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Biomedical subjects

M Scott

Publications and source records attributed to M Scott.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Scrapie and cellular PrP isoforms are encoded by the same chromosomal gene.

PrP 27-30 is the major protein in purified preparations of scrapie agent. An almost complete PrP cDNA was used to select PrP-related genomic clones from normal hamster DNA. The gene contains a noncoding exon of 56 to 82 bp and a 2 kb coding exon, separated by a 10 kb intron. Transcription initiates at the same multiple sites in vivo and in vitro. The promoter lacks a TATA box and contains three repeats of the sequence GCCCCGCCC, which resembles the Sp1 binding site found in "housekeeping" genes. The PrP coding sequence encodes a presumptive amino-terminal signal peptide. The primary structure of PrP encoded by the gene of a healthy animal does not differ from that encoded by a cDNA from a scrapie-infected animal, suggesting that the different properties of PrP from normal and scrapie-infected brains are due to post-translational events.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Seasonal variations in maternal serum and mammary immunity to RS virus.

We have recorded the systemic and mammary/mucosal immune responses of women following natural infection with RS virus during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Anti-RS virus IgG antibody levels in the sera of women collected in the first trimester of pregnancy showed a bimodal distribution with high and low antibody groups. Antibody levels increased after exposure to the winter RS virus epidemic in the second trimester of pregnancy, probably as a result of infection but only for women in the low antibody group. Despite the increases, antibody levels for these women remained well below those of the high antibody group. There was no rise in mean antibody levels after exposure in the third trimester, even among women with low antibody, suggesting a degree of immunosuppression in late pregnancy. There was no evidence that infection during pregnancy was associated with adverse consequences for the infant. Exposure to RS virus in the first two trimesters, but not the third, was associated with high colostral IgA antibody levels that were maintained in the milk throughout the first 7 weeks of lactation. There was a significant correlation between colostral and maternal nasal IgA antibody levels at delivery. Levels of blood or colostral lymphocyte transformation responses at delivery were unaffected by exposure to RS virus in pregnancy. These observations upon natural infection suggest that vaccination during pregnancy is likely to achieve only marginal effects upon serum antibody levels but boost maternal mammary/mucosal immunity.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1985

Cellular reactivity to respiratory syncytial virus in human colostrum and breast milk.

Colostrum and breast-milk samples were taken from 23 mothers between 2 days and 7 weeks postpartum and were examined for the presence of cellular reactivity to respiratory syncytial (RS) virus using a lymphocyte transformation assay. Positive responses were detected in nine of the 23 (39%) samples taken at 2-5 days postpartum, but this reactivity was undetectable at 3 weeks. Positive responses developed in a further three mothers during the 3-7-week period of lactation, suggesting a response to virus infection. Colostral whey was found to suppress the cellular response to RS virus and inhibition was related to the level of specific IgA antibody to RS virus present in the whey. The role of colostral cellular reactivity in protection of breast-fed infants from RS virus bronchiolitis is discussed.

Colostrum↗
PubMed1985

Neuropsychological deficit and regional cerebral blood flow in schizophrenic patients.

The paper examined the relationship between the scales of the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and measures of cerebral blood flow in a sample of 51 chronic schizophrenic patients without a history of brain damage. Of 88 correlations between the two sets of data, 22 were significant at the .05 level. The measurement of left anterior gray flow were particularly predictive of LNNB scores, although all correlations were at a moderate level, ranging from -.24 to -.38. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that neuropsychological testing performance in schizophrenics is related to brain function rather than merely reflecting deficits due to anxiety or other psychiatric features which have been hypothesized to invalidate neuropsychological assessment in this population. The data are also consistent with the notion that schizophrenia is more likely associated with left-anterior functioning, and that gray-matter measures in rCBF are effective predictors of neuropsychological performance.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

An evaluation of the effectiveness of individual and group cognitive therapy in the treatment of depressed patients in an inner city health centre.

Depressed patients were allocated randomly to individual cognitive therapy, group cognitive therapy or a waiting list ;treatment as usual' control group. Blind clinical and psychometric assessment of patients revealed that those who underwent cognitive therapy did significantly better than those on the waiting list. There was no significant difference between patients treated with group or individual cognitive therapy. Threatment gains were maintained at follow-up at 12 months. Prognostic characteristics for the selection of depressed patients for cognitive therapy on the basis of the chronicity and social stresses are identified. It is concluded that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment which can be applied cost-effectively in general practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Carcinoma of the anal canal. A clinical and pathologic study of 188 cases.

