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Biomedical subjects

I Forrest

Publications and source records attributed to I Forrest.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

A study of the prevalence of systemic sclerosis in northeast England.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to obtain an estimate of the prevalence and demographics of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its subtypes at the turn of the millennium. METHODS: Case finding from multiple sources from a defined geographical area. Diagnosis confirmed by clinical examination. RESULTS: The crude prevalence of SSc in northeast England was 8.8 (95% CI: 6.8-10.8) per 100,000. The prevalence when adjusted for the entire UK is 8.2 (95% CI: 6.2-9.8) per 100,000. The ratio of women to men was 5.2:1. The median age of patients was 57.1 yr. The ratio of limited cutaneous SSc to diffuse cutaneous SSc was 4.7:1. Limited cutaneous SSc is associated with the presence of anticentromere antibodies; diffuse cutaneous SSc is associated with anti-Scl 70 antibodies, but either antibody was found in either form of SSc. CONCLUSIONS: SSc appears to be more common in northeast England than was found in the West Midlands in 1986. This may reflect changes in the diagnostic definition of SSc.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Preliminary findings of quorum signal molecules in clinically stable lung allograft recipients.

BACKGROUND: Infection with bacteria such as Pseudomonas is common in lung allograft recipients, particularly during chronic rejection. Analysis of sputum samples from patients with cystic fibrosis infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Burkholderia cepacia has indicated the presence of bacterial N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) quorum sensing signalling molecules. AHLs not only control the expression of bacterial virulence genes but are also involved in stimulating the maturation of antibiotic resistant biofilms and host chemokine release. It was hypothesised that AHLs may be detected even in clinically stable lung transplant recipients free of clinical infection or rejection. METHODS: Three 60 ml samples of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were taken from nine stable lung transplant recipients 3-12 months after transplantation. Detection of AHLs was carried out on dichloromethane extracted supernatants using the bioluminescence based AHL reporter plasmid pSB1075. This responds to the presence of AHLs with long acyl chains (C10-C14), generating light. Synthetic AHLs were included as positive controls. RESULTS: Five of the nine BAL fluid supernatants exhibited AHL activity, suggesting the presence of AHLs with long N-acyl chains. There was no correlation between the levels of AHLs detected or their absence and BAL fluid microbiology or diagnosis before transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first evidence for the presence of AHL quorum sensing signals in human lung allograft recipients, even in subjects with no rejection or apparent infection. Further longitudinal follow up of these preliminary findings is required to elucidate potential links with infection, rejection, and allograft deterioration.

Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid↗
PubMed2001

The genetic structures of a range of Douglas-fir provenance collections after planting in different European countries, assessed with two biochemical marker systems.

Genetic diversities of Douglas-fir provenance trials planted on several European sites were compared using both isozyme and terpene markers. A principal coordinate analysis based on similarity coefficients calculated from isozyme data indicated that, with the exception of two populations, differences between populations were small. There were no consistent trends in the variation in allele frequencies between populations. Most populations contained an excess of homozygotes, perhaps due to high selection pressure. Terpene composition was analysed in two resin systems, and showed a decreasing level of population diversity by planting site in the order: Spain-France-England-Scotland-Italy. Thus isozymes, which are generally considered to be neutral markers, indicated a modest degree of genetic drift due to sampling effects, while terpenes showed that some reduction in genetic diversity had occurred due to local selective pressures.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Quantitation of skeletal muscle necrosis using 99Tcm-pyrophosphate with SPECT in a canine model.

Patients with acute arterial occlusion may suffer from significant muscle necrosis. It is important to determine the amount of regional muscle necrosis for prognostic purposes and evaluation of therapy. We have used technetium-99m-pyrophosphate (PPi) with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to quantitate muscle necrosis. A canine gracilis muscle ischaemia model was used. PPi was injected 1.5 h before the muscle preparation was removed from the dog. SPECT was performed on the muscle preparations. An automatic edge detection program using the threshold technique determined the number of pixels with significant PPi activity in each transaxial section. Volume was calculated by summing the number of pixels with significant PPi activity and multiplying by the voxel size. The results were compared with quantitation using computerized planimetry with nitroblue tetrazolium staining (correlation coefficient = 0.93). PPi with SPECT is an accurate method for quantiating muscle necrosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Identification of clinically significant skeletal muscle necrosis by single photon emission computed tomography.

Ischemia-reperfusion damage to skeletal muscle may cause serious local as well as systemic complications, its impact predominantly related to the quantity of ischemic muscle in the lower extremity. To date, there has been no noninvasive method of estimating that quantity. The authors used single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to quantify the volume of muscle that takes up technetium-99 pyrophosphate above a baseline threshold. Compared with the standard technique of staining slices of the muscle with nitroblue tetrazolium they found a close correlation using SPECT (r = 0.88, p less than 0.01, n = 19) in the canine model. In humans, this clinically applicable noninvasive technique may allow the surgeon to document accurately the extent of muscle necrosis in the lower extremity, to anticipate the impact of an ischemia-reperfusion injury and evaluate methods of reducing the extent of post-ischemic skeletal muscle necrosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The rate and distribution of muscle blood flow after prolonged ischemia.

The magnitude and distribution of muscle blood flow in the lower extremity after relief of an acute arterial occlusion may influence the extent of the resulting necrosis. The object of this study was to document the distribution of blood flow in the resting state and after prolonged periods of complete ischemia, and to assess the relationship between the degree of reactive hyperemia and subsequent necrosis. The isolated bilateral canine gracilis muscle preparation that we have previously characterized was used for microsphere studies. Total blood flow was measured by means of timed venous collections, and the distribution of flow was determined by means of a multiple microsphere injection technique. Measurements of microsphere distribution and blood flow were made before ischemia and during the initial 48 minutes of reperfusion after both 4 and 5 hours of normothermic ischemia, which resulted in 46.7% +/- 6% and 71.2% +/- 7% necrosis, respectively. The muscle was harvested and sectioned transversely into six slices approximately 1.5 cm thick, and the extent of necrosis was quantified by means of nitroblue tetrazolium staining 48 hours after reperfusion. Blood flow distribution during the early reperfusion phase was determined in each muscle slice and in both the alive and dead portions of each slice by use of the microsphere injection technique. Preischemic blood flow was distributed homogeneously throughout the muscle and was 4.5 +/- 0.8 ml/100 gm/min (mean +/- SEM, n = 8). On reperfusion total flow was 6 to 10 times higher than it was before ischemia and was distributed predominantly to the middle slices (p less than 0.05, n = 12).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Management education and training of nurses: research study.

The model of more pro-active management with a more analytical and deliberative approach has considerable implications for the roles of all managers within the National Health Service today. Nurse managers, in particular, will now be faced with developing different managerial roles than they have had in the years since the 1974 reorganization. Nurse management courses in the past were more concerned with the overt training of behavioural skills and less concerned with the quantitative and analytical aspects of management. This paper investigates in what areas nurse managers perceived their training to have been deficient and argues for a continuous process of education, as opposed to the existing intermittent 'hurdle process' which, in the main, is the basis of nurse management development at the present time.

Administrative Personnel↗