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Biomedical subjects

J Morris

Publications and source records attributed to J Morris.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Imipenem versus standard therapy in the treatment of serious soft tissue infection.

Thirty-five patients with 36 episodes of serious soft tissue infection were entered in a prospective randomised trial to receive treatment with either intravenous imipenem or standard therapy, most commonly i.v. cloxacillin and benzylpenicillin. Eighteen patients received imipenem (Group 1) and eighteen standard therapy (Group 2). In Group 1, fourteen patients were cured, one improved and three failed therapy. The three failures comprised two where imipenem had to be stopped because of side-effects and one changed to standard therapy after 48 h because of lack of response. In Group 2, fourteen patients were cured, three improved and one failed therapy. This last case was due to lack of clinical response. Tolerance of both drugs was good, although eight patients in Group 1 versus none in Group 2 developed infusion phlebitis. All significant bacterial isolates were sensitive to imipenem, although several were resistant to cloxacillin and/or benzylpenicillin. No development of bacterial resistance was noted in isolated pathogens. There was no significant difference in rapidity of response or length of treatment between Groups 1 and 2. Imipenem is a safe and effective alternative to standard regimens in the treatment of serious soft tissue infection, although its side-effects and broad spectrum make it difficult to justify its use for uncomplicated cellulitis.

Abscess↗
PubMed1988

Radioimmunolocalization and selective delivery of radiation in a rat model system: comparison of intact and fragmented antibody.

Monoclonal antibody (MoAb) fragments are known to have advantages over intact immunoglobulins for radioimmunoscintigraphy. It is less clear whether they are as effective in the delivery of radioimmunotherapy. The imaging and dosimetric properties of an intact MoAb, K-1-21, reactive against human kappa light chains (LC) were compared with that of its F(ab')2 and Fab fragments using a normal rat model system. Two days after injection of 131I-K-1-21 into rats bearing antigen-sepharose implants, gamma camera images showed specific localization of the MoAb to the target (kappa LC) but not to the control (lambda LC) implant. Better images were obtained with K-1-21 F(ab')2 than with Fab or intact antibody. Mean kappa implant: blood ratios were 8.6 +/- 3.9 for Fab, 7.9 +/- 1.8 for F(ab')2 and 2.0 +/- 0.3 for intact K-1-21. The improvement associated with the use of 131I-K-1-21 fragments was, however, achieved at the expense of lower absolute values of activity at the target site. Thus the absorbed dose delivered to the implant by the intact K-1-21 was double that delivered with F(ab')2 and six times that delivered with Fab. As intact K-1-21 also delivered a greater radiation dose to normal tissues, F(ab')2 fragments may have the greatest overall advantages for therapy with radionuclide MoAb conjugates.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Usefulness of ejection fraction response to exercise one month after acute myocardial infarction in predicting coronary anatomy and prognosis.

The prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) measured during maximal exercise testing early after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was assessed in 75 patients, aged 65 years or younger, a mean of 36 days after AMI. At follow-up for a mean 12 months (range 6 to 26), medical complications developed in 15 patients: cardiac death in 5, ventricular fibrillation in 1, reinfarction in 2, unstable angina in 5, and severe cardiac failure in 2. Seven other patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting for severe angina. When LVEF less than 50% at rest was compared with LVEF of 50% or more, the 2-year life-table survival free of complications was 54 +/- 21% compared with 84 +/- 19% (p less than 0.05). When exercise LVEF less than 50% was compared with LVEF of 50% or more, the 2-year survival rate free of medical complication was 42 +/- 32% compared with 83 +/- 20% (p less than 0.05). LVEF change from rest to exercise was not related to prognosis. Patients with combined medical and surgical events tended to have lower rest and exercise LVEFs, but changes in LVEF during exercise were again unrelated to prognosis. Sixty-five patients underwent coronary arteriography. After inferior AMI the mean LVEF was lower in those with multivessel than in those with 1-vessel coronary artery disease at rest (47 +/- 13% vs 59 +/- 7%, p less than 0.005) and during exercise (47 +/- 13% vs 59 +/- 9%, p less than 0.005); however, the change in LVEF during exercise was not related to coronary anatomy anatomy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1987

Osteoporosis, falls, and age in fracture of the proximal femur.

The relative importance of osteoporosis and risk of falling in causing hip fracture is not known. Femoral neck bone mass was measured in 708 elderly people, all of whom had fallen and injured a hip. Below 75 years of age there was a steep increase in relative risk of fracture with reduced bone mass, measured by Singh grade. Above that age the increase in risk was small, and neuromuscular responses which protect the skeleton against trauma may be more important than bone mass.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1987

Choice of surgery for early breast cancer: pre- and postoperative levels of clinical anxiety and depression in patients and their husbands.

Two groups of patients with early breast cancer were studied prospectively to assess whether being offered a choice of surgery (simple mastectomy or wide excision plus radiotherapy) influenced levels of anxiety and depression pre- and postoperatively. A significantly higher percentage of the patients not offered a choice of surgery experienced high levels of anxiety and depression pre-operatively and up to 2 months postoperatively compared with patients offered a choice; the results were also similar for the husbands of these patients. At 4 months, differences between the two groups were not statistically significant, although the trend remained the same with more patients not offered a choice of treatment showing high levels of anxiety and depression. Patients offered a choice of surgery had similar pre- and postoperative levels of anxiety and depression to patients with benign breast disease and patients undergoing surgery for non-cancerous conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Induction of an immature T-cell phenotype in malignant helper T cells by cocultivation with epidermal cell cultures.

