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D Blake

Publications and source records attributed to D Blake.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Thoracoscopic sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis. A case report.

Palmar hyperhidrosis is a disabling condition that manifests itself as excessive sweating of the hands. Although the exact cause is unknown, several medical and surgical therapies are available to treat it. Recent developments in surgical technique have made the less invasive thoracoscopic sympathectomy a viable alternative to the open sympathectomy for medically refractory cases. We believe that thoracoscopic sympathectomy is a safe and effective treatment for palmar hyperhidrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Novel transcribed sequences represented in the complex genomic region 5q13.

YACs from the complex repetitive human genomic region 5q13, spanning the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) locus, have been searched for transcribed sequences using the method of End Ligation Coincident Sequence Cloning. Six transcripts (PT1-6) have been identified, three of which (PT4, PT5 and PT6) are novel. Five of these elements hybridise to multiple loci in 5q13, but PT5 is single copy and maps very close to markers that show linkage disequilibrium with SMA.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Continuous extradural infusion of ropivacaine for prevention of postoperative pain after major orthopaedic surgery.

We studied 151 patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty, or cruciate ligament reconstruction in a multicentre study in Australia and New Zealand. Patients were openly allocated randomly to one of five treatment groups or to a control group. General anaesthesia was induced after introduction of extradural block with 0.5% ropivacaine. After surgery, patients received an extradural infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine at 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 ml h-1 or received no postoperative extradural infusion (control group). All patients had access to i.v. PCA morphine for supplementary analgesia. Morphine consumption was lower in all treatment groups compared with the control group, decreasing with increasing ropivacaine infusion rate. Median VAS scores were lower in all ropivacaine infusion groups compared with the control group for the first 10 h of the study; however by the end of the study, VAS scores were similar in all groups. The higher ropivacaine infusion rates caused a slower convergence of spread of the initial sensory block and a higher degree of motor block. The overall incidence of side effects was similar, with the exception of a higher incidence of urinary retention and hypotension in the groups receiving the higher rates of ropivacaine. The quality of treatment scores were similar for all treatment groups (Br. J. Anaesth. 1996; 76: 606-610).

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Visual acuity in preschool children: the Chapel Hill-Durham Day-Care Vision Study.

Between 1985 and 1987, 1362 preschool children attending 45 day-care centers in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina had their visual acuities tested by matching HOTV opto-types. Study participants were comprised of 718 males and 644 females. Seven hundred eight were African Americans, 607 were white, and 47 were from other ethnic groups. The children's ages were 89 < 3 years, 496 = 3 years, 531 = 4 years, and 246 > 5 years old. Only 69 children (5.1%) were unable to have their visual acuity tested in both eyes. Although there was no association between testability and either race or gender, there was a strong association with age, with 65 of the 69 children (94.2%) not testable being < 4 years old. Further, there was a clear relationship between visual acuity and age. The 1293 participants (2586 eyes) whose visual acuity was measured successfully in both eyes revealed that 2471 eyes (95.4%) had visual acuities of 20/40 or better. There were significantly more African Americans (56 or 8.4%) than whites (23 or 4.0%) in the 20/40-1 to 20/100 category.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1995

Quantification of rheumatoid synovitis by magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for quantifying acute synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced MRI was performed in 21 patients with knee synovitis. Changes in synovial membrane signal intensity were identified and quantified by line profile analysis. Multiple synovial biopsies were obtained by a blind biopsy technique, and standard clinical and laboratory measurements of disease activity were recorded. RESULTS: The rate of synovial membrane enhancement correlated with histologic features of acute inflammation (r = 0.63, P < 0.01), but not with clinical or laboratory assessments. CONCLUSION: Dynamic MRI is a valuable technique for assessing acute synovial inflammation in RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The effect of glucocorticoids on the accumulation of utrophin by cultured normal and dystrophic human skeletal muscle satellite cells.

Human muscle cultures undergo a long-term loss of myotubes and a decline in dystrophin content, which can be prevented by glucocorticoid treatment of the cultures. We confirmed these findings and extended them to show that the utrophin content of control and dexamethasone-treated normal myotube cultures is not significantly different. In contrast to normal cultures, the utrophin content of long-term dexamethasone-treated DMD myotube cultures was significantly greater than that of the corresponding untreated cultures. Utrophin mRNA transcript levels normalized to total poly (A) were unaffected by dexamethasone treatment of either normal or DMD myotube cultures, suggesting the effect of dexamethasone on utrophin accumulation by DMD cultures is mediated post-transcriptionally. A combination of an increase in myotube numbers and lack of competition with dystrophin for membrane-binding sites in DMD myotubes may explain the distinct effects of dexamethasone on utrophin levels in normal and DMD cultures.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1995

The diagnosis and follow-up of porphyria.

