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Biomedical subjects

L Brooks

Publications and source records attributed to L Brooks.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Interruption of early pregnancy with mifepristone in combination with gemeprost.

BACKGROUND: Mifepristone in combination with prostaglandin has been used since 1988 for induction of early abortion. The aim of the present investigation was to assess the tolerance and efficacy of 600 mg. mifepristone orally followed by gemeprost 1 mg. vaginally either 24 hours (group one) or 48 hours (group two) later. METHODS: Sixty-four healthy women applying for abortion within the first 8 weeks of pregnancy were randomly allocated to one of the two treatment groups. Intrauterine pregnancy and gestational age were verified by ultrasonography. Symptoms after administration of mifepristone and gemeprost were recorded, and the patients observed at the hospital for at least three hours after prostaglandin-insertion. Blood samples for blood group, hemoglobin, beta-chorion-gonadotrophin, aspartate-aminotransferase and creatinine were drawn. RESULTS: Outcome was established by gynecological examination, the level of beta-hCG and ultrasonography, at visits one, two and if necessary three to four weeks later. Surgical curettage was performed in case of incomplete abortion, of which there were four in the 24-hour interval group and five in the 48-hour interval group with a success rate (complete abortion) of 55 out of 64 patients (86%). CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in efficacy or side effects whether the prostaglandin was administered 24 or 48 hours after mifepristone intake, which suggests that the treatment period can be reduced from the conventional 48 hours.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1998

Home care of high risk pregnant women by advanced practice nurses: nurse time consumed.

This study examined the time spent by advanced practice nurses (APNs) in providing prenatal care to women with high risk pregnancies. The results indicate that the overall mean APN time spent in providing prenatal care was 51.3 hours per woman. The greatest amount of time was spent in the clinic and women with pregestational diabetes consumed the most APN time and required the most contacts. Historically, home care services have been measured by number of visits or contacts. This study assists home care nurses and administrators to consider additional measurements including time spent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Frequency and predictors of adverse events. PRiSM Psychosis Study. 3.

BACKGROUND: Community care has been criticised as a hazardous policy associated with high rates of adverse events. There is little research evidence as to the truth of this claim. METHOD: Best available evidence from public records, interviews, case notes, key workers and general practitioners was assembled to establish: (a) which of the 514 subjects initially identified as having psychotic illnesses had died during an average follow-up of 4.9 years; (b) care currently received by all 286 subjects originally selected for interview; and (c) rates of major adverse events and of admission for these 286 individuals. RESULTS: Twenty-eight natural and II unnatural deaths had occurred. Among subjects still living at the end of the follow-up, 84% were in contact with specialist mental health services and 11% only with primary care services. Rates of serious violence, imprisonment and homelessness were relatively low. Forty-one per cent had been admitted at least once during a mean follow-up of 3.2 years and 20% at least once under the Mental Health Act. After adjustment, there were no significant differences between standard and intensive care sectors. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of adverse events and 'slipping through the net' are relatively low among individuals receiving community-based services, whether intensive or standard care.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1998

Genotoxicity of bioremediated soils from the Reilly Tar site, St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

An in vitro approach was used to measure the genotoxicity of creosote-contaminated soil before and after four bioremediation processes. The soil was taken from the Reilly Tar site, a closed Superfund site in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. The creosote soil was bioremediated in bioslurry, biopile, compost, and land treatment, which were optimized for effective treatment. Mutagenicity profiles of dichloromethane extracts of the five soils were determined in the Spiral technique of the Salmonella assay with seven tester strains. Quantitative mutagenic responses in the plate incorporation technique were then determined in the most sensitive strains, YG1041 and YG1042. Mutagenic potency (revertants per microgram extract) in YG1041 suggested that compost, land treatment, and untreated creosote soil extracts were moderately mutagenic with Arochlor-induced rat liver (S9) but were nonmutagenic without S9. However, the bioslurry extract was strongly mutagenic and the biopile extract was moderately mutagenic either with or without S9. A similar trend was obtained in strain YG1042. The strong mutagenic activity in the bioslurry extract was reduced by 50% in TA98NR, which suggested the presence of mutagenic nitrohydrocarbons. Variation in reproducibility was 15% or less for the bioassay and extraction procedures. Bioavailability of mutagens in the biopile soil was determined with six solvents; water-soluble mutagens accounted for 40% of the total mutagenic activity and they were stable at room temperature. The mutagenic activity in the bioslurry and biopsile samples was due to either the processes themselves or to the added sludge/manure amendments. The in vitro approach was effective in monitoring bioremediated soils for genotoxicity and will be useful in future laboratory and in situ studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Baby boomers make cosmetic dentistry boom.

