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Biomedical subjects

A Thomson

Publications and source records attributed to A Thomson.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Protection of cattle from bovine tuberculosis by vaccination with BCG by the respiratory or subcutaneous route, but not by vaccination with killed Mycobacterium vaccae.

Groups of cattle were vaccinated either with BCG Pasteur by the intratracheal or subcutaneous route or with killed Mycobacterium vaccae by the intradermal route and challenged intratracheally 54 days later with Mycobacterium bovis. Vaccination with BCG resulted in fewer animals developing tuberculous lesions and in a reduction in the number of lesions in the diseased animals compared with the unvaccinated group and the group vaccinated with M vaccae. None of the nine animals vaccinated intratracheally with BCG developed any tuberculous lung lesions after challenge with M bovis, but two of the nine animals from each of the groups dosed subcutaneously with low and medium doses of BCG developed lung lesions. There was little difference in protection against the M bovis challenge between the animals receiving the low dose (10(3) colony forming units, cfu) or medium dose (10(5) cfu) of subcutaneous BCG, but the medium dose of BCG produced stronger cell-mediated immune responses to bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) after vaccination. Vaccination intradermally with 10(9) heat-killed M vaccae did not protect cattle against an experimental challenge with M bovis and induced only weak cell-mediated immune responses to bovine PPD.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Effectiveness of BCG vaccination in protecting possums against bovine tuberculosis.

Three groups of eight possums were vaccinated with BCG Pasteur by the subcutaneous, intratracheal or intragastric routes, with a fourth group serving as unvaccinated controls. Forty-two days after the start of vaccination, five possums from each group were challenged intratracheally with virulent Mycobacterium bovis. The vaccination by the subcutaneous or intratracheal routes resulted in a marked reduction in the severity of disease compared with the unvaccinated animals or the animals vaccinated intragastrically. The severity of the disease was assessed by changes in bodyweight, pathological changes in the lungs and bronchial nodes and the number of acid-fast bacilli in the lesions. Before the challenge, lymphocyte blastogenic responses to bovine PPD were observed in the eight animals vaccinated subcutaneously and in two of the animals vaccinated intratracheally.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Route of BCG administration in possums affects protection against bovine tuberculosis.

The Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is the major wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis in New Zealand. Control of bovine tuberculosis in farmed animals requires measures to reduce the transmission of M. bovis from wildlife. Possums were vaccinated with BCG intranasally by aerosol spray, orally or subcutaneously to compare the efficacy of these three routes on protection against challenge with virulent M. bovis. Possums vaccinated with BCG by the intranasal or subcutaneous routes had a marked reduction in severity of disease compared to possums which had been unvaccinated or orally vaccinated. The severity of the disease was assessed by changes in body weight and pathology. BCG vaccination by all three routes resulted in reduced dissemination of M. bovis to the spleen and liver following challenge. Intranasal and oral BCG vaccination induced lower mean peripheral blood lymphocyte blastogenic responses to bovine PPD than subcutaneous vaccination, indicating that these responses did not correlate well with protection from the disease. Given a suitable delivery system, aerosol vaccination of possums, used in conjunction with other control measures, may be a suitable method of reducing the spread of M. bovis from wildlife to domestic animals.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Regional differences in cardiovascular risk factor prevalence in Tasmania: are they consistent with the increased cardiovascular mortality?

BACKGROUND: The death rate from cardiovascular disease in Tasmania has been among the highest in Australian States for a number of years. The North-West (NW) and Northern regions of Tasmania account for most of the increased mortality. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the North and NW regions of Tasmania and to ascertain whether any differences are consistent with the regional patterns of mortality for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) within the State. METHODS: The design of the study was almost identical to the previous National Heart Foundation (NHF) Risk Factor Prevalence Survey conducted in 1989. The subjects, aged 20-69 years, were randomly selected from the Electoral Roll with 1146 subjects participating in the North and 1219 in the NW. Subjects answered a detailed questionnaire and then underwent a brief physical examination with venipuncture for blood lipids. Hobart data from the NHF Risk Factor Prevalence Survey in 1989 were used as an estimate of risk factor prevalence in the Southern region. RESULTS: In both males and females, mean systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the NW than the South which was in turn higher than the North. Mean serum cholesterol levels in males were higher in the NW than the North. Smoking behaviour was similar in males and females in all regions. Males and females in the NW and North were more inactive than those in the South. Similar proportions in all regions were on either 'no specific' or 'fat modified' diets. Body mass index in males and females was higher in the NW and North but waist to hip ratios failed to show a consistent trend. CONCLUSIONS: While the NW has an unfavourable risk factor profile compared with the South, the North does not. The risk factor data are broadly consistent with, but unlikely to be sufficient to explain fully, the regional differences in mortality from IHD.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Hearing assessment after meningitis and meningococcal disease.

A method to increase audiology referral after meningitis or meningococcal disease was audited in 89 children. A standardised proforma increased referrals from 78% to 96% over a two year period. However, only 73% of children had a hearing test. The major reason for hearing not being tested changed from non-referral to non-attendance.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Identification of rare and novel mutations in the CFTR genes of CF patients in southern England.

Cystic fibrosis patients referred to two genetics centres in southern England and not found to carry common CF-associated mutations in one or both of their CFTR genes have been subjected to an extensive mutation search. The whole of the coding region of the CFTR gene, all intron-exon boundaries and 5' and 3' untranslated regions have been examined by a combination of single stranded conformational polymorphism analysis and chemical mismatch detection; 48 chromosomes with rare mutations have been identified, including 7 novel mutations, 182delT in exon 1, G27X in exon 2, Q151X in exon 4, Q220X in exon 6a, Q525X in exon 10, 3041delG in exon 16, and 4271delC in exon 23.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

The family.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Child Welfare↗
PubMed1994

Infectious disease markers in autologous and directed donations.

Autologous collections are strongly advocated by the New South Wales Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) and have increased more than sevenfold since 1988. Directed donations, although not promoted, have also increased during this time. The prevalence of infectious disease markers (HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B and syphilis) in donations collected by the BTS from different donor groups including overall volunteer homologous, first-time volunteer homologous, autologous and directed were evaluated over a 42-month period. Donations from first-time volunteer homologous donors had the highest prevalence of hepatitis B and C. Autologous donations had a significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis compared with overall volunteer homologous donations. The percentage of directed donations testing positive for either hepatitis B or C was higher than overall volunteer homologous donations, but not statistically significant. This study demonstrates that donations from first-time donors are the least safe, that the crossover of autologous blood into the volunteer homologous pool decreases the safety of that pool and suggests that directed donations may not be as safe as volunteer homologous donations and cannot be generally advocated at this time.

Biomarkers↗