Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Hunt

Publications and source records attributed to L Hunt.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Neonatal vitamin K administration and in vivo somatic mutation.

The glycophorin A (GPA) mutation assay was used to examine the risk of in vivo somatic mutation in infants following neonatal administration of vitamin K. The assay assesses damage to erythroid stem cells by measuring the frequency of NO and NN variant red cells of MN blood group heterozygotes using FACS analysis. Blood samples were obtained from 178 infants aged between 10 and 183 days. Twenty-six children were excluded from study having received a blood transfusion. Sixty-four of the remaining 152 infants were of the MN phenotype, samples from whom were analysed using the assay system, providing the first data of NO and NN variant frequencies (vfs) in children aged less than 1 year. Twenty of these 64 infants received vitamin K orally (group A), 17 intramuscularly (group B) and 25 intravenously (group C). Results were compared with those from a reference population of children aged 1-15 years. There were no significant differences in NO, NN and total vf between any of groups A, B and C. For all groups both NO and total vf were significantly lower than those for the control population. This result is of some interest and clearly warrants further investigation. NN and total vfs were greater than the 95th percentile for the pooled data from groups A, B and C in three instances, one in each group. It was thus not possible to demonstrate an association between the route of vitamin K administration and an increase in mutation at the GPA locus.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1995

Interobserver variation in the chest radiograph component of the lung injury score.

The lung injury score is a semi-quantitative system used in the definition and grading of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. It is composed of two, three or four equally weighted components. One component is derived from the chest radiograph, which may contribute up to 50% of the total score. A score of 1 is awarded for each quadrant on the chest radiograph which contains alveolar consolidation. We examined the interobserver variation between two anaesthetists, two radiologists and two critical care physicians who scored blindly 100 chest radiographs from patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome. There was very good agreement between the two radiologists in the total scores (kappa 0.97) and in individual scores in each of the 4 quadrants (kappa 0.97-1.0). The agreement between anaesthetists and radiologists was only fair for the total score (kappa 0.37-0.42), but moderate to good for individual quadrant scores (kappa 0.43-0.73). The agreement between the two anaesthetists was moderate for individual quadrant scores (kappa 0.44-0.60), but only fair for total score (kappa 0.34). There was poor agreement between the two critical care physicians for total score (kappa 0.05) and for individual quadrant scores (kappa 0.04-0.20). Agreement between the physicians and other observers was poor to fair for the total score (kappa 0.12-0.32) and poor to moderate for the individual quadrant scores (kappa 0.15-0.63). Both anaesthetists and physician 2 underestimated the overall chest scores (median scores 2, 3 and 1 respectively) in comparison to the radiologists (median scores 3.5). Physician 1 significantly overscored (median score 4). The chest radiograph component of the lung injury score can be consistently assessed by radiologists, but significant variations may be introduced when assessed by other clinicians. This has significant implications for the use of the lung injury score in studies of adult respiratory distress syndrome and other studies which incorporate radiographic appearances in the definition.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

Ocular cat scratch disease.

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is infectious and can cause a multitude of systemic diseases in addition to ocular CSD. Rochalimaea henselae has been identified as the causative agent for ophthalmic manifestations of cat scratch disease. A noninvasive method of making a positive diagnosis of ocular CSD was recently developed.

Bartonella henselae↗
PubMed1995

Disaster nursing in the Oklahoma City bombing.

The Oklahoma City Federal Building disaster quickly changed a routine day of eye surgical procedures into a chaotic trauma center for the victims with not only eye injuries, but multiple deep lacerations and other injuries. The devastating and disruptive effect of the bombing was stressful for the nursing staff who became disaster survivors of the emotional trauma involved.

Blast Injuries↗
PubMed1995

Ocular injuries from driver's air bag.

The air bag was introduced in automobiles as a device to reduce serious injuries and fatalities from front angle collisions. Although air bags have reduced the incidence of brain injury in motor vehicle accidents there are published reports of ocular trauma to the driver, secondary to air bag inflation.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1995

Allergic conjunctivitis disorders.

Allergic conjunctivitis is one of the most common disorders of the external eye. Hypersensitivity of the conjunctiva to foreign substances is characterized by discharge, redness, itching, irritation, swelling, light sensitivity, and tearing. The tear fluid contains a small amount of eosinophils and histamine. Allergic eye conditions can be classified into four categories. They are hay fever conjunctivitis, vernal conjunctivitis, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, and giant papillary conjunctivitis.

Conjunctivitis, Allergic↗
PubMed1995

Ocular toxocariasis.

