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Biomedical subjects

J Kemp

Publications and source records attributed to J Kemp.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A familial lymphoproliferative disorder presenting with primary pulmonary manifestations.

A familial lymphoproliferative disorder presented in three male siblings with primary pulmonary involvement manifested as either lymphoid interstitial pneumonia or an angiodestructive polymorphous infiltrate morphologically resembling lymphomatoid granulomatosis. The polymorphous infiltrate consisted chiefly of mature T-cells with a few B-cells and plasma cells, and gene rearrangement studies failed to show clonality. Epstein-Barr virus, frequently associated with proliferative lesions in males in the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome, was not demonstrated in any of the pulmonary lesions. An HLA haplotype shared among the affected siblings was A1, B8, DR4. The unusual clinical presentation plus the lack of involvement by EBV in the pulmonary lesions suggests that this is a previously undescribed familial lymphoproliferative disorder.

Adolescent

Retention of cocaine abusers in outpatient psychotherapy.

Retention in outpatient psychotherapy of 148 crack and cocaine abusers was examined. The clients were predominantly Black (63%) and Hispanic (21%), predominantly male (87%), and the majority (66%) had completed no more than 12 years of high school. Clients entered treatment in a low-cost treatment center in New York City between June 1987 and November 1988. Forty-two percent (62) of the subjects were seen for one or two research interviews only, and did not return to begin therapy. Of the 86 persons who came to at least one therapy session, 30% (26) dropped out before the third session, 28% (24) dropped out between the third and fifth sessions, and 42% (36) were retained for six or more sessions. Short-term and longer-term retentions were analyzed separately, using a battery including sociodemographic variables, treatment history, psychiatric symptomatology, number of arrests, and drug use variables. None of the variables considered was significantly related to short-term retention. There were large although not significant differences in longer term retention by therapist. Longer-term retention was associated significantly with being White (contrasted with being Black) and being young. Nonsignificant but large associations were found between longer-term retention and having few arrests, being Hispanic (contrasted with being Black), and having low SCL-90 scores. Results are compared with previous findings about retention in drug and alcohol treatment. It is suggested that future research on retention in treatment focus less on client variables and more on therapist and program variables.

Adult

Localization of human glandular kallikrein-1 gene to chromosome 19q13.3-13.4 by in situ hybridization.

Humans possess 3 fully characterized kallikrein-like genes. The gene expressed in kidney, pancreas and salivary gland (KLK), and the gene encoding prostate-specific antigen (APS) have been localized to chromosome 19q13.2-qter. The present study describes the localization of the remaining gene, hGK-1, which has highest homology to and a similar tissue specificity of expression as the APS gene. Using a [3H]-labeled probe derived from a hGK-1 genomic clone, we demonstrated hybridization confined to the q13.3 and q13.4 bands of chromosome 19 and suggest that kallikrein genes may possibly be located near the border of these two bands.

Chromosome Mapping

Outcomes for cocaine abusers after once-a-week psychosocial therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the efficacy of once-weekly psychotherapy, family therapy, or group therapy led by paraprofessionals among patients with cocaine use disorders. METHOD: Of subjects who sought outpatient treatment, 168 consented to participate in the study and were each randomly assigned to one of the three forms of therapy; 122 patients were interviewed 6-12 months later. Their pre- and posttreatment scores on the Addiction Severity Index were compared. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed for the cohort as a whole, but virtually all of the improvement was restricted to the 23 subjects (19%) who were not using cocaine at follow-up. There was a strong relationship between abstinence from cocaine use and absence of addiction-related problems, especially psychiatric symptoms and family problems. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study indicate that outpatient therapy once a week is ineffective for cocaine use disorder. The 19% abstinence rate probably represents spontaneous remission among patients with enough motivation to seek treatment, as the number of therapy sessions attended was not related to improvement. Either an intense level of outpatient contact or residential treatment followed by aftercare is probably needed, at least initially, while the patient is attempting to initiate and sustain abstinence.

Adult

Psychopathology among cocaine abusers entering treatment.

A number of different indicators of psychopathology were assessed in this study of 76 cocaine and crack abusers who entered outpatient treatment in New York City between June and December 1987. The majority (75%) had used cocaine for 4 years or more, and the majority (62%) spent over one thousand dollars a month on cocaine in the 6 months before entry into treatment. Forty-seven percent of the sample were found to be clinically depressed. Phobic disorders were the only other axis I diagnoses found in addition to depression, and all persons who were found to have phobic disorders also were diagnosed as having some form of depressive disorder. The four most common axis II diagnoses were antisocial personality (21%), passive-aggressive (21%), borderline (18%) and self-defeating (18%). Subjects were classified as falling into one of the following three categories of a newly developed "psychopathology classification": a) no diagnosed psychopathology except substance abuse or dependency; b) one or more axis II diagnoses, but no axis I diagnoses except for substance abuse or dependency; c) at least one axis I diagnosis in addition to drug disorders whether or not accompanied by an axis II diagnosis. Mean scores on subscales and total score on the SCL-90, as well as total score on the Beck Depression Inventory, were ordered by category of the classification scheme, with those having no diagnosed psychopathology except substance abuse having the lowest score and persons in the third category having the highest score.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cocaine

Localization of human cardiac beta-myosin heavy chain gene (MYH7) to chromosome 14q12 by in situ hybridization.

The genes coding for each human cardiac myosin heavy chain (alpha-MHC and beta-MHC, MYH6 and MYH7, respectively) are tightly linked and the alpha-MHC gene has been assigned to chromosome 14. In order to provide a more precise regional localization, in situ hybridization experiments were carried out using a 3H-labeled probe derived from a beta-MHC genomic clone. The results demonstrated that the human cardiac MHC genes are located within the q12 band of chromosome 14.

