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Biomedical subjects

D Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to D Phillips.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Immunohistochemistry of the blood group A,B,H isoantigens and Oxford Ca antigen as prognostic markers for stage IB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.

Currently, there is lack of a histologic classification of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix that correlates significantly with patient survival. This study investigated the survival predictive value of two immunohistochemical markers, the blood group A,B,H isoantigens and the Oxford Ca antigen, on conventional histologic sections of tumor tissues from 85 surgically treated patients with Stage IB squamous cell cervical cancer. The results indicated that the two antigens are two distinct markers, neither of which correlates with tumor grade. The expression of the A,B,H isoantigens is significantly related to patient survival after adjustment for the depth of stromal invasion of the tumor, whereas the Oxford Ca antigen has no survival predictive value.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

Malignant transformation of NIH-3T3 and CV-1 cells by a helical mycoplasma, Spiroplasma mirum, strain SMCA.

A helical mycoplasma, Spiroplasma mirum strain SMCA, produced malignant transformation in mouse NIH 3T3 cells and monkey kidney CV-1 cells. The transformed cells exhibited morphological changes consistent with the transformed phenotype, grew in soft agar and produced tumors in athymic and BALB/c mice. Transmission electron microscopy revealed structures morphologically similar to mycoplasmas present in the cytoplasm of transformed but not untransformed 3T3 cells. The time of inoculation of S. mirum SMCA to 3T3 cells and the passage level of 3T3 cells affected transformation.

Animals↗

Treatment of acute mesenteric ischemia by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

A 79-yr-old man with previously documented atherosclerotic vascular disease presented with acute abdominal pain, signs of peritoneal irritation, and guaiac-positive stool. A mesenteric arteriogram showed high-grade stenosis of the superior mesenteric artery with a pressure gradient of 70 mmHg and complete occlusion of the inferior mesenteric artery. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the superior mesenteric artery was performed with immediate reduction of the pressure gradient, increase in vessel caliber, and relief of abdominal pain. The patient went on to complete recovery and remains pain-free 6 mo after discharge from the hospital. To our knowledge, this is the first report of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty used to treat acute mesenteric ischemia.

Acute Disease↗

Phalangeal osteochondroma: an unusual cause of swan-neck deformity.

A 4-year-old child with a proximal phalangeal osteochondroma of the index finger presented with a rigid swan-neck deformity. The dorsal apparatus overlying the tumor was stretched, causing increased tension on the central slip and thus hypertension of the proximal interphalangeal joint. Excision of the tumor resulted in complete restoration of digital motion.

Bone Neoplasms↗

Cell uptake, distribution and response to aluminium chloro sulphonated phthalocyanine, a potential anti-tumour photosensitizer.

The uptake, retention and effects of aluminium chloro sulphonated phthalocyanine (AlSPc) were measured in two cell lines, UV-2237 a murine fibrosarcoma and the non-tumorigenic NIH/3T3 fibroblast line. The behaviour of cells treated with AlSPc was compared with that of those treated with haematoporphyrin derivative (HpD), a photosensitizer often used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. AlSPc absorbs light strongly in the red region, is taken up by cells in a dose dependent fashion and is retained in vitro over a period of days (5 days after exposure greater than 40% remains cell-associated versus less than 25% of HpD). Additionally AlSPc was less cytotoxic to cells, maintained in darkness or exposed to room light, compared to HpD (100% viability versus 0% viability 3 days after 60 min exposure to room light). However red light (approximately 600-700 nm) caused greater toxicity in AlSPc-treated cells (100%) than in similarly exposed HpD-treated cells (less than 60%). No significant differences were detected between the responses of the fibrosarcoma and the fibroblast cell lines. These characteristics of AlSPc suggest that it may prove to be a useful photosensitizer for PDT of cancer and this possibility is discussed.

Animals↗

Controlled trial of thyrotropin releasing hormone in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A double-blind controlled trial of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) 150 mg IM daily in 30 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is reported. The drug/placebo was administered for 2 months, followed by a 2-month "wash-out". Evaluation of strength, functional ability, and respiratory functions was performed. A temporary increase in the strength of some muscles was detected following the administration of TRH, but no change in functional performance was noted. Neither the patients nor the investigators believed the effects were of any marked clinical significance. The course of the illness was not altered.

Adult↗

Vinblastine plus cisplatin in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: lack of advantage for vinblastine infusion schedule.

We have evaluated 31 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated by short-term 5-day vinblastine infusion combined with bolus cisplatin. Nine of 31 patients (29%) had partial and complete responses. Although five of nine (55%) of the responders were alive at greater than or equal to 1 year, three of the 31 patients experienced drug-related mortality. Our experience, as well as a review of previously reported trials in the literature, suggests that the infusion schedule of vinblastine offers no advantage over the bolus schedule.

Adenocarcinoma↗

5-Fluorouracil and methotrexate administered simultaneously as a continuous infusion. A phase I study.

