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Biomedical subjects

J Hay

Publications and source records attributed to J Hay.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Successful medical therapy of Acanthamoeba keratitis with topical chlorhexidine and propamidine.

INTRODUCTION: Following laboratory studies on new potential chemotherapy for Acanthamoeba keratitis, when chlorhexidine and propamidine provided an additive in vitro effect, a series of 12 patients with culture-proven Acanthamoeba keratitis from three UK centres was monitored during and after therapy. METHODS: In all cases the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by amoebal culture. In some instances identification of the protozoa by direct microscopy of corneal tissue was possible. The medication was provided topically in drop form until the keratitis had resolved. In vitro sensitivity to chlorhexidine and propamidine was performed on all isolates and compared with sensitivity to a range of other drugs used for treatment of the infection. RESULTS: In vitro drug testing confirmed that trophozoites and cysts of all 12 Acanthamoeba isolates were fully sensitive to chlorhexidine and propamidine. Therapy was satisfactory for controlling and eradicating the acanthamoebal infection in all patients. Three patients developed discrete stromal infiltration at the site of infection that resolved 1 week after commencing therapy, with or without use of steroids. Two patients developed a late inflammatory effect in the stromal scar at 6 months, which resolved with steroids. No clinical evidence of chlorhexidine toxicity was found in any patients. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of topical chlorhexidine and propamidine was very effective for treating Acanthamoeba keratitis provided the drugs were continued for a sufficient period. No drug toxicity or resistance of Acanthamoeba isolates was observed in the 12 treated patients.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1996

An 18-month follow-up on the effectiveness of a sexuality workshop: some methodological pitfalls.

Students from four health sciences programs (Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy) participated in a two-day Sexuality Workshop and completed pre- and post-workshop questionnaires dealing with sexual attitudes, comfort, and knowledge. Eighteen months later, these students were asked to complete the same questionnaires. Not only had they sustained the gains made during the workshop, but they continued to show improvement in the three areas during this interval. However, of greater importance than the positive finding is the need to understand the range of methodological problems encountered in carrying out this type of follow-up educational inquiry and in seeking measures for improving the validity and generalizability of such research.

Education↗
PubMed1996

HIV-induced cytopathology and viral load in a pentamidine-treated lymphocytic cell line.

Preincubation of CD4 lymphocytes with pentamidine isethionate at a concentration of 1.5 mg/L then removal from incubation medium prior to addition of HIV-1, or incubation of cells with the drug and virus simultaneously, increased HIV-1 DNA load but reduced p24 antigen release. The number of syncytia generated was not affected by the presence of pentamidine. The extent of balloon degeneration of cells was greater, however, although this was not associated with a discernable increase in cellular necrosis or reduction in cell viability. This suggests that drug-treatment resulted in an increased load of intracytoplasmic (but not necessarily integrated) forms of HIV- 1; this may explain the lower levels of antigen produced and also the balloon degeneration of treated cells, a phenomenon previously observed with other retroviruses.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed1996

Effect of patient wear and extent of protein deposition on adsorption of Acanthamoeba to five types of hydrogel contact lenses.

Attachment of Acanthamoeba species to hydrogel contact lenses is a possible route of infection in Acanthamoeba keratitis. In this study, Acanthamoeba adsorption was compared with extent of lens deposition in worn lenses of different hydrogel polymers. After wear, lenses (80 lenses of 5 different types) were analyzed for total protein, surface area of deposition, and Acanthamoeba castellani trophozoite and cyst adsorption. Adsorption of Acanthamoeba trophozoites to worn lenses was greater than adsorption to unworn lenses for four of the five lens polymers (p < 0.01). Adsorption of cysts was greater for one of the five lens polymers (p < 0.001); all other adsorption assays showed no change with wear (p > 0.05). Adsorption was affected by both the water content and ionicity of the lens polymer. These results show that adsorption of Acanthamoeba to worn hydrogel contact lenses is greater than or equal to adsorption to unworn lenses.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1996

Variation in the genome of rice tungro bacilliform virus: molecular characterization of six isolates.

The DNA genomes of isolates of rice tungro bacilliform virus from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were cloned and compared with that of the type isolate from the Philippines. Restriction endonuclease maps revealed differences between the isolates and cross-hybridization showed that they fell into two groups, those from the Indian subcontinent and those from south-east Asian countries. The genomes of isolates from the Indian subcontinent contained a deletion of 64 bp when compared with those from south-east Asia. The implications of this variation are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Drainage of CSF through lymphatic pathways and arachnoid villi in sheep: measurement of 125I-albumin clearance.

