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Biomedical subjects

R Penny

Publications and source records attributed to R Penny.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Melatonin: data consistent with a role in controlling ovarian function.

FSH and LH excretion were correlated with melatonin excretion in consecutive daily urines obtained from a normal adult female (27 days), a normal 11-year-old girl (28 days), and an 8-year-old girl with idiopathic sexual precocity (30 days). Additionally pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PG) excretion was determined in the urines of the adult female. Gonadotropin and PG excretion patterns of the adult female were those associated with a normal menstrual cycle. Excretion of melatonin, mean +/- SD, (11.3 +/- 2.7 vs 4.7 +/- 1.4 ng/h, p less than 0.005) was greater and PG (38.3 +/- 81 vs 124.2 +/- 46.7 ug/h, p less than 0.005) was less during the first 13 days as compared to the subsequent 14 days. Gonadotropin and melatonin excretions correlated positively (first 13 days FSH, r = 0.828; rs = 0.815 and LH, r = 0.816; rs = 0.905, p less than 0.005 and subsequent 14 days FSH, r = 0.607; rs = 0.685, p less than 0.025 and LH, r = 0.490, p less than 0.05; rs = 0.638, p less than 0.025). Excretion of PG and melatonin did not correlate during the first 13 days. However, during the subsequent 14 days they correlated negatively (r = -0.679, p less than 0.005; rs = -0.620, p less than 0.025). During the 28-day period the gonadotropin and melatonin excretion patterns of the 11-year-old girl showed random fluctuations and correlated positively (FSH, r = 0.669; rs = 0.631 and LH, r = 0.690; rs = 0.695, p less than 0.005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Antibody response to human immunodeficiency virus after primary infection.

The antibody response to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after primary infection was monitored in eight homosexual men with the acute mononucleosis-like illness associated with seroconversion. Multiple sera from each subject, taken at frequent intervals after onset of acute illness, were tested for antibody to HIV by IgM and IgG immunofluorescent assays (IFAs), four commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), and Western immunoblot (WB). Antibody to HIV was detected first by IgM IFA (mean +/- SD, 5 +/- 3 days), followed by IgG IFA (11 +/- 3 days); the IgM antibody titer peaked at 24 +/- 17 days and disappeared by 81 +/- 27 days, whereas the IgG antibody titer peaked at 133 +/- 63 days and has not disappeared in any subject. Antibody to HIV was first detected by ELISA from 31 +/- 14 to 58 +/- 32 days, depending on the assay kit used. Antibody to p24 and gp41 was first detected by WB at 24 +/- 10 days, followed by antibody to p55 (40 +/- 20 days), p68 (57 +/- 19 days), and p34 (71 +/- 22 days).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Pulmonary manifestations of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Between 1983 and 1985, 71 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were evaluated. Pulmonary manifestations were present in 42 patients (59%). Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) was the most common pulmonary manifestation, present in 32 patients (45%). Other pulmonary findings were cytomegalovirus pneumonia (one patient), Candida pneumonia (one patient), cryptococcal pneumonia (one patient), bacterial pneumonia (three patients), nonspecific pneumonitis (three patients), Kaposi's sarcoma (one patient), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (one patient). The presenting features of PCP were reviewed and in seven patients the chest X-ray and blood gases were normal at the time of diagnosis of PCP. Bronchoscopy was a safe and useful technique for obtaining specimens for diagnosis promptly, and a combination of samples obtained by bronchial washings/brushings and transbronchial biopsy was found to give a higher diagnostic yield than any single sample. Drug side-effects were common during therapy, requiring change of therapy in 16 patients. At one month after diagnosis 16% of patients with PCP had died. PCP is a common pulmonary manifestation in patients with AIDS which is treatable and has an initially favourable outcome.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Calcemic responses to photic and pharmacologic manipulation of serum melatonin.

Phototherapy of newborn rats (NBR) resulted in a decrease in serum calcium and melatonin levels. Transcranial light penetrance in NBR increased with wavelength. Below 640 nm (penetrance = 6.9%), no hypocalcemic effect could be demonstrated. Shielding the occiput of NBR prevented a decrease in serum calcium during phototherapy and substantially reduced the decrease in melatonin found in unshielded NBR. Intraperitoneal injection of propranolol, an inhibitor of melatonin synthesis, caused a decrease in serum calcium in shaded NBR. In contrast, when melatonin was injected with propranolol a decrease in serum calcium did not occur. Additionally, intraperitoneal isoproterenol before phototherapy protected against a decrease in serum calcium. These data are consistent with an hypothesis that a decrease in serum calcium during phototherapy results from transcranial photic inhibition of melatonin synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

A fluorescence NK assay using flow cytometry.

