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Biomedical subjects

M Irwin

Publications and source records attributed to M Irwin.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Plasma cortisol and natural killer cell activity during bereavement.

Natural killer cell (NK) activity, which is important in the defense against tumors and viral infections, is reduced in women undergoing conjugal bereavement. The relationship between NK activity and plasma cortisol was investigated in three groups of subjects: women who were anticipating the death of their husbands, women whose husbands had recently died, and controls. Bereaved women showed reduced NK activity and increased plasma cortisol levels as compared to controls. Anticipatory bereaved women also showed significant reductions in NK activity, but had levels of plasma cortisol comparable to those of controls. The reduction of NK activity during anticipatory and actual bereavement cannot be explained solely on the basis of increased cortisol secretion.

Female↗
PubMed1988

Diagnosis of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is among the most prevalent of the difficult diseases to establish diagnoses in medicine. This article outlines a number of steps to help in identifying the alcoholic patient. These include: a careful history, several laboratory blood tests, simple paper-and-pencil tests, and recognition of alcohol-related medical disorders.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1988

Maternal inspired oxygen concentration and neonatal status for caesarean section under general anaesthesia. Comparison of effects of 33% or 50% oxygen in nitrous oxide.

The relationship between maternal FIO2 and umbilical venous PO2, PCO2, pH and neonatal Apgar and TSR (time to sustained respiration) scores was studied in 35 patients undergoing Caesarean section under general anaesthesia. Patients were allocated randomly to breathe an FIO2 of either 0.5 or 0.33. Umbilical venous blood was collected at the time of delivery, and TSR and 1- and 5-min Apgar scores recorded. Mean values for umbilical venous blood were: PO2 3.9 kPa and 3.7 kPa; PCO2 6.2 kPa and 6.2 kPa; pH 7.30 and 7.31 (50% and 33% groups, respectively (P greater than 0.05]. No differences were found between groups for 1- or 5-min Apgar scores or TSR values. It is concluded that no difference in fetal outcome or acid-base status can be detected when maternal FIO2 is decreased from 0.5 to 0.33, and that the use of 33% oxygen in 66% nitrous oxide appears to be safe for neonates who have not suffered fetal distress before delivery.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1988

CRF activates autonomic nervous system and reduces natural killer cytotoxicity.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) acts within the brain to elicit changes in neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral activity similar to those observed after stress. A reduction of immune function has also been described following central administration of CRF. In this study, we examined whether autonomic nervous system activation plays a role in CRF-induced suppression of natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity. synthetic rat CRF (1.0 microgram) microinjected into the lateral ventricle significantly increased plasma concentrations of norepinephrine and reduced splenic NK cell activity in the rat. Pretreatment of the animals with the ganglionic-blocking agent chlorisondamine completely abolished the CRF-induced increase in plasma norepinephrine levels and reduction in NK activity. However, CRF-induced elevations in plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone were not affected by chlorisondamine. The results of this study suggest that activation of the sympathetic nervous system plays a role in CRF-induced suppression of NK cytotoxicity.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1988

Use of laboratory tests to monitor heavy drinking by alcoholic men discharged from a treatment program.

Changes in blood test values from the time of discharge from an alcohol treatment program to 3-month follow-up were studied in two consecutive series of alcoholic men. The parallel combination of a percent increase in gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) of greater than or equal to 20%, in aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT) of greater than or equal to 40%, and in alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) of greater than or equal to 20% over discharge values was developed as a rule and then cross-validated to identify those alcoholic men who had resumed drinking at follow-up. Serial determination of these three test values in combination can be used to distinguish recovering alcoholics who remain abstinent from those who resume drinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

A structured diagnostic interview for identification of primary alcoholism: a preliminary evaluation.

