Drosophila adhesion molecules and neural development.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Anderson.
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Sixty patients with FIGO stage IIb, IIc, III and IV ovarian cancer were entered into a randomized Phase III study of cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 with cisplatin 100 mg/m2, iproplatin 240 mg/m2 or carboplatin 300 mg/m2. Dose modifications were made according to renal function and myelotoxicity. The arms containing carboplatin (CBDCA) and iproplatin (CHIP) were not shown to be significantly different from the cisplatin containing arm with regard to response rate, duration of response and survival. Subjective toxicity showed that cisplatin and cyclophosphamide therapy was associated with more nausea and vomiting (P = 0.0005). The duration of vomiting showed a significant increase with successive courses of chemotherapy for the cisplatin containing arm only (P less than 0.003). The cyclophosphamide/CHIP combination caused significantly more diarrhoea (P less than 0.0006). Alopecia was more severe (P less than 0.02), and neurotoxicity was more common, in patients who received cyclophosphamide and cisplatin (paraesthesiae P = 0.0007, tinnitus P less than 0.00005, deafness P = 0.0018). All three combinations caused cumulative toxicity on haemoglobin (Hb) (P less than 0.001 for each treatment), leukocyte count (WCC) (P less than 0.0005 for each treatment), and platelet count (P less than 0.0005 for each treatment). The degree of fall in Hb for each course of therapy was greater in the cisplatin containing arm compared with the CHIP and CBDCA arms which were not significantly different from each other (P = 0.0005). For WCC the cisplatin/cyclophosphamide regimen was significantly less toxic than CHIP/cyclophosphamide, with CBDCA/cyclophosphamide falling between the two and not being significantly different from either (P = 0.0005). The CHIP containing arm caused more thrombocytopenia than the other arms which were of equal toxicity (P less than 0.0005). Serum creatinine showed a gradual significant overall rise with each course of cisplatin/cyclophosphamide therapy (P less than 0.0005), whereas the CBDCA arm showed no change and the CHIP arm showed a small fall in serum creatinine after most courses of therapy. This study showed that CHIP or CBDCA in combination with cyclophosphamide was less toxic than cisplatin/cyclophosphamide therapy with regard to alopecia, degree and duration of nausea and vomiting, renal toxicity, neurotoxicity and anaemia. The CHIP/cyclophosphamide regimen caused more thrombocytopenia and diarrhoea. The CHIP and CBDCA containing arms caused more leukopenia than the cisplatin containing regimen. Either iproplatin or carboplatin would be an acceptable alternative to cisplatin in chemotherapy regimens, and would result in reduced toxicity.
A cross-sectional survey of the work force at an iron ore surface mine and beneficiation plant in Labrador identified cases with a radiologic diagnosis compatible with simple pneumoconiosis by the International Labour Organization (ILO) classification (1980). Their distribution by ILO categories 1, 2, and 3, after excluding those with confounding diagnoses for pneumoconiosis, was 30, 10, and 2 cases, respectively. ILO category was related to age, duration of current employment, and cumulative respirable dust and quartz levels, as well as to decrement in ventilatory function.
From our earliest practice of family therapy at medical schools, private family therapy institutes, and public agencies, our work with difficult populations that do not respond to current treatment technologies has reminded us of the inadequacies of our theoretical descriptions and the limitations of our expertise. This work has influenced our current, evolving clinical theory as we move from thinking of human systems as social systems defined by social organization (role and structure) to thinking of them as distinguished on the basis of linguistic and communicative markers. Hence, for us, the social unit we work with in therapy is a linguistic system distinguished by those who are "in language" about a problem, rather than by arbitrary and predetermined concepts of social organization. We call the therapy system a problem-organizing, problem-dis-solving system.
During axonogenesis, contacts made by the growth cone with its substratum are important in guiding the direction of neurone outgrowth. This study examines the contacts made by the growth cones of pioneer neurones in the embryonic grasshopper limb. Individual pioneer neurones at different stages of development were injected with horseradish peroxidase and the contacts made by the filopodia at the tip of their growth cones were examined by electron microscopy. Filopodia made few contacts with mesodermal cells, some contacts with ectodermal cells and very frequent contacts with basal lamina underlying the ectoderm. Components of the basal lamina may therefore play a role in guiding pioneer axon outgrowth.
