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Biomedical subjects

D Fisher

Publications and source records attributed to D Fisher.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Bacterial colonization of the parotid duct in xerostomia.

Salivary flow rate and bacterial colonization of the parotid main duct were investigated in 17 patients referred for sialography and in 10 healthy controls. Cultures in the controls were negative whilst the patient group revealed bacterial colonization of the main duct, especially in those with the lowest flow rates. The implications of this finding in patients at high risk of endocarditis who will be undergoing sialography are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of thymostimulin in symptomatic HIV-infected patients.

The potential therapeutic efficacy of the thymic hormone preparation, thymostimulin (TP1), in HIV infection has been studied in a multi-institutional, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Fifty evaluable patients with advanced AIDS-related complex (ARC) were injected with TP1 or placebo twice weekly for 6 months after 2 weeks of daily injections. The primary endpoint, progression to AIDS, was reached in nine TP1- and 11 placebo-treated subjects after 1 year. CD4 cell numbers were not affected by administration of the study drug. No toxicity was associated with TP1 treatment. We conclude that TP1 is ineffective in altering the progress of HIV disease in patients with advanced ARC.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1990

Impact of race on renal transplant outcome.

The influence of race on the outcome of cadaver renal transplantation (CRT) continues to be controversial even in the cyclosporine era. The present study examines the effect of race in 343 adult CRT performed from 1/1/82 through 10/1/88 with regard to the incidence of delayed function (DF), graft survival (GS), and patient survival (PS). Blacks constituted 38% of the patients. A history of nephrosclerosis secondary to hypertension was more common in blacks, with 51% (67/130) vs. 8% (17/213) in whites, while glomerulonephritis and Type 1 diabetes mellitus were more common in whites. There was no significant difference in the number of HLA (A,B,DR) matches or DR mismatches between whites and blacks. With azathioprine immunosuppression DF was more common in blacks than in whites, 54% (14/26) vs. 20% (11/55) respectively (P less than 0.01). The higher incidence of DF in blacks than in whites on Aza was associated with a significantly lower dose of intraoperative albumin, 0.25 g/kg vs. 0.44 g/kg, respectively (P less than 0.01). Of the Aza treated black recipients who had DF, 79% (11/14) had graft loss within three months, significantly worse than 25% (3/12) with graft loss when immediate function was present (P less than 0.005). Currently, all patients receive at least 0.80 g/kg of albumin intraoperatively and CsA quadruple induction therapy. With the current regimen, black and white recipients of primary CRT recipients have a comparable low incidence of DF of 18% and 22%, respectively. However, DF remains high among repeat black or white recipients: 33% (10/30) and 57% (8/14), respectively. The incidence of rejection within 30 days was similar for black and white recipients during the Aza and CsA eras, 62% vs. 75% and 34% vs. 42% respectively. GS and PS at three months for blacks on Aza were 54% and 89%, respectively, reflecting the corresponding high incidence of DF. This compares with 71% and 97% GS and PS for whites on Aza. Blacks and whites receiving CsA had equivalent 1-year GS and PS: 76% and 92%, respectively. We conclude that, in our center during the Aza era, blacks had a higher incidence of DF and lower GS than whites. With our current intraoperative fluid replacement and CsA immunosuppression, the incidence of DF and GS and PS are equivalent in black and white recipients.

Azathioprine↗
PubMed1990

Women, myocardial infarction, and dementia in the very old.

Dementia is a major public health problem among the very old. Available information on incidence and prevalence is sparse and variable; however, there appears to be a higher prevalence among very old women. We present data from a prospective study of initially nondemented community-residing elderly. There were 75 incident dementia cases (up to 7 years of follow-up) of which at least 47% were probable Alzheimer's disease. Based on a proportional hazards analysis, women were over 3 times more likely to develop dementia than men despite controlling for baseline demographic, psychosocial, and medical history variables. Poor word fluency and a high normal Blessed test score at baseline were also strong predictors of dementia. We did not find age, head trauma, thyroid disease, or family history of dementia to be risk factors. A new finding is that history of myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with dementia, such that women with a history of MI were 5 times more prone to dementia than those without a history. This observation was not true for men.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Monensin does not consistently inhibit the spreading of normal or Duchenne fibroblasts on glass.

