Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Atkinson

Publications and source records attributed to B Atkinson.

99 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

An immunocytochemical study of normal and abnormal human cerebrospinal fluid with monoclonal antibodies to glial fibrillary acidic protein.

The presence of astrocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients may be of diagnostic importance. However, the frequency with which astrocytes are shed into normal and abnormal human CSF is unknown. This issue was studied using monoclonal antibodies to an astrocyte-specific antigen, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and immunoperoxidase cytochemistry. The study was prospectively conducted on 108 CSF preparations diagnosed as normal, reactive, metastatic malignancy or suspicious for metastatic malignancy. To validate these methods, cells from a clonal human glioma cell line, which contains astrocytes rich in GFAP, were processed in a manner identical to that used for the CSFs obtained from patients. Studies of the human glioma cell line demonstrated intense GFAP immunoreactivity in the majority of the malignant astrocytes. In contrast, none of the CSFs contained GFAP-positive cells. We conclude that immunocytochemical methods can detect GFAP in neoplastic human astrocytes but that nonneoplastic GFAP-positive cells are uncommon in human CSF; such cells were not seen in our large series of normal and abnormal human CSFs. The immunocytochemical detection of GFAP may be a useful criterion for distinguishing malignant astrocytes from other types of malignant cells in human CSF.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Peritoneal washing cytology. Uses and diagnostic criteria in gynecologic neoplasms.

Review of a 20-month experience with 241 peritoneal washes performed on 191 patients showed that the use of these specimens has expanded greatly. Of the 19 patients with neoplastic cells in their peritoneal washing cytology specimens, 12 had primary ovarian neoplasms, 4 had primary uterine cervical neoplasms, 2 had primary endometrial neoplasms, and 1 had mammary carcinoma metastatic to the ovary. Gynecologic oncologists at this institution are now routinely obtaining peritoneal washing cytology specimens whenever there is intraabdominal surgery on patients known to have or suspected of having a pelvic neoplasm. The following criteria were found to be essential to the accurate evaluation of these specimens: (1) cells considered to be malignant should be present both singly and in groups and should be malignant by the usual cytologic criteria, (2) the patients must have or be known to have had a neoplasm whose cells are similar to those in the washing specimen, and (3) the cells considered to be neoplastic must be different from and not confused with reactive mesothelial cells. The last criterion is important because the peritoneal lavage traumatically removes mesothelium, which can appear atypical. These criteria make the cytologic interpretation of most peritoneal washing specimens straightforward; interesting diagnostic problems occur, however, including the evaluation of neoplasms of borderline malignancy, those "spilled" during surgery and second neoplasms found by peritoneal washing cytology.

Ascitic Fluid↗