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Biomedical subjects

R J Coleman

Publications and source records attributed to R J Coleman.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Role of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery for nonperforated appendicitis.

This report examines the efficacy of preoperative antibiotics in cases of nonperforated appendicitis. The charts of 61 patients who had an operative and pathologic diagnosis of acute nonperforated appendicitis were reviewed. Thirty-one patients received preoperative cephalosporins, and in one patient (3.2%) a subsequent wound infection developed. Of 30 patients who did not receive preoperative antibiotics, four (13.2%) patients developed septic complications. The difference in postoperative septic complications between these groups is not statistically significant (P = .3310). Preoperative prophylaxis with cephalosporins in cases of nonperforated appendicitis is not indicated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

CSF vasopressin rhythm is effectively insulated from osmotic regulation of plasma vasopressin.

By using our method for continuous removal of cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and intermittent sampling of blood from unanesthetized freely moving cats, we investigated the effect of osmotic-induced changes in plasma vasopressin on the daily rhythm of CSF vasopressin. Examination of the daily profiles of vasopressin and osmolality in the CSF and plasma of six euhydrated animals showed that CSF vasopressin concentrations exhibit a clear daily rhythm, whereas CSF osmolality and plasma vasopressin and osmolality do not exhibit such daily variation. A 48-h period of water deprivation caused marked sustained elevations in plasma vasopressin concentrations, which returned to basal levels on rehydration. In contrast, water deprivation had only a small effect on the CSF vasopressin rhythm. Although there was a significant elevation of the normally low nighttime CSF vasopressin levels during water deprivation in three of the four animals studied, high daytime vasopressin levels were unaltered and the daily rhythm was clearly evident before, during, and after the period of water removal in all animals. Changes between plasma vasopressin and osmolality were significantly correlated in all animals. Changes between plasma and CSF osmolality were significantly correlated in three of the four animals. The data indicate that the circadian regulation of the CSF vasopressin rhythm is effectively insulated from the osmotic regulation of plasma vasopressin.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Pineal N-acetyltransferase activity in 10-day-old rats: a paradigm for studying the developing circadian system.

Pineal N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity in 10-day-old rat pups was used to examine several aspects of the developing circadian timing system. When born and reared under constant darkness, 10-day-old animals manifested a clear daily rhythm of NAT activity whose phase was in time with the estimated circadian time of the mother (set by the lighting cycle during pregnancy). When pups were reared in constant darkness from birth by a foster mother whose circadian time was 180 degrees (12 h) out of phase with that of the natural mother, the resulting population profiles of NAT activity were arrhythmic. Analysis of the individual litter profiles from this experiment showed a variable postnatal influence of the maternal circadian system on the timing of the developing circadian system. Neither cross-fostering per se nor social interactions among litter mates contributed significantly to the apparent maternal influence. The magnitude of the postnatal maternal influence was not the same throughout development, but was most apparent during the first 5 days of life. Neonatal blinding (within 24 h of birth) did not appreciably alter the maternal influence. Extraretinal photoreception does not contribute to entrainment of the circadian clock during postnatal development, and retina-mediated photic entrainment is present by 10 days of age. The results indicate that pineal NAT activity monitored in 10-day-old rats provides a useful paradigm for studying the developing circadian system.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1983

A daily vasopressin rhythm in rat cerebrospinal fluid.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was serially withdrawn in individual, unanesthetized, unrestrained rats and assayed for vasopressin using a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. A prominent daily rhythm in the CSF concentrations of this peptide was found under diurnal lighting conditions. Low levels during the dark period alternated with high values during the light period; the rhythm appeared to anticipate the artificial 'dawn' and 'dusk' by a few hours. An 8-h phase shift in diurnal lighting caused a corresponding phase shift in the CSF rhythm. In addition, the rhythm persisted for at least 10 days in the absence of periodic environmental lighting cues in animals blinded by bilateral orbital enucleation; the rhythm was disrupted after 10 days of constant light. Blood vasopressin concentrations did not show a daily rhythm. Our results indicate that the daily vasopressin rhythm in rodent CSF is endogenously generated and that its phase is synchronized to the environmental light-dark cycle.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Free antibody after low dose Rh immunoprophylaxis.

Eighty Rh negative women delivering Rh positive babies were screened for red cell antibodies after their routine postnatal dose of 125 micrograms 7S anti D immunoglobulin. In all 80 free antibody could be detected. Distribution of titres by anti-human globulin (indirect Coombs) and ficin techniques were uninfluenced by ABO incompatibility, fetal cell counts, maternal weight or sampling time in the few days after immunoprophylaxis. Quantitations determined by autoanalyser showed some correlation with these variables. It is suggested that screening for free antibody is not the appropriate test to detect large fetomaternal spills which would warrant additional immunoprophylaxis.

Coombs Test↗
PubMed1982

Circadian properties of vasopressin and melatonin rhythms in cat cerebrospinal fluid.

Using a method for continuous removal of cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from freely moving cats, we delineated the circadian nature of the daily rhythm in CSF arginine vasopressin. The daily melatonin rhythm was also monitored in CSF as another marker of circadian function. Under diurnal lighting conditions, both hormones exhibited prominent daily rhythms; the CSF vasopressin rhythm was characterized by high daytime values, whereas the CSF melatonin rhythm was characterized by high nighttime levels. In contrast, drinking behavior exhibited a 24-h component in only one of four animals studied. Daily CSF rhythms of vasopressin and melatonin persisted for over 78 days of study in constant light. The vasopressin rhythm clearly free-ran in this environment, manifesting cycle lengths of slightly greater than 24 h. The daily melatonin pattern split into several components with increasing time in constant light. An acute 8-h phase delay in the daily light-dark cycle resulted in corresponding but gradual phase shifts in both rhythms. These results indicate that both the vasopressin and melatonin rhythms in cat CSF are endogenously generated and are entrained by the daily light-dark cycle.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Current drug therapy for Parkinson's disease. A review.

The impact of neuropharmacology has been greatest in 2 areas of clinical treatment: epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. This article covers the drug treatment of Parkinson's disease, a condition which characteristically affects the elderly population. The 5 drugs or groups of drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease are: (a) anticholinergic drugs; (b) amantadine; (c) levodopa plus a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor; (d) dopamine agonists; and (e) selegiline. Levodopa is still the most effective anti-Parkinsonian drug for most patients and is often combined with selegiline which may retard the rate of disease progression. The early use of dopamine agonists (such as bromocriptine) may prevent the subsequent development of response fluctuations. Once fluctuations have developed, they may be helped by the use of slow release levodopa preparations and, in the most severe cases, subcutaneous apomorphine.

Humans↗