Baby Boomers want to stay younger longer. As they age, a healthy attractive smile becomes much more important to their appearance. Nothing conveys good health and maintenance like aesthetically pleasing teeth. Because the timing is perfect for cosmetic dentistry, there is no reason for people to not have a great smile. Smile-Vision and the latest cosmetic dentistry techniques and materials helped the case patient first see and then become the person he wanted to be. His teeth look and feel better, resulting in a more confident appearance. (Figures 14 through 16).

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Beneficial effect of selenium supplementation during murine infection with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Selenium (Se) has been shown to function as an antioxidant that may enhance immunity during microbial infection. To investigate the effect of elevated levels of Se on the course of experimental Chagas' disease, 5 groups of C3HeB/FeJ mice were infected with 10(3) bloodform trypomastigotes of a Brazil strain of Trypanosoma cruzi while receiving supplements of 0 ppm, 2 ppm, 4 ppm, 8 ppm, or 16 ppm Se as sodium selenate in drinking water. After 64 days of infection, survival ranged from 0 to 60%, with groups receiving 4 ppm and 8 ppm Se exhibiting 60% survival and the group without Se exhibiting 0% survival. In addition, parasitemia levels of mice supplemented with Se were significantly lower (P<0.01) than in nonsupplemented mice. The results of the present study suggest that Se supplementation does have a beneficial effect during murine infection with T. cruzi, resulting in decreased parasitemias and increased longevity.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

p53 mutations implicate sunlight in post-transplant skin cancer irrespective of human papillomavirus status.

Mutations in p53 were detected in 11/23 (48%) of non melanoma skin cancers in renal allograft recipients and in 5/8 (63%) of sporadic tumours from immune competent patients. 9/12 (75%) of mutations in transplant patients and all 5 mutations in non transplant tumours were consistent with damage caused by ultraviolet (u.v.) irradiation. DNA sequences, predominantly of the epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) subgroup, were detected in 9/23 (39%) of transplant tumours and in 2/8 (25%) of eight non-transplant tumours. There was no relationship between HPV status and p53 mutation, HPV DNA being present in 5/16 (31%) of tumours with p53 mutation and 6/15 (40%) of tumours lacking p53 mutation. These data are consistent with an important role for sunlight in the development of post-transplant skin cancer, and with limited functional data suggesting that E6 proteins of the cutaneous and EV-related papillomaviruses do not target p53 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation.

DNA Damage↗
PubMed1997

Mental health. Sending in the paras.

Community support workers have become a common feature of mental health services. They work mainly with people with severe mental illness and offer intense support. Their need for training should be considered.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

A strategy for specific targeting of therapeutic agents to tumour cells of virus-associated cancers.

Expression of viral genes in tumour cells of the virus-associated cancers could provide highly selective ways of targeting expression of therapeutic vectors to the tumour cells. The ubiquitous presence of EBNA-1 in Epstein-Barr virus-associated cancers could be used to activate expression constructs containing oriP in the tumour cells. This is demonstrated for a variety of model systems including epithelial cells, which would be the target cell type for the treatment of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a cancer that always contains Epstein-Barr virus in the tumour cells. Combining an oriP/EBNA-1-dependent Epstein-Barr virus Cp promoter with delayed assay of reporter gene, a 108-fold differential was obtained between the activity of a transfected plasmid in cells containing or lacking EBNA-1 expression. This might provide sufficient specificity for a successful in vivo therapeutic strategy.

Burkitt Lymphoma↗
PubMed1996

Ganciclovir treatment of hepatitis B virus infection in liver transplant recipients.

To determine the safety and efficacy of ganciclovir treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after liver transplantation, nine patients (seven males, two females; mean age, 38 years) with posttransplant HBV infection were treated with ganciclovir for 3 to 10 months. Ganciclovir was administered intravenously at an initial dose of 5 mg/kg/d and then increased to 10 mg/kg/d. Immunosuppressive drug therapy was maintained at low levels. There were no major side effects of ganciclovir therapy. Serum HBV DNA levels decreased by a mean of 90% (range, 42% to 100%), and four of nine patients had no measurable HBV DNA at the completion of therapy. Mean serum alanine aminotransferase levels decreased by 83%. Hepatic expression of HBV antigens and HBV DNA was assessed before and after therapy in six patients and found to be reduced in three patients. The histology activity index was also stabilized or improved in all patients. After discontinuation of therapy, four of nine patients underwent retreatment for 4- to 12-fold elevation of serum HBV DNA and/or biochemical and clinical relapse, that was severe in one patient. This pilot study shows the safety and efficacy of ganciclovir therapy for reducing HBV replication in patients with HBV infection after liver transplantation.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A test of Martens, Vealey and Burton's theory of competitive anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to test Martens, Vealey, and Burton's (1990) theoretical model of competitive anxiety. In order to assess the variables corresponding to the model, a sample of 199 (N = 126, male and N = 73, female) individual sport athletes completed the following inventories: the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990), items related to the uncertainty of outcome, items related to the importance of outcome, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990). In addition, the short-form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-C SDS; Reynolds, 1982) was completed by all subjects. The variables corresponding to the model underwent psychometric evaluation as well as a check for social desirability effects before they were used in a LISREL causal path model procedure. Results showed no concrete support for the basic propositions advanced through the model. Trait-anxiety did not significantly affect perception of threat and perception of threat had minimal effect on state-anxiety. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The expression of variant CD44 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is unrelated to expression of LMP-1.

