.

Molecular Testing for Mutations in Improving the Fine-Needle Aspiration Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodules

Abstract: Context: Thyroid nodules are common in adults, but only a small fraction of them are malignant. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) with cytological evaluation is the most reliable tool for cancer diagnosis in thyroid nodules. However, 10–40% of nodules are diagnosed as indeterminate by cytology, making it difficult to optimally manage these patients. Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility and role of testing for tumor-specific mutations in improving the FNA diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Design: The prospective study included 470 FNA samples of thyroid nodules from 328 patients. At the time of aspiration, a small portion of the material was collected and tested for BRAF, RAS, RET/PTC, and PAX8/PPARγ mutations. The mutational status was correlated with cytology and either surgical pathology diagnosis or follow-up (mean, 34 months). Results: A sufficient amount of nucleic acids were isolated in 98% of samples. Thirty-two mutations were found, including 18 BRAF, eight RAS, five RET/PTC, a...

Concept Evolution in Sensory Integration: A Proposed Nosology for Diagnosis

Abstract: and growing area of practice in occupational therapy. Debate and discussion with colleagues have led us to develop a proposed taxonomy reflecting a new classification scheme to enhance diagnostic specificity. The nosology proposed here is rooted in empirical data first published by Ayres (Ayres, 1972b, 1989) that has evolved based on empirical and theoretical information. This new nosology provides a viewpoint for discussion and research. Two sociopolitical trends contribute to the timeliness of the ideas presented. First, a call exists throughout health and developmental services for evidence-based practice (Sackett, Richardson, Rosenberg, & Haynes, 1997). Diagnostic precision is crucial for homogeneity of samples in empirical research, affecting the validity of the research findings. Second, the condition of sensory processing disorders (SPD) has recently been acknowledged outside the occupational therapy profession in three diagnostic classification references: the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, Revised (known as the DC: 0–3R) (Zero to Three, 2005), the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL, 2005), and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM Task Force, 2006). Both manuals include diagnostic taxonomies with subtypes of SPD suggested by a committee of occupational therapists, who assisted in developing guidelines for diagnostic specificity related to sensory-based disorders (Miller, Cermak, Lane, Anzalone, & Koomar, 2004).

Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on the Central Nervous System

Abstract: The concept of moderate consumption of ethanol (beverage alcohol) has evolved over time from considering this level of intake to be nonintoxicating and noninjurious, to encompassing levels defined as "statistically" normal in particular populations, and the public health-driven concepts that define moderate drinking as the level corresponding to the lowest overall rate of morbidity or mortality in a population. The various approaches to defining moderate consumption of ethanol provide for a range of intakes that can result in blood ethanol concentrations ranging from 5 to 6 mg/dl, to levels of over 90 mg/dl (i.e., approximately 20 mM). This review summarizes available information regarding the effects of moderate consumption of ethanol on the adult and the developing nervous systems. The metabolism of ethanol in the human is reviewed to allow for proper appreciation of the important variables that interact to influence the level of exposure of the brain to ethanol once ethanol is orally consumed. At the neurochemical level, the moderate consumption of ethanol selectively affects the function of GABA, glutamatergic, serotonergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and opioid neuronal systems. Ethanol can affect these systems directly, and/or the interactions between and among these systems become important in the expression of ethanol's actions. The behavioral consequences of ethanol's actions on brain neurochemistry, and the neurochemical effects themselves, are very much dose- and time-related, and the collage of ethanol's actions can change significantly even on the rising and falling phases of the blood ethanol curve. The behavioral effects of moderate ethanol intake can encompass events that the human or other animal can perceive as reinforcing through either positive (e.g., pleasurable, activating) or negative (e.g., anxiolysis, stress reduction) reinforcement mechanisms. Genetic factors and gender play an important role in the metabolism and behavioral actions of ethanol, and doses of ethanol producing pleasurable feelings, activation, and reduction of anxiety in some humans/animals can have aversive, sedative, or no effect in others. Research on the cognitive effects of acute and chronic moderate intake of ethanol is reviewed, and although a number of studies have noted a measurable diminution in neuropsychologic parameters in habitual consumers of moderate amounts of ethanol, others have not found such changes. Recent studies have also noted some positive effects of moderate ethanol consumption on cognitive performance in the aging human. The moderate consumption of ethanol by pregnant women can have significant consequences on the developing nervous system of the fetus. Consumption of ethanol during pregnancy at levels considered to be in the moderate range can generate fetal alcohol effects (behavioral, cognitive anomalies) in the offspring. A number of factors--including gestational period, the periodicity of the mother's drinking, genetic factors, etc.--play important roles in determining the effect of ethanol on the developing central nervous system. A series of recommendations for future research endeavors, at all levels, is included with this review as part of the assessment of the effects of moderate ethanol consumption on the central nervous system.