The spreading on glass of monensin-treated normal and Duchenne fibroblasts has been investigated with the intention of extending this approach to a study of the comparative spreading of these cells on differing substrata. Untreated normal and Duchenne fibroblasts varied considerably in their ability to spread on glass. The spreading properties of normal and DMD fibroblasts treated in four different ways were compared: (1) pre-incubated and plated without monensin; (2) pre-incubated with, but plated without monensin; (3) pre-incubated without, but plated with monensin; (4) pre-incubated and plated with monensin. The response to plating with monensin (and pre-incubation/plating with monensin) also varied from patient to patient, but no statistically significant differences in the degree of spreading between the four treatment groups were observed in pooled data for either normal or dystrophic fibroblasts. Our data thus do not substantiate the previous finding of Pizzey et al. (1984) that Duchenne fibroblasts spread less well than normal fibroblasts after pre-incubation or plating with monensin, and possible explanations for this are discussed. The observations made are, however, consistent with the recent report that dystrophin is effectively not expressed in fibroblasts, and with the idea that the abnormal behaviour of endomysial fibroblasts in Duchenne dystrophy is a secondary consequence of their proximity to degenerating muscle.

Cell Adhesion↗
PubMed1990

Codependency and self-esteem among high school students.

46 north central Kansas rural high school students completed a coedependency measure prepared from a list of codependent characteristics and the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory--Short Form including the Lie scale. Girls reported higher codependency scores than boys, but there was no difference between boys and girls on self-esteem. There was a significant difference between boys and girls on the self-esteem lie scores; boys tended to exaggerate their responses to appear more socially appropriate. The Pearson correlations suggest a moderate and negative association of self-esteem and codependency.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

The attitudes of physicians toward health care cost-containment policies.

This study analyzed physician attitudes toward a variety of health care cost-containment policies, based on a national survey of 500 practicing doctors in 1984. Reactions to 23 policies were simplified to nine common themes using factor analysis. Although there was great diversity in views, physicians generally favored policies that increased responsibilities or costs for patients and disfavored policies that decreased physicians' autonomy of practice. For most policies, practice characteristics (specialty; type of practice, e.g., solo or group, salaried or self-employed; membership in medical societies; or percent of time in direct patient care) were not significant determinants of attitudes. Physicians who were more "conservative" with respect to the health care system tended to favor policies that shifted cost to patients, while more "liberal" doctors were more supportive of using prepaid health care, reducing the intensity of care, or selecting efficient providers. Overall, this study indicates that physicians still place a high value on their professional autonomy.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1990

Coupling of poly(ethylene glycol) to albumin under very mild conditions by activation with tresyl chloride: characterization of the conjugate by partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems.

Poly(ethylene glycol) activated with tresyl chloride has been covalently linked to albumin as a result of a 2-h incubation in 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, containing 0.125 M sodium chloride (0.344 OSM). The coupling of poly(ethylene glycol) to albumin was demonstrated by the increase in the partition coefficient of the protein in poly(ethylene glycol)-dextran aqueous two-phase systems. A linear relationship between the log of the partition coefficient of the poly(ethylene glycol)-albumin conjugate and the degree of modification (measured as the amino groups consumed during the coupling step) has been demonstrated. Countercurrent distribution in the two-phase system showed that poly(ethylene glycol)-albumin was heterogeneous with respect to its partitioning behavior, indicating that the albumin was not uniformly modified with poly(ethylene glycol).

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1990

Effects of propylthiouracil on the biodistribution of an iodine-131-labeled anti-myeloid antibody in normal dogs: dosimetry and clinical implications.

Despite the use of near maximal doses of chemoradiotherapy, tumor recurrence remains the most frequent cause of treatment failure following marrow transplantation for leukemia. We have previously demonstrated that it is possible to selectively deliver radiation to the marrow space. In that study an initial short half-life of the radionuclide was observed. In this study we attempted to prolong the retention of the radioiodine in marrow through the use of propylthiouracil (PTU). When administered to normal dogs, PTU pretreatment resulted in improved marrow localization of 131I-labeled DM-5. There was no appreciable loss of activity from the marrow during the 2-4 hr postinjection time interval; a finding in contrast to the control animals where marrow activity declined a mean 45 +/- 0.5% over the same time period. Additionally, in contrast to controls, a rise in plasma trichloroacetic acid (TCA) nonprecipitable activity was not demonstrated in the PTU treated group during this 2-4 hr period. These results suggest that PTU's inhibition of deiodinases resulted in longer residence time of the radionuclide in its target tissue without adversely affecting distribution to non-target organs.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Inhibition of rat liver estrogen 2/4-hydroxylase activity by troleandomycin: comparison with erythromycin and roxithromycin.

