PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Brock

Publications and source records attributed to C Brock.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

A school and community outbreak of influenza A.

In May 1995 a department of public health medicine was informed of an outbreak of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness in a local school. Eighty-three pupils and staff were affected out of a total of 247 people--an attack rate of 34%. The outbreak was investigated, control measures were instigated, and the outbreak subsided. Pupils and staff were surveyed and faecal specimens were collected. Blood specimens from a sample of pupils were examined serologically. No organisms were isolated from faecal specimens. Nine of the 18 blood specimens taken showed raised antibody titres against influenza A. This labour intensive investigation revealed a community outbreak of influenza A. Investigations in schools can be useful in community surveillance.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1994

Mechanical anastomosis of nerves: a histological and functional comparison to conventional suturing.

The use of a mechanical coupling device in microsurgery offers speed of application in addition to a secure vascular union. Despite its success in a vascular setting, mechanical coupling device nerve repair remains to be studied. Forty-five male rats were tested over 7- and 14-week study periods. One half of the animals underwent primary suture repairs for transected sciatic nerves, and the remainder of the animals had their nerves repaired using a mechanical coupling device. Postoperative analysis consisted of histological evaluation of pre- and postrepair site nerve morphology (axonal continuity and counts) as well as functional testing using walking track analysis. Mechanical coupling device coaptation of the nerves using the epineurium was done in approximately one half the time compared with conventional suturing. After both 7 and 14 weeks postoperatively, walking track analysis showed no difference in the amount of functional return between the two repair groups. No animal exhibited complete return of function. Axonal continuity occurred across both repairs without significant difference in their pre- and postrepair axonal counts. Although no clear advantage was seen in this study, the concept of mechanical nerve coupling merits further investigation based on its potential clinical utility.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1993

Does the rapid response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy justify its use as primary treatment for intracranial germ-cell tumours?

We reviewed presentation, diagnostic problems and outcome of eight cases of primary intracranial germ-cell tumour (4 germinoma, 4 teratoma) treated with Cisplatin-based chemotherapy at our centre over the last ten years. Three patients received primary chemotherapy with Cisplatin-based regimens followed by radiotherapy for subsequent relapse, two were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and external radiotherapy, and three received chemotherapy for relapse after radiotherapy. The response to Cisplatin-based chemotherapy was rapid, with some patents exhibiting symptomatic improvement within 24 h. Four patients achieved complete remission within 21 days, and three of these have remained progression-free. Four patients in total have survived for 32 to 128+ months. Six of seven patients tested pre-treatment had central diabetes insipidus and five had partial anterior pituitary failure. The endocrine deficit progressed in two, with no recovery in any patient. It is arguable that chemotherapy should be the primary therapy in all such cases diagnosed on the basis of tumour markers and imaging, with surgery and/or radiotherapy as later options. As these tumours are rare, such questions can only be answered by collaboration studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A venous thrombosis technique for experimental thrombolytic therapy.

A technique for the experimental creation of a venous thrombus in the rat is described. This technique involves a circumferential stretching of the intima, which maximizes intraluminal collagen exposure without complete separation of the vessel wall. This thrombotic method was 94.4% effective at complete vessel occlusion after 24 hours in 40 treated veins. This model is of particular interest in the in vivo evaluation of thrombolytic agents in the laboratory setting and as an adjunct to thrombotic complications in microsurgery.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

De novo design and structure-activity relationships of peptide emulsifiers and foaming agents.

A series of eight amphipathic peptides (8, 11, 15, 2 x 18, 22, 26, 29 amino acids in length) were designed to investigate the effects of amino acid composition, peptide length and secondary structure on surface activity assessed as emulsification and foaming activity. The potential for alpha-helix formation at the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface was maximized through the use of helix-forming amino acids, a relatively large hydrophobic surface of 200 degrees of arc and ion pairs between basic and acidic amino acids on the hydrophilic surface. Emulsification activity increased rapidly between 11 and 22 residues as alpha-helicity in aqueous solution increased. Despite their small size, the peptides produced exceptionally stable emulsions, compared with proteins. Foaming activity was enhanced by the presence of aromatic amino acids and the activity of the best peptide examined was superior to that of bovine serum albumin and beta-lactoglobulin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Dementia, depression, or grief? The differential diagnosis.

