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Biomedical subjects

D Shedd

Publications and source records attributed to D Shedd.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Use of cloned probes to detect Epstein-Barr viral DNA in tissues of patients with neoplastic and lymphoproliferative diseases.

Cloned fragments of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome were used to examine tissues from 145 patients for the presence of EBV DNA by two techniques: (1) nucleic acid hybridization of cell spots from which the DNA had been extracted in situ and (2) hybridization of DNA that had been transferred to nitrocellulose by Southern blotting. EBV DNA was found in tissues from four adults and five children with American Burkitt's lymphoma, infectious mononucleosis, lymphoma following bone marrow transplant, central nervous system lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and fatal polyclonal B-cell lymphoma following mononucleosis; two patients also had chronic pneumonitis, failure to thrive, and abnormal immune function. Six of the nine patients whose tissues contained EBV DNA had a demonstrable or presumed associated immunologic disorder. EBV DNA was not found in normal tissues or in a variety of hematologic neoplasms and other disorders. Nucleic acid hybridization methods can be used for the routine examination of the association of EBV with lymphomas and other lymphoproliferative syndromes occurring in immunodeficient individuals.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Association between primary hyperparathyroidism and previous irradiation.

The association between primary hyperparathyroidism and previous irradiation was investigated in two study groups. Among 36 patients with hyperparathyroidism, 4 (11%) knew of having received radiation therapy. In the second group of 323 patients with a history of radiation exposure and nodular thyroid disease, 4 (1%), thus far, were found to have hyperparathyroidism.

Acne Vulgaris↗

Automatic encoding of clinical narrative.

An experiment in the automatic encoding of English-language medical data is described. The encoding program has two stages. First, the free-text input is parsed and the information is arranged in a tabular format by a general-purpose natural language processor developed at New York University. Then a simple code-dependent subprogram assigns numerical values to the entries on the basis of the positions the input words occupy in the information format. Results of a blind test of the encoding program using the code employed at Roswell Park Memorial Institute for earliest symptoms of head-neck cancer are presented.

Data Collection↗

Stable expression in mouse cells of nuclear neoantigen after transfer of a 3.4-megadalton cloned fragment of Epstein-Barr virus DNA.

All cells that harbor the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome contain a neoantigen in the nucleus (EBNA). By transfection we located a segment of the genome that encodes or induces an antigen serologically related to EBNA. The responsible genes are found in the 3.4-megaldalton BamHI fragment K of EBV DNA, specifically in the left 1.9 megadaltons represented by HindIII fragment I1. Mouse LTK- cells were cotransformed with recombinant plasmids, containing the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene and either EcoRI fragment B or BamHI fragment of K of EBV DNA. The TK+ cells surviving in selective medium were cloned. About 50% of the clones expressed the neoantigen in every nucleus. These mouse cells were used as antigens in immunofluorescence tests. Antibody to the nuclear antigen was found in 30 human sera known to contain antibody to EBNA; it was not detected in 18 sera that did not have antibody to EBNA. Mouse cells expressing EBNA as the result of acquisition of cloned EBV DNA fragments should prove useful in the characterization of the structure of this antigen and as reagents for the diagnosis of EBV infections.

Animals↗

Dietary factors in the epidemiology of cancer of the larynx.

Interviews were carried out with 374 male patients at Roswell Park Memorial Institute with cancer of the larynx and 381 controls with diseases other than of the digestive or respiratory system and other than neoplasms. As have other investigators, the authors found a high risk associated with smoking as well as a risk associated with alcohol ingestion. In addition, the study found that males ingesting low amounts of vitamin A in their diet had approximately twice the risk of those ingesting large amounts. The same was true for vitamin C. All of these relationships were significant, and risk increased in dose-response fashion with decreases in ingestion of the above-mentioned dietary constituents. When the risks associated with vitamins A and C were examined controlling for smoking and drinking, the risk enhancement associated with low ingestion persisted. The findings on nutrients are consistent with results of studies on animals and tissue cultures. Nevertheless, the sparse epidemiologic replication, the difficulties with the methods, and the complexity of the field demand substantial further inquiry on these relationships.

Alcohol Drinking↗

Expression of Epstein-Barr viral early antigen in monolayer tissue cultures after transfection with viral DNA and DNA fragments.

