ABC of spinal cord injury. Urological management.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Russell.
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Bulk-forming laxatives increase fecal volume and elicit aborally directed colonic motility patterns. Recently, it was demonstrated that test meals of the bulk-laxative fibers (cellulose and bran) elicited organized jejunal motor activity while nonlaxative fiber meals (guar) elicited unorganized jejunal motor activity. However, whether bulk-forming laxatives, as a class of compounds, differentially affect small intestinal motility has not been studied. Therefore, a study was made of the effects of the bulk laxatives psyllium and polycarbophil and the nonlaxative pectin on canine jejunal motor activity. Psyllium and pectin are examples of dietary fiber, while polycarbophil is a synthetic polymer. Pectin and psyllium test meals presented as viscous gels. In contrast, polycarbophil meals presented as a combination of discrete particles plus meal water. After each meal, measurements were made of the jejunal motility index, the time of reappearance of interdigestive burst activity, and overall motility patterns. Pectin and psyllium meals increased in viscosity as meal fiber content increased. As meal content and hence viscosity increased, both the laxative (psyllium) and nonlaxative (pectin) fiber meals elicited increasing jejunal motor activity and delays in the reappearance of the burst interval. For both fiber types, motor activity presented as randomly appearing contractions. In contrast, meals of the laxative polycarbophil elicited no more motor activity than the saline control meal. However, this control-level amount of activity presented as propagated clusters of contractions, ie, the "laxative-induced pattern." Polycarbophil did not delay the reappearance of burst activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In vitro experiments were carried out to compare the effects of single-dose and split-dose irradiation on a cell line (NB1-G) derived from human neuroblastoma and grown as multicellular tumour spheroids (MTS). The radiation response was evaluated in terms of regrowth delay; estimates of in situ cell survival were made by back-extrapolation of regrowth curves. These studies showed no significant difference in the effectiveness of single as compared to split dose irradiation i.e. no sparing effect of fractionation. If MTS constitute a realistic model for micrometastases in vivo, these results provide a radiobiological rationale for hyperfractionated treatment regimes in the adjuvant radiotherapy of neuroblastoma.
An in vitro latency system for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in cultured cells has been developed. Virus replication was suppressed by infection of human foetal lung cells at the supraoptimal temperature of 42 degrees C, and, following transfer of such cell cultures to the normal growth temperature of 37 degrees C, infectious virus was generally undetectable for at least 6 days. HSV-2 was reactivated by intertypic superinfection at 38.5 degrees C with temperature-sensitive mutants of HSV-1, or with human cytomegalovirus, but not by superinfection with adenovirus types 2 or 5. The HSV-1 mutant tsKsyn, which produces only immediate early polypeptides at 38.5 degrees C, was as effective as the late mutant tsIsyn, but tsK which had been irradiated with u.v. light to prevent gene expression did not reactivate HSV-2. The efficiency of reactivation was very high, since 15 to 34% of the theoretical input of infectious HSV-2 particles could be retrieved by superinfection with 0.3 p.f.u. of tsKsyn per cell. Reactivation of latent virus was not induced by cell subculture or by other treatments which alter cell metabolism. The system described here may be important for studies on the molecular basis of HSV latency.
Mice immunized with rat erythrocytes develop anti-erythrocyte autoantibodies, distinct anti-rat erythrocyte agglutinins, and suppressor-inducer cells, which regulate the production of autoantibody but not anti-rat erythrocyte agglutinins upon transfer to naive recipients. In this report, we have tried to determine the specificity of the suppressor-inducer cells. CBA/N mice (which express an X-linked genetic B-lymphocyte defect) immunized with rat erythrocytes developed no autoantibodies but normal levels of anti-rat erythrocyte antibodies and suppressor-inducer cells, thereby suggesting that neither idiotypes on autoreactive B cells nor idiotypes on autoantibody itself, stimulate suppressor-inducer cells. In contrast, rat erythrocyte-primed spleen cells suppressed both a primary 2,4,6 trinitrophenyl (TNP) response and anti-erythrocyte autoantibody production (but not anti-rat erythrocyte antibodies) upon transfer to naive recipients and challenge with TNP-rat erythrocytes. It is considered that the suppressor-inducer cells are carrier-specific and that they are not stimulated by idiotypes on either autoantibody or autoreactive B cells.
