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Biomedical subjects

H Tate

Publications and source records attributed to H Tate.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The effect of weight loss on body image in HIV-positive gay men.

The purpose of this study was to assess how body image may be affected by HIV-related weight loss. Qualitative methodology was used: eight gay men with weight loss of at least 10% self-completed a brief, tailor-made questionnaire and then participated singly in semi-structured audiotaped interviews. Questionnaire analysis showed all but one had avoided social activities in the last two months due to self-consciousness over their emaciated appearance; family visits, meeting new people and meeting up again with people after weight loss were most problematic. Interview analysis revealed that in addition to social considerations, bodily comfort and effectiveness were affected, and participants identified weight loss as a clear sign of disease progression. Weight regain was problematic and food had become a difficult issue for most. These results suggest that in gay men, HIV-related weight loss causes significant emotional and physical problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Food refusal and dysphagia in older people with dementia: ethical and practical issues.

Food refusal poses difficulties for nurses and care staff and can place older patients with dementia at risk of undernutrition. The dangers of and reasons for food refusal in these patients are explored and the fundamental ethical and legal issues raised in caring for these patients are examined. Practical guidance and solutions are offered through dietetics and speech and language therapy with the aim of helping nurses and care staff, as well as professional carers in palliative care, and explore ways of critically examining and coping with these dilemmas.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Measurement of glomerular volume in needle biopsy specimens. The ESPRIT Study Group (European Study of the Progression of Renal Disease in Type 1 Diabetes).

BACKGROUND: Various methods have been used to determine mean glomerular volume, some requiring measurement of over 30 glomerular profiles for a satisfactory estimate. Needle biopsies are useful diagnostically, but if small, provide insufficient tissue for the use of such methods. METHODS: We performed glomerular volume measurements on renal biopsies from 10 normotensive, non-uraemic patients with Type 1 diabetes. Sections were taken at 10 microm intervals through 10 glomeruli per biopsy and points landing on glomerular tuft counted under light microscopy. Volume was calculated from the measured cross-sectional area and known section thickness using the Cavalieri principle. RESULTS: Estimating the volume of 10 glomeruli per biopsy gave an overall mean glomerular volume of 4.21x10(6) microm(3) and standard deviation between patient means 1.23x10(6) microm(3.) Using a sample size of five glomeruli per biopsy only increased the standard deviation between patient mean values by 3%. Using sections taken at 20 microm intervals made little difference to the mean glomerular volume and standard deviation estimates (MGV 4.20x10(6) microm(3)+/-1.24). Further increases in the sectioning interval resulted in an appreciable increase in the variance of the estimate. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a satisfactory estimate of mean glomerular volume can be obtained from a sample size of five glomeruli per biopsy using a sectioning interval of 20 microm. This represents a great saving in analysis time and effort, making widespread use of this method of glomerular volume measurement in renal disease more practicable, in both research and clinical settings.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1996

A meta-analysis of clinical studies of imipenem-cilastatin for empirically treating febrile neutropenic patients.

There are many clinical studies comparing antibiotic treatments, but the majority are too small to have sufficient power to be reasonably certain of detecting statistically a moderate treatment effect. For example, few of the 19 studies published on imipenem-cilastatin for empirically treating febrile neutropenic patients were able to show any significant treatment effect in either direction when compared with alternative regimens. We therefore undertook a meta-analysis of these studies and made 21 pairwise comparisons of a control regimen with imipenem-cilastatin. Eleven comparisons were made between imipenem-cilastatin and a beta-lactam-aminoglycoside combination, and a further 10 between the carbapenem and a beta-lactam regimen either alone or combined with a glycopeptide or other beta-lactam antibiotic. These two data sets were analysed separately. Imipenem-cilastatin demonstrated a beneficial treatment effect over that achieved by aminoglycoside containing control regimens, yielding a typical odds ratio (OR) of 0.77 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.98). A beneficial treatment effect for the carbapenem regimen was also shown against regimens that did not include an aminoglycoside, with the typical OR being 0.67 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.84). Although there was clinical heterogeneity between studies, the treatment effect itself was relatively homogenous. These results show meta-analysis to be a useful aid for interpreting the data from clinical studies that are intrinsically too small to provide conclusive results.

Cilastatin↗
PubMed1994

Spontaneous renal cell tumors in Long-Evans Cinnamon rats.

Neoplastic lesions of the kidneys in untreated Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats of 57-118 weeks old (85 males and 34 females) and male F344 rats of 64-93 weeks old (59 males) were examined histologically. The incidences of renal cell tumors in male and female LEC rats were 6/80 (8%) in weeks 57-65, 3/19 (16%) in weeks 66-75, 3/8 (38%) in weeks 76-105 and 7/12 (58%) in weeks 106-118. Of these tumors, 13 were microscopic adenomas and 7 were renal cell carcinomas. The copper content of the kidneys was about three times higher in LEC rats than in F344 rats (P < 0.001), but the iron content of the kidneys was similar in the two strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Immunosuppressive effect of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The infectivity of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) mononuclear leukocyte subpopulations was investigated to determine the mechanisms of immunosuppression caused by the virus. IPNV was recovered from nylon wool-adherent, surface immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive leukocytes of head kidney, spleen and peripheral blood collected from virus-inoculated fish with higher titers than non-adherent, Ig-negative cells. Non-adherent cell population showed mitogenic response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A but not to lipopolysaccharide. Conversely, the responses of adherent cells to these mitogens were weak. Mitogenic response and non-specific cytotoxicity of head kidney leukocytes significantly decreased by the inoculation of fish with the virus. These results suggest that the suppression of immune responses is involved in the establishment of carrier state in fish after infection with IPNV.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Reversibly injured, postischemic canine myocardium retains normal contractile reserve.

