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Biomedical subjects

G Wickus

Publications and source records attributed to G Wickus.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Thyroid function tests in elderly hyperthyroid patients.

Several tests of thyroid function were performed in 35 hyperthyroid patients over the age of 65 (elderly). The results were compared to those of similar tests in 48 hyperthyroid patients under the age of 65 (young). Total serum thyroxine (T4) was within the normal range in 14 percent of the elderly and 11 percent of the young hyperthyroid patients. The free thyroxine index (FTI) was within the normal range in 11 percent of both groups. The triiodothyronine uptake (T3U) proved to be a poor test in both groups. Although elevation of the triiodothyronine (T3) level allowed a diagnosis of "T3-toxicosis" in 2 elderly and 3 young hyperthyroid patients, the T3 level was normal in 34 percent of the elderly and 13 percent of the young subjects. Correction of the T3 range for age reduced the number of normal T3 values to 12.5 percent in the elderly hyperthyroid patients. The 24-hour uptake of radioactive iodine was normal in 12 percent of the young hyperthyroid patients, 27 percent of the elderly patients with Graves' disease, and 70 percent of the elderly patients with toxic nodular goiter, despite recent readjustment of the normal range for the test. It is concluded that the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism in the elderly may be difficult and that no single test can be relied upon to exclude the diagnosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Decrease in membrane-associated actin of fibroblasts after transformation by Rous sarcoma virus.

The actin content of membranes prepared from cultured chick embryo fibroblasts has been measured on polyacrylamide gels. The actin was identified by tryptic peptide mapping. After transformation of the cells by Rous sarcoma virus, the amount of actin associated with the membranes is decreased by 30-50%. This result is not due to infection per se, since infection by a temperature-sensitive strain of the virus decreases membrane-associated actin only at the permissive temperature. A shift from the nonpermissive (41 degrees) to the permissive (36 degrees) temperature results in an increase in the percentage of total cellular protein synthesis devoted to actin production, so that the decrease in membrane-associated actin appears to be a selective displacement from the membrane rather than a general decrease in total cellular actin.

Actins↗