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Biomedical subjects

J Walker

Publications and source records attributed to J Walker.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the United States: an analysis of cases outside high-incidence groups.

From 1 June 1981 through 31 January 1984, 201 cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were reported involving persons who could not be classified into a group identified to be at increased risk for this syndrome. Thirty-five had received transfusions of single-donor blood components in the 5 years preceding diagnosis of the syndrome and 30 were sexual partners of persons belonging to a high-risk group. Information was incomplete for most remaining patients, but because many of these patients were demographically similar to populations recognized to be at increased risk for the syndrome, previously identified risk factors may have been present but not reported for some of them. Additionally, a few persons who met the case definition for the syndrome probably had other reasons for their opportunistic disease and did not have the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The slow emergence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in new populations is consistent with transmission mediated through sexual contact or parenteral exposure to blood.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1984

The organisation and evaluation of an open-access dysphagia clinic.

We describe our experience in organising an open access dysphagia clinic. Any patient with dysphagia for solids of at least one week's duration can be seen within one week of referral. One hundred and nine 'new' patients were referred in the first year. Fifty-five (50.4%) had peptic or malignant strictures. The majority of these received definitive treatment within ten days of the date of referral. This system of referral and treatment improves the speed of detection and treatment of patients with oesophageal stenosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Relief from chronic pain by low power laser irradiation.

In a double blind study, repeated irradiation with a low-power (1 mW) helium-neon laser produced relief in subjects with chronic pain. Analgesia was observed after exposure of the skin overlying the radial, medial and saphenous nerves and in some cases, irradiation of the appropriate painful nerve. Exposure of areas of skin not innervated by these nerves did not result in pain relief. Of the patients with trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, sciatica and ostearthritis, 19 of 26 experienced pain relief without the use of drugs. Patients who received sham stimulation reported no analgesia. Subjects who were exposed to laser irradiation had a large increase in the urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, the degradation product of serotonin.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1983

Lead in neonates and mothers.

Blood lead was estimated in mothers post partum and infants at birth using the Jarrell-Ash 810 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer equipped with the Delves cup sampling system. 1665 pairs (mother and her infant) of blood samples were examined. The geometric mean for mothers and infants was 59.6 micrograms/l, SD = 25.2, and 40.7 micrograms/l, SD = 20.1, respectively. 3.5% of mothers had lower blood lead concentration than their infants. A significant correlation was observed between the blood lead concentration of infants and mothers, r = 0.8111, y = 0.6322x + 3.868 +/- 11.345. The haematocrit ratio was estimated in 1209 pairs. The geometric mean for mothers and infants was 0.3937, SD = 0.0402 and 0.5158, SD = 0.0499, respectively. No significant correlation was observed between the haematocrit ratio of infants and mothers. Similarly, no significant correlation was observed between the haematocrit ratio and blood lead concentration of mothers and infants. The examination of blood lead concentration for seasonal variation showed no significant increase in lead, although a significant drop in values was observed in spring and possible explanations offered.

Female↗
PubMed1983

Use of normal immunoglobulin in an echovirus 11 outbreak in a special-care baby unit.

An epidemic of echovirus 11 infections occurred in the Cambridge special-care baby unit during August to October, 1982. There were 21 confirmed infections in babies; 1 died, 1 recovered after resection of a kidney, 5 had meningitis, and 6 had respiratory symptoms. Normal human immunoglobulin which contained antibody to echovirus 11 was administered intramuscularly (250 mg) to give protection. None of the children given immunoglobulin immediately after delivery (205 doses) developed symptoms or ill-effects. Serological studies reinforced earlier evidence for the protective action of antibody, and it is considered that immunoglobulin is a valuable safeguard for exposed newborn infants.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1983

Double-blind study of lorazepam and diazepam in status epilepticus.

Lorazepam was compared with diazepam for the treatment of status epilepticus in a double-blind, randomized trial. Seventy-eight patients with 81 episodes were enrolled. Patients received one or two doses of either 4 mg of lorazepam or 10 mg of diazepam intravenously. Seizures were controlled in 89% of the episodes treated with lorazepam and in 76% treated with diazepam. The times for onset of action of the medications did not differ significantly. Adverse effects occurred in 13% of the lorazepam-treated patients and in 12% of the diazepam-treated patients. Respiratory depression and arrest, the most frequent adverse effects, were treated symptomatically; no adverse sequelae were noted.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1983

Opiate antagonists overcome the learned helplessness effect but impair competent escape performance.

