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Biomedical subjects

L A Lambert

Publications and source records attributed to L A Lambert.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The use of low-volume dosing in the eye irritation test.

The Draize rabbit eye test was developed to provide a method for assessing the irritation potential of materials that might come in contact with human eyes. The method involves the instillation of 0.1 ml of a test liquid (100 mg solid) into the conjunctival sac of an animal's eye. A refinement of the Draize test is the low-volume eye test in which 0.01 ml of a substance is placed directly on the cornea of the eye. Studies indicate that the low-volume method provides a better correlation to human eye irritation experience for some substances. The Interagency Regulatory Alternatives Group (IRAG) proposes that the low-volume eye test can be used to substantiate the irritancy of suspect severe ocular irritants that have not been eliminated by various pre-eye test 'screens'. A substance testing positive by the low-volume method can be classified as an irritant; one that tests negative will require further testing by the use of the 0.1-ml volume procedure. For all other definitive testing, the Draize test (0.1 ml) should be used. Results from a questionnaire distributed at the IRAG workshop showed that many workshop participants thought that the low-volume test should be used as an eye irritation screening procedure.

Animal Testing Alternatives↗

Number of animals for sequential testing.

US regulatory agencies have used six animals in eye irritation tests. Analyses of eye irritation tests on pesticides (n = 48), consumer products and cosmetics (n = 53), Marzulli and Ruggles database (n = 139), and cleaning products and ingredients (n = 30) have greatly extended previous investigations of the merit of reducing animal sample size in the eye test. Given the existing scoring system for positive animal responses (corneal opacity > or = 1, iritis > or = 1, conjunctival redness > or = 2 and conjunctival chemosis > or = 2), the accuracy of the classification systems currently used by these agencies was determined. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, US Food and Drug Administration, and US Occupational Safety and Health Administration use a classification system by which a substance is designated as an irritant when at least four of six animals give a positive response. This decision rule leads to a very high accuracy of at least 99% with essentially no false positive and false negative judgments. In contrast, the system used by the US Environmental Protection Agency pesticide program, in which only one or more of six treated animals result in an irritant decision, has an accuracy of only 50-80% with very high false positive rates. Analyses indicated that test sample size could be reduced to three and still preserve very good accuracy, whereas two-animal and one-animal tests did not give satisfactory responses. A two-stage test, in which two animals are tested and evaluated in the first stage before the need for testing one more animal in the second stage is determined, also demonstrated good operating characteristics. Both the one-stage/three-animal test and the two-stage test deserve consideration.

Animals↗

Scoring for eye irritation tests.

Scoring of the rabbit eye test and the resulting evaluation and classification should provide useful information about the likelihood that a test material may cause injury on contact with the human eye. When an animal test is necessary, a rabbit eye test based on the following characteristics is proposed for deriving the maximum information from the fewest animals. The ocular effects of interest should include corneal opacity, iritis and conjunctival redness. Animals should be scored for each ocular effect at 24, 48 and 72 hr after the test substance is administered. If an animal is negative at all three scoring times, it can be removed from the test at 72 hr. If it shows a positive effect at a scoring time but the lesion clears at 72 hr, it can be removed at 72 hr. If it shows a positive effect that does not clear at 72 hr, it should be scored again on day 7 when the test ends. However, if an animal shows severe effects at one or more scoring times, it can be removed from the test at 72 hr. An animal is positive if any one of the following criteria is observed at 24, 48 or 72 hr: corneal opacity of 1 or above, iritis of 1 or above, or conjunctival redness of 2 or above. Severe ocular effects (noted at 24, 48 or 72 hr) that may endanger sight deserve special recognition for the classification of chemicals and include corneal opacity of 3 or above, or iritis of 2. This proposal is consistent with the opinions of the majority of respondents who attended the Workshop on Updating Eye Irritation Test Methods, Proposals for Regulatory Consensus. The most notable exception was the suggestion by respondents to add conjunctival chemosis as one of the scoring parameters.

Animals↗

An eye irritation test protocol and an evaluation and classification system.

An in vivo test protocol and an evaluation and classification system for the determination of eye irritation potential of chemicals and mixtures (substances) is proposed. The protocol uses two or three rabbits and reduces distress in test animals. The test substances are classified as non-irritant, irritant or severe irritant to meet regulatory needs. They may be classified on the basis of past experience with similar compounds or mixtures. Screens such as structure-activity relationships, pH extremes, validated and accepted in vitro tests, severe dermal irritation (primary dermal irritation index > or = 5) or severe dermal toxicity (lethality at < 200 mg/kg body weight) should be used to classify irritant or severe irritant materials when one or more of the screens can provide convincing evidence. For suspected severe irritant materials, the proposed in vivo test permits the use of one rabbit and instillation of 0.01 ml (0.01 g) of the test material into the cornea. Materials that are not classified irritant or severe irritant by screens or severe irritant by one rabbit test are tested in two or three rabbits; 0.1 ml (0.1 g) is instilled into the conjunctival sac. The responses (corneal opacity, iritis and conjunctival redness) are scored according to the modified Draize scoring system at 24, 48 and 72 hr and 7 days post-instillation. A rabbit is considered positive when corneal opacity of 1 or above, iritis of 1 or above or conjunctival redness of 2 or above is present at 24, 48 or 72 hr post-instillation. The material is classified as a severe irritant when the rabbit in the one-animal test or two or more rabbits in the standard test have responses of corneal opacity of 3 or above and iritis of 2 at 24, 48 or 72 hr, or positive responses on day 7 after instillation. The material is classified as an eye irritant when two or more rabbits are positive but the responses are not severe and they clear 7 days after instillation. The material is classified as a non-irritant when no more than one rabbit is positive. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of US Federal agencies.

