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Biomedical subjects

M Ellis

Publications and source records attributed to M Ellis.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Therapy for symptoms in the carcinoid syndrome.

The clinical course and results of drug treatment for manifestations of the carcinoid syndrome are reviewed in 63 patients. The five-year actuarial survival in this group of patients was 48 per cent. The only markers of a poor prognosis that could be identified at diagnosis were marked weight loss and a high (over 1000 mumol/day) 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid excretion. The relative effectiveness of well-established drugs that either block 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis or block 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors is reported, with respect to the different manifestations of the syndrome, and compared with a small group of patients treated with long-acting somatostatin analogue. In over one-third of patients, primary tumours were not detected on initial investigation, and in none of these did symptoms referrable to the primary site become apparent later.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Impaired neutrophil function in patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex: a comprehensive evaluation.

We measured the neutrophil function of 6 patients with AIDS and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS); 22 patients with AIDS-related complex (ARC); and 28 healthy, heterosexual controls. Neutrophils from patients with ARC showed significantly less chemotaxis (P less than or equal to .025) than did those from patients with AIDS and KS or from controls. Serum from patients with AIDS and KS or with ARC significantly (P less than or equal to .05) inhibited chemotaxis of neutrophils from controls; heat treatment of the serum abolished this inhibitory effect. Bacterial killing by neutrophils from patients with AIDS and KS or with ARC was also significantly (P less than or equal to .05) less than for neutrophils from controls, as was neutrophil phagocytosis binding of Candida albicans (P less than or equal to .05). Expression of OKM1 antigen was increased in the patients studied. Enzyme degranulation, adherence, and aggregation were also examined. The defects found in neutrophil function are selective and may be important in the increased susceptibility of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection to bacterial and fungal infections.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1988

Regulation of immune functions by human surfactant.

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) were incubated in vitro with highly purified human surfactant to examine its effect on various T cell functions. Surfactant inhibited DNA synthesis by lymphocytes in response to concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and in the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR). In contrast, surfactant had no effect on pokeweed-mitogen (PWM, T cell-dependent B lymphocyte mitogen)-induced DNA synthesis or on interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor expression on T cells activated with PHA, Con A or PWM. Furthermore, surfactant had either no effect or enhanced (depending upon the concentration of IL-2 used) the response of exogenous recombinant IL-2 on IL-2-dependent T cell line, In vitro addition of recombinant IL-2 corrected the suppressive effect of surfactant on the AMLR. These data show immunosuppressive effect of surfactant on T lymphocyte functions.

DNA↗
PubMed1988

Household organization and the interregional variation of out-migration rates.

Regional out-migration rates may depend on localized conditions, but the range of possibilities for migration decision making in multiperson households includes processes in which the response to variations in localized conditions depends on household size. Analyses of migration rates for households indicate that larger households exhibit more extreme responses to variations in localized conditions and that this is an important source of variation in regional out-migration rates.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1988

The prevalence of ouabain-resistant variants after mutagen treatment. Lack of correlation between the frequency of variant expression and the metastatic phenotype.

In order to test the hypothesis that tumor cells with greater malignant potential should have an increased sensitivity to mutagens, four individual murine cell lines, each paired for their metastatic and nonmetastatic potentials, were compared with respect to the prevalence at which ouabain-resistant mutants could be obtained after treatment of the cells with the mutagen MNNG. No increase in the prevalence of induced mutation in metastatic cells was observed; and, in fact, in two cases (h-ras-transfected 3T3 and SP1 cells), nonmetastatic cells had a higher prevalence of mutations after MNNG treatment than did their metastatic counterparts. We suggest that the absolute level of genomic instability, measured by this means, is not critical to malignant potential and tumor progression.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Disseminated cryptococcal infection in a patient with hypogammaglobulinemia and normal T cell functions.

The immunologic status of a patient with disseminated cryptococcosis and no underlying predisposing factor was evaluated. The proportions and numbers of T cells, T cell subsets, B cells and proliferative responses to mitogens and soluble antigens, including cryptococcal antigen, were comparable to those in healthy control subjects; however, the patient had moderately severe hypogammaglobulinemia. The patient continues to do well clinically with intravenous gammaglobulin and antifungal therapy. This study suggests that antibodies might also play a role in the defense against cryptococcal antigen.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Gene regulation during dedifferentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

