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Biomedical subjects

J Parsons

Publications and source records attributed to J Parsons.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

What is the relationship between postpartum withdrawal from school and repeat pregnancy among adolescent mothers?

An association between the failure of teenage mothers to return to school postpartum and rapid repeat pregnancy (recidivism) has been described. We report the postpartum education pursuits and contraceptive practices of 29 teenage mothers. Our data, together with the literature, suggest that with close postpartum follow-up, young mothers who are not motivated to return to school following delivery can effectively postpone pregnancy.

Adolescent↗

Respiratory and cardiac effects of metoprolol and bevantolol in patients with asthma.

The effects on standing heart rate and respiratory function of two relatively selective beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonists, metoprolol and bevantolol, were compared in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study of 16 patients with asthma. After control observations on 2 separate days, the patients received approximately equivalent cardiac beta-adrenoceptor antagonist doses of metoprolol, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg, and bevantolol, 18.75, 37.5, 75 and 150 mg, at intervals of 2 hours. Dosing was stopped if symptoms warranted or if there was a fall of greater than or equal to 20% in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second. In general, the cumulative dosing regimen proved a safe and effective means of assessing bronchial responsiveness to these beta-blockers in asthma, but one patient had to be dropped from the study because of severe bronchoconstriction after the first dose. Of the 15 patients studied who were taking both drugs, seven patients were withdrawn prematurely. In these seven patients, the average maximum tolerated cumulative doses were 45.5 mg bevantolol and 26.8 mg metoprolol, doses that are much lower than those usually required for therapeutic activity. The respiratory response to either drug could not be predicted.

Administration, Oral↗

Differential localization of mRNAs of collagen types I and II in chick fibroblasts, chondrocytes, and corneal cells by in situ hybridization using cDNA probes.

We have employed a highly specific in situ hybridization protocol that allows differential detection of mRNAs of collagen types I and II in paraffin sections from chick embryo tissues. All probes were cDNA restriction fragments encoding portions of the C-propeptide region of the pro alpha-chain, and some of the fragments also encoded the 3'-untranslated region of mRNAs of either type I or type II collagen. Smears of tendon fibroblasts and those of sternal chondrocytes from 17-d-old chick embryos as well as paraffin sections of 10-d-old whole embryos and of the cornea of 6.5-d-old embryos were hybridized with 3H-labeled probes for either type I or type II collagen mRNA. Autoradiographs revealed that the labeling was prominent in tendon fibroblasts with the type I collagen probe and in sternal chondrocytes with the type II collagen probe; that in the cartilage of sclera and limbs from 10-d-old embryos, the type I probe showed strong labeling of fibroblast sheets surrounding the cartilage and of a few chondrocytes in the cartilage, whereas the type II probe labeled chondrocytes intensely and only a few fibroblasts; and that in the cornea of 6.5-d-old embryos, the type I probe labeled the epithelial cells and fibroblasts in the stroma heavily, and the endothelial cells slightly, whereas the type II probe labeled almost exclusively the epithelial cells except for a slight labeling in the endothelial cells. These data indicate that embryonic tissues express these two collagen genes separately and/or simultaneously and offer new approaches to the study of the cellular regulation of extracellular matrix components.

Animals↗

Combined preoperative and postoperative radiation for bladder cancer. Results of RTOG/Jefferson Study.

Ninety-two patients with bladder cancer have been treated with combined pre- and postoperative radiation in a Radiation Oncology Study Group (RTOG) Phase I-II study and at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Patients with invasive bladder cancer were entered into the study and given low-dose preoperative radiation (500 rad) to the whole pelvis, either on the day of or the day before cystectomy. Following surgery, patients were pathologically staged. Patients with stage B1 (T2) (grade 3 or 4), stage B2 and C (T3) tumors were given 4500 rad in 5 weeks postoperative radiation. Follow-up in the study ranges from a minimum of 24 months to 5 years, with a median of 36 months. Incidence of complications was 15% (14/92). The 4-year actuarial survival (Kaplan-Meier) by stage of disease is 68% for stage B1 (T2) (grade 3 or 4), 78% for stage B2, and 57% for stage C. These survival results appear to be better than those obtained with other approaches of adjuvant therapy and/or surgery in comparable histopathologically staged patients.

Carcinoma, Transitional Cell↗

Combined pre- and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy for bladder cancer: results of RTOG/Jefferson Study.

