Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Scott

Publications and source records attributed to M Scott.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Neuropsychological correlates of auditory and visual hallucinations.

Investigations of possible mechanisms underlying hallucinations have indicated that abnormal excitation of brain tissue and abnormal regulation of cognitive activity may contribute to hallucinations. The cognitive control deficits in auditory hallucinations are in some ways similar to those in persons with damage to the frontal lobes of the brain. An examination of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery performance of 10 psychiatric patients with auditory hallucinations, 10 patients with visual hallucinations and 20 patients with no hallucinations showed evidence of general cognitive impairment with a left frontal focus in the auditory group and no evidence of neuropsychological impairment in the visual group. Both self-awareness and control of internal speech involve left frontal mediation and the possible contribution of deficiencies in these functions to the appearance of auditory hallucinations is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Pineal tumors in children and adolescents. Treatment by CSF shunting and radiotherapy.

Tumors of the pineal region account for 3% to 8% of pediatric intracranial tumors. The treatment of such tumors has been in a state of flux between conservative therapy (cerebrospinal fluid shunting and radiotherapy) and direct surgical removal. A brief history and review of the literature with analysis of both approaches is given, and the Mayo Clinic's experience with conservative treatment of tumors in the pineal region in patients 20 years old and younger (27 cases) is studied and analyzed. The series comprises 21 boys and six girls, with an age range of 1 to 20 years (mean 13.7 years). Follow-up examinations are complete and range from 1 to 24 years, with a mean follow-up period of 7.8 years. The median survival time for these patients treated with shunt and radiotherapy is 17.7 years. There was no mortality from treatment and complications were rare. The details of the clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, pathology, therapy, recurrence, and survival are presented. All patients under 6 years of age (six cases) had recurrences, 50% in other areas in the brain and 50% in the spinal cord, perhaps pointing to the need for whole-brain and spinal-axis irradiation in patients in this age group. The results of this study of the conservative approach form a standard against which results of any other type of therapy may be compared.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Effect on plasma cortisol level and urinary cortisol excretion, in healthy volunteers, after application of three different topical steroid ointments under occlusion.

The systemic effect of the topical glucocorticoid ointments budesonide 0.025% (Preferid), hydrocortisone-17-butyrate 0.1% (Locoid) and betamethasone-17,21-dipropionate 0.5% (Diproderm) was studied in 9 healthy volunteers. Five g ointment was applied on about 13% of the total body surface, using occlusive technique for three consecutive nights. The cortisol values in plasma and urine were measured before, during, and 3 days after applications. Although budesonide and betamethasone-17,21-dipropionate are equipotent drugs from a therapeutic point of view, the halogenated betamethasone-17,21-dipropionate caused significantly greater decrease in both plasma- and urinary cortisol levels. Between the two non-halogenated glucocorticosteroids, budesonide and hydrocortisone-17-butyrate, no significant difference was found despite the large difference in anti-inflammatory effects. The results indicate that it is possible to improve the ratio between the local therapeutic effect and the systemic activity of a glucocorticosteroid. Budesonide represents such an improvement.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1981

Thoracic radiation therapy and Adriamycin/cisplatin-containing chemotherapy for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

One-hundred nine patients with limited-stage unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer were treated with Adriamycin--cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation. Of this number, 73 received chemotherapy (one course) prior to irradiation and 37% (27/73) had tumor regression following chemotherapy alone. Sixty-eight percent of patients (73/107) experienced tumor regression following combined chemotherapy and irradiation. Age more than 65 years, a malignant ipsilateral pleural effusion, and no response to chemotherapy alone were all strong negative prognostic factors. Three-year survivals were as follows: all 109 patients, 14.0%; 89 patients without malignant pleural effusion, 17.0%; 71 patients with neither a malignant pleural effusion nor malignant ipsilateral supraclavicular adenopathy, 23.1%.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Education of the paraoptometric.

