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Biomedical subjects

A Carroll

Publications and source records attributed to A Carroll.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Improved survival for children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and stage IV small noncleaved-cell lymphoma: a pediatric oncology group study.

PURPOSE: In an effort to improve outcome for children with advanced B-cell malignancies, a treatment plan based on a published regimen that consists of four courses of fractionated cyclophosphamide (cyclo) given with doxorubicin (doxo) and vincristine (VCR) was intensified by alternating with sequential high-dose methotrexate (MTX) and cytarabine (Ara-C), given in conjunction with intrathecal (IT) MTX and Ara-C. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From October 1986 to October 1992, 133 eligible patients were enrolled: 74 with B-cell (surface immunoglobulin-positive [Slg+] acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and 59 with stage IV small noncleaved-cell lymphoma (SNCCL). The median age was 8 years; there were 103 males and 30 females. Abdominal tumor masses were prominent in 63 cases (33 B-ALL and 30 stage IV SNCCL). RESULTS: Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 66 B-ALL and 57 stage IV patients (93% overall). At 4 years, the estimated event-free survival (EFS) rate is 65% +/- 8% for patients with B-ALL and 79% +/- 9% for those with stage IV SNCCL. Among patients with CNS involvement, 23 of 36 remain in CR (4-year EFS rate, 64% +/- 13%). Relapses occurred early; only 3 patients relapsed after completion of therapy. Thirteen relapses occurred in the marrow, three in the CNS, and six in other sites. Of 11 CNS-positive patients who relapsed, only two recurred primarily in the CNS. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that with intensified chemotherapy an increasing potential for cure exists for patients with B-ALL and stage IV SNCCL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Global, behavioral and self ratings of interpersonal skills among adult children of alcoholic, divorced and control parents.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to evaluate interpersonal skills and the relationships among interpersonal skills in a nonclinical sample of adult children of alcoholic, divorced and control parents using a multimethod assessment strategy. METHOD: Subjects were prescreened to rule out parental psychopathology and maternal alcoholism. Subjects (N = 238, 50% male, 86% white) interacted with a same- or opposite-sex confederate in a series of videotaped roleplays, which were either unstructured or structured via discussion topics and acquaintance instructions. The videotapes were coded for (1) global or general impression ratings of subject and (2) four behavioral components of interpersonal skill: talk, gaze, smile and self-manipulation. Subjects also rated their own skills and anxiety during the roleplays. RESULTS: Male and female children of alcoholics were judged to be more anxious when interacting with an opposite-sex partner than with a same-sex partner. Children of divorce and controls were not influenced by the gender of their interaction partner. Children of alcoholics were also judged to be less socially skilled then children of divorce. There was some suggestion that children of alcoholics and divorce may not accurately perceive their own level of skill. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide some support for interpersonal skills deficits among adult children of alcoholics, although the deficits were not pervasive or consistent across methods. Limitations of the findings and the overall study were discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Where should the waste go?

The legislation on transportation and disposal of clinical waste by community nurses may have been misinterpreted There has been no clear communication of legal requirement and current practice between those administering the service and the community nurses The transportation of clinical waste by the community nurse should only occur if there is no other acceptable method, an approved rigid container is used, and this container is transported in the boot of the nurse's car to the clinical waste collection point at her base

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1995

Direct milk excretion of Campylobacter jejuni in a dairy cow causing cases of human enteritis.

Consumption of milk contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni has been described as a cause of human enteritis. Although faecal contamination of milk with the organism has frequently been described, direct milk excretion of Campylobacter jejuni into milk has rarely been linked with cases of human infection. We describe the investigations undertaken following the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from samples of unpasteurized milk prior to retail. Results of epidemiological investigations including typing of Campylobacter jejuni isolates using pyrolysis mass spectrometry, Penner and Lior serotyping, biotyping, phage typing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis provided convincing evidence implicating direct milk excretion of Campylobacter jejuni by one asymptomatic dairy cow as the source of the milk contamination and the cause of local cases of human enteritis.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Children's and adolescents' awareness of the physical and mental health risks associated with tattooing: a focus group study.

This article explores children's and adolescents' awareness of the physical and mental health risks associated with the increasing practice of tattooing. Twelve focus group discussions on attitudes toward tattoos and beliefs about normative behavior, health beliefs, awareness of the long-term consequences of tattooing, and stigmatization were conducted with 80 volunteers, six to 17 years of age. The videotaped discussions revealed that participants' were knowledgeable about tattoos and the process, and were aware that viral transmission and physical disfigurement were possible results. Generally, attitudes toward tattoos were negative, with almost all participants associating them with illicit type activities. However, a more favorable attitude toward small tattoos was discernible among females during early adolescence. Participants suggested that because of the location of tattoos, they might be embarrassing in some instances, and that because of their permanency, young people might regret having them later in life. Some participants revealed they had removed tattoos using crude implements. These data suggest an urgent need for research on prevention of unsafe use of tattooing and piercing implements.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Trisomy of leukemic cell chromosomes 4 and 10 identifies children with B-progenitor cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with a very low risk of treatment failure: a Pediatric Oncology Group study.

