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Biomedical subjects

P S Byrne

Publications and source records attributed to P S Byrne.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Gene-modified PA1-STK cells home to tumor sites in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND: Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon but lethal cancer of increasing incidence, particularly among patients with a history of exposure to asbestos. Although numerous treatments have been employed, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgical resection, and combinations of the above, no satisfactory treatment yet exists, and affected patients will die of this disease, usually within 12 months. Gene-based therapies constitute a new approach that offers hope of improved control of these tumors while being associated with less morbidity than conventional chemotherapeutic or surgical regimens. We demonstrated that PA1-STK cells home in vivo to mesothelioma deposits, a phenomenon that is required for optimal exertion of this therapeutic concept. METHODS: Gene-modified ovarian cancer cells expressing the thymidine-kinase gene (PA1-STK) were radiolabeled with 99Tc and infused into the pleural space of 4 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, then scanned to determine distribution of the cells. RESULTS: PA1-STK cells recognized and adhered preferentially to mesothelioma lining the chest wall. CONCLUSIONS: Cell-based "suicide gene" therapy utilizing the "bystander effect" with the gene-modified ovarian cancer cell line PA1-STK is feasible in human pleural mesothelioma. We have shown that this trafficking and homing of the therapeutic cells to the intrapleural tumor sites, a requirement for success with this novel therapeutic concept, is also valid in humans.

Female↗
PubMed1980

Practitioners' use of non-verbal behaviour in real consultations.

Our analysis of real consultations in general practice suggests that eye contact and movements of the body are extremely important in effecting communication between patients and doctors. We have studied non-verbal behaviour in relation to verbal exchanges, and believe that non-verbal behaviour can aid or hinder communication and may sometimes prevent it.We give examples from general practice consultations and conclude that eye contact and posture are particularly significant when coupled with open questions or silences or when they occur at points in the consultation when the patient has reached a crucial part in disclosure.We also believe that the doctor's use of medical records during consultations is most important, and we give examples.We suggest that the non-verbal behaviour of doctors in the general practice consultation is a topic of immense importance and needs much further study.

Family Practice↗
PubMed1979

Lecturing to general practitioners.

We describe the findings of a telephone interview survey among those who have recently been paid through the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) to lecture to general practitioners in the North-Western Region. We report the way the lectures are planned and the lecturers' attitudes and motivation. The findings have implications for both future research and policy.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed1977

Clinical factual recall and patient management skill in general practice.

A battery of assessment measures, including MCQ measures of factual recall, MEQ measures of problem-solving skills, measures of attitudes, intelligence and ability, and personality factors, was administered to the trainee intakes of a number of post-graduate training courses for general practice on a pre-course/post-course basis (trainee sample N = 80). The tests were administered in parallel to a similar number of registered general practitioners (N = 80). The trainees in the sample were also regularly assessed by their teachers, hospital consultants and registered general practitioners by means of rating scales described below. In this paper, attention is focused on the MCQ and MEQ measures. The results show significant improvement in post-test scores, particularly among the poorer students and particularly in the crucial area of problem solving skills. This was related to the organizational structure of th courses: the poorer students gained greatest benefit from courses which featured the regular and frequent use of seminars and group teaching methods. Below we have given the correlations between the pre- and post-test scores for both the best students and poorest students as determined by the in-course performance measure, the rating scales used by the consultants and general practitioner tutors.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1976

Teaching the teachers.

This and the following two papers describe historically the development of courses for general practice teachers in Manchester from 1966. The first paper describes the early attempts to fashion an appropriate course, discusses the content of such courses and the methods used. The second and third papers then discuss a course on non-directive behavioural counselling as an educational tool and describe the evolution of a cycle of four courses, each dealing with separate aspects of teaching. The emphasis throughout is on person to person teaching, it being considered that this is the commonest teaching/learning situation in general practice. The second part of the first paper goes on to discuss the logistic needs for the preparation and maintenance of teachers in general practice.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1976

A teaching methods course in Manchester for general practitioner teachers.

A teaching-methods course for general practitioner teachers is described. It lasts for 20 days, split into four 5-day residential sections held at intervals of 6 months. The sections are respectively entitled person-to-person teaching, small group teaching, teaching behaviour, and a micro-training laboratory. They recur in a cycle. The approach in each section is that of experimental learning--necessarily, since an aim of the course is to enable the members to apply the same approach in their own teaching. The methods of three of the sections are given in some detail. The person-to-person teaching section, concerned mainly with the learning of counselling skills, is dealt with fully by Long et al. (1976), and is here presented very briefly. The limited evaluation and assessment procedure, and their results, are offered together with certain general conclusions.

Counseling↗
PubMed1976

A method of teaching counselling.

The major part of one section of a teaching-methods course for general practitioner teachers (Harris et al., 1976) was concerned with teaching counselling skills. This paper describes the methods used to do so, in the setting of a residential course lasting for only a few days. The functions and objectives of counselling are defined, and the counselling process is divided into six stages which are reflected in the organization of the teaching. Five specific skills required are isolated, to clarify the teaching and to permit assessment of the members' learning. Three roles in a counselling interview are described, and members work in trios where they experience each of these roles. The problems at which the members work have to be real and unresolved problems in their own lives. Some conclusions are offered, drawn from the writers' experience and from the evaluation and assessment techniques employed.

Counseling↗