Monosaccharide composition of haptoglobin purified from alcoholic cirrhotic and control sera determined by HPAE.
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Chromatography, Ion Exchange↗
Biomedical subjects
S Thompson
Publications and source records attributed to S Thompson.
Discrepancies in tuberculin skin test results with two commercial products in a population of intravenous drug users.
Screening for tuberculosis (using the Mantoux test) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was conducted among intravenous drug users (IVDUs) recruited from a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood. Of 178 IVDUs skin-tested with one commercial purified protein derivative (PPD) preparation, a reaction of > or = 5 mm of induration occurred in 62 (47%) of 133 HIV-negative and 13 (29%) of 45 HIV-positive IVDUs (P = .037). Forty-two IVDUs with an initial PPD reaction > or = 5 mm were retested with a second commercial preparation; 11 (26%) had no reaction (0 mm) on retesting. These 11 were 5 (56%) of 9 HIV-positive and 6 (18%) of 33 HIV-negative persons (P = .038). These discrepancies may be unique to specific lots of product or may reflect more general differences. A degree of caution in evaluating unexpected tuberculin skin test results may be indicated. Response to different tuberculin products by HIV status should be further evaluated.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Centrifugal ventricular assist device for support of the failing heart after cardiac surgery.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the morbidity and mortality associated with use of centrifugal ventricular assist devices for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock and to determine factors that might influence outcome and thus, aid in patient selection. DESIGN: A retrospective study. SETTING: Surgical intensive care unit in a university hospital. PATIENTS: During a 6-yr period, a total of 7,385 adult patients underwent cardiac operations requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. Myocardial protection consisted of single-dose cold crystalloid cardioplegia and continuous topical hypothermia by saline lavage. A total of 72 (1%) patients developed postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock. Of 72 patients, 28 met the institutional criteria and were placed on centrifugal ventricular assist devices. INTERVENTIONS: Twenty-eight adult patients with postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock were supported with centrifugal ventricular assist devices. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 15 patients received left ventricular assist devices, five received right ventricular assist devices, and eight received both right and left ventricular assist devices. Mean age of ventricular assistance patients was 50.8 +/- 12.9 yrs (range 22 to 72), and mean duration of ventricular assistance was 2.8 +/- 2.5 days (range 4 hrs to 10 days; median 2 days). Twenty-five complications occurred in 16 patients and included bleeding (13), tamponade (2), systemic embolism (6), seizures (2), and sepsis (2). Nine patients required reexploration for bleeding or tamponade. Nine (32%) of 28 patients were discharged from the hospital. Ventricular assistance for cardiac failure after transplantation was associated with improved survival (p < .10), while age > 50 yrs and postoperative tamponade each showed trends toward association with mortality (p = .10). Survival was not predicted by gender, weight, time on cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic cross-clamp time, urgency of operation, or preoperative congestive heart failure. At 27 +/- 20 months follow-up, all survivors were alive and New York Heart Association functional class I or II. CONCLUSIONS: These results document a low incidence of ventricular assist device use in a surgical practice that employs a relatively simple method of myocardial protection. When postcardiotomy ventricular assistance was necessary, a centrifugal pump was used and successful outcome and satisfactory long-term results were possible in nearly one third of patients. Ventricular assistance for cardiac failure after transplantation was associated with improved survival. Older age is a relative contraindication to mechanical ventricular assistance.
Adult↗
The frequency of reactions to sunscreens: results of a longitudinal population-based study on the regular use of sunscreens in Australia.
Six-hundred-and-three people aged 40 or more years, from Maryborough in central Victoria, were enrolled in a randomized longitudinal study, which required daily application of either a SPF 15+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen cream or the cream base without the active ingredients. The study duration was 7 months, from September 1991 until April 1992. One-hundred-and-fourteen (18.9%) of these subjects developed an adverse reaction to the cream they were applying. Patch testing, photopatch testing and scratch testing with the ingredients of the creams revealed that only a small proportion (< 10%) of the inflammatory eruptions were allergic in nature. None of the people tested was allergic to the sunscreen active ingredients. History and examination findings, where available, suggested that the majority of adverse responses were consistent with an irritant reaction, both to the sunscreen preparation and the base cream control. A higher than expected proportion of the people who developed an adverse reaction had a personal history consistent with atopy. Other reactions included acneiform eruptions and contact urticaria. A frequency of reactions to sunscreen preparations of over 15% means that further work is necessary to improve both the formulation of such products, and the manner and conditions under which they are used, to ensure satisfactory compliance.
