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Biomedical subjects

P Price

Publications and source records attributed to P Price.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Who should give lifestyle advice in general practice and what factors influence attendance at health promotion clinics? Survey of patients' views.

BACKGROUND: Health promotion activity in general practice has increased greatly since 1990. A large proportion of this work is undertaken by practice nurses. Little is known about patients' views about the providers of health promotion or their views about general practice health promotion clinics. AIM: A study was carried out in 1992 to determine patients' views about the provision of health promotion advice by general practitioners and practice nurses and their views about attending health promotion clinics. METHOD: A postal questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 1750 patients aged 16 years and over from five general practices in south Tyneside. The questionnaire explored patients' preferences regarding health promotion advice from the general practitioner or practice nurse in relation to four areas of lifestyle advice and factors that might encourage patients to attend a health promotion clinic. RESULTS: A response rate of 75% was obtained from 1639 eligible patients. Receiving health promotion advice from either the general practitioner or the practice nurse was the most commonly preferred option expressed by patients overall. The ability of health promotion clinic staff to deal with patients' concerns about their illness and short waiting times were more likely to influence patients' attendance at health promotion clinics than the presence of a general practitioner or practice nurse. CONCLUSION: In the present study, many patients found health advice received from practice nurses and general practitioners equally acceptable. However, it was the ability of health professionals to respond to patients' health concerns in the health promotion clinic rather than the type of health professional running the clinic that was important for patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Ethanol-induced changes in membrane ATPases: inhibition by iron chelation.

The effect of chronic ethanol intake, with and without an iron chelator, on the activity of rat membrane ATPases was investigated. Using the intragastric feeding model, male Wistar rats (250 g) were fed a liquid diet and ethanol for 1 month. In control pair-fed animals, ethanol was isocalorically replaced by dextrose. In addition to the above groups, two groups of animals (dextrose or ethanol-fed) also received an oral iron chelator (1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one, L1) (25 mg/kg/day for 30 days). The blood ethanol levels were maintained between 150 and 300 mg/dL. Red cells were washed immediately with ice-cold saline, membranes were prepared, and ATPases were measured. The mean Ca2+ pump ATPase in animals fed ethanol was lower than in dextrose-fed controls. In contrast, Na+/K+ pump ATPase was enhanced following chronic ethanol treatment. The addition of L1 to the diet prevented the changes in both the Ca(2+)-ATPase and Na+/K(+)-ATPase in ethanol-fed rats. Although the exact mechanism for the prevention of changes in ATPase activity by L1 is unknown, it is not a result of non-specific interaction between the chelator and membranes. Incubation of purified membranes with different concentrations of L1 for 60 min at 37 degrees had no effect on the activity of the ATPase. In conclusion, chronic intake of ethanol specifically inhibited Ca2+ pump ATPase and enhanced Na+/K(+)-ATPase in rat red blood cell membranes. The iron chelator, L1, corrected both of these ethanol-induced changes.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1994

Cytomegalovirus hepatitis: characterization of the inflammatory infiltrate in resistant and susceptible mice.

Mice susceptible and resistant to murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) were infected with this virus and livers were harvested after 2-231 days. Cryostat sections were stained to visualize cells bearing CD4, CD8 or Mac-1 antigens. Mac-1+ cells were prevalent in inflammatory foci after 2 days. These cells persisted in susceptible BALB/c and A/J mice, but disappeared from livers of resistant C57Bl/6 and CBA/CaH mice by day 28. T cell inflammation peaked on days 7-11. This declined by day 56 in C57Bl/6 and CBA/CaH mice, but persisted in BALB/c and A/J mice for at least 231 days. Persistent CD8+ cells were dispersed throughout the parenchyma. More CD8+ cells were observed 7-14 days after infection in the livers of bg/bg (natural killer (NK) cell-deficient) C57Bl/6 and CBA mice, and in C57Bl/6 mice depleted of NK1.1 cells by MoAb. Thus, mice of strains susceptible to MCMV exhibit hepatitis characterized by persistence of dispersed CD8+ cells. This phenomenon may be limited by NK cells in resistant strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Recommended distributions for exposure factors frequently used in health risk assessment.

Although there has been nearly complete agreement in the scientific community that Monte Carlo techniques represent a significant improvement in the exposure assessment process, virtually all state and federal risk assessments still rely on the traditional point estimate approach. One of the rate-determining steps to a timely implementation of Monte Carlo techniques to regulatory decision making is the development of "standard" data distributions that are considered applicable to any setting. For many exposure variables, there is no need to wait any longer to adopt Monte Carlo techniques into regulatory policy since there is a wealth of data from which a robust distribution can be developed and ample evidence to indicate that the variable is not significantly influenced by site-specific conditions. In this paper, we propose several distributions that can be considered standard and customary for most settings. Age-specific distributions for soil ingestion rates, inhalation rates, body weights, skin surface area, tapwater and fish consumption, residential occupancy and occupational tenure, and soil-on-skin adherence were developed. For each distribution offered in this paper, we discuss the adequacy of the database, derivation of the distribution, and applicability of the distribution to various settings and conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Development of a recombinant enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigens 2A and 2B.

