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Biomedical subjects

R Steele

Publications and source records attributed to R Steele.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

A case-control study of lung cancer relative to domestic radon exposure.

Public concern was expressed regarding the possibility of adverse health effects with the disposal of radioactive waste in Port Hope, Ontario. A case-control study was carried out to estimate the relative importance of domestic radon gas exposure in the causation of lung cancer in the town over a ten-year period. Twenty-seven cases met the entry criteria. Statistical analyses of results did not provide conclusive results that linked an increased risk of lung cancer and elevated domestic alpha radiation levels, when all factors were considered. However, a very strong association was demonstrated between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

Humans↗
PubMed1986

Congenital herpes simplex retinitis.

An 1,810-g girl born at 37 weeks of gestation had true congenital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection. The neonate was born with hypo-pigmented skin lesions, brain lesions, and old heavily pigmented retinal scars in the posterior pole. There was no active ocular disease. Viral cultures, immunoperoxidase stains, and antibody determination by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were all positive for herpes simplex virus. Treatment with acyclovir healed the lesions within ten days. The clinical and laboratory findings indicated that the herpetic infection probably occurred in the second trimester.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Measurement of serum DNA binding in chronic active hepatitis and systemic lupus erythematosus using the Farr assay.

Antibodies to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), generally regarded as highly specific for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), have also been reported in chronic active hepatitis (CAH). Using the Farr assay and E. coli DNA, fractionated by benzoylated-naphthoylated-DEAE cellulose chromatography into dsDNA and dsDNA containing single-stranded regions, we compared the serum DNA binding of CAH and SLE patients. Although CAH sera were found to have dsDNA binding significantly above the normal control group such binding was of low level and we could find no evidence of markedly elevated dsDNA binding in CAH. However 12 of the 20 CAH sera studied did bind preferentially to dsDNA containing single-stranded regions suggesting the presence of anti-single-stranded DNA antibodies. We conclude that the description of elevated anti-dsDNA antibodies, as measured by the Farr assay, in CAH is due to the interaction of anti-single-stranded DNA antibodies or other serum components with single-stranded DNA contaminating dsDNA preparations.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Arsenic, syphilis, and cancer of the prostate.

A study was conducted to investigate the association of cancer of the prostate with historical records of previous venereal disease and treatment with arsenical drugs. Eighty-three cancer cases were each age matched with two male controls--one with benign prostatic hypertrophy and one other non-cancer patient. Analysis from pooled data showed a statistically significant difference for syphilis infection between cases and controls at p less than 0.05; odds ratio 2.9. Matched pair analysis maintained p less than 0.05 significance for the first control group but odds ratios were 5.5 and 2.75 in respect of control groups 1 and 2. The mean age at which venereal infection was acquired was higher for syphilis than for gonorrhoea, but the mean age at diagnosis of cancer was younger for the syphilis group; there was a statistically significant difference between the mean at cancer diagnosis of those who had syphilis and those who had no record of previous venereal infection (t = 2.18, df 70, p less than 0.05). No association was demonstrated for history of treatment with arsenical drugs.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Failure of the femoral component in the Howse total hip arthroplasty.

Fatigue failure of the femoral stem is reported in ten cases of the Howse modification of the Charnley total hip arthroplasty. The overall incidence is comparable to the Charnley original design. Torsional forces are important in the mechanism of failure. Medical cracking (not previously described) was discovered leading to stepped fracture surfaces. Multiple medial cracking has long-term implications for the Howse design. Torsional forces result in oblique fracture lines that are not always visible before surgery. Weight-bearing roentgenograms are advised prior to revision surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

A new model of osteoarthritis in rabbits. III. Evaluation of anti-osteoarthritic effects of selected drugs administered intraarticularly.

A battery of steroidal and nonsteroidal antirheumatic drugs and protease inhibitors were tested by intraarticular injection for effects on osteoarthritis of the knees of rabbits subjected to partial lateral meniscectomy and section of the sesamoid and collateral fibular ligaments. Among the standard drugs, only the glucocorticoid, triamcinolone hexacetonide, and the protease inhibitor, tranexamic acid, exhibited significant anti-osteoarthritic activity. An experimental drug, GPA 2163, also offered some protection against joint degeneration. The nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs had no effect on the development of osteoarthritis in the model.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1983

Transcription of repetitive sequences on Xenopus lampbrush chromosomes.

We reinvestigated the lampbrush chromosomes of Xenopus laevis and found them well suited for the study or transcription by in situ hybridization to nascent RNA transcripts. Using this technique, we analyzed the transcription of three repetitive sequences that do not show any sequence homology and that differ in their degree of interspersion. We found that they are located on different parts of the chromosomes: two are clustered, one is interspersed. All three of these sequences are transcribed at the lampbrush chromosome stage and transcripts from both strands of each sequence can be detected. The amount of transcription is apparently not proportional to the number of copies of the repetitive sequence at a given chromosomal locus, suggesting that other sequences are involved in the regulation of their transcription.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Do we need thyroid follow-up registers? A cost-effective study.

