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Biomedical subjects

S Merrill

Publications and source records attributed to S Merrill.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Early occurrence of end-stage renal disease in a patient with infantile nephropathic cystinosis.

We report the case of a patient with infantile nephropathic cystinosis who required renal transplantation at age 30 months. Exhaustive evaluation did not identify a cause of progressive renal failure other than cystinosis. The patient's genetic lesion was allelic with those of other patients with cystinosis; fusion of this patient's fibroblasts with fibroblasts from another patient with infantile nephropathic cystinosis did not demonstrate complementation of the biochemical defect.

Clone Cells

Durability of passive measles antibody in Jamaican children.

Measles antibody titres were determined by haemagglutination inhibition and by neutralization in 221 sets of serum collected from delivering mothers, umbilical cords, and infants when about six months of age. Radio-immunoassay was also used to measure antibody in 120 sera. Total IgG concentration was determined in the infant sera. All mothers had measles antibody and the mean titre was high. At the time of birth, measles antibody had been further concentrated in the infant. Nevertheless, many children lost protective titres before six months of age. The rate of loss was correlated with the infant's total serum IgG so that high IgG levels at six months correlated with rapid loss of measles-specific antibody. It is suggested that in homes where sanitation is poor, antibody is made to many agents at an early age. To maintain physiological balance, homeostatic mechanisms then increase the rate of catabolism of all IgG, including that passively acquired. In keeping with its stage of sanitary development, vaccination in Jamaica can profitably be given earlier than in the United States, but it must be later than in many African countries.

Adolescent

Fetal body and breathing movements as predictors of intraamniotic infection in preterm premature rupture of membranes.

A prospective study of fetal behavior in cases complicated with preterm premature rupture of membranes was conducted in 41 patients. The length of time and the number of fetal breathing and gross body movements were correlated with the amniotic fluid culture results. An episode of fetal activity (body movements and breathing movements) of greater than or equal to 30 seconds during 30 minutes of observation was associated with the absence of intraamniotic infection in 100% of the cases. On the other hand, the absence of fetal breathing movements and gross body movements of less than a 50 second duration during 30 minutes of observation was associated with positive amniotic fluid cultures in all cases. If an episode of fetal breathing movements was present but lasted less than 30 seconds and/or the total time of gross body movements was greater than 50 seconds, 64% of patients had an intraamniotic infection.

Amniocentesis

Amniostat-FLM: an initial clinical trial with both vaginal pool and amniocentesis samples.

Amniostat-FLM, a new rapid slide agglutination test, was compared with thin-layer chromatography as a method for detecting phosphatidylglycerol in amniotic fluid. This is the first reported use of Amniostat-FLM to evaluate vaginal pool and contaminated vaginal pool amniotic fluid. One hundred one of 161 amniotic fluid samples were collected from the vaginal pool. Thirty-nine of these were contaminated. Vaginal pool amniotic fluid, whether contaminated or not, did not adversely effect the ease of performance, reliability, or interpretation of Amniostat-FLM. This test seems ideally suited to institutions where 24-hour availability of thin-layer chromatography is not available. In institutions where it is available, Amniostat-FLM could be used as a screening test. Amniostat-FLM was found to be significantly less sensitive when compared with thin-layer chromatography in detecting the presence of phosphatidylglycerol. At our institution the screening of amniotic fluid samples with Amniostat-FLM before use of thin-layer chromatography was only cost effective at greater than or equal to 34 weeks of gestation.

Agglutination Tests

Differential substrate oxidation by dissociated brain cells and homogenates during development.

The rates of oxidation of 3-hydroxy[3-14C]butyrate, [3-14C]acetoacetate and [6-14C]glucose were compared by using two different preparations of brain from the same animals (i.e. whole homogenates and dissociated brain cells) at various ages during development. In homogenates the rates of oxidation of 3-hydroxy[3-14C]butyrate and [3-14C]acetoacetate were high in young rats and low in adults, and were significantly higher at most ages during development than those obtained for intact cells. In contrast, rates of [6-14C]glucose oxidation by homogenates and intact cells were essentially the same at early ages; however, the rate by homogenates did not change throughout development, whereas that by intact cells increased severalfold by adulthood. In adult animals the initial glucose concentration affected the rate of glucose oxidation in homogenates, but not in intact cells. These data suggest a role for the intact cell membrane in the regulation of alternative substrate utilization by brain cells and that this process changes during development. However, the data may reflect selective differences in the cellular and subcellular components in these two preparations.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid

Dream analysis in brief psychotherapy.

Dream analysis increases participation in brief analytic psychotherapy through interpretation of currently meaningful content. This transition and the sharing of the dream with the therapist helps develop increased self-awareness and recognition of the patient's ability to make self-initiated decisions rather than remain helpless in the face of current conflict.

Acting Out