Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Elliott

Publications and source records attributed to L Elliott.

87 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Role of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-2 receptor expression in the proliferative defect observed in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes from patients with gliomas.

Patients with primary malignant brain tumors manifest, as previously demonstrated, a variety of abnormalities in cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Diminished lymphocyte reactivity has been recently shown in these patients to be linked to deficiencies in interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. In the present study, this observation was expanded by demonstrating that exogenous purified or recombinant IL-2 does not improve the mitogen responsiveness of lymphocytes obtained from these patients. Studies were also conducted to determine the percentage of IL-2-receptor-positive cells at various times after phytohemagglutinin stimulation with the use of anti-TAC monoclonal antibody. The results demonstrated that the number of lymphocytes induced to express receptors for IL-2 was reduced as compared to normal values. These cumulative data therefore suggest that the failure of mitogen to induce blastogenesis in lymphocytes from patients with malignant gliomas results from intrinsic deficiencies in potentially responsive cells, which are expressed in the early phase of the cell cycle.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Calcium homeostasis after parathyroidectomy in normal and shocked states.

The natural history of parathyroidectomy was studied for 75 weeks in two dogs. After parathyroidectomy, the dogs required intravenous and intramuscular calcium supplementation for 1 week. Despite calcium supplementation, in 2 weeks the ionized calcium (Ca++) level fell from 4.67 mg/dl to 2.39 mg/dl. The Ca++ level rose to 4.25 mg/dl by 7 weeks after which the intramuscular calcium supplement was gradually weaned so that no calcium was given after 20 weeks. The Ca++ level stabilized at 3.15 to 3.25 mg/dl after 20 weeks. Postoperative parathormone (PTH) levels remained low. The response to hemorrhagic shock in these two calcium-independent dogs was compared with that seen in two calcium-dependent dogs 4 weeks after parathyroidectomy and to that seen in two euparathyroid dogs. Shock caused a sharp decrease in Ca++ in all animals that had parathyroid ectomy. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was elevated preoperatively in these dogs and fell markedly during shock. Ca++ remained normal and PGE2 increased slightly after shock in the euparathyroid dogs. Cardiac output rose with resuscitation in the euparathyroid dogs but remained constant in the calcium-dependent dogs and increased slightly in the calcium independent parathyroidectomized animals. PTH levels were low in the parathyroidectomy groups and did not react to shock. PTH increased markedly after resuscitation in the euparathyroid dogs, suggesting its role as an acute-phase hormone. All levels returned to baseline levels within 3 days after shock. Adaptation to hypocalcemia occurs in parathyroidectomized dogs and involves PGE2 as well as other factors. Hemorrhagic shock exceeds this compensatory response which in euparathyroid dogs involves active PTH release in response to hypocalcemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Proportionate mortality study of workers in the garment industry exposed to formaldehyde.

In order to evaluate the human carcinogenicity of formaldehyde, we conducted a proportionate mortality study of garment workers engaged in the production of shirts from formaldehyde-treated cloth. This study included three plants, and was based upon 256 deaths identified from a death-benefit insurance fund. No deaths due to nasal cancer were observed, and the mortality from respiratory cancer (11 cases, PMR = 95) was slightly less than expected. Statistically significant (p less than .05) elevations in proportionate mortality were observed for malignant neoplasms of the "buccal cavity" (three cases, PMR = 750), for "biliary passages and liver" (four cases, PMR = 313) and for "other lymphatic and hematopoietic sites" (four cases, PMR = 400). A proportionate cancer mortality (PCMR) analysis also was conducted, and cancer of the "buccal cavity" (three cases, PCMR = 682), and other "lymphatic and hematopoietic sites" (four cases, PCMR = 342) were still significantly elevated. The observed excesses in cancer mortality were primarily experienced by white females, who made up the major portion of the workforce, and workers with more than 10 years of latency and duration of exposure, a criterion for inclusion for most workers in the study group. The neoplasms observed were not equally distributed among the three facilities included in the study. Because of the small number of deaths involved and the lack of consistency with other studies, we believe that these findings should be viewed cautiously, pending the outcome of more definitive studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Alterations in splenic lymphocyte subpopulations and increased mortality from sepsis following anesthesia in mice.

