3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The effect of intrauterine alcohol exposure on postnatal skeletal development in Sprague Dawley rats(2019) Pillay, Diana SubramonyThe detrimental effects of intrauterine alcohol exposure are well known, however, many women around the world continue to drink alcohol while pregnant. The deleterious effects include neurological deficiencies, intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation as well as craniofacial and skeletal deformities in addition to short stature and osteoporosis, with high propensity to fracture. The central nervous system disturbances related to intrauterine alcohol exposure are intensively studied in the scientific literature, with relatively scanty data on the postnatal skeletal development in children exposed to alcohol during gestation. The few studies on how intrauterine alcohol exposure affects skeletal development are on fetuses and newly born animals, mostly rodents. There is debate as to whether gestational alcohol exposure effects on the skeletal system persist into adulthood or whether there is skeletal recovery in postnatal life. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure persist through postnatal life in rats (3 and 12-week-old) regarding long bone (humerus and femur) development and strength. To achieve our aim, animals were time-mated (n=15), then randomly allocated to three groups; ethanol group (n=6), saline controls (n=6) and untreated controls (n=3). The appearance of a vaginal plug was considered day one of gestation; on this this day treatment was started. The former two groups were treated with 0.015ml/g of 25.2% ethanol and 0.9% saline for the first 19 days of gestation, respectively. The treatment was through oral gavage. The untreated group received no treatment. Once born, two pups from each dam were used so that the ethanol and saline control group had 12 pups each while the untreated control had 6 pups. Bilateral humeri and femora were harvested then fixed in 10% buffered formalin before scanning using a 3D-μCT scanner (Nikon XTH 225L) to analyse trabecular thickness, number, and spacing were. The left proximal and distal extremities of the humeri and femora at 3 weeks of age were processed for routine histology. These sections were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) for normal morphology and immunolabelled with the anti-Ki-67 antibody for cell proliferation as well as immunolocalization of chondrocytesItem The relationships between pain and sleep in spinal cord injury patients(2016) Pillay, Diana SubramonySpinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating injury affecting many South Africans. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between SCI pain and sleep issues during acute inpatient rehabilitation. Seventeen participants were recruited. There were 2 interviews in the study; the 1st interview was done on the day participants were recruited. The 2nd interview was conducted a day before participants were discharged. The time elapsed between the first and second interview was 7.9±2.4. The patients were discharged from the Auckland Rehabilitation hospital (Hope ward). In the 2nd interview the questionnaires for pain, sleep and mood measures were repeated, and two additional questions were asked and the answers recorded for analysis of content. The key findings were; majority of the participants were Black, male (82%). The main cause of traumatic SCI was motor vehicle accident (59%). The common sites of injury were in the legs and neck/shoulder areas in both assessment (admission and discharge). The verbal descriptors that were commonly chosen in both assessments were, “sharp, shooting and tight.” Below level neuropathic pain, followed by musculoskeletal pain were the common types of pain reported. Pain interference was reported greatest in sleep and on average pain intensity was moderate (4-6 on 11-point Numerical Rating Scale). Strong correlations and positive relationships between Pain Catastrophizing Scale and subscales, and with the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating total scale and subscales were reported in this study. Environmental factors were reported to affect sleep. A high incidence of Restless Leg Syndrome was reported in this study (24%). Depression was commonly reported by participants in both assessments. No significant association was found for the measures of sleep, Restless Leg Syndrome, depression and quality of life and the injury characteristics that were assessed. Significant associations were found at the 95% confidence levels for pain scores and injury characteristics (completeness of injury, level of injury and pain sites). Further studies in this area of pain and sleep management is warranted. It is important that clinicians and researchers in this area find appropriate management for secondary issues which have a severe impact on the daily activities of SCI people, decreasing their quality of life. Key words: SCI pain, sleep disturbances, mood