Depression, grief, and dementia are conditions frequently encountered among the community-living elderly. This review offers a primary care perspective of the distinguishing features for each and discusses the special issues of managing the elderly. Major depression in the elderly usually responds to antidepressant medication, whether the depression occurs alone (endogenous) or as a response to another condition (reactive).

Aged↗
PubMed1990

[BCG osteomyelitis and arthritis].

Since 1980 an increase of the frequency of osteomyelitis after BCG vaccination has been described by some european countries. In the GDR osseous impairments as BCG complication are rarely. The authors report on an 18 months old boy with lesions of the distal tibia and the ankle-joint. He was vaccinated with BCG in the neonatal period. In contrast to the local findings general symptoms were unimportant. The surgical treatment was completed by antituberculotic chemotherapy. This treatment was successful.

Ankle Joint↗
PubMed1985

Comparative incidence of side effects of a wax-matrix and a sustained-release iron preparation.

The side effects of a wax-matrix iron preparation and a sustained-release iron preparation were compared in a single-blind study of 181 subjects. Evaluations after four and eight weeks of therapy revealed moderate or severe side effects in 52% of the subjects who received the sustained-release preparation but in only 25% of those who received the wax-matrix preparation. Further analysis of the data demonstrated fewer side effects overall among patients who received the wax-matrix preparation. These findings suggest that the wax-matrix preparation is better tolerated than the sustained-release preparation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Adverse effects of iron supplementation: a comparative trial of a wax-matrix iron preparation and conventional ferrous sulfate tablets.

The acceptability of supplemental iron delivered from a wax-matrix tablet of ferrous sulfate was compared with that of a conventional ferrous sulfate tablet in a single-blind, parallel-group study. Both tablets were formulated to deliver 50 mg of elemental iron. The incidence of adverse effects was found to be significantly greater among 272 subjects taking the conventional tablets than among 271 subjects taking the wax-matrix preparation. Eighty-one percent of the subjects taking the wax-matrix preparation experienced no severe or moderate side effects as compared with only 50% of those taking the conventional tablets.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Interaction of phenylisothiocyanate with human erythrocyte band 3 protein. II. Topology of phenylisothiocyanate binding sites and influence of p-sulfophenylisothiocyanate on phenylisothiocyanate modification.

The two structurally related probes, the apolar phenylisothiocyanate and the polar, water-soluble p-sulfophenylisothiocyanate, were analysed for their topological interaction with human erythrocyte band 3 protein. Upon thermolytic and peptic digestion of labeled erythrocyte ghosts, the membrane-integrated segments of band 3 protein, the 17,000 and 10,000 dalton peptides, were isolated. At 2 mM initial label concentration, 90% of the hydrophobic probe phenylisothiocyanate was recovered in the 10,000 dalton peptide, the remaining amount of label being associated with the 17,000 dalton fragment. Pretreatment of the membranes with 5 mM p-sulfophenylisothiocyanate followed by labeling with 2 mM phenylisothiocyanate results in a consistent reduction in binding of phenylisothiocyanate by 1 mol/mol isolated band 3 protein. p-Sulfophenylisothiocyanate reportedly binds to the 17,000 dalton fragment (Drickamer, K. (1977), J. Biol. Chem. 252, 6909-6917). The interaction of the polar probe with the membrane protein affects binding of phenylisothiocyanate to the 10,000 dalton peptide by the equivalent of 1 mol/mol isolated peptide. The topological interrelation of the membrane-integrated segments is concluded.

Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte↗
PubMed1978

[Method of measuring pressure using perfusion manometry].

Based on the principle of perfusion manometry, a device for the assessment of intraluminal pressures in urethra and anal canal is presented. The technical parameters are reported. The method may be utilized for clinical diagnosis in cases of disturbed micturition and defecation in children as well as for the function of esophagus.

Anal Canal↗