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Biomedical subjects

I Kirsch

Publications and source records attributed to I Kirsch.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Double-blind versus deceptive administration of a placebo.

Subjects were given varying doses of a placebo, consisting of decaffeinated coffee, with double-blind or deceptive instructions. Deceptive administration simulated clinical situations in that subjects were led to believe that they were receiving an active drug. In contrast, subjects in double-blind conditions were aware that they might receive a placebo. Double-blind and deceptive administration of the placebo produced different, and in some instances, opposite effects on pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, and subjective mood. Deceptive administration produced an increase in pulse rate, whereas double-blind administration did not. A theoretically predicted curvilinear effect on systolic blood pressure, alertness, tension, and certainty of having consumed caffeine was confirmed with deceptive administration, but not with double-blind administration. Double-blind administration produced curves in the opposite direction on each of these variables. The effects of the placebo on motor performance varied as a function of subject's beliefs about the effects of caffeine. These data challenge the validity of double-blind experimental designs and suggest that this common method of drug assessment may lead to spurious conclusions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Human gastrin-releasing peptide gene maps to chromosome band 18q21.

A complementary DNA clone encoding human pre-pro gastrin-releasing peptide, a 27-amino acid neuropeptide and putative growth factor, was used to determine the chromosomal location of this gene. Southern blot hybridization to genomic DNA isolated from a panel of human-rodent somatic cell hybrids unambiguously maps this gene to human chromosome 18. In situ chromosomal hybridization confirms the hybrid data and further localized the gene to chromosome band 18q21. Karyotypic abnormalities in tumors and inherited disease states which involve chromosome band 18q21 may now be studied for correlated changes in the structure and expression of the human GRP gene.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Expectancy versus absorption in the prediction of hypnotic responding.

The Absorption Scale, a measure of imaginative involvement, was administered to 64 subjects in the context of a hypnosis experiment and to an additional 64 subjects in a context unrelated to hypnosis. Expectancies of responding to hypnotic suggestions were assessed both before trance induction and after trance induction but before administration of hypnotic test suggestions. Hypnotic depth was assessed on the Long Stanford Scale (LSS) before the administration of test suggestions, and on the Inventory of Hypnotic Depth (IHD) after the hypnosis session. Absorption was correlated with hypnotic responsivity and expectancy, but only when assesed in the hypnotic context. Completing the Absorption Scale in a hypnotic context appeared to affect hypnotic responsiveness by altering subjects' expectancies. Only postinduction expectancies were uniquely predictive of response to hypnotic test suggestions, and all variables except the LSS were predictive of IHD scores. Results of path analysis supported the hypothesis that trance inductions alter expectancies for responding to hypnotic suggestions and that these altered expectancies determine subsequent hypnotic behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

T-cell receptor gene rearrangements as clinical markers of human T-cell lymphomas.

The ability to detect immunoglobulin-gene rearrangements has proved useful in confirming diagnoses of suspected B-cell lymphomas and in establishing their monoclonality. By analogy, we employed a cloned DNA probe for the beta chain of the T-cell receptor gene to determine whether gene rearrangements were present in human T-cell neoplasms representing various stages of T-cell development. Gene rearrangements were present in all cases of T-cell disorders except a single case of T gamma lymphocytosis, a disorder that has not been proved to be a clonal T-cell neoplasm. A germline gene configuration was present in all patients with non-T-cell neoplasms and in normal tissues from patients with T-cell lymphoma. The probe promises to be useful for confirming the pathological an immunologic diagnosis in difficult cases of T-cell disorders and for assessing the extent of disease.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed1985

Erbb is linked to the alpha-globin locus on mouse chromosome 11.

A fragment of the human gene for c-erb-B was used to map homologous sequences in mice. Analysis of somatic cell hybrids and recombinant inbred and congenic mouse strains indicated that this gene, designated Erbb, is closely linked to the gene for alpha-globin on mouse chromosome 11. Several genes controlling hematopoietic differentiation map to mouse chromosome 11.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

[Survival after treatment for malignant choroidal melanoma: comparison between conservative therapy (Ru106/Rh106 applicator) and enucleation with and without postoperative irradiation to the orbit; 1960 to 1979].

The survival rate was calculated using the life table method in 1,501 patients suffering from choroidal melanomas and treated in 10 eye hospitals in the GDR between 1960 and 1979. The results of treatment by (1) enucleation, (2) enucleation with postoperative irradiation of the orbit and (3) local irradiation with 106Ru/106Rh were compared. The 10-year survival rate in patients treated by 106Ru/106Rh irradiation (n = 187) was 72%; in a group of patients similar with regard to age, tumor size and cell type, but who had undergone enucleation (n = 241) the 10-year survival rate was 49%. This clearly indicates that irradiation of small melanomas with 106Ru/106Rh applicators (tumor base not larger than 10 mm, tumor height not more than 2 mm) produces the best therapeutic results. There was no statistically proven difference between survival rates in patients treated with enucleation and enucleation combined with postoperative irradiation of the orbit. Postoperative irradiation of the orbit does not improve the survival rate. The 10-year survival rate in patients aged up to 49 years was 83% after 106Ru/106Rh and 81% after enucleation; it was not possible to prove a difference statistically. The 10-year survival rate in patients aged between 50 and 69 years was 80% after 106Ru/106Rh (n = 93) and 46% after enucleation (n = 146). The superiority of local beta irradiation was statistically proven. The expected survival of people aged 70 years and over was affected neither by the choroidal melanoma nor by different therapeutic procedures.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Translocation of the c-myc gene into the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus in human Burkitt lymphoma and murine plasmacytoma cells.

The consistent appearance of specific chromosomal translocations in human Burkitt lymphomas and murine plasmacytomas has suggested that these translocations might play a role in malignant transformation. Here we show that transformation of these cells is frequently accompanied by the somatic rearrangement of a cellular analogue of an avian retrovirus transforming gene, c-myc. Moreover, we map c-myc to human chromosome 8 band q24, the chromosomal segment involved in the reciprocal Burkitt translocations [t(8;14), t(8;22) and t(2;8)]. In two t(8;14) human Burkitt cell lines, c-myc appears to have been translocated directly into a DNA restriction fragment that also encodes the immunoglobulin mu chain gene. In the case of a specific cloned fragment of DNA derived from a mouse plasmacytoma, we demonstrate directly that c-myc has been translocated into the immunoglobulin alpha switch region. Our data provide a molecular basis for considering the role that specific translocations might play in malignant transformation.

Animals↗