Toxocara canis is a preventable cause of intraocular inflammation and visual loss ... caused by the larvae of toxocara canis usually occurring in children and young adults following accidental ingestion of the larvae from infected dogs. Treatment of ocular toxocariasis can include a combination of cryopexy and photocoagulation, with vitrectomy surgery utilized in the more serious cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Experimental studies of infant-parent co-sleeping: mutual physiological and behavioral influences and their relevance to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

We hypothesize that maternal sensory exchanges, likely involving a combination of heat, sound, gas, smells, movement, and touch, induce important physiological changes, especially in the healthy infant's arousal patterns, body temperature, and sleep architecture as defined by standard physiological measures. We summarize the results of two preliminary physiological studies, and some early data from a third, in which mothers and infants are monitored using standard polysomnographic techniques as they sleep in the same bed, and then in adjacent rooms. Our data suggest that infant-parent co-sleeping alters the infant's sleep experience as, for example, the characteristics of arousals, the frequency and duration of nursing, infant sleep position and the number of maternal inspections. For example, while sleeping in the same bed, mothers nurse their infants three times more frequently than they do while their infants sleep in an adjacent room. These preliminary data demonstrate significant differences between routine co-sleeping and solitary sleeping environments. This work underscores the importance of studying infant sleep as it unfolds in the co-sleeping environment, the environment within which it evolved over at least 5 million years of human evolution. Should our preliminary findings be confirmed in future studies they will provide a beginning point for considering additional, possibly unconventional ways of helping to reduce SIDS risks.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Immunochemical studies of heat-shock protein 80 of Histoplasma capsulatum.

A monoclonal antibody (MAb) of the IgG1 subclass, with greater activity to the yeast than the mycelial phase of Histoplasma capsulatum was raised and was found to predominantly recognize a molecule of 80 kDa by immunoblot. Enzymatic deglycosylation and chemical degradation, followed by reaction with MAb 69F on Western blots showed the molecule to be O-glycosylated, and immunofluorescence studies showed it to be heat-inducible and its distribution to be cytoplasmic and possibly cell membraneous. There was no apparent staining of the cell wall. Culture filtrate was positive by ELISA and Western blot when reacted with MAb 69F. In addition, ELISA and Western blot demonstrated that a similar epitope was present in other fungal species. The glycoprotein had a pI of approximately 4.7. N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed this molecule to be homologous to members of the heat-shock protein 70 family and to a recently described antigen from H. capsulatum.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Treatment of advanced acute leukaemia with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from unrelated donors.

Bone marrow transplantation from a histocompatible sibling donor may produce complete remission in patients with induction failure or relapsed acute leukaemia. Through the National Marrow Donor Program, histocompatible bone marrow from unrelated donors has become available for high-risk patients. In this study we analyse the results of matched unrelated bone marrow transplant in 55 patients with highly advanced acute myelogenous and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. 28 patients with advanced acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and 27 patients with advanced acute myelogenous leukaemia, age 2-51, were treated with high-dose chemoradiotherapy and transplantation of 6/6 HLA matched (n = 46) or one antigen mismatched (n = 9) unrelated donor bone marrow. After a median follow-up of 36 months, 13 patients remain alive 17-74 months after transplant for a 2-year actuarial disease-free and overall survival of 23 +/- 12% (median disease-free survival 3.5 months). The actuarial risk of relapse is 24 +/- 16% at 1 year. Moderate to severe graft-versus-host disease occurred in 27/47 evaluable patients (57%). Significant prognostic factors for poor leukaemia-free survival include age > 21, abnormal karyotype, and active leukaemia at the time of transplant. Other pretreatment characteristics such as gender or type of leukaemia were not significant prognostic factors. Our results show that matched unrelated bone marrow transplant for patients with advanced acute leukaemia may provide long-term leukaemia-free survival, but transplant-related complications produce a significant impact on survival with older age and adverse disease characteristics predicting for poor prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Fructosamine and glycated haemoglobin in the assessment of long term glycaemic control in diabetes.

