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Biomedical subjects

T J Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to T J Phillips.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Modification of ethanol effects by bicuculline: genotype-dependent responses and inheritance.

Genetic influences on the interaction between ethanol (ETOH) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter systems were evaluated with a survey of responses to coadministration of ETOH and a GABA antagonist, bicuculline, in a battery of inbred mouse strains. The selectively bred ETOH-sensitive Long-Sleep (LS) mice, the relatively ETOH-resistant Short-Sleep (SS) mice, and a genetically heterogeneous stock (GHS) were also evaluated. The effect of bicuculline on ETOH-induced sedation, hypothermia, and blood ethanol content upon recovery from sedation was assessed. Inheritance of these responses was also examined using F1 hybrids. The effect of bicuculline on ETOH-produced narcosis varied widely among stocks and included antagonism, potentiation, and no effect. Changes in ETOH-induced narcosis produced by bicuculline were accompanied by changes in blood ethanol concentrations consistent with an hypothesis of altered central nervous system sensitivity to ETOH. Knowledge of a strain's seizure susceptibility to the GABA antagonist or of its sensitivity to the hypnotic effects of ETOH were of no predictive value in estimating the outcome of coadministration studies, suggesting at least partially separate genetic influences on each phenotype. In cross-breeding studies there was commonly dominance toward a profile of bicuculline antagonism of ETOH narcosis but different patterns of dominance were observed for seizure susceptibility, again indicating separate genetic control. The results suggest considerable complexity of GABAergic involvement in genotype-dependent ETOH sensitivity.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Cutaneous effects and therapeutic uses of heat with emphasis on infrared radiation.

The adverse effects and therapeutic benefits of heat, specifically infrared radiation, on skin have received little attention. In this review we discuss the evidence indicating that heat and infrared radiation are not totally harmless, but that they may be involved in both photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. We also review the clinical syndrome thought to be caused by infrared radiation and the therapeutic uses of both local heat and infrared radiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Treatment of skin ulcers with cultured epidermal allografts.

Thirty-six skin ulcers in 23 patients were treated with cultured allogeneic epidermal sheets derived from neonatal foreskin. In 73% of ulcers, there was complete healing within 8 weeks, with a mean healing time of 3.3 weeks. In the other 27%, there was reduction in ulcer size of 35% to 93% by 8 weeks after grafting. In 30 painful ulcers, pain was markedly relieved within 24 hours of grafting. The healing pattern suggested that the cultured epidermal sheets acted by stimulation of host keratinocytes to divide and migrate rather than by permanent acceptance of the allograft. Of the 26 ulcers that healed within 8 weeks, 23 (88.5%) remained healed for follow-up periods of 10 to 18 months (mean 13.7 months), with an overall mean duration of healing of 13 months.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cultured allogenic keratinocyte grafts in the management of wound healing: prognostic factors.

Cultured allografts derived from neonatal foreskin provide a potent stimulus to wound healing in a wide variety of wounds. Their application is a simple outpatient procedure involving no discomfort for the patient. In contrast to autografting, no biopsy is necessary, and growth of newborn keratinocytes in cultures is more rapid than that of adult cells. Use of cultured allogeneic cells offers immediate graft availability and the possibility of stockpiling and preserving the graft for future use. Cultured epidermal allografts may be valuable in accelerating healing by second intention in surgical wounds, as well as being a helpful addition to chronic ulcer management. In venous disease, the outcome is at least comparable to other forms of skin grafting. Ulcers due to connective tissue disorders fared less well and deep chronic ulcers (down to fascia or tendon) were not significantly improved by cultured allograft application. Surprisingly, patient age did not influence outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

A survey of fourth-year medical students' decisions regarding family practice as a career.

With a decline in the proportion of medical students pursuing family practice careers, it is necessary to better understand the factors influencing their career decisions. The Fishbein model of attitude formation was used as a framework for developing a questionnaire to measure students' attitudes toward a career in family practice and the social support students perceived they had for that career. The questionnaire was administered to fourth-year-medical students a short time before residency match day. Both the attitude and social support scales had excellent psychometric characteristics. The usefulness of these scales in discriminating between career choices of family practice and other clinical careers was tested. The social support scale did not discriminate well, whereas the attitude scale discriminated quite well. The students who chose careers in family practice differed from students who chose other careers in 14 of 19 values about characteristics of family practice but differed from them in only two of 19 beliefs about family practice. The implications for advising medical students about careers in family practice are discussed.

Attitude↗
PubMed1988

Medical education for minorities at a US medical school.

The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM) has initiated new efforts to build a regional minority applicant pool and to expand its educational programmes to accommodate students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Specific interventions include: establishment of medical career planner position to coordinate region-wide outreach; pre-entry education; and support activities once enrolled. This study describes specific services and presents sociodemographic and performance data on 56 minority and 280 majority students entering the UWSM between 1981 and 1985. Economic status and educational background of minority students were significantly below that of majority students, several flexible academic policies enabled most students to achieve mastery in courses and to progress through the curriculum. The educational data base utilized in this study, and those at other institutions, can assume important roles in the identification of problem areas in the education of disadvantaged students and in evaluation of the interventions attempted.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1987

Pulmonary complications following methotrexate therapy.