A relatively new group of paraprofessionals is making waves in the optometric community -- the optometric technician. Programs are opening up from coast to coast to supply the demand. Individual program curricula have their differences but also many commonalities. National registration may dictate more standardization of training; hopefully a prospective employee may be in a better position to critically evaluate a prospective graduate.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMed1981

Computerized tomography in the diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Computerized tomography allows good definition of the retroperitoneal space, especially the abdominal aorta. During a 15 month interval, 30 patients with pulsatile, abdominal masses were evaluated by computerized tomography to determine the presence of an aortic aneurysm, 4 centimeters or greater in size. Twenty-one of the 30 patients were found to have an aneurysm. In patients with a normal aorta, information concerning another disease process was often obtained. Results of computerized tomography were then compared with the other diagnostic techniques available and, in certain instances, with the size of the aneurysm at operation. Computerized tomography is the most accurate means of evaluating abdominal aortic aneurysms. The ability to detect a retroperitoneal space hemorrhage and to assess the pathologic condition of other abdominal viscera are two additional advantages.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Protection against adriamycin-induced skin necrosis in the rat by dimethyl sulfoxide and alpha-tocopherol.

Extravasation of Adriamycin during i.v. infusion can cause serious local complications. We have used a rat skin model to study the protection afforded by dimethyl sulfoxide and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) against Adriamycin-induced skin necrosis. Topical daily application of 1 ml dimethyl sulfoxide for 2 days produced a small decrease in ulcer diameter of up to 11% at 2 weeks. Topical daily applications of 1 ml 10% alpha-tocopherol succinate in dimethyl sulfoxide for 2 days produced a marked decrease in ulcer diameter at 2 weeks of up to 68%. Daily topical application of 1 ml 10% alpha-tocopherol succinate in dimethyl sulfoxide for 7 days offered no greater protection than 2-day application. alpha-Tocopherol acetate appeared to have activity slightly less than that of alpha-tocopherol succinate in reducing ulcer size, and both compounds were considerably more active than was alpha-tocopherol alcohol. Administration of alpha-tocopherol succinate or alpha-tocopherol acetate i.p. had no significant effect upon ulcer diameter. Topically applied dimethyl sulfoxide and alpha-tocopherol may provide an effective way of treating accidentally extravasated Adriamycin in cancer patients.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1981

Protection by alpha-tocopherol and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) against adriamycin induced skin ulcers in the rat.

Extravasation of adriamycin during intravenous infusion to cancer patients can cause serious local complications. Topical application of 1 ml 10% alpha-tocopherol succinate in DMSO for 2 or 7 days produced up to a 71% decrease in the diameter of skin ulcers produced by intradermal adriamycin in the rat. A combination of alpha-tocopherol and DMSO might be useful for protecting humans against accidentally extravasated adriamycin.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1980

Secretion of respiratory syncytial virus inhibitors and antibody in human milk throughout lactation.

Neutralising inhibitors to respiratory syncytial (RS) virus have been demonstrated in the whey of most samples of human milk tested. Although high titres were secreted in colostra of some mothers (1/10-1/2,560; median 1/40) inhibitor levels in milk collected after the first week of lactation were uniformly low (median 1/10). High neutralising titres correlated with high colostral levels of specific antiviral IgA but, unlike neutralising activity, IgA antiviral antibody persisted in the milk of only four of 18 mothers. Similarly, antiviral IgG and IgM antibodies were not generally detected after the first post-partum week. Differences in antibody secretion among mothers did not correlate with differences in total protein or total immunoglobulin secretion, and appeared to reflect maternal immune status. In one mother a marked rise in specific antiviral IgA and IgG secretions during the second and third months of lactation suggested a response to virus infection. The relevance of maternal immunity and colostral and milk antiviral antibody to protection of breast-fed babies from RS-virus bronchiolitis is discussed.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1980

Production, degradation, and circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in health and in chronic glucocorticoid excess.

