Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Hart

Publications and source records attributed to G Hart.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Syphilis tests in diagnostic and therapeutic decision making.

Predictive value calculations were used to derive diagnostic guidelines for syphilis. Specificity of the VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) and treponemal tests is high in healthy persons but less in elderly and ill persons. Sensitivity of the VDRL test is high in secondary and early latent syphilis but reduced in primary and late syphilis or in cerebrospinal fluid evaluations. Primary syphilis should be diagnosed by darkfield microscopy, with VDRL confirmation for atypical lesions. Screening of asymptomatic persons with the VDRL test, followed by treponemal test confirmation on positive sera, is recommended for all pregnant women, contacts of persons with infectious syphilis, and other high-risk groups. Quantitative VDRL assessment at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment should be used to assess the adequacy of treatment for both late latent and early syphilis. Cerebrospinal fluid VDRL assessment and cell count should be restricted to seropositive persons with a high risk of neurosyphilis.

Diagnostic Tests, Routine↗
PubMed1985

Aboriginal pregnancies and births in South Australia, 1981-1982.

Information on 555 Aboriginal births which occurred during 1981 and 1982 was forwarded by midwives to the South Australian perinatal statistics unit. Corresponding information was also supplied for all other births in the state. This information showed that Aboriginal women appear to have a higher fertility rate than do other women, particularly in the teenage years. Aboriginal mothers are very young and have a high parity. They appear to receive little antenatal care and there is a greater tendency for their pregnancies to be complicated by medical conditions, such as anaemia, urinary tract infections, cardiac disorders and diabetes. Post-partum haemorrhages and retained placentas are relatively common, as are genital tract infections after delivery. Aboriginal babies are characterized by low birthweights, low Apgar scores, and prematurity. There is an indication that Aboriginal babies may have a high perinatal mortality rate in the country areas of South Australia. It is intended that this information be used as a baseline for evaluating trends in the health status of Aborigines.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Clinico-pathological aspects of immunotherapy by intralesional injection of BCG cell walls or live BCG in bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma.

Bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma (BOSCC) of clinical stage I, mostly situated in the third eyelid, was chosen as a therapy model for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in humans. Block resection was found to be the best method of treatment. Regression was noticed in 19 out of 30 cows treated intratumourously with a single injection of live BCG or BCG cell wall vaccine, followed by recurrence in 8 cases. In 2 untreated cows, complete lasting regression occurred. Regression was significantly more frequently encountered in intratumourously treated cows than in controls. Regression was associated with a high mitotic index, severe infiltrating growth and small amounts of cellular (lymphoid) infiltration. Metastasis was found in 14 out of 50 cows: 5 in 10 untreated controls, 8 in 30 BCG treated cows and 1 in 10 surgically treated cows. The growth rate of progressively growing untreated and of some treated tumours was not associated with the mitotic index nor with other morphological characteristics tested. The mitotic index was found to be higher in the deep infiltrating layer than in the superficial layer of the primary tumour, suggesting that a single biopsy is not sufficiently representative for cell kinetic studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Adjuvant chemo- and hormonal therapy in locally advanced breast cancer: a randomized clinical study.

UNLABELLED: Between 1977 and 1980, 118 breast cancer patients with locally advanced disease, T3B-4, any N, M0 or T1-3, tumor positive axillary apex biopsy, were randomized to one of three arms: I: radiotherapy (RT) to the breast and adjacent lymph node areas; II: RT followed by 12 cycles of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5 fluorouracil (CMF) and tamoxifen during the chemotherapy period; III: 2 cycles of adriamycin and vincristine (AV), alternated with 2 cycles of CMF, then RT, followed by another 4 cycles of AV, alternated with 4 CMF; tamoxifen during the entire treatment period. The median follow-up period was 5 1/2 years. The adjuvant chemo- and hormonal therapy did not improve the overall survival; the 5-year survival was 37% for all three treatment arms. There was no statistically significant difference in RFS between the three modalities, nor when arm I was compared to arm II and III together, p = 0.11. Local recurrence (LR) was observed in 24 of the 86 patients (28%) who had reached complete remission (CR). LR was not statistically different over the three treatment arms. In 18 of the 24 patients with LR, distant metastases appeared within a few months from the local recurrence. In arm III, the CR rate after 4 cycles AV plus CMF and RT hardly changed after another 8 cycles of chemotherapy. The menopausal status did not influence the treatment results. Dose reduction in more than 4 cycles of chemotherapy was accompanied by better results, p = 0.04. IN CONCLUSION: adjuvant chemo- and hormonal therapy did not improve RFS and overall survival. These findings do not support the routine use of adjuvant chemo- and endocrine therapy for inoperable breast cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1985

A comparison of continuous flush devices.