To account for the superior prognosis of hyperdiploid, B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we investigated the influence of trisomy in 1021 children greater than or equal to 1 year old by recursive partitioning analysis. The patients were treated according to a stratified, randomized study testing antimetabolite-based therapies. Trisomies of several individual chromosomes were associated with a better prognosis in a univariate statistical analysis. Of greater importance, trisomy of both chromosomes 4 and 10 identified a subgroup of patients (n = 180) with an extremely favorable 4-year event-free survival (EFS). Combined trisomy of chromosomes 4 and 10 retained its prognostic significance after stratification of patients by DNA index, age, and leukocyte count. Among patients with a DNA index greater than 1.16, patients with trisomies of both chromosomes 4 and 10 had a 4-year EFS of 96.6% (n = 161, SE = 3.8%), whereas patients with neither or only one of these trisomies had a 4-year EFS of 70.4% (n = 73, SE = 11.5%). All 19 patients with a DNA index less than or equal to 1.16 but with trisomies of chromosomes 4 and 10 remain in remission, suggesting that favorable chromosome trisomy dominates in a situation in which the cellular DNA content of less than or equal to 1.16 predicts a less favorable outcome. We conclude that combined trisomy of chromosomes 4 and 10 independently predicts EFS among children with B-progenitor ALL. Patients within the B-progenitor group who have this feature (about 20% of those with clonal abnormalities) are likely to be cured with antimetabolite-based chemotherapy--an approach that should produce few significant late effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia in infants with t(1;22)(p13;q13) abnormality.

Six infants with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia and a translocation (1;22)(p13;q13) were studied. There were five female infants and one male infant, and the age at initial examination varied from 0.8 to 6.5 months (median, 2.3 months). All the patients had hepatosplenomegaly and anemia (6 to 8.3 g/dL), and four patients had thrombocytopenia (9,000 to 63,000/mm3). The bone marrow showed prominent fibrosis in five cases and reticulin fibrosis in one patient at presentation. Crush artifact often made the histologic sections difficult to interpret, but typical megakaryoblasts could be identified in the smears. Biopsy specimens of the liver and lymph node were suggestive of a nonhematopoietic malignant condition because of the cohesiveness of the tumor cells, stromal fibrosis, and the prominent sinusoidal and vascular pattern of infiltration. Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was helpful in identifying the blasts as belonging to the megakaryoblastic lineage. Using a panel of mononclonal antibodies, it was also possible to confirm the nature of the infiltration in paraffin sections and to differentiate it from other childhood small round cell tumors, especially neuroblastoma in paraffin sections (typical staining pattern: CD45-, CD43+, vW Factor, Ulex europeus I+, CD20-, CD45RO-, synaptophysin-, chromogranin-, cytokeratin-, desmin-). This special type of infantile acute leukemia can be recognized with confidence if one is aware of its clinical features, peculiar pathologic characteristics, the morphologic features and immunophenotype of the megakaryoblasts, and the unique cytogenetic abnormality.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1992

Ploidy of lymphoblasts is the strongest predictor of treatment outcome in B-progenitor cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood: a Pediatric Oncology Group study.

PURPOSE: Using the technique of recursive partitioning and amalgamation analysis with verification, the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) investigated the independent prognostic significance of previously published prognostic factors significantly associated with event-free survival (EFS) in B-progenitor cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Age, leukocyte count, sex, immunophenotype (expression of cytoplasmic immunoglobulin [Ig] and of surface antigens CD10 and CD34), and DNA index (ratio of the flow cytometry-determined DNA content of leukemia cells to that of normal diploid cells) were the variables used in the evaluation of four antimetabolite-based chemotherapy regimens in 1,535 children with the newly diagnosed B-progenitor cell ALL between February 1986 and May 1990. RESULTS: There were three subgroups at widely different risks of treatment failure. A DNA index greater than 1.16 was the most prognostic feature. The final prognostic subgrouping was as follows: (1) DNA index greater than 1.16; (2) DNA index less than or equal to 1.16, age less than 11.0 years, and leukocyte count less than 50 x 10(9)/L; and (3) DNA index less than or equal to 1.16, (age greater than 11.0 years, and/or leukocyte count greater than 50 x 10(9)/L). These groups made up 20%, 53%, and 27% of the patients and had 4-year EFS rates (SE) of 90.1% (6.3%), 80.5% (5.1%), and 50.4% (7.6%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the DNA index, leukocyte count, and age--data that are relatively inexpensive and simple to obtain--may be sufficient to stratify patients with B-progenitor cell ALL for risk-directed therapy. Patients at an extremely low risk of failing therapy (approximately 20% of cases in this study) can thus be identified and spared the toxic short-term and late effects of more intensive therapies that may be needed for children with less favorable clinical and biologic features.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The t(1;22) (p13;q13) is nonrandom and restricted to infants with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia: a Pediatric Oncology Group Study.

