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Biomedical subjects

M Fisher

Publications and source records attributed to M Fisher.

At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Bilateral cortical border-zone infarction. A pseudobrainstem stroke.

Acute bilateral weakness of the extremities with weakness of the tongue classically signals a medullary lesion. A patient had these signs, but at autopsy, bilateral cortical border-zone infarcts and an entirely normal brainstem were found. This case points out the importance of considering bilateral cortical border-zone infarction in the presence of bilateral motor or sensory signs, especially when there is sparing of facial motor function.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Human platelet factor 4: preparation from outdated platelet concentrates and application in cerebral vascular disease.

Platelet factor 4 (PF4), the platelet antiheparin protein, was isolated from both the supernatant and the cells of recently outdated platelet concentrates. Following purification by affinity chromatography, a competitive binding radioimmunoassay was developed to detect this protein in human plasma. The normal range was determined to be 9.4 +/- 4.7 ng/ml (mean +/- SD for 52 healthy adults). In order to determine whether individuals with transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke had measurable increments of PF4 in their plasma, radioimmunoassay studies were performed on 11 patients with well-documented TIA, 10 patients with well-documented stroke and on 16 age-matched controls hospitalized on a neurology service with disorders unrelated to arterial thrombosis. The 16 hospitalized controls had PF4 levels of 10.3 +/- 9.1 ng/ml, a value not significantly different from the 52 normals (P greater than 0.50). Patients with TIA had PF4 levels of 24.6 +/- 12.1 ng/ml, a value significantly higher than both the 52 normals (P less than 0.001) and the 16 hospitalized control patients (P less than 0.005). Patients with stroke had PF4 levels of 35.4 +/- 29.2 ng/ml, a value significantly higher than both the 42 normals (P less than 0.001) and the 16 hospitalized control patients (P less than 0.005). Outdated platelet concentrates facilitate the development of a reproducible radioimmunoassay for PF4. The elevation of this platelet-derived protein in the plasma of patients with stroke and TIA provides evidence for recent or ongoing platelet activation in the cerebral vascular disease population.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis.

Intramedullary spinal cord metastases are rarely the presenting manifestation of a previously undiagnosed neoplasms. We report such a case in which a subacutely progressive motor and sensory spinal cord syndrome was the initial problem. The differential diagnosis and the difficulties in distinguishing intramedullary from extramedullary mass lesions are discussed. The special features of tumors of the lung and their predilection for metastasis to the central nervous system are considered.

Carcinoma, Small Cell↗
PubMed1981

Immunohistochemical localization of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Bergmann glia and oligodendroglia in the mouse cerebellum.

Immunohistochemical staining showed that the adult isozyme of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) was localized in two populations of cells in the mouse cerebellum. Staining was not detectable until after 10 days of age, thus correlating with the onset of accumulation of the adult enzyme. The two cell populations were identified as Bergmann glia and oligodendroglia on the basis of their morphology, distribution and their nearly complete absence from cerebella of mice with mutations (Weaver, wv/wv and Jimpy, jp/Y, respectively (which are known to reduce the numbers of these cell types. Biochemical analysis of these mutants suggests that Bergmann glia contribute approximately 60% of the total cerebellar GPDH activity while the contribution of oligodendroglia in the cerebellum is negligible. In addition, immunohistochemical staining of the rat cerebellum showed a distribution of this enzyme similar to that of the mouse. However, oligodendroglia of the rat stained more intensely than did the Bergmann glia.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Gallbladder disease in children and adolescents.

A 20-year experience with gallbladder disease in 85 children and adolescents was reviewed. Sixty-five patients had idiopathic cholelithiasis and cholecystitis (group I); 20 patients had cholelithiasis and cholecystitis secondary to a predisposing disease or other pathologic diagnoses (group II). For group I patients, 100% were greater than age 12, 92.3% were female, 60% were overweight, 20% had a positive family history, and 27.7% had had a previous pregnancy. For group II patients, 60% were less than age 13, 45% were female, 15% were overweight, 5% had a positive family history, and none had previously been pregnant. Symptomatology in group I, but not group II, patients matched that seen in adults. Group I, but not group II, patients experienced delays in diagnosis. These data indicate that children and adolescents with gallbladder disease constitute two distinct populations and that idiopathic cholelithiasis and cholecystitis must be considered as a potential cause of chronic abdominal pain in otherwise healthy adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Long-term follow-up of obesity in adolescents.

Fifty adolescents, 12-17 years of age, were treated for obesity from 1967 to 1972. They were contacted in 1977 to obtain follow-up data. Each subject had been treated in a program of dietary counseling and behavior modification. Mean weight on follow-up was 18.1 lb (8.2 kg) lower than mean initial weight (P less than 0.05). The mean decrease over desired weight was 29.5%. Twenty-two patients reported a weight loss of greater than 20 lb (P greater than 0.001). (9.1 kg) and 15 patients reported a weight loss of 0-20 lb (9.1 kg). Thirty-eight percent of the patient were no longer obese (greater than 20% over ideal body weight) and an additional 22% were no longer overweight (10-20% over ideal body weight). These results suggest that a dietary and behavior modification program offered to adolescents may show beneficial results in young adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

The acute effect of metoclopramide on plasma prolactin during pregnancy.