Six different makes of continuous flush device were compared for reliability of flow rate and ease of use. All of the devices tested were considered suitable for flushing of vascular pressure monitoring catheters. However, flow rates were considered too variable for control of drug infusions or flushing of intracranial pressure monitoring systems.

Blood Pressure Determination↗
PubMed1984

An analysis of the rate-dependent action of lidoflazine in mammalian sino-atrial node and Purkinje fibres.

Lidoflazine is an anti-anginal drug whose beneficial effect is to reduce the heart rate increment on exercise. Micro-electrode recording was performed in the spontaneously-beating, isolated guinea-pig sino-atrial node. It was shown that low concentrations (less than 5 X 10(-6) M) of lidoflazine alone did not alter action potential configuration or beating frequency. However, the drug reduced the spontaneous rate and the slope of the diastolic depolarization in the presence of catecholamine. This effect of lidoflazine was more pronounced at higher catecholamine concentrations. The action of lidoflazine on the hyperpolarization-activated current if was studied using a 2-micro-electrode voltage-clamp technique on shortened sheep Purkinje fibres. The activation curve for if was not affected by the drug. The slope of the fully-activated current-voltage relation was reduced by a mean of 20.1% on exposure to 5 X 10(-6) M lidoflazine. Using a computer model of Purkinje fibre action potentials, the observed reduction in maximal if conductance was shown to account quantitatively for the effects of lidoflazine. It is proposed that lidoflazine slows the heart by reducing the conductance of the if channel. This may be brought about by a fall in intracellular calcium concentration.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1984

Degradation of cellulose within the gastrointestinal tract in man.

14C-labelled cellulose was administered orally to 10 subjects without gastrointestinal disease and its absorption measured by faecal 14C excretion and 14CO2 in expired air. A mean of 57.2% of oral cellulose was excreted in the faeces and up to 14% (mean 7.5 +/- 4.4 1SD) of faecal radioactivity was water soluble. Whole gut transit time did not correlate with the quantity of 14C-cellulose excreted in the faeces. A significant quantity of 14CO2 appeared in the expired air as early as 30 minutes after administration of the labelled cellulose. The cumulative excretion of 14CO2 varied from 7.6-32.2% of the administered radioactivity but did not correlate with faecal 14C excretion. The present data show that a significant quantity of oral cellulose is metabolised within the human gastrointestinal tract and appears in the expired air as 14CO2.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Hepatitis B reservoirs and attack rates in an Australian community. A basis for vaccination and crossinfection policies.

Four different subpopulations in South Australia, which were expected to have high rates of hepatitis B infection (Asians, Aboriginals, homosexual men, and drug addicts) were examined for their contribution to the total reservoir of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers and to the total annual incidence of acute hepatitis B infection in South Australia. Age-specific prevalence data were also examined to assess the ages at which infection is commonly acquired. It was found that the above four groups, which comprise 3% of the State's population, are likely to include about 75% of HBsAg carriers in the State, but contribute a minority of the total new infections each year; they are not likely to present a significant risk of infection to the community at large. Three different age-related patterns of acquisition of infection were recognized--among Southeast Asians and Aboriginals, homosexual men and drug addicts, and the general community, respectively. The above approach, and to some extent the general findings, should be applicable to other similar communities in the formulation of effective policies for the control and prevention of hepatitis B infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The value of postoperative radiotherapy as an adjuvant to radical neck dissection.

In this study the results of combined radiotherapy and surgery are compared with the results of surgery alone in patients with neck node metastases from squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region. Postoperative radiotherapy decreases the recurrence rate in the neck, especially in cases with histologically established extranodal spread. Results of preoperative radiotherapy were similar to those of irradiation after surgery. Postoperative radiotherapy is favored, because it allows a selection of patients for extra treatment on the base of prognostic information, provided by the histologic characteristics of the neck dissection specimen.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