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Biomedical subjects

J Towler

Publications and source records attributed to J Towler.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

The effect of radiotherapy on urethral obstruction from carcinoma of the prostate.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of radiotherapy on the relief of complete bladder outlet obstruction requiring catheterization secondary to prostatic carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From a consecutive series of 151 patients treated with radiotherapy for localized carcinoma of the prostate, 19 (12.6%; median age 72 years, range 59-83) who had an indwelling catheter in situ at the time of irradiation because of urinary retention, were analysed retrospectively and grouped according to the stage and grade of tumour and the irradiation dose delivered. RESULTS: The catheter was removed following radiotherapy in all but two patients, who both had stage 4 tumours, and normal urinary function was restored. The grade and stage of tumour did not influence the duration of catheterization. The median time from completion of radiotherapy to catheter removal was 10 weeks (range 0-46). Recatheterization was required in two patients at 3 and 64 months after radiotherapy and three patients, including these two, required transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) to relieve outlet obstruction. CONCLUSION: Prostatic radiotherapy is effective in relieving bladder neck obstruction caused by prostate cancer. Most patients will achieve normal urinary function without requiring TURP after treatment.

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PubMed1987

The effects of interferons on the activity of alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase in benign prostatic hyperplasia cells in primary culture.

Human benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues were obtained from patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate and viable cells from these were successfully maintained in primary cultures grown on collagen gel. The prostatic origin of the cells was confirmed by the measurement of prostate specific acid phosphatase and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy before and after immunostaining with human prostate specific antigen-antibody. The cell cultures were treated with various interferons (IFNs), both in the presence and absence of testosterone propionate (TP), for 72 hours and the activities of seven enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were estimated in the cytosolic fraction of the cells. Treatment with TP induced a significant decrease in the activity of alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPDH). Using this enzyme activity as a marker, the effects of various types of IFNs were investigated. IFN-alpha (wellferon) increased the activity of the enzyme both in the presence of one microgram./ml. of TP and in its absence whereas IFN-gamma inhibited the activity under similar conditions. The effect of treatment with IFN-beta in the presence of TP was biphasic in that there was an increase in the activity of the enzyme at the lowest concentration while at higher concentrations an inhibition of enzymic activity was observed. In the absence of TP IFN-beta inhibited the activity. The significance of these findings in terms of the clinical usefulness of IFNs is discussed and it is postulated that IFN-alpha (wellferon) might be effective in the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the prostate in selected patients.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1983

Enzyme studies in human prostatic tissues.

The activities of six enzymes associated with carbohydrate metabolism were measured in 24 benign prostatic hyperplasias and 29 carcinomas of the prostate with the intention of investigating whether these measurements might eventually predict the clinical course of the disease. The following findings are recorded: the activities of PFK, alpha-GPDH and PHI were significantly lower in carcinomas. Comparison between well and poorly-differentiated carcinomas indicated a significantly lower activity of 6PGDH and higher alpha-GPDH/6PGDH ratios in the latter. These findings are the opposite of those observed in carcinomas of the breast.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Influencing clinical practice: evidence-based wound care.

Influencing clinical practice increasingly requires quality evidence to support recommendations and guidelines. Review of the evidence for wound care interventions provides practitioners with several challenges. Randomized controlled trials are scarce and have many limitations with respect to wound care, while other sources of evidence are often flawed because of the complexities of the wound-healing process or are limited by their methodology. This article attempts to explain some of the benefits and problems associated with different types of evidence, all of which need to be considered in order to influence wound management.

Anecdotes as Topic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of flutamide and hydroxy-flutamide on the growth of human benign prostatic hyperplasia cells in primary culture: a preliminary report.

Tissues from human benign prostatic hyperplasia [BPH] were collected from twelve patients undergoing routine transurethral resection of the prostate to relieve urine out-flow obstruction. Viable epithelial organoids were obtained after enzymatic digestion of the tissue. Primary cultures of epithelium were successfully maintained on collagen gel for up to 21 days. Immunocytochemical staining revealed that there was no expression of either desmin or vimentin in these cells; however, the anticytokeratin antibodies LP-34 (cytokeratins 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 16, 17 and 18), LE-61 (cytokeratin 18) and CAM 5.2 (cytokeratins 7 and 8) all showed positive responses, indicating the epithelial nature of the cells. Cell growth was significantly increased in the presence of 3 x 10(-10) M testosterone propionate [TP] in the culture medium. The presence of the non-steroidal anti-androgens, Flutamide and Hydroxy-Flutamide [Flu-OH], in the concentration range 1.0-0.001 micrograms per ml of medium inhibited the growth in the presence of androgens in a dose-dependent manner. The anti-androgens failed to affect cell growth in the absence of TP. In view of these preliminary findings, it is postulated that the antiandrogens might be acting either by displacing the androgen from its receptor or alternately by inhibiting the activity of prostatic 5 alpha-reductase.

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