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Biomedical subjects

S Holland

Publications and source records attributed to S Holland.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

A comparison of the distributions of eight peptides in spinal cord from normal controls and cases of motor neurone disease with special reference to Onuf's nucleus.

The distributions of 8 peptides were studied in the 4 major segmental levels (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral) of the spinal cord in 52 neurologically normal cases. Similar regions from 36 cases of motor neurone disease (MND) were compared using the same procedures to determine possible changes in the distribution of peptides in areas associated with sensory, motor and autonomic function. In normal spinal cords, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-, the C-flanking peptide of neuropeptide Y (CPON)-, enkephalin-, galanin-, neurokinin-like-, somatostatin- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-immunoreactive fibres were abundant in the dorsal horn. Numerous somatostatin-immunoreactive cell bodies were also present. In the ventral horn, immunoreactive fibres were less abundant. Most motoneurones were closely apposed by fibres immunoreactive for enkephalin, neurokinin, somatostatin and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH). A subpopulation of motoneurones, most notable in lumbar segments, displayed CGRP immunoreactivity. In common with autonomic nuclei, Onuf's nucleus, which is thought to innervate perineal striated muscle and external urethral and anal sphincters, was densely innervated with CPON-, enkephalin-, and in particular somatostatin-immunoreactive fibres, thus suggesting Onuf's nucleus may have an autonomic component. In the diseased cords, there was a reduction in the area of the ventral horn and numbers of motoneurones as revealed by conventional histological staining and immunostaining of neurofilament triplet proteins. No changes in the distribution of peptides was noted in the dorsal horn or autonomic nuclei. By contrast, in the ventral horn, neurokinin-, enkephalin-, somatostatin- and TRH-immunoreactive fibres, which are normally found associated with motoneurones, were absent. Therefore, not only are motoneurones lost in MND, but also the fibres which innervate them. CGRP-immunoreactive motoneurones were not observed, a finding consistent with the proposed role of this peptide as a muscle-trophic factor. In contrast to the large motoneurone groups in the ventral horn, the neuronal integrity of Onuf's nucleus and the peptides associated with it were spared. These data further imply that Onuf's nucleus is not a typical motor nucleus and it is not purely somatic. The coincident loss of peptide immunoreactivity and motoneurones from the large motor nuclei and sparing of Onuf's nucleus and its peptide-containing constituents in the diseased state suggests that peptides contribute to maintenance of neural integrity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Antacids reduce Campylobacter pylori colonization without healing the gastritis in patients with nonulcer dyspepsia and erosive prepyloric changes.

Antral biopsy specimens from 89 consecutive patients with nonulcer dyspepsia and erosive prepyloric changes included in a prospective, randomized, double-blind 4-wk study of the effect of an aluminum-magnesium antacid (120 mmol/day) or pirenzepine (50 mg b.i.d.) vs. placebo were examined histologically. Campylobacter pylori (CP) was found by light microscopy of silver-stained sections in 25 patients (28%). Campylobacter pylori-positive patients were on average older than CP-negative patients (p = 0.02). There was a strong association between CP colonization and acute inflammation (p less than 0.001), both being rare in the absence of chronic inflammation. During treatment with antacids, the density of CP decreased (p less than 0.001) without any improvement of the inflammatory reaction. On the contrary, the number of patients with gastritis tended to increase after antacids as compared with placebo (p less than 0.10). A separate analysis showed no symptomatic effect of the drugs. Thus, neither nonulcer dyspepsia nor erosive prepyloric changes are strongly associated with antral CP colonization or acute inflammation. Aluminum-magnesium antacids may suppress antral CP infection without healing the gastritis or relieving symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Participation of primary health care personnel in the Stockholm Health of the Population Study--a preliminary report.

The 1984/85 Stockholm Health of the Population Study (HPS) was a cross sectional study including a questionnaire and a health examination. It was conducted through the ordinary health personnel of four Primary Health Care (PHC) districts in the Stockholm County. The main objective was to broaden the scope for planning health care. One of the goals of the study was to involve those working in PHC in planning their activities after local needs and to use more time for prevention work. The main effort to reach this objective was through involvement of the PHC personal from the early planning phase. This strategy was very time consuming but, on the other hand experiences from the HPS have led to both new screening activities of e.g high consumers of alcohol and the elderly, and preventive work aimed at those with smoking and overweight problems in the local PHC area. In the implementation process and through education the scientific approach level and interest in primary health care increased. A keen interest of survey data for local planning is obvious.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

Corneal ulcer due to Listeria monocytogenes.

