Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E Lester

Publications and source records attributed to E Lester.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Ondansetron for the prevention of emesis induced by high-dose cisplatin. A multi-center dose-response study.

To determine a dose-response relationship of ondansetron for the prevention of emesis induced by high-dose cisplatin and to study the efficacy of the extended dosing schedule of ondansetron during 20 hours after cisplatin administration, 36 patients with malignant neoplasms who had not previously received chemotherapy but who were currently receiving cisplatin were treated. These patients received a six-dose regimen of 0.01 mg/kg (low dose) or 0.18 mg/kg (high dose) of ondansetron. Seven (41%) patients in the high-dose group had no emesis and four (24%) patients had one or two episodes. One (5%) patient in the low-dose group had no emesis and four (21%) patients had one or two episodes. The difference in the number of emetic episodes was significant (P less than 0.02). Fifty percent of the high-dose patients reported no nausea or mild nausea, compared with 11% of the low-dose patients. Clinical adverse events included mild, transient headache and dizziness in the high-dose group and headache and diarrhea in the low-dose group, with no significant laboratory abnormalities. There is a parallel relationship between the ondansetron doses and the antiemetic efficacy. The response rate for the six-dose regimen of 0.18 mg/kg was not superior to that for the previously reported 0.18 mg/kg regimen given in a three-dose schedule in a similar clinical setting.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Interferon therapy of relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's disease: Cancer and Leukemia Group B Study 8652.

A phase II trial of alpha 2b-interferon in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's disease was conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B. Nineteen patients were eligible for study. These patients had received at least two (median of four) previous chemotherapeutic programs and 79% had received prior radiation therapy. Three patients had undergone intensive chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation. The treatment regimen consisted of interferon-alpha 2b 10 X 10(6) IU/m2 subcutaneously three times per week. Only limited antineoplastic activity was seen in this heavily pretreated group of patients. There was one partial response and four patients had reduction in measurable disease not meeting the criteria for partial response. The drug was well tolerated. Toxicity was predominantly myelosuppression. Thrombocytopenia was particularly severe in patients with bone marrow involvement. The observed antineoplastic activity, albeit limited, in this heavily pretreated group of patients suggests a potential role for this agent in combination regimens in patients with earlier disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Should we still be doing duplicate immunoassays?

To determine whether, with improvements in radioimmunoassay techniques, duplication is still necessary, the differences between duplicate results for a range of assays done routinely over one month were examined retrospectively. Differences over 10% between duplicates were found in 104/779 (13%) of assays for thyroid stimulating hormone, 27/180 (15%) for total thyroxine, 44/378 (12%) for cortisol, 15/355 (4%) for follicular stimulating hormone, 20/356 (6%) for luteinising hormone, and none for alpha fetoprotein (0/256). In only two of 779 patients (0.26%) would the different result of a pair of thyroid stimulating hormone duplicates have led to different courses of action by the laboratory. None of the other differences in any assay would have resulted in a potential misclassification. Although replication of assays will give more correct results by pure scientific criteria, the improvement is rarely clinically important and the financial cost is considerable.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone↗
PubMed1988

Effect of preoperative iodine in patients with Graves' disease controlled with antithyroid drugs and thyroxine.

Thirty-four patients with Graves' disease, first rendered euthyroid with antithyroid drugs (ATD) then given supplementary thyroxine (T4), were randomly allocated to three treatment groups. In Group I ATD and T4 were stopped 10 days before partial thyroidectomy and the patients were treated with Lugol's iodine alone. In Group II the patients were treated up to the time of operation with ATD and T4 alone. In Group III ATD and T4 were continued until the day of operation, but the patients also received 10 days' treatment with Lugol's iodine. Analysis of the results showed that pre-operative iodine therapy in patients with Graves' disease, already rendered euthyroid with ATD and T4, made no difference to the vascularity of the gland, operative blood loss or thyroid follicular size. Over a third of patients in Group I, treated with Lugol's iodine alone for 10 days pre-operatively, had subnormal levels of thyroid hormones at the time of operation and this was also the Group in which the complications of partial thyroidectomy tended to occur. It is concluded that the addition of iodine preoperatively is unnecessary in the patient who is already euthyroid on ATD and T4.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Sarcoma with myelophthisic anemia: report of two cases.

Two cases of sarcoma complicated by pathologically confirmed myelophthisic anemia are presented. Although marrow involvement may occur in childhood rhabdomyosarcoma, complete marrow replacement in adult patients with sarcoma has not been previously described.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Seasonal variation in serum-25-hydroxyvitamin-D in the elderly in Britain.

In a group of thirty-six non-housebound normal people aged 70 to 88 years living independently in their homes, mean serum-25-hydroxyvitamin-D (+/- 1 S.D.) was 8-62 +/- 3-08 ng/ml in midwinter and had risen to 14-13 +/- 4-90 ng/ml the following September. These values were lower and the seasonal variation was less than previously found in healthy young British adults.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

SI: two years on.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

International Cooperation↗
PubMed1977

Ultrasound in the staging of lymphoma.

Ultrasonography of the abdomen and pelvis was performed in 16 patients with lymphoma who underwent clinical and pathologic staging. The results of the ultrasound examinations were correlated with the pathological findings as were the results of gallium-67 scans, inferior vena cavagrams and lymphangiograms obtained in the same group. Analysis of the data indicated accuracies in the 80-90% range and specificities of greater than 90% for ultrasound. The sensitivity of ultrasound was somewhat lower, in the 60-70% range. These findings compare favorably with those of the other diagnostic procedures evaluated and indicate the usefulness of ultrasound in the staging of lymphoma.

Gallium Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1977

Differences in the calcium concentration of serum and plasma initially and after storage.

Calcium concentrations of plasma and serum in glass and plastic containers initially and after storage for up to 8 months at--20 degrees C were compared. The mean initial calcium concentration of the plasma samples was 2.491 nnol/l and this was significantly higher than the mean serum concentration of 2.440 nnol/l. There were no significant differences in the mean calcium concentrations attributable to differences in glass or plastic as materials for storage containers for either serum or plasma. The mean calcium concentration of serum remained stable over the entire storage period, but that of the plasma samples fell significantly between one month and six months, with no further fall between six months and eight months.

Blood Preservation↗
PubMed1976

Inhibition of human lymphocyte transformation by human alpha-foetoprotein (HAFP); comparison of foetal and hepatoma HAFP and kinetic studies in vitro immunosuppression.

Five pure isolates of human alpha-foetoprotein (HAFP) from adults with tumours of the li er or stomach, as well as HAFP isolated from foetal liver, inhibit in vitro human lymphocyte transformation induced by phytomitogens, anti-human thymocyte serum, and the mixed lymphocyte culture. Foetal HAFP produces 50% inhibition at concentrations of 1-5 mug/ml. The HAFPs isolated from tumour-bearing adults are 1-3 orders of magnitude less potent (50% inhibition achieved at approximately 20, 130, 500, and 2000 mug/ml, respectively). In order to achieve maximum inhibition HAFP must be present at the time of mitogen addition; pre-exposure of lymphocytes to HAFP, followed by washing, does not result in lymphocyte suppression. The inhibiting effect of HAFP cannot be overcome by a ten-fold increase in mitogen concentration implying that HAFP does not act by simple competition with the lymphocyte membrane for the mitogen combining site. HAFP may play an immunoregulatory role during foetal development.

Adult↗