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Biomedical subjects

J Regan

Publications and source records attributed to J Regan.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Cosmetic and functional outcomes of breast conserving treatment for early stage breast cancer. 2. Relationship with psychosocial functioning.

The relationship between cosmetic and functional results of breast conserving therapy and psychosocial functioning was examined in a sample of 76 patients with early stage breast cancer, who received treatment between 1975 and 1985. The patients were interviewed at their homes regarding breast cosmesis, arm functioning and psychosocial health, and subsequently attended the hospital for independent assessment of cosmetic and functional outcomes by clinical observers. High levels of psychological distress, disturbance of body image, and decreased sexual functioning were noted in approximately one-quarter of the study sample. About half of the patients expressed heightened concern with disease recurrence and their future health. Psychosocial problems were only modestly associated with treatment-related cosmetic and functional outcomes, as determined by clinical ratings and objective assessments. The patients' own ratings of breast cosmesis and arm functioning exhibited somewhat higher correlations with self-reported psychosocial functioning. In particular, a significant association was noted between the patients' ratings of overall cosmesis and arm edema and their body image (r = 0.48 and r = 0.43, respectively). The association between cosmetic and functional results and self-reported psychosocial health was strongest among those patients younger in age and treated longer ago. These findings suggest that, in order to evaluate the impact of breast conserving therapy on the patients' quality of life, the patients' own assessments of cosmetic and functional outcomes should be used as a primary source of information.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A prospective randomised trial of 4 Gy or 8 Gy single doses in the treatment of metastatic bone pain.

270 patients with painful bone metastases requiring palliative radiotherapy were randomised to receive single fractions of 4 Gy or 8 Gy in a randomised trial. Pain scores and analgesic usage were recorded before treatment and at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Pain was assessed by patients on a 4 point graded scale using pain charts administered by a central trials office. Response was defined as an improved rating compared to the pretreatment value. Compliance with the pain chart was 72% at 4 weeks. At 4 weeks, the actual response rates were 69% for 8 Gy and 44% for 4 Gy (p less than 0.001), but there was no difference in complete response (no pain) rates at 4 weeks or duration of response between the two arms. It is concluded that 8 Gy gives a higher probability of pain relief than 4 Gy, but that 4 Gy can be an effective alternative in situations of reduced tolerance.

Bone Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

Identification of single amino acid substitutions in the staphylococcal nuclease protein that enhance and diminish T cell clone recognition of naturally processed peptides.

It has been inferred that residue changes that affect T cell recognition of synthetic peptides will have a similar effect in the intact protein. However, since small peptides do not require antigen processing it is possible that residue changes in synthetic peptides will not have an equivalent effect in the intact protein. Mutant proteins of staphylococcal nuclease (Nase) and 15mer synthetic peptides with corresponding substitutions were compared to determine if residue changes within an immunodominant epitope have an effect on the generation of naturally processed peptides. Five different substitutions in the synthetic peptide resulted in loss of reactivity of individual Nase-specific clones. When the same single amino acid changes were made in the intact protein, the naturally-processed peptides were also unable to stimulate the Nase-specific clones. However, two other substitutions in the synthetic peptide were stimulatory for a T cell clone even though the same changes in the intact protein were non-stimulatory. These results suggest that certain residue changes affect recognition of the naturally processed peptide but not the synthetic peptide with the same amino acid change. In addition, these results demonstrate that the effects of amino acid substitutions in synthetic peptides on T cell recognition may not always reflect the effects of these substitutions in the intact protein. Substitutions located outside Nase-specific T cell epitopes were also examined. Thirty different mutant proteins were all stimulatory. Moreover, a number of these mutants proteins were 50- to 100-fold more efficient in their stimulatory capacity than the native Nase protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

Palliation and life quality in lung cancer; how good are clinicians at judging treatment outcome?

A recent trial by the MRC Lung Cancer Working Party used physician assessments to compare two palliative schedules of radiotherapy in lung cancer. A prospective study has been undertaken on a subset of these trial patients to see how physician assessments of symptomatic relief and general condition correlate with patient perception of therapeutic response. In 40 patients followed up monthly from presentation until close to death, good agreement was found between doctors and patients on change in specific physical symptoms and overall physical condition. Doctors were poor judges of life quality at presentation but appeared able to identify relative improvement or deterioration in overall quality of life. In conclusion, physician assessments may constitute valid end-points for radiotherapy trials comparing palliative schedules in lung cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

A pilot study of intraarterial chemotherapy with cisplatin in locally advanced head and neck cancers.

A prospective pilot study involving preoperative intraarterial chemotherapy with cisplatin in locally advanced oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas was initiated in March 1982. Twenty patients with TNM Stages III and IV disease underwent continuous intraarterial chemotherapy with cisplatin (90 mg/m2, at 1 mg/hour) and intravenous chemotherapy with methotrexate (50 mg/m2 X 1 dose). Arterial access was obtained by retrograde cannulation of the superficial temporal artery. One patient died of sepsis from leukopenia (mortality 5%). Catheter-related complications, most of them avoidable, totalled 30%. The total tumor response rate was 94%. With a median duration of follow-up of 14 months, the median survival of the group was not yet reached at 39 months. Eleven patients subsequently underwent definitive surgery and radiation with curative intent. When compared with matched historical controls, survival benefit was demonstrated: 60% versus 28% alive at 39 months (P = 0.015). Regional chemotherapy of cancers of the head and neck region is a feasible procedure with acceptable and avoidable morbidity. It should continue to be investigated in experimental protocols to improve patient survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Pulmonary fibroblasts: a model system for studying elastin synthesis.

