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Biomedical subjects

B S Pasternack

Publications and source records attributed to B S Pasternack.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Malignant melanoma. Prognostic significance of "microscopic satellites" in the reticular dermis and subcutaneous fat.

A review of the microscope slides of the primary tumors for 596 patients with clinical Stage I melanoma revealed that primary lesions displayed two distinct patterns of invasion: 1) single cell invasion with direct extension of the main body of tumor into the reticular dermis or subcutaneous fat, and 2) invasion with "microscope satellites" (i.e. discrete tumor nests greater than 0.05 mm in diameter, that were separated from the main body of the tumor by normal reticular dermal collagen or subcutaneous fat). The five-year disease free survival rate for 95 patients with "microscopic satellites" was 36% +/- 6%. This is in contrast to a five-year disease free survival rate of 89% +/- 2% for 501 patients without these satellites (p = 4.3 x 10(-29), generalized Wilcoxon test). "Microscopic satellites" (present vs absent) was comparable to histologic ulceration in its additive prognostic effect of tumor thickness (Breslow).

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1981

Cardiac output determination after cardiac operation. Lack of correlation between direct measurements and indirect estimates.

Ninety-two mean thermodilution cardiac indices were determined in 25 patients following cardiac operations. Arterial and venous blood gases, hematocrit, body temperature, central venous pressure, left atrial pressures, urine output, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure were simultaneously recorded. Six variables, arterial and venous pH, arterial and venous PCO2, venous PO2, and temperature, showed significant simple correlations with cardiac index, but the degree of correlation was inadequate for use of these variables as reliable indices of cardiac function. When stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed, two variables, venous PO2 and left atrial pressure were associated with the best correlation with cardiac index, such that CI = 0.073 PO2V -- 0.060 LAP + 1.39 (r = 0.60, p less than 0.001). When measured values for venous PO2 and left atrial pressure were substituted into this equation, a "predicted" value for cardiac index could be obtained with only slightly improved reliability. The data indicate that indirect estimation of cardiac output by measurement of the various laboratory parameters described above is not sufficiently reliable for clinical use. The importance of obtaining direct measurements of cardiac output by thermodilution or other means in order to properly evaluate postoperative cardiac function is stressed.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed1980

Treatment of Crohn's disease with 6-mercaptopurine. A long-term, randomized, double-blind study.

To test the effectiveness of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in the treatment of Crohn's disease, we entered 83 chronically ill patients into a two-year double-blind study comparing 6-MP with placebo. Crossover data showed that improvement occurred in 26 of 39 courses of 6-MP (67%) as compared with three of 39 courses of placebo (8%) (P less than 0.001). Non-crossover data likewise confirmed the superiority of 6-MP. The drug was more effective than placebo in closing fistulas (31 vs 6%) and in permitting discontinuation or reduction of steroid dosage (75 vs. 36%) (P less than 0.001). The onset of response to 6-MP was often delayed, with 32% of patients taking longer than three months to respond, and 19% taking longer than four months. Adverse side effects to 6-MP occurred in 10% of patients and were uniformly reversible. We conclude that 6-MP is an effective and useful agent in the management of Crohn's disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A case-control study of hair dye use and breast cancer.

A case-control study of the relationship between hair dye use and breast cancer included 129 breast cancer patients and 193 control women drawn from the records of a multiphasic screening clinic. Information was obtained by telephone interview on a number of risk factors for breast cancer and on variables pertaining to hair dye use: chronologic time, duration, frequency, type, and color. From this, quantitative measures of cumulative hair dye use at various intervals prior to breast cancer (or an equivalent for controls) were obtained. A multivariate risk factor score was used to control for confounding variables. The adjusted relative risks for breast cancer versus hair dye use were greater than unity but were not generally significant. However, integral measures of hair dye use (No. of yr times frequency per yr) were significantly related to breast cancer when confounding variables were controlled. The association between hair dye use and breast cancer was greatest among women over 50 years of age and among those at lower natural risk for breast cancer. An analysis of temporal patterns showed that breast cancer was related mainly to hair dye use 10 or more years before cancer diagnosis. Because of the retrospective nature of the hair dye data and the small sample size, these results require further validation.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Effects of DDT on stable laboratory mouse populations.

Four stable laboratory mouse populations were established; each contained approximately 400 mice of both sexes and all ages postweaning living in a single cage, as well as neonates caged in separate nesting boxes with their dams. Two were used to determine the effects of continuous exposure to a dietary level of 100 ppm DDT while the other two served as controls. The results indicated a significant decrease (p less than or equal to 0.05) in neonatal survival (lactation index) within 20 wk after the beginning of exposure to the toxicant in one of the exposed populations and by 30 wk in the other. This deleterious effect of the DDT continued through each succeeding generation. On the other hand, improved postweaning survival in DDT-fed mice was noted. Histological examination showed no tumors in test or control animals; other pathology was seen more frequently in control than in test animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Follow-up study of patients treated by X-ray epilation for tinea capitis: psychiatric and psychometric evaluation.