We report the nonrandom occurrence and frequency of the t(1;22)(p13;q13) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its close association with the French-American-British M7 subtype of AML in infants (less than 1 year). This chromosomal abnormality occurred in 6 of 252 (2.4%) children and adolescents with AML (6 of 28 infants, 22%; 6 of 18 M7 AML cases overall, 33%; and 6 of 6 M7 cases in infants). Infants with AML of M7 subtype and the t(1;22) often presented with prominent abdominal masses. Two of these infants were not treated and died early. Three of four treated infants entered complete remission with therapy for AML; the remaining infant died of hemorrhage on day 8. Of the three infants who entered remission, only one remains alive and disease free at 5+ months. The other two infants relapsed in the bone marrow at 5 and 2 months from the start of therapy, respectively. We conclude that M7 AML with the t(1;22) usually presents in infants with extensive infiltration of abdominal organs by leukemic cells and may confer a poor prognosis despite intensive AML-directed treatment. Identification of this nonrandom translocation exclusively in infants with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMkL) implies that it may serve as an additional diagnostic marker for this disease and links it to the pathogenesis of AMkL in infants.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1991

Philadelphia chromosome and monosomy 7 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Pediatric Oncology Group study.

During an 8-year period, 3,638 children from institutions of the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Fifty-seven patients had Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph1) ALL. Blast cells obtained at diagnosis from 13 of these 57 cases (23%) were also found to have partial or complete monosomy 7 (-7). This subgroup of children with Ph1/-7 ALL was comprised primarily of older males with early B-lineage ALL. Bone marrow specimens from six Ph1/-7 patients were studied further using the polymerase chain reaction and primers that flank the ALL, and chronic myelogenous leukemia breakpoints to determine the molecular characteristic of the 9;22 translocation. Rearrangements were detected in RNA from bone marrow and/or peripheral blood cells of six patients, although four were in hematologic remission at the time of the analysis. Five cases showed the ALL breakpoint, while one child with Ph1/-7 showed the chronic myelogenous leukemia breakpoint. The induction failure rate was much higher in this subgroup (31%) as compared with Ph1-negative cases, and the projected duration of event-free survival reflected the aggressive nature of this subgroup because no children are projected to remain in remission at 2 years. ALL with both the 9;22 translocation and -7 appears to represent a unique and previously undescribed subgroup of childhood ALL associated with a particularly adverse outcome. Leukemic transformation in such patients may involve the interaction of a dominant oncogene (Ph1) and a tumor suppressor gene (-7).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Cytogenetic features of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A concordance study and a Pediatric Oncology Group study.

Cytogenetic analysis yields important objective information that has been shown to correlate with both patient response to therapeutic intervention and patient survival. Bone marrow samples are submitted to a common reference laboratory for cytogenetic analysis from children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) registered on frontline Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) therapeutic studies (classification 8600 series). A portion of the sample from the Texas Children's Hospital (Houston, TX) a POG affiliate, was also submitted to a local cytogenetics laboratory for analysis. This study retrospectively compares karyotypic data and methods from the Laboratory of Medical Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham (reference laboratory) with those of the Kleberg Cytogenetics Laboratory at the Baylor College of Medicine (local laboratory) over a 35-month period to evaluate the effect of differences in specimen procurement, handling, and laboratory methodology on yield of cytogenetic information. Each laboratory was able to identify clonal abnormalities in 72% of cases examined during the last year of the study. When these data were combined, the overall detection rate of clonal abnormalities was 87.5%. Utilizing the same bone marrow aspirate from 73 children, this study demonstrates that cytogenetic methodology significantly affects the yield of identifiable clonal abnormalities, while variables such as overnight shipping have no discernable effect. This study also supports the contention that central laboratory testing effectively yields information critical to ongoing large-scale research endeavors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Coding sequences of the tal-1 gene are disrupted by chromosome translocation in human T cell leukemia.

