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Biomedical subjects

L White

Publications and source records attributed to L White.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Precautions in medical care of, and in handling materials from, patients with transmissible virus dementia (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).

We have formulated a series of precautions to be observed in caring for patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in handling their tissues. The virus resists inactivation by simple boiling in water. Also ineffective are 10 per cent formalin, 70 per cent alcohol and ionizing and ultraviolet radiation. Autoclaving for one hour at 121 degrees C and 20 psi inactivates the agent completely. Five per cent hypochlorite, 0.03 per cent permanganate, phenolics and iodine solutions are adequate disinfectants inactivating large infective doses of the virus. Special isolation wards for afflicted patients seem unwarranted. Workers exposed to infected saliva, nasopharyngeal secretions, urine or feces need to and should wash thoroughly with ordinary soap. Needles and needle electrodes should be autoclaved or incinerated and discarded. Demented persons should not be used for donations of blood or other tissues. Although precautions are necessary, the epidemiologic evidence does not suggest an unusual risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease for medical workers.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Prediction of short-term outcome in newly admitted psychogeriatric patients.

Thirty-six consecutive admissions to a geriatric service recently reorganized to function within a community psychiatric framework were evaluated by means of a series of behavioral and psychologic measures. Assessments upon admission and at three, five and eight weeks and five months afterward, revealed that the greatest therapeutic responses and the most discharges occurred within the first few weeks after admission. Patients remaining for longer periods tended to stabilize at a lower level of functioning or to deteriorate. A combination of two simple measures used in evaluation upon admission and relating to physical and mental functioning was found to predict the patient's status at five months (still in the hospital, dead, or discharged) with 75 percent accuracy. Use of the lambda statistic for judging the predictive power of measures is suggested.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

RNA-instructed DNA polymerase activity in a cytoplasmic particulate fraction in brains from Guamanian patients.

Nervous system tissues from a number of patients with idiopathic neurological disorders were examined for biochemical evidence of RNA tumor virus infection. RNase-sensitive DNA polymerase activity was found in a cytoplasmic particulate fraction from two patients with Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but not in brains from two normal U.S. individuals. The buoyant density of the enzyme-containing fraction was 1.16-1.18 g/ml and could be converted to a denser region of the gradient (1.24 g/ml) by treatment with the nonionic surfactant, Sterox. The cation and detergent requirements for the endogenous RNase-sensitive DNA polymerase reaction were determined. The early (5 min) endogenous reverse transcriptase product was analyzed by cesium sulfate gradient centrifugation. RNase- and heat-sensitive RNA-DNA hybrids were detected in the product analysis of two ALS, one Parkinsonism-dementia (PD) brain, and two brains from asymptomatic Chamorros but not in brains from normal U.S. individuals and a number of patients with neuro-psychiatric disorders. The DNA product was a 4.5S heteropolymer that hybridized more extensively to RNA extracted from the enzyme-containing pellet from PD brain as compared to a similar fraction from normal U.S. brain. The DNA product appeared to be unrelated to Rausvher or visna virus 70S RNA as determined by RNA-[-3H]DNA hybridization.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1975

Evaluation of isobaric oxygenation for the aged with cognitive impairment: pilot study.

The effect of isobaric oxygenation on psychogeriatric subjects, with mild cognitive impairment was assessed in a single-blind controlled pilot study. Three of the 7 subjects were treated with a mixture of 97% oxygen plus 3% carbon dioxide, and 4 treated with compressed air. The oxygen or air was administered during two 1.5 hr sessions daily for fifteen consecutive days. Use of a miner's type mask ensured a closed system which permits the maximal partial pressure of oxygen. Psychologic and clinical observations did not indicate any advantage for the oxygenation therapy. Minimal side effects, which arose only in the oxygen group, may have involved some interactions between CO2 sensitivity and anxiety. Careful differential diagnosis and the control of motivational factors are of major importance in any study of the effects of oxygenation upon symptoms in psychogeriatric patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

Rapid diagnosis of sickle cell disease at birth by microcolumn chromatography.

Accurate specific diagnosis of sickle cell disease can now be made at birth on routinely obtained cord blood samples by microcolumn chromatography. The method uses a small column of a cation ion exchange resin, CM-Sephadex, and a single developer that allows definitive rapid distinction of hemoglobin SS, AS, AC, SC, and CC, within two hours. Seventy-five samples or more per day have been analyzed by one technician in a laboratory without special precautions or equipment. In a program which has been initiated on a large, totally unpredictable obstetrical service in Los Angeles, 10,401 consecutively born infants have been studied for hemoglobin type without regard to racial origin. Three SS infants, 1 SC, 143 AS infants, and 37 AC infants as well as several with other abnormal hemoglobins have been identified without interfering with the routine operation of the delivery rooms of the obstetrical service. The diagnosis of sickle cell disease has been confirmed on subsequent examinations of the infants. The feasibility of using microcolumn chromatography as a rapid, accurate, inexpensive, and easy method for the rapid diagnosis of sickle cell disease in newborns has now been established.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1975

Oppositional effects of acetylcholine and isoproterenol on isometric tension and cyclic nucleotide concentrations in rabbit atria.

The effects of acetylcholine chloride and isoproterenol on myocardiial cyclic GMP, cyclic AMP and on isometric tension were studied in isolated electrically driven rabbit atria. Acetylcholine (0.5 muM) produced a significant decrease in isometric force that was associated with a significant elevation in atrial cyclic GMP. Cyclic AMP was significantly lowered at 15 seconds after the addition of acetylcholine, but was only slightly decreased at earlier time periods. Both the negative inotropic action and increase in cyclic GMP after addition of acetylcholine were blocked by atropine. Isoproterenol (0.1 muM) produced a significant increase in isometric tension that was associated with a significant elevation in atrial cyclic AMP levels, whereas cyclic GMP levels were not changed. These effects were blocked by practolol. The increases in atrial cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP following addition of acetylcholine and isoproterenol, respectively, preceded the changes in isometric tension in response to these agents. These data support the hypothesis that changes in intracellular levels of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP may mediate the positive and negative inotropic effects of adrenergic and cholinergic agents.

Acetylcholine↗