Adult↗
Evaluation of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for serological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in a group of non-ulcer dyspepsia sufferers.
Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach is associated with gastritis and peptic ulceration and may be causative. A noninvasive test for this organism might be useful in managing some patients with dyspepsia without the need for further investigation. We have evaluated a new commercially available serological test (Helico-G ELISA, Porton Cambridge, UK) for this infection to assess its diagnostic accuracy in a retrospective study of 115 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. Sixty-three of these patients (55%) were found to have H. pylori infection and gastritis on histology. A sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 90% were obtained. No significant fall in the antibody titres was found in a subgroup of 15 patients who were selected to complete a course of triple therapy despite significant improvement in their dyspepsia score and confirmed eradication of H. pylori organism in 80% of these patients. We conclude that the test has limited value in aiding clinical decision of managing patients with dyspepsia.
Adult↗
Group psychotherapy during radiotherapy: effects on emotional and physical distress.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether group psychotherapy during radiotherapy for cancer significantly decreases patients' emotional and physical distress. METHOD: Twenty-four patients receiving radiotherapy were randomly selected for group psychotherapy (six patients per group, 90-minute weekly sessions for 10 weeks). Another 24 patients served as control subjects. Each patient was given the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) at the onset of radiotherapy, midway through radiotherapy, at the end of radiotherapy, and 4 and 8 weeks after radiotherapy ended. RESULTS: The combined SADS items for depression, pessimism and hopelessness, somatic preoccupation and worry, social isolation and withdrawal, insomnia, and anxiety and agitation were used as a measure of emotional distress. The combined SADS items for anorexia, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue were used as a measure of physical distress. By 4 weeks after the end of radiotherapy, the patients who received group psychotherapy showed significant decreases in both emotional and physical symptoms, and the decreases were greater than those for the control patients. The subjects who initially seemed unaware of their cancer diagnoses had the lowest baseline levels of emotional and physical distress, but 4 weeks after the end of radiotherapy they had high distress levels. CONCLUSIONS: Group therapy may enhance quality of life for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy by reducing their emotional and physical distress. The degree to which patients acknowledge the diagnosis of malignancy may be a factor in their initial distress level and their response to radiotherapy and group therapy.
Adult↗
Assessing the needs of breast cancer patients and their families.
Patient needs have long been elicited only through the use of customer satisfaction surveys, which unfortunately are not designed to obtain the in-depth information needed to guide the improvement of health care services. Through the use of the integrative group process and the help of many patients and hospital staffs, we developed a needs assessment survey for women with breast cancer. This article outlines this process and the results and discusses how we used these results to create a computer program designed to help women with breast cancer and their families.
Adult↗
Transplantation of genetically altered hepatocytes using cell-polymer constructs.
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Animals↗
Reassessment of male-factor infertility, including the varicocele, sperm penetration assay, semen analysis, and in vitro fertilization.
Evaluation of the male factor in infertility is becoming increasingly important as new diagnostic techniques and therapeutic options become available. Varicoceles are among the most common treatable cause of male infertility. Varicoceles are present in 10% to 20% of all males but are found in as many as 30% to 40% of men who present to an infertility clinic. Of men who have treatment for varicoceles, 50% to 75% will show some improvement in semen quality, and 30% to 40% will initiate a pregnancy. We review some controversial issues related to the diagnosis and treatment of varicoceles. In vitro fertilization, originally developed for the female with irreversible tubal damage, is now being evaluated as a possible therapy for severe male-factor infertility that has failed to respond to routine surgical or medical treatment. In vitro fertilization for the oligospermic male, however, is further complicated by the fact that men with poor sperm production frequently have poorly functioning sperm as well. Consequently, we discuss the value of the sperm penetration assay, with and without enhancement techniques to prospectively evaluate couples entering in vitro fertilization programs. We also discuss the role of strict criteria for determination of sperm morphology and quantitation of leukocytospermia in the evaluation of the infertile male. Finally, evaluation of the predictive value of "failure to fertilize" at in vitro fertilization for future in vitro fertilization success is discussed.
Female↗
Cytotoxic chemotherapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma.
This article reviews 72 cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents used singly or in a limited number of two drug combinations. Results in 3502 adequately treated patients show objective response (complete and partial remissions) in only 197 or 5.6% (95% CI, 4.8% to 6.4%). Although some data suggest that a few drugs need further evaluation, at this time, renal cell carcinoma must be considered a chemotherapeutically resistant cancer.
Antineoplastic Agents↗
Seven, eight and nine-membered anticodon loop mutants of tRNA(2Arg) which cause +1 frameshifting. Tolerance of DHU arm and other secondary mutations.