This paper presents the results of adjuvant "sandwich" radiotherapy for bladder cancer in 65 patients treated in a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) phase II study and at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. In this approach of adjuvant therapy, patients with clinical stages B or C bladder cancer were given low dose preoperative irradiation (500 rads) to the whole pelvis on the day before or on the day of surgery. Following cystectomy, patients were pathologically staged. Those with high grade (III or IV) stage B1 tumors or stages B2 or C were given 4500 rads in five weeks postoperative radiation. Thirty-four of these 65 patients were entered in the RTOG protocol and 31 in the Jefferson Study. TWenty patients had early lesions (stage 0, A or B1, grade I-II) and did not receive postoperative irradiation. Six patients had stage D cancer and were given palliative therapy. Of 39 patients eligible for postoperative irradiation, 29 received the full course of pre- and postoperative irradiation. Ten patients did not receive treatment. Follow-up ranged from six months to three years with a median of 18 months. Treatment was extremely well tolerated. Incidence of major complications was 6% (4/65). Local control of disease was excellent, with no failures in pelvis response. Actuarial survival at three years is 78%. At this preliminary analysis, these survival results appear to be better than those obtained with other approaches using preoperative irradiation and surgery.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Moxalactam (LY127935) in treatment of meningitis due to gram-negative bacilli.

Moxalactam (LY127935; 6059S), a new broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotic, was used successfully with an aminoglycoside in a patient with Serratia marcescens meningitis complicating a neurosurgical procedure. With a bioassay method, peak and trough serum and cerebrospinal; fluid concentrations of moxalactam were determined during therapy. Mean peak and trough serum levels were 100.6 and 35.5 micrograms/ml, respectively. Corresponding mean peak and trough cerebrospinal fluid levels were 12.4 and 10.38 micrograms/ml. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of moxalactam exceeded the minimal bactericidal concentration for the infecting organism by more than 30-fold throughout therapy. No untoward effects of moxalactam were observed. Moxalactam may be a useful agent in the treatment of meningitis due to susceptible gram-negative bacilli.

Cephalosporins↗

Effects of cyanate on the distribution of isotope-labeled H2O and extracellular markers in rat liver and tumors.

Previous work has shown that administration of sodium cyanate inhibits the uptake of several metabolites in tumors under conditions in which there is generally no inhibition in normal tissues of the rat. In the present work, it was found that cyanate treatment inhibits the distribution of 3H2O, [3H]methoxyinulin, and [14C]sucrose in rats with greater effects in the tumors than the normal tissues examined. Tumor-bearing rats received i.p. injections of sodium cyanate (250 mg/kg body weight). After 60 min, the rats received s.c. injections of 3H2O. Treatment with cyanate decreased the radioactivity in blood and liver, but greater effects were seen in five transplanted tumors (LK1 colon tumor and Morris hepatomas 5123C, 7288CTC, 7777, and 9618A2). At 10 min after injection of 3H2O, the mean radioactivities in tumors of cyanate-treated rats were 11 to 23% of control values and in some tumors were still less than in controls at 60 min after isotope injection. Evidence was obtained that the action of cyanate was not due to osmotic effects or loss of water from the tissues. The distribution of the extracellular markers [3H]methoxyinulin and [14C]sucrose was also decreased in hepatomas in cyanate-treated rats. The data do not exclude effects on membrane permeability but suggested that cyanate decreased circulation in the tumors.

Animals↗

Arbovirus isolations from ixodid ticks infesting livestock, Kano Plain, Kenya.

In a study conducted on the Kano Plain, Kenya, virus isolation attempts were made on ixodid ticks collected, over a 14-month period, from livestock held in family enclosures (bomas) before releasing the animals for daily foraging. 8735 Amblyomma variegatum (Fabricius) were tested, 98.6% of which were taken from cattle, yielding 36 strains of Dugbe (DUG), four strains of Nairobi sheep disease (NSD), three strains of Bhanja (BHA), one strain of Thogoto (THO) and five strains of virus which could not be characterized. 6549 Rhipicephalus spp. ticks were collected (60.3% from cattle). NSD, DUG and BHA viruses were each isolated twice from ticks taken from cattle. One BHA virus strain was recovered from ticks from a sheep. One strain recovered from ticks on cattle could not be characterized.

Animals↗