The baculovirus expression system was used to produce full-length Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigens (EBNAs) 2A and 2B. Recombinant baculoviruses that contained the EBNA-2A- and EBNA-2B-encoding sequences were constructed. The proteins were expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda SF-9 cells infected with the recombinant viruses and were characterized by using monoclonal and human polyclonal antibodies by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence techniques. Partially purified extracts of the EBNA-2A- and EBNA-2B-infected insect cells were used to establish a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibodies against EBNA-2A and EBNA-2B. Preferential reactivity toward the type A or type B EBNA-2 protein was observed in 36% of serum specimens from Swiss patients with acute infectious mononucleosis and in 81% of Swiss patients with latent Epstein-Barr virus infection. Of the patients in the latter group, sera from 76% reacted preferentially with EBNA-2A, sera from 5% reacted preferentially with EBNA-2B, sera from 12% showed similar reactivities against both antigens, and sera from 7% were nonreactive.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Bone marrow atrophy induced by murine cytomegalovirus infection.

Acute, sublethal infection of mice with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) resulted in up to 80% decreases in the number of cells recoverable from the bone marrow, and a decrease in peripheral blood leucocyte counts during the first week of infection. Depopulation of the leucopoietic areas of the marrow was evident from examination of histological sections. The severity of bone marrow atrophy in MCMV-infected mice of different strains correlated with previously described genetically determined sensitivity to MCMV disease. Although the phenomenon only occurred when mice were inoculated with infectious virus preparations, fewer than one in 10(5) marrow cells were productively infected, suggesting that atrophy was not due to lytic infection of large numbers of bone marrow cells. Interestingly, increases in serum colony-stimulating activity were observed and these were proportional to the severity of bone marrow atrophy. After MCMV infection, we observed increases in the proportions of cells expressing some B-cell and myeloid cell markers and a decrease in the proportion of cells expressing an erythroid cell marker. There was no change in the frequency of marrow cells expressing mature T-cell markers. The numbers of myeloid lineage-committed progenitor cells (GM-CFU) in the marrow decreased 10- to 20-fold in BALB/c nu/+ mice, while there was a threefold decrease in their numbers in BALB/c nu/nu mice. In addition, increases in serum colony-stimulating activity were greater in BALB/c nu/+ mice than in BALB/c nu/nu mice. Our results suggest that growth factors produced after MCMV infection may accelerate the maturation and migration of cells from the marrow to sites of virus replication and inflammation, thus accounting for the depletion in numbers of marrow cells observed soon after MCMV infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Research-based practice: early ambulation for PTCA patients.

Nursing practice based on clinical research is essential for defending nursing as a profession and for ensuring high quality, cost-effective, and innovative care. A recent study involving the care of patients experiencing a coronary angioplasty has had an impact on the nursing practice in a large tertiary care institution. A convenience sample of 85 patients admitted for a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were randomly assigned to either the control group, who remained on 8 hours of bedrest post sheath removal, or the experimental group who remained on only 6 hours of bedrest post sheath removal. At 2 hour intervals data were collected regarding pain, bleeding, and hematoma formation. Patients who ambulated at 6 hours experienced significantly less discomfort and no increase in bleeding or hematoma formation. In this institution patients are now able to ambulate 6 hours after the sheaths have been removed post PTCA.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗
PubMed1993

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting with jaundice and hypercalcaemia.

A patient is reported with B-cell lymphoma (centroblastic high grade non-Hodgkin's) with pancreatic involvement, who presented with jaundice and hypercalcaemia. Particularly unusual features include the presentation with a pancreatic mass and the association of hypercalcaemia with centroblastic lymphoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Characterization of thymic involution induced by murine cytomegalovirus infection.

Infection of BALB/c mice with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) decreased the numbers of cells recovered from the thymus by 80-90% after 4-7 days, although less than 10 thymocytes per million were productively infected with the virus. A loss of cortical thymocytes was evident in histologic sections and correlated with depletion of CD4+ CD8+ cells. Thymic involution was minimal in C57BL/6 mice. This resistance was not H-2b-associated, as BALB.B (H-2b) mice were severely affected. In CXB recombinant inbred mice, thymic involution and MCMV replication co-segregated with atrophy and infection of the spleen and bone marrow. This suggests common regulation by natural killer (NK)1.1+ cells, consistent with the enhanced thymic involution demonstrated in NK-deficient bg/bg mice. However, CD4- CD8- cells were not depleted, so bone marrow hypoplasia may not be the proximal cause of thymic involution. MCMV infection activated CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+ CD8+ thymocytes, as expression of MEL14, major histocompatibility complex class I (H-2) and Sca-1 antigens increased on these cells. In vitro lymphoproliferation and interleukin (IL)-3 release were enhanced in unseparated and CD4(+)-enriched thymus preparations. Maturation of the thymus population was also evident from the high frequencies of single positive CD4+ and CD8+ cells and the decline in Sca-2 expression. However, unlike peripheral T cells, thymocytes from infected mice did not release IL-2. The results suggest that thymic involution accelerates the transit of cells through the thymus. The possibility that this impairs the elimination of autoreactive T cells within the thymus and promotes the autoimmune manifestations of MCMV disease is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of Ki-67 monoclonal antibody as prognostic indicator for prostatic carcinoma.

