Abstract This paper examines the criteria used to determine who may receive a liver transplant and, in particular, whether alcoholics should be allotted livers for transplant. Alcoholics tend to be given low priority status on liver transplant waiting lists or are even taken off such lists because they are considered responsible for their organ's diseased condition. The paper questions whether the denial of transplants based on this moral criteria is justified. It concludes by arguing that alcoholics should be given the same priority level as non-alcoholics on the same transplant waiting lists.
From the Paper "Deciding who should receive organs is not based solely on medical need, but also on moral criteria. Initially, patients must display a genuine medical need for a new organ, meaning that they will indeed die unless they receive a transplant. Then they are eligible to be placed on a waiting list. Patients on the list are then chosen one-by-one as organs become available (Kilner 5). However, it is most certainly always the case that the available organ could potentially be given to more than one person on the list. In this situation, a single recipient must be chosen. A team of physicians and a psychologist determine which patient will be given a new chance at life through the transplantation of a new organ ... but how exactly do they decide?"
Abstract This paper describes double lung transplants and then outlines briefly the manners in which the transplant is to be survived considering the factors working against the individual.
Abstract This paper addresses the following two questions. Should a significantly health-compromised patient be granted a second set of organs if there is a significant and statistically abnormal chance of death during or following surgery? And should the fact that a gross medical error during transplantation is the cause of the patient's compromised condition be an influencing factor in regard to the aggressiveness with which an assignment of future organs is pursued?
From the Paper "The first issue at hand, namely if a health compromised patients, at significantly greater risk for an unsuccessful outcome be granted transplant organs is an old one. Of course, it is based on the fact that there are simply not enough organs to go around. In fact, according to current estimates, it is estimated that among the 80,000 patients awaiting transplants, an average of seventeen die every day in the United States alone simply because an organ never becomes available (IHI). Given this reality, many have proposed that the method by which transplant candidates are ranked on the national transplant lists depends not only on the severity of the need, but also on other factors relating to overall health, lifestyle, as well as age."
Abstract This paper discusses the problems in the US with the present system for organ acquisition for needed transplants and one state's response to these problems. In particular, the paper explains how California's Proposition 71 is supposed to address the problem of organ acquisition and the implications this proposition may have for patients.
From the Paper "In a prepared witness testimony assessing initiatives to increase organ donations, Medical University of South Carolina professor of surgery William Sade says this of the dismal state of affairs of solid-organ transplantation in the US: "Annually, approximately 6,000 patients with end-stage organ failure - the equivalent of 16 per day - die because of the lack of available organs. Successes of solid-organ transplantation have greatly increased the need for organ donors...Unrealized potential accounts for much of the donation gap, with studies suggesting that each year only 35-50% of potential donors consent to donation (2003, p. 1)." The implication of this statement is simple: the present system for organ acquisition for needed transplants is failing. One state's response was aptly aggressive."
Abstract This paper reviews and discusses Dr. William Beschorner and his belief that organ farming is a solution to the lack of organs readily available for donation and transplantation. According to the paper, specifics of his research deals with how to get the human body to adopt an animal organ, as it is the natural response of our bodies to reject anything alien.
From the Paper "The core concept behind his revolutionary research is that by injecting cells from a potential donor into the host, the host will be able to accept transplants later on. This technique was successfully used between sheep and pigs. Beschorner used this technique to inject bone marrow from sheep into fetal pigs. As a result, the pigs were born with a tolerance to sheep cells. The pigs that were produced ultimately are transgenic, which means that they have genetic material from two different species within their body. Using the same strategy, he was able to transplant the aorta of these pigs into sheep with strong acceptance rates. He has found that "the tolerance goes both directions, the pig become tolerant to the sheep cells, and the sheep cells in the pig are programmed to become tolerant to pig cells" (NPG). This revolutionary technique is what Beschorner wishes to adapt to the next stage of his experiment. In one experiment, Beschorner grafted pig hearts onto the necks of the sheep. As a result, the sheep's blood would flow through the heart but it didn't replace the sheep's own heart. Such experiments demonstrated that only seven of the thirty five within the test actually experienced vascular rejection, whereas all of the sheep receiving hearts from unmodified pigs exhibited vascular rejection."
A paper which studies the effects of the Superfund Neurotoxin Methylazoxymethanol (MAM) on brain dendritic spine density in long hooded Evans Rats Rattus norvegicus.