The mutant tRNA(2Arg) encoded by the genetically-selected frameshift suppressor, sufT621, inserts arginine and causes a +1 reading-frame shift at the proline codon, CCG(U). There is an extra base, G36.1, in argV beta, one of the four identical genes for tRNA(2Arg) in the position between bases 36 and 37, corresponding to the 3' side of the anticodon. The new four-base anticodon, predicted from DNA sequencing to be 3' GGCA 5', is complementary to the four-base codon CCGU. Quadruplet translocation promoted by mutant argV does not require perfect complementarity between the codon and the anticodon since synthetic genes encoding derivatives of tRNA(2Arg) and tRNA(1Pro), with four-base anticodons complementary to three out of the four bases of CCGU, were also shown to be capable of frameshifting. Two other mutants of argV, inferred to have normal-size, seven-base anticodon loops, were also found to be capable of four-base-decoding demonstrating that quadruplet translocation promoted by mutant argV does not require an enlarged anticodon loop. Other alleles of argV, predicted to have nine bases in the anticodon loop, were also found to cause frameshifting. The DNA sequence of two of these showed in addition, either a deletion of G24, or a ten-base duplication in the region corresponding to the TFC arm. A general finding is that mutations in the DHU arm of tRNA(2Arg) are compatible with, and in one case necessary for, frameshifting.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Mapping of epitopes, glycosylation sites, and complement regulatory domains in human decay accelerating factor.
Decay accelerating factor (DAF, CD55) is a glycophospholipid-anchored membrane protein that protects cells from complement-mediated damage by inhibiting the formation and accelerating the decay of C3/C5 convertases. DAF deletion mutants lacking each of the four short consensus repeats (SCR) or the serine/threonine-rich region (S/T) were created by site-directed mutagenesis. These deletion mutants were expressed by stable transfection in Chinese hamster ovary cells for the purpose of mapping important structural and functional sites in DAF. The epitopes on DAF for 16 murine mAb were mapped by immunoprecipitation studies as follows: SCR1, 6; SCR2, 3; SCR3, 3; SCR4, 3; S/T, 1. Testing of 13 mAb showed complete blocking of DAF function only by 1C6 and 1H4, both directed at SCR3. The single N-linked glycosylation site was confirmed at a location between SCR1 and SCR2, and the multiple O-linked oligosaccharides were localized to the S/T region. Functional activity of DAF mutants was assessed by the ability of these transfected constructs to protect Chinese hamster ovary cells from cytotoxicity induced by rabbit antibody plus human complement. Removal of SCR1 had no effect on DAF function, but individual deletion of SCR2, SCR3, or SCR4 totally abolished DAF function. Surprisingly, deletion of the S/T region totally abrogated DAF function, but this could be restored by a fusion construct placing the four SCR domains of DAF onto the HLA-B44 molecule, implying that the O-glycosylated S/T region serves as an important but nonspecific spacer projecting the DAF functional domains above the plasma membrane. Overall, the creation of DAF deletion mutants has elucidated important structure-function relations in the DAF molecule.
Animals↗
Increased fucosylation and other carbohydrate changes in haptoglobin in ovarian cancer.
Cancer sera have high levels of an abnormal form of haptoglobin (Hp) that can be extracted from blood using the fucose-specific lectin, Lotus tetragonolobus. In order to investigate the carbohydrate abnormality that is responsible for this effect, the monosaccharide composition of Hp has been measured in Hp preparations isolated from blood samples of healthy women and women with ovarian cancer. The fucose content (g/100 g protein) of Hp was considerably elevated (7-fold) in ovarian cancer; whereas the concentrations of the other sugars were not significantly increased. There were significant increases in the galactose and N-acetylglucosamine contents of the 'cancer' Hp if the levels were expressed relative to the mannose content. This latter finding suggests that there are more oligosaccharide branches on the 'cancer' Hp. The results indicate that Hp is extracted by lotus lectin from ovarian cancer sera because of the increased fucose levels and provide further support for a disturbance in fucose metabolism in cancer.
Aged↗
Parallel changes in the blood levels of abnormally-fucosylated haptoglobin and alpha 1,3 fucosyltransferase in relationship to tumour burden: more evidence for a disturbance of fucose metabolism in cancer.