Rats exposed to inescapable shocks exhibited deficiencies in learning to escape shock in a novel situation 24 hours later (learned helplessness). Opiate antagonists (naloxone or naltrexone) blocked the learned helplessness effect, allowing efficient escape performance on the subsequent test. In contrast, these drugs impaired the performance of rats pretrained with escapable shocks and animals with no previous exposure to shock. Both effects occurred at small doses and increased substantially with higher doses. The results suggest a significant role for endogenous opiates in the induction of learned helplessness as well as in the acquisition of efficient escape behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Residues of polychlorinated phenols and anisoles in broilers raised on contaminated woodshaving litter.

Broilers were raised for 8 weeks on litter made up of woodshavings containing high (700 micrograms/g) levels of contamination with polychlorinated phenols (PCP). The PCP levels declined in the litter over the test period while polychlorinated anisoles (PCA) increased in the highly contaminated litter. Final weights of the birds was only slightly different; however, feed conversion was slightly higher for those birds raised in the highly contaminated pens. Panelists rated the cooked samples from the birds raised on highly contaminated litter significantly lower for flavor and overall acceptability than either of the lower PCP level treatments. Residues of the odiferous pentechloroanisole were present in muscle and fat of the birds raised on the highly contaminated litter; however, residues in muscles of the birds on low level contaminated litter could not be detected. Polychlorinated anisoles were present in the fat of birds raised on normal litter but adjacent to the contaminated pens.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A new technique for placement of catheters for peritoneal dialysis.

We have described a technique for placement of a peritoneal dialysis catheter which involves fixing the end of the catheter to the pelvic wall and creating a peritoneal tunnel near the distal end. This technique prevents malfunction of the catheter due to malposition and rotating superiorly.

Catheterization↗
PubMed1982

The distribution of the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans in the gastrointestinal tract of monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

The success of oral vaccines based on Strep. mutans might be influenced by its presence in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Enumeration of Strep. mutans at various sites of the GI tract of sucrose-fed monkeys revealed a localized distribution. High numbers of Strep. mutans were recovered from only the dental plaque, caecum and the large intestine. Where Strep. mutans was not detectable in the dental plaque it could not be isolated from regions of the GI tract sampled. The absence of Strep. mutans from the small intestine suggests that the disparate results obtained from experiments in which this organism was used to immunize monkeys orally, are not attributable to the prior colonization of such an immunologically important region.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The acquisition of Streptococcus mutans by infant monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and its relationship to the initiation of dental caries.

The acquisition and transmission of Streptococcus mutans by 16 consecutively born infant monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) was studied. The 16 infant monkeys were weaned in four groups and caged together to form a commune. Transmission from mother to infant occurred infrequently. Streptococcus mutans was isolated from nine of the mothers but only from the dental plaque of two infant monkeys at weaning at which time the predominant streptococci were S. sanguis and S. mitior. One further animal was colonized by S. mutants during the formation of the commune, but only after it was caged with an infant harbouring the same organism. For 46 d after the completion of the commune, the monkeys were fed a starch-based diet during which time S. mutans of serotypes c, e or h were isolated from the faeces of all 16 animals and from the dental plaque taken from the developmental groove of the first deciduous molar of 11 animals. Faecal transmission appeared to be an important factor in the spread of S. mutans between monkeys in the commune. The monkeys were then fed a caries-promoting high sucrose diet resulting in a rapid increase in the proportion of S. mutans in the plaque and in the faeces. Streptococcus mutans serotype e was more frequently isolated from both plaque and faeces and its predominance may in part be due to the production of a bacteriocin active in vitro against S. mutans serotype h and other species of oral streptococci isolated from monkey dental plaque. The proportion of S. mutans in the developmental groove 8 d after the introduction of the high sucrose diet was significantly related to both the caries status of the groove and the total caries score 6 months later. The results suggest that, in this model of human dental caries, S. mutans is the major bacterial factor in the initiation of tooth decay.

Aging↗