Infusion delivery systems have been evaluated for administration of many individual chemotherapeutic agents including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and methotrexate (MTX). This study combined the two drugs as an admixture, and in a Phase I trial design established a useful dose schedule for each of the component drugs. 5-FU at a fixed dose rate of 300 mg/M2/day was delivered with methotrexate (MTX) at four different dose rates (0.75, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 mg/M2/day, respectively). The drug solution was delivered via a subclavian venous access with a portable infusion pump in an ambulatory setting. Twenty-nine patients received a total of 38 courses of the two-drug infusion: 21 courses were delivered with the two agents admixed constantly throughout treatment (Schedule A) and 17 were administered the treatment with 5-FU delivered continuously and MTX added to the 5-FU for alternate 14-day cycles (Schedule B). For the former schedule, dose-rate-limiting toxicity was related to MTX and included stomatitis developing at days 8 to 14 (median, day 8) with the higher dose rates (1.5-2.0 mg/M2/day) and thrombocytopenia developing at days 11 to 56 (median, day 14) at the lowest dose rates (1.0 mg/M2/day). For Schedule B, dose-rate-limiting toxicity was similarly due to the MTX with thrombocytopenia and/or chemical hepatitis developing in six of seven courses of MTX at 1.0 mg/M2/day and in five of ten courses delivered at 0.75 mg/M2/day. On Schedule B the MTX-associated toxicities were reversed when the MTX administration was interrupted and in the face of continued 5-FU infusion. A reasonable dose rate and schedule for continuous infusion of 5-FU combined with MTX is: 5-FU 300 mg/M2/day X 28 days and MTX 0.75 mg/M2/day for days 1 to 14, with cycles administered consecutively each 28 days.

Adult↗

Solvent relaxation in lipid bilayers with dansyl probes.

The solvent relaxation properties of the dansyl group attached to two lipids (dansylphosphatidylethanolamine and dansylphosphatidylserine), a fatty acid (dansylundecanoic acid), and two drugs (dansylbenzocaine and dansylpropranolol) were compared in a variety of different lipid systems. Several methods for characterising solvent relaxation were compared in detail for dansylpropranolol in bilayer vesicles of egg phosphatidylcholine. It was shown that the relaxation process is non-monoexponential; nevertheless, for comparative purposes, a model was adopted in which the lifetime associated with the negative exponent in a two exponential decay analysis, obtained at a particular energy on the red edge of emission, was taken as an approximation to a 'solvent relaxation' rate. A negative exponent, indicative of solvent relaxation processes, occurring in the nanosecond time-scale, was found only for dansylpropranolol, dansylPE and dansylundecanoic acid. On addition of the spin probe, 5-doxylstearate, the negative exponent was unaffected in liquid-crystalline phase lipids but was no longer found in gel-phase lipid in the case of dansylpropranolol, while for dansylPE the relaxation time was reduced. On the basis of these types of measurement it was possible to distinguish between different lipid environments using the same probe or between different dansyl environments of the different probes in the same lipid in cases where this would have been difficult or impossible solely on the basis of steady-state or fluorescence lifetime measurements.

Dansyl Compounds↗

Chlamydia trachomatis infection at a family planning clinic.

Endocervical samples were taken for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis from 500 consecutive patients attending a family planning clinic. The Microtrak direct specimen immunofluorescence test was used. Swabs from 79 patients (15.8%) were positive for chlamydia. Seventy-one (95%) of these patients were symptom free, and 39.8% were under 20 years old. Twenty-one patients were pregnant, seven (33%) had chlamydia. Those positive for chlamydia had twice the frequency of abnormal smears and other sexually transmitted infections as those who were negative. Contraceptive use was similar except that intrauterine devices were used less frequently by patients with chlamydia infection. This report indicates the frequent occurrence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in New Zealand and that newly developed methods of diagnosis enable us to identify and treat those with this infection. Characteristically these patients are under 20, have multiple partners and a high incidence of abnormal smears and other sexually transmitted infections.

Adolescent↗

Natural experiments and the educational context: the environment and effects of an alternative inner-city public school on adolescents.

The 1-year impact of attending a public alternative high school on two cohorts of adolescents who gained entrance to the school through a lottery was studied. Adolescents who had applied to the school but were not selected in the lottery served as a control group. The nature of the alternative high school environment is described, and the outcome of this natural experiment defined in terms of reactions to school, attitude change, and student achievement. In general, the alternative school positively affected student satisfaction with a variety of aspects of school life and induced some positive change in interracial attitudes while not harming student achievement. Race effects were found in the areas of achievement and interracial attitudes. Implications for the study of natural experiments in general and the specific data in particular are drawn.

Achievement↗

Neuromuscular adaptation of craniofacial muscles to altered oral sensation.

Experimentally induced changes in oral sensation to the tongue altered the use of specific craniofacial muscles. An acrylic wedge was anchored to the maxillary teeth of ten adult rhesus monkeys, providing a tactile-pressure sensation to the dorsal surface of the tongue. Fifteen craniofacial and tongue muscles were studied by electromyography during the first 6 months of adaptation. The results showed that there was an overall shift in those muscles that were normally tonically active in the craniofacial region. Muscles of the suprahyoid region, the geniohyoid and digastric, as well as the platysma muscle of the face, and the lateral pterygoid muscle were tonically active in more animals after placement of the wedge. In contrast to the enhanced activity of mandibular and facial muscles that function during mandibular depression, only the anterior temporalis muscle in the superficial and deep region demonstrated more tonic activity. The superficial and deep masseter regions, as well as the medial pterygoid muscle, demonstrated no change in their EMG activity. Only the lip muscles and mentalis demonstrated increased activity, whereas the facial muscles with more vertically oriented fibers did not demonstrate any increased activity. These findings suggest that a change in the tactile stimulation to the tongue can induce a new balance in the level of activity of specific craniofacial muscles and that this altered neuromuscular pattern can remain throughout the first 6 months of adaptation.

Adaptation, Physiological↗