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Biomedical subjects

A McClure

Publications and source records attributed to A McClure.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Monoclonal antibodies: a new era in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been used as therapeutic agents for many years. In 1997, Rituxan (IDEC-C2B8, rituximab, MabThera) became the first MAb to be approved by the FDA for a cancer indication. Rituxan served to heighten interest in the therapeutic applications of MAbs. Herceptin (for patients with breast cancer) and Mylotarg (for patients with acute myeloid leukemia) were approved shortly thereafter. Literally dozens of antibodies are currently under investigation for a variety of malignant and non-neoplastic indications. Rituxan is effective in patients with low-grade or follicular, relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The response rate and time to progression (responders) are in the 50% and 13 months range, respectively. It is also active in intermediate-grade NHL where a large randomized study, in combination with CHOP chemotherapy, has shown a statistically significant increase in complete response (CR) rate (75% vs. 60%), prolongation of 1 year event-free survival (69% vs. 49%) and of overall survival (83% vs. 68%) as compared to CHOP alone. This marks the first time that any agent has shown results superior to CHOP, the curative gold standard for this type of NHL. Other promising antibodies under clinical investigation include: Hu1D10; Anti CD19, 22, 52, and anti-Id antibodies. The safety profile, clinical activity, and mechanism of action of these MAbs make them ideal candidates for combination with chemotherapy or biologicals. Over the next few years, we will see very significant therapeutic advances emerge as this important research yields additional clinical results.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Rituximab: the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of lymphoma.

Rituximab, a genetically engineered monoclonal chimeric antibody, targets the CD20 antigen expressed on B cells. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on November 26, 1997, for the indication of relapsed or refractory, CD20-positive, B-cell, low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LG/F NHL), and by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products on June 2, 1998, for therapy of patients with Stage III/IV, follicular, chemoresistant or relapsed NHL. Eight Phase II or II clinical trials in LG/F NHL patients have been completed: five single-agent studies and three combination studies. Rituximab has a favorable safety profile: most adverse events (AEs) are Grade 1 or 2, and the frequency of AEs decrease with subsequent infusions. AEs in the combination studies are consistent with those seen with individual agents. For evaluable patients in the single-agent studies, overall response rates (ORR) ranged from 40% to 60%, median duration of response (DR) ranged from 5.9 to 15.0+ months, and median time to progression (TTP) ranged from 8.1 to 19.4+ months. For evaluable patients in the combination studies, the ORR ranged from 45% to 100%, median DR ranged from 11.7+ to 39.1+ months, and median TTP ranged from 12.9+ to 40.5+ months. Studies in intermediate- and high-grade NHL are ongoing. Long-term development plans include evaluating the safety and efficacy of rituximab in various types of lymphoma and in combination with other lymphoma regimens. Future studies may explore ways to increase rituximab efficacy by upregulating CD20 or increasing effector function with different cytokines.

Animals↗

Overview of the clinical development of rituximab: first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of lymphoma.

Rituximab (Rituxan; IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, and Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, CA) is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This chimeric mouse/human, immunoglobulin GI kappa anti-CD20 antibody mediates complement-dependent cell lysis and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. It also has been shown to sensitize chemoresistant human lymphoma cell lines and to induce apoptosis. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on November 26, 1997, for the indication of relapsed or refractory, CD-20 positive, B-cell, low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Rituximab is the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of cancer and the first single agent approved specifically for therapy of a lymphoma. The recommended dose is rituximab 375 mg/m2 intravenously weekly x4 infusions. Treatment is well tolerated and outpatient therapy is feasible. Adverse events are mostly grades I and 2, occurring primarily with the first infusion. In a phase II single-agent clinical trial, the overall response rate was 50%, with a median time to progression in responders of 10.2 months. In a larger multicenter trial involving 166 patients, the overall response rate was 48% with 6% complete and 42% partial responses. Median time to progression for responders was 13.2 months and median duration of response was 11.6 months. A 40% response rate has been observed on re-treatment with rituximab. Activity also has been seen in patients with bulky disease. Combination studies have been performed with interferon, cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone, and radioimmunotherapy. Rituximab, the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of cancer, is safe and effective in treating patients with relapsed or refractory, CD-20 positive, B-cell, low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Peri-incisional mezlocillin versus rectal-metronidazole for wound infection prophylaxis.

One hundred and forty patients who underwent appendicectomy were included in a prospective randomized trial to compare the ability of preoperative rectal metronidazole and peri-incisional mezlocillin to prevent wound infection following appendicectomy. The results show that bactericidal local tissue levels of mezlocillin were uniformly achieved using the peri-incisional technique. The wound infection rate for the metronidazole group was found to be 15.9% and did not significantly differ from the wound infection rate when mezlocillin was used (10.4%). Peri-incisional mezlocillin therefore appears to be a viable prophylactic technique against wound infection following appendicectomy and may offer a cheaper alternative to intravenous intra-operative metronidazole administration in cases when pre-operative metronidazole suppositories have been omitted. The peri-incisional mezlocillin technique is also suitable for routine prophylaxis against wound infection following appendicectomy.

Adolescent↗

Factors associated with psychiatric morbidity in men--a general practice survey.

A survey of men aged from 20 to 59 years from a general practice list using the General Health Questionnaire and a questionnaire of social and domestic items yielded 1011 respondents. Several items were shown to be linked with psychological disturbance including ill health, ill health or psychiatric history in wife, poor relationship with wife, being unemployed, poor or divorced and lower social class. The results are compared with those of a similar sample of women.

Adult↗

Computer-controlled anesthetic delivery system.

We designed and tested a computer-controlled syringe pump for the administration of volatile anesthetics into a closed breathing circuit. The system consists of a small computer, a flip-flop circuit, and an automatic syringe pump. The computer was programmed to administer liquid anesthetics according to the square root of time model of anesthetic uptake. A simple electronic flip-flop circuit connected the computer to the syringe pump. Safeguards to prevent accidental anesthetic overdosage and algorithms to provide for dosage changes based on patient response were written into the program. After testing, the system was used to administer anesthetics to ten patients undergoing surgical procedures. The anesthetic uptake deviated from the square root of time model after approximately two hours. The system provided smooth and reliable administration of volatile anesthetics during closed circuit anesthesia.

Adult↗

Factor analysis and validation of the General Health Questionnaire in men: a general practice survey.

As part of a survey of 1011 men aged 20-60 years, a factor analysis and validation study of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was carried out. Three clinically relevant factors could be isolated but factor analysis did not generally enhance the value of the GHQ. When compared with results for a similar group of women, sex differences in answering the GHQ were found; the GHQ was perhaps a less satisfactory screening instrument in the men.

Adult↗

Infant Gesell scores vs. cognitive skills at age 12 years.

In an earlier study, it was found that infant performance on the Gesell correlated better with performance on nonverbal than verbal cognitive skills up to the age of 5 years. Recently, the same 26 male middle-class Ss, now 12 years old, were retested with the WISC-R, WRAT, and PPVT. Performance on the Gesell was found to relate significantly to WISC-R Performance IQ and to a lesser extent to PPVT IQ, but did not relate to WISC-R Verbal IQ nor to performance on the WRAT. The results suggest that the Gesell has a better predictive validity for nonverbal than verbal cognitive skills.

Child↗