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Biomedical subjects

J Williamson

Publications and source records attributed to J Williamson.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Trypanocidal and antitumour activity of platinum-metal and platinum-metal-drug dual-function complexes.

A number of antitumour platinum-metal complexes related to cis-platin showed trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma rhodesiense in vitro but not in vivo. New platinum- and rhodium-metal complexes of diamidine and plenanthridinium trypanocides are described which showed higher therapeutic indices than the parent drugs, due to increased activity in the former drug type and decreased toxicity in the latter. Some evidence of potentiation of antitumour activity was noted in these drug complexes. At the ultrastructural level, complex-treated trypanosomes showed a number of nuclear effects and other lesions specifically attributable to platinum-metal action. Some of the lesions were similar to those induced by cis-platin in tumour cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Correlation of oligomycin-sensitive ATPase activity in trypanosomes with their content of an antigen to primary biliary cirrhosis.

The amounts of an antigen to primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) which occur in subcellular fractions of Trypanosoma rhodesiense and T. lewisi correlate positively with the oligomycin-sensitive (OS) ATPase activity of these fractions. This result is consistent with the mitochondrial ATPase association of the antigen in mammalian and other cells. Higher levels of OS-ATPase and of PBC antigen in T. lewisi accord with a more extensive mitochondrial development in this species.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1984

The dynamics of a geriatric day hospital.

This report describes a prospective study of a geriatric day hospital. All 334 patients who attended during a six-month period were included with follow-up for a minimum of six months for each patient. One third were patients who had been discharged from the acute geriatric ward and most of the remainder were direct referrals from general practitioners. Transport was provided in 92% of cases by the Ambulance Service using a single-person crew in two-thirds and a driver plus attendant in the remainder. Only 8% came by private transport (family car). Patients were classified as 'once-only' attenders (22%), other new patients (37%), re-referrals (11%), current attenders (19%) and 11.1% were patients for whom a positive decision had been made to continue their day hospital attendance until death or admission to an institution (so-called 'chronic attenders'). This day hospital is an integral part of a comprehensive geriatric service which relies upon early referral and immediate response to avoid waiting lists both for in-patient and day hospital care. The services used by day patients are given with the proportion of patients receiving each service. The ecology of the day hospital was demonstrated to be more or less in balance. It is especially notable that the largest proportion of patients were discharged (from 41% to 63% of different patient categories) and there was no accumulation of chronic attenders. Of the 260 patients (excluding only the 74 once-only patients), only 25 were in geriatric accommodation and 12 in residential homes after a minimum of six months' follow-up. Forty-four patients had died.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Mental illness and physical health in older people.

Mental illness was recorded in 17% of men and 30% of women at the first examination of a random sample of the population of north Edinburgh consisting of 215 men and 272 women aged 62-90 years. Chronic brain syndrome (CBS) was found in 6% of men and 10.7% of women. CBS severe enough to constitute clinical dementia occurred in 3% of the sample. CBS increased in prevalence with age, particularly in women. Depressive illness was found in 3.7% of men and 6.6% of women. Anxiety states were present in 7% of men and 16.5% of women. Physical health and measurements were recorded in the same random sample in respect of ischaemic heart disease, stroke, blood pressure, chronic bronchitis, respiratory function, visual acuity, audiometry, urinary incontinence and food intake. The physical findings related to CBS were poor vision, poor hearing, urinary incontinence and poor diet. Five years later 113 men and 148 women were re-examined. The annual incidence of CBS was 0.4% in men and 1.4% in women. The annual incidence of depressive illness was 0.8% in both sexes, and of anxiety neurosis was 0.3%. Mortality rates were high in subjects with CBS. All moderate/severe cases of CBS had died by the end of seven years, but 15% of the mild cases were alive after 14 years. Prevalence and incidence of CBS in the study were similar to those reported by other authors. Figures for depressive illness and anxiety neurosis tended to be higher than in other surveys.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Resource theory and power in families: life cycle considerations.

We begin our discussion by outlining the usefulness of "resource theory" as a theoretical framework for the study of family power. This framework is then used to analyze changes in the balance of power between elderly parents and their middle-age children. With respect to intergenerational power relationships, we argue that the autonomy of elderly parents has increased, but their power and influence over adult children has decreased. This trend is likely to continue in coming decades. Resource theory is then utilized to analyze changes in marital power relationships as couples age. Most studies of power relationships between elderly spouses have an important limitation--they tend to reflect yesterday's definitions of male and female roles. Recent changes in these roles may significantly alter the social meanings of aging for both men and women in coming years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Effects of Daunomycin and Daunomycin-protein conjugates on the ultrastructure of Trypanosoma rhodesiense.

The nucleus (but not the kinetoplast) of Trypanosoma rhodesiense is the principal target for trypanocidal attack by Daunomycin in vitro and Daunomycin-protein conjugates in vivo; free Daunomycin is inactive in vivo. Nucleolar segregation and abnormal distribution of heterochromatin occur after drug treatment as in tumour cells. Other abnormal changes include formation of cytoplasmic clefts and autophagic vacuoles, increased prominence of the tubular collection system, and exocytotic vesicle production. Large masses of ferritin accumulate in white cells after treatment with the drug-ferritin conjugate but no ferritin was detectable in trypanosomes.

Albumins↗
PubMed1983

A study of respiratory infections in the elderly to assess the role of respiratory syncytial virus.

A prospective study was performed from 1 December 1981 to 31 May 1982 in two departments of geriatric medicine in Edinburgh. This yielded 159 cases of acute respiratory tract infection (RTI). Twelve of these were undoubtedly associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), 14 with influenza A and 18 with influenza B (as established in each case by a fourfold or greater increase in antibody titre). Eighty-five of the 159 patients with RTI and RSV titres of 32 or greater. Their significance is discussed. The undoubted RSV infections all involved the lower respiratory tract and were associated with prolonged illness. This epidemic of RSV infection was confined to one of the two hospitals. It lasted less than four weeks and was probably hospital-acquired.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

A longitudinal study of kyphosis in older people.

An index of kyphosis was estimated with a surveyor's flexicurve. A further index measured wedging in vertebral bodies in lateral chest radiographs by expressing the sum of vertical posterior heights of the lower six thoracic vertebral bodies and discs as a percentage of the corresponding anterior heights. Cross-sectional data showed that both indices increased with increasing age in each sex. Longitudinal studies confirmed that the increases were significant but varied widely in size. Although cross-sectional data suggested greater increase in kyphosis with increasing age in women compared with men, longitudinal measurements over five years did not show this. The index of wedging explained 42% and 48% of the variation in the index of kyphosis in men and in women, respectively. Additional effects due to age, detected in women only, added a further 4% to the explained variation, possibly from ageing of soft tissues. The relationship between the indices, and the additional effect of age in women, persisted in five year survivors.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1982

Anxiety, diazepam and retrieval from semantic memory.

Diazepam, an anxiolytic, was administered to 16 undergraduate volunteers in a double-blind design. Eight subjects were selected to be high in State and Trait anxiety and were slow in recall on a semantic memory task compared to non-anxious subjects. Instead of alleviating this detrimental effect of anxiety on memory, diazepam slowed recall in both the anxious and non-anxious.

Adolescent↗