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Biomedical subjects

G A Maguire

Publications and source records attributed to G A Maguire.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Olanzapine vs haloperidol in geriatric schizophrenia: analysis of data from a double-blind controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the six-week clinical response and safety profile of schizophrenia patients, age > or =60 years, receiving olanzapine (OLZ) vs haloperidol (HAL) in a double blind, randomized trial. METHODS: Double-blind data on patients age > or =60 randomized to 5 mg/d OLZ (n=83) or 5 mg/d HAL (n=34) (Week 1) then flexibly dosed to 5-20 mg/d over six weeks, with a 48-week extension for responders, were analyzed post-hoc. Efficacy indices included the PANSS Total and PANSS Psychosis Core Total (PPCT). Safety measures included the Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS), Barnes Akathisia Scale (BAS), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), treatment-emergent adverse events, and laboratory values. Mixed model, repeated measures (MMRM) analyses were applied to all continuous data measured at each visit. Continuous data recorded only at phase completion or termination were analyzed with a fixed effect last observation carried forward (LOCF) model. Frequencies of categorical response data were analyzed using Fisher's exact methods. Differences were tested for significance at Week 6 using a two-sided alpha value of 0.05. RESULTS: HAL group (n=34; age range 60-80) received a mean modal dose 9.4 mg/d while OLZ group (n=83; age range 60-86) received a mean modal dose 11.9 mg/d. At Week 6, OLZ was superior to HAL on both the PANSS Total (p=0.015) and PPCT (p=0.043). Considering safety, OLZ was superior to HAL for the SAS and BAS (p<0.001; p<0.001). No spontaneous adverse event occurred more frequently with OLZ than with HAL. In patients never receiving adjunct anticholinergic therapy, no significant differences were present for anticholinergic-like side effects including blurred vision, dry mouth, constipation, or urinary difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly schizophrenia patients, olanzapine was more efficacious and better tolerated for extrapyramidal signs than was haloperidol. Olanzapine was equivalent to haloperidol for anticholinergic-like side effects when corrected for anticholingergic agents.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

Are there any clinical indications for measuring IgG subclasses?

It is questionable as to whether a low serum concentration of one of the IgG subclasses identifies a disease state. A low IgG(1) concentration is found in primary or secondary immunodeficiency states but does not occur in isolation. Low IgG(2) concentration is associated with an increased risk of bacterial infections but only in some individuals and not in others. Isolated IgG(3) and IgG(4) deficiency have not been convincingly demonstrated. Therefore, the isolated finding of low concentrations of one or more IgG subclass does not identify individuals at risk. In contrast, the finding of low serum concentrations of antibodies to specific bacterial antigens (Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcus, tetanus and diphtheria) does identify individuals at risk and these measurements should be used in preference to IgG subclass measurement.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed2000

Risperidone for the treatment of stuttering.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to assess the efficacy of risperidone in the treatment of developmental stuttering in 16 adults. Eight subjects received placebo and eight received risperidone at 0.5 mg once daily at night, increased to a maximum of 2 mg/day. After 6 weeks of treatment, decreases in all measures of stuttering severity were greater in the risperidone group than in the placebo group; the between-treatment difference was significant (p < 0.05) on the most important measure, the percentage of syllables stuttered. In the risperidone group, reductions from baseline in scores for the percentage of syllables stuttered, time stuttering as a percentage of total time speaking, and overall stuttering severity were significant (p < 0.01); changes in scores on the fourth measure of stuttering, duration, were not significant. No significant decreases occurred in the placebo group. Among the eight patients in the risperidone group, five responded best to 0.5 mg/day, with stuttering recurring at higher doses. The remaining three patients responded better with increasing doses of risperidone. Risperidone was generally well tolerated. The results of this small study indicate that risperidone may be effective in the treatment of developmental stuttering. This finding needs to be confirmed in a larger trial.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Management of child and adolescent stuttering with olanzapine: three case reports.

Vast arrays of medications have been used, with limited success, to manage stuttering. Haloperidol and risperidone are the only two medications that have shown efficacy via double-blind studies in controlling stuttering symptoms. We present the first case reports of olanzapine in the management of stuttering. Three case histories are presented: a 10-year-old boy, a 16-year-old male adolescent with developmental stuttering, and a 9-year-old boy with medication-induced stuttering whose symptoms are successfully controlled with olanzapine. These case studies suggest that olanzapine may be a pharmacologic option in the management of stuttering.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Which patients with prostatic carcinoma require a staging bone scan?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can be used to decide which patients with newly diagnosed prostatic carcinoma require a staging bone scan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of patients referred during an 18-month period for a staging bone scan, 98 (median age 72 years, range 52-89) had had their serum PSA level determined within 4 weeks of the bone scan and were assessed retrospectively for the presence of bony metastases. RESULTS: Of the 98 patients, 26 who had bone scans showing bony metastases had a PSA level > 40 ng/mL. Reviewing the other published studies showed that in those newly diagnosed patients with a PSA level of < 20 ng/mL, the probability of having bony metastases detected on a bone scan was < 1%. CONCLUSIONS: A staging bone scan can be omitted in the vast majority of patients with newly diagnosed prostatic carcinoma and a PSA level < 20 ng/mL.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol phospholipase D activity in human serum.

