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Biomedical subjects

J Fitzpatrick

Publications and source records attributed to J Fitzpatrick.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

A simple, optimised and rapid assay for urinary free catecholamines by HPLC with electrochemical detection.

A rapid method is described for the determination of urinary free catecholamines by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Optimised and equilibrium assay conditions are assessed for sample preparation, separation and detection. Catecholamine stability is maintained during the assay procedure by the addition of a combined reducing agent. Variability in recovery between aqueous standards and urine samples is minimised by dilution of samples with a concentrated Tris buffer solution. Ethyl acetate washing of an acid eluate is performed after and not before an alumina adsorption step in order to make the procedure as simple and rapid as possible. The method is evaluated and has thus far identified two cases of phaeochromocytoma and one case of neuroblastoma.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1985

The new breed!

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMed1984

Hickman-Broviac catheter use in cancer patients.

Seventy-nine patients who had Hickman-Broviac (H-B) catheters inserted over a 1-year period were studied. There were 52 patients in the hematological group and 27 patients in the solid tumor group. Complications associated with the H-B catheters were infection and venous thrombosis, with infection being more common. Nine patients experienced local infection, ten had local infection with bacteremia, and 14 had severe infection, respectively. Infectious complications were more prevalent in the hematological group; 13 of the 14 severe infections were found in patients with hematological disorders. Severe infection was more common in patients with two catheters in place as compared to those with only one catheter (P less than 0.05). In particular, the presence of two catheters significantly increased the risk of infection in hematological patients. The risk of infection may be reduced by using only one catheter with either a single or double lumen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of immunologic and enzymatic assay of prostatic acid phosphatase for follow-up and assessment of clinical status of stage D prostate cancer.

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) was measured in 70 patients with stage D prostate cancer under different modalities of treatment. PAP was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA), counter immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP), and enzymatic method using alpha-naphthyl phosphate to compare the usefulness of the three methods in follow-up and assessing the clinical status of stage D prostate cancer. In the regressive state (29 patients), RIA and enzymatic methods correlated well; both gave 17% of abnormal results with a mean value of 4.7 +/- 4.6 and 3 +/- 1.7. Also, in the progressive state (17 patients) the two methods showed similar percentages of abnormal results with a mean value of 40 +/- 38 and 19 +/- 17 for RIA and enzymatic method, respectively. There was greater variability in the stable group owing to the difference in the tumour load. Again the two methods correlated well regarding their diagnostic sensitivity and specificity as a parameter for assessing the clinical response. CIEP, used as a qualitative method, showed more positive than negative results and did not correlate with the clinical state. We feel that the conventional enzymatic method is adequate for follow-up and assessing clinical state of stage D prostate cancer.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1984

Cytogenetic studies in 77 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: correlations with clinical, immunologic, and phenotypic data.

Cytogenetic analyses by G-banding and/or Q-banding techniques of polyclonal B cell mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes in 77 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia were carried out in the present study. Adequate metaphases were obtained in 65 patients (84%). Of 29 patients with abnormal karyotypes, ten (34%) had trisomy 12 as the sole abnormality, eight (28%) had trisomy 12 in combination with other karyotypic changes, and the remaining 11 had various karyotypic changes other than trisomy 12. There was a significant relationship between the abnormal karyotype and disease status, clinical stage, lymphocyte count, bone marrow infiltration pattern, monoclonal IgM gammopathy, and urinary monoclonal-free light chain status. Six of seven patients (87%) with trisomy 12 only had stage 0-11 disease, whereas all eight patients with trisomy 12 with other changes had stage III or IV disease (P less than .02). However, of nine patients with other karyotypic changes without trisomy 12, five had stage 0-II and four had stage III or IV disease. These observations suggest that trisomy 12 may be the primary or the earliest karyotypic change in a majority of aneuploid patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and that other karyotypic changes in addition to trisomy 12 may develop as a result of clonal evolution, dedifferentiation, or therapy. Of nine patients in whom autopsy studies were carried out, four were found to have diffuse histiocytic lymphoma or Richter's syndrome (three with trisomy 12 in combination with other chromosome changes and one with normal karyotype). Our findings clearly demonstrate that cytogenetic study may be of value in the clinical and prognostic evaluation of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed1983

The interrater reliability of DSM III in children.

A total of 195 admissions to a child psychiatric inpatient unit were diagnosed independently by two to four clinicians on the basis of case presentations at the first ward-round after admission. The DSM III as a whole and the major categories were of high or acceptable reliability, though a few were clearly unreliable. The results are generally consistent with other studies. Unlike other studies, the subcategories were examined and found to vary widely in reliability both as a whole across the system and within parent major categories, throwing considerable doubt upon their utility. The results indicate the need both for improved diagnostic data-gathering techniques in child psychiatry and for more better-designed studies of reliability and, most necessarily, of validity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Factor structure and norms for the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist in New Zealand children.

The Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) is a recent expansion of the widely used Behavior Problem Checklist. This study attempted to replicate the factor structure of the RBPC, originally developed for U.S.A. children, and to establish norms for its use with New Zealand children. Two groups of children, aged five to 13 years, were rated on the scale by their parents. One was a clinic sample and comprised 266 patients attending two psychiatric clinics. The second was a random community sample of 267 children, from four census tracts in Auckland, selected to cover a range of socioeconomic strata representative of New Zealand. Factor analysis of the clinic data resulted in a factor structure similar to that found in American children. Only two of the six factors (Socialised Aggression and Psychotic Behaviour) differed to any degree. Using ratings from the community sample, norms were developed for screening and diagnostic purposes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Human lymphocyte agglutinins in Tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphin).

