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Biomedical subjects

S Marsh

Publications and source records attributed to S Marsh.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Short-term response to counseling and case management intervention in a domestic violence shelter.

81 women who accessed counseling and case management services at a domestic violence shelter after three sessions reported that abuse decreased, life satisfaction increased, perceived coping ability improved, as did their satisfaction with the services. Shelter users, however, also displayed significant skill deficits in the inability to apprise or respond appropriately to abusive situations. Limitations on understanding how shelter services affect longer-term outcomes were ascribed to high drop out rates and the absence of follow-up measures. Researchers need to address the causes of drop-out and what specific interventions can meet the needs of short-term shelter users.

Adolescent↗

Risk of venous thromboembolism in users of hormone replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND: The association between current use of oral contraceptives and increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been firmly established. Although data-sheets for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) carry similar warnings as regards VTE, evidence of an association is inconclusive. We carried out a hospital-based case-control study to investigate whether current use of HRT is associated with VTE. METHODS: We screened all women aged 45-64 years admitted to hospitals in the area of the Oxford Regional Health Authority with a suspected diagnosis of VTE between February, 1993, and December, 1994. We recruited 81 cases of idiopathic VTE and 146 hospital controls with disorders of eyes, skin, ears, respiratory and alimentary tracts, kidneys, bones, and joints, and trauma; controls were matched to cases for age-group and date and district of admission. To increase the study power, an additional 22 cases of idiopathic VTE and 32 hospital controls admitted before February, 1993, were recruited retrospectively. Participants were questioned about medical and gynaecological history, use of oral contraceptives and HRT, use of other drugs within the previous 3 months, and lifestyle and socioeconomic characteristics. Detailed diagnostic data were extracted from the notes of eligible cases. Matched analyses, adjusted for body-mass Index, socioeconomic group, and history of varicose veins, were undertaken by conditional logistic regression. FINDINGS: 44 (42.7%) cases and 44 (24.7%) controls were current users of HRT. The adjusted odds ratio for VTE in current users of HRT compared with non-users (never-users and past users combined) was 3.5 (95% CI 1.8-7.0; p < 0.001). No association was found with past use, and risk appeared to be highest among short-term current users (adjusted likelihood ratio test of trend in odds ratios across different durations of current use, p = 0.011). INTERPRETATION: Current HRT use is associated with risk of VTE. The increased risk may be concentrated in new users. The number of extra cases appears to be only about one in 5000 users per year. These findings need to be weighed against the probable benefits of long-term treatment, including reductions in risks of osteoporotic fracture and coronary heart disease, and the probable modest increase in risk of breast cancer.

Body Mass Index↗

Development and application of HHV-6 antigen capture assay for the detection of HHV-6 infections.

An HHV-6 antigen capture assay measuring gp116/64/54 antigen was developed. This ELISA is specific for HHV-6 Variants A and B, does not cross react with other human herpesviruses, is sensitive, stable, quantitative, and can detect antigen in body fluids and cell cultures. Relative to virus isolation or techniques for measuring HHV-6 nucleic acids, the assay is much simpler and less expensive to perform. Plasmas/sera (413) obtained from healthy donors, children with Exanthem subitum, febrile illnesses, patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and AIDS patients tested by antigen capture assay demonstrated that the assay is useful in clinical laboratory settings. The capture assay can also be used to monitor cell cultures for virus isolation, production, quantitation, and antiviral agent screening.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

An integrated YAC map of the human X chromosome.

The human X chromosome is associated with a large number of disease phenotypes, principally because of its unique mode of inheritance that tends to reveal all recessive disorders in males. With the longer term goal of identifying and characterizing most of these genes, we have adopted a chromosome-wide strategy to establish a YAC contig map. We have performed > 3250 inter Alu-PCR product hybridizations to identify overlaps between YAC clones. Positional information associated with many of these YAC clones has been derived from our Reference Library Database and a variety of other public sources. We have constructed a YAC contig map of the X chromosome covering 125 Mb of DNA in 25 contigs and containing 906 YAC clones. These contigs have been verified extensively by FISH and by gel and hybridization fingerprinting techniques. This independently derived map exceeds the coverage of recently reported X chromosome maps built as part of whole-genome YAC maps.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Physical linkage of the fragile site FRA11B and a Jacobsen syndrome chromosome deletion breakpoint in 11q23.3.

