Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K McLaughlin

Publications and source records attributed to K McLaughlin.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Abnormal biochemical and cellular parameters in the blood of patients with Raynauds phenomenon.

Finger blood flow is decreased in Raynauds Phenomenon (RP). This may be due not only to vasospasm, but also to blood abnormalities. 40 patients with Raynauds Disease (RD), 28 with suspected RP (SS) and 42 with secondary Raynauds syndrome (RS) were enrolled and compared to 50 controls. Results from base-line samples show that those with RP have abnormal haemostasis and rheology whereas those with mild Raynauds, RD do not. Blood sampled after cold challenge in 15 RS patients and 15 controls show that both groups exhibit platelet activation after emersion. The degree of activation however was much more marked in the RS patients. We have shown that abnormalities of haemostasis and rheology are found in patients likely to have endothelial damage (RS). These changes are probably a consequence rather than a cause of the disease. After cold challenge the results become more abnormal and correlate with severity of disease.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1986

The effect of increasing fibrinolysis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind study of stanozolol.

Fibrin deposition in rheumatoid arthritis may be responsible for some of the clinical manifestations of the disease. It has been shown that in severe rheumatoid arthritis fibrinolysis is decreased but can be stimulated using the fibrinolytic enhancing agent stanozolol. A prolonged increase in fibrinolysis may decrease joint fibrin deposition and lead to clinical improvement and we have therefore investigated stanozolol as a therapeutic agent. Forty patients were enrolled. Twenty patients received stanozolol 5 mg twice daily for six months and 20 received a matching placebo. Assessment of disease activity was made in the conventional way. Results show that the two groups were comparable. After six months nine of the control patients had withdrawn because of drug ineffectiveness compared with two stanozolol patients, and five control patients felt they had improved compared with 15 stanozolol patients. Disease activity had significantly decreased by the end of the study in the treated group, and detailed analysis showed improvement in ESR, articular index, duration of morning stiffness and visual analogue pain scale. We suggest that stanozolol may be of value in rheumatoid arthritis although this pilot study has looked at only small numbers of patients over a short period.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1985

Cryopreservation of Babesia bigemina for in vitro cultivation.

Babesia bigemina-infected RBC and merozoites were cryopreserved and used to initiate in vitro cultures in normal bovine RBC; the cryoprotectant was a final 10% polyvinylpyrrolidone in Vega y Martinez solution. A cooling rate of 20 C/min until -80 C and then rapid transfer to liquid N2 storage was satisfactory. Samples for culture initiation were rapidly thawed at 37 C, washed in Vega y Martinez solution and resuspended in complete culture media containing 10% normal bovine RBC. The optimum culture conditions to reestablish cultures were a 24-well plate (16 mm ID), 5 mm in depth, and an atmosphere of 2% to 5% O2, 5% CO2, and 93% to 90% N2.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Bioavailability to rats of calcium in meat products prepared from hand or mechanically deboned beef shank.

Mechanical deboning yields meat containing approximately 0.5% calcium. The bioavailability of the calcium in mechanically deboned meat ( MDM ) was compared to that from calcium carbonate fed in hand deboned meat ( HDM ) diets. Processing calcium carbonate with HDM into bologna, Thuringer or canned meat improved calcium bioavailability but did not increase the bioavailability of the calcium from MDM . The calcium absorptions were 62.7, 60.4 and 60.6%, respectively, from raw MDM , MDM bologna, MDM Thuringer and canned MDM . However, the percentage of calcium absorbed from calcium carbonate was increased slightly from 65.3, 65.9 and 65.6%, respectively, when it was processed as raw HDM , HDM bologna and Thuringer to 69.0% when processed as canned HDM . The bioavailability of the calcium in MDM was similar to that of calcium carbonate, whether expressed as apparent absorption or as relative biological value.

Absorption↗
PubMed1984

Decreased plasma fibrinolysis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

We have investigated the fibrinolytic status of 56 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Plasma fibrinogen and plasminogen were significantly elevated. Levels of these two substrates, along with alpha 2 macroglobulin and antithrombin III correlated with disease activity. Plasminogen activator (PA) activity was decreased in patients with severe disease. Twelve patients were given stanozolol, a fibrinolytic enhancing agent, for two months as a test for endothelial production of plasminogen activator. This caused a significant increase in blood plasminogen and PA activity. Five patients received a two-week course of stanozolol with joint aspiration before and after. Joint plasminogen levels were increased. We suggest that inadequate fibrinolysis occurs in RA, and that this may contribute to some of the pathological features of the disease. It is possible to stimulate both blood and joint fibrinolysis by stanozolol. A more prolonged increase in plasminogen activator activity might decrease joint fibrin deposition, and stanozolol should be investigated as a therapeutic agent in RA.