CD44 expression in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma has been analyzed by sequencing cDNA clones and by immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies specific for defined variant exons. Both sequencing and antibody staining revealed expression of CD44 variants containing exon v6, which has been linked to tumor metastasis. Although nasopharyngeal carcinoma typically contains a mixture of epithelial tumor cells and infiltrating lymphocytes, the CD44 v6 variant expression could be assigned to the tumor cells in biopsies and in a mouse xenograft system. Consistent with earlier studies, biopsies from about 60% of Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases expressed the Epstein-Barr virus LMP-1 protein, although all contained EBV DNA and expressed the EBER genes. The antibody specific for CD44 exon v6 generally gave a focal pattern of staining in epithelial tumor cells, but the expression of this variant did not appear to be related to the expression of the LMP-1 protein in the tumor.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 1 increases HLA class II expression in an EBV-negative B cell line.

Transformation of normal resting B cells by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to the establishment of permanent lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) which express high levels of HLA antigens and which are highly efficient in antigen presentation. Certain features of the LCL phenotype can be reproduced by transfecting EBV-negative B lymphoma (BL) cell lines with individual EBV latent genes under heterologous promoters. In this work we have analyzed a series of subclones derived from the EBV-negative cell line Louckes, stably transfected with constructs encoding EBV latent genes for their expression of HLA class II molecules. Louckes parental cells and control transfectants expressed detectable levels of HLA-DR, DQ and DP antigens on the cellular surface by cytofluorometry, but these levels were significantly increased in transfectants expressing the virus-coded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1). Northern blotting for the individual alpha and beta chain mRNA at each of the three HLA class II loci indicated correspondingly increased levels of HLA class II transcripts in the LMP-1 transfectants. Transfectants expressing the virus-coded nuclear antigens EBNA-1, EBNA-2 or EBNA-LP showed no significant changes in these parameters. These observations indicate that up-regulation of HLA-class II molecules can be a part of the changes induced by LMP-1 in B cells.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1994

Reduced signal transduction through glucocorticoid receptor in Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines.

Signal transduction through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) was shown to be significantly reduced in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive group I Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines compared to human B-lymphocytes immortalized by EBV (LCLs). On the basis of hormone binding assays, nuclear DNA binding activity, and transactivation assays the response was reduced 5- to 10-fold. Direct sequence analysis of the expressed glucocorticoid receptor mRNA in two BL cell lines indicated that the phenotype did not result from mutation of the GR gene. By preparing a high-titer polyclonal antiserum against the t-1 region of the human GR, we further showed that the deficient GR response in BLs is largely reflected in reduced GR steady-state protein levels in BL cells compared to LCLs. However, the level of GR mRNA varies less between the BL cell lines and the LCLs. The Cp promoter of EBV which normally drives expression of the EBNA gene family in EBV-immortalized LCLs contains a functional glucocorticoid response element. Transfection of GR expression constructs to group I BL cells converted the GR response to approximately LCL levels both with respect to hormone binding and glucocorticoid-dependent transcription of a glucocorticoid-dependent promoter. A modest activation of EBNA-2 expression was seen in some such cell lines, suggesting that the lower GR response contributes to the down-regulation of EBNA expression observed in BL.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1994

A comprehensive reproductive health program in the workplace.

This paper summarizes the reproductive health component of the AT&T Bell Laboratories occupational health program. The comprehensive R&D Reproductive Health Program is a collaborative effort between the Health Services Group and the Environmental Health & Safety Center. It provides a tailored curriculum to occupational health nurses and physicians so that they may respond to employee questions and concerns with detailed information and with referrals to appropriate subject-matter experts. Expanding on the typical regulatory approaches of hazard communication and right-to-know, the program encourages employees of both sexes to learn about workplace, environmental, and lifestyle aspects of reproductive and developmental health.

Chemical Industry↗