An assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of zuclopenthixol dihydrochloride tablets in the treatment of acute psychotic episodes was undertaken in 63 patients in an open multi-centre study. Most patients prior to entering the study had received other neuroleptic drugs, but with inadequate effect. During the 10-week study, the dosage of zuclopenthixol dihydrochloride tablets could be adjusted to obtain optimum clinical benefit. The majority of patients received 20 to 75 mg daily (range 10 to 150 mg daily) at the start of the study and later, for most of those patients successfully treated, the dosage was 20 to 55 mg daily. Assessments before and during treatment utilized the BPRS and CGI rating scales and a check-list of side-effects. A successful response to treatment was achieved in 70% of 50 patients with schizophrenia or schizophreniform psychoses and in 69% of 13 patients with mania or hypomania. Almost half (30) of the patients studied had a successful response within 4 weeks of starting treatment and some after only 1 week of treatment. All patients but 1 had either no side-effects or side-effects not overtly affecting performance.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1986

Solvation properties of ubiquinone-10 in solvents of different polarity.

The solvation properties of ubiquinone-10 and ubiquinol-10 in a wide variety of solvents of polarity varying from alkanes to water are reported. Greatest solubility is observed in solvents of intermediate polarity and particularly where low polarity is combined with a pronounced tendency to interact with the benzoquinone substituent of the ubiquinone molecule. This includes solvents like chloroform and benzene. Ubiquinone-10 is somewhat less polar than ubiquinol-10 as judged by comparative solubilities of the two molecules. Proton-NMR chemical shift measurements and aggregation studies in selected solvents indicate that in ubiquinone-10 in the liquid phase and in solution in hydrocarbons like dodecane the molecules have a preferred association possibly involving stacking of the benzoquinone rings. Surface balance studies indicated that the surface-active character of ubiquinone-10 is relatively weak and only in a comparatively polar and highly structured solvent, formamide, was there evidence of an effect on surface tension of the solvent. The critical micelle concentration in this solvent was estimated to be about 5 microM on the basis of surface tension measurements. Ubiquinone-10 is well known to form virtually insoluble monolayers at the air/water interface. Studies of the partition of ubiquinone-10 in binary mixtures of solvents suggest that the interaction of the benzoquinone ring substituent with structured polar solvents is considerably weaker than the internal cohesion between molecules of the solvent. No evidence on the basis of wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements was obtained to indicate that solvent molecules were a component of the crystal lattice of ubiquinone-10 that had precipitated from solvent mixtures.

Alkanes↗

PubMed1986

The role of oesophageal electrocardiography in the diagnosis of right ventricular hypertrophy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Oesophageal electrocardiograms were recorded in 25 normal persons, 20 patients with chronic bronchitis and predominant emphysema without right ventricular hypertrophy and 25 patients with chronic cor pulmonale as an end result of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At ventricular level, patients with chronic cor pulmonale had higher P wave height, lower Q wave depth, lower R wave height, deeper S waves and lower R/S ratio as compared to the group with emphysema. In terms of the transitional zone, patients with cor pulmonale had smaller Q waves and a lower Q/R ratio. At atrial level, the patients with cor pulmonale had higher heights of the P and R waves and a lower Q/R ratio. All these differences were highly significant statistically (P less than 0.001). An R/S ratio of less than 2.5 at ventricular level had high sensitivity (96.0%), specificity (100%) and accuracy (98%) in diagnosing right ventricular hypertrophy in cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This criterion obtained from the oesophageal electrocardiogram is much more sensitive and accurate than those obtained routinely from the surface electrocardiogram in diagnosing right ventricular hypertrophy in cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Asthma↗

PubMed1986

Secretion of enzymatically active human renin from mammalian cells using an avian retroviral vector.

Recombinant plasmid-based retroviral expression vectors were constructed using a modified spleen necrosis virus (SNV) containing the Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene promoter controlling the expression of the Tn5 neomycin phosphotransferase II gene (NPTII gene). The human renin (HRn) gene (hrn) was inserted into the 5' end of the SNV sequences such that in concatemeric plasmid DNA its expression was controlled by the strong promoter in the SNV long terminal repeat (LTR). Dog cells transfected with the concatemeric plasmid DNA secreted a small amount of a HRn-like 43-kDa protein. After cotransfection of chicken cells with concatemeric plasmid DNA and proviral DNA of reticuloendotheliosis virus strain A, infectious stocks of viruses were recovered. Cells infected with the virus carrying the viral LTR-hrn gene oriented for expression secreted the 43-kDa HRn-like protein at about 100-fold higher levels than the cells transfected with the plasmid DNAs. Biological activity of secreted HRn was determined by measuring levels of angiotensin I generated by incubating culture media with either a porcine or human angiotensinogen substrate. Infected dog cells produce about 40 ng of enzymatically active HRn per 10(6) cells per 24 h. These data indicate that retroviral expression vectors provide a good system for obtaining the secretion of high levels of enzymatically active heterologous proteins from mammalian cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Factors affecting attrition in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

In a longitudinal study of aging, the influence on attrition of age, marital status, education, occupation, distance between a subject's residence and study center, self-health and financial assessment, and method of recruitment was examined. Prospective, follow-up information on the subsequent active/dropout and alive/dead status on the 1088 subjects, who joined the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging during the first twenty years (1958-1977), were studied using a proportional hazards model. Three analyses, each controlling for death in a different manner, produced similar results. The analysis indicates that age, education and distance have the strongest association with attrition (p less than 0.001), while self-health assessment has a lesser association (p less than 0.05). The lowest risk in age, for example, occurs in 40-49.9 year olds with subjects less than 30 having an increased risk of 91% and subjects 70 or older having an increased risk of 189%. Examination of attrition probabilities show that subjects living 500 or more miles from study center, ages 70 and older, with less than bachelors degree, and perceiving their health as average or below have the greatest probability of dropping out-approximately 3-fold greater than the average subject's probability.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Vesical calculi associated with vesicovaginal fistulas: management considerations.