Antithrombin III↗
PubMed1982

A simple technique using skin implants to produce histocompatability (BoLA) typing sera.

We describe a technique to produce high-titered bovine lymphocytotoxic antisera using skin implants. The main advantage of this technique is that the skin does not need to be processed prior to implantation and no surgical skill is required. In addition, the skin can be stored for up to 2 weeks and can be shipped to other laboratories without special handling and without loss of immunogenicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Pulse methylprednisolone in rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind cross-over trial.

Ten patients with rheumatoid arthritis unresponsive to conventional therapy participated in a double-blind cross-over trial in which they randomly received either a "pulse" or 1 g of methylprednisolone or placebo, intravenously, once a month for 6 months. Both the drug-first and placebo-first groups had the same mean American Rheumatism Association functional classification, 2.5. During the study patients on methylprednisolone "pulses," compared to placebo, showed significantly better mean tender-joint counts, walking times, and grip strength (p < 0.05). The drug-treated patients also had significantly lower levels of immune complexes (p < 0.01) and IgG (p < 0.01). Effects could still be measured an average of 2.9 +/- 0.4 months after the last dose of methylprednisolone. No significant side effects were noted during the therapy. Despite these findings, "pulse" methylprednisolone did not appear to significantly retard radiologic progression of the arthritis.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tenckhoff catheter salvage by closed stiff-wire manipulation without fluoroscopic control.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the results of Tenckhoff catheter salvage by a modified, closed, stiff-wire manipulation technique without the use of general anesthesia or fluoroscopy, and compare this with previously described techniques. DESIGN: Retrospective study in patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) over a 41-month period. SETTING: Renal unit in an inner city hospital. PATIENTS: Eighteen patients using CAPD who had 22 episodes of outflow failure due to radiologically confirmed malposition of straight two-cuff Tenckhoff catheters. INTERVENTIONS: Closed stiff-wire manipulation of malpositioned Tenckhoff catheter without the use of general anesthesia or fluoroscopy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Initial success rate of manipulation, catheter and technique (CAPD) survival, and procedure-related complications. RESULTS: Catheter manipulation was technically successful in 21 of 22 cases. An additional six episodes of malposition occurred ranging from 2 to 630 days after the primary manipulation (median 7 days). A second manipulation was carried out in four cases that resulted in long-term success in two. Three patients were forced to discontinue CAPD for reasons other than catheter malposition, and the overall success rate at 1 month (patient successfully performing CAPD) was 59.1% (+/-0.1%). No major complications were experienced during the procedure and no episodes of peritonitis occurred. CONCLUSION: The technique described is relatively straightforward, does not require fluoroscopy or general anesthetic, and its success is comparable to previously reported methods of Tenckhoff catheter salvage. We would recommend this technique of catheter salvage in patients with Tenckhoff catheter malposition in whom conservative treatment has failed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Shaping the future. The marriage of nursing theory and informatics.

The link between nursing theory and computerized nursing information systems is explored. In particular, the use of Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory in the development of an information processing model for use in a computerized nursing information system is described. This development is discussed with reference to the American Nurses' Association design criteria for computerized nursing information systems. There is some indication that the design criteria do not adequately address the relationships among nursing theory, nursing processes, and computerized nursing information systems.

American Nurses' Association↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Monthly pulses of methylprednisolone in SLE nephritis.

The results of a double-blind trial of pulse methylprednisolone in 9 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and biopsy proven diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis are reviewed. Patients were given 1 g of methylprednisolone or placebo intravenously, on 3 consecutive days, once a month, for 1 year. After 1 year, the methylprednisolone pulse group showed a significant improvement in serum creatinine whereas the placebo group showed none. More than 2 years after completing the study, renal function remained stable in the methylprednisolone group while the placebo group demonstrated significant deterioration in these values. Because of the limited number of patients involved, a concurrent control group was employed to confirm these results.

Adult↗