The decreased intestinal absorption of calcium and accelerated bone loss associated with chronic glucocorticoid excess may be mediated by changes in vitamin D metabolism, leading to decreased availability of circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. This hypothesis was examined in 14 patients with either endogenous or exogenous glucocorticoid excess. Analysis of paired serum samples (mean +/- SE) in 13 patients during euglucocorticoidism and during hyperglucocorticoidism showed that glucocorticoid excess resulted in small decreases of plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentrations (22 +/- 2- 18 +/- 2 ng/ml; P < 0.05) but no significant changes in plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (32 +/- 8- 23 +/- 6 pg/ml) or serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (21 +/- 2- 18 +/- 2 muleq/ml). Additionally, we studied plasma kinetics of [3H]1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 after intravenous bolus administration in 10 hyperglucocorticoid patients and in 14 normal controls. Assessment with a three-compartment model showed no significant abnormalities in production rates (hyperglucocorticoid patients 1.2 +/- 0.3 micrograms/d, controls 1.5 +/- 0.2 micrograms/d) or metabolic clearance rates (hyperglucocorticoid patients, 18 +/- 2%; controls, 14 +/- 2%) or feces (hyperglucocorticoid patients, 60 +/- 9%, controls, 54 +/- 6%). We conclude that glucocorticoid excess does not effect plasma levels, production, or degradation of 1,25(OH)2D in humans. Thus, other mechanisms must be postulated to explain satisfactorily the abnormalities of bone structure and intestinal calcium absorption that may occur after chronic glucocorticoid therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effect of electroconvulsive therapy on erythrocyte adenosine triphosphatase activity in depressive illness.

Erythrocyte membrane adenosine triphosphatase activities were examined in twelve unipolar depressed patients receiving ECT. Eleven patients undergoing diagnostic cystoscopy served as controls for the acute effects of anaesthesia, and sixteen healthy subjects served as non-depressed controls. The unipolar depressed patients had a slight reduction in their (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity but effective ECT treatment was not associated with any increase in this activity. This approach is unlikely to cast further light on the membrane phenomenology of depressive illness.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1980

Insulin receptors in cystic fibrosis: increased receptor number and altered affinity.

Patients with cystic fibrosis are known to have pancreatic disorganization with associated pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. Endocrine hormonal secretion is also affected but diminution in insulin secretion is rarely accompanied by overt diabetes. We studied seven patients with cystic fibrosis to determine their carbohydrate tolerance and the status of peripheral monocyte insulin receptors. Oral glucose tolerance tests showed the presence of mild hyperglycemia and diminished insulin secretion. Mean insulin receptor sites per cell were markedly increased above controls, 25,000 vs 13,100 sites per cell while receptor affinity was diminished. The increase in receptor number could be a consequence of the insulinopenia and/or the decreased body weight of the patients and serve as a compensatory mechanism maintaining a degree of relative insulin sensitivity. Ultimate carbohydrate tolerance may be a function of the patient's ability to maintain increased receptor numbers in the face of hypoinsulinemia and impaired receptor affinity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Studies on human blood platelets in affective disorder.

Platelets were examined to enable a simultaneous investigation to be made of indolylamine and electrolyte metabolism in affective disorder. No significant differences were detected in either platelet membrane ATPase or adenyl cyclase specific activity in any of the groups of patients studied, when compared with appropriate controls. A reduced Vmax and y for the 5-hydroxy-tryptamine uptake process into platelets was observed in both unipolar and bipolar depressed groups. The Km for this process was not significantly different in any of the patients from that found in control subjects. Lithium therapy was shown not to influence significantly any of the platelet parameters examined. It is suggested that membrane enzyme changes found in some peripheral cells in patients suffering from affective disorder, i.e. reduced Na+ + K+ - ATPase activity in erythrocytes in depression, is not common to all peripheral cells and may or may not reflect central nervous system changes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1979

Age-related changes in immune function of rats and the effect of long-term hypophysectomy.

The effect of age on the ability of rats to raise antibodies to sheep erythrocytes and on the number of IgM plaque-forming cells in the spleen was investigated. An age-related decline in both parameters was observed. Additionally, the possibility that long-term hypophysectomy coupled with minimal replacement therapy might result in a delay and/or reversal of the age-related decline in immune function was studied. It was observed that long-term hypophysectomized rats responded better to immunization with sheep erythrocytes than did their age-matched unoperated littermates. The possible relationship of this to aging is discussed.

Aging↗