Among 188 patients presenting with carcinoma of the anal canal the predominant cell types were squamous cell (56%) and nonkeratinizing basaloid (35%). Thirteen patients who had predominantly small (less than or equal to 2 cm) and only superficially invasive squamous cell lesions were treated with local excision, and although one required later abdominal perineal (AP) resection for local recurrence, all were apparently cured. Local excision should be preferred as initial treatment for such lesions. One hundred eighteen patients with squamous cell and nonkeratinizing basaloid carcinomas were primarily treated with AP resection. The operative mortality rate was 2.5%. Among 114 patients who survived surgery and had adequate follow-up, 40% developed recurrent disease, and 71% have survived 5 or more years. Pathologic staging based on depth of tumor invasion and regional nodal involvement was strongly predictive of survival as was tumor histology with progressively poorer survival rates from low-grade squamous cell to high-grade squamous cell to nonkeratinizing basaloid types. Tumor size was inversely related to prognosis and was strongly associated with stage. Squamous cell anal carcinoma was dominantly a local disease with approximately 70% of patients presenting with tumor apparently limited to the bowel wall, only 20% with regional node involvement and only 2% with distant metastasis. Even among those patients who recurred after AP resection approximately 80% had all known disease still limited to the pelvic area. Corresponding figures for nonkeratinizing basaloid tumors were 50 percent presenting limited to the bowel wall, 30% with regional nodes, 20% with distant metastasis, and 60% with initial recurrence limited to the pelvis. Among the 13 patients studied with small cell anal carcinoma, the authors found the disease to be very virulent either initially presenting with or rapidly evolving into diffuse dissemination. Only one of the seven patients who could be treated surgically survived 5 years. As is true for small cell carcinomas primary to other sites, this neoplasm should be regarded as a systemic disease. With these findings as a foundation, possible future strategies for management of anal carcinoma are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cell-mediated immunity in respiratory syncytial virus disease.

Systemic cell-mediated responses to respiratory syncytial (RS) virus were detected, using a whole blood transformation assay, in 10 of 28 infants and children with RS virus infections during the period 1-14 days postadmission. Cell-mediated responses were unrelated to the age of the patient or the severity of illness. No correlation was found between cellular responses and fourfold or greater rises in antibody titre to RS virus, as determined by a membrane immunofluorescence technique. Patients under 6 months of age had significantly lower levels of IgA and IgG antibody to RS virus compared to older patients, although cell-mediated responses were similar in both groups. The presence of cell-mediated reactivity to RS virus was also demonstrated in 5 of 95 samples of cord blood examined, and cellular responses failed to correlate with the levels of IgG antibody to RS virus.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1984

Antisecretory activity of fenoctimine in rat and dog.

Fenoctimine (4-(diphenylmethyl)-1-[(octylimino)methyl]piperidine) sulfate was evaluated for gastric antisecretory activity in the acute gastric fistula rat and chronic gastric fistula dog. It showed potent gastric antisecretory activity of long duration in the rat, and was more potent on a mg/kg basis than cimetidine. In the dog, fenoctimine showed significant activity against gastrin tetrapeptide, histamine, and bethanechol. It was least potent against bethanechol, indicating a lack of significant anticholinergic activity in the dog at the doses tested. It had a long duration of action in the dog with doses of 6 mg/kg, showing significant activity even at 24 hr. Fenoctimine does not appear to fit the spectrum of activity associated with other known antisecretory agents and may have a unique mechanism of action related to effects directly on parietal cells.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1984

Role of the amygdala in the reproductive and aggressive behavior of the lizard, Anolis carolinensis.

Thirteen male green anole lizards were lesioned in the ventromedial nucleus (VMN) of the posterior dorsal ventricular ridge ("amygdala") and/or the paleostriatum (PS) to determine the influence of these structures on assertion and challenge displays addressed to male intruders, or courtship displays and copulatory neckgrip directed toward females. Lesions that affected both VMN and PS reduced or eliminated both challenge and courtship displays as well as the neckgrip, a crucial component in courtship. Subjects with lesions limited to VMN had assertion and challenge left unimpaired but courtship was reduced and neckgrip eliminated in most subjects. A lesion restricted to PS caused a significant deficit in challenge while other measures were unaffected. These data indicate that the VMN is involved in reproductive function in the green anole lizard.