Antigens associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replicative cycle were found in the nucleus and cytoplasm of human placental, Vero, BSC-1, and owl monkey kidney cells transfected with EBV DNA prepared from several different strains of virus. The number of antigen-positive nuclei increased when transfection was followed by cell fusion induced by inactivated Sendai virus. About 1,200 antigen-positive foci were induced per micrograms of EBV DNA. On the basis of their reactivity with various well-characterized human sera, it appears that the antigens are part of the early antigen complex. None of the four restriction endonucleases, EcoRI, HindIII, SalI, and BamHI, destroyed the ability of EBV DNA to induce early antigen. However, only SalI seemed to leave intact the full spectrum of antigen expression by the HR-1 and FF41 strains of EBV DNA. By means of transfection with recombinant DNA plasmids containing different EBV (FF41) DNA fragments regenerated by EcoRI, we showed that the coding region for early antigen was at least partially contained on the 17.2-megadalton EcoRI B fragment.

Animals↗

Dentition, diet, tobacco, and alcohol in the epidemiology of oral cancer.

Interview and dental examination data were gathered on 584 males with cancer of the oral cavity and on 1,222 control patients with nonneoplastic diseases at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York. No dietary characteristics distinguished cancer patients from controls. However, a higher risk of developing oral cancer was associated with heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and poor dentition. When controlled for the other factors, each factor carried a higher risk. Moreover, heavy smokers and heavy drinkers with poor dentition and males with all three traits had a substantially higher risk than would have been expected, if the traits were considered additively. The risk for males with all three traits was 7.7 times that of men with none of these traits.

Alcohol Drinking↗

Further appraisal of reed-fistula speech following pharyngolaryngectomy.

Patients who undergo extensive resection of the pharynx along with laryngectomy usually are not able to develop esophageal speech. Since 1971 we have been working on a method for speech rehabilitation for these patients, which utilizes sound from a reed powered by tracheal air outflow. The sound is led into the pharynx via a fistula. Ten patients have been so managed, and six are now using this method of communication with satisfactory results. Preliminary studies on one patient indicated that his speech quality was judged to be superior to that produced by an excellent esophageal speaker. Efforts are continuing to study further the acoustical and perceptual properties of this form of speech and to improve further the method.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Speech and swallowing function after oral and oropharyngeal resections: one-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the speech and swallowing function of surgically treated oral cancer patients improves between 1 month and 1 year after surgery. METHODS: Speech and swallowing performances were assessed for 28 men and 10 women preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively following a standardized protocol. Speech tasks included an audio recording of a brief conversation and of a standard articulation test; swallowing function was examined using videofluoroscopy. Data were also collected on the number and duration of speech/swallowing therapy sessions, as well as the amount and duration of radiotherapy. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed that the speech and swallowing function of surgically treated oral and oropharyngeal cancer patients did not improve progressively between 1 and 12 months postsurgery; the level of functioning that these patients demonstrated at the 1- and 3-month posthealing evaluations was characteristic of their status at 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSION: The lack of improvement between 1 and 12 months postsurgery may be related to the relatively small amount of therapy that these patients received during that period. Several outcome variables worsened significantly at the 6-month evaluation; the reversal of function at the 6-month evaluation point could be the effect of postoperative radiotherapy, because irradiated and nonirradiated patients differed in their pattern of recovery on oropharyngeal swallow efficiency and several speech variables.

Analysis of Variance↗

Aspergillosis of the nose and paranasal sinuses in neutropenic patients at an oncology center.

Invasive aspergillosis of the nose and paranasal sinuses is one of the presentations of aspergillosis in granulocytopenic patients with neoplastic disorders. It is most prevalent among patients with leukemia and granulocytopenia and is associated with a high mortality rate. We report five cases of invasive aspergillosis of the nose and paranasal sinuses in profoundly neutropenic patients treated with broad spectrum antibiotics. Both Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus were cultured and identified in this entity. Awareness of this disease and early diagnosis made by culture and histologic examinations of biopsy material are essential. Treatment consisting of amphotericin B therapy and surgical debridement can be effective in eradicating this form of aspergillosis.

Adult↗