We measured serum glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol phospholipase D (GPI-PLD) by its alkaline phosphatase releasing activity in healthy and diseased individuals. Linearity with respect to serum concentration was obtained only with very low serum volumes (below about 0.2 microL) necessitating a large predilution of serum to avoid potential artefacts. The assay was sufficiently precise for routine use. Patients with liver disease had lower activities and those with renal disease had higher activities than healthy controls. Following liver transplantation there was no correlation between GPI-PLD and conventional markers of liver function but there was a marked correlation with cholesterol concentration. These observations suggest that liver is a major source of GPI-PLD in serum. Its function remains unknown.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1994

A novel capillary collection method for obtaining current glycosylated haemoglobin levels in diabetic children.

A simple method for collecting capillary blood for measurement of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was developed that allows samples to be obtained at home and then mailed to the laboratory 2 weeks before a hospital visit. A single drop of blood is collected into a 2 ml plastic tube and sent for HbA1c assay on the Diamat HPLC system which has inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation < 2.6 and < 1.2%, respectively. Results of simultaneously obtained venous and capillary samples in 32 diabetic children agreed well with each other. A separate study of 25 patients was performed to determine whether transport conditions affected the samples. Posted samples were compared with venous samples; again the values were in good agreement. This method is now used routinely in the diabetic clinic. Its value was determined by questionnaire in 40 children with age range 4-17 years. No family experienced difficulty collecting samples and all samples received were suitable for analysis. Children preferred this method to blood collection in the clinic as they felt it was less traumatic and more convenient. Seventy-nine percent of them understood its value in the long-term control of diabetes. In 40.5% of visits changes to management were made at the clinic due to the availability of the results.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Investigation of the use of impermeable fluid barriers between pelleted and supernatant enzyme activity in a pseudohomogeneous enzyme immunoassay.

We have investigated the feasibility of performing an automated pseudohomogeneous enzyme immunoassay in which a separation step is not apparent to the user. This was achieved using a layer of silicone fluid, which is immiscible with aqueous solutions, as a physical barrier between the pelleted and supernatant enzyme. Initially we produced a manual assay based on the Serozyme T4 assay to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. This assay showed good precision, parallelism and correlated with 'in house' results on patients' samples. Production of a fully automated assay was made difficult by the design of available equipment but none the less we demonstrated the feasibility of the automated approach by producing a standard curve for T4.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1990

A kinetic assay for urea in undiluted urine specimens.

We describe a kinetic assay for quantifying urea in undiluted urine samples. The assay linearity extends to urea concentrations of 400 mmol/L, is free from interference from blood (10 mL/L) or bilirubin (1 mmol/L), is sufficiently precise for routine use, and correlates well with an established method for assay of diluted urine samples.

Bacillus↗
PubMed1989

An immunoprecipitation assay for high molecular weight alkaline phosphatase in human serum.

The serum of patients with obstructive liver disease may contain a high molecular weight form of alkaline phosphatase (high Mr alkaline phosphatase). The presence of this form of alkaline phosphatase is associated with hepatic malignancies. We have investigated the use of anti-alkaline phosphatase monoclonal antibodies which do not bind high Mr alkaline phosphatase in assays for high Mr alkaline phosphatase. Direct immunoprecipitation of liver and bone alkaline phosphatase with solid phase anti-liver alkaline phosphatase antibody (which also reacts with bone alkaline phosphatase) and measurement of the residual supernatant alkaline phosphatase activity led to a precise assay. Intestinal alkaline phosphatase interfered in this assay which, consequently, was of little use in the differential diagnosis of liver disease. Indirect precipitation of liver, bone, placental and intestinal alkaline phosphatase by soluble anti-liver alkaline phosphatase (which reacts with liver and bone alkaline phosphatases), soluble anti-intestinal alkaline phosphatase (which reacts with placental and intestinal alkaline phosphatases) and solid phase anti-mouse IgG led to an assay which, although less precise, showed more promise of being useful clinically.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1988

Investigation of the use of bilirubin oxidase to measure the apparent unbound bilirubin concentration in human plasma.

An investigation into the use of bilirubin oxidase to measure the apparent concentration of unbound bilirubin in solutions of bilirubin or bilirubin/human serum albumin demonstrated (1) near linearity of oxidation rate with bilirubin concentration up to 16 mumol/L, (2) linearity with respect to enzyme concentration up to 75 mg/L, (3) specificity of the enzyme for unbound bilirubin, as opposed to bound bilirubin, (4) poor precision. Very small absorbance changes leading to poor precision and the potential for interference by conjugated bilirubin meant that the method was unsuitable for patient samples.

Bilirubin↗