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Biomedical subjects

A Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to A Robinson.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Two cases of prenatal diagnosis of a satellited Yq chromosome.

Accurate interpretation of chromosomal variants is essential in prenatal diagnosis in order to distinguish polymorphisms from potential pathology in the fetus. This paper reports intra-uterine diagnosis of a satellited Yq in two unrelated families. The 29-year-old consultant in Case A sought prenatal diagnosis because of a maternal family history of Down syndrome. Case B was studied because of maternal age of 37. GTG banded chromosome analysis of cultured amniotic fluid cells from both cases revealed a 46,XY chromosome constitution with extra material present on the Yqter. This was interpreted to be satellite material. QFQ, CBG and AgNOR staining were performed. The material in question proved to be AgNOR positive, indicating that it was transcriptionally active for ribosomal RNA production during the last cell cycle. In addition, frequent satellite association between the Yqter and other acrocentric chromosomes was noted. These findings confirmed the initial interpretation. Other family members were studied and an AgNOR positive Yqs chromosome was confirmed in normal males in three generations of both families. The Yqs chromosome observed in the fetal cells was therefore considered a normal variant. The outcome of pregnancy in Case A was a phenotypically normal male. Case B had not delivered at the time of this writing. The origin of this satellite material on the Y chromosome is considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Structure and biological properties of solubilized envelope proteins of Bordetella pertussis.

The structure and biological properties of solubilized envelope proteins of Bordetella pertussis have been examined. Several envelope proteins were found to be specific for phase I strains of B. pertussis and could be isolated by selective detergent extraction. These proteins had molecular weights of 90,000, 86,000, 81,000, 33,000, 31,000, and 30,000 and were reduced or absent in envelope preparations from Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella parapertussis, or phase IV strains of B. pertussis. When the envelope preparations from phase I B. pertussis were assayed in the mouse intracerebral protection test they were found to be highly protective, and there was a strong correlation between the protective potency and the lymphocytosis-promoting factor (LPF) content of different preparations. Treatment with glutaraldehyde reduced the LPF activity, toxicity, and protective potency of the envelope extracts. Similarly affinity chromatography of envelope proteins on columns of haptoglobin coupled to Sepharose 4B reduced both the LPF content and the protective potency. The addition of a small amount of purified LPF to the haptoglobin-treated proteins restored the protective potency. The LPF by itself was nonprotective, indicating a potentiating role of LPF in the mouse intracerebral challenge test.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1983

Immunoglobulin M-Immunoglobulin G mixed cryoglobulinemia in Schistosoma japonicum-infected rabbits.

Cryoprecipitation was observed in defibrinated serum from Schistosoma japonicum-infected rabbits. Ouchterlony immunodiffusion, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, and anti-cryoprecipitate antiserum demonstrated the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, C3, fibrinogen, and an alpha-macroglobulin. Parasite antigen was not detected. IgG and IgM from pooled cryoprecipitates failed to react with each other in Ouchterlony immunodiffusion gels after separation by column chromatography. The data suggest that the IgG and IgM are not specifically complexed with each other but may simply be aggregates of altered proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Synergistic effect of Bordetella pertussis lymphocytosis-promoting factor on protective activities of isolated Bordetella antigens in mice.

The effect of low levels of added lymphocytosis-promoting factor (LPF) on the ability of several antigenic preparations isolated from Bordetella pertussis and other bacteria to protect mice against intracerebral infection with B. pertussis was examined. LPF was found to enhance the protective activities of filamentous hemagglutinin, 22S antigen, and fimbriae isolated from B. pertussis. Outer membrane protein preparations from phase I B. pertussis which had LPF removed by haptoglobin affinity columns or inactivated by glutaraldehyde, sodium dodecyl sulfate, or Formalin had reduced protective activities but were made fully protective by the readdition of LPF. Similarly, outer membrane protein preparations from Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella parapertussis, or phase IV B. pertussis lacking LPF were protective only when low levels of LPF were added to the preparations. Outer membrane protein preparations from Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Escherichia coli were nonprotective even in the presence of added LPF. The purified LPF by itself was nonprotective unless treated with glutaraldehyde. LPF that had been detoxified with glutaraldehyde was, however, ineffective at enhancing the protective activity of antigenic preparations. The synergistic effect of LPF is discussed in relation to its known biological properties.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Blood dyscrasias and mianserin.

