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Biomedical subjects

R Palmer

Publications and source records attributed to R Palmer.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Persistent fetal haemoglobin and falsely high glycosylated haemoglobin levels.

Some of the routine methods of measuring glycosylated haemoglobin depend on its difference in charge from haemoglobin A and do not distinguish between glycosylated haemoglobin and fetal haemoglobin. Two insulin dependent diabetics showed persistent discrepancies between their capillary blood glucose values and their glycosylated haemoglobin values measured by agar gel electrophoresis: the blood values were normal but the glycosylated haemoglobin values were raised. In one patient increases in insulin dose in response to the glycosylated haemoglobin results repeatedly produced hypoglycaemia. Both patients were found to have higher than normal concentrations of fetal haemoglobin; and when measured by the thiobarbituric acid reaction their glycosylated haemoglobin levels were almost normal. This problem may be avoided by using a method that distinguishes between fetal and glycosylated haemoglobin or by testing glycosylation of hair or serum albumin if discrepancies arise. This is particularly important during pregnancy, when some women have an increase in fetal haemoglobin.

Adult↗

Electroconvulsive therapy: results in depressive illness from the Leicestershire trial.

Electroconvulsive therapy was investigated in a double blind trial. Altogether 186 clinically selected patients were referred to the trial, but 48 of these did not participate. According to the present state examination, 95 of the remaining 138 patients fell into one of the classes of major depression. Patients were randomly allocated to a course of real or simulated electroconvulsive therapy. Treatment was given twice a week with a maximum of eight treatments. On the Hamilton depressive rating scale the improvement in the group given real treatment was significantly greater than that in the group given simulated treatment both at two weeks (p = 0.014) and at four weeks (p = 0.0001). At follow up at 12 and 28 weeks there was no difference between the treatment groups. At the end of the four week trial consultants, who were blind to the allocation of treatment, rated the patients who had received real treatment as having made a significantly greater improvement than the patients who had received simulated treatment (p less than 0.00005). Further analysis showed that electroconvulsive therapy was effective in depression associated with delusions and in depression associated with retardation.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Tranylcypromine vs nortriptyline vs placebo in depressed outpatients: a controlled trial.

This study was designed to compare the therapeutic and adverse effects of tranylcypromine (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor), nortriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant), and placebo. A total of 122 depressed outpatients randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with one of these agents completed the 4-week protocol. Treatment groups were balanced for proportions of endogenous versus nonendogenous depressions, defined according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria; however, nonendogenous depressions outnumbered endogenous depressions by such a large proportion (4:1) that meaningful statistical comparisons were limited to the nonendogenous group. In this group, both active drugs proved more effective than placebo, with little differences between the two active drugs except in the areas of side effects and of differential sensitivity of the outcome scales to a given drug. It was concluded that tranylcypromine, a drug which has received relatively little use and study in recent years, represents an effective and reasonably safe treatment for nonendogenous depression, although significant advantages over tricyclics with this disorder remain to be demonstrated.

Adolescent↗

[Not Available].

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History, Ancient↗

The safety and efficacy of combined amitriptyline and tranylcypromine antidepressant treatment. A controlled trial.

Sixty patients meeting DSM-III criteria for major depression were assigned randomly to double-blind treatment for four weeks according to fixed-dosage steps with (1) amitriptyline hydrochloride alone, up to a maximum dosage of 300 mg/day; (2) tranylcypromine alone, up to 40 mg/day; or (3) the combination of amitriptyline hydrochloride, up to 150 mg/day, and tranylcypromine, up to 20 mg/day. The conditions of patients in all three treatment groups improved equally. The combined treatment did not produce a higher frequency of side effects, and no side effects, such as hypertensive or hyperthermic crises, occurred in any patient. Both amitriptyline alone and combined treatment produced substantially more anticholinergic side effects than did tranylcypromine. These results support the safety and efficacy of the combined treatment, although claims for superior efficacy over single-antidepressant treatments in this heterogenous population were not supported.

Adult↗

Genetic control of levels of murine kidney glucuronidase mRNA in response to androgen.

