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G Court

Publications and source records attributed to G Court.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

High service users: does the clinical psychologist have a role?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of psychological intervention on high users of the GP service. DESIGN: A sample of high-attenders was offered the opportunity to attend an interview with a clinical psychologist. A three-year (one year before and two years after psychological intervention) survey of patient records was carried out to determine the pattern of patient attendances. In addition, GP and patient satisfaction questionnaires were utilised to rate the psychological service. SETTING: A GP surgery situated in the coastal region of Scotland. SUBJECTS: All adult patients, who had consulted over 12 times in the 12 months prior to the beginning of the study except those who had ongoing medical problems that the GP felt were being dealt with adequately, were invited to a psychological interview. In all, 174 invitations were sent, and 101 agreed to psychological intervention. RESULTS: After three months both the GPs and patients positively rated the input of the psychologist. There were short-term benefits from the psychological intervention in terms of attendance rates, which were not in evidence in the long term. For the participating group there was a significant decrease in attendance rate three months after psychological intervention compared to the non-participating group (P < 0.001). However, at 12 and 24 months after intervention both groups reduced attendance at a similar rate. CONCLUSION: Psychologist intervention had a short, but not long term, benefit, in reducing attendance rates. However, both GPs and patients found the provision of a report from the psychologist useful.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Non-ginsenoside nicotinic activity in ginseng species.

Amongst the many different therapeutic applications of ginseng are beneficial effects on age-related cognitive impairments. Ageing in the brain is associated with a loss of nicotinic receptor binding and receptor stimulation increases binding. Stimulation of the CNS (central nervous system) nicotinic receptor is considered to be beneficial in relation to symptomatic treatment and neuroprotection in age-associated cognitive disorders which involve a further receptor loss. We assessed Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium and several chemical constituents of these plants for nicotinic activity based on displacement of 3H-(-)nicotine from human brain cerebral cortex membranes in vitro. Dose-dependent displacement was evident in crude ethanol extracts of Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolium. Assay of an extract of Panax ginseng showed the plant to have affinity for both the nicotinic receptor, and to a lesser extent the muscarinic receptor (IC50 2.12 mg/mL and 5.25 mg/mL respectively). Activity was largely conserved after the extraction of choline and other water soluble quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), indicating that the activity of the plant extracts was not due to choline. Displacement binding assay of some purified chemical constituents, including a number of ginsenosides, showed that these were not primarily responsible for Panax activity. The active chemical constituent has yet to be identified, but the demonstrated nicotinic activity of ginseng warrants further investigation with reference to therapeutic activity in age-related conditions such as dementia.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Large scale screening programme for selection of antisera for radioimmunoassay of human parathyroid hormone.

A large-scale, three-phase screening programme has been devised for the rapid selection of antisera which might be of potential use in clinical radioimmunoassays for human parathyroid hormone. A total of 122 sera from 169 guinea pigs and 6 rabbits immunized with bovine parathyroid hormone, and 12 guinea pigs immunized with human parathyroid hormone were assessed relative to reference antisera. Pre-determined criteria for the three phase programme were imposed by the requirement for antisera that could be used at dilutions greater than 10(-5) in order to ensure continuity of supplies for wide-spread distribution and by the limited availability of human parathyroid hormone for testing purposes. Of the sera tested, only 5 were selected as having high titre and sensitivity for low concentrations of human parathyroid hormone. The 5 antisera were further evaluated for amino- and carboxyl-region specificities for the human parathyroid hormone in comparison with antiserum 211/32, widely distributed for use in radioimmunoassay for clinical purposes. The selected antisera appear to be of high affinity with good recognition of the whole or carboxyl-region parts of the human parathyroid molecule.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Comparison of a modified microagglutination technique for HBsAg with the standard technique and a new RIA system.

A further modification of the standard RPHA technique (Hepatest, Wellcome Reagents) for the detection of HBsAg is described. This modification does not require a centrifugation step which is required by the other modifications that have been described previously and consequently takes a little longer to perform. It does, however, retain the advantages of increased sensitivity and decreased costs which are also features of the other modifications. A series of 939 routine clinical specimens were used to evaluate the method described and to evaluate a new RIA kit for the detection of HBsAg (Hepatube, Wellcome Reagents). Of 53 specimens found to be positive for HBsAg by RIA, 50 (94% were detected by the modified Hepatest RPHA as opposed to 47 (89%) by the standard technique.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1975

The production of antibodies for radioimmunoassay.

Three factors which affect the outcome of any immunisation schedule designed to produce antisera for radio-immunoassay, the antigen, the method of immunisation and the choice of animal are considered. Several factors concerning the nature of the antigen are dealt with, for example, the molecular size and immunogenicity of the antigen. It is noted that the larger polypeptide and proteins are sufficiently immunogenic to elicit a useful antibody response alone and that whilst substances with molecular weights of less than 2000 may produce a response alone they will probably produce a better one if they are conjugated (chemically coupled) to a much larger molecule. With the low molecular weight substances such as the thyroxine, steroid hormones, and drugs which are of much clinical interest to many people conjugation is essential. The availability and purity of the immunogen are considered, especially in cases where a minute amount of material has been produced following a long and tedious purification procedure. The necessity in such instances that workers are aware of the smallest amount of material that will produce a useful antibody response and also of the most effective method of immunisation is stressed. The method of immunisation is discussed including a consideration of the use of adjuvant and the route and timing of injections. It is noted that antisera showing the relevant properties for radio-immunoassay are rarely produced without emulsification of the immunogen in Freund's adjuvant although this is not an absolute requirement for antibody production. Data are presented comparing the intramuscular and multiple intradermal routes of injection. The results, however, fail to demonstrate any major advantage for either method although the latter may be more economical, producing high titre antisera with relatively small amounts of immunogen. Because of their convenience rabbits are generally the first choice of animal for raising antisera for radioimmunoassay although guinea pigs, chickens and sheep have been used successfully in many cases.

Animals↗