Vesical calculi were detected in 5 patients with a vesicovaginal fistula. Of these patients 3 had undergone unsuccessful repair of the fistula previously. The predisposing factors for vesical calculous formation in patients with a vesicovaginal fistula in whom urine leaks continuously into the vagina and urinary stasis does not occur in the bladder, as in patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction or bladder outlet obstruction, are a foreign body (for example nonabsorbable suture material used during previous surgery), incrustation around an indwelling catheter and infection. The vesical calculus is removed transvaginally after enlarging the fistula by a vertical incision at the 6 o'clock position. The incised edges do not usually bleed because of fibrosis and scar formation, and they need not be approximated at that operation. Indwelling catheter drainage is not necessary after transvaginal cystolithotomy in this situation. This operation is preferable to suprapubic cystolithotomy, which may lead to more morbidity from urine leakage in the retropubic space and subsequent fibrosis, in addition to producing bladder scarring, hindering any future reconstructive surgery requiring the use of vesical flaps. Transvaginal cystolithotomy is contraindicated when the fistula is situated close to the bladder neck (for fear of damaging the bladder neck and the vesical continence mechanism) or when the stone is large. Repair of the fistula is undertaken after an interval of 3 months to allow for resolution of stone-induced edema and friability of the vesical wall.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Intrarenal gas abscess.

Intrarenal abscess owing to gas-forming gram-negative bacteria is rare. Female patients and diabetics, or those with urinary calculi or obstructive uropathic conditions commonly are affected. We report on a nondiabetic man who was infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Initial medical management and subsequent partial nephrectomy offered cure.

Abscess↗

PubMed1986

Pancreatic endometriosis presenting as a hypovascular renal mass.

We report a case of pancreatic endometriosis that presented as a renal mass. The patient had a history of recurrent left loin pain and pathological examination revealed pancreatic endometriosis, with huge cyst formation around the kidney. The clinicopathological features and the possible pathogenesis are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Hodgkin's disease with pulmonary involvement.

A patient of Hodgkin's disease with pulmonary involvement is described. Demonstration of Reed-Sternberg cells in the sputum confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

The effect of nifedipine on exercise-induced asthma.

This article describes the effect of nifedipine, a calcium antagonist, on exercise-induced asthma (EIA). Effect of sublingual administration of 20 mg of nifedipine or placebo was studied in randomized double-blind manner on separate days in 19 extrinsic asthmatic subjects. Nifedipine was found to be significantly effective in abolishing the exercise-induced decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC) and maximal expiratory flows (p less than 0.001). There were no significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure after nifedipine.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Efficacy of fish larvivore, Gambusia affinis for the control of mosquito breeding in wells in semi-urban areas near Delhi.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Further experience with penicillinase producing strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

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Neisseria gonorrhoeae↗

PubMed1986

A haemodynamic dose finding study with a new slow-calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) in coronary artery disease.

The haemodynamic dose-response effects of a new long-acting slow-calcium channel blocking agent, amlodipine were evaluated in 20 patients with angiographically confirmed coronary heart disease. At rest, following a control saline period, four i.v. doses of the drug (cumulative dosage 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg) were administered to ten patients and haemodynamics determined in the ten to 15 minutes following injection. Effects on circulatory parameters were only evident following the maximum cumulative dosage. Accordingly in a further ten patients, the regimen was doubled (cumulative i.v. dosage 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg). In each study the haemodynamic effects during constant load supine bicycle exercise were evaluated by comparison of values during the control exercise period and following the final cumulative dosage. On the higher regimen, amlodipine significantly reduced resting systolic, diastolic and mean (p less than 0.01) systemic arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance index (p less than 0.01). Heart rate (p less than 0.01), stroke volume index (p less than 0.01) and cardiac index (p less than 0.01) increased; pulmonary artery occluded pressure was unchanged. During constant load bicycle exercise, the mean arterial pressure was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01), and the heart rate and cardiac index increased (p less than 0.01). Thus the immediate impact of amlodipine in stable coronary artery disease was to reduce left ventricular afterload and augment cardiac pumping performance. The minimum effective i.v. dosage appeared to be 10 mg. Amlodipine appears sufficiently promising to warrant longer-term studies in ischaemic heart disease.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Surgery of the horseshoe kidney--an experience of 24 patients.

A decade (1973-83) of surgical experience in the management of the diseases of horseshoe kidney is presented. Calculus disease was the major pathological entity (80%) followed by ureteropelvic junction obstruction, nephrocarcinoma and polycystic disease, respectively. Three patients with calculi had, in addition, pyonephrosis and squamous cell carcinoma. Aortography offers maximum information about abnormal vasculature and other anatomical details in proper planning of surgical intervention. It is felt that a symphysiotomy and nephropexy may be considered when the horseshoe kidneys are being operated for calculus disease.

Adult↗