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Biomedical subjects

B Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to B Thomas.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Steroid hormones in lymph and blood from women with early breast cancer.

Postoperative levels of steroid hormones have been measured in lymph and blood of 28 patients undergoing iridium implants as part of conservative treatment for operable breast cancer. The aim was to establish whether there were higher levels of hormones in lymph draining from necrosing tumour cells compared with peripheral blood levels. No differences were found in the ratios of estradiol, dehydroxyepiandrosterone sulphate or sex hormone-binding globulin in those patients with complete compared with incomplete excision of the primary tumour. However, premenopausal patients who had an incompletely excised primary tumour had increased levels of free testosterone in lymph draining from the tumour site on the third and fourth postoperative days. Thus androgens may have an important role in the intracellular metabolism of some breast cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Chlamydia trachomatis in the fallopian tubes of women without laparoscopic evidence of salpingitis.

23 women with lower abdominal pain and Chlamydia trachomatis in the cervix, urethra, or both sites were studied. Laparoscopy was done with sampling of the endometrium and fallopian tubes for detection of C trachomatis. 11 women had laparoscopic evidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); C trachomatis was detected in the upper genital tract of 8, but not in the upper tract of 5 who had laparoscopy again after treatment. The organism was also found in the upper genital tract of 9 of the 12 women without laparoscopic evidence of PID. Most of the women with abdominal pain or tenderness had tubal or endometrial C trachomatis infection, although only half had laparoscopic evidence of salpingitis. This finding suggests that antibiotic treatment should be given as soon as chlamydial infection is detected in the cervix and that pain does not necessarily point to C trachomatis in the upper genital tract. Laparoscopy may miss important pathogens in the upper genital tract, unless the procedure is complemented with detailed microbiological investigation.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

Religious intermarriage in Switzerland, 1969-72 and 1979-82.

"Patterns of marriage between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Switzerland during 1969-72 and 1979-82 are investigated using magnitudes of marriage attraction, measures that reflect the propensity to marry independent of population composition. The results show high levels of intermarriage, with religious differences becoming less salient in marriage choice. There is no evidence that the propensity to intermarry is influenced by 'minority group' effects." (SUMMARY IN FRE)

Developed Countries↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of ofloxacin with doxycycline in the treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis and cervical chlamydial infection.

The efficacy of ofloxacin was compared with that of doxycycline in the treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) and cervical chlamydial infection in an open randomized study. In total, 182 men and 100 women were enrolled: 92 men and 50 women received ofloxacin at a dose of 400 mg once daily for seven days, and 90 men and 50 women received doxycycline at a dose of 100 mg twice daily for seven days. All women and 42 men, that is 29 men in the ofloxacin group (32%) and 13 in the doxycycline group (14%) were chlamydia-positive on entry into the study. Patients were reviewed on completion of the treatment course (day 8) and two weeks later (day 22). Clinical cure rates for NGU in assessable patients in each treatment group were similar; 73% in the ofloxacin group and 63% in the doxycycline group at day 8, and 70% and 90% in the respective treatment groups on study completion. Repeat tests for chlamydiae were negative for all male and female patients at both day 8 and day 22. Both ofloxacin and doxycycline were well tolerated. We conclude that ofloxacin given at a dose of 400 mg once daily for seven days is a safe and effective alternative treatment for NGU and cervical chlamydial infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Characterization of conformers of D 1 of photosystem II using site-directed antibodies.

Antibodies have been raised to synthetic peptides, corresponding to a region in the loop spanning helices 4 and 5 of D 1 protein (Ala 250-Phe 265) and to a region anticipated to be near the C terminus of mature D 1 (His 332-Ala 345). Polyclonal antibodies to the sequence His 332-Ala 345 reacted with a 32 kDa polypeptide in thylakoid preparations identified as D 1 from its resistance (pea) or susceptibility (wheat) to lysine-C degradation. A monoclonal antibody to His 332-Ala 345 reacted preferentially with a faster migrating polypeptide in SDS electrophoresis, a putative conformer of D 1. Polyclonal antibodies to the sequence Ala 250-Phe 265 also reacted with the faster running polypeptide but not with the population of molecules running at 32 kDa. The putative conformer of D 1 from wheat appears to be more resistant than the main D 1 population to lysine-C degradation. Peptide analyses by Takahashi et al. [(1988) FEBS Lett, 240, 6-8] suggest Asn 335-Ala 344 lies at the processed C terminus. The present report provides immunological confirmation that this sequence is retained in mature D 1.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

[Essential hypertension caused by a virilizing adrenal tumor].

Authors report here an interesting case of a woman who has been treated for essential hypertension for 12 years. Beside the hypertension, an extreme virilization appeared. A large adenoma, originated from the left adrenal gland have been explored behind the clinical picture. After surgical removal of the adenoma, adrenocortical hormones decreased to the normal levels. Systemic blood pressure decreased considerably the virilisation showed gradual involution. The correct treatment of the patient was a decade late, resulting in the development of encephalopathic syndromes.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1989

Chlamydia trachomatis in reactive arthritis.