Four cases are described in which the drug mianserin was implicated in the development of leucopenia. In one case this was accompanied by fatal aplastic anaemia. In a second, generalized bone marrow depression occurred, although leucopenia was the only clinically significant manifestation. Mianserin may depress bone marrow function and haematological surveillance is appropriate for patients taking this drug.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Radiation doses to neonates requiring intensive care.

Radiological investigations have become accepted as an important part of the range of facilities required to support severely ill newborn babies. Increasing numbers of these very small premature babies now survive although they may undergo a considerable number of diagnostic X-ray examinations within the first few weeks of life. Since the infants are so small, many of the examinations are virtually "whole-body" irradiations and it was thought that the total doses received might be appreciable. A group of such babies admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Sheffield over a six-month period have been studied. X-ray exposure factors used for each examination have been noted and total skin, gonad and bone marrow doses calculated, supplemented by measurements on phantoms. It is concluded that in most cases the doses received are of the same order as those received over the same period from natural background radiation and probably less than those received from prenatal obstetric radiography, so that the additional risks from the diagnostic exposure are small. The highest doses are received in CT scans and barium examinations and it is recommended that the need for these should be carefully considered and requests for such examinations only made by experienced staff.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1983

Gastroesophageal fundoplication improves symptoms in refractory asthma.

Gastroesophageal (GE) reflux has been etiologically linked to a number of pulmonary diseases. Subclinical pulmonary aspiration from nocturnal GE reflux has been proposed as a cause of asthma. A patient with severe asthma, refractory to conventional medical therapy, is presented. The asthma was presumed to be secondary to gastroesophageal reflux and indeed the patient became asymptomatic following a Nissen fundoplication procedure. This case report documents that surgical correction of GE reflux may be an appropriate therapeutic maneuver in asthmatics who subclinically aspirate as a consequence of GE reflux.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Speech and language development in 41 children with sex chromosome anomalies.

Forty-one children with sex chromosome anomalies identified from the chromosome screening of a newborn population were blindly evaluated by a speech-language pathologist, along with a control group of 31 siblings. 47,XXX girls and 47,XXY boys were found to have increased problems in auditory perception, receptive language, and expressive language; the problems of the 47,XXY boys were less severe than those of the 47,XXX group, and reflected specific deficits in their ability to process linguistic information rather than a deficit in comprehension. An increased occurrence of speech production problems among the 45,X girls was associated with the presence of oral/structural malformations that often had no measurable effect on their production of speech sounds. Although the 45,X girls and 47,XYY boys had no significant increase of problems in auditory reception, receptive language, and expressive language, the trend of the data suggested more difficulty than in the control groups. The mosaic children were not different from the control subjects. Some children in all groups were found to have normal speech and language development.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Individualizing theophylline therapy: the impact of clinical pharmacokinetics on patient outcomes.

We have studied 19 male patients whose theophylline therapy was individualized by a clinical pharmacokinetics service and 34 male patients with empirically derived dosages. All patients were admitted to the medical intensive care unit. Patients in the pharmacokinetics group had fewer adverse reactions (15.7 vs. 50%), shorter intensive care unit stay (6.6 +/- 5.5 vs. 12.4 +/- 16.3 days), shorter hospital stay (15.4 +/- 10 vs. 22.3 +/- 14.1 days), and a shorter period of time to be placed on oral therapy (5.2 +/- 3.1 vs. 8.6 +/- 7.2 days) than the group with empirically derived regimens. The pharmacokinetic method used to individualize theophylline therapy offered an accurate and efficient method of achieving therapeutic concentrations. We conclude that the use of clinical pharmacokinetics to individualize theophylline therapy offers substantial benefits over empirical assessments.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Giemsa-11 technique. Applications in the chromosomal characterization of hematologic specimens.

