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Biomedical subjects

P Symonds

Publications and source records attributed to P Symonds.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Information needs of cancer patients in west Scotland: cross sectional survey of patients' views.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the needs of patients with cancer for information about their condition. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey of patients' views by means of semistructured interview with questionnaire. SETTING: A regional cancer centre and two university hospitals in west Scotland. SUBJECTS: 250 (93%) of 269 cancer patients invited to participate in study who were selected by age, sex, socioeconomic status, and tumour site to be representative of cancer patients in west Scotland. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients' need to know whether they had cancer, the medical name of their illness, progress through treatment, how treatment works, side effects, chances of cure, and treatment options. RESULTS: 79% (95% confidence interval 73% to 84%) of patients wanted as much information as possible, and 96% (93% to 98%) had a need or an absolute need to know if they had cancer. Most patients also wanted to know the chance of cure (91% (87% to 94%)) and about side effects of treatment (94% (90% to 97%)). When the replies were cross tabulated with patients' age, sex, deprivation score, and type of treatment there was a linear trend for patients from more affluent areas to want more information and those from deprived areas to want less. There was a strong preference for diagnosis of cancer to be given by a hospital doctor (60% (53% to 66%). CONCLUSION: Almost all patients wanted to know their diagnosis, and most wanted to know about prognosis, treatment options, and side effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Methotrexate removal during haemodialysis in a patient with advanced laryngeal carcinoma.

A 62-year-old patient on long-term haemodialysis who developed an inoperable T2N3Mo squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx was treated with weekly low-dose methotrexate (MTX) after failing to respond to radiotherapy. The patient was initially given one dose of 10 mg MTX (6 mg/m2) as a 1-h infusion, then he received three further i.v. doses of 20 mg (12 mg/m2). Haemodialysis was performed 15-18 h after each dose and the patient received folinic acid (30 mg i.v.q 6 h) until the MTX concentration was < 0.1 mumol/l. The MTX concentration was measured regularly until it reached < 0.1 mumol/l, and additional samples were withdrawn pre- and post-dialysis. The MTX elimination rate constant and half-life were estimated with the patient on and off dialysis. The patient failed to respond to treatment but did not experience MTX-related toxicity. The elimination half-life ranged from 22 to 42 h when he was off dialysis but fell to a median of 5.5 h during dialysis. Low-dose MTX was given to a patient on regular haemodialysis without evidence of toxicity. The rate of MTX elimination was increased during haemodialysis, although high MTX concentrations persisted for several days and prolonged rescue with folinic acid was required.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed1996

Rules and regulations on the collection in Cameroon of biological materials for biological testing and drug discovery.

Regulations on the exploitation of Cameroon's rich biodiversity have tended to emphasize timber exploitation at the expense of non-timber uses. Materials for scientific research have been marginalized. However, in-service instructions usually provide practical guidelines such as specific charges that researchers must pay for the collection of samples. Even though the current law and text of application are silent on regulations addressing the scientific "prospecting' or exploitation of the forests, it is hoped that a particular text in conformity with the current regulations will provide more specific rules governing the collection, testing and exportation of biological materials for drug testing and discovery.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

[High-performance liquid chromatography in the determination of organic acids in wine].

We shall distinguish the case of non aromatic organic acids from that one of phenolic acids. In the first one, we have applied to wines a method used for fruit-juices by Palmer and List, 1973. After contact of the wine with a strong acid resin, its is injected on anion exchange resin Aminex A 25 precolumn (formiate form) which retains all the organic acids. The precolumn is washed with water to eliminate neutral components, then connected with the chromatographic column which contains the same resin. The different acids are eluted with a solution of natrium formiate at 70 degrees C. They are detected by differential refractometry (galacturonic, lactic, malic, succinic, tartric acids) and by ultraviolet at 254 nm (shikimic acid). Beside these compounds which are identified by their retention volumes, others not yet attributed peaks are detected. The limits of detection are 2 mg/l for shikimic acid, 30 mg/l for tartric acid and 15 mg/l for the others. Analysis time is about one hour. In the case of phenolic acids, we extract them from wine by diethyl ether after saturation with NaCl or by demixtion. The determination of phenolic acids is done on the ether extract or on the organic layer of the demixtion. Chromatography is obtained on octadecylsilanised column (RP 18) with solvent gradient (from 10% methanol in KH2PO4O,1 M pH 2,1 to 60% methanol in the same buffer) and detection in ultraviolet at 254 nm. The knowledge of recovery of acids by diethyl ether or by demixtion permits to obtain their concentrations in wine. The different so determinated phenolic acids are: gallic, 4 hydroxybenzoic, cafeic, vanillic, syringic and para coumaric acids. We have applied these methods to 32 wines for phenolic acids and 80 wines for non aromatic acids. Some results are presented in the case of 24 wines issued from Gamay and 8 wines from Pinot and it appears that tartric and shikimic acids have more important average concentrations in the former than in the latter.

Acetates↗