A plasma lactic dehydrogenase-elevating virus associated with scrapie-infected mice.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D H Adams.
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1. In the rat cerebral cortex net DNA synthesis ceases when the animal has reached about 25g. body weight (18 days of age). There is then little further change in the DNA content per cortex. 2. Nuclear and transfer RNA follow a similar pattern to DNA. 3. Microsomal and ribosomal RNA content increases up to 25g. body weight but then declines. The decrease in ribosomal and microsomal RNA content is associated with a change in RNA base composition. 4. Incorporation of [(14)C]orotic acid into nuclear RNA proceeds at a similar rate in 4-day-old and adult animals. However, there is a lag period of about 60min. in the young animals during which incorporation into the ribosome fractions proceeds slowly. In the adult animals the lag period is not seen.
1. A study has been made of the ability of cerebral microsome-cell sap systems, taken from rats at various ages, to incorporate [(14)C]valine. 2. The systems appear to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics when cell sap is considered as substrate, microsomes as enzyme and total counts/mg. of microsomal protein as a measure of reaction velocity. 3. Reproducible ;affinity constant' values are obtained, and the system from 4-day-old rats has a higher V(max.) and affinity constant than the system from adult rats. 4. It is suggested the the amino acid-incorporating ability of different systems may be compared by this means.
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beta 2-Microglobulin, which is associated with HLA class 1 antigens, was assayed in bile and serum from 19 patients following 22 liver transplants. Serum levels were elevated in all posttransplant patients irrespective of the presence of rejection. In contrast, biliary levels were significantly higher during episodes of acute rejection compared with posttransplant cholangitis (p less than 0.01), stable graft function (p less than 0.0001) and nontransplant samples (p less than 0.0001). When bile/serum ratios were studied, the difference between the rejection and the other groups was even more significant, and if a ratio of 0.2 was considered diagnostic of rejection, the test had a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 87% with an accuracy of 90%. Therefore, these results suggest that the measurement of bile/serum ratios of beta 2-microglobulin following liver transplantation may be useful in diagnosing acute rejection. When bile/serum ratios of beta 2-microglobulin were compared with those for other proteins, there was strong evidence to suggest that local release accounted for most of the increased biliary beta 2-microglobulin during rejection. These results provide further evidence that HLA class 1 antigens on the biliary epithelium may be important in liver allograft rejection.
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On theoretical grounds we propose that the essential step in the development of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) after measles virus infection involves a reverse transcriptase-mediated change to a DNA form, probably brought about by co-infection with a leukovirus at a critical point in time. We further suggest that this new DNA then replicates either as the core of a new slow virus or as a membrane-attached viroid exhibiting a form of non-structural integration with host cell DNA resembling that found with the herpes viruses.
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We review our experience with minimally invasive direct access (MIDA) heart valve surgery in 518 patients. Two hundred fifty-two patients underwent MIDA aortic valve replacement (AVR) or repair and 266 underwent MIDA mitral valve repair or replacement. Among the 250 AVRs, 157 (63%) were men, aged 63.2 +/- 14.6 years, NYHA functional Class 2.4 +/- 0.8. The surgical approach was right parasternal in 36 (14%) or upper hemisternotomy in 216 (86%). There were four (2%) operative deaths. Perioperative complications included 14 (5.6%) reexplorations for bleeding, 7 (3%) chest wound infections, 5 (2%) strokes, and 1 (0.4%) external iliac vein injury. Follow-up was complete in 193 (77%) patients, with a mean follow-up of 12 +/- 8 months. Late complications included 2 (0.8%) nonfatal myocardial infarctions, 4 (2%) reoperations for, respectively, 2 pericardial complications, 1 paravalvar leak, and 1 infected valve. There were five (2%) late deaths from congestive heart failure, pneumonia, hemorrhage, aneurysm, and cancer. Mean follow-up NYHA Class was 1.4 +/- 0.6. For the 266 mitral patients, 145 (54.5%) were men, age 58.7 +/- 13.6 years, functional Class 2.3 +/- 0.5. The surgical approach was right parasternal in 195 (73%), lower hemisternotomy in 53 (20%), right submammary thoracotomy in 9 (3.4%), or full sternotomy through a small skin incision in 9 (3.4%). There were 2 (0.8%) operative deaths. Perioperative complications included 4 (1.5%) reoperations for bleeding, 4 (1.5%) strokes, and 5 (2%) wound infections, and 3 (1%) ascending aortic complications. Follow-up was complete in 202 (76%) patients with a mean follow-up of 9.5 +/- 6.4 months. Late complications included one (0.4%) nonfatal myocardial infarction and three (1%) reoperations all converting repairs to replacements. There were three (1%) late deaths from suicide, pneumonia, and sudden death, respectively. Mean follow-up NYHA functional Class was 1.3 +/- 0.5. We conclude that MIDA heart valve surgery is safe and effective for the majority of patients requiring isolated elective aortic or mitral valve surgery.
An increasing number of patients are being referred for mitral valve repair in the redo cardiac surgery setting. The most common clinical scenarios involve prior coronary bypass surgery or aortic valve replacement, each presenting special challenges in terms of gaining valve exposure to enable repair while limiting dissection as much as possible. A right anterior thoracotomy approach is preferred in most patients, coupled with hypothermic fibrillatory arrest. A repeat sternotomy may be favored in select circumstances such as when there is a need for bypass grafting or moderate aortic insufficiency is present. Special attention to cannulation techniques, perfusion conditions, valve exposure, and de-airing maneuvers are all important to ensure good clinical results. Using a tailored approach we have performed mitral valve repair in 22 patients with a patent left internal mammary artery graft following coronary artery bypass grafting between July 1992 and February 2000 with acceptable morbidity and low mortality.
BACKGROUND: Expansion of the donor pool and liberalization of recipient criteria have occurred since the introduction of cyclosporine for heart transplantation. METHODS: We sought to evaluate the impact of these changes on outcome during a 10-year period in one program. A total of 251 transplantations were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two periods (1984 to 1989 and 1990 to 1994). RESULTS: In the latter period, there were increases in donor and recipient age, degree of weight mismatch, ischemic time, bypass time, and severity of illness in the recipient before transplantation as judged by status at the time of transplantation and preoperative requirements for pharmacologic or mechanical support. Despite these changes, time to hospital discharge decreased and a trend to improved survival was seen with the use of Kaplan-Meier analysis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that improvements in perioperative and posttransplantation care have permitted a safe expansion of both the donor pool and recipient criteria for transplantation.
BACKGROUND: The presence of significant elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance is a major risk factor for death after orthotopic heart transplantation. The choice of procedure for the pediatric patient remains contentious. METHODS: We report three pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension and raised pulmonary resistance, including two infants, in whom heterotopic transplantation was performed with smaller donor hearts. The hearts were anastomosed to provide left ventricular support alone because predominant left ventricular failure was present, the pulmonary resistance was expected to fall gradually after surgery, and we wished to avoid the potential problems of a pulmonary conduit associated with growth and possible reoperation. RESULTS: The clinical results have been satisfactory in all three patients, who were well and without symptoms. No pulmonary compromise was observed in the smaller thoracic cavity of the two infants. The transpulmonary gradient fell in all three patients, although this reduction was not immediate. CONCLUSIONS: This technique in carefully selected recipients can allow safer transplantation in pediatric patients with elevated pulmonary resistance, can increase the donor pool by allowing use of smaller hearts and nonideal donors, and may reduce the mortality on the transplant waiting list by providing earlier transplantation.
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