Chromosome Banding

Duplication of 5q11.2----q13.1 from a familial (5;20) balanced insertion.

A 2-year-old boy with gross motor delay and few minor anomalies has a pure duplication of a small segment of chromosome 5q11.2----q13.1. A balanced insertion of this 5q segment into chromosome 20q proximal to the centromere has been found in his father, uncle, and paternal grandmother.

Abnormalities, Multiple

A specific LTD4/LTE4-receptor antagonist improves pulmonary function in patients with mild, chronic asthma.

LY171883 is a new selective LTD4/LTE4-receptor antagonist. To evaluate the efficacy of LY171883, we studied 138 nonsmoking asthmatic patients, 18 to 65 yr old, in a double-blind, randomized block-design study. All patients were required to demonstrate a greater than or equal to 15% increase in FEV1 after inhaled bronchodilator use and were then randomly assigned to either LY171883 (600 mg) or placebo twice daily for 6 weeks. Assessment of efficacy was measured by inhaled metaproterenol use (mg/wk), symptoms, twice-daily peak expiratory flow, and weekly FEV1 measurements. LY171883-treated patients had improved FEV1 values upon completion of the treatment period compared with placebo recipients (p = 0.003). Metaproterenol use decreased in both groups, but treatment differences, though not statistically significant, favored LY171883 (p = 0.089). Of patients who used at least 23 mg/wk of metaproterenol (36 inhalations) at initiation of the study, those who received LY171883 used significantly less metaproterenol than those who received placebo (p = 0.007). LY171883 was well tolerated and reduced the need for a bronchodilator drug while improving pulmonary function. Results of this study support the hypothesis that leukotrienes LTD4 and/or LTE4 may be important in the pathogenesis of asthma in humans.

Acetophenones

Evaluation of staining methods for identifying Campylobacter pylori.

Campylobacter pylori has been implicated in the pathogenesis of peptide ulcer disease. The rapid identification of this organism may depend upon histologic diagnosis, because culture methods are complex and require a minimum of seven days in order to identify a negative specimen. The purpose of this study was to determine which stain used to identify this organism was the most cost-effective and easiest to perform and interpret on a routine basis. Sixty-one consecutive gastric antral biopsies were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Giemsa, Brown-Brenn, and Warthin-Starry, with 23 of the cases stained by Brown-Hopps. Of the stains tested, the Wright-Giemsa was the easiest to perform. The organisms on the Wright-Giemsa showed a smooth, uniform purple color, whereas the Warthin-Starry gave the organism a granular appearance that at times could be confused for silver precipitate. Both the Wright-Giemsa and Brown-Hopps stain had the highest degree of identification of the organism (defined by percent positivity). The routine use of the Wright-Giemsa stain for identification of C. pylori in antral biopsies is recommended.

Acute Disease

Immunoregulatory circuits among T cell sets: effect of mode of immunization on determining which Lyl T cell sets will be activated.

Lyl T cells are able to induce B cells to make antibody and also to induce a resting Lyl23 T cell set to exert potent feedback suppression. Which of these two pathways Lyl T cells take can be influenced by the mode of immunization. In particular, in vitro immunized Lyl T cells are more likely to induce suppression than are Lyl T cells immunized in vivo even when both populations deliver the same amount of help to purified B cells. The feedback suppression induced by the Lyl T cells immunized in vitro can be distinguished from suppression mediated by Ly2+ T cells; in the former case suppression is preceded by a precocious antibody response, whereas suppression mediated by Ly2+ T cells is apparent throughout the entire period of observation.

Animals

Immunoregulatory circuits among T-cell sets. Identification of a subpopulation of T-helper cells that induces feedback inhibition.

Purified Ly1 cells induce other T-cell sets to exert potent feedback inhibitory activity and this T-T interaction has been shown to play an important role in regulating in vivo immune responses. Approximately 2/3 of Ly1 cells also express the Qa1 surface phenotype (Ly1:Qa1+ cells). The experiments reported here indicate that Ly1:Qal+ cells are responsible for induction of feedback inhibition and that signals from both Ly1:Qal+ cells and Ly1:Qal- cells are required for optimal formation of antibody by B cells.

Animals

T cells specific for hapten-modified self are precommitted for self major histocompatibility complex antigens before encounter with the hapten.

The technique of antigen-driven, 5-bromo-deoxyuridine and light suicide has been adapted to eliminate the precursors of cytotoxic effector cells both for alloantigen and for 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl(TNP)-modified stimulator and target cells. Using this technique, the following observations have been made. Precursors of killer cells specific for alloantigen can be suicided independently of precursors of killer cells specific for TNP-modified self cells. The loss of activity during this procedure is not due to either specific or nonspecific suppressor cells, as judged by mixing experiments. With responder cells from F1 animals, it has been possible to show that precursors specific for TNP-modified cells from one parent are suicided independently of precursors specific for TNP-modified cells of the other parent, but only if the parental strains differ in the K and D regions of the H-2 complex. Cells of F1 mice derived from K and D identical, I region different, parental strains were specifically suicided by TNP-modified stimulator cells from either parent. However, the cross-reactive killing of TNP-self targets induced by stimulation with allogeneic cells is not eliminated by first suiciding with TNP-parental cells, suggesting that the precursors of these two types of TNP-self killer cells are different. This is compatible with reported differences in their specificity, as confirmed in this report. Finally, deletion of alloreactive cells by this technique reveals little or no reactivity specific for TNP-modified allogeneic stimulator cells. In summary, these results strongly suggest that recognition of self MHC antigens is preprogrammed in peripheral T cells of normal animals, and is not acquired during the immunization process. They also suggest that cells specific for modified alloantigen are relatively rare in the strains of mice studied.

Animals