Transient coronary occlusion (15 minutes) does not result in irreversible myocardial injury but is associated with a depression of contractile function sustained for several hours to days ("stunned myocardium"). The defect in the contractile process responsible for this phenomenon has been suggested to be causally related to a reduced energetic state, altered excitation or excitation-contraction coupling, or damaged contractile filaments. The purpose of this study was to attempt to exclude one or more of these hypotheses by evaluating the contractile reserve of reperfused myocardium. Regional subendocardial segment function was measured (sonomicrometry) in a control region and in an area (treatment region) perfused by a carotid artery to anterior descending coronary artery bypass in 13 chloralose-anesthetized dogs. Dose-response curves were constructed from changes in segment shortening (%SS) in response to intracoronary calcium infusion before ischemia and following 5 or 15 minutes of occlusion and reperfusion (30 minutes). Calcium infusion before ischemia resulted in dose-dependent increases in %SS in the treatment area to a maximum value of 36.6% from a preinfusion value of 25.5% (p less than 0.01), in the absence of changes in control region shortening (23.7%). After 15 minutes of occlusion and reperfusion, treatment area %SS had fallen to a depressed but stable level (46% of preischemic values; p less than 0.01). Subsequent calcium infusion at the same doses as in the preischemic trial produced increases in treatment segment function with return of shortening to control levels at an intermediate dose. At the highest dose, %SS was 35.4%, which was not different from the maximal value found in the preischemic trial. Alterations in heart rate and left ventricular systolic and diastolic pressures during calcium infusion were minor and similar before and after ischemia. Calcium-induced increases in regional segment shortening above control levels (113% of control) in reperfused myocardium were sustained with continuous infusion (30 minutes) without deleterious effects on subsequent function. These results demonstrate that stunned myocardium in this model retains a normal contractile reserve in response to calcium, suggesting that the mechanism responsible for postischemic contractile dysfunction involves calcium.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Plasma CEA in the post-surgical monitoring of colorectal carcinoma.

This paper reports the findings of the M.R.C., study into the use of the plasma CEA test for early detection of recurrence following "successful" surgery for colorectal carcinoma. This study was set up in 1973, and represents the largest series of patients published on this topic. It was primarily prospective, 468 patients being entered at the time of, or after the initial diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. Follow-up was for at least 2 years, and both initially and throughout the follow-up the clinician treating the patient was kept "blind" to the patient's plasma CEA level. The general conclusion is that the CEA test provides a useful additional tool for the early detection of recurrence in these patients. Sixty-five per cent of patients with recurrence showed a raised plasma CEA level, and over half the patients who developed recurrence had a raised level some time before the disease was detected by other means. A surprising number of patients had a raised CEA level on a single occasion which subsequently returned to normal at the next follow-up and did not seem to be associated with malignancy. The problems associated with this type of study and their limiting effect on interpretation are discussed.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed1981

Assessing tumour markers.

This paper explores the factors involved in assessing the value of a tumour-marker test in differential diagnosis and patient monitoring. The difficulties have been grossly underestimated, and in the past it has been tacitly assumed that an association between the tumour-marker level and the presence of malignancy is sufficient to prove the usefulness of the test. Part 1 investigates in depth the principles of design of a study to evaluate a tumour-marker test, bearing in mind the ultimate aim of improving the patient's prognosis. The preliminary research carried out on the tumour marker, the laboratory assay technique itself and the "normal" range of levels or the use of a proposed critical level, are all reviewed. The clinical side presents many problems, including the precise definition of the medical situation in which the addition of a new test may assist, and the estimation of the overall size of this problem. Some examples from studies are given. The general principle of evaluating a tumour marker by considering the clinical situation first without, and then with, a tumour-marker result, is stressed. Part 2 gives some practical advice on the setting-up, administration and analysis of such studies.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed1975

Examination of cocksfoot pollen (Dactylis glomerata) extracts by skin prick test in man, RAST-based allergen assay and protein content.

Three commercial preparations of cocksfoot pollen (Dactylis glomerata) from different manufacturers were compared by skin prick tests in man, allergen activity as measured by the RAST test and protein nitrogen unit (PNU) and total nitrogen (N) content. The skin prick tests were made on the forearm with the undiluted preparations and also with solutions of 1/5 and 1/25 dilutions. Three groups each of 9 subjects were tested and the sites for the 9 tests were determined by 3 different latin squares. Taking one of the preparations as having a potency of unity, the estimated potencies for the other two were 0.28 and 0.18 when the areas of the weals were measured by a graph paper method and they were 0.27 and 0.19 when the areas were calculated by taking the product of the longest diameter of the weal and that at right angles to it. No notable differences were observed when the solutions were inoculated at different test sites. The three preparations were ranked in the same order of potency by the skin prick test, by measurement of allergen activity as measured by a RAST-based allergen assay method using the sera of the test subjects, and by measurement of their PNU but not their total N content. Comparisons such as these could possibly lead to the production of allergen extract preparations of similar or with consistent potency.

Allergens↗