We investigated lymphatic drainage pathways of the central nervous system in conscious sheep and quantified the clearance of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tracer into lymph and blood. In the first group of studies, 125I-HSA was injected into the lateral ventricles of the brain or into lumbar CSF and after 6 h, various lymph nodes and tissues were excised and counted for radioactivity. Multiple lymphatic drainage pathways of cranial CSF existed in the head and neck region defined by elevated 125I-HSA in the retropharyngeal/cervical, thymic, pre-auricular and submandibular nodes. Implicated in spinal CSF drainage were mainly the lumbar and intercostal nodes. In a second group of experiments, multiple cervical vessels and the thoracic duct were cannulated and lymph diverted from the animals. Transport of tracer through arachnoid villi was taken from recoveries in venous blood. Following intraventricular administration, the 6 h recoveries of 125I-HSA in the lymph (sum of cervical and thoracic duct) and blood were 8.2% +/- 3.0 and 12.5% +/- 4.5 respectively and at 22 h, 25.1% +/- 6.9 and 20.8% +/- 4.1 respectively. When 125I-HSA was injected into lumbar CSF, the 6 h recoveries of tracer in thoracic duct and blood were 11.6% +/- 2.7 and 16.3% +/- 3.7 respectively. Total lymph and blood recoveries were not significantly different in any experiment. We conclude that the clearance of 125I-HSA from the CSF is almost equally distributed between lymphatic and arachnoid villi pathways.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Phosphorylation and nuclear localization of the varicella-zoster virus gene 63 protein.

The protein encoded by varicella-zoster virus open reading frame 63 and carboxy-terminal deletions of the same were expressed either as fusion proteins at the carboxy terminus of the maltose-binding protein in Escherichia coli or independently in transfected mammalian cells. The truncations contained amino acids 1 to 142 (63 delta N) or 1 to 210 (63 delta K) of the complete 278-amino-acid primary sequence. Recombinant casein kinase II phosphorylated the 63F and 63 delta KF fusion proteins in vitro but did not phosphorylate the 63 delta NF fusion protein, implying that phosphorylation occurred between amino acids 142 and 210. Immunoprecipitation of 35S- or 32P-labelled extracts of cells transfected with plasmids expressing 63, 63 delta N, or 63 delta K also indicated that in situ phosphorylation most likely occurred between amino acids 142 and 210. These combined results suggest that casein kinase II plays a significant role in the phosphorylation of the varicella-zoster virus 63 protein. Indirect immunofluorescence of transfected cells indicated nuclear localization of the 63 protein and cytoplasmic localization of 63 delta K and 63 delta N, implying a requirement for sequences between amino acids 210 and 278 for efficient nuclear localization.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Acanthamoeba griffini. Molecular characterization of a new corneal pathogen.

PURPOSE: Acanthamoeba was isolated from the cornea of a soft contact lens wearer who had keratitis. The protozoan was also isolated from the contact lens storage case and the domestic water supply used to clean the case. Using morphologic features, all three isolates were identified tentatively as A. griffini, a species not previously associated with keratitis. Complete small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18S rDNA) sequence analysis was used to characterize further the three isolates. METHODS: 18S rDNA was polymerase chain reaction-amplified from whole cell DNA derived from amoebal lysates. The genes were cloned and sequenced. Complete sequences of approximately 2800 base pairs were obtained from each culture and compared wih those stored in a data base for homologous Acantamoeba sequences. RESULTS: The isolates were unequivocally identified as A. griffini both by comparison of the gene sequence available for the type strain of the species and the presence of a unique group I intron located within the small subunit rDNA. Sequences obtained for the three isolates were identical, indicating that they were the same strain. CONCLUSIONS: The first direct connection between human disease and A. griffini is reported from a case of Acanthamoeba keratitis. The type strain of this species was isolated from a marine environment, but the disease-causing strain ws isolated from a domestic water supply. The DNA sequences obtained confirmed unequivocally the epidemiologic association between a keratitis-causing strain of Acanthamoeba, the contact lens storage case, and the domestic water supply.

Acanthamoeba↗