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Biomedical subjects

P Mortimer

Publications and source records attributed to P Mortimer.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Risk behaviour and HIV prevalence in international travellers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess risk factors for infection and to determine HIV prevalence in a sample of international travellers. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of new patients attending a hospital outpatient clinic, and self-completion of an anonymous questionnaire on sexual behaviour prior to and during travel. Urine samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to HIV. SETTING: The Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, UK. SUBJECTS: All new patients over a 6-month period. RESULTS: Of 782 people approached, 757 (97%) agreed to participate: 141 (18.6%) had had new sexual partners during their most recent trip abroad. Almost two-thirds of those having sex abroad did not use condoms on every occasion with a new partner, and 5.7% contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) during their most recent trip; 26% of men from World Health Organization Pattern I countries who had new sexual partners abroad paid for sex. Sixteen out of 731 (2.2%) participants were HIV-antibody-positive. HIV positivity was associated with being born in east, central or southern Africa, having symptoms of an STD since arriving in the United Kingdom and being treated for an STD since arrival. CONCLUSION: The rates of unsafe sex and payment for sex abroad reported by these international travellers indicate the potential for contracting and transmitting STD, including HIV, in both their foreign and domestic sexual partnerships. With the increasing HIV incidence in Asia (the most common destination for UK travellers after sub-Saharan Africa), the number of cases of HIV contracted abroad may rise in the future.

Adult↗

Chylous ascites in Kaposi's sarcoma: a case report.

We report a case of a patient with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), massive chylous ascites and chylous pleural effusions. This association has not been reported previously. The pathogenesis of chylous effusions is discussed with respect to KS.

Chylous Ascites↗

Immunoglobulin G antibody capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: a versatile assay for detection of anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and 2 antibodies in body fluids.

In tests on specimens of dried blood, saliva, and urine from 55 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive and 55 HIV-seronegative patients, an immunoglobulin G capture enzyme immunoassay for the detection of antibodies to HIV types 1 and 2, GACELISA, gave 109 of 110, 109 of 109, and 109 of 110 correct results, respectively. This performance, achieved in a laboratory previously unfamiliar with the assay, suggests that GACELISA is a useful new epidemiological tool for the study of HIV infection, equally applicable to all three kinds of specimen.

Body Fluids↗

Squamous cell and basal cell skin carcinoma and rarer histologic types of skin cancer.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer has attracted little research interest compared with melanoma, although the former has a 10-fold greater incidence. The aggressiveness of melanoma has diverted attention from other forms of skin cancer for which reliable information is lacking. Until the size of the problem and the need for resources are determined, research will not be forthcoming or justified. Nonmelanoma skin cancer is arguably one of the most common cancers in humans today and its incidence is increasing rapidly. Its low mortality rate detracts attention from the high morbidity, both psychologic and physical, with which it is associated and from the drain on health resources that it generates.

Basal Cell Carcinoma↗

Prospective study of clinical, laboratory, and ancillary staff with accidental exposures to blood or body fluids from patients infected with HIV.

In a prospective study of 150 health care workers in the United Kingdom who had been accidentally exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus no evidence of transmission was found. Larger studies in the United States and anecdotal accounts in publications from other countries confirm that the risk of occupational infection is very low. Health care workers must adopt safe procedures at all times, however, to avoid exposure to infection.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Safety and immunogenicity of a polyvalent Klebsiella capsular polysaccharide vaccine in humans.

A polyvalent Klebsiella vaccine composed of six serotypes of capsular polysaccharides (K2, K3, K10, K21, K30, and K55) was developed and its safety and immunogenicity evaluated in humans. Highly purified capsular antigens were treated in 0.1 N NaOH in 95% ethanol to detoxify trace amounts of contaminating lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The vaccine was nontoxic and nonpyrogenic for animals. A total of 40 individuals received either 25 or 50 micrograms of each represented antigen subcutaneously. Reactions to vaccination, where noted, were transient and mild in nature. An immunizing dose of 50 micrograms of each antigen (300 micrograms total) elicited a fourfold or greater immunoglobulin G (IgG) response to all vaccine antigens in greater than 80% of vaccinees. Generally, the serospecificity of the antibody response was limited to those capsular antigens included in the vaccine. IgG isolated from the serum of vaccinees was found to be highly protective against fatal experimental Klebsiella K2 burn wound sepsis indicating that the functional antibody is elicited following vaccination.

Adult↗

An immunohistological study of benign and malignant skin tumours: epithelial aspects.

Biopsies of normal skin and benign and malignant skin tumours were studied immunohistologically with nine monoclonal antibodies. The study showed that monoclonal antibodies can clearly delineate antigens expressed in different regions of normal skin and that, in general, tumours retain the antigenic pattern characteristic of the region from which they have arisen. These findings indicate the potential value of analysing these patterns of antigenic expression with a panel of monoclonal antibodies both for understanding the pathogenesis of skin tumours (e.g. basal cell carcinomas) and in their differential diagnosis (e.g. squamous cell carcinoma versus keratoacanthoma).

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Langerhans' cells and T cells in human skin tumours: an immunohistological study.

In this study normal skin and a range of skin tumours, both benign and malignant, have been examined using monoclonal antibodies to identify the distribution and morphology of Langerhans' cells and T cells, the distribution of T lymphocytes and their subsets have been analysed using monoclonal anti-T cell antibodies. The results indicated that Langerhans' cells can be reliably identified in both normal and malignant skin biopsies using monoclonal antibodies. A striking finding to emerge was that in benign skin lesions Langerhans' cells were increased, whereas in malignant tumours they were not only markedly depleted or absent but also grossly stunted and deformed in outline. The majority of lymphocytes surrounding these skin tumours were shown to be T cells with helper cells outnumbering suppressor cells by a ratio from 2 to 5:1. This study shows the usefulness of immunohistological techniques using monoclonal antibodies for examining the morphology and distribution of Langerhans' cells in skin pathology. In addition they are particularly appropriate for identifying their topographical relationships with other immunologically important cells such as T cells.

Basal Cell Carcinoma↗

Direct demonstration of the human parvovirus in erythroid progenitor cells infected in vitro.

The human parvovirus (HPV), the cause of transient aplastic crisis of hereditary hemolytic anemia, has been shown to be cytotoxic for erythroid progenitor cells and its presence in these cells demonstrated by morphologic techniques. A relatively pure population of progenitors, isolated by removal of immature erythroid bursts from primary culture, was the target of the virus infection. Infected cells failed to proliferate in secondary culture. Using a monoclonal antibody to HPV, specific fluorescence was demonstrated in a minority of cells 24-48 h after infection with virus. Infected cells examined by electron microscopy showed marked toxic ultrastructural alterations and parvovirus-like particles in crystalline arrays in the nucleus.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