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Biomedical subjects

D Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to D Robinson.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Effects of provocation and alcohol on human aggressive behavior.

Effects of provoking stimuli on human aggressive behavior and on the relationship between alcohol and aggressive behavior were measured. Four adult males manipulated pushbuttons that produced points on their own counters (redeemable for money) or ostensibly subtracted points (money) from the counters of fictitious persons described as participating in the same study at other locations. During five 10-min components, frequency and intensity of point subtractions, ostensibly controlled by another person, were manipulated. Each subject was repeatedly exposed to alcohol doses (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg of 95% ethanol) over time using a repeated measures design. Aggressive responding was affected by provocation intensity and frequency. The highest dose of alcohol produced selective increases in aggressive responding; however, no interactions between alcohol effects and provocation conditions were observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Detection of alcohol-induced fatty liver by computerized tomography.

Computerized tomographic (CT) scanning of the liver was undertaken in 17 occasional and 19 heavy drinkers undergoing health screening. The median attenuation value of the liver (CT number) in occasional drinkers with normal liver function tests was 54.4 compared with 25.9 in the heavy drinkers (P less than 0.001). Fourteen of the heavy drinkers had a CT number below the lowest value observed in occasional drinkers with normal liver function, indicating reduced liver density due to fatty change. Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was normal in 36% of these individuals. A rise in CT number was observed in 4 out of 5 heavy drinkers who underwent a second scan after decreasing their alcohol consumption. These findings suggest that CT scanning provides a noninvasive and convenient method of screening for a fatty liver, which occurred to a variable degree in over 70% of the men who admitted to regularly taking 8 or more alcoholic drinks per day.

Fatty Liver, Alcoholic↗
PubMed1988

Pigmented villonodular synovitis of the talus in a child.

An unusual case of localized pigmented villonodular synovitis of the ankle joint in a 3-year-old boy is described. The child was brought to the hospital because of abrupt onset of pain and joint effusion. A soft tissue mass eroding the talar dome was seen in roentgenograms. Exact diagnosis was established by excisional biopsy. Curettage of the lesion resulted in healing without recurrence at 10-year follow-up examination.

Ankle Joint↗
PubMed1988

Chronic opioid treatment of intractable, non-malignant pain.

There is a sub-group of patients with non-malignant medical conditions who have severe, intractable pain and who require chronic opioid administration for adequate pain control. Reported here is a systematic clinical evaluation of 52 such patients who were referred after they had failed numerous, non-opioid pain treatments. Major causes of pain were irreversible degenerative and/or traumatic injuries to the musculoskeletal system. A variety of opioids in high daily dosages were required to achieve adequate pain control in these patients. Once pain relief was achieved, patients did not escalate their dosage, and they were able to maintain pain relief for long time periods. Although opioids produced dependence in all patients and complications of constipation and edema in about one third, high daily opioid dosage treatment appeared to be the only medical means to achieve adequate pain control in these subjects. We conclude that opioid maintenance should be utilized as a last resort treatment in patients who fail other pain treatments.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The safety and usefulness of buspirone as an anxiolytic drug in elderly versus young patients.

Buspirone, the prototype of the new azaspirodecanedione series of antianxiety drugs, was studied in over 6,000 patients in an open, multicenter trial to confirm its safety and usefulness for anxiety in a typical medical practice setting. Non-psychotic patients with clinically manifest anxiety that required anxiolytic drug therapy were enrolled to receive four weeks of treatment with a fixed dose of buspirone (15 mg/day). Patient data were analyzed according to age: the elderly group comprised 605 patients aged 65 years or older, and the younger group included 5,969 patients less than 65 years old. Both the elderly and younger patients achieved similar relief of anxiety within four weeks based on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and global assessments of improvement. Most patients (80%) in both groups reported no side effects. Further, the side effect profile in the elderly differed little from that in the younger patients. Overall, the data indicate that buspirone may be administered to patients aged 65 years or older without any special adjustment in dose, does not cause unusual adverse age-related phenomena, and relieves moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety in elderly patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Properties of a plasma membrane-associated cathepsin B-like cysteine proteinase in metastatic B16 melanoma variants.

Activities of a cathepsin B-like cysteine proteinase have previously been observed to correlate with the malignancy of several animal and human tumors. Plasma membrane fractions of some of these tumors have been found to be enriched in cathepsin B-like activity. We have determined the subcellular distribution of this enzyme and three additional lysosomal hydrolases (cathepsin H, beta-hexosaminidase, and beta-glucuronidase) in normal murine liver and six metastatic variants of the B16 melanoma. The tissues were fractionated initially by differential centrifugation followed by Percoll density gradient centrifugation of the light mitochondrial fraction. Two fractions were obtained: an L-2 fraction enriched in all four lysosomal hydrolases; and an L-1 fraction enriched in a marker enzyme for the plasma membrane. Cathepsin B-like and beta-hexosaminidase activities, but not the other hydrolase activities, were also found to be enriched in the L-1 fractions of the metastatic B16 tumors. We explored the nature of the association of the cathepsin B-like activity with the plasma membrane using fractions from the spontaneously metastatic B16 amelanotic melanoma. Activity could not be dissociated from the plasma membrane fraction by washing with a physiological salt solution suggesting that it was not adsorbed to this fraction nonspecifically, nor could it be displaced by mannose 6-phosphate or other sugars which compete for binding to the known lysosomal receptors. High salt concentrations, low concentrations of the mild detergent saponin, mild acidification, or phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C did not elute the cathepsin B-like activity. However, activity was eluted by exposure to 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate, a detergent used in the purification of integral membrane proteins. The B16 amelanotic melanoma plasma membrane-associated cathepsin B-like activity had a slightly higher pH optimum and was resistant to inactivation by neutral pH and to inhibition by three low molecular weight inhibitors of cysteine proteinases. The Ki values for inhibition by leupeptin and stefin A were 20-fold higher. The presence of a cathepsin B-like cysteine proteinase at the surface of metastatic tumor cells, particularly in a form which can retain activity at physiological pH and retain activity in the presence of extracellular proteinase inhibitors, may contribute to the focal dissolution of the extracellular matrix observed at sites of contact with invading tumor cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Cloning and sequence analysis of the human brain beta-adrenergic receptor. Evolutionary relationship to rodent and avian beta-receptors and porcine muscarinic receptors.