This review details an approach to the biochemical diagnosis and follow-up of porphyria. We discuss the problems of diagnosis of both symptomatic patients suspected of porphyria and patients being investigated because of a family history of porphyria. High performance liquid chromatography plays a major role in the investigation of these patients. Molecular biology is emerging as a useful tool in further defining this group of diseases.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Elevation of serum free triiodothyronine, total triiodothyronine, thyroxine-binding globulin, and total thyroxine levels in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to assess both central and peripheral aspects of thyroid function in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with the particular purpose of finding a mechanistic explanation for an imbalance between serum levels of free thyroxine (T4) and total T4 previously observed in pilot work. METHODS: A total of 96 male combat veterans with PTSD diagnosed by DSM-III-R (72 from the West Haven, Conn, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and 24 from the Menlo Park, Calif, Veterans Affairs Medical Center) were compared with 24 male control subjects. One or more serum samples were analyzed by radioimmunoassays for levels of total T4, free T4, total triiodothyronine (T3), free T3, T4-binding globulin, and thyrotropin. RESULTS: The pilot observation of moderately elevated total T4 levels with no elevation in free T4 levels in patients with PTSD was confirmed, suggesting the hypotheses that (1) there may be an increased peripheral conversion of free T4 by deiodination to T3 or (2) there may be an increased binding of T4 secondary to elevated T4-binding globulin levels. Our findings support both hypotheses. The PTSD groups all showed a marked and sustained elevation in levels of both total T3 and free T3, as well as elevated T3/T4 ratios, supporting the increased T3 conversion hypothesis. The PTSD groups also showed a marked and sustained increase in T4-binding globulin levels, supporting the increased binding hypothesis. Thyrotropin levels did not differ between PTSD and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate an unusual pattern of thyroid alterations, featuring substantial elevations in total T3, free T3, and T4-binding globulin levels, in combat-related PTSD that differs from established endocrinopathies, such as classic hyperthyroidism, T3 thyrotoxicosis, or chronic T4-binding globulin elevation.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Cloning the shared components of complex DNA resources.

The complex and repetitive nature of mammalian genomes limits the ability of conventional molecular techniques to recover sequences of interest. Here we describe a rapid and simple procedure for the direct cloning of sequences which are coincident between DNA mixtures of whole genome complexity. The system, called end ligation coincident sequence cloning (EL-CSC), can enrich coincident DNA by greater than 10(6)-fold and overcomes problems associated with repetitive elements. Applying EL-CSC to various paired DNA resources enables the facile cloning of both genomic markers and novel genes. To demonstrate the power of the method we have i) selectively purified single copy sequences from a complete genome, and ii) isolated gene fragments from 260 kb of cloned genomic DNA.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Drawing up propofol.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Anesthesia, Intravenous↗
PubMed1994

Hyperthermia induces IL-1 alpha but does not decrease release of IL-1 alpha or TNF-alpha after endotoxin.

Heat treatments administered prior to the onset of sepsis or endotoxemia markedly increase survival. A potential mechanism for the beneficial effect of heat could be effects on IL-1 alpha and TNF-alpha, important mediators of sepsis and endotoxemia. Administration of IL-1 or TNF prior to development of sepsis and endotoxemia increases survival; thus, prophylactic heat treatments may protect by releasing IL-1 or TNF. Paradoxically, an alternative mechanism of protection of prophylactic heat treatments could be to decrease the amount of IL-1 and TNF released during sepsis or endotoxemia. Cells pretreated with heat do not produce as much IL-1 or TNF in response to endotoxin as cells that have not been pretreated with heat. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if hyperthermia caused release of cytokines and/or blunted the rise in cytokines occurring after endotoxin. Mice were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine and immersed in a water bath at 37.0 or 42.0 degrees C for sham or heat treatments. At 6-7 h after recovery from anesthesia and immersion, sham and heat-treated mice were injected with Escherichia coli endotoxin. Both heat-treated and sham mice had elevated plasma IL-1 alpha 2 h after anesthesia and immersion but IL-1 alpha was approximately 3-fold greater in the heated mice, 732 +/- 50 vs. 256 +/- 76 pg/ml (p < 0.01). Blood samples obtained after endotoxin revealed no difference in levels of TNF-alpha (5477 +/- 742 vs. 6514 +/- 652 pg/ml) or IL-1 alpha (546 +/- 72 vs. 603 +/- 121 pg/ml) in the sham vs. heated mice.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Cyclosporine and cremaphor modulate von Willebrand factor release from cultured human endothelial cells.

Cyclosporine has been associated with microangiopathic hemolysis (MAHA) and other thrombotic complications of bone marrow and renal transplantation. MAHA is characterized by intravascular platelet aggregation, which, in some situations, is thought to be mediated by hyperactive high molecular weight von Willebrand factor (vWF). We have hypothesized that transplant-related MAHA may be caused by CsA-mediated release of von Willebrand factor from endothelial cells. This hypothesis was tested by studying vWF release from human umbilical vein endothelial cells primed with either CsA or cremophor EL. CsA and cremophor alone did not increase vWF release until toxic concentrations were reached (50-100 micrograms/ml). However, at therapeutic concentrations (0.1-5 micrograms/ml) vWF release by cells stimulated with thrombin, histamine, PMA, and the calcium ionophore A23187 was enhanced by both CsA and cremophor in a concentration-dependent manner. In single isolated endothelial cells, the thrombin-induced increase in cytosolic free calcium was enhanced by both CsA and cremophor. Preincubation for 24 hr with CsA but not cremophor suppressed vWF release after thrombin stimulation. These observations were mirrored by a concentration-dependent suppression of [3H]thymidine uptake by CsA. We conclude that CsA vehicle, cremophor, enhances stimulated vWF release in vitro, probably by processes dependent upon increased cytosolic free calcium. This suggests a possible mechanism for thrombotic transplant complications.

Calcium↗