Fructosamine and glycated haemoglobin were measured simultaneously in 147 children with diabetes. If glycated haemoglobin is considered as the 'gold standard' for long term glycaemic control, then fructosamine is a poor indicator of actual glycated haemoglobin values, with wide 95% confidence (fiducial) limits. This shows that it is impossible to accurately predict glycated haemoglobin concentrations and therefore, by implication, longer term glycaemic control, from measurements of fructosamine. As the major studies on the prevention of microvascular complications in diabetes have used glycated haemoglobin levels to assess glycaemic control, it is suggested that this measurement should be used in all children with diabetes in preference to the measurement of fructosamine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Serum Lp(a) lipoprotein concentration and outcome of thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Lp(a) lipoprotein has structural homology with plasminogen and has been shown to inhibit plasminogen activation in vitro. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the serum concentration of Lp(a) lipoprotein present when streptokinase was given in acute myocardial infarction influenced the outcome as judged by electrocardiographic methods. PATIENTS AND DESIGN: Serum Lp(a) lipoprotein concentration was measured in 135 consecutive patients admitted with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction who received streptokinase treatment. Recovery from myocardial injury was assessed by the reduction in the sum of ST segment elevation measured from the J point (STJ) in the electrocardiogram immediately before streptokinase was given compared with that three hours later. RESULTS: The serum Lp(a) lipoprotein concentrations were measured within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms of myocardial infarction and were higher than in healthy reference populations. Recovery from myocardial infarction could be assessed from the STJ in 116 patients (86% of the series). Those in whom it could not had bundle branch block, left ventricular hypertrophy, did not survive three hours, or had started intravenous nitrate treatment or some other clinical procedure before or at the time the second electrocardiogram was to be recorded. Patients with reductions in STJ after streptokinase that were > 4 mm (the median decrease) had mean (range) serum Lp(a) lipoprotein concentrations of 41.0 (0.8-220) mg/dl and those with a smaller reduction in STJ had concentrations of 29.1 (1.7-151) mg/dl. The difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In this study Lp(a) lipoprotein concentration did not significantly influence the outcome of thrombolytic treatment with streptokinase.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Complications of indirect laser photocoagulation.

Potential complications of indirect laser photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity are: corneal burn; iris burn; lens burn; choroidal hemorrhage or neovascularization; inadvertent photocoagulation of fovea; preretinal membrane formation; late onset retinal detachment; and retinal, preretinal, or vitreous hemorrhage.

Diseases in Twins↗
PubMed1994

Drug abuse and the rapid eye test.

Drug effects contribute to impaired eye movements and visual information processing. Only a small percentage of clinical conditions can cause a positive rapid eye test, therefore, drug use must be suspected and should be confirmed by body fluid analysis. A drug may not reach the urine for one to two hours, while eye signs occur within fifteen minutes after sniffing, inhaling, or injecting the drug. The rapid eye test is inexpensive, nonintrusive, and detects the actual influence of the drug on the body.

Humans↗
PubMed1993

HLA mismatching and cytomegalovirus infection as risk factors for transplant failure in cyclosporin-treated renal allograft recipients.

In a study of the effects on renal allograft survival of HLA mismatching, mismatching for cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody status, and post-transplant CMV infection, 148 cyclosporin-treated renal transplant recipients were given kidneys optimally matched for HLA-A, -B, and -DR antigens but not matched for CMV antibody status. Mismatching for HLA-B and -DR antigens was associated with a greater number of rejection episodes and a lower graft survival, but mismatching for CMV antibody status and posttransplant primary or recurrent CMV infection exerted no effect on graft survival. The role of matching of renal transplant recipients and donors for CMV antibody status in preference to HLA matching (proposed as a means of reducing the mortality associated with primary CMV infection) is discussed.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1993

Parent-infant cosleeping: the appropriate context for the study of infant sleep and implications for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) research.

Nearly all laboratory research on human infant sleep assumes that solitary sleeping is the normal and desirable environment. Yet solitary sleeping in infancy is a very recent custom limited to Western industrialized societies, and most of the world's people still practice parent-infant cosleeping. A hypothesis is presented that cosleeping provides a sensory-rich environment which is the more appropriate environment in which to study normal infant sleep. In addition, two preliminary, in-laboratory, polygraphic investigations of mother-infant cosleeping are reported in normal infants within the peak age range for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Five mother-infant pairs coslept for 1 night in the first study; in the second, three additional pairs slept separately for 2 nights and coslept the third consecutive night. The results suggest that cosleeping is associated with enhanced infant arousals and striking temporal overlap in infant and maternal arousals. Infant sleep also showed subtle alterations with cosleeping, as manifested in increased overlap with corresponding maternal sleep stages and decreased amount of Stage 3-4. These are the first in-laboratory investigations of parent-infant cosleeping. The implications of the hypothesis and preliminary results for research on the normal development of infant sleep and on SIDS are discussed.

Adult↗