To investigate the late effects of radiation to the head upon subclinical mental disorders, a psychiatric and psychometric evaluation was performed on 177 cases treated 10-29 years earlier for ringworm of the scalp by X-ray therapy (N :109) or, by chemotherapy (N :68). Analyses which controlled for educational level and family psychiatric disorders showed that, among whites, the irradiated group manifested more psychiatric symptoms and more deviant MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) scores. They were also judged more maladjusted from their MMPI profiles, and more frequently had a history of treated psychiatric disorders; however, the psychiatrist's overall rating of current psychiatric status showed only a borderline differnece between the two groups. There were no significant differences between irradiated and chemotherapy treated blacks.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Breast neoplasms in women treated with x-rays for acute postpartum mastitis.

Breast cancer has been studied by mail survey up to 34 years in 571 of 606 women treated with x-rays for acute postpartum mastitis. The incidence of neoplasms was compared with that of three nonirradiated control groups--nonirradiated sisters of the treated women, women with acute postpartum mastitis not treated with X-rays, and their nonirradiated sisters. For the irradiated group, with mean dose of 247 rads to both breasts, the overall relative risk of breast cancer was 2.2 for years 10-34 post irradiation and 3.6 for years 20-34. The dose response for malignant and benign breast neoplasms was compatible with a linear fit. For comparable total doses, fractionation of exposure did not reduce carcinogenic action. Women over age 30 years at radiation treatment had as great an excess risk of breast cancer as did younger women. The overall excess risk of developing breast cancer was about 8-10 cases per million women per rad per year, an increase of about 0.5% per rad.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Occupational exposure to chloromethyl ethers. A retrospective cohort mortality study (1948-1972).

This industry-wide epidemiologic study to evaluate the human carcinogenicity of the chloromethyl ethers (CME) included 1827 CME-exposed workers and 8870 controls. Duration and relative intensity of exposure were classified by job description in the personnel records. This information permitted assigning relative magnitude of exposure scores for each job category at several plants, with allowance for temporal changes in the plant processes. Social security records were used for the ascertainment of deaths among separated employees. Death certificates were obtained for virtually all known deaths, and hospital pathology reports were obtained where possible for the cancer-related deaths. No differences in noncancer death rates were found. An increased risk of respiratory cancer death in CME-exposed workers was found at only one firm where high exposures are known to have occurred. A clear dose-response relationship with risk ratios exceeding ten for the longest duration and greatest exposure subgroups was demonstrated for this firm.

Bis(Chloromethyl) Ether↗
PubMed1976

Estrogen-containing oral contraceptive agents. A basis for their thrombogenicity.

The mechanism whereby estrogen-containing contraceptives facilitate thrombosis is obscure, and published data concerning their effect on antithrombin III are conflicting. Plasma samples were examined for the quantity of antithrombin III and activated factor X (Xa) inhibitory activity among 57 women receiving oral contraceptives and 48 controls. The quantity of antithrombin III in both groups was normal. In contrast, Xa inhibitory activity was significantly reduced (P less than .001) among patients taking oral contraceptives, compared to controls. Heparin sodium added to plasma from patients taking contraceptives raised Xa inhibitory activity toward or above normal without changing the quantity of antithrombin III. The effect of estrogen is not to decrease the quantity of plasma antithrombin III, but rather to diminish plasma Xa inhibitory activity, an effect that can be abolished by heparin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Follow-up study of patients treated by x-ray epilation for tinea capitis. Estimation of the dose to the thyroid and pituitary glands and other structures of the head and neck.

This study is a further investigation of radiation dose to various head structures in the children given X-ray therapy for tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp). In this work, estimates of the dose to the thyroid and pituitary gland were obtained with lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosemeters using a child's head phantom. Doses were also measured for the parotid gland and several skin sites where skin tumours developed in the irradiated cases. In a previous study, brain and scalp doses of 140 and 500-800 rad had been estimated for the treated group using this same head phantom. In this work dosemeters were also placed in the same brain locations so that comparisons could be obtained between the two studies. The thyroid dose was estimated to be 6 +/- 2 rad and the pituitary dose was 49 +/- 6 rad for the conventional tinea capitis treatment. The dose to the parotid gland was 39 rad and the dose to skin sites on the face and neck where tumours occurred ranged from 20 to 40 rad. The data for the thyroid adenoma response from this and other studies involving irradiation of children suggests a linear dose-response relationship within the first 30-40 years after exposure with a risk of about 0-04% per rad.

Adenoma↗