Administration of troleandomycin (0.5 mmol.kg-1 p.o. daily for 5 days) decreased by 61% and 36%, respectively, the estradiol and ethinylestradiol 2/4-hydroxylase activities of hepatic microsomes from male Sprague-Dawley rats killed 2 hr after the last dose. This decrease did not appear to be due to the in vivo formation of the inactive cytochrome P-450 p Fe(II)-metabolite complex, since disruption of this complex with potassium ferricyanide did not increase estrogen hydroxylase activities. Troleandomycin administration, however, essentially suppressed cytochrome P-450 UT-A (one of the P-450 forms involved in the hydroxylation of estrogens) and resulted in the appearance of cytochrome P-450 forms whose estradiol hydroxylase activity was inhibitable by troleandomycin in vitro. Similarly, troleandomycin (2 mM) inhibited by 60% estradiol and ethinylestradiol 2/4-hydroxylase activities in microsomes from dexamethasone-treated rats, although it had no inhibitory effect in microsomes from control rats. In contrast, erythromycin and roxithromycin (2 mM) exerted no inhibitory effect, even in microsomes from dexamethasone-treated rats. In vivo, these macrolides (0.5 mmol.kg-1 p.o. daily for 5 days) decreased moderately cytochrome P-450 UT-A levels and estradiol 2/4-hydroxylase activity, and did not modify ethinylestradiol 2/4-hydroxylase activity. We conclude that the administration of troleandomycin, but not that of erythromycin or roxithromycin, decreases ethinylestradiol 2/4-hydroxylase activity in male rat liver microsomes, as a possible consequence of decreased cytochrome P-450 UT-A levels and of the induction of glucocorticoid-responsive P-450 forms whose ethinylestradiol hydroxylase activity is inhibitable by troleandomycin.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Detection of surface charge-related properties in model membrane systems by aqueous two-phase partition.

Unilamellar vesicles composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and either phosphatidic acid (PA) or phosphatidylglycerol (PG) partition to the upper poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-rich phase of a charge-sensitive 5%:5% (w/w) PEG 8000/Dextran T-500 phase system containing 10 mM sodium phosphate at pH 7, consistent with the vesicles bearing a net negative charge. When prepared in the presence of a pH gradient (interior acidic), PC/PA vesicles exhibit an increased partition to the top PEG-rich phase, consistent with a redistribution of the PA from the inner to the outer monolayer of the vesicle bilayer. Conversely, when prepared in the presence of a pH gradient (interior basic), PC/PG vesicles exhibit a decreased top-phase partition, consistent with a redistribution of the PG from the outer to the inner monolayer of the vesicle bilayer. Unilamellar vesicles composed of PC and stearylamine partition to the lower dextran-rich phase of a 5%:5% (w/w) PEG 8000/Dextran T-500 phase system containing 10 mM sodium phosphate at pH 8.5, consistent with the vesicles bearing a net positive charge. When prepared in the presence of a pH gradient (interior acidic), conditions under which the stearylamine is trapped on the inner monolayer of the bilayer, the vesicles now partition predominantly to the interface in a manner similar to vesicles composed of PC alone. These results demonstrate that partitioning in aqueous two-phase polymer systems is a sensitive method for monitoring the asymmetry of charged lipids in model membrane systems and also suggests that partitioning in charge-sensitive systems depends only on the physical nature of the exterior surface of the membrane.

Kinetics↗
PubMed1989

Rapid method for the isolation of neutrophils in high yield without the use of dextran or density gradient polymers.

A simple, rapid and economical method for the isolation of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) from whole blood is compared with dextran and dextran/Lymphoprep gradient techniques. The method eliminates the use of dextran and density gradient polymers such as Ficoll which have been shown to affect PMNs adversely. The technique is based on the lysis of red cells with isotonic ammonium chloride solution followed by differential centrifugation to separate the PMNs. This method gave a PMN yield of 73% (SD +/- 3.5) and a purity of 78% (SD +/- 2.5). Both morphology and functional activity were preserved, as assessed by bacterial phagocytosis and killing, chemotaxis, polarising response, superoxide production and adherence. In contrast, the dextran and dextran/Lymphoprep techniques gave yields of 50% and 15% with purities of 78% and 91% respectively. In a series of 14 PMN isolations, the differential centrifugation method gave an average yield of 63% with an average purity of 83%.