Prostate tissue containing either primary adenocarcinoma (45 patients) or benign hyperplasia (15 patients) was immunostained with the monoclonal antibody Ki-67, which recognises a human nuclear antigen expressed by human cycling cells. The percentage of cells staining positive was considered a measure of proliferation. This derived Ki-67 index was higher for carcinomas than for hyperplastic glands. Within the group of carcinomas, Ki-67 indices in patients with metastatic disease were significantly higher than in those without and there was a trend towards increasing Ki-67 indices with increasing Gleason grade. When patients with prostate cancer were prospectively followed up, the Ki-67 index did not predict either disease progression or hormone responsiveness. Ki-67 immunostaining may define a group of patients with prostate cancer of poor prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1993

Murine cytomegalovirus interacts with major histocompatibility complex class I molecules to establish cellular infection.

The expression of stable, correctly folded major histocompatibility complex class I molecules conferred susceptibility to murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in cells which were previously resistant to infection, demonstrating that these molecules interact critically with MCMV to initiate infection. All class I molecules could potentiate MCMV infection but H-2Dd and Kb molecules were most efficient. Monoclonal antibodies specific for the alpha 1 and/or alpha 2 domains of Dd and Kb inhibited infection. Infection of L cells transfected with hybrid major histocompatibility complex class I molecules demonstrated that allelic control of susceptibility to MCMV mapped to the alpha 1 domain of Dd when in correct configuration with the alpha 2 and alpha 3 domains. In MCMV-resistant RMA-S cells, an improvement in the conformation of class I molecules introduced susceptibility to infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Benzene toxicity and risk assessment, 1972-1992: implications for future regulation.

Acute and chronic exposure to benzene vapors poses a number of health hazards to humans. To evaluate the probability that a specific degree of exposure will produce an adverse effect, risk assessment methods must be used. This paper reviews much of the published information and evaluates the various risk assessments for benzene that have been conducted over the past 20 years. There is sufficient evidence that chronic exposure to relatively high concentrations of benzene can produce an increased incidence of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Some studies have indicated that benzene may cause other leukemias, but due to the inconsistency of results, the evidence is not conclusive. To predict the leukemogenic risk for humans exposed to much lower doses of benzene than those observed in most epidemiology studies, a model must be used. Although several models could yield plausible results, to date most risk assessments have used the linear-quadratic or conditional logistic models. These appear to be the most appropriate ones for providing the cancer risk for airborne concentrations of 1 ppb to 10 ppm, the range most often observed in the community and workplace. Of the seven major epidemiology studies that have been conducted, there is a consensus that the Pliofilm cohort (rubber workers) is the best one for estimating the cancer potency because it is the only one with good exposure and incidence of disease data. The current EPA, OSHA, and ACGIH cancer potency estimates for benzene are based largely on this cohort. A retrospective exposure assessment and an analysis of the incidence of disease in these workers were completed in 1991. All of these issues are discussed and the implications evaluated in this paper. The range of benzene exposures to which Americans are commonly exposed and the current regulatory criteria are also presented.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

B-cell activation following murine cytomegalovirus infection: implications for autoimmunity.

Infection of susceptible mice with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) induces persistent inflammation, and the production of autoantibodies reactive with large numbers of proteins from all major organs. However the roles of polyclonal B-cell activation, autoreactive T-helper cells and host-virus cross-reactions in these phenomena have not been evaluated. The present study reveals six- to 20-fold increases in serum immunoglobulin levels in MCMV-infected BALB/c and CBA mice, with IgG3 and IgG2b most affected. Titres of antibodies reactive with autologous tissues and ovalbumin (OVA) also increased following MCMV infection, whilst responses to a synthetic antigen [polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)] were unaffected or depressed. IgG2a was the isotype most affected in responses to OVA, MCMV antigens and autologous tissues, suggesting interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) may contribute to responses induced in the presence of the relevant antigen. Increases in total and antigen-specific immunoglobulin levels were CD4 dependent, as they were reduced in infected mice depleted of these cells with anti-CD4 antibodies. Serological changes were preceded by B-cell expansion and activation evident from increased cell yields, frequencies of cells releasing immunoglobulin and proliferation of T-depleted spleen and lymph node preparations. Numbers of mature B cells and macrophages increased in the lymph nodes, but B-1a (CD5+ Ig+) cell counts remained low. Alterations in the B-cell phenotypic profiles were more complex in the spleen, but correction for increased cell yields revealed increases in some subpopulations.

Animals↗