We present a patient with a corneal ulcer due to Listeria monocytogenes, which has not previously been considered to be a feature of human listeriosis. The ulcer responded to topical and subconjunctival gentamicin and cephaloridine. Subsequent management was complicated by the development of a fibrinous pupillary membrane leading to pupillary block requiring iridotomy and later vitrectomy with trabeculectomy. Listeria monocytogenes may be confused with diphtheroid contaminants seen in corneal ulcer scrapings and is probably underreported as a cause for microbial keratitis.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Ouabainlike Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor in the plasma of normotensive and hypertensive humans and rats.

Acute volume expansion, increased sodium intake, and restraint on sodium excretion endow the plasma with an increased capacity to inhibit sodium transport. Cytochemical techniques can detect the presence of Na+K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) inhibitor in the plasma of normal humans and rats, the concentration of which is controlled by salt intake. The substance responsible appears to originate in the hypothalamus, where the concentration is also controlled by salt intake. The plasma concentration of the cytochemically detectable Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor is substantially raised in the plasma of patients with essential hypertension, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and of Milan hypertensive rats. The concentration of activity in the hypothalamus of SHR is also considerably raised. These findings demonstrate that these forms of hypertension are associated with a rise in the concentration of a cytochemically detectable circulating Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor that under normal circumstances is controlled by salt intake.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Cytochemically assayable Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition by Milan hypertensive rat plasma.

The ability of plasma from 3- and 9-week-old Milan hypertensive rats and their normotensive controls to inhibit Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) was studied using cytochemical bioassay techniques in fresh tissue. With a validated cytochemical bioassay that measures the capacity of biological samples to stimulate glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in guinea pig proximal tubules as an indication of their capacity to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase, the mean glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-stimulating ability of the plasma of the 9-week-old Milan hypertensive rats and their normotensive controls was 586.0 +/- 88 and 23.4 +/- 8.3 U/ml (n = 7; p less than 0.001), while that of the 3-week-old Milan hypertensive rats (before the main rise in arterial pressure) and their normotensive controls was 99.9 +/- 27.4 and 7.8 +/- 1.8 U/ml (n = 7; p less than 0.001). With the use of a semiquantitative cytochemical assay that measures Na+,K+-ATPase activity directly, plasma from the adult hypertensive rats had a much greater capacity to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase than the plasma of the control rats. The significantly raised levels found in the young hypertensive rats before the main rise in arterial pressure are consistent with the hypothesis that the rise in the ability of plasma to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase is due to an inherited renal difficulty in excreting sodium.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The endogenous cytochemically assayable Na-K-ATPase inhibitor and its relation to hypertension.

Acute volume expansion endows the plasma with the capacity to cause a natriuresis, to inhibit Na-K-ATPase and to stimulate vascular reactivity. These changes are due to a change in the concentration of two or more substances in the plasma. Atrial natriuretic peptides do not inhibit Na-K-ATPase and they decrease vascular reactivity. The search for the Na-K-ATPase inhibitor has been hampered by the lack of specificity of most assays which demonstrate the presence of many irrelevant Na-K-ATPase inhibitors. Cytochemical bioassays, however, appear to have a certain selectivity. They disclose the presence of a Na-K-ATPase inhibitor in the plasma, the concentration of which is controlled by salt intake but the only known substance so far tested, which these bioassays will detect, is ouabain. The hypothalamus contains the highest concentration of the cytochemically bioassayable inhibitory material and its content is also controlled by salt intake. The substance responsible for the cytochemically bioassayable inhibitory activity in the plasma and the hypothalamus share the same physico-chemical properties and on extraction appear in the same fraction. It is possible therefore, that the Na-K-ATPase inhibitor which is detectable by the cytochemical assays in the plasma and hypothalamus is the same. The concentration of cytochemically bioassayable Na-K-ATPase inhibitory activity is raised in the plasma of patients with essential hypertension, the SHR rat and the Milan hypertensive rat, as is the concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1985

An outcome-coded birth file from machine readable vital records.

