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Biomedical subjects

E Marshall

Publications and source records attributed to E Marshall.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

In vitro assessment of N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]acridine-4-carboxamide, a DNA-intercalating antitumour drug with reduced sensitivity to multidrug resistance.

The successful treatment of cancer requires the identification of new drugs with novel actions. N-[2-(Dimethylamino)ethyl]acridine-4-carboxamide dihydrochloride (DACA) is a topoisomerase II-targeted antitumour drug with curative activity against murine Lewis lung carcinoma. DACA was assessed for novel patterns of growth inhibition using normal and multidrug-resistant human cell lines. Cells were cultured in 96-well microtitre trays and tested against DACA and related topoisomerase-directed drugs, including amsacrine, etoposide and doxorubicin, and drug concentrations for 50% growth inhibition (IC50 or GI50 values) were determined. In a series of Jurkat leukaemia lines characterised as exhibiting atypical multidrug resistance, DACA was to a large extent capable of overcoming multidrug resistance exhibited towards the other topoisomerase-directed agents. DACA was also tested against the National Cancer Institute 60-tumour-specific cell-line panel (GI50 values ranging from 420 to 5,400 nM; mean, 2,100 nM) and against a series of primary cultures of surgically excised melanomas (IC50 values ranging from 60 to 1,600 nM; mean, 590 nM). DELTA values (deviations of logarithmic IC50 or GI50 values from the mean) were calculated and compared by correlation analysis. The standard deviation of DELTA values was found to be lower for DACA than for the other topoisomerase II-directed drugs amsacrine, etoposide, doxorubicin and mitozantrone in both the cell lines and the primary cultures. These lower standard deviations appear to have resulted from the reduced susceptibility of DACA to both P-glycoprotein- and topoisomerase II-mediated multidrug-resistance mechanisms occurring naturally in cell lines and primary cultures.

Acridines↗

Monoaminergic activities in Lewy body dementia: relation to hallucinosis and extrapyramidal features.

Serotonergic (5-HT) and dopaminergic activities have been examined in Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and compared with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the neocortex the LBD subgroup experiencing hallucinations was distinguished from the other categories by an increase in the 5HIAA:5HT ratio measured in frontal cortex and by the serotonergic (5-HIAA or 5-HIAA:5-HT): cholinergic (choline acetyltransferase) ratio in frontal and temporal cortex. In the neostriatum (caudate nucleus), loss of dopamine and increased HVA:dopamine ratio correlated with the reduction in substantia nigra neurons in LBD but not PD, despite the greater loss of neurones and dopamine and the higher dopamine turnover ratio in PD. LBD patients experiencing severe Parkinsonism as a result of neuroleptic treatment tended to have lower neuron counts, in combination with higher turnover ratios, than the remainder. Qualitative differences between LBD and PD included decreased cortical 5-HT turnover in PD compared with the increase in LBD. There were no significant changes in any parameter in AD, with the exception of a reduction in temporal cortex 5HIAA. The results suggest that although the neurochemical pathology of LBD and PD involves similar systems, the nature of the derangements differs sufficiently between the diseases to account for differences in symptomatology.

Aged↗

The role of the practice nurse in the management of depression in general practice: treatment adherence to antidepressant medication.

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of providing practice nurse support as an adjunct to standard general practitioner treatment to patients with depressive disorders prescribed antidepressant medication. With respect to the measures used and pilot study objectives identified, there were no statistically significant differences between the study groups in treatment adherence to the prescription of antidepressant medication or in the incidence and severity of adverse events to medication. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are in progress to assess the effectiveness of practice nurse interventions in the management of depressive illness in general practice.

Adult↗

Congenital defects and electric bed heating in New York State: a register-based case-control study.

Exposure to 60-cycle electromagnetic fields has been hypothesized to be a cause of childhood cancer and congenital defects. Because electric bed heaters are a major source of variation in electromagnetic field exposure in the population, the authors conducted a case-control study in 1988-1989 to examine the relations between congenital defects and the use of electric blankets and heated waterbeds. Cases were identified by the New York State Congenital Malformations Registry as babies with cleft palate (n = 121), cleft lip with or without cleft palate (n = 197), born in 1983-1984, and anencephalus and spina bifida (n = 224), born in 1983-1986, all to upstate New York residents. Controls were selected at random from birth registrations individually matched to cases by maternal race, age, home county, month of last menses, and child's sex. Information on periconceptional electric blanket and heated waterbed use as well as known and suspected risk factors for defects was obtained from questionnaires mailed to the mothers. Matched odds ratio estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for electric blanket use relative to nonuse were 0.8 (95% CI 0.3-2.1) for cleft palate, 0.7 (95% CI 0.3-1.3) for cleft lip, and 0.9 (95% CI 0.5-1.6) for neural tube defects. The respective odds ratios for heated waterbed use were nearly identical to these. Adjustment for potential confounding factors (maternal education, vitamin use, smoking) and stratification by season of conception and bed heat control setting had no meaningful effect on odds ratios. These results suggest that 60-cycle fields do not cause neural tube and oral cleft defects.

Adult↗