The possible inductive effect of epidermal cells on T-cell maturation has been examined employing an in vitro cocultivation technique. Mononuclear cells from 6 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and from 12 healthy volunteers were studied. In the 6 CTCL patients, all showed an expansion of the helper T-cell subpopulation and in one patient with leukemic CTCL, there was almost complete replacement of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by malignant cells with a helper T-cell phenotype. Epidermal cells derived from normal human skin were cultured to confluent monolayers, and were cocultivated with the mononuclear cells from CTCL patients or normal controls for 48 h at a density of 10(6)/ml. Following cocultivation, the surface phenotype of the cells from the 12 healthy volunteers and 5 of the patients with CTCL showed no significant phenotypic change. In the patient with leukemic CTCL, however, the surface phenotype of the malignant T cells had changed, with the acquisition of the T6 antigen by the majority of the cells. Cells cocultivated in medium alone and with human fibroblast monolayers showed no change in surface phenotype. The malignant T cells from the leukemic CTCL patient failed to react in a mixed lymphocyte culture to lymphocytes from 2 different healthy donors, and showed no phenotypic change following culture with these lymphocytes, indicating that the phenotypic change seen was not due to allogeneic stimulation.

Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte↗
PubMed1987

Daily sleep patterns observed among institutionalized elderly residents.

The sleep/wake patterns of 16 institutionalized demented women were visually monitored hourly for 14 consecutive days. Individual mean total sleep time varied markedly from 5.0 to 12.1 hours per 24 hours. Unexpectedly, amounts of day sleep and night sleep correlated positively, suggesting a general sleep tendency manifested throughout the 24-hour day. Consistent individual sleep patterns and high inter-day correlations were found. A high degree of individuality in the sleep/wake patterns was also found, contrary to expectations that elderly obtain less sleep than others. Night sleep in the institutionalized elderly was not lessened by daytime sleep. Visual monitoring of sleep/wake patterns generated reliable data.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Diet, infection, and acute appendicitis in Britain and Ireland.

During 1979-82 hospital discharge rates after emergency admission for acute appendicitis were higher in Eire (17.4 per 10,000 population) than in England (10.3), Scotland (11.1), or Wales (12.3). Comparison of food consumption between the four countries, and between the health board areas of Eire and regions of Scotland, shows that appendicitis rates are highest in communities that consume more potatoes, sugar, and cereals, and less non-potato vegetables and fruit. The rates are also related to mortality from enteric and respiratory infections, to general practice consultations for infective disease, and to postneonatal mortality. This is evidence in favour of the hygiene hypothesis for the aetiology of appendicitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1987

Automated percutaneous diskectomy: initial patient experience. Work in progress.

A new method has been developed for percutaneously decompressing herniated lumbar disks. The method entails gaining access to the disk space through the use of an introduction system and a cannula. A 2-mm aspiration probe called a Nucleotome is then placed through the cannula into the disk space, and the nucleus pulposus is aspirated. Thirty-six patients have undergone the procedure, with a successful result in 31. There were no significant complications encountered, and the procedure is now being done on an outpatient basis. These preliminary results indicate that automated percutaneous diskectomy has the potential to replace laminectomy in the treatment of uncomplicated herniated disks.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

The polypeptide P16 is a carboxy-terminal cleavage product of rat growth hormone in anterior pituitary and GH3 pituitary tumor cells.

P16 is a small polypeptide originally found in GH3 rat pituitary tumor cells whose expression is tightly linked to the expression of rat GH (rGH) at a genetic level. It is estimated to be 3-5 kilodaltons smaller than rGH and exhibits the same complex response to T3, dexamethasone, and insulin in GH3 cells as does rGH. P16 was also found in high but variable abundance in anterior but not posterior pituitary. To approach the question of whether it arises from a unique gene or derives instead from the rGH gene by a posttranscriptional mechanism, we have measured its structural relatedness to rGH by peptide mapping techniques. From partial peptide maps of rGH and P16 by V8 protease, it appeared that the two proteins were related by loss of a common, small peptide. Both proteins also contained many tryptic peptides in common. Cleavage by N-chlorosuccinimide at tryptophan residues showed that rGH and P16 both contained the same N-terminal peptide but differed in their C-termini. Hence, P16 differs from rGH by loss of an amino acid segment somewhere in the C-terminus. Charge calibration of two-dimensional gels indicated that P16 was more acidic than rGH by at least five negative charges. These observations taken together imply that rGH gives rise to P16 by a highly specific cleavage in the C-terminus mostly likely between residues 152 and 156. This region also harbors an alanine-leucine at which pro-rGH is cleaved to remove the 26 amino acid signal peptide.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Psoriatic skin lesions contain biologically active amounts of an interleukin 1-like compound.

The presence of neutrophil chemoattractant material in aqueous extracts of lesional psoriatic scale has been investigated by use of an agarose microdroplet chemokinesis method in combination with ultrafiltration and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fractions were also assayed for murine thymocyte co-stimulating activity. Aqueous extracts of psoriatic scale contained significantly greater neutrophil chemokinetic activity than extracts of scale from normal skin. Successive ultrafiltration of extracts showed that the chemokinetic material was 10 to 30 kd. Heat lability and gel filtration HPLC characteristics suggested that the major chemokinetically active material in aqueous extracts of psoriatic scale is different from C5a des arg. Reversed-phase HPLC of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid/acetonitrile extracts of psoriatic scale revealed two clearly resolved peaks of chemokinetic activity, the major peak consistently containing thymocyte co-stimulating activity. No significant neutrophil chemokinetic activity was seen in fractions after reversed-phase HPLC of scale from normal skin. These findings suggest that a major portion of the neutrophil chemoattractant activity in aqueous extracts of psoriatic scale is due to interleukin 1-like material, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Adult↗