Abstract The paper shows that in the study of structural development in the brain there have been several proposed biomarkers for quantifying brain plasticity. These include but are not limited to cortical thickness, dendritic length and branching, expression of neuronal proteins, and the presence of DNA adducts. The paper discusses the theory that a measure of brain plasticity emerging late in embryonic development will be a very sensitive biomarker for detecting subtle damage suffered by brain cells during earlier stages of brain development not detectable by other means. The paper shows that to test this, the effects of a neurotoxin on the late developing dendritic spines were studied. A significant decrease in spine density was observed as the neurotoxin, methylazoxymethanol, increased. The author of the paper shows how the implications are widespread in the study of neuro-degenerative disease.
From the Paper "Fifty years ago, Donald Hebb demonstrated that the conditions under which laboratory rats were housed could significantly affect their performance in a variety of complex spatial tasks later in life (1). The complex environment rearing paradigm has been valuable in assessing plasticity of a variety of brain components including cerebral cortical microvasculature, astrocyetic morphology, dentritic branching patterns, synaptic number, and synaptic structure are all affected by complex environment rearing (2). It has been suggested that multiple synaptic contacts (spines) may play a role in the spread of the additive effect of learning known as potentiation, among neighboring unstimulated neurons. A lack of these spines and their connection with boutons of neighboring neurons could then result in a decrease in the capacity for learning. Some recent work has indicated that the presence of multiple synaptic contacts may be altered by experience. Most of this research has focused on structural changes in the hippocampus. Dendrtic spines show great variability in structure and connectivity, both within and across brain structures, including 10-fold differences in length and diameter as well as variations in the number of branches and spines per dendrite."
This paper highlights the advances in imaging technology that have allowed scientists to discover how memory works and the areas of the brain involved.
Abstract This paper looks at how the different advances in brain imaging-techniques have contributed to scientists increased ability to understand the concept of memory. It looks at the advent of Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and what they have meant to the increased ability to understand and treat brain, and memory disorders.
From the Paper "For example, fMRI was found useful for research by Awh and colleagues (1999) to observe brain activations during the performance of a spatial working memory task. In this investigation, subjects were given a spatial working memory task and a control task. Using fMRI the researchers found a functionally distinct, region that showed sustained activity during the spatial working memory task, confirming the location for the neural bases for that function. In the past, researchers who wanted detailed studies of human brain activity struggled because they lacked effective investigative tools. In experiments with humans the best technologies brought only limited success in mapping the processes of consciousness."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of using brain-based education research for teaching adult learners. It examines findings from brain-based research, information regarding the adult learner, and the use of brain-based education for adult learners.
From the Paper "This research paper presents the importance of using brain-based education research for the teaching of the adult learner. Findings from brain-based research information regarding the adult learner and the ..."
Tags:brain-based research adult learners, education
Abstract In this article the writer discusses the function of the brain within people with autism. The writer firstly defines the neurological disorder of autism that affects each individual in a different way. It should be noted, however, that autism negatively affects normal brain function. The writer notes that many individuals with autism have been considered remarkably intelligent, despite their difficulties relating to the rest of the social order. Further, the writer points out that due to these variances in the manner that autism is present in the affected individual, the issue of brain development comes into question.
From the Paper "Children with autism may not begin to show signs of the developmental disorder until they have passed infancy. A neurological disorder, autism cannot be defined by standard criteria that are universal to all patients because the disorder affects each individual differently. It should be noted, however, that autism negatively affects normal brain function. As the disorder progresses it will inhibit the individual's ability with social interaction and communication."
Abstract This paper looks at the process of metabolism and how it is changed during starvation to keep the brain supplied, first with glucose, and when that is exhausted, with acetyl-CoA. It then looks at the effects of starvation on the brain and how these problems can be corrected.
Abstract This paper looks at the development of the brain from the moment of conception to one year of age. It looks at the development of gender, gender differences in the brain, cognition, and how cognitive function changes through adulthood into old age.
From the Paper There is a four-year period of potential growth lasting from conception until around the third birthday, which is the most critical period for human development. Maria Montessori called this La mente del bambino or the time of the absorbent mind. The brain is composed basically of two types of cells; the neurons which are the nerve cells and the glial cells which are the supportive cells. Information is integrated in the cell bodies of the neurons and travels as an electrochemical impulse along the axon where the..."