Death rates for alcoholic cirrhosis ran parallel to alcohol consumption in Sweden and Denmark from 1961 to 1986, according to official statistics. Reported death rates for alcoholic cirrhosis and for non-alcoholic cirrhosis increased linearly from 1965 to 1976 in Sweden and from 1967 to 1973 in Denmark. This suggests that constant proportions of deaths from real alcoholic cirrhosis are misclassified in official statistics as due to non-alcoholic cirrhosis during these time periods. Assuming that the mortality from real non-alcoholic cirrhosis is constant (c), a statistical model for estimating both c and the misclassification rates for real alcoholic cirrhosis (p) is proposed. In the Sweden population and in Danish males c was about 5 deaths per 100,000 adults annually. The model was not applicable to Danish females because their mortality from non-alcoholic cirrhosis decreased. The misclassification rate p was about 55% in both Swedish and Danish males and 70% in Swedish females during the above time periods. Moreover, during the past decade p has decreased to 30% in Swedish and Danish males.
One hundred sixty-three patients with small cell lung cancer were treated with six courses, at 3-week intervals, of ifosfamide (5 g/m2) with mesna and etoposide. Thoracic radiotherapy was delivered to the limited stage (LS) patients. The complete response rate (CR, determined clinically and radiologically) was 76% for the 78 LS patients with a further 14% partial response (PR). The majority of the CRs were confirmed on a follow-up bronchoscopy. The CR rate was 27% for extensive stage (ES) patients with another 38% undergoing a partial response. The median survival for LS patients was 11 months, (16 months for CR confirmed by rebronchoscopy) and 8 months for ES patients. The 2-year actuarial survival for LS patients is 27%, follow-up ranges from 12 months to 30 months with a median of 22 months. Toxicity was not severe for the patient population, of whom only 20% had a good performance status before chemotherapy. Parental antibiotics were required on 4% of all 844 chemotherapy courses and 12% of courses were delayed due to side effects. The majority of responses occurred within the first two courses of chemotherapy and there was a corresponding improvement in the patients' symptoms and performance status. The regimen produced rapid tumor response with corresponding improvement in symptoms without marked toxicity and allowed further treatment development.
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In 407 patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), 61 pretreatment variables were evaluated in a Cox multiple regression analysis to assess their prognostic value. All patients received short-term intensive regimens (cyclophosphamide, etoposide and methotrexate or ifosfamide and etoposide, both followed by thoracic irradiation if complete response was noted). Lactate dehydrogenase (p = 0.001), tumour stage (p = 0.0001), serum sodium (p = 0.0009), pretreatment Karnofsky performance score (p = 0.0121), alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.0186) and serum bicarbonate (p = 0.0321) were the important prognostic factors. Once these variables were taken into account no other variable provided additional prognostic information. A simple scoring system ("Manchester Score") using these variables was established and shows little loss of information compared to the Cox analysis. The score distinguishes 3 prognostic groups, the best of which contains all long-term survivors, whereas the bad prognostic group contains no patient surviving longer than one year. The scoring system may help to design new treatment strategies and may also facilitate the comparison of different studies.
An antibody to a high frequency antigen, made in a WES+ Black antenatal patient (Wash.), failed to react with the red cells of a presumed WES+ homozygote and is, therefore, probably antithetical to anti-WES. Like anti-WES, it reacted with papain, ficin, trypsin or neuraminidase treated cells but not with alpha-chymotrypsin or pronase treated cells and was specifically inhibited by concentrated serum. It also reacted more strongly in titration with WES- cells than with WES+ cells. The antibody is Cromer-related as it failed to react with Inab phenotype (IFC-) cells and reacted only weakly with Dr(a-) cells. Wash. cells and those of the other possible WES+ homozygote are Cr(a+) Tc(a+b-c-) Dr(a+) IFC+ but reacted only very weakly with anti-Esa.
