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Biomedical subjects

K Billings

Publications and source records attributed to K Billings.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Congenital foregut duplication cysts of the anterior tongue.

OBJECTIVE: To review our experience with foregut duplication cysts of the anterior tongue, an unusual and rarely encountered mass in this location. DESIGN: A retrospective review of patients with anterior tongue foregut duplication cysts identified between 1990 and 2000. SETTING: Academic, tertiary care children's medical center. PATIENTS: Six pediatric patients (5 boys and 1 girl) ranging in age from birth to 8 months at diagnosis. INTERVENTION: Three patients underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All 6 patients underwent excisional biopsy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical description of foregut duplication cysts, ability to make the diagnosis preoperatively, and recurrence rates. RESULTS: No patient presented with respiratory compromise, despite the large size of the anterior tongue masses (range, 1.5-2.4 cm). An MRI study was performed in 3 patients, all given a presumptive diagnosis of dermoid cyst based on the radiographic findings. No patient was diagnosed correctly prior to surgical excision. All patients underwent surgical excision, and the average time from birth to surgical excision was 11 months (range, 3 days to 3.7 years). Surgical pathologic findings were reported as a foregut duplication cyst (enterocystoma) in all patients, with 3 specimens containing foci of gastric mucosa. No recurrence has occurred at 1-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Foregut duplication cysts rarely present in the anterior tongue and are easily misdiagnosed preoperatively. An MRI study is helpful in preoperative planning, although all lesions were radiologically indistinguishable from dermoid cysts. These masses may be an underappreciated entity in the differential diagnosis of congenital anterior tongue masses.

Choristoma↗
PubMed1995

Ventilatory responses to progressive hypoxia and hypercapnia in developing sheep.

We aimed to determine the time course of postnatal development of ventilatory responsiveness to progressive hypoxia and hypercapnia. Eight lambs underwent hypoxic and hypercapnic rebreathing tests at weekly intervals from soon after birth to 6 weeks of age. Six mature ewes were also studied. During the tests blood samples were collected at intervals from the aorta so that arterial PO2 (PaO2) and PCO2 (PaCO2) could be related to ventilation. Hypoxic sensitivity was defined as the percentage increase in minute ventilation when PaO2 fell from control values (104.7 +/- 6.9 mmHg) to 50 mmHg. When measured in this way, hypoxic sensitivity increased significantly from 64.2 +/- 19.3% (mean +/- SE) in the newborn (2.3 +/- 0.4 days) to 150.4 +/- 14.0% at 3-4 weeks (25.1 +/- 0.6 days, P = 0.05). The hypoxic sensitivity of ewes (66.3 +/- 16.8%) was greatly reduced compared to 6-week-old lambs (140.3 +/- 18.9%, P < 0.05). Hypercapnic sensitivity (ml.min-1.kg-1.mmHg CO2(-1)) did not change significantly with age. We conclude that hypoxic sensitivity increases during the first 3-4 postnatal weeks and declines between infancy and adulthood. In contrast hypercapnic sensitivity does not change with age, although tidal volume and breathing frequency contributions to ventilatory responses change with advancing postnatal age.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Respiratory function in lambs after prolonged oligohydramnios during late gestation.

Our aim was to determine the effects of oligohydramnios during the last third of ovine gestation on respiratory function in lambs during their first postnatal month. To induce oligohydramnios, amniotic and allantoic fluids were drained from pregnant ewes, starting at 109.0 +/- 2.3 d of pregnancy (term approximately 148 d). In 10 lambs born at term, respiratory function was studied four times at weekly intervals; a group of nine lambs from normal pregnancies served as controls. Over the 4-wk study period, treated lambs had significantly higher breathing rates and smaller tidal volumes than controls, although the differences diminished with age. Minute ventilation and O2 consumption were the same in each group, and when related to body weight, both declined with age. Treated lambs were normoxemic but were hypercapnic compared with controls for up to 4 wk. Functional residual capacity, measured by helium dilution, was the same in each group and increased with age. Static compliance of the respiratory system was lower in treated lambs up to 4 wk; lung compliances were the same in each group, but chest wall compliance was lower in treated lambs than in controls for 4 wk. Postmortem measurements, at 27-28 d, of pulmonary dry weights, DNA contents, and protein contents suggest that the lungs of treated lambs may have been mildly hypoplastic. We conclude that oligohydramnios causes a decreased chest wall compliance, which leads to rapid, shallow breathing and a mild hypercapnia lasting for at least 4 postnatal wk.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Relationship between dietary, serum, and tissue levels of carotenoids.

A study was undertaken to assess the utility of the buccal scrape technique for measuring tissue levels of carotenoids in short-term intervention trials and epidemiologic studies. In 14 healthy volunteers a good correlation was found between serum beta-carotene levels and recent dietary intake of beta-carotene as estimated from measured food records. Supplementation with 30 mg/day of beta-carotene for 1 week resulted in a sixfold increase in average serum levels, while serum lycopene concentrations remained constant. Presupplementation levels of beta-carotene and lycopene in the buccal mucosa cells were not correlated with dietary intakes or with serum levels. After supplementation, levels of both carotenoids were found to increase in buccal cells, however, most of this increase was found to be an artifact due to repeated sampling. After correcting for this artifact, beta-carotene was found to increase less than twofold in tissue after supplementation.

Adult↗