Methotrexate is frequently used in the treatment of severe psoriasis, and its hepatotoxicity has long been recognized by dermatologists. Pulmonary complications resulting from use of the drug are uncommon but should be considered in any patient on methotrexate who develops pulmonary symptoms in the absence of infection. We describe two patients, one who developed an acute pneumonitis and one with progressive pulmonary fibrosis following long-term, low-dose methotrexate for psoriasis. Early recognition of these complications by lung function testing and withdrawal of the drug, when necessary, may arrest or reverse methotrexate-induced lung disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Dermatomyositis and pulmonary fibrosis associated with anti-Jo-1 antibody.

Although fibrosing alveolitis is a rare complication of dermatomyositis, early detection and treatment are important in preventing pulmonary fibrosis. Anti-Jo-1 antibody, an antibody to the cellular enzyme histidyl-t-RNA synthetase, has been found to correlate closely with the subset of dermatomyositis/polymyositis associated with fibrosing alveolitis. This association is well known to rheumatologists but has received little attention in the dermatologic literature. We wish to alert dermatologists to the importance of the association of anti-Jo-1 antibody in patients with dermatomyositis and present a patient with anti-Jo-1 antibody who had Raynaud's phenomenon and mild arthritis in association with dermatomyositis and pulmonary fibrosis. We suggest screening patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis for this antibody, to detect the population at high risk of developing pulmonary complications.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1987

Performance of residents who had academic difficulties in medical school.

An assessment of how well graduates of one medical school performed in residency training was undertaken to assess the school's monitoring of students' performances. The minutes of the school's student progress committee for four years were reviewed to identify all students who had had academic difficulty. Seven students had been recommended for dismissal but ultimately graduated, 22 students were on academic probation for longer than one year, and 22 students were on academic probation for less than one year. The residency performance of 43 of these 51 students were compared with the performances of a randomly selected group of students who had had no academic difficulties and had graduated during the same period. Of 12 performance and knowledge items assessed by the residency directors for the studied graduates, the one dealing with quality of interaction with patients showed significant differences among the residents. The residents who had had academic difficulty had lower ratings on this item than the residents who had not had academic trouble. On all other items, those residents who had had academic difficulties received generally lower scores than the other residents, but the differences were not statistically significant. Of the seven students considered for dismissal, one had been dismissed and one had withdrawn from the residencies; the other five generally received positive ratings from their residency directors. The findings suggest that the medical school's overall monitoring of students' performance was working and confirmed the authors' opinion that each decision concerning a student with academic difficulties should be based on the student's individual situation.

Educational Measurement↗
PubMed1987

Treatment of chronic venous ulcers with sheets of cultured allogenic keratinocytes.

Cultured keratinocytes were used as allografts to treat 51 patients with chronic venous ulceration or rheumatoid ulcers unresponsive to all previous conventional treatments including split skin grafts. Although early epithelialization could be seen in the centre of some ulcers, a major effect appeared to be healing from the previously indolent edge. This treatment appears to provide some clinical benefit in healing of chronic ulceration.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Naturalistic behavioral assessment of anxiolytic properties of benzodiazepines and ethanol in mice.

Effects of chlordiazepoxide (CDZ), flurazepam (FLU) and diazepam (DZP) were assessed in mice by observation of digging behavior in an escape task. Reliable effects on escape latencies and number of exploratory head pokes were detected at 2 mg/kg for CDZ and FLU. DZP produced dose-dependent effects at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg/kg. Ro 15-1788 antagonized the effects of DZP (0.6 mg/kg). Ethanol (0.75 and 1.5 g/kg) produced effects similar to those of the benzodiazepines. The dynamics of this naturalistic behavior avoid the need for direct aversive stimulation or food/water deprivation to set up an approach-avoidance or conflict test. Combined with a multivariate (discriminant) analysis, the approach provides a sensitive assessment of anxiolytic drug activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis. Coexistence with other porokeratotic variants.

The coexistence of disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP) with other variants of porokeratosis is rare. We report three such cases: DSAP with porokeratosis of Mibelli; DSAP with linear porokeratosis; and DSAP occurring in the mother of a girl with linear porokeratosis. Although different areas of skin and different family members usually express the same morphological variant, we suggest that the simultaneous expression of two closely linked gene loci could explain the coexistence of different porokeratotic variants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Stimulant and depressant properties of sedative-hypnotics in mice selectively bred for differential sensitivity to ethanol.

A genetic analysis of sedative-hypnotic response in selectively bred Long-Sleep (LS) and Short-Sleep (SS) mice showed LS mice to be more depressed by acetaldehyde, ethanol (ETOH), and t-butanol, but less sensitive to pentobarbital. Intermediate inheritance was shown by the two reciprocal F1 hybrids for the alcohols, but dominance to the LS genotype occurred for the aldehyde and the barbiturate. At several subhypnotic doses of ETOH in two experiments, LS mice showed less locomotor stimulation and greater disruption of coordination than the SS mice. The two reciprocal F1 hybrids did not differ from one another and had dose-response curves intermediate to the two parental lines. Study of the effects of t-butanol on locomotor activity revealed a pattern of line differences similar to that for ETOH. The genetic selection for LS and SS mice appears to have differentiated loci that pleiotropically influence a variety of behavioral responses to alcohols.

Analysis of Variance↗