Autosomal fragile sites, unlike their X-linked counterparts, are not known to be associated with disease. However, one case report has highlighted a possible relationship between the inheritance of a rare folate-sensitive fragile site in band 11q23.3 (FRA11B) and the chromosome 11q23-->qter deletion in Jacobsen (11q-) syndrome. The mother and brother of the reported Jacobsen syndrome child are FRA11B carriers, suggesting that in vivo breakage at the fragile site during early development could have given rise to the chromosome deletion. We have tested this hypothesis by high resolution physical mapping of FRA11B and of the deletion chromosome breakpoint in the Jacobsen syndrome patient. A detailed restriction map of 600 kb of human chromosome band 11q23.3 has been assembled which covers the PBGD, CBL2 and THY1 genes. FISH experiments with YACs and cosmids from this region have localised FRA11B to an interval of approximately 100 kb containing the 5' end of the CBL2 gene, which includes a CCG trinucleotide repeat. This class of repeat is expanded in the four cloned examples of fragile site and therefore the CBL2 repeat is a candidate for the location of FRA11B. Further, it is shown that the chromosomal deletion breakpoint of the Jacobsen syndrome child maps within the same interval as the fragile site. The breakpoint has apparently been repaired and stabilised by the de novo addition of a telomere. These data are consistent with a role for an inherited fragile site in the aetiology of a chromosome deletion syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

The glycerol kinase gene family: structure of the Xp gene, and related intronless retroposons.

The human glycerol kinase gene family consists of at least six genomic loci, four of which encode expressed sequences. The X-linked gene responsible for GKD maps to Xp21.3. Analysis of cosmid and YAC clones shows that this locus is in excess of 50 kbp, and is comprised of 19 exons. In contrast, the remaining members of the gene family, on chromosomes 1, 4 and Xq, appear to be organized as intronless genes. Northern analysis shows expression of GK transcripts of three sizes in a wide range of adult tissues. Only the smallest hybridizing species is present in testis where it occurs at an elevated level. Two different testis transcripts have been identified and both of these originate from chromosome 4.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Helping the employee victim of violence in hospitals.

Violent behavior of patients is an occupational health hazard of health care professionals that the authors believe has not been fully recognized. Hospitals have developed a wide variety of techniques to manage patients who assault staff but have consistently ignored the plight of the victimized employee. Although professional staff who have been assaulted resist seeing themselves as victims, the authors believe they experience the feelings and reactions typical of other victims and therefore may need help in dealing with emotional trauma. The authors describe a victims' assistance program adopted by Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and discuss problems associated with implementing programs like it.

Canada↗

DNA synthesis by erythroid precursors in a completely defined medium: a rapid, sensitive, and convenient bioassay for erythropoietin.

We detail a novel, sensitive, and reproducible in vitro bioassay for erythropoietin that can be performed conveniently in any laboratory and is well suited for analysis of large numbers of samples. The assay measures DNA synthesis by a cohort of highly erythropoietin-responsive red cell precursors appearing in bone marrow of anemic rabbits after treatment with a single dose of actinomycin D. The assay is conducted in a completely defined culture medium that totally dispenses not only with serum but also with serum-replacing factors. Under well-defined conditions, incorporation of [3H]thymidine by the cells depends specifically on erythropoietin. A stimulation index of up to 40-fold is obtained at 50 mU/ml of the hormone. The assay is linear in the range 0-50 mU/ml and not saturated before 1 U/ml of erythropoietin. Sample volumes of 1-30 microliter suffice for assay. Assay cells can be frozen in aliquots that retain their viability and ability to respond to erythropoietin over extended periods. Using microtiter-plate techniques, cells from one rabbit suffice for over 5000 triplicate erythropoietin determinations. Concentrations of 0.1-0.2 mU/well of erythropoietin can be detected. Erythropoietin values determined in sera from a variety of patients correlate extremely well with values obtained by the colony formation method. The ability to follow erythropoietin-dependent DNA synthesis and multiple cell divisions by a cohort of erythroid precursors in completely defined culture conditions may find application in controlled studies of red cell development.

Anemia↗

Granulomatous Torulopsis glabrata cholecystitis in a diabetic.

A 53-year-old man who was a healthy, diet-controlled adult-onset diabetic underwent elective cholecystectomy eight weeks after an episode of acute cholecystitis. The gallbladder showed granulomatous inflammation and a single, mixed gallstone. Torulopsis glabrata was isolated from bile. This yeast of low pathogenicity is usually of clinical significance only in patients with serious associated illness. The patient remains well, and no reservoir for the organism has been identified in him. This is the first report of this organism causing cholecystitis confirmed by both culture and histologic examination. Supporting one report and conflicting with several others, the inflammatory reaction of T. glabrata may be granulomatous.

Candida↗