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Biomedical subjects

C Alford

Publications and source records attributed to C Alford.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Cytomegalovirus infection of breast milk and transmission in infancy.

Of unselected postpartum women, 39% reactivated cytomegalovirus in breast milk, vaginal secretions, urine, and/or saliva. Consumption of infected breast milk led to infection of 69% of the infants. Although there was some milk secretory immune response to this virus, it prevented neither viral shedding nor viral transmission. All infected infants chronically shed cytomegalovirus. However, no infants have yet demonstrated chronic sequelae. Two preterm infants did develop a significantly acute problem, pneumonitis, which did resolve. The possibility that an unnecessary and perhaps more severe illness might occur in low-birth-weight seronegative infants fed banked human milk from sources other than the mother is disturbing and needs resolution.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1981

Lymphoproliferative responses to autologous tumor extracts as prognostic indicators in patients with resected breast cancer.

Patients with operable breast cancer were tested postoperatively to assess lymphoproliferative responses. Patients with lymphocytes capable of recognizing and proliferating in response to autologous tumor extracts had a significantly longer disease-free interval than those with a low response to their autologous extract. In this group of patients, immunological responses to autologous tumors predicted subsequent clinical course better than pathological evaluation based on tumor presence in axillary lymph nodes. Low or negative reactivity to autologous tumor often was not accompanied by a general, impaired ability to respond in LP assays. In fact, patients with low autologous tumor response and normal MLC were at particularly high risk for recurrence.

Axilla↗
PubMed1980

Cytomegalovirus: genetic variation of viral genomes.

Genomic complexity of human CMV is one of the largest among various DNA viruses. With such genome complexity and widespread distribution, even a minimal frequency of mutation will be enough to create a complicated genetic heterogeneity in this virus. The virus genome is relatively stable during subcultivation in tissue culture. Variants with minor modification in restriction enzyme sites do gradually develop. These variants share substantial restriction fragment pattern homology with the parental virus. Virus DNA has a molecular weight of 150 X 10(6) daltons for a complete genome. The DNA contains 2 covalently linked L and S components which are separated by internal inverted repetitious sequences of both terminal-end sequences. L and S components are oriented invertably with 4 isomeric arrangements. No tandem repeated sequences have been found. Based on DNA restriction pattern analysis, we conclude that the majority of recurrent infections represent reactivation of existing latent viruses; however, reinfections by a new virus strain do occur occasionally. By studying virus strains isolated from the consecutive congenitally infected infants and strains from mothers and their congenitally infected offspring, we furthermore conclude that the latent virus in women is relatively stable genetically. Moreover, the virus strains after being transmitted to the offspring are still genetically similar to that of the mothers. As in vitro, spontaneous minor variations occur after the in vivo residence. In a long period of evolution the accumulation of minor variations might create great diversity with major similarity.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed1980

Vidarabine: a preliminary review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic use.

Vidarabine is the first drug to become generally available in the USA for parenteral treatment of life-threatening or debilitating herpes simplex virus infections of man. For the past decade laboratory and clinical studies have been in progress to assess the pharmacology of the compound, its mechanism of action and its potential usefulness in clinical investigations. Currently, clinical usefulness has been established for herpes simplex infections of the eye and brain. Further studies in progress are evaluating the drug's ability to prevent progressive disease from herpes zoster in the immunocompromised patient, reduce mortality and morbidity from neonatal herpes simplex virus infection and improve outcome of chronic hepatitis B infection.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMed1978

Immunologic relationship between breast carcinoma and benign breast disease as detected by the leukocyte migration inhibition assay.

Patients with benign diseases of the breast reacted in a migration inhibition assay with extracts of breast cancer and benign breast lesions and a human breast cancer-derived cell line, MCF-7. The incidence of reactivity of the patients with benign breast diseases against these antigens was similar to that of breast cancer patients. In addition, patients with breast cancer reacted to some extracts of benign breast lesions. The reactivity occurred in patients with several different histopathologic types of breast lesions, but was not found in women with no detectable pathologic lesions.

Adenofibroma↗