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Biomedical subjects

P Johnstone

Publications and source records attributed to P Johnstone.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

ECRS (extra-contractual referrals). Mind the gaps.

METHOD. Buckinghamshire HA's ECR account budget sheet was reviewed for a five-month period from April 1993, to identify adult mental health patients who were residents. Children under 16 and patients with physical disabilities were excluded from the study. All local consultant psychiatrists who either referred the patients or were responsible for their care were interviewed by a public health doctor, using a structured questionnaire. Basic demographic details, diagnoses, details of the ECR request, reasons for referral, current care needs and future patient plans were analysed for patients known by their consultants. RESULTS. Thirty-two patients were identified from the ECR account sheet. Twenty-eight patients were known by a local consultant and included in the analysis. Of the outstanding four patients (14 per cent), one had returned to their local provider unit but was still being invoiced as an ECR patient, and three were long-term chronically ill patients referred before ECRs were introduced.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Work in a developing country.

Some health professionals seek the exciting challenge of working for a time in a developing country. Uncertainties about taking this step, however, may have to be addressed. It is important to understand your reasons for wanting to work overseas-it is ill advised, for example, to go abroad just to escape job dissatisfaction in Britain. Skills needed for international aid work nowadays centre on low tech community based programmes, and enabling, facilitating, and managing skills are more important than clinical skills. Further training may be necessary. Careful planning both for the work abroad and for a return to work in Britain is advisable; full health insurance cover, for example, is important. Although working in a developing country is largely unrecognised as an asset to a professional career in Britain, attitudes are slowly changing. A spell overseas can be very relevant to a career plan and the NHS.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed1994

Potential use of nitroxides in radiation oncology.

The identification of radioprotectors is an important goal for those involved in radiation oncology and for those interested in the investigation of the mechanisms of radiation cytotoxicity. Recently, a new class of in vitro and in vivo radioprotectors, the nitroxides, has been discovered. The nitroxides are low-molecular-weight stable free radicals which are freely membrane permeable and which have been shown to act as superoxide dismutase mimics. Further investigation of these compounds has shown that a water-soluble nitroxide, Tempol, protects cultured Chinese hamster V79 cells from the cytotoxicity caused by superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and t-butyl hydroperoxide. Tempol and five other water-soluble nitroxides have also been shown to protect V79 cells against radiation-induced cytotoxicity. Potential mechanisms of protection by the nitroxides include oxidation of reduced transition metals, superoxide dismutase-like activity, and scavenging of oxy- and carbon-based free radicals. In vivo studies reveal that Tempol protects C3H mice from the lethal effects of radiation with a dose causing 50% lethality within 30 days of 9.97 Gy and 7.84 Gy in Tempol-treated and saline-treated mice, respectively, and a dose modification factor of 1.3. The nitroxides represent a new class of non-thiol radioprotectors which may also have application as general antioxidants. Additional work is necessary to screen other nitroxides for in vivo radioprotection and toxicity as well as to fully evaluate the extent to which these compounds protect tumors.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Behavioural and heart rate responses to velvet antler removal in red deer.

Heart rate and behaviour during and following velvet antler removal were monitored in yearling red deer stags to determine the extent to which this procedure was perceived by the deer to be aversive. Nine stags normally kept at pasture were habituated over 5 weeks to the following daily handling procedure. Each deer was fitted with a harness containing a heart rate monitor. It was then allowed to run through a fixed course in a deer yard, restrained for 40 s in a mechanical deer crush, and then confined for 3.5 h with the remainder of the group of stags in an indoor pen containing food and water. In Week 6, the deer were subjected to either restraint for 6 minutes (the control treatment) or removal of one velvet antler under local anaesthesia. Each velvet antler was removed on separate occasions, either on Days 1 and 2 (five deer) or Days 3 and 4 (four deer). The control treatment was applied to all deer when velvet antler was not being removed, and on Day 5. Heart rate and behaviour (time taken to enter the treatment area, and number of struggles made during restraint) were measured before and during treatment, and post-treatment activities were recorded at 0, 1 and 3 h (indoors), and at 6 and 9 h (at pasture). Heart rate was higher during the second velvet antler removal treatment than during the first, but lower during the second control treatment than the first (P<0.05). During velvet antler removal, stags struggled more, and after the treatment flicked their ears, shook their heads, and groomed themselves more than control stags (P<0.05). Stags whose velvet antler had been removed spent less time eating than control stags, and spent progressively more time sitting during the 3.5 h of confinement (P<0.05). However, during the paddock observation at 9 h post-treatment, stags which had had their velvet antler removed grazed more than control stags (P<0.05). The increase in heart rate over the two velvet antler removal treatments and the greater amount of struggling during velvet antler removal indicated that it was more aversive than the control treatment. Post-treatment differences in behaviour may have been due to pain following velvet antler removal.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

The parallel effects of a very low molecular weight heparin (CY222) on anti Xa activity and thyroid hormone levels in blood.

A very low molecular weight heparin fragment (CY222) was administered by subcutaneous injection to a group of normal volunteers. This drug caused increased anti Xa activity with peak levels being observed two hours after injection. This coincided with changes in thyroid hormone levels especially with a fall in red cell thyroxine levels. Larger doses of CY222 caused a fall in serum total thyroxine and triiodothyronine, a rise in free thyroxine and a fall in TSH levels. It was thought that these findings may be due to the production of a circulating inhibitor of cellular uptake of thyroxine and that this might be related to the elevated levels of serum free fatty acids produced by the heparin.

Factor X↗
PubMed1985

Follow-up of burned patients in the United Kingdom.

The nature of follow-up procedure practised by burn treatment units in the United Kingdom was investigated using a questionnaire sent to 30 units. Information from 23 units who replied indicated that all units consider that follow-up is essential and pressurized patients by a variety of means to attend. All units also recognized that medical, nursing and a variety of rehabilitation staff are required for follow-up care. There was a lesser involvement of social workers and a minimal involvement of psychiatric staff. All units obviously utilize a variety of clinics to follow patients after discharge from the burns unit. There appears to be no standard form of follow-up, units having made pragmatic arrangements to cover problems identified in clinical practice.

Burns↗
PubMed1979

Medieval arabic views on speech disorders: al-Razi (c. 865--925).

This paper discusses al-Razi's views on speech defects of lingual origin. It begins with a background sketch of the man, his times, and his major work, with its various translations. There follows translated extracts and analysis from his section on the causes and treatment of speech defects, seen in the light of the humoral theory of disease. Information is derived from the recently published Arabic version of Rzi's al-Hawi, which reveals that diagnosis was more advanced than is indicated in the Latin translations, which have been the principal source of reference in the West to date.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Investigation of the cellular tropism of bovine immunodeficiency-like virus.

Bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (BIV) was first isolated from an animal showing transient leucocytosis, lymphadenopathy, lesions in the central nervous system and progressive weakness and emaciation. Similar signs are observed in other immunosuppressive lentiviral infections. BIV, like other lentiviruses, has been isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymphoid tissue of infected animals. However, the in vivo cellular tropism of BIV remains unclear although initial studies indicate that BIV may be pantropic, infecting T cells, B cells and monocytes similar to some of the immunodeficiency-causing lentiviruses. PCR, Southern blot hybridisation, cell culture and reverse transcriptase assays were used to demonstrate the presence of BIV proviral DNA and the production of infectious virus in CD2+, WC1+, B cells and monocytes during the acute stages of infection. Western immunoblot assays were used to assess the development of antibody responses towards the virus.

Animals↗