The effect of metoclopramide on plasma prolactin levels was studied in 10 women in the second half of pregnancy. The IV injection of 10 mg metoclopramide produces a significant rise in prolactin in 15 minutes, a peak of up to 6.5-fold over basal levels at 30 minutes and a sustained significant elevation for at least 4 hours. The results of this study indicate that maternal plasma protein levels although elevated, are still under inhibitory control and that the prolactin releasing capacity of the pituitary is maintained during pregnancy. The elevated hyperprolactinemia induced by metoclopramide may be of help in investigating the role of prolactin in human pregnancy.

Female↗
PubMed1981

Alcohol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Associations between alcohol intake and levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were examined in 2473 men and 1530 women seen as part of the random sample at visit 2 of the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study. More men than women reported alcohol intake. The alcoholic beverage preference differed by age and sex. The levels of HDL cholesterol were higher in drinkers than in nondrinkers. The statistically significant associations varied somewhat by age; however, the average correlation coefficient was 0.21 for men and 0.25 for women. HDL cholesterol levels were lower in those who reported never drinking alcohol than in occasional drinkers.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Changes in plasma lipids and lipoproteins after a modified fat diet.

20 male and female patients with type II hyperlipoproteinaemia and 10 normal male and female subjects were fed for 11--15 days a eucaloric diet containing less than 300 mg cholesterol with a polyunsaturated to saturated fatty-acid ratio of about 2.0. Male subjects and patients and female patients showed statistically significant decreases in plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels; the change in LDL-cholesterol was not significant in female subjects. The changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels in patients were greater than those in subjects, (except for the changes in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in women, which were similar), which suggested that the magnitude of change depended on initial levels. This difference was not present when the data were evaluated as percent change. Mean levels of HDL-cholesterol decreased in both patients and subjects. However, the proportion of total cholesterol contributed by HDL and LDL, and hence the HDL/LDL ratio, was unchanged from pre-diet levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Transient focal cerebral ischemia as a presenting manifestation of unruptured cerebral aneurysms.

Few reports have described an association between cerebral transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and unruptured cerebral aneurysms. This study presents seven patients with TIA who had aneurysms in a vascular distribution appropriate to their clinical symptoms. In three patients, angiographic evidence of embolization was present distal to the aneurysm without apparent cardiac or extracranial arterial source for the emboli. The most reasonable pathogenesis for TIA in a patient with an associated saccular aneurysm would be thrombosis of the aneurysmal sac with subsequent embolization. However, subarachnoid blood can cause permanent focal intracranial narrowing, and this appeared to be a factor in at least one patient. The results imply that patients with symptoms of TIA should have their intracranial arterial circulation visualized as part of the diagnostic evaluation.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

The effect of a short-term course of antibiotic prophylaxis on patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy.

A prospective double-blind study of antibiotic prophylaxis in 69 patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy was conducted. A short, 1-day course of cefazolin prophylaxis effectively decreased febrile morbidity, serious postoperative infections and hospital stay. Resistant infections or delayed infections were not encountered in this series of prophylactically treated patients. There was no difference between the active drug group and the placebo group in the frequency with which aerobic Gram-negative rods and the incidence of cephalosporin-resistant organisms cultured postoperatively.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Sample sizes for long-term medical trial with time-dependent dropout and event rates.

A general model is formulated that allows for time-dependent dropout and event rates in the determination of sample sizes for long-term medical trials when a therapy group and a control group are to be compared. The need for time-dependent event (dropout) rate is illustrated by using the Framingham Heart Study Mortality data to estimate sample size for the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). A further generalization of the model allows for participants who drop out of the control group (e.g., because of therapeutic measures prescribed by their own physicians) to return (or not return) to the control group at a later date. The question of unequal sample sizes for the therapy and the control groups is also discussed.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1980

Predisposing factors in anaphylactoid reactions to anaesthetic drugs in an Australian population: the role of allergy, atopy and previous anaesthesia.

One thousand patients undergoing anaesthesia in an Australian hospital were assessed by questionnaire to determine the incidence of previous anaesthesia, allergy and atopy. The patients were compared with a British group and with 85 patients who had life-threatening anaphylactoid reactions. The Australian and British groups were not significantly different. The Australian patients who had reactions showed a higher incidence of allergy, atopy, asthma and previous adverse reactions than the general population. The incidence was higher in females than males. Although the incidence is higher in the group of patients who reacted, the incidence is not sufficiently great to make pretreatment of patients with a history of allergy or atopy a reasonable prophylactic manoeuvre.

Anaphylaxis↗