The authors evaluated the potential of a variety of anesthetics in mice to produce subsequent alterations in host defenses. Specific monoclonal antibodies and immunofluorescent microscopy were used to enumerate splenic helper/inducer: suppressor/cytotoxic lymphocyte ratios (HSR), and resistance to bacterial challenge was evaluated by a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model. Two hours of anesthesia with the intravenous agents ketamine and pentobarbital and with the inhalational agents isoflurane, enflurane, halothane, and halothane-nitrous oxide, were utilized. All anesthetics produced marked depression in the HSR, measured 24 h postanesthesia (P less than 0.05); with all agents, helper T-cell populations were decreased and suppressor populations increased. The HSR remained depressed 72 h postanesthetic, following both ketamine and halothane anesthesia (P less than 0.05). A dose-response curve was determined with enflurane; increasing the anesthetic time from 1 to 6 h resulted in progressively greater depression of the HSR 24 h later. Changes in lymphocyte subtypes of similar magnitude were found in mice after burn injury or hind limb crush injury and amputation, whereas simple laparotomy did not produce such changes. Serum corticosterone levels were not elevated 24 h post-anesthetic with enflurane, suggesting that the alterations were not nonspecific stress reactions. Resistance to sepsis was determined by measuring survival for 96 h after CLP. With CLP performed 24 h following 2 h anesthesia, mortality was increased from normal: control mortality 36.3%; ketamine 65.0% (P less than 0.023); isoflurane 69.5% (P less than 0.006); enflurane 84.2% (P less than 0.0002).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amputation, Surgical↗
PubMed1985

Societal impact on surgical education in trauma.

Societal and demographic changes within Detroit have affected the incidence of trauma treated at the Detroit Medical Center. Using liver injury as an index, this phenomenon was studied by comparing 122 patients treated in 1972 with 38 patients treated in 1981. During 1972 76 patients had major injuries, compared to 13 patients in 1981. Intraoperative hemostasis of an actively bleeding liver in 1972 was achieved by liver suture (43 patients), resectional debridement through a nonanatomic plane (three patients), hepatic artery ligation (three patients), anatomic segmentectomy or lobectomy (four patients), and intrahepatic packing with later removal (one patient). During 1981, 13 patients had persistent bleeding requiring intraoperative hemostasis by liver suture (12 patients) or resectional debridement (one patient). This decline in trauma reflects a reduced city population, the dilutional effect of a four-quadrant emergency medical service begun in the mid 1970's, the implementation of a state gun law, and reduced citizen compliance to violence. These changes likely are not unique to Detroit and highlight the need for a National Trauma Registry which would not only help program directors design a meaningful trauma rotation but also help hospital planners accommodate to changes in patient exposure.

General Surgery↗
PubMed1984

An MMPI-based behavior descriptor/personality trait list.

Descriptive terms associated with elevated MMPI scales were abstracted from 10 MMPI reference works. Those corresponding to the 300-word Gough Adjective Check List were retained to construct a new behavior descriptor/personality trait list.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Case-control study of Mastomys natalensis and humans in Lassa virus-infected households in Sierra Leone.

Lassa virus infection and antibodies were studied in households where Lassa fever cases occurred, and compared to those in nearest neighbor houses and "far" houses located across the village from case houses. Seventy-nine percent of all rodents caught in the houses were Mastomys, the natural reservoir of Lassa virus. Rodent infection was not randomly distributed, but rather focal. Thirty-nine percent of the Mastomys in case houses were viremic, compared to 3.7% in control houses. Human antibody prevalence in case houses was 30%, compared to 20% in non-case houses (P less than 0.05, chi-square test, df = 2). Neither seroconversions nor antibody prevalence rates were associated with household size or number of persons per room. Trapping of rodents in half of the case and control houses resulted in a Mastomys reduction ranging from 2.2- to 3.3-fold. This reduction failed to significantly reduce the seroconversion rate to Lassa virus in the people of trapped houses compared to those in untrapped ones. More complete trapping will be needed in order to better evaluate this procedure as a means of interruption of Lassa virus transmission in endemic villages.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Training nurses to support carers of relatives with schizophrenia.

Carers have an enormous amount of responsibility for the welfare and management of people with a mental illness in Britain, and many require help if they are to continue caring. Mental health nurses may be in a key position to offer support, but they are often unclear of what is required and how it should be delivered. Existing UK nurse-led psychosocial interventions for families often focus on the needs of the patient rather than the carer. This article describes a needs-led support service that has been designed for carers whose relatives are diagnosed with schizophrenia. It recognizes the importance of a collaborative partnership between carers and nurses. In 2000, 10 mental health nurses were trained to deliver this support to carers. An evaluation is currently underway. This article outlines the principles of the training programme and how it might enable nurses to meet the carers' needs.

Caregivers↗