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Biomedical subjects

S M Cotter

Publications and source records attributed to S M Cotter.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Low-flow anaesthesia. Practice, cost implications and acceptability.

An 8-week survey was conducted to determine whether the introduction of low-flow anaesthesia (a fresh gas flow of 4 litres/minute or less) into routine use would be acceptable to members of a representative anaesthetic department and if the consequent reduction in use of volatile anaesthetics would result in financial savings. The hourly consumption of the volatile agents was measured during anaesthesia conducted using either conventional or low fresh gas flows. Anaesthetists' acceptance of low-flow anaesthesia was assessed using a questionnaire. Data were gathered on 286 patients undergoing inhalational anaesthesia for routine operative procedures. A 54.7% reduction in the consumption of isoflurane and a 55.9% reduction in that of enflurane was found. Of the 28 anaesthetists at the hospital, 21 would use low-flow anaesthesia routinely. The routine use of low-flow anaesthesia would therefore be acceptable and could result in annual savings of 26,870 pounds at Northwick Park Hospital.

Anesthesia, Inhalation↗
PubMed1990

Feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus infections and their relationships to lymphoid malignancies in cats: a retrospective study (1968-1988).

Sera from 353 cats with naturally occurring feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection were collected in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle between 1968 and 1988. These sera were retrospectively assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibodies to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Fifty-one (14.4%) of the FeLV-positive sera had antibodies to FIV, indicating dual oncovirus and lentivirus infections. FIV infections were confirmed by Western blot analysis, antibodies against the 15 and 27 kDa proteins being used as definitive markers. FIV infection was diagnosed in one cat sampled in 1968 and in eight other cats sampled before 1975 in New York City. Illnesses exhibited by coinfected cats were similar to those of cats infected with FeLV only. Two unrelated cats with multicentric fibrosarcomas were found to be simultaneously infected with FIV, FeLV, and feline sarcoma virus. FIV was less contagious than FeLV in 73 cats residing in an exposure household between 1977 and 1980 as determined by evaluation of sera collected sequentially. In this household, 15 resident cats became FeLV infected whereas no cats contracted FIV infection. Comparison of serologic results from 53 cats with leukemia/lymphoma and matched controls confirmed a strong correlation between FeLV viremia and leukemia/lymphoma. A significant correlation between FIV infection and lymphoproliferative malignancies was also found independent of FeLV infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of diethylcarbamazine on serum antibody to feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen in feline leukemia virus cats.

Diethylcarbamazine (N,N-diethyl-4-methyl-1-piperazine carboxamide; DEC) is a drug frequently used for prevention and treatment of the filariases. An opsonic action of DEC may generate increased immune responses to microfilariae. We tested the hypothesis that DEC treatment could result in higher antibody levels to other infectious agents. A retroviral animal model was studied, in light of the consideration that use of DEC as an antifilarial agent could conceivably alter seroepidemiologic surveys as well as serologic outcomes of vaccine trials in Africa regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The effect of DEC treatment on serum antibody to feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA) in domestic cats exposed to feline leukemia virus (FeLV) was examined. Nine cats that tested negative before treatment tested positive (greater than or equal to 1:10 serum dilution, geometric mean titer [GMT] = 278) for antibody to FOCMA after DEC treatment. Among 19 cats initially testing positive for FOCMA antibody, higher titers were noted after treatment in 17 (pretreatment GMT = 264; posttreatment GMT = 6,158). We conclude that a history of DEC treatment should be considered in evaluating humoral responses to infectious agents. Whether use of ivermectin, a recently introduced antifilarial agent, in lieu of DEC will affect clinical expression of HIV infection in humans also warrants analysis.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of continuous oral diethylcarbamazine treatment on lymphocyte counts of feline leukemia virus-infected cats.

In previous studies, administration of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) resulted in increased serum antibody titers to feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA) in cats infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). FeLV infection of cats frequently results in immunosuppression associated with lymphopenia. The present investigation demonstrated that chronic administration of DEC prevented or delayed severe lymphopenia in two FeLV-infected offspring of an FeLV-infected queen as compared to two untreated littermates.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Distinctive peripheral lymph node hyperplasia of young cats.

Peripheral lymph node enlargement was found in 14 of a series of 132 feline lymph node biopsy specimens. Six of nine cats tested had antibodies for feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Half of the cats were clinically normal while the remainder had fever, lethargy, anorexia, and hepatosplenomegaly. There was severe distortion of lymph nodal architecture with variable loss of discernible follicles and sinuses. Histiocytes, lymphocytes, immunoblasts, and plasma cells were present in expanded paracortical regions which encroached on, and occasionally effaced, lymphoid follicles. Postcapillary venules were numerous and prominent throughout the paracortex. The lymphadenopathy was most commonly transient (86% of cases) with subsequent development of lymphoma in one cat. Lymph nodes from seven kittens with experimental FeLV infection were compared with spontaneously enlarged lymph nodes; four of seven had B and T lymphocyte hyperplasia with normal nodal architecture. Three had partial loss of nodal architecture as a result of expanded paracortical regions populated largely by histiocytes and lymphocytes. Proliferation of postcapillary venules was not prominent in nodes from FeLV-infected cats. The cause of spontaneous lymph node hyperplasia of young cats was not determined. However, the similarity of lesions to those of kittens with experimental FeLV infection and the association with FeLV by serologic tests in six of nine cats suggest that this retrovirus may be involved in the pathogenesis of the lesion.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effect of suramin on serum viral replication in feline leukemia virus-infected pet cats.