Two cDNA clones, lambda-CLFV-108 and lambda-CLFV-119, encoding for the beta-adrenergic receptor, have been isolated from a human brain stem cDNA library. One human genomic clone, LCV-517 (20 kb), was characterized by restriction mapping and partial sequencing. The human brain beta-receptor consists of 413 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 46480. The gene contains three potential glucocorticoid receptor-binding sites. The beta-receptor expressed in human brain was homology with rodent (88%) and avian (52%) beta-receptors and with porcine muscarinic cholinergic receptors (31%), supporting our proposal [(1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 272 276] that adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors are structurally related. This represents the first cloning of a neurotransmitter receptor gene from human brain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

The clinical picture of major depression in children and adolescents.

Symptom frequency and severity were compared in two sequential clinically referred samples of 95 children and 92 adolescents, aged 6 to 18 years, all medically healthy, assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Present Episode, who met unmodified Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the majority of depressive symptoms. However, prepubertal children had greater depressed appearance, somatic complaints, psychomotor agitation, separation anxiety, phobias, and hallucinations, whereas adolescents had greater anhedonia, hopelessness, hypersomnia, weight change, use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and lethality of suicide attempt, but not severity of suicidal ideation or intent. Adolescents with a duration of the depressive episode of two years or greater had significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation and intent, lethality, and number of suicide attempts than youngsters with depressive episodes of shorter duration. A principal components factor analysis of psychiatric symptoms was carried out in all 296 youngsters evaluated during the same period who met DSM-III criteria for any Axis I diagnosis. The majority had an affective disorder. Factors were quite similar for both adolescents and children and included an "endogenous" and an "anxious" factor, as in many studies of adult depression. In addition, three other factors were found: negative cognitions, appetite and weight changes, and a conduct factor. Suicidal ideation was a component of both the negative cognitions factor and the conduct factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Effects of d-amphetamine on aggressive responding of normal male subjects.

Male research subjects were administered placebo and three doses of d-amphetamine (5, 10, and 20 mg/70 kg of body weight) under double-blind conditions in a laboratory situation that provided both aggressive and nonaggressive response options. The nonaggressive response was button pressing maintained by the presentation of points which were exchanged for money. The aggressive response was button pressing on a separate manipulandum which ostensibly subtracted points from a fictitious person. Aggressive responding was initially established by subtracting points from the research subjects, which was attributed to the other person. d-Amphetamine increased nonaggressive responding, while aggressive responding was generally decreased.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A geographical analysis of the relationship between early childhood death and socio-economic environment in an English city.

The relationship between early childhood death and socio-economic conditions was studied by obtaining the home address, at the time of death, of 254 infants and children between the ages of 0 to 5 years who died within the City of Southampton, England, between 1977 and 1982. The addresses were grouped into 142 'super-enumeration' districts formed by combining enumeration districts with similar socio-economic characteristics. These 'super-enumeration' districts were then categorised into 15 cluster types which highlighted the major social characteristics of the areas within Southampton. The number of deaths for each cluster type was then ascertained. A strong relationship was found to exist between high rates of early childhood death and cluster types displaying adverse social conditions--in particular, high levels of unemployment, single-parent families and poor housing amenities. It is suggested that the approach taken by this study might be one way of pinpointing areas of cities where a disproportionately large number of babies and young children die. It might then be possible by a combined and concerted effort on the part of the medical profession, nurses, health visitors, social workers and local authority to save at least some very young babies and children who might otherwise die.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1987

Hypotensive effect of bromocriptine in normal eyes.

The effect of a single oral dose of 2.5 mg Bromocriptine on intraocular pressure over a 12 hour period in a group of 20 puerperal women with normal eyes, is reported. Intraocular pressure was significantly reduced, the maximal response being 3-4 hours after administration. Possible explanations for the reducing effect of Bromocriptine on intraocular pressure are discussed.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1987

Hypotensive effect of bromocriptine in glaucomatous eyes.

The effect of a single oral dose of 2.5 mg bromocriptine on intraocular pressure in 20 glaucoma patients is reported. Intraocular pressure was significantly reduced (31%), the maximal response being after 4-6 hours. A decrease in blood pressure was also noticed, maximal reduction (5%) at 4 hours. Three patients experienced nausea and dizziness. Possibly the reducing effect of bromocriptine on intraocular pressure is mediated by the stimulation of intraocular dopamine receptors (DA2).

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1987

Choroideremia associated with a subretinal neovascular membrane. Case report.

Choroideremia is a sex-linked chorioretinal degenerative disease, with affected male patients developing diffuse chorioretinal atrophy and female carriers, in most instances, showing only pigmentary changes with normal vision. Visual acuity in male patients has been reported to be unaffected until late in the course of the disease, only after the visual fields are greatly reduced. This is a case report of a 14-year-old boy with choroideremia who had decreased visual acuity secondary to a subretinal neovascular membrane in the macula of his right eye. This is the first report of choroidal neovascularization associated with this disease.

Adolescent↗