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Biomedical subjects

B Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to B Robinson.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Mismatched family donors for bone-marrow transplantation as treatment for acute leukaemia.

35 patients were treated for acute myeloid leukaemia or acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with allogeneic bone-marrow grafts from a parent, child, or sibling who was mismatched at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). 11 of these patients are alive at least 6 months after grafting, 5 of them after more than 2 years. Of the 15 patients aged under 20 at the time of the graft, 8 are alive and well 6 months to 3 years later. Cyclosporin A was given to all patients after grafting. 1 patient died of acute graft-versus-host disease and in 2 other cases this was a major factor in their death. Graft failure caused the death of 2 patients. 4 patients died of recurrent leukaemia. A fatal complication in 12 patients was pulmonary oedema, often associated with convulsions, intravascular haemolysis, and renal failure. Some of these patients had viral or bacterial infections, but in the majority the syndrome was not associated with demonstrable infection. This syndrome, in which the essential lesion appears to be vascular, was much more common in recipients of mismatched than matched grafts. 3 others died from lung disease in which infection was a factor.

Acute Disease↗

Hyperglucagonemia following cisplatin treatment.

These studies were initiated to determine (1) if cisplatin (cis-DDP)-induced hyperglucagonemia is related to decreased hormone degradation, (2) the relationship between impaired kidney function associated with cis-DDP nephrotoxicity and hyperglucagonemia, and (3) the contribution of cis-DDP-induced hyperglucagonemia to disturbances in glucose metabolism in male F-344 rats. Administration of 5 or 7.5, but not 2.5, mg/kg cis-DDP iv increased fasting plasma immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) concentrations. Hyperglucagonemia following cis-DDP treatment was characterized by an increase in the biologically active or true pancreatic form of IRG as well as an increase in an extrapancreatic component. cis-DDP treatment (5 mg/kg) resulted in a prolonged half-life and a reduced rate of plasma disappearance of exogenous glucagon. Reducing cis-DDP nephrotoxicity, via mannitol pretreatment, resulted in a significant reduction in total, true pancreatic, and extrapancreatic plasma IRG. Other nephrotoxicants, such as glycerol or gentamicin, also resulted in hyperglucagonemia, indicating that the effects of cis-DDP on glucagon metabolism are also characteristic of other nephrotoxicants and, therefore, may be secondary to kidney toxicity. Despite marked hyperglucagonemia following cis-DDP treatment, neither severe fasting hyperglycemia nor increased hepatic and renal gluconeogenic enzyme activity was apparent in treated animals. This apparent discrepancy cannot be attributed to glucagon resistance at the target tissue level since cis-DDP-treated animals responded appropriately to exogenous glucagon. These results indicate that hyperglucagonemia following cis-DDP treatment (1) may be related to decreased glucagon degradation associated with impaired renal function and (2) does not markedly disrupt glucose homeostasis.

Animals↗

The treatment of metastatic germ-cell testicular tumours with bleomycin, etoposide and cis-platin (BEP).

Between July 1979 and December 1981, 43 patients with metastatic germ-cell tumours (36 testicular non-seminomas and 7 testicular seminomas) were treated with 2-6 cycles of bleomycin, etoposide and cis-platin (BEP). Forty (93%) are alive, 37 (86%) with no evidence of disease. Of 36 men with testicular non-seminoma 30 (83.3%) are alive and disease-free at 8-38 months (median 17.0 months). In the latter group 25/28 (89.3%) who had had no prior irradiation are alive and disease-free. Fourteen non-seminoma patients had small volume metastases and 13 are in complete remission, as are 12/14 patients with bulky disease. All 7 patients with advanced seminoma are alive and disease-free. It is concluded that BEP is a well tolerated and effective first line treatment for patients with metastatic germ-cell tumours.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

1976 Hanford americium exposure incident: organ burden and radiation dose estimates.

A Hanford worker received an intake of 241Am by skin absorption and inhalation which was later evaluated to be in excess of 1 mCi. The skin was the main pathway for introduction of 241Am into the body; however inhalation was also a significant pathway. Intensive DTPA therapy prevented 99% of 241Am which entered the blood stream from being deposited in the internal organs. Retention and distribution of 241Am in various internal organs and tissues was determined from sequential measurements in vivo using several arrangements of externally located scintillation detectors. The organ and tissue retention and distribution have been followed for longer than 5 yr. Excretion patterns and estimates of radiation dose to the lung, liver, bone and skin are described.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Dental caries experience of 16-17-year-old naval recruits related to the water fluoride level in their home town.