A naturally occurring heterophile agglutinin directed against human erythrocytes and lymphocytes is present in the serum of the marine mammal, Tursiops truncatus (Bottlenose dolphin). Differential specificity was demonstrated with the use of absorption techniques that showed at least 3 separate specificities directed against erythrocytes, T cells, and B cells, of which the B cell agglutinin was in the highest titer. Isolation techniques employing ion exchange and affinity chromatography have shown these agglutinins to be of the IgM class. Agglutinin activity is lost when lymphocytes are treated with pronase, suggesting that the surface receptor is protein or protein associated.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1983

Clonal chromosome abnormalities in patients with Waldenström's and CLL-associated macroglobulinemia: significance of trisomy 12.

We performed cytogenetic analyses by Q- and G-banding techniques of unstimulated or B-mitogen-stimulated spleen, bone marrow, and peripheral blood cells from six patients with malignant macroglobulinemia [two with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) and four with chronic lymphocytic leukemia associated macroglobulinemia (CLL-M)]. Normal karyotypes were obtained in two of the treated patients (one with WM in remission and the other with CLL-M in relapse). An extra chromosome 12 (trisomy 12) was observed in all four untreated patients. In patient no. 2 (K.R.) and no. 3 (F.G.) with CLL-M, an abnormal karyotype, with trisomy 12 as the only abnormality, was identified. In patient no. 1 (C.C.) with WM, there were two clonal chromosome changes, identified: 47, XX, -9, +12, plus marker chromosome and 48, XX, -9, +12, plus both marker and minute chromosomes. In patient no. 4 (R.M.) with CLL-M, a minute chromosome with or without loss of a G-group chromosome was seen in some metaphases without trisomy 12, in addition to metaphases with trisomy 12 alone. Each of the four untreated patients with WM or CLL-M had clonal chromosome abnormalities, suggesting that chromosome changes may be more frequently associated with WM or CLL-M than with typical CLL without macroglobulinemia. These observations also suggest that trisomy 12 may be the primary karyotypic change in malignant macroglobulinemia, whereas the appearance of the minute or marker chromosome as well as the loss of G-group chromosomes or chromosome no. 9 may be secondary karyotypic changes resulting from clonal evolution in these malignancies.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Effects of source leukocyte collection on the immune system.

This study was initiated in order to assess any immunologic effects that source leukocyte concentrate collection might have on double-bag plasmapheresis donors. Previous studies have shown that surveillance parameters, such as T versus non-T lymphocyte subpopulations, showed no abnormal values in donors with as many as 500 visits over a 12-year period. The present study demonstrates that the frequency and the total number of leukocyte donations do not effect the lymphocyte subpopulations and functions observed. No significant changes were noted for specific and nonspecific stimulation, natural killer (NK) cell activity, lymphocyte surface markers and a variety of functional parameters. For example, the apheresis donors manifested no differences in NK cell activity, human leukocyte interferon production, IgG synthesis by B cells and percent suppression of both IgG synthesis and mixed lymphocyte cultures, when compared to non-apheresed donors.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed1981

Evaluation of whole blood catalase estimation for diagnosis of malignancy.

Whole blood catalase levels were estimated using a disc flotation method in 209 random patients with a wide variety of malignancies. Fifty patients had received no treatment, and the remainder, although having undergone prior therapy, had recurrent or metastatic disease at the time of the study. No relationship was found between the presence of cancer and catalase levels. A direct relationship was found for catalase with hemoglobin levels in both normal and patients' samples. Whole blood catalase is of no value in diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. The decreased catalase values found here and reported previously by others are the result of low hemoglobin levels found in many patients with cancer.

Catalase↗
PubMed1981

A quantitative determination for the detection of immunoglobulin (IgG) on the surface of platelets.

A sensitive method for the quantitation of IgG on platelets had not been demonstrated until 1975, when Dixon, Rosse, and Ebbert described a quantitative antiglobulin consumption test useful in detecting platelet associated IgG (N Engl J Med 292:230, 1975). A modification of that technique has rendered the assay reproducible and removed the need for daily repetition of a standard IgG titration curve for quantitation. This modification utilizes 1-ethyl-3-3(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide HCl (ECDI) (Sigma, E-7750), in place of chromic chloride, as a coupling agent for attaching IgG (Miles 64-145) to sheep cells (SRC), used as indicator cells. The ECDI consistently couples IgG to SRC and does not subject the SRC to sporadic spontaneous lysis, as does chromic chloride. This modification permits the detection of IgG on platelets (Direct Test), or in sera (Indirect Test) by incubation of a washed platelet pool with sera in vitro, and testing as in the Direct Test. Normal values of 0.01-1.56 and 0.14-1.6 femtograms (F) per platelet have been obtained for the Direct and Indirect Tests, respectively. In six cases of suspected ITP, values ranged 12.0-221.0 F and 2.9-37.6 F for the Direct and Indirect Tests, respectively. In conclusion, in disease states or other abnormal situations, quantities of IgG can be detected that are not usually present on the platelets of normal subjects.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1980

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in patients with prostatic carcinoma.

Insulin-induced pituitary growth hormone (GH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and adrenal cortical response were studied in 12 patients with prostatic carcinoma. 3 patients demonstrated significant abnormal GH release associated with concentrations which remained on a high plateau during the study. 5 patients showed lack of ACTH-cortisol response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia. Those patients subsequently presented clinically with rapidly progressing disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