Pulmonary interstitial fibroblasts were isolated from 4-day neonatal rat lung and cultured for varying periods of time after first passage. The ability of the cells to synthesize both soluble and insoluble elastin was examined by biochemical, immunological, and ultrastructural techniques. The cells synthesize a tropoelastin of 75,000 daltons which is cross-linked in the extracellular matrix to form sufficient amounts of insoluble elastin to be characterized directly by amino acid analysis. Although the cells produce a soluble form of elastin immediately after confluency and the deposition in the matrix begins shortly thereafter, the actual chemical definition of alkali-resistant elastin does not occur until 4 weeks after confluency. The apparent molecular weight of tropoelastin synthesized by the cells agrees with the molecular size of tropoelastin found in organ culture of neonatal lungs. The pulmonary fibroblast cultures provide an important model system for examining the regulation and response of elastin synthesis in lung interstitium.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Cardiopulmonary toxicity of tetrachloroethylene.

Tetrachloroethylene (1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethene) is a widely used organic solvent capable of producing adverse renal, hepatic, and central nervous system effects. The cardiac effects of tetrachloroethylene, thus far unexplored, were studied in several species. To standardize the dosimetry, tetrachloroethylene was prepared for intravenous injection in solutions of Tween 80, which had no demonstrable cardiotoxicity. In rabbits under urethane and in cats and dogs under pentobarbital, tetrachloroethylene increased the vulnerability of the ventricles to epinephrine-induced extra-systoles, bigeminal rhythms, and tachycardia. The mean threshold doses of tetrachloroethylene were 10 mg/kg in rabbits, 24 mg/kg in cats, and 13 mg/kg in dogs. In rabbits this threshold dose for cardiac arrhythmias correspond to blood levels between 2.2 and 3.6 microgram/ml. Animals demonstrating a reflex bradycardia to vasopressor doses of epinephrine were relatively resistant to the arrhythmogenic action of tetrachloroethylene. Ventricular arrhythmias occurred in less than 30% of the animals after tetrachloroethylene alone. In cats higher doses of tetrachloroethylene (40 mg/kg) produced acute pulmonary edema. Tetrachloroethylene (30-40 mg/kg) decreased left intraventricular dP/dt (max) in dogs, without significantly increasing left intraventricular end-diastolic pressure, although there was a transient decrease in arterial blood pressure that accompanied the early phase of myocardial depression. These results are being used as the basis for studies of the chronic effects of tetrachloroethylene on cardiac performance.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

The benzodiazepine receptor of mammalian brain.

There exists a saturable, high-affinity, stereospecific, regionally and pharmacologically specific, neuronally localized benzodiazepine receptor in mammalian brain, which has a development profile similar to other neurotransmitter receptors. This receptor appears to be modulated by gamma-aminobutyric acid and selected divalent cations, and chloride ions increase the affinity of the receptor for benzodiazepines. Several benzodiazepines were shown to bind irreversibly to the receptor upon exposure to ultraviolet light and these agents can be used to facilitate solubilization and purification of the benzodiazepine receptor. Although several substances have been suggested to be the endogenous ligand, none has achieved the acceptance given to other neurotransmitters or neuromodulators, e.g., enkephalins and endorphins.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1977

Enrichment medium for the isolation of Bordetella.

The development of a specimen collection and transport medium outfit for the rapid laboratory diagnosis of whoping cough is described. The transport medium consisted of a semisolid agar containing charcoal, cephalexin, and defibrinated horse blood. It was also found to be an excellent enrichment medium for the selective isolation of Bordetella pertussis and B. parapertussis from scantily populated specimens. The investigation of 3,237 specimens that yielded 1,419 positive isolates of Bordetella, including 86 B. parapertussis, during a 20-month period is presented. A total of 3,076 specimens were processed in the laboratory by using the enrichment medium in addition to the routine procedure. Of these specimens, 757 were submitted in our medium, from which 137 (18%) were positive. Of the 567 specimens received in Amies transport medium, 290 (51%) positive cultures were obtained by the enrichment method only and not by primary culture.

Agar↗
PubMed1976

Differential utilization of manpower.

Employers often ignore the different levels of skill among social workers and regard the non-MSW as merely a less expensive, second choice after the MSW for the same job. The author discusses a more productive allocation of work among MSWs and BSWs and describes its application in a medical setting.

Aftercare↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reactivity of twenty-two cytotoxic human monoclonal HLA antibodies towards soluble HLA class I in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PRA-STAT).

An ELISA, PRA-STAT was recently introduced for the detection of HLA class I specific antibodies of IgG isotype in patients' sera. We studied the antigenicity of the soluble HLA (sHLA) preparations that are used in this ELISA as the detection matrix, with the aid of a panel of complement binding human HLA monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs). A total of 22 HuMAbs, including both IgG and IgM were used. CDC and PRA-STAT ELISA were in complete agreement on 9 of the mAbs tested, with 16 HLA-A and 16 HLA-B locus antigens or their splits identified identically on CDC and PRA-STAT. In 7 of the remaining 13 HuMAbs, there was a difference of one antigen in the specificity pattern of the two techniques three times a specificity call not made by CDC, and four times a call not made by PRA-STAT. For the remaining 6 HuMAbs the differences involve 2 antigens (4 HuMAbs), and 3 or 4 antigens (1 HuMAb each). This study shows the validity of PRA-STAT for detection of HLA-class I antibodies, irrespective of isotype, in serum. The immunological integrity of the sHLA preparations used in PRA-STAT is also confirmed, albeit with some slight discrepancies in antibody specificity seen between PRA-STAT and CDC.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