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Biomedical subjects

G Williams

Publications and source records attributed to G Williams.

At least 667 records · Page 37Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Repeat pituitary ablation for advanced prostatic cancer.

An elderly male patient with advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma, requiring increasing analgesia, underwent interstitial pituitary irradiation by implantation of yttrium-90. He was temporarily relieved of his pain. Assessment of his anterior pituitary function showed only partial ablation. He therefore underwent a second implantation. This achieved complete ablation, and only when this was achieved did he experience full and sustained pain relief. We recommend assessment of anterior pituitary function in patients treated by pituitary ablation for carcinoma of the prostate, and especially in those in whom the disease progresses after initial success response.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1985

Utilization of a peroxidase antiperoxidase complex in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of elastin-derived peptides in human plasma.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a major cause of morbidity and death in the smoking population, develops insidiously over many years, and significant impairment of lung function usually occurs before the disease is diagnosed. Because lung elastin degradation appears to be a prerequisite for the development of the disease, immunologic detection of elastin-derived peptides in the blood might be an effective approach to the early detection and monitoring of the disease. We here report an improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for elastin peptides using a peroxidase-antiperoxidase complex as the reporter group. The assay is sensitive to 2 ng/ml elastin peptides. We show that for optimal, reproducible results the assay should be carried out at 16 degrees C rather than at room temperature and that determinations should be made on plasma containing protease inhibitors rather than on serum. The levels of elastin-derived peptides appeared to remain relatively constant when multiple samples were taken during a 5- to 10-wk period from individual subjects. In addition, patients with COPD had elevated elastin peptide levels (127 +/- 47 ng/ml) compared with levels in normal nonsmokers (58 +/- 17 ng/ml), whereas normal smokers had values intermediate between the 2 groups (mean peptide levels of 76 +/- 42 ng/ml). A small group of normal smokers (20%) had elevated elastin peptide levels similar to those in the emphysema group and may represent that group of smokers who are at risk of developing obstructive lung disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Survival after massive ingestion of carbon tetrachloride treated by intravenous infusion of acetylcysteine.

A 61-year-old man ingested a large amount of carbon tetrachloride, well in excess of the adult lethal dose. The level of the compound was assayed in his blood and the levels were the highest ever recorded by the Guy's Hospital Poisons Unit. He was treated by intravenous infusion of acetylcysteine and survived with relatively mild clinical and biochemical evidence of toxicity. Possible reasons for his survival are discussed, as are the implications for the management of future cases.

Acetylcysteine↗
PubMed1985

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in renal transplant recipients--clinical and radiographic features, diagnosis and complications of treatment.

Six episodes of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in five renal transplant patients on low dose maintenance prednisolone are described. The infection was rare, occurring in 3 per cent of the recipients transplanted between 1978 and 1984. Diagnosis and treatment were not straightforward. Fever was the earliest evidence of illness, and in three episodes the chest radiograph was normal at presentation. At diagnosis, two to 16 days later, all had pulmonary infiltrates and severe hypoxia. Diagnosis was confirmed by cytological examination of bronchial lavage (two), transbronchial biopsy (one), open lung biopsy (one), and for two episodes clinically, from the rapid and complete resolution of fever, pulmonary infiltrates and hypoxia following a therapeutic trial of high dose cotrimoxazole. Pneumocystis antibody titres were low during the illness and in convalescence and did not contribute to diagnosis. Three patients had serological evidence of recent cytomegalovirus infection. All episodes responded to treatment with high dose cotrimoxazole. All the patients survived the illness but one died a year after recovery. The major complications of treatment were thrombocytopenia (three cases) and neutropenia (two cases) which did not respond to folinic acid.

Drug Combinations↗
PubMed1985

Improvement in the retinal circulation after superficial temporal to middle cerebral artery bypass.

The retinal circulation of 35 patients (age, 30 to 71 years) with symptomatic internal carotid occlusion (22 cases) or severe inaccessible stenosis (13 cases) was studied both before and after superficial temporal to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass surgery using ophthalmodynamometry (ODM) and intravenous fundus fluorescein angiography (IVFA). Ninety-four per cent of the patients were found preoperatively to have funduscopic findings or symptoms indicative of ocular ischemia. ODM values were abnormal preoperatively in 32 of 35 patients (91%), and improvement in ODM values for the ipsilateral eye was noted postoperatively in 25 patients (71%). ODM values obtained during the early (less than 3 months) and late (greater than 3 months) postoperative periods were significantly improved when compared to the preoperative values. IVFA values were abnormal in 25 of 29 patients (86%) preoperatively, and significant improvement was noted in 22 of 25 patients (88%) postoperatively. Preoperative patients with normal fundus examinations (10 cases) had significantly better values for IVFA and ODM than patients with venous stasis retinopathy. The findings of the study showed that STA-MCA anastomosis is beneficial in treating retinal ischemia secondary to ipsilateral severe inaccessible carotid artery stenosis or occlusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Relationship of renal prostaglandins to distal transport of sodium chloride in normokalemic and hypokalemic man.

The relationship between renal prostaglandins (PG) and electrolyte transport in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TALH) was examined in 8 normal subjects and in 7 patients with hypokalemia, the latter including 4 cases of Bartter's syndrome. Distal fractional delivery and distal reabsorption of chloride and sodium were determined using clearance techniques under maximal volume expansion, and urinary excretion rates of PGE2 and PGF2 alpha were measured. In the normal subjects, suppression of PG synthesis by indomethacin decreased distal delivery without changing distal reabsorption, suggesting that PG may influence solute transport at a site proximal to the diluting segment. In the subjects with Bartter's syndrome, however, distal reabsorption was impaired, this defect being apparently independent of PG as it was unaffected by inhibition of PG synthesis. In the patients with hypokalemia due to non-renal causes, distal reabsorption of chloride was increased, resulting in a decreased chloride clearance. These results suggest a link between renal PG and solute transport in normal man and also provide evidence that Bartter's syndrome is characterized by a prostaglandin-independent defect in distal reabsorption which is not found in hypokalemia due to other causes.

Absorption↗
PubMed1984

Opportunistic AIDS.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1984

The effects of extracellular K+ and angiotensin II on cytosolic Ca++ and steroidogenesis in adrenal glomerulosa cells.

We evaluated changes in cytosolic calcium concentration (Ca++) and steroidogenesis in rat adrenal glomerulosa cells (GC) stimulated with potassium (K+) or angiotensin II (AII). Cytosolic Ca++ concentration was determined using the Ca++-sensitive, fluorescent dye QUIN 2. Raising extracellular K+ increased cytosolic Ca++ from 267 +/- 23 nM at 3.7 mM K+ to a maximum of 377 +/- 40 nM at 8.7 mM K+ (p less than 0.01, N = 23). AII also increased cytosolic Ca++ from 238 +/- 20 nM to a maximum of 427 +/- 42 nM at 10(-7) M (p less than 0.01, N = 16). In parallel studies, K+ and AII stimulated aldosterone secretion from QUIN 2-loaded GC at concentrations similar to those which raised cytosolic Ca++. QUIN 2-loaded cells were as responsive steroidogenically as unloaded cells and showed trypan blue exclusion of 98% suggesting that QUIN 2 did not compromise cellular viability. These results provide direct support for a role of cytosolic Ca++ as a second messenger during stimulation of aldosterone secretion by both K+ and AII.

Adrenal Cortex↗