A flow cytometric NK assay was developed in which the K562 targets were labelled with the fluorogenic substrate, carboxyfluorescein diacetate (c'FDA). This new assay compared favourably with results obtained using the conventional 51Cr-release assay. c'FDA was not toxic to target cells and did not inhibit lysis. The assay permits the evaluation of various aspects of NK activity such as the activity of NK-enriched, IFN-alpha-activated, and ALG-inhibited populations. The assay can be used in place of 51Cr-release, and has the advantages of being able to directly monitor target cell lysis of reducing overall assay time, and the avoidance of radioisotope usage.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Intravenous pulse methylprednisolone therapy in severe inflammatory eye disease.

Seventeen patients with severe ocular inflammatory disease were treated with intermittent pulse doses of intravenous methylprednisolone. There were five patients with chronic posterior uveitis, five with retinal vasculitis, three with scleritis, two with chronic anterior uveitis, one with pars planitis, and one with Mooren's ulcer. A standard protocol of intravenous administration of methylprednisolone was followed. In 15 of 17 patients receiving this therapy, visual acuity improved or stayed constant. Side effects included psychological disturbances, hypertension, and elevated glucose levels, but cessation of treatment was not necessary in any patient. Pulse methylprednisolone treatment appears to be an effective therapy for several forms of severe inflammatory eye disease and minimizes the potential side effects of more conventional regimens of corticosteroid administration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Antithyroid antibodies in Hispanic patients with type I diabetes mellitus. Prevalence and significance.

Antithyroglobulin antibodies (ATA) and antithyroid microsomal antibodies (AMA) were sought and thyroid function was determined in 90 Hispanic patients with type I diabetes mellitus followed up for up to seven years. We detected ATA in 7.5% of our patients and AMA in 34.8%. All serum samples positive for ATA also contained AMA. There was no sex difference in the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity. A small, firm goiter was present in eight patients, one of whom developed Graves' disease. Our results suggest that a relatively high prevalence of AMA and no sex difference in thyroid autoimmunity may be unique features of Hispanic children and adolescents with type I diabetes mellitus. Such patients should be clinically evaluated for thyroid dysfunction and should be screened annually for the presence of AMA. When antibodies are present, laboratory evaluation of thyroid function should be performed frequently.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

A 73-year-old patient developed tetraplegia, cranial neuropathies and autonomic instability and died of clinical complications of Guillain-Barré syndrome. He was incidentally found to have subclinical Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The literature since 1966 is reviewed for the association of Guillain-Barré syndrome with thyroiditis, other endocrine abnormalities, and some diseases thought to be caused by autoimmune mechanisms.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Use of diathermy for weeding heterogeneous tissue cultures.

Cultures generated from tissues consisting of multiple types of cells are often heterogeneous. Unless the cell type of interest has or can be given some selective growth advantage it may be overgrown by other cells. While developing techniques for the tissue culture of microvascular endothelial cells we evaluated an electrosurgical generator (diathermy) to selectively kill nonendothelial cells. Primary cell cultures were observed at X 100 magnification under phase contrast microscopy and a needle electrode apposed to the cell to be destroyed. A return electrode was constructed by placing a sterile clip in contact with the culture medium. The diathermy power setting controlled the area of lysis. Use of this technique allowed weeding of unwanted cells without damage to endothelial cells, which were able to grow to confluence in pure culture.

Capillaries↗
PubMed1986

Thyroid indices in arterial and venous cord blood: significantly greater levels of reverse triidothyronine in venous blood than in arterial blood.

Paired arterial and venous cord blood samples were obtained from 42 normal newborns (24 males and 18 females). T4 was determined in all paired samples. In addition, other indices were determined: T3 in 40, RT3 in 29, TBG in 29, thyroglobulin (Tg) in 14, and TSH in 11. Gender difference in any of the thyroid indices was not found. Arterial and venous cord serum thyroid indices correlated positively (T4, r = 0.743; T3, r = .907, rT3, r = .920; TBG, r = .752; Tg, r = .934, and TSH, r = .989; P less than 0.005). The difference between the means +/- SD of arterial and venous levels was significant (P less than 0.01) only for rT3 (191 +/- 43.2 v 224 +/- 55.8 ng/dL). Arterial (T4 v T3, r = .453, P less than .005; T4 v RT3, r = .660, P less than 0.005) and venous (T4 v T3, r = .620, P less than 0.005; T4 v rT3, r = .612, P less than 0.005); T3 and rT3 levels correlated positively with T4 levels. In contrast, T3 and rT3 levels for arterial (r = .216, P greater than 0.1) and venous (r = .216, P greater than 0.1) samples did not show a significant correlation. These data are in keeping with earlier reports for animal placental models studied in vitro, suggesting that placental inner ring deiodination of maternal thyroxine is a source of fetal RT3.

Biotransformation↗
PubMed1986

Killing of human dermal capillary endothelial cells by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

Damage to the microvasculature occurs commonly in autoimmune diseases affecting the skin. There has been little investigation of immune mechanisms other than immune complex deposition as a major cause of microvascular damage. We have investigated the potential of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) to cause vascular destruction in an in vitro model consisting of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells to which were added antibody and leukocytes. Severe damage was induced by antibody and lymphocytes. Monocytes or neutrophils were not able to mediate cytotoxicity although activated neutrophils caused endothelial detachment. The cytotoxic cells were OKT3-, Leu 11+ and were identified as K cells. ADCC was not inhibited by human serum or aggregated IgG. These results imply that ADCC may have a role in causing the vascular destruction observed in some human autoimmune skin diseases.

Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity↗
PubMed1986

Female marrow donors increase the risk of acute graft-versus-host disease: effect of donor age and parity and analysis of cell subpopulations in the donor marrow inoculum.

We evaluated 27 factors for their influence on acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in 40 recipients of HLA-identical sibling marrow transplants. These factors included the doses of mononuclear cell subpopulations present in the donor marrow inoculum quantitated using a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Female donors were associated with increased severity of acute GVHD, and the older the female donor the greater this effect. Increasing donor parity was also associated with an increased risk of acute GVHD. The number of T cells, T cells subsets, natural killer cells and monocytes infused did not influence the incidence or severity of acute GVHD in this study, and we could not explain the influence of female donors and of female donor age on acute GVHD by the cellular content of their marrow inocula. We postulate that non-HLA histocompatibility antigen disparity is a more important determinant for acute GVHD than the number of infused donor T cells, especially when female donors are used. The association between acute GVHD and increasing parity suggests that some female marrow donors have been pre-sensitized to their respective recipients by preceding pregnancies.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Uveitis: aetiology and disease associations in an Australian population.

Over a five-year period 245 patients with uveitis were investigated at the Uveitis Clinic, Sydney Eye Hospital, for possible aetiological and relevant disease associations. Uveitis was anterior in 75% of patients, posterior in 21% and generalized in 4%. Anterior uveitis (AU) was idiopathic in 52% of cases. In patients tested for the HLA-B27 antigen, 47% were HLA-B27 positive, including all cases of ankylosing spondylitis (8% of cases) and Reiter's syndrome (3% of cases). There was a marked male predominance in patients with AU, especially in HLA-B27 positive individuals. Posterior uveitis (PU) was most frequently unilateral, chronic and idiopathic (24% of cases), whilst recognizable aetiologies included toxoplasmosis (20%), Behcet's syndrome (14%), sarcoidosis (12%) and pars planitis (12%). The peak age of onset in patients presenting with AU was 30 to 40 years, whilst patients with PU presented a decade earlier. There were no major differences between males and females in the age of onset of their uveitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Clinical and immunologic sequelae of AIDS retrovirus infection.

The Sydney AIDS Project is a prospective immunoepidemiological study of 911 homosexual and bisexual men enrolled between February 1984 and January 1985. Clinical, immunological, and serological studies are performed on these subjects every six months. At enrollment, 39.9% of subjects were seropositive for antibodies to AIDS retrovirus (ARV). Of these 352 seropositive subjects, 28.1% were symptomless with normal immune profiles, 23.6% were symptomless with an immunodeficiency, 18.8% had a clinical illness but normal immune profile, and 29.6% had a clinical illness and immunodeficiency. Of the symptomless subjects, 27.8% were seropositive for antibodies to ARV. Clinically, seropositivity was significantly associated with enlargement of three or more non-inguinal lymph node groups, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly. Immunologically, seropositivity was significantly associated with lower absolute numbers of lymphocytes and T4+ lymphocytes and a lower T4+ : T8+ ratio, compared with seronegative subjects. Seropositive subjects with a clinical illness had a significantly lower percentage of T4+ lymphocytes and lower T4+ : T8+ ratio than did those who were symptomless. However, the absolute number of T4+ cells was not significantly different between subjects with a clinical illness and those who were symptomless. Subjects whose sera were positive by immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay but were negative by radioimmune precipitation assay had a lower number and percentage of T4+ lymphocytes than subjects who were positive by all three tests. These results demonstrate a wide variety of clinical and immunological responses to ARV infection. Prospective study of these subjects will enable us to define further the natural history of ARV infection and factors associated with progression.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Aplastic anemia: analysis of two methods of treatment.

Between 1981 and 1985, 27 patients with aplastic anemia have been treated by immunosuppression with antilymphocyte globulin and prednisolone or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Fifteen have undergone bone marrow transplantation and have an actuarial survival at 54 months of 65% +/- 12% (95% confidence limits). There have been four deaths from graft rejection, septicemia (two), and graft-versus-host disease. Twelve have received antilymphocyte globulin and have an actuarial survival at 56 months of 67% +/- 21%. Five of these now have a normal blood count and two have had good partial responses and are self supporting. Of the five non-responders, three survived, two with persistent aplasia and one after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Two are dead, one of hemorrhage and one after mismatched bone marrow transplantation. In this study antilymphocyte globulin produced survival equivalent to bone marrow transplantation although only 58% of patients had a response to the antilymphocyte globulin. The advantages and disadvantages of these two methods of treatment are discussed.

Adolescent↗