To assess the factor structure of Calhoun's Youth Suicide Scale (YSS), 191 consenting undergraduates in one sample and 240 consenting undergraduates in a second sample wee given the YSS during class. From the second sample, 152 subjects also took the YSS a second time about 1 month later. In the first sample, three factors, which accounted for 50.0% of the variance, emerged. They were: How the Parents were Viewed (in terms of psychological disturbance, likability, and blame); Expected Responses to the Bereaved Family (terms of tension and sympathy); and Empathy with Parents (whether the newspaper was viewed as correct in reporting the cause of death, how long parents were expected to grieve, and whether parents were expected to be liked). In the second sample, the same three factors emerged (accounting for 55.5% of the variance), with the exception of one item on Factor 3: expecting to like the parents. Congruence coefficients between the three factors in the two samples were .98, .94, and .78, respectively. Reliability correlations on individual items ranged from a low of .30 to a high of .61. These results indicate that the YSS is valid, stable, and moderately reliable for assessing reactions to youth suicide; thus, it would be a viable instrument for use in future research on reactions to suicide.
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Forty-three patients with widely metastatic melanoma were studied. Visceral metastases were present in 79% of the patient group, including five patients with brain metastases. No patients were excluded because of "early death," etc., from analysis. All 43 patients received 24-hour DTIC infusions. Dosages for individual patients ranged from 350 mg/M2 to 2.5 g/M2, a maximum of 6 courses being given. A total of 155 courses was administered. Hemibody irradiation (HBI) was delivered after 1 or 3 courses of DTIC to the area of maximum disease in 23 patients. Fourteen of the 43 patients responded to DTIC chemotherapy (with one complete response), a response rate of 33%. Seven of the chemotherapy responders also responded in other sites to subsequent HBI, a response rate of 30% (7/23). No patient responded to HBI and not to DTIC. Median survival was 4 months (range, 1-15), and nine patients are still alive at 3 to 15 months. Toxicity was generally mild, although there was one possible treatment-related death. Further exploration of DTIC infusion chemotherapy and HBI would be of interest.
Ifosfamide at 5 g/m2 was given as a bolus to 48 patients with advanced progressing non-small cell lung cancer. Mesna (5 g/m2) was also given with the ifosfamide, both over 30 min. Further mesna was then given p.o. (3 g/m2) at 4, 8, and 12 h. If oral mesna was not acceptable then one or, if necessary, two 4-h to 6-h infusions (3 g/m2) were administered. A maximum of six courses at 3-weekly intervals was prescribed. A total of 174 courses was administered, and oral mesna was given during 64 courses: discharge was considered possible within 8-10 h after 55% of courses. Haematological toxicity was mild and no renal dysfunction was noted. Two patients became drowsy shortly after ifosfamide, but recovered 24-36 h later. The objective response rate was 29%, with one complete responder. A further 31% of patients (symptomatic responders) with stable disease symptomatically improved after the chemotherapy, by 20 or more points on the Karnofsky scale. The median survival was 5 months for the whole group, and 8 months each for the objective and symptomatic responder groups. Most patients' Karnofsky and respiratory scores improved with the chemotherapy. Ifosfamide with mesna can be given by short infusions, and the mesna given p.o. prevents any urothelial toxicity. Further exploration of short-infusion ifosfamide and mesna therapy would reduce hospitalization and allow for day-case regimens.
Herpes simplex virus strains, isolated from three immunocompromised patients whose infections showed clinical resistance to acyclovir, were studied as treatment progressed. Virus isolated from two patients remained sensitive to acyclovir throughout. Isolates from the third patient, who had received a prolonged course of oral acyclovir, showed a sharp decrease in drug sensitivity which corresponded to loss of thymidine kinase activity. No changes in restriction endonuclease profiles were observed in isolates from the same patient as treatment with acyclovir progressed.
The primary effect of nitrates on the circulatory system is a relaxation of capacitance vessels on the venous and arterial side, while dilatation of resistance vessels (arterioles) is a secondary phenomenon, or occurs only at higher doses. Relaxation of arteries may augment flow in conditions where these vessels offer an increased resistance due to e.g. spasm. Relaxation of capacitance arteries explains in part the lower systolic blood pressure after nitroglycerin. Improved "Windkessel" function may augment diastolic arterial pressure and thus improve coronary perfusion. Some methods for measuring arterial compliance are described. It is suggested that more simple measurements of arterial pulsations may be used for studying nitroglycerin tolerance.
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