Out of 6694 recruits who joined the Royal Navy between September 1979 and February 1981, 1983 (30%) had lived all their lives in one locality. Information on the fluoride level, between 1963 and 1980, in the water supply to each of the recruits' homes was obtained. The examiner recording the dental status of each recruit did not know where the recruit had lived. Some of the information on fluoride levels was imprecise or of variable quality so the final analyses were restricted to 1332 16-17-year-old subjects. The overall mean DMFT for the 1332 recruits was 9.72. There was a consistent fall in caries experience with increasing water fluoride level although the difference between the caries experience of recruits from low and high fluoride areas (about 20% for mean DMFT) was smaller than that observed in other studies. A possible explanation for this smaller difference is that some of the subjects did not receive fluoridated water early in life.

Adolescent↗

Intrasellar abscess after transsphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy.

Intrasellar abscess is a rare disease that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Few neurosurgeons who operate by the transsphenoidal route are concerned with intrasellar abscess despite its high mortality rate. We describe a case of intrasellar abscess which, to our knowledge, is only the second diagnosed or suspected preoperatively. Most cases have been diagnosed unexpectedly at operation or autopsy. This case also is the first reported intrasellar abscess arising within an intrasellar graft used to seal the sella turcica after transsphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy. The clinical suspicion of infection proved more reliable than roentgenograms and laboratory studies in leading to the proper diagnosis and successful therapy.

Adenoma↗

Assignment of the alpha and beta chains of human propionyl-CoA carboxylase to genetic complementation groups.

Propionicacidemia is a metabolic disorder resulting from a deficiency of propionyl-CoA carboxylase activity. The enzyme is composed of two polypeptides: a 72,000-dalton alpha chain which contains the biotin ligand and a 56,000-dalton beta chain. It has been suggested that the two major complementation groups in this disorder, pccA and pccBC (with subgroups pccB and pccC), correspond to the genes encoding these two chains. To correlate gene product with complementation groups, 15 mutant and four normal human fibroblast strains were analyzed by [35S]methionine and [3H]biotin labeling. Immunoprecipitation and gel electrophoresis of the polypeptides revealed that alpha chains are synthesized by mutants of pccBC and both subgroups but not in four out of five pccA mutants. On the other hand, beta chains were detected only in pccB mutants. We suggest that pccA encodes the alpha chain of PCC while pccBC encodes the beta chain, and furthermore predict that the beta chain is unstable in the absence of the alpha chain.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗

Follow-up adjuvant chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy for stage II and III carcinoma of the breast.

Patients with stage II or III carcinoma of the breast were assigned to one of three adjuvant chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy treatment groups following radical or modified radical mastectomy. This study compares the efficacy of single drug treatment (melphalan) versus multiple drug regimens (CFP and CFP + BCG). In the initial phase of the project participants in the melphalan group showed a higher recurrence rate than those in the CFP and CFP + BCG groups. The recurrence rate of the melphalan group was 4.4 times higher than the recurrence rate of the combined polychemotherapy arms. However, after the initial phase, the recurrence rates for the polychemotherapy arms steadily increased and approached the dropping rate of the melphalan group. Currently (247 weeks after the beginning of the study and nine months after the last patient accrual), 194 patients have been treated (median follow-up time of 101 weeks), and no significant differences can be detected between the three treatment arms using any of the following criteria: disease-free interval, proportion of recurrence and recurrence rate. The only factors which are significant with respect to recurrence are the two prognostic factors: tumor size and degree of nodal involvement. The two chemotherapy groups, CFP and CFP + BCG, show no significant difference with respect to recurrence rate along the entire span of the study.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Case report. Aneurysm of the ductus arteriosus in an adult.

Aneurysm of the ductus arteriosus is unusual in the adult. Computed tomography (CT) may be critical in making a preoperative diagnosis. The value of CT in the diagnosis of this entity, as well as its likely pathogenesis, is discussed.

Aged↗

Calcitonin and the kidney.

Calcitonin in pharmacologic doses influences the renal handling of electrolytes, especially phosphate and sodium. High-affinity receptors exist for calcitonin in the kidney and are probably linked to adenylate cyclase activation. Calcitonin accumulates in the serum in renal failure, and may have a role in modifying the expression of the bone disease of chronic renal failure. In chronic renal failure, calcitonin is present in the serum in multiple molecular forms but the biologic activity of each form is not known. Some immunoreactive calcitonin appears in the urine. The amount appearing in relation to calcitonin secretion rates requires further exploration.

Acute Kidney Injury↗