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Biomedical subjects

S Blake

Publications and source records attributed to S Blake.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Comparative efficacy of captopril and atenolol in moderately severe essential hypertension.

A randomized, double-blind study was undertaken to compare atenolol and captopril as second-step agents in the treatment of essential hypertension resistant to 5 mg bendrofluazide daily. Using a cross-over technique 28 patients were administered each drug sequentially for periods of 8 weeks with an intervening washout period of 2 weeks. Both drugs produced a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P less than 0.01). Captopril was more effective than atenolol at reducing diastolic pressure (P less than 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the systolic pressure. Neither drug produced side effects of a serious nature, but untoward symptoms were more frequent with atenolol. The effect of the drugs on myocardial function was assessed by comparing pre-treatment with post-treatment left ventricular ejection fractions, both at rest and with exercise, measured by MUGA scan. The resting ejection fraction was unaffected by either drug. During exercise, on captopril, the ejection fraction showed the normal increase over the resting baseline, but on atenolol there was no such increase.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Development of a method for rating cognitive responses to a diagnosis of cancer.

The development of a method for rating cognitive responses to the diagnosis of early breast cancer, lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease is described in the context both of recent coping theory and a previous study by this Unit relating outcome to response to diagnosis. The ratings are defined in a manual using simple language and avoiding assumptions about the functions of responses; examples are given.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Increased prostaglandin production by glomeruli isolated from rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus.

Abnormalities in glomerular function have been observed frequently in the early stages of both clinical and experimental diabetes mellitus. Because prostaglandins (PGs) are present in the glomerulus and have profound effects on glomerular hemodynamics, and because abnormalities of PG metabolism have been noted in other tissues from diabetics, we studied PG biosynthesis in glomeruli obtained from rats in the early stages of experimental diabetes mellitus. Streptozotocin, 60 mg/kg, was administered intravenously to male Sprague-Dawley rats. Control rats received an equal volume of the vehicle. Glomeruli were isolated 9-23 d later. Production of eicosanoids was determined by two methods: by direct radioimmunoassay after incubation of glomeruli under basal conditions and in the presence of arachidonic acid (C20:4), 30 microM, and by radiometric high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after incubation of glomeruli with [14C]C20:4. When assessed by radioimmunoassay, mean basal production of both prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) was twofold greater in the diabetic animals whereas production of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) was not significantly greater than control. In response to C20:4, both PGE2 and PGF2 alpha were also greater in the diabetic animals, but these differences were not statistically significant. The increased rate of basal PG production did not appear to be related directly to the severity of the diabetic state as reflected by the degree of hyperglycemia at the time of sacrifice. In fact, the rates of glomerular PG production in the individual diabetic animals correlated inversely with the plasma glucose concentration. The increased rate of PG synthesis did not appear to be due to a nonspecific effect of streptozotocin inasmuch as glomerular PG production was not increased significantly in streptozotocin-treated rats which were made euglycemic by insulin therapy. Furthermore, addition of streptozotocin, 1-10 mM, to the incubation media had no effect on PGE2 production by normal glomeruli. PGE2 production by normal glomeruli was also not influenced by varying the glucose concentration in the incubation media over a range of 1-40 mM. When metabolism of [14C]C20:4 was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography conversion to labeled PGE2, PGF2 alpha, TXB2, and hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid by diabetic glomeruli was two- to threefold greater compared with that in control glomeruli, whereas no significant difference in conversion to 12- and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid occurred. These findings indicate that glomerular cyclooxygenase but not lipoxygenase activity was increased in the diabetic animals. A concomitant increase in glomerular phospholipase activity may also have been present to account for the more pronounced differences in PG production noted in the absence of exogenous unlabeled C20:4. These abnormalities in PG biosynthesis by diabetic glomeruli may contribute to the altered glomerular hemodynamics in this pathophysiologic setting.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Amino (hydroxyethoxymethyl) purine: a new well-absorbed prodrug of acyclovir.

Acyclovir is an effective treatment for herpes simplex and herpes zoster infections, but it is somewhat limited by low oral absorption. 2-amino-9-[(2hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-9H-purine (BW A515U), a new prodrug of acyclovir, when evaluated in 10 patients with haematological malignancies, was well tolerated, excellently absorbed, and produced high plasma concentrations of acyclovir which were comparable to those with intravenous acyclovir. The plasma concentrations after oral BW A515U were much higher than those after oral acyclovir.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1984

Reaction to a diagnosis of breast cancer. Relationship between denial, delay and rates of psychological morbidity.

Psychological responses were measured in a newly diagnosed group of breast cancer patients during their hospital stay for primary surgical treatment by mastectomy. The aim was to assess the extent to which patients responded to the stress of a cancer diagnosis by denying the seriousness of the illness, and how this related to both level of distress and prior delay in seeking treatment. The data indicated that patients who denied the seriousness of a cancer diagnosis experienced significantly less mood disturbance during this period than those who were more accepting of the implications of this diagnosis. These findings suggest that a denial rather than a confrontation-coping-response may effectively reduce the short-term distress experienced during this initial period of hospitalization. Contrary to predictions, we failed to show an association between the length of delay in seeking treatment and denial of the diagnosis.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1984

Quantitation of the response of human tumor spheroids to daily radiation exposures.

Two human tumor lines, NB-100 neuroblastoma and C-32 melanoma, were grown as multicellular tumor spheroids (MTS) and exposed to daily doses of gamma rays, 5 days per week. It required daily doses of 200 rad to arrest the growth of the NB-100 MTS, while 350 rad per day was required to arrest the growth of the C-32 MTS. Calculation of the delay in time to grow 200 um beyond the original size yielded similar differences in radiation resistance. When the volume of the treated MTS was expressed as a fraction of their potential volume and plotted as a function of cumulative dose, there appeared to be little fraction size dependence over the range studied. This prediction was tested experimentally and confirmed: daily administration of two 100 rad doses separated by 4 hours to NB-100 MTS was only marginally less effective than a daily single dose of 200 rad. These data suggest that MTS may prove to be valuable tools in studying the response of human tumors to clinical exposure protocols, including hyperfractionation.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1983

Nifedipine in the treatment of hypertension.

Nifedipine, a calcium antagonist with a predominant vasodilator action, was evaluated for the treatment of hypertension. A 20 mg-tablet, with a slower absorption and a more sustained blood-level than provided by the 10 mg-capsule was administered to 20 patients. The duration of the trial was 20 weeks. All patients achieved a significant reduction in both systolic (p less than 0.05) and diastolic (p less than 0.001) blood-pressure (B.P.), but 10 patients were withdrawn before completion of the trial period. Two patients, although achieving a fall in B.P. which was significant, did not reach to target level (less than 160/90) on maximal dosage, one patient suffered a stroke due to a cerebral infarct, and seven patients were withdrawn because of side-effects due mainly to vasodilatation. The remaining 10 patients obtained a satisfactory response. In nine patients, who had achieved a satisfactory result, there was no change in plasma renin activity (P.R.A.) during chronic nifedipine administration.

Absorption↗