Use of the Giemsa-11 procedure for the localization of heterochromatic regions of human chromosomes and for differentiation of primate and rodent chromosomes has been somewhat limited since its discovery in 1972. An adaptation of this technique to the cytogenetic characterization of hematologic specimens has aided in the interpretation of translocations, deletions, and inversions involving human chromosome 9. The chromosomal analyses of 10% of over 100 patients, principally leukemic, were aided through the use of this auxiliary procedure. The diseases of these patients are given and portions of karyotypes are presented to show clarification of abnormalities made possible through the use of the Giemsa-11 technique.

Azure Stains↗
PubMed1982

Immune complex glomerulonephritis and amyloidosis in Schistosoma japonicum infected rabbits.

Epidemiologically, the incidence of renal pathology in patients with chronic parasitic infections is higher than expected. In particular, schistosomiasis may have an association with renal failure. 24 New Zealand White rabbits were, therefore infected with 250 or 500 Schistosoma japonicum cercariae of the Philippine-Leyte strain and studied for eight months to determine if rabbits with long-term infections were suitable hosts for the study of schistosomal nephropathy. Clinical evidence for renal disease consisted of proteinuria, haematuria, and casts. Of the 18 surviving infected animals, six had trace amounts of protein in their urine, three had significant proteinuria ranging from 100 to 300 mg%, four exhibited haematuria and 14 were positive for the presence of proteinaceous cast formation. The clinical findings correlated with the histological data. Periodic open renal biopsies on a subgroup of the animals revealed no changes until about the sixth month. At eight months after infection, five (28%) of the 18 rabbits had amyloid deposits and 15 (83%) had some degree of renal change which included mild focal, diffuse intracapillary, and crescentic glomerulonephritis with mesangial and subendothelial complex trapping. Periodic-acid Schiff staining graphically demonstrated wire loops and tubular casts. Immunofluorescence showed that 15 (83%) of the infected animals exhibited diffuse mesangial and peripheral capillary wall deposition of IgG while 14 contained IgM (78%). The third component of complement was found in only five (28%) of the infected rabbits. Parasite antigen could not be detected in the glomeruli of any of the animals. Kidneys from age-matched controls were within normal limits. Electron microscopy of glomeruli from several animals demonstrated the presence of subendothelial and mesangial immune complex deposition similar to that seen in systemic lupus erythematosus. These findings show that schistosomiasis japonica in the rabbit offers an excellent model system for studying not only the renal pathology associated with human schistosomiasis but also the pathogenesis of amyloidosis which is a frequent sequela observed in a variety of chronic inflammatory infections.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1982

Rabbit nasopharyngeal colonization by Bordetella pertussis: the effects of immunization on clearance and on serum and nasal antibody levels.

Two Bordetella pertussis antigen preparations, outer membrane protein (OMP) and filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), and a standard vaccine were used to immunize rabbits, and the effects on nasopharyngeal colonization by the organism were determined. Antibodies were measured in serum and in nasal washes by ELISA before and after challenge of the rabbits with 10(6) bacteria of strain M2. Recoveries of B. pertussis in nasal washes were used to assess colonization, which in controls persisted for at least 65 days. Some rabbits of all the immunized groups showed enhanced clearance, but there was no correlation between the elimination of B. pertussis and serum antibodies to OMP, FHA, lipopolysaccharide, lymphocytosis-promoting factor or agglutinogen 3. In contrast, nasal IgA antibody to FHA showed significant inverse correlation with bacterial persistence. Such antibody was induced by the OMP preparation as well as by FHA, but to different extents depending on the immunization schedule and adjuvant used.

Agglutinins↗