Forty alcoholic inpatient men were used to evaluate the test-retest reliability and the validity of a new structured diagnostic interview. The Alcohol Research Center (ARC) Intake Interview was constructed from the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) parts I and II and from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule family history section by extracting information on diagnoses most likely to be seen in alcoholic patients and by expanding the data set with questions relevant to alcohol and drug use. The test-retest reliability for patients' primary and secondary diagnoses included a kappa of 1.00 for the comparison of interviewers A and B (100% agreement) and of .76 for interviewers A and C. The validity of ARC Intake Interview patient diagnoses as compared to the SADS demonstrated an overall agreement between 91 and 100%. Reliabilities for labeling of families as positive or negative for specific illness in any first-degree relatives revealed a kappa of 1.00; validities on family diagnoses ranged from 77 to 100%, with the ARC Intake Interview identifying more illness in families than the SADS. Although further evaluation of the ARC Intake Interview is needed, this instrument is recommended to investigators attempting to evaluate the clinical course and treatment needs among alcoholics, especially those patients presenting with multiple diagnoses.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Propranolol as a primary treatment of neuroleptic-induced akathisia.

We conducted a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of propranolol versus placebo as a single treatment of neuroleptic-induced akathisia in eleven schizophrenic patients. Neither propranolol nor placebo treated patients showed a significant improvement in akathisia. While propranolol may be useful as an adjunct to anticholinergic medication in the treatment of neuroleptic-induced akathisia, propranolol does not appear to be effective within 48 hours as a primary treatment in a select group of schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Low natural killer cytotoxicity in major depression.

Natural killer cell cytotoxicity was significantly lower in a group of hospitalized depressed men than in matched controls. The absolute number of neutrophils was increased in the depressed group, but the numbers of other cell types did not differ between groups. These findings further demonstrate that altered immunity is a biologic concomitant of affective disorders.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic↗
PubMed1987

Impaired natural killer cell activity during bereavement.

Natural killer (NK) cell activity, a component of the immune surveillance system, was compared in women whose husbands had recently died with that found in age-matched women who had not experienced recent adverse life events. Bereaved women had significantly lower NK activity than women whose husbands were healthy. In a second study, depressive symptoms and NK activity were measured longitudinally in women before and after the death of their husbands. Our results suggest that depressive symptoms, not merely the death of the spouse, are related to a reduction in NK activity during bereavement.

Bereavement↗
PubMed1987

Neuropsychologic deficits and the risk for alcoholism.

The importance of genetic factors in alcoholism has prompted a search for trait or vulnerability markers of a predisposition toward this disorder. Responding to the diverse and at times persistent neuropsychologic impairments observed in alcoholics, several laboratories have documented possible neurocognitive deficits in young men with alcoholic biologic fathers. This paper begins with a review of this complex, and at times contradictory, literature and then presents original data comparing 24 sons of alcoholic fathers with 24 control subjects matched on demography and drinking histories. Among the present sample of students and working men aged 18 to 25 years, the sons of alcoholics demonstrated no significant levels of impairment on the Category Test, the Trail Making Test Part B, Body Sway, Word REcall, or the Missing Digit Test. Taken together with the literature, these negative findings call into question whether any specific array of neurocognitive or psychomotor test results will in the near future prove to be clinically relevant general markers of a risk for alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Life events, depressive symptoms, and immune function.

Because both bereavement and depression have been associated with impaired immune responses, the authors studied two indicators of immune function, natural killer (NK) cell activity and measures of T cell subpopulations, in 37 women who differed in the magnitude of recent life events. Women who had experienced major life changes had lower NK cell activity than women who had few changes. Severity of depressive symptoms in these women was associated with an impairment of NK cell activity, an absolute loss of suppressor/cytotoxic cells, and an increase in the ratio of T helper to T suppressor/cytotoxic cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Immune and neuroendocrine changes during bereavement.

Several studies document an association between bereavement and both suppressed lymphocyte responses to mitogen stimulation and impaired NK activity. In addition, women who are bereaved and have depressive symptoms show alterations in T cell subpopulations including a loss of T suppressor-cytotoxic cells and an increase in the ratio of T helper to T suppressor-cytotoxic cells. Although depressive symptoms may possibly mediate the immunologic changes during bereavement, the processes that modulate the immune system and link bereavement, changes in CNS activity, and immune function remain unknown. The increased secretion of cortisol in bereaved persons does not appear to mediate the suppression of NK activity, and further studies are necessary to explore the potential role of neuropeptides or catecholamines in altering immune function during bereavement.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