Patients who had received radioiodine treatment for hyperthyroidism were followed up by two different methods. 576 patients (group 1) were followed up conventionally by their general practitioners and as hospital outpatients. 609 similarly treated patients (group 2) were followed up by a computer-assisted system, the Scottish Automated Follow-up Register (S.A.F.U.R.). Follow-up in the two groups were compared on the basis of cost-effectiveness. On average, patients were seen for follow-up about once every 8 months if in group 1 and every 14 1/2 months in group 2. The overall cost of follow-up and treatment for group 2 patients was less than 60% of that for group 1 patients. A central follow-up register is reliable and cost-effective, particularly so when patients are dispersed over a wide area.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1982

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibody to varicella-zoster virus.

Primary varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection is a serious illness in immunocompromised individuals, and a rapid, sensitive, and reliable assay to identify high-risk VZV-susceptible patients would be clinically useful. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibody to VZV was compared with the fluorescent antibody-to-membrane antigen (FAMA) assay and found to be similar in both sensitivity and specificity. The antibody titers determined by both assays were also similar. The absence of antibody detected by ELISA correlated with susceptibility to VZV infection. Because it is simple to perform and has equivalent sensitivity to FAMA, ELISA should be useful for VZV antibody testing in diagnostic and research laboratories.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1982

Differentiated function in cultured epithelia derived from thick ascending limbs.

Medullary thick ascending limbs were dissected from rabbit kidney and cultured on thin collagen membranes. The collagen membranes were supported by a special device that limited the exposed surface area to a disk 1 mm in diameter. The cells usually proliferated to form a confluent epithelial monolayer covering the collagen membrane within 8-10 days. Transepithelial voltage was measured between bridges immersed in the solutions bathing the bottom of the collagen membrane and the apical (upper) surface of the epithelium. The voltage typically was oriented positive toward the apical surface and persisted for a few weeks. Furosemide but not amiloride reduced the voltage reversibly. Both the orientation of the voltage and its reduction by furosemide are characteristic of thick ascending limbs. Therefore, the observed voltage supports the identification of the epithelial cells in culture and is evidence of differentiated function.

Amiloride↗
PubMed1982

Pneumococcal polysaccharide immunization of children with sickle cell disease. II. Serologic response and pneumococcal disease following immunization.

One-hundred seventy-four children with sickle cell disease (SCD) were immunized with a single dose of tetradecavalent pneumococcal vaccine. Preimmunization and postimmunization antibody against 13 of the 14 pneumococcal capsular antigens was measured by indirect hemagglutination (IHA). The ability of each antigen to stimulate antibody following immunization was characterized by one of three types of responses: (1) poor antibody response regardless of the age at immunization (capsular types 6A, 14, and 19F); (2) improving antibody response with advancing age at immunization (capsular types 1, 4, 9N, 12F, 18C, and 23F); and (3) good antibody response regardless of age at immunization (capsular types 2, 3, 7F, and 8). An increase in antibody following immunization was significantly correlated (P less than 0.0005) with an increasing level of preimmunization antibody titer for all 13 antigens. Through the first 24 months of study, two episodes of pneumococcal sepsis caused by group 23 pneumococci were documented in two children immunized prior to 24 months of age (incidence rate, 4.40/100 patient-years in children less than 5 years of age), and one additional episode caused by a group 23 pneumococcus occurred in a 5 7/12-year-old child (incidence rate, 0.66/100 patient-years in children greater than 5 years of age). These observations suggest that anamnestic immune response significantly contributed to the enhanced antibody response observed in older children and adults. Only modest vaccine efficacy may be expected among children with SCD who receive a single dose of pneumococcal vaccine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

The economics of specialist and general practitioner maternity units.

The roles of general practitioner and specialist maternity units are increasingly being debated with reference to resources and the need for savings in the NHS. Unfortunately, many of the economic issues involved are frequently misunderstood. On the basis of a study of maternity care in one Health Board area in Scotland, we present an example of the type of economic data which are needed to make policy decisions on resource allocation in hospital maternity care. Differences between the two unit types are presented in terms of their unit costs, their cost structures and their inpatient cost profiles.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1980

Protease and antiprotease responses in lung and peripheral blood in experimental canine pneumococcal pneumonia.

We studied the effects of pulmonary infection with type III pneumococcus in dogs on the degree of granulocyte elastase-like esterase activity and on the degree of antiproteases in peripheral blood and lung lavage fluid. In 9 infected dogs the peripheral blood granulocyte esterase activity increased from a preinfection level of 361.3 +/- 51 units/10(8) leukocytes to 593.8 +/- 80 units/10(8) leukocytes (mean +/- SE) 24 h after pneumonia had been induced (p less than .02). Parallel changes were measured in granulocytes obtained from bronchial lavage fluid. The antitrypsin activity and esterase inhibitory activity of peripheral blood increased by 15% after infection was induced. The esterase inhibitory activity of lung lavage fluid increased from a preinfection level of 776 +/- 160 units/mg of lavage protein to 1,390 +/- 200 units/mg of lavage protein (p less than .05). These findings indicate that whereas both circulating and lung lavage granulocytes contain increased concentrations of proteolytic activity during infection, serum antiproteases and, to a larger extent, lung antiproteases, also are increased.

Animals↗