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Biomedical subjects

S Brooke

Publications and source records attributed to S Brooke.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

An analysis of the skin care patient mix attending a primary care-based nurse-led NHS Walk-in Centre.

BACKGROUND: NHS Walk-in Centres (WiCs) are a new and expanding point of nurse-led primary care access for patients requiring skin care. Little is known about the dermatology case profile of such patients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the skin care patient mix attending a WiC and the feasibility and usefulness of retrieving data from the NHS Clinical Assessment System (CAS), as used by NHS Direct. METHODS: Patients over 2 years of age presenting to a WiC in southern England with a nurse-assessed skin condition were recruited over a 12-week period (n = 233). A data set was extracted from CAS and analysed using Excel. RESULTS: Of the total 31 591 patients attending the WiC in the first 2 years, 21% had a skin-related problem. During the 12-week study period, 88 of 233 eligible patients (38%) consented to participate. The typical patient profile was of female patients, 17-35 years (27%) attending during the week before 9 a.m. (35%) or after 5 p.m. (27%) from the locality (72%). CAS employs generic algorithms to specify clinical problems (e.g. rash) rather than medical diagnoses. Most patients presented with a rash (89%). No physical treatment was required in 77% of patients, although this was advised for 46%; 49% were advised to seek help but not return to the WiC; 16% were recommended to contact their general practitioner. There were practical difficulties accessing data from CAS software for research due to research governance requirements. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of patients with dermatological conditions could be seeking primary care through new NHS WiCs. Detailed dermatological appraisal of the patient mix is difficult due to the system of clinical categorization. There is scope to investigate further the nature of dermatological need and the patient education given. CAS is a cumbersome data extraction tool for research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Treatment options for microcystin toxins: similarities and differences between variants.

Over sixty variants of the blue-green algal toxin microcystin have been identified. The two microcystin variants LR and LA vary in only one amino group ie. arginine for microcystin LR and alanine for microcystin LA. In the literature to date, the general consensus has been that m-LR and m-LA should respond similarly to a range of water treatment processes. This is the case for ozonation and biodegradation by organisms colonising granular activated carbon filters; there is negligible difference in the response to these processes between the two variants. However, the adsorption of m-LR onto activated carbon is significantly higher than that of m-LA. This result is surprising as m-LA has a lower molecular weight, and is more hydrophobic, factors that would be expected to favour the adsorption of this compound over m-LR. This trend is also seen for the variants RR and YR. The effect is seen on both negatively and positively charged carbons, indicating that the difference between the variants is not caused by electrostatic interactions with the carbon surface. Electrostatic shielding experiments suggest that electrostatic repulsion between the adsorbed m-LA molecules, with a net charge of -2, may be responsible for the low adsorption. The other variants tested have a lower net charge and therefor experience lower intermolecular repulsion in the adsorbed state.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2001

Sleep deprivation elevates plasma corticosterone levels in neonatal rats.

Plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels were measured after short periods of sleep deprivation in rats at postnatal days 12, 16, 20, and 24. There was an age-dependent increase in basal CORT levels and sleep deprivation significantly elevated CORT at all ages compared to non-sleep deprived controls. The levels of CORT after sleep deprivation in P16, P20 and P24 animals were similar, resulting in an age-dependent decrease of the magnitude of the response. Sleep deprived P12 animals had lower levels of CORT. However, the observed response to sleep deprivation suggests that sleep loss is a significant stressor at this age. These observations suggest that younger animals are more sensitive to the effects of mild sleep deprivation than older ones.

Aging↗
PubMed2001

Neuroprotective effects of an adenoviral vector expressing the glucose transporter: a detailed description of the mediating cellular events.

Considerable knowledge exists concerning the events mediating neuron death following a necrotic insult; prompted by this, there have now been successful attempts to use gene therapy approaches to protect neurons from such necrotic injury. In many such studies, however, it is not clear what sequence of cellular events connects the overexpression of the transgene with the enhanced survival. We do so, exploring the effects of overexpressing the Glut-1 glucose transporter with an adenoviral vector in hippocampal cultures challenged with the excitotoxin kainic acid (KA). Such overexpression enhanced glucose transport, attenuated the decline in ATP concentrations, decreased the release of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters, and decreased the total free cytosolic calcium load. Commensurate with these salutary effects, neuronal survival was enhanced with this gene therapy intervention. Thus, the neuroprotective effects of this particular gene therapy occurs within the known framework of the mechanisms of necrotic neuronal injury.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2000

Glucocorticoids exacerbate the deleterious effects of gp120 in hippocampal and cortical explants.