Positron emission tomography (PET) with 11C-2-deoxyglucose (11DG) was used to compare regional brain metabolism in four patients with chronic schizophrenia who had no history of psychotropic medication and in 12 normal controls. Patients had a second PET scan after an injection of thiothixene to evaluate the effects of acute neuroleptics on glucose metabolism. The patients showed higher glucose metabolic values than the normals and did not show the metabolic hypofrontality reported in chronic medicated patients with schizophrenia. Administration of the neuroleptic did not have a significant effect in the metabolic pattern of the patients. These results give support to the hypothesis that prolonged medication may contribute to the metabolic hypofrontal pattern seen in patients with schizophrenia.
Ultrafilterable plasma and urinary levels of platinum were quantitated for 24 hours after the first- and fourth-course infusion of cisplatin (CDDP) to seven patients. Four patients received 80 mg/m2 and three patients received 100 mg/m2 CDDP as a 2-hour infusion. The area under the curve (AUC) of ultrafilterable platinum, average renal clearance (CIR) of ultrafilterable platinum, and percentage of the platinum dose excreted in urine (% E) were determined for each infusion over the 26-hour period of the study. The AUC was higher in all patients after the fourth-course infusion, with a median increase of 74%. The median CLR was 494 mL/min (range, 214 to 996 mL/min) for the first course and decreased to 156 mL/min (range, 108 to 271 mL/min) for the fourth-course infusion (P less than .02). The median % E was 29.2% (range, 19.6% to 37.7%) for the first course and decreased to 19.9% (range, 12.4% to 25.9%) for the fourth-course infusion (P less than .02). There was no difference in creatinine clearance for the two infusions (median, 94 mL/min; P greater than .05). Urinary excretion of B2-microglobulin (B2-MG) and N-acetyl-B-glucosaminidase (NAG) was highly variable between patients and did not provide a useful predictor of changes in renal function. Four courses of CDDP therapy resulted in significantly reduced renal elimination of platinum in patients, probably through a reduction in the secretion of the drug in the proximal tubule of the kidney. The results suggest that increased antitumor effect and toxicity could occur in patients receiving sequential courses of cisplatin.
When bovine parathyroid cells in culture are exposed to the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25(OH)2D3, a significant decrease in the steady-state levels of pre-proparathyroid hormone (pre-proPTH) mRNA occurs. The possibility that the fall in specific mRNA is due to a decrease in rate of transcription of the PTH gene was examined in this study. In the presence of 1,25(OH)2D3, there was a rapid and steady decline in PTH gene transcription rate which fell to a minimum of 10-15% of control at 24 h. The effect was observed at physiological levels (10(-11)M) and was also fully reversible.
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We report a patient with non-B non-T acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who has translocation t(10;19)(q26;q13), which has not been reported previously. A brief review of the translocations involving chromosome #19 in ALL is also presented.
Three patients had status epilepticus appearing de novo as the presenting manifestation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encephalopathy. Clinical findings of infectious mononucleosis were absent and EBV-specific serologic tests made or confirmed the diagnosis in each case. Epstein-Barr virus should be considered as a potential cause when status epilepticus occurs in the absence of previous seizures or an identified cause of seizures. The diagnosis may be made in some cases only with the use of EBV-specific serologic testing.
Nonlinear renal clearance of ultrafilterable platinum was observed in 5 of 7 patients given cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (II) in doses of 50-140 mg/m2 by short-term infusion (2 h). Average renal clearance determined during and 24 h after infusion ranged from 100 to 543 ml/min and always exceeded creatinine clearance, suggesting that ultrafilterable platinum was renally secreted. Saturable tubular reabsorption was postulated on the basis that renal clearance was highest at peak plasma and urinary levels and fell as the levels declined. Although an overall relationship between dose and renal clearance was not apparent, one patient receiving the highest dose (140 mg/m2) had elevated average renal clearance (485 ml/min), probably associated with saturation of reabsorption, whereas a patient receiving 50 mg/m2 had the lowest average renal clearance (100 ml/min), indicating that either active secretion was lower, or tubular reabsorption was saturated. One patient also showed urine-flow-dependent changes in renal clearance. Four patients had transient rises in ultrafilterable platinum levels, which were attributed to changes in renal tubular reabsorption. The results suggest that renal clearance of ultrafilterable platinum is probably dependent on cis-DDP dose, urine flow rate, and individual variability in the extent of active secretion and tubular reabsorption. A sensitive HPLC method was applied and ultrafilterable platinum was detected in the plasma of all patients 24 h after infusion. Renal tubular reabsorption may result in prolonged plasma levels of ultrafilterable platinum, which could contribute to the drug's antitumour effect.