Ammonium Chloride↗
PubMed1989

Aqueous two-phase polymer partitioning of lipid vesicles of defined size and composition.

The kinetics of the partitioning of lipid vesicles containing acidic phospholipids in aqueous two-phase polymer systems are dependent upon the vesicle size; the larger the vesicles, the more readily they absorb to the interfaces between the two polymer phases and hence are cleared from the top phase as phase separation proceeds. The partitioning of neutral lipid vesicles is principally to the bulk interface and is the same in phase systems of both low and high electrostatic potential difference between the two phases (delta psi). The incorporation of negatively charged lipids has two effects upon partition. First, vesicles with negatively charged lipids exhibit increased bottom phase partitioning in phases of low delta psi due to an enhanced wetting of the charged lipids by the lower phase. Second, the presence of a negatively charged group on the vesicle surface results in increased partition to the interface and top phase in phase systems of high delta psi. Differences observed in the partition of vesicles containing various species of negatively charged lipid thus reflect a competition between these two opposing factors.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1989

Systemic bacillus-Calmette Guerin infection after transurethral administration for superficial bladder carcinoma.

It is well known that intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy is a safe and effective treatment for superficial bladder carcinoma with few serious complications. However, we report a case of pneumonitis, hepatitis, azotemia, fever and pancytopenia in a patient after transurethral administration of bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Even though severe systemic complications are rare, patients who have high fevers of signs of other systemic manifestations require documentation of the extent of the infection. Also, we address the use of prophylactic antituberculous drugs, not only to prevent these symptoms but also to raise the questions of diminishing the immunological effect of the treatment.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed1989

The use of arcade gambling machines: demographic characteristics of users and patterns of use.

Despite public concern that young people may become addicted to gambling machines, little empirical data exists on the use of such machines. In the present study, machine users were selected from seven arcades in the Liverpool area and interviewed about their machine using behaviour. Users were of all age groups and came from all occupational classes, although a sizeable minority were young males. Multivariate analysis revealed a cluster of variables, including frequency of visiting arcades, time spent on each visit, amount spent, and overspending, which seemed to indicate habitual machine use. However, there was no clear dividing line between controlled and excessive machine use. Moreover, habitual machine use was not significantly related to length of history of use or perceived luck.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Isolation and sequence of a cDNA clone of beta-nerve growth factor from the guinea pig prostate gland.

The guinea pig prostate gland contains high levels of nerve growth factor similarly to the mouse submandibular gland. Nerve growth factor from the guinea pig prostate gland cross-reacts weakly with antisera directed against mouse nerve growth factor, is associated with different proteins, and may be processed by a different mechanism. We have isolated a full-length cDNA clone for nerve growth factor from a library prepared from RNA of the guinea pig prostate gland. The guinea pig cDNA contains 1,075 nucleotides and is very similar to the shorter of two predominant nerve growth factor transcripts present in the mouse submandibular gland. The cDNA sequence predicts a precursor protein of 241 amino acids that is 86% identical to the mouse amino acid sequence. Only 10 amino acid changes are present in the C-terminal region corresponding to the mature 118 amino acid beta-nerve growth factor of the mouse. Dibasic amino acid processing sites that are present at the N- and C-termini of the mature protein sequence and two other dibasic amino acid sites, representing potential processing sites within the propeptide, are all conserved, suggesting a similar mechanism of processing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Quality assurance and the AIDS patient.

Use of this audit tool has been demonstrated to be effective in evaluating the quality of home care for patients with AIDS. It has been effective in identifying home visiting staff's strengths and weaknesses in their provision of care. The information obtained from the audit will identify areas for staff development, which will provide direction for management in meeting the educational and training needs of its home visiting staff. Knowledgeable and competent staff provide the fundamental basis for assuring that a safe and efficient level of quality care is provided. Standard criteria that measure staff performance provide feedback on the types of resources that may be required for AIDS patients. This has implications for future planning of services to a population of patients that is expected to increase. Finally, having an evaluation tool with standard criteria will provide some insight on the level of staff's adherence to the agency's written policies and procedures, which is equally important when evaluating the level of quality care.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