Glucocorticoids (GCs), the adrenal steroids secreted during stress, can compromise the ability of hippocampal neurons to survive numerous necrotic insults. We have previously observed that GCs worsen the deleterious effects of gp120, the glycoprotein of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus, which can indirectly damage neurons and which is thought to play a role in the neuropathological features of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Specifically, GCs augment gp120-induced calcium mobilization, ATP depletion, decline in mitochondrial potential, and neurotoxicity in fetal monolayer cultures from a number of brain regions. In the present report, we demonstrate a similar gp120/GC synergy in adult hippocampal and cortical explants. We generated explants from rats that were either adrenalectomized, adrenally intact, or intact and treated with corticosterone to produce levels seen in response to major stressors. Metabolic rates in explants were then indirectly assessed with silicon microphysiometry, and cytosolic calcium concentrations were assessed with fura-2 fluorescent microscopy. We observed that basal levels of GCs tonically augment the disruptive effects of gp120 on metabolism in the CA1 cell field of the hippocampus and in the cortex. Moreover, raising GC concentrations into the stress range exacerbated the ability of gp120 to mobilize cytosolic calcium in a number of hippocampal cell fields. Finally, we observed that the synthetic GC prednisone had similarly exacerbating effects on gp120. Thus, GCs can worsen the deleterious effects of gp120 in a system that is more physiologically relevant than the fetal monolayer culture and in a region-specific manner.

Adrenalectomy↗
PubMed1999

Public- and private-sector partnerships in contraceptive research and development: guiding principles.

The objective was to review and analyze practices of preferential pricing and royalties for products resulting from collaboration between the public and private sectors. A wide variety of practices and experience exist, and collaboration depends on the product being developed and its potential markets. Guiding principles in preferential pricing, royalty provisions, and long-term collaboration are presented that can be mutually beneficial to both the public and private sector.

Contraceptive Agents↗
PubMed1999

Intrusive memories, post-traumatic stress disorder and myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the associations between two personality variables (alexithymia, negative affect), social support, awareness of myocardial infarction, and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. DESIGN: A cross sectional design was adopted with simultaneous measures of both dependent and independent variables. METHOD: A random sample of 69 patients who had an MI between 6 and 12 months previously were sent postal questionnaires measuring alexithymia, negative affect, social support, awareness of myocardial infarction, the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and a number of demographic details. RESULTS: Forty-four individuals completed and returned all the questionnaires. A 10% prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms was found. Regression analyses were conducted to identify independent associates of the dependent variables with and without the inclusion of the measure of negative affect. Alexithymia, age, social support and awareness at the time of having a myocardial infarction, were each strongly predictive of one or all measures of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence supporting the impact of each of the variables on the course of post-traumatic stress disorder was supported in a population of myocardial infarction patients. If these variables were found predictive in a longitudinal study, they would indicate possible risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in this population.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Manual handling in the operating theatre.

Safer transfer practices are needed in operating theatres. An observational study on manual handling in an operating department led to improvements in transfer practice. Staff should have easy access to the appropriate handling aids.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Endocrine modulation of the neurotoxicity of gp120: implications for AIDS-related dementia complex.

HIV infection often involves the development of AIDS-related dementia complex, a variety of neurologic, neuropsychologic, and neuropathologic impairments. A possible contributor to AIDS-related dementia complex is the HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120, which damages neurons via a complex glutamate receptor- and calcium-dependent cascade. We demonstrate an endocrine modulation of the deleterious effects of gp120 in primary hippocampal and cortical cultures. Specifically, we observe that gp120-induced calcium mobilization and neurotoxicity are exacerbated by glucocorticoids, the adrenal steroids secreted during stress. Importantly, this deleterious synergy can occur between gp120 and synthetic glucocorticoids (such as prednisone or dexamethasone) that are used clinically in high concentrations to treat severe cases of the Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia typical of HIV infection. Conversely, we also observe that estradiol protects neurons from the deleterious actions of gp120, reducing toxicity and calcium mobilization.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1993

Corticosterone is a preferable ligand for measuring rat brain corticosteroid receptors: competition by RU 28362 and RU 26752 for dexamethasone binding in rat hippocampal cytosol.

