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Biomedical subjects

G Stamp

Publications and source records attributed to G Stamp.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Ulcerative ileojejunitis associated with pulmonary fibrosis and polymyositis.

Ulcerative ileojejunitis is a rare condition. We describe a patient who developed this on a background of longstanding celiac disease. Long-term remission has been maintained on corticosteroids. Recently polymyositis and an inflammatory alveolitis have developed, both responding to a higher dose of prednisolone. Relationships between celiac disease and ulcerative ileojejunitis, polymyositis and fibrosing alveolitis have been previously described, and it is of interest that an auto-immune pathophysiology has been implicated in each of these conditions.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Fast neutron therapy for soft tissue sarcoma.

Seventy-nine patients with soft tissue sarcoma were treated with fast neutron therapy at the Hammersmith Hospital, MRC Cyclotron Unit. Sixty-six of these, treated between 1971 and 1983 were assessable. The histology was reviewed and graded in 82% of cases and tumors divided into groups according to maximum diameter. In sixteen patients, who were irradiated following complete macroscopic removal of tumor, there was 94% local control and 86% survived 5 years. Of the 50 patients who had gross tumors present 62% were greater than 10 cm in diameter, and 20 were recurrent after previous radiotherapy or surgery or both. Sixty-eight per cent of gross tumors completely regressed and local control was 52%. The main cause of death was metastatic spread, and median survival was 63 months for Grade 1 patients, 9 months for Grade 2, and 7 months for Grade 3. Thus, there was a significant advantage to patients with Grade 1 tumor but little difference between Grades 2 and 3. Twenty-seven patients experienced late complications of treatment, 67% of which involved the skin predominantly and were related to the low energy of neutrons used. Seventeen of the 27 had received previous radiotherapy. Neutron therapy given in this dose and fractionation produced a higher local control rate than photon therapy, but complications were more frequent. Since these mainly involved the skin a lower level of complications may be anticipated using higher energy neutrons which will have a more even distribution of dose and lower skin dosage. Forty-eight per cent of patients developed metastatic disease, indicating the need for effective systemic therapy, especially in Grades 2 and 3 tumors.

Fast Neutrons↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of cytokines on cultured mononuclear cells from patients with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In the past 5 years a number of cytokines have been identified that control B cell development, proliferation, and maturation. The role of such cytokines in the evolution, pathophysiology, and treatment of B cell malignancies is an area of great interest. The in vitro response of freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and a high white cell count, to four cytokines, IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2 and TNF, was studied. No culture condition or cytokine resulted in a significant increase in cell number over 4 days, cells survived better in autologous serum than in heat inactivated foetal calf serum, and a small but significant increase in blast cells was seen when the cells were cultured in IL-2. There was a discrepancy between uptake of thymidine and increase in cell number which can be explained by the low labelling index of these cultures and the fact that cells can incorporate [3H]-thymidine without going into mitosis. The majority of cultures produced biologically active TNF at levels ranging from 1 to 40 pg/ml. In IFN-alpha treated cultures TNF levels were decreased. Cultures contained biologically active IL-6 at levels ranging from 2 to 2800 U/ml. IL-6 production was not influenced by other cytokines. Thirteen of 28 patients had detectable IL-6 in their serum, but in cells lysed no more than 2 h after removal from the patient, message for IL-6 could not be detected by Northern blotting. Cells also failed to express IL-1 beta mRNA but seven of eight patients had low levels of TNF message. Preliminary data using in situ hybridization techniques revealed that whilst no mRNA for IL-6 was detected, TNF and IL-1 beta mRNA were detected in a minority of mononuclear cells.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Targeted disruption of the gene encoding DNA ligase IV leads to lethality in embryonic mice.

DNA ligase IV is the most recently identified member of a family of enzymes joining DNA strand breaks in mammalian cell nuclei [1] [2]. The enzyme occurs in a complex with the XRCC4 gene product [3], an interaction mediated via its unique carboxyl terminus [4] [5]. Cells lacking XRCC4 are hypersensitive to ionising radiation and defective in V(D)J recombination [3] [6], implicating DNA ligase IV in the pathway of nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) of DNA double-strand breaks mediated by XRCC4, the Ku70/80 heterodimer and the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) in mammalian cells (reviewed in [7]). The phenotype of a null mutant of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA ligase IV homologue indicates that the enzyme is non-essential and functions in yeast NHEJ [8] [9] [10]. Unlike other mammalian DNA ligases for which cDNAs have been characterised, DNA ligase IV is encoded by an intronless gene (LIG4). Here, we show that targeted disruption of LIG4 in the mouse leads to lethality associated with extensive apoptotic cell death in the embryonic central nervous system. Thus, unlike Ku70/80 and DNA-PKcs [11] [12] [13] [14], DNA ligase IV has an essential function in early mammalian development.

Animals↗