Aggression↗
PubMed1984

Meningeal carcinomatosis in patients with primary breast or lung cancer.

We reviewed the records of 35 patients with meningeal carcinomatosis and primary lung or breast cancer in an effort to identify prognostic factors. No definite associations were found. The prognosis for these patients continues to be poor; the median duration of survival after the diagnosis of meningeal carcinomatosis was 43 days in our study group.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cystic hypersecretory duct carcinoma of the breast.

This report describes a grossly and microscopically distinctive multicystic form of duct carcinoma of the breast which we have termed cystic hypersecretory duct carcinoma. The outstanding morphologic feature is marked secretory activity with the formation of dilated ducts and cysts containing homogeneous, eosinophilic material which resembles thyroid colloid. The inconspicuous epithelium lining the cysts gives rise to micropapillary carcinoma which also occurs in associated ducts. A biopsy that consists entirely of cystic elements, lacking the papillary component, should be termed cystic hypersecretory hyperplasia rather than carcinoma. This may be a persistent condition with the potential to evolve into carcinoma. Eight patients with cystic hypersecretory duct carcinoma were studied, ranging in age from 32 to 78 years (mean 54). In two cases there was coexistent invasive carcinoma, presenting as inflammatory carcinoma with bone metastases in one woman and with a single axillary lymph node metastasis in another. Six patients with intraductal carcinoma treated with mastectomy or local excision have remained well, the longest follow-up being 2 years. Histochemical studies were negative for thyroglobulin in all cases studied. Some lesions were positive for one or more of the following: mucin by mucicarmine stain; carcinoembryonic antigen; alpha-lactalbumin; mouse mammary tumor virus GP52 antigen. Cystic hypersecretory duct carcinoma is morphologically distinguishable from juvenile (secretory) carcinoma and from mucinous (colloid) carcinoma. Longer follow-up and study of additional cases will be necessary to determine if this lesion has distinctive clinical characteristics.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous↗
PubMed1984

Birth trauma: incidence and predisposing factors.

The authors retrospectively studied 13,870 singleton full-term consecutive live births at a major teaching hospital and assessed the frequency of brachial plexus injury, clavicular fracture, and facial nerve injury in newborns delivered from January 1974 through December 1977 and from January 1979 through September 1981. Predisposing factors relating to mechanical birth trauma were defined, and a risk assessment profile was developed to identify the fetus at risk. Mechanical injuries were identified according to the International Classification of Diseases codes 761. The incidence of selected birth injuries in the study group were: brachial plexus injury, 2.6 per 1000 or 1 in 385 single full-term live births; fractured clavicle, 2.0 per 1000 or 1 in 495 single full-term live births; and facial nerve injury, 7.5 per 1000 or 1 in 133 single full-term live births. There were 162 full-term infants born with 168 injuries relevant to this study. Of the six infants who incurred more than one injury, three had a combined fractured clavicle-brachial plexus injury, and three had facial nerve-branchial plexus injuries. Logistic regression analysis of fetal, maternal, and intrapartum complications in labor and delivery revealed that midforceps , shoulder dystocia, low forceps, infants greater than 3500 g, and second stage labor exceeding 60 minutes were the predominant events associated with fetal injury. The authors then applied a risk assessment profile to successfully identify over 50% of the injured and 84% of the uninjured groups. From their results, the authors suggest that obstetricians should alert the pediatricians when these predisposing factors exist to aid in the recognition and early treatment of these birth injuries.

Birth Injuries↗
PubMed1983

A comparison of short-course, low-dose and long-course, high-dose preoperative radiation for carcinoma of the bladder.

This retrospective study failed to detect a significant difference in survival rates between patients with bladder carcinoma who underwent cystectomy after short-course, low-dose radiation and those who underwent cystectomy after long-course, high-dose radiation. The authors were able to identify in the long-course--high-dose group a subset of patients with an unusually good prognosis, but this advantage was not reflected in survival rates. The value of the ability of the long-course--high-dose preoperative technique to identify a subgroup of patients with a relatively good survival rate remains to be determined. In terms of the current management of bladder cancer, this ability to identify a favorable subset of patients is probably not worth the cost and morbidity involved. If, however, adjuvant chemotherapy is to be considered, this ability might be valuable.

Aged↗