During development of Dictyostelium discoideum, cells acquire the capacity to rapidly recapitulate morphogenesis. Therefore, when cells at the loose aggregate stage are disaggregated and challenged to reaggregate, they do so in a tenth of the original time. If loose aggregate cells are disaggregated and resuspended in buffered dextrose solution (erasure medium), they retain the capacity of rapid recapitulation for 80 min, then completely lose this capacity in a single, synchronous step referred to as the "erasure event." The erasure event sets in motion a program of dedifferentiation during which cells lose developmentally acquired characteristics at different times. The erasure event is inhibited by the addition of 10(-4) M cAMP to erasure medium. The synthesis of 33 growth-associated polypeptides, the synthesis of 53 development-associated polypeptides, and the level of 2 development-associated RNAs have been monitored during the erasure program and in cultures inhibited from erasing by the addition of 10(-4) M cAMP. Growth-associated polypeptides begin to be resynthesized and development-associated polypeptides exhibit dramatic decreases in rate of synthesis at different times throughout the first 240 min in erasure medium. Inhibiting the erasure event with cAMP has no major effect in the resynthesis of the majority of growth-associated polypeptides. Only one growth-associated polypeptide, V28, is completely inhibited by cAMP, suggesting that it may play a role in the erasure process. In contrast, inhibiting the erasure event with cAMP has a marked effect on the synthesis of development-associated polypeptides, causing a dramatic reduction in the rate at which synthesis decreases for 6 polypeptides, and completely inhibits the decrease in the synthetic rate of 8 polypeptides. The two development-associated RNAs, 16G1 and 10C3, exhibit two distinctly different patterns of loss during erasure, but in both cases cAMP added at time zero of the erasure process dramatically retards or inhibits loss. In addition, when cAMP is added just prior to the erasure event, it inhibits the erasure event and stimulates a rapid increase in the level of 16G1 RNA back to the developmental level. The level of 16G1 RNA then remains at this level for at least 400 min. When cAMP is added after the erasure event, it causes a low, transient increase in the level of 16G1 RNA. These results are considered both in relation to the program of erasure, and in relation to the role of cAMP in the expression of developmental genes during the forward program of development.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1986

Mortality in patients with testicular cancer: report of the Anglia and Trent testicular tumour groups.

The overall prognosis of patients with testicular cancer has improved dramatically over the past decade. Most patients are now treated in regional oncology centres in general hospitals. The cause of death was determined in 52 patients in the East Anglian and Trent regions who presented between 1980 and 1984. The overall mortality was 10.8%. Thirty four patients died with progressive disease, 12 of treatment related problems, two suddenly at home in between chemotherapy courses, and four of incidental causes. Reasons for treatment failure and for the deaths related to treatment were analysed and several recommendations made to reduce the death rate in this highly curable disease predominantly of young men.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Computed tomography of testicular tumours: distribution of abdominal lymphadenopathy.

The distribution of intra-abdominal nodal involvement was assessed in 145 patients presenting with testicular tumours referred for staging by computed tomography (CT). Of the 55 patients with definite evidence of nodal enlargement on CT, 33 had tumours of the left testicle, and 22 of the right. Nodal involvement was predominant in the left para-aortic chain in all 33 patients with a left testicular lesion and confined to the left in 31 (93%). Amongst the 22 patients with a right-sided lesion, nodal involvement was predominantly right-sided in 19 (86%) and confined to the right side in 15 (68%). In no patient were the contralateral nodes larger than the ipsilateral nodes. In all 15 patients in this series with early nodal involvement (8 left testicle, 7 right), disease appeared confined to the ipsilateral side. Although crossover of disease does occur, it was only seen in patients with more advanced disease and subsequent to ipsilateral nodal involvement. Knowledge of these findings, which correlate well with data from anatomical, surgical and direct lymphographic studies, should assist in the CT interpretation of equivocal nodal enlargement and aid decisions on the optimal interval for CT follow-up during surveillance.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1986

A comparison of the clinico-pathological features with stool pathogens in patients hospitalised with the symptom of diarrhoea.

The clinico-pathological features of 515 adult patients admitted to a major Regional Infectious Diseases Unit in United Kingdom with the symptom complex of diarrhoea were compared to the pathogens detected in their stool specimens. Routine clinical examination supported by basic pathological and laboratory investigations identified 138 (28%) in whom the cause of diarrhoea was extragastrointestinal or non-infectious gastrointestinal. Of the 351 patients (72%) with infectious gastroenteritis 72 (21%) had campylobacter, 59 (17%) had salmonella (22% bacteraemic) and 16 (5%) shigella. Clostridium difficile toxin accounted for a further 15 (4%)--antibiotics had been the antecedent cause in only one half of these. Routine microscopical examination of the faeces for red and white cells distinguished many with "culture positive" diarrhoea from those with "culture negative" infectious diarrhoea. Although there are no clinico-pathological features which are unique to a particular pathogen and unequivocally suggest a particular pathogen, certain features did tend to present more often in association with particular microorganisms, and this knowledge may suggest a bacterial diagnosis whilst awaiting the definitive results of stool microbiology. These features include prior antimicrobial therapy with positive sigmoidoscopical/histological features: Cl. difficile; protracted diarrhoea in elderly severely dehydrated patients: salmonellosis; foreign travel in males with bloody diarrhoea: shigellosis; abdominal pain in younger patients with a small degree of vomiting: campylobacteriosis. Early diagnosis may then prove useful in rationalizing initial therapy, particularly the appropriate use of antimicrobials.

Acute Disease↗