Animals↗

Analysis of neutrophil chemotaxis and CD11b expression in pre-pubertal periodontitis.

The objectives of this study were to (1) determine chemotaxis (CX) response by neutrophils (PMNs) isolated from patients with the localized form of pre-pubertal periodontitis (L-PP) and compare these responses with those of age-matched and adult controls, (2) determine the level and up-regulation of CD11b expression upon stimulation with fMLP by peripheral blood PMNs (PB-PMNs) isolated from patients with L-PP and compare these levels with those of age-matched and adult controls, and (3) determine whether there is a correlation between CX and CD11b expression (up-regulation) by PB-PMNs. PB-PMNs from a total of seven patients with L-PP, seven age-matched pediatric controls, and 11 adult controls (four adults for both CD11b and CX assays, and seven adults for CX assays only) were analyzed for CX and CD11b expression. Direct immunofluorescence staining of CD11b was performed with FITC-conjugated monoclonal antibody. Flow cytometry was used to analyze stained cells for their fluorescence intensity. Chemotaxis activity in response to 10(-8) mol/L fMLP was examined in micro-well chemotaxis chambers. The results indicated that CX of PMNs from both L-PP patients and pediatric control subjects was significantly decreased, compared with that of normal adult control subjects (p less than 0.001). There was no significant difference between CX of PMNs from L-PP patients and that from normal pediatric controls (p greater than 0.7). CD11b expression did not significantly differ among L-PP patients, normal pediatric controls, and adult controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Antitumor activity in skin of Skh and Sencar mice by two dietary beta-carotene formulations.

There is currently a great interest in the protective potential of beta-carotene and other micronutrients against carcinogenesis. We investigated the role of beta-carotene in modifying 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-initiated, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-promoted, two-stage skin carcinogenesis. We were interested in comparing the protective effects of two types of dietary beta-carotene, a beadlet formulation and crystalline beta-carotene, in two strains of mice (Skh:HR-1 and CR:ORL Sencar). Mice were maintained throughout the study on one of these 3% beta-carotene-fortified diets or on control diets. In Week 11 after the start of the diets, the DMBA/TPA treatment regimen was begun. The resulting skin tumors were counted weekly. In addition, serum and skin levels were monitored for beta-carotene at the time of chemical initiation and at the termination of the study. A decrease in the number of cumulative tumors in the beta-carotene-fed animals compared with the appropriate control groups was observed in both strains of mice. However, statistical evaluation of the data revealed that the decrease was significant only in Skh mice. This phenomenon might be explained by the inherent sensitivity of Sencar mice to the two-stage carcinogenesis treatment regimen. The mechanism of the protective effect found in this study is still not clear. Recent data suggest that a vitamin A pathway is not probable but that a direct 1O2 and/or radical-quenching property of the parent beta-carotene molecule may be involved. This study also demonstrates that two-stage-induced skin tumorigenesis can be modified by both types of beta-carotene-fortified diets.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

Variables affecting the decision making of a review panel.

This study was designed to identify the variables that influence a review panel's decision to discharge or detain an involuntary patient. A group of fifty patients consecutively discharged by the review panel of a provincial mental hospital were compared according to thirty-five variables, with a group of forty-five patients consecutively detained by the panel. The variable set included information on the patient's psychiatric history, current hospitalization and treatment as well as ratings of dangerousness, insight and psychopathology, as reflected in the attending physician's case summary prepared for the review panel. The released and detained groups were found to be remarkably similar. They differed on ten of the thirty-five variables measured, but they did not differ on some variables that one would expect to form the basis of the panel's decision, including diagnosis and a history of suicide attempts. On the other hand, when the predictive value of the variable set as a whole was examined using discriminant analysis, the results indicated that there was a substantial amount of predictability to the review panel process. The group membership of 77.5% of the patients can be predicted from only nine variables that contribute to the discriminant function. The results will be of interest to clinicians who deal with review panels on a regular basis and the findings have implications for other practical issues including discharge planning and readiness for community living.

Adult↗

Equipotent generation of protective antitumor immunity by various methods of dendritic cell loading with whole cell tumor antigens.

Multiple clinically applicable methods have been used to induce dendritic cells (DCs) to express whole cell tumor antigens, including pulsing DCs with tumor lysate, and mixing DCs with apoptotic or live tumor cells. Herein we demonstrate, using two different tumor systems, that these methods are equipotent inducers of systemic antitumor immunity. Furthermore, tumor lysate pulsed DC vaccines generate more potent antitumor immunity than immunization with irradiated tumor cells plus the classic adjuvant, Corynebacterium parvum.

Animals↗