Suramin treatments were administered (IV) to 2 healthy adult cats infected with naturally acquired feline leukemia virus. Serum viral infectivity--as assessed by focus induction by the method of Fischinger, using serial serum samples titrated on clone 81 cells--ceased transiently in both cats during treatment with suramin, but returned to significantly high levels approximately 14 days after treatment was stopped. Both cats tested positive for FeLV internal antigens in peripheral blood cells and serum before, during, and after treatment. Both cats tested negative for antibody to feline oncornavirus membrane antigen before, during, and after treatment. The major adverse effects of suramin in the 2 cats were transient vomiting and anorexia.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Current experimental therapy.

For successful experimental therapy of canine hematopoietic tumors, one must have a randomized homogeneous population of patients in reasonably good condition. Drug combinations should contain several agents, each with antitumor effect, acceptable toxicity, and of reasonable cost. Other modalities include biological response modifiers, radiation, differentiation-inducing agents, and marrow transplantation. Ways must be found to prevent drug resistance of tumor cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Epidemiologic association between virus-negative feline leukemia and the horizontally transmitted feline leukemia virus.

About two-thirds of the natural cases of feline leukemia-lymphoma are assumed to be caused by the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) because they occur in cats, which harbor this agent, and FeLV will induce the disease under laboratory conditions. Epidemiological evidence is presented which associates cases of naturally occurring 'virus negative' feline leukemia with exposure to FeLV.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Increased risk for lymphoma and glomerulonephritis in a closed population of cats exposed to feline leukemia virus.

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV)-associated diseases were observed in a household in eastern Connecticut having 134 cats over a period of five and a half years. FeLV-positive cats had a much higher mortality rate (34.6 deaths per 1000 cat-months of follow-up) than did FeLV-negative cats (8.9 deaths per 1000 cat-months of follow-up). The leading cause of death was glomerulonephritis followed by lymphoma. The relative risk for virus-positive cats as compared to virus-negative cats for the two diseases was 9.9 and 9.6, respectively. The major risk factors for the development of lymphoma were virus positivity and low antibody titer to the feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA). No significant differences in cancer incidence were seen between the two major breeds (Abyssinian and Burmese) in the household. An older age at arrival in the house decreased death rates for all causes in the household, but it did not significantly affect death rates from lymphoma, although there was a positive trend.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Anemia associated with feline leukemia virus infection.

One hundred feline leukemia virus-positive cats with evidence of anemia were examined to determine characteristics of the anemia. The anemia was usually normochromic and normocytic, with low reticulocyte counts but with normal white blood cell and platelet counts. About one third of the cats had splenomegaly. The bone marrow was usually hypocellular or normally cellular, with an increased myeloid to erythroid ratio. A history of recent stress or infection in many cases indicated that the immunosuppressive effect of feline leukemia virus may have been involved. Supportive treatment with periodic blood transfusions was successful in prolonging survival. Corticosteroids and androgens may have been beneficial in some cases.

Androgens↗
PubMed1979

Leukemia specific antigens: FOCMA and immune surveillance.

In cats, horizontally transmitted viruses cause leukemia and lymphoma under natural conditions. As with other retroviruses, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) contains products of 3 major genes; the virus core gag gene products, the polymerase, and the virus envelope glycoprotein. When cells are transformed in vitro by the related feline sarcoma virus (FeSV), an additional protein, FOCMA is expressed at the cell membrane. FOCMA, which is FeSV-coded, is transformation and/or tumor specific and expressed regardless of whether or not the cells make virus or contain virus structural antigens. Lymphoid leukemia cells also express FOCMA, both when FeLV is used to induce the disease in laboratory cats and when the tumors occur under natural conditions. FOCMA is expressed on both T and B lymphoid leukemia cells, but not expressed on non-malignant lymphoid cells, even when they are infected with FeLV. About one-third of the naturally occurring lymphoid tumors of cats lack detectable FeLV proteins and varying portions of the FeLV provirus. Despite this, they regularly express FOCMA, which is the target of an immuno-surveillance response that functions effectively under most conditions. FOCMA thus provides a useful model for antigens that might be expressed in "virus-negative" leukemias of man.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of virus-positive and virus-negative cases of feline leukemia and lymphoma.

One hundred eighty-four cases of feline leukemia and lymphoma diagnosed in Boston from 1972 through 1976 were investigated. Fifty-eight % of these cases were lymphoma, and 42% were leukemia. Sixty-seven % of the cats had positive fluorescent antibody tests for circulating feline leukemia virus. The rest (33%) were virus negative. Clinically and epidemiologically, the virus-positive and virus-negative cases were remarkably similar except for their age at diagnosis. Virus-negative cats tended to be older (mean age at diagnosis, 4.9 years) as compared to virus-positive cats (3.5 years). For 22 cases of leukemia and lymphoma diagnosed after the age of 8 years, 15 were virus negative. The minimum mean induction period (time from first positive virus test to diagnosis of cancer) for 19 cats that were virus positive and healthy at their first test was 16.7 months (range, 2 to 41 months).

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

Hemophilia A in three unrelated cats.

Factor VIII deficiency, consistent with hemophilia A, was detected in 3 unrelated male domestic short-haired cats. Clinical history of each case differed and illustrated the spectrum of clinical manifestations of this disease in cats. Clinical expression of feline hemophilia A was similar to that of man and other animals, in which the degree of factor VIII deficiency tends to determine the severity and frequency of bleeding. All 3 cats had severe protracted bleeding after minor surgical procedures. Hemorrhage was eventually controlled in each case by transfusions of fresh whole blood.

Animals↗