Evidence of deposition of chlamydial antigen in the joint was sought in 10 patients (9 of them male) with classic sexually acquired reactive arthritis, 15 women with unclassified seronegative oligoarthritis involving the knee and 15 individuals with established rheumatic disorders not associated with genital-tract or other infections. Using a fluorosceinated monoclonal antibody to the major outer membrane protein of Chlamydia trachomatis (MicroTrak, Syva) in a direct immunofluorescence test, particulate antigen with physical characteristics of chlamydial elementary bodies was seen in synovial fluid cell smears or synovial biopsies, or both, from 6, 5, and 0 patients, respectively. No typical chlamydial intracellular inclusions were seen. Corroborative evidence of recent chlamydial infection was provided by the finding of high titres of serum chlamydial antibody in all antigen-positive patients with sexually acquired reactive arthritis, including 3 from whom a genital-tract isolate was obtained, and 3 of the 5 women with unclassified arthritis. It is postulated that Chlamydia trachomatis organisms reach the joint during acute genital-tract infection, and the processing and presentation by class I major histocompatibility determinants of chlamydial antigens is a critical step in the initiation of reactive arthritis in some patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Increased plasma triglyceride secretion in EFA-deficient rats fed diets with or without saturated fat.

Metabolic responses to essential fatty acid-deficiency in rats include an increased rate of triglyceride secretion into the plasma, a large reduction in the HDL1 plasma lipoprotein concentration, and increased concentrations of liver triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters. Because of differences in the types of EFA-deficient diets used, it is not clear whether these responses were solely due to the absence of EFA from the diet or whether saturated fat, or differences in acyl group chain length in this fat, might be responsible. Therefore, we fed rats diets differing only in amounts and kinds of fat, and measured triacylglycerol secretion rates and liver concentrations of triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters, for comparison with our earlier measurements of plasma high density lipoprotein subpopulations in rats fed exactly the same diets. The purified diets contained either no fat, 5% by weight hydrogenated coconut oil, 5% hydrogenated cottonseed oil, or each of these three diets supplemented with 1% safflower oil, or 5% corn oil. We also fed some rats a nonpurified stock diet for comparison with literature reports. The present results indicate that the metabolic responses to essential fatty acid deficiency described above are definitely due to essential fatty acid-deficiency and not to the presence or chain length of acyl groups in saturated fat in the diet.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Noninvasive measurement of respirator effect at rest and during exercise.

Ventilation and respiratory timing during rest and exercise were measured in normal volunteers by pneumotachograph and by respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) to determine if RIP is accurate and to determine if the usual methods of ventilation measurement during respirator research lead to artifacts. Data were collected with a mouthpiece, a sham mouthpiece, and no mouthpiece. A dead space and inspiratory resistance load similar to respirators were employed also. The study showed that no significant artifact is produced, particularly during exercise, by measurements using a mouthpiece. RIP is sufficiently accurate and precise for use in unobtrusively measuring ventilation during respirator studies when traditional methods cannot be used.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

A placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study of naltrexone hydrochloride in outpatients with normal weight bulimia.

The endogenous opioid system plays an important role in the control of feeding behavior. Previous research has shown that antagonism of endogenous opioids will suppress feeding in certain models in both human and infrahuman species. In the current study, 16 normal-weight bulimic women were treated with low-dose naltrexone, the long-acting, orally active narcotic antagonist, and placebo in a crossover design. The use of the active drug was not associated with a clinically significant reduction in binge eating or vomiting episodes. Suggestions for further research in this area are offered.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cobalt probing of structural alternatives for insulin in solution.

Inorganic anions and phenolic compounds make the subunits of insulin hexamers undergo the T----R transition whereby the extended N-terminal B chain becomes helical and the octahedral metal coordination tetrahedral. The role of the metal ions is permissive. With cresol the transition is also undergone by metal-free hexamers. For coordinative reasons only zinc insulin can be transformed by moderate concentrations of inorganic anions. At higher concentrations and particularly with cresol transformation is also possible if Zn2+ is replaced by other metal ions. Owing to its d--d transitions in the visible cobalt lends itself as a spectroscopic probe for studying the interdependence of transformation and coordination. The transformation-related change in coordination is reflected in both the isotropic absorption and the CD spectrum. Cresol achieves T6----R6 transformation whereas that induced by SCN- ions is T6----T'3R3 with only the axial metal-binding site being realized in the R3 trimer. The spectral effects of the transformation of the two trimers are not additive; an extra contribution seems to be indicative of trimer/trimer interaction. Oxidation of 2 Co2+ insulin to a certain extent affects the structure of insulin; a characteristic positive band appears at 251 nm. Because of its extremely stable and exclusively octahedral complexes the Co3+ ion most strongly withstands transformation. The oxidation of tetrahedrally liganded Co2+ ions in R3 trimers proceeds with reduced velocity. Independent transformation of the Zn2+ trimers is possible in Zn2+/Co3+ metal hybrids of insulin.

Absorption↗