Levels of an abnormally-fucosylated form of the serum glycoprotein, haptoglobin (FHp) and an enzyme, alpha 1,3 fucosyltransferase (FT) have been measured in blood specimens from women with carcinoma of the ovary or breast who are undergoing chemotherapy. The levels of FHp and FT increased if the women had progressive disease and decreased if they showed complete response to therapy. The statistical correlation between the blood concentrations of these two substances is very strong (P less than 0.0001, chi 2 test). These results and recent studies of fucosyltransferases and cell adhesion molecules from other laboratories, suggest that there are important changes in fucose metabolism in cancer which are worthy of further investigation.
Biomarkers, Tumor↗
Application of an organic solvent extraction to the determination of catechol-O-methyltransferase activity by high-performance liquid chromatography in human mononuclear cells.
We report here a method for measuring mononuclear cell catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) activity which is ideally adapted to clinical studies. The method measures the O-methylation of dopamine to 3-methoxytyramine and 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyphenethylamine. Whole mononuclear cell sonicate is incubated with saturating concentrations of dopamine, S-adenosyl-L-methionine and magnesium chloride in sodium-potassium phosphate buffer at pH 7.3. An organic solvent extraction using ethyl acetate is then used for product separation, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection for product separation and quantification. This method allows both O-methylated products, 3-methoxytyramine and 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyphenethylamine, to be isolated and quantified separately. The apparent Michaelis constants for dopamine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine using this method are similar to values reported previously (0.51 and 14 microM, respectively). The optimal concentration of magnesium chloride is eight to ten times higher than previously reported. No endogenous inhibitors were apparent using this assay. The within-day coefficient of variation using this method is 7% when measuring 3-methoxytyramine and 5% when measuring 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyphenethylamine. The between-day coefficient of variation is 11%. Mononuclear cell COMT activity can be detected using protein concentrations as low as 0.75 mg/ml, corresponding to 2-3 ml of whole blood. The small amount of blood required per sample allows multiple sample analysis from a single patient, including infants.
Adult↗
Effects of endothelin-1 on signal transduction in UMR-106 osteoblastic cells.
Endothelin-1 is now recognized to affect the functions of a number of tissues and to activate calcium/phospholipid second messenger pathways in target cells. In the present study, we characterized its effects on signal transduction in UMR-106 cells. To study calcium transients elicited by endothelin-1, cells were loaded either with fluo-3 (for the measurement of cytosolic free calcium) or chlortetracycline (for the measurement of intracellularly stored calcium) as fluorescent probes. Intracellular production of inositol phosphates and cyclic AMP was also measured. Endothelin-1 elicited dose-dependent cytosolic calcium transients with an ED50 of 20 nM. This effect was also seen in EGTA-containing or calcium-free medium; however, the signals were reduced in magnitude. The dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist nifedipine did not affect the response. Repeated administration of endothelin-1 resulted in homologous desensitization of the response. A 4 minute pretreatment with phorbol ester reduced the initial response to endothelin-1 in both calcium-containing and calcium-free media. A 24 h pretreatment with indomethacin had no effect on response. Using chlortetracycline as an indicator, a significant reduction in intracellularly stored calcium by endothelin-1 was observed. This was prevented by 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate, a blocker of calcium release from internal stores. Endothelin-1 also stimulated the dose-dependent production of inositol phosphates by UMR-106 cells. Indomethacin was also without effect on this process. The increase in inositol trisphosphates was seen within the same time frame as the increase in cytosolic calcium. Endothelin-1 did not influence cyclic AMP production over 5 minutes in these cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Calcium↗
Amitriptyline, clovoxamine and cognitive function: a placebo-controlled comparison in depressed outpatients.
No longer prescribed only for vegetative signs of depression, tricyclic antidepressants also lessen depressive cognitive distortions. Less clear is whether they ameliorate depressed patients' other cognitive deficits in memory, information processing speed, and psychomotor performance. We tested the alternative hypothesis that amitriptyline, because of its anticholinergic and sedative properties, would exacerbate depressed patients' cognitive disturbances. Depressed outpatients received double-blind placebo (n = 15), amitriptyline (n = 10), or clovoxamine fumarate (n = 10), a serotonin reuptake inhibitor relatively lacking in anticholinergic properties. Depression, memory, and psychomotor performance were assessed at baseline and after 7 and 28 days of drug treatment. Depression was alleviated after all treatments, including placebo. Only amitriptyline impaired performance on tests of memory, producing a significant decrement, relative to placebo, after 4 weeks of treatment. None of the treatments adversely affected performance on psychomotor tasks. These findings add to the evidence that antidepressant drugs with high anticholinergic activity can impair memory, despite alleviation of depression.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
A letter to my colleagues.
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Career Mobility↗