A cis-acting genetic element, designated Gus-r, regulates the androgen-induced rates of murine glucuronidase (EC 3.2.1.31) synthesis in kidney tubule cells and is tightly linked to the glucuronidase structural gene, Gus-s. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying this regulation, we have cloned a glucuronidase-specific cDNA sequence in plasmid pBR322. This cloned DNA has been utilized as a probe in blot hybridization analyses to determine whether the control of androgen responsiveness of kidney glucuronidase synthesis by Gus-r is exerted over the level or the translatability of glucuronidase mRNA. Three important observations emerged from these studies: (i) glucuronidase mRNA exists as a single size class of approximately 2,800 nucleotides; (ii) androgen stimulation of glucuronidase synthesis is directly related to the level of glucuronidase mRNA; and (iii) strain differences in levels of kidney glucuronidase mRNA accumulated in response to androgen are controlled by alleles of Gus-r. Thus, Gus-r regulates the androgen responsiveness of glucuronidase synthesis by controlling the amount of glucuronidase mRNA available for translation and is a cis-acting genetic element that regulates the hormonal responsiveness of a specific mRNA.

Alleles↗

Electrocardiographic effects of tranylcypromine vs. amitriptyline.

The authors compared ECG changes during the course of treatment with a tricyclic antidepressant (amitriptyline) or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (tranylcypromine) in 22 adult psychiatric patients. Amitriptyline-treated patients showed increased heart rate, PR, QRS, and QTc intervals. Tranylcypromine-treated patients showed no significant changes in ECG parameters. The clinical significance of the differing pattern of ECG effects for tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors is discussed.

Adult↗

Comparison of radioimmunoassay with a new immunofluorescent method (FIAX) for measuring tobramycin in serum.

A new immunofluorescent method (FIAX) was compared with a radioimmunoassay procedure for the determination of tobramycin serum concentrations. When assaying three tobramycin control sera repeatedly, within-run and run-to-run variations by the FIAX method were all within acceptable limits, and no statistically significant differences were found. Results of 155 sera from patients who had been treated with tobramycin showed a correlation coefficient of 0.93 between the two methods. The FIAX method represents another practical alternative for determining tobramycin serum levels.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Cell proliferation in explant cultures of human colon.

Biopsy specimens of human colonic mucosa taken from the rectosigmoid of 12 normal subjects were maintained in explant culture for 4 days. Histological, microautoradiographic and chemical measurements were carried out to evaluate cell replication, the effect of deoxycholic acid, and the incorporation of uridine and leucine into RNA and protein. Active cell replication was shown to be greatest during the first day of organ culture, and the number of cells that synthesized DNA also increased when deoxycholic acid was added to the culture medium. At later times, with morphological evidence of tissue viability, the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and protein within colonic epithelial cells decreased, and the total number of cells in the crypt columns declined. Findings indicate good maintenance of metabolic activities of colonic epithelial cells in short-term explant culture, and the utility of both cell-kinetic and morphological observations in assessing the status of colonic explants at early and late intervals.

Autoradiography↗

Survey of clinical pharmacology programs in U.S. and Canadian medical schools.

In this paper the authors report the results of a survey carried out by the Association for Medical School Pharmacology for the purpose of identifying and assessing the status of developing clinical pharmacology programs in medical schools in the United States and Canada. A questionnaire was mailed to 110 U.S. and 16 Canadian medical schools. Eighty-one schools in the United States and nine Canadian schools responded to the survey. There were 47 programs in clinical pharmacology in the United States and Canada which had an identifiable head of clinical pharmacology and three known programs which did not respond (total 50). The methods used in teaching clinical pharmacology involved, for the most part, lectures, clerkships, clinical rounds, and consultations. The major recommendations resulting from this survey are to continue a vigorous approach in the training of more clinical pharmacologists to carry out effective teaching, service, and research programs in clinical pharmacology in medical centers; to improve the service activities related to consultation on drugs; and to continue research on new and established drugs.

Budgets↗

Acute septic arthritis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W-135.

Neisseria meningitidis, serogroup W-135 was isolated from blood cultures of a 22-month-old child with acute septic arthritis of the left knee. Recovery was complete after treatment with penicillin G. Acute septic arthritis may be the initial presentation of disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W-135.

Acute Disease↗