It is unclear whether in vitro corticosteroid receptor binding assays have used inappropriately high concentrations of synthetic corticosteroid competitors, thereby potentially introducing error into estimates of type I (mineralocorticoid) and type II (glucocorticoid) receptor binding. To determine more accurately the concentration of blockers necessary to discriminate between these two sites, we have derived Ki values for the competition of dexamethasone, RU 28362 and RU 26752 for [3H]corticosterone and [3H]dexamethasone binding in rat hippocampus. Non-specific binding of both radioligands was defined with unlabeled dexamethasone to exclude transcortin. The type II agonist RU 28362 competed for only a portion of [3H]corticosterone binding, exhibiting a Ki of 0.5 nM for this binding. In contrast, RU 28362 fully competed all binding of a saturating concentration of [3H]dexamethasone, even though [3H]dexamethasone also recognized type I receptors, defined as specific [3H]corticosterone binding in the presence of 80 nM RU 28362. RU 28362 competition for [3H]dexamethasone binding exhibited characteristics of a 2-site interaction, with Kis of 0.3 and 194 nM. The type I receptor antagonist RU 26752 competed less effectively for [3H]corticosterone and [3H]dexamethasone binding, but nonetheless competed fully within a 1000-fold concentration range. Even at a level less than 125 x its Ki for type I binding, RU 26752 still inhibited virtually all type II receptor binding by [3H]corticosterone. We conclude that type I and II receptors in rat brain are best distinguished using [3H]corticosterone as the labelling ligand, with cold RU 28362 and dexamethasone to eliminate binding to type II and transcortin sites, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Androstanols↗
PubMed1991

GABA-like immunoreactivity in different cellular populations of cerebellar cortex of rats before and after treatment with amino-oxyacetic acid.

The postembedding immunogold procedure was used to detect changes in the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-like immunoreactivity at the ultrastructural level in the cerebellar cortex of control rats and rats treated with the GABA transaminase inhibitor, amino-oxyacetic acid (AOAA), in order to increase the levels of GABA. GABA-immunoreactive structures were labelled using an antiserum directed against GABA coupled to bovine serum albumin and a secondary antibody conjugated to colloidal gold. The density of gold particles per square micron of tissue was taken as a measure of GABA-like immunoreactivity. In separate groups of control and AOAA-treated animals, the levels of GABA were assessed biochemically in the cerebellum, the cortex, the ventral mesencephalon and the striatum. Six hours after treatment with AOAA the GABA levels in the cerebellum, the cortex, the ventral mesencephalon and the striatum. Six hours after treatment with GABA immunoreactivity of the Golgi and basket cell terminals was significantly greater than that of mossy fibres, granule cell dendrites and perikarya and glial cells. The value obtained for Golgi terminals was the highest of all the structures examined and was twice that of their perikarya. Six hours after treatment with AOAA the GABA immunoreactivity in Golgi and basket cell terminals and in glial cells was greatly enhanced. The drug treatment slightly enhanced the immunoreactivity in mossy fibres and granule cell dendrites but induced no change in granule cell bodies. Thus, in both control and treated rats, the highest GABA immunoreactivity was present in the terminals of GABAergic cells, and the lowest in putative glutamatergic cells. The results demonstrate that there is a high degree of selectivity in the changes in GABA levels following the inhibition of GABA transaminase in the cerebellum. They also confirm the potential of the use of postembedding methods for the quantification of endogenous amino acid at cellular and subcellular levels, in relative and possibly also absolute terms.

4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase↗
PubMed1977

Compartmentalization in proteinoid microspheres.

Proteinoid microspheres with stable internal compartments and internal structure are made from acidic proteinoid and basic proteinoid with calcium. The populations of microspheres are characterized by a wide diversity of structure. A model of primitive intracellular communication is suggested by the observed movement of internal particles between compartments of a multicompartmentalized unit. Differential response to pH change and to temperature change has been demonstrated within one population and suggests one mode of adaptive selection among primordial cell populations.

Calcium↗