Abstract This paper discusses how the brain learns from a physiological standpoint and what the current state of research is. It explores issues cited such as the knowledge of brain physiology and the developmental changes that enable learning. The author of the paper claims that cited literature gives a perspective that learning is intangible and is only evidenced by changes in physiology. The paper considers how the physiological changes happen and how they relate to intangibles related to learning.
Abstract The paper relates that there are many studies into the long-term effects of heavy alcohol use and notes that it may lead to shrinkage of brain material. This in turn may lead to short-term memory deficits. The paper also relates that it is known that heavy alcohol use impairs the hippocampus which affects memory.
Outline:
Introduction
Brain Shrinkage and Short Term Memory Loss
Hippocampus Activity and Memory Loss
Conclusion
From the Paper "As discussed earlier in the essay, heavy consumption has been associated for some time that with reductions in the numbers of cholinergic neurons in the forebrain. The forebrain cholinergic neurons are distinguished into two groups, those of the basal ganglia and those of the basal forebrain. The cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain project to the cortical regions, and the most rostral of these project to the allocortical regions such as the hippocampus. Therefore reductions in numbers of these cholinergic neurons will lead to reductions in activity of these allocortical regions, including the hippocampus. It is also possible that alterations in modulatory transmitter inputs such as cholinergic innervations may also play a role in the reduction of hippocampus activity without the actual loss of cholinergic neurons themselves. However in tests which have been performed on rhesus monkey models it has been shown that hippocampal activity reduction which is related solely to these alterations in modulatory input and not reductions in numbers of cholinergic neurons are unrelated to observed changes in memory function of any kind (Calhoun 475). This does not mean however that the reduction in hippocampal activity related to actual loss of cholinergic neurons does not lead to degeneration of memory function."
Abstract This paper discusses the history of signature wounds from various wars. According to this paper, the Iraq War has resulted in a large number of traumatic brain injuries. This paper goes on to discuss the causes and nature of this injury.
From the Paper "In every war, historians recognize that there will probably be at least one signature wound that will characterize that war for posterity. Incidences of radiation sickness from the atomic bomb will forever distinguish World War II. The Vietnam War still lives on in highlighting the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. The current Iraq War will be no different. In fact, military doctors are already aware of the signature wound of this conflict, one that is slowly dawning in the public eye. For a variety of reasons--including protective armor and enemy tactics--traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are emerging as one of the most devastating and widespread injuries among U.S. casualties of the Iraq War. Traumatic brain injury has a number of causes. However, the nature of the wound and its effects are well documented."
An investigation into the effects of individual and group teaching on the cognitive learning of adult kidney transplant recipients in an inpatient transplant unit.
Abstract This paper looks at how transplant recipients have an abundance of learning needs after receiving their transplants and how patient education is a crucial aspect of the transplant nurse's role. It examines how transplant recipients must learn follow-up instructions, signs of rejection and infection, medications and their side effects, urine testing procedures, and dietary and lifestyle modifications in order to ensure transplant viability and increased quality of life. It proposes a study to examine the effect of the method of teaching on the cognitive learning of adult kidney transplant recipients and concludes that individual patient teaching in adult postoperative kidney transplant recipient patients results in increased cognitive learning.
Outline:
Chapter I: The Problem
Introduction
Problem Statement
Definition of Terms
Inclusion Criteria
Assumptions
Significance f Study
Chapter II: Review of the Literature
Literature Review Related to an Overview of Renal Failure
Definition and Types of Renal Failure
Chronic Kidney Disease
Treatment Options
Dialysis vs. Transplantation Literature Review Related to Renal Transplantation Graft Survival
Quality of Life
Organ Rejection
Economic Outcomes
Literature Review Related To Transplant Teaching in Post-Op Patients
Individual Teaching in Renal Postoperative Patients
Group Teaching In Renal Postoperative Patients
Literature Review Related To Emotional Acceptance of Chronic Illness
Theoretical Framework: Dorothea Orem's Theory of Self-Care
Summary
Chapter III: Methodology
Design
Setting
Selection of Participants
Instrumentation
Data Collection Procedure
Data Analysis
References
From the Paper "The fact that a transplant recipient must take medication for the rest of his or her life means that there is a higher chance of specific medical problems. While this increased risk cannot be avoided, there are things that can be done in order to help minimize these particular risks. Patients must be informed, however, so that they can continue to maintain a high standard of self-care as much as possible. They also need to be aware of what problems they might face so that they can see their doctor if issues arise. Professional nurses are the ones that have the responsibility of patient education.
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