The tal-1 proto-oncogene encodes a helix-loop-helix DNA-binding protein that has been implicated in the formation of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Patients with T-ALL harbor structural rearrangements of tal-1 that result from either local DNA deletion or t(1;14)(p34;q11) chromosome translocation. By analyzing t(1;14)(p34;q11) chromosomes from a series of patients, we have now identified a discrete region of tal-1 wherein most of the translocation breakpoints occur. Moreover, mapping of tal-1 genomic DNA revealed that coding exons are situated on both sides of the t(1;14)(p34;q11) major breakpoint region. Hence, the translocated allele of tal-1 is truncated in a manner that reduces its amino acid coding potential.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Philadelphia chromosome positive childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: clinical and cytogenetic characteristics and treatment outcome. A Pediatric Oncology Group study.

Among 3,638 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) entered on Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) protocols between June 1981 and April 1989, successful cytogenetic studies were available for 2,519, 58 (2.3%) of which had the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome detected. Features associated with the presence of the Ph chromosome were high leukocyte count (median, 33 x 10(9)/L), older age median, 9.6 years), a higher proportion of French-American-British L2 morphology, and a lower frequency of mediastinal mass. Immunologic marker studies at diagnosis in 56 Ph+ cases identified early pre-B ALL in 42 cases (75%), pre-B-cell in 9 (16%), and T-cell in 5 (9%). This distribution is similar to that found in Ph+ ALL. Intensive multiagent chemotherapy induced complete remissions in only 78% of eligible Ph+ patients compared with 96% of those without an identified Ph chromosome (P less than .001). Of 44 eligible Ph+ patients treated on POG frontline protocols for children with non-T, non-B-cell ALL, 27 have failed therapy, compared with 520 of 1,892 without an identified Ph chromosome (logrank P less than .001). Ph+ ALL is an aggressive form of acute leukemia that frequently presents in older children with a high leukocyte count, FAB L2 morphology, and a pseudodiploid karyotype, and becomes multidrug-resistant early. Thus, Ph+ cases require early identification to permit treatment with intensive induction regimens and experimental approaches such as bone marrow transplantation.

Asparaginase↗
PubMed1990

Molecular characterization of the t(10;14) translocation breakpoints in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: further evidence for illegitimate physiological recombination.

The t(10;14)(q24;q11) translocation is a non-random chromosome change seen in the leukemic cells of 5-10% of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Recent studies support the hypothesis that the translocation occurs in the course of aberrant physiological recombination and results in the juxtaposition of a T-cell receptor (TCR) gene in 14q11 with a putative oncogene, TCL3, in 10q24. We cloned and sequenced the translocation breakpoints on both derivative 10q+ and 14q- chromosomes from a patient with t(10;14)(q24;q11) T-ALL. Two distinct diversity segments of TCRD, D delta 2 and D delta 3, were identified at the two translocation breakpoints on chromosome 14. The 9.5 kb DNA that separates these two subunits in the germline was deleted, possibly in the course of a D-D joining event. The two chromosome 10 breakpoints were 10 nucleotides apart and occurred in the immediate vicinity of a pseudo-heptamer signal motif. N-region addition is also evident at the breakpoint on the derivative chromosome 10. Our observations strongly suggest that the IG/TCR recombinase normally involved in V-(D)-J joining was involved in the process of the t(10;14)(q24;q11) translocation.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1990

The tal gene undergoes chromosome translocation in T cell leukemia and potentially encodes a helix-loop-helix protein.

We have analyzed t(1;14)(p32;q11) chromosome translocations from two patients with T cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. The chromosome 1 breakpoints of these patients lie within a kilobasepair of each other, and thus define a genetic locus (designated tal) involved in T cell oncogenesis. Moreover, we have identified sequences within tal that potentially encode an amphipathic helix-loop-helix motif, a DNA-binding domain found in a variety of proteins that control cell growth and differentiation. The homology domain of tal is especially related to that of lyl-1, a gene on chromosome 19 that has also been implicated in T cell oncogenesis. Hence, tal and lyl-1 encode a distinct family of helix-loop-helix proteins involved in the malignant development of lymphocytes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Urinary excretion of metabolites of norepinephrine in Tourette's syndrome.

Urinary excretion of the norepinephrine metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol (MHPG) and normetanephrine (NMR) was measured in Tourette's Syndrome (TS) patients and in control subjects matched for age and education. The 24-h excretion (expressed per gram of creatinine) of total MHPG and of free and total (free + conjugated) NME was significantly lower in TS patients than in the normal subjects.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Plasma amino acids in attention deficit disorder.

This study examines plasma amino acids in a group of 28 patients meeting DSM-III criteria for attention deficit disorder (ADD) and 20 control subjects. Compared with controls, the ADD subjects had significantly lower levels of phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, histidine, and isoleucine. These data suggest a general deficit in amino acid transport, absorption, or both.

Amino Acids↗