We developed a computer program which generates an outcome-coded birth file from a standard birth file and a matched birth-infant death file. This program uses only anonymous computerized vital records of the kind available to researchers in most states. Despite a large population (Illinois 1977 births totaled 178,728) all death records were uniquely matched with birth records, allowing creation of the desired file. Such a file permits the researcher to use a variety of standard software packages without the problems of data re-entry or the use of multiple input files. Creating this outcome-coded file is relatively inexpensive, can be done without enlisting special assistance from state vital records personnel, does not require access to restricted files, and greatly streamlines use of perinatal vital records for research applications, especially multivariable modeling.

Birth Certificates↗
PubMed1985

The effect of spironolactone on hirsutism and female androgen metabolism.

An objective evaluation of the anti-androgen effects of spironolactone was performed in a consecutive series of 12 hirsute patients receiving a daily dose of 150 mg; nine completed the study. Using a computer assisted image analyser, hair diameter on two weekly shavings decreased significantly over a 12 month period in three of the patients, although growth rate and mean diameter did not change in the group as a whole. Plasma testosterone fell significantly to a mean of 53% of basal levels. The mean free testosterone (derived) fell significantly to 64% of basal by the sixth month (P = less than 0.005) and remained significantly depressed the remainder of the study. There was subjective benefit in hair growth and greasiness and a significant reduction in the semi-objective Ferriman-Gallwey index in nine of 10 subjects assessed for at least 9 months. We conclude that although spironolactone was not consistently successful, it may represent effective therapy for a sub group of patients with hirsutism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Canonical considerations in corporate restructuring.

Religious institutes sponsoring Catholic health facilities face competitive economic pressures that impel them to seek corporate restructuring and joint ventures to fulfill their mission to the poor. They especially must look to the Church's Code of Canon Law to protect ecclesiastical goods and maintain their Catholic identity when entering such ventures. The U.S. bishops directives also assist in guaranteeing patient expectations that the health facility will observe the Church's ethical principles. Institutes first must ensure that subsidiaries will operate according to Catholic mission and philosophy. The canons delineate proper protection of assets and identify ends toward which the religious must apply temporal goods, such as supporting clergy and performing charitable works. Alienation, or conveyance of goods, is a critical consideration in such financial transactions; canons specify the institute's administrative limits and require superiors' written permission along with their councils' consent. All involved must be "thoroughly informed concerning the economic situation," show "just cause" for the transaction, and obtain expert estimates of property values. Religious administrators retain certain faith and executive obligations, such as amending the charter, appointing the board, and merging or dissolving the corporation. With the canons they help to ensure that collaborative efforts preserve the institute's corporate mission and allow religious to carry out their responsibility for ecclesiastical goods. Though alternatives to corporate ventures may be limited, options regarding how to structure and with whom to affiliate do exist. Sponsoring bodies dedicated to providing high-quality care must explore these options

Catholicism↗
PubMed1985

Balloon therapy for obesity--when the balloon bursts.

Intragastric balloon placement is a non-invasive treatment for morbid obesity. We report a patient who illustrates incomplete bowel obstruction and pancreatitis following dislodgement of such a balloon. Percutaneous transabdominal puncture of the balloon is an effective method of decompression.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1984

Improved purification and characterization of the OXA-2 beta-lactamase.

An improved and scaled-up procedure has been developed for purifying the OXA-2 plasmid-mediated beta-lactamase. This has enabled us to improve the characterization of this enzyme, including a revised determination of its amino acid composition and the sequence of the N-terminal region of the protein.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1984

Oral spironolactone improves acne vulgaris and reduces sebum excretion.

In a consecutive series of thirty-six male and female patients referred with severe acne, the effect of 3 months' treatment with placebo or spironolactone (50-200 mg daily) on sebum excretion and clinical and endocrine status was evaluated double-blind. Twenty-six patients completed the study. Abnormal free androgen indices were found in 27% of the original nineteen female subjects. Spironolactone reduced sebum excretion in all female subjects, but there was no correlation between sebum response and androgen status. The clinical response was dose-dependent, with maximum subjective and objective benefit when spironolactone doses of 150-200 mg were used.

Acne Vulgaris↗