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Biomedical subjects

K Cameron

Publications and source records attributed to K Cameron.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Pregnancy loss with phospholipid antibodies: improved outcome with aspirin containing treatment.

The obstetric outcome in 37 patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (APAs) is described. The APAs were measured by the lupus anticoagulant assay and/or more recently anticardiolipin antibodies. There were 15 patients with SLE who without therapy had 51/58 pregnancy failures, either abortion or fetal death in utero, a failure rate of 88%. Likewise, 22 patients without definite SLE lost 69/87 pregnancies, a failure rate of 79%. After treatment the pregnancy wastage rate was 55% and 25% in the 2 groups respectively. When treatment regimens used were examined in detail the improvement with therapy was most clearly evident in the group who received low dose aspirin (75-150 mg) in association with immunosuppression. This improvement was most apparent in the patients without definite SLE.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1989

Treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion by immunization with paternal lymphocytes: correlates with outcome.

Previous observations have suggested that defective recognition of fetal alloantigens by the maternal immune system is associated with recurrent pregnancy failure and that this may be prevented by boosting the maternal immune system with paternal or pooled third-party leukocytes. The mechanism whereby this process achieves success is not clear, and accordingly to explore this we immunized 28 couples with recurrent fetal loss with 80 x 10(6) paternal peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBML) and followed various immunological parameters. The couples studied, in whom 55% achieved a successful pregnancy, showed no increase in sharing of human lymphocyte antigen (HLA)-A, -B, or -DR antigens and no consistent evidence of a decreased mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) or MLR plasma-blocking factors compared with control couples. Immunization did not alter these parameters but did induce antipaternal lymphocytotoxins, although the presence of the latter did not correlate with pregnancy outcome. There was a correlation between rapid conception after immunization and a subsequent successful pregnancy. A successful pregnancy also correlated with sustained postimmunization, postconception maternal antipaternal allospecific CD-8+ suppressor T cells. Although these findings provide overall evidence that immunization produces changes in the way in which the maternal immune system interacts with the fetus, larger numbers of couples and a higher dose of paternal lymphocytes will be needed to establish clearly whether this therapy works and its mechanism of action.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1989

Effect of homosexuality upon public health and social order.

Are homosexuals "not dangers to society" and is homosexuality "compatible with full health"? To answer these questions 4,340 adult respondents drawn via area probability sampling from 5 metropolitan areas of the USA self-administered an extensive sexuality/public order questionnaire of over 500 items. Bisexuals and homosexuals (about 4% of the sample) as compared to heterosexuals: (1) more frequently exposed themselves to biological hazards (e.g., sadomasochism, fisting, bestiality, ingestion of feces); (2) exposed themselves sexually to more different bodies (e.g., more frequently admitted to participating in orgies, reported considerably larger numbers of sexual partners); (3) more frequently reported participating in socially disruptive sex (e.g., deliberate infection of others, cheating in marriage, making obscene phone calls); and (4) more frequently reported engaging in socially disruptive activities (e.g., criminality, shoplifting, tax cheating). From the standpoints of individual health, public health and social order, participating in homosexual activity could be viewed as dangerous to society and incompatible with full health.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Clinical response of hairy-cell leukaemia to interferon-alpha: results of an Australian study.

Twelve patients with documented, progressive hairy-cell leukaemia were treated with human lymphoblastoid interferon-alpha. All patients initially received a three-month course of interferon-alpha (3 x 10(6) U each day) which resulted in two complete remissions and 10 partial remissions. All eight patients who were dependent upon packed red-cell transfusions became independent of them and the three patients with the most severe, pretreatment pancytopenia also became independent of platelet transfusions. The histological appearance of the bone marrow improved in all patients; in three patients, a complete resolution of the leukaemic infiltrate was recorded. Adverse reactions occurred in 10 patients, but these were mild and did not interrupt treatment in seven patients. Moderate reactions that required a temporary reduction in the dose of interferon-alpha were seen in three patients. Ten patients subsequently received maintenance therapy with interferon-alpha (3 x 10(6) U, three times a week). A haematological improvement continued to be seen in all patients, and the results, with a minimum of one year of follow-up, are presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Exercise and the immune response.

A growing number of reports have become available which implicate infectious disease with reduced performance in athletes. The immune system consists of both nonspecific and specific components geared to control infections. Adaptive immunity functions through both antibody-mediated and cell-mediated compartments to establish and maintain long term immunity to infectious agents. Evidence is accumulating to support the view that physical exercise can lead to modification of the cells of the immune system. However, studies have often not been well designed to control exercise protocols when examining the effects of exercise on the immune system. Large numbers of peripheral blood lymphocytes are mobilised with exercise and in vitro tests indicate that temporarily these cells may not be capable of responding normally to mitogens. These reactions appear to be influenced by hormones to some degree and there are reports that the cells of the immune system are extremely active biochemically and may depend on products from muscles to maintain their activity. Specific populations within the circulating leucocyte pool vary significantly with exercise and there is some evidence that the T4/T8 lymphocyte ratio may become significantly reduced. This reduction in ratio may be related to the variable responses to T and B cell mitogens recorded in vitro which overall suggests that a temporary immune suppression may exist following certain training or performance schedules. It is argued that this may lead to a temporary susceptibility to infection and could result from overtraining.

Antibody Formation↗
PubMed1987

Chronic illness and compliance.

For a person with a chronic illness, life is altered in some way. Whether simple or complex, changes are nevertheless permanent. A patient with a chronic disease assesses recommended treatments on how well they can be integrated into his life. Evidence suggests that an individual's perception of his situation will determine whether or not he will comply with a medical regimen. Health professionals neglect the patient's point of view if they believe that patients regard the health professional as an absolute authority, thereby contributing to noncompliance. The contingency contract provides a model of patient-provider transaction, which requires input from both parties. The health professional can work with the person to make the medical regimen compatible with the individual's lifestyle.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Menstrual cycle changes with marathon training: anovulation and short luteal phase.

Fourteen normal women (self-selected from 180 women enrolled) in a marathon training clinic kept basal body temperature (BBT), mileage, and weight records for 48 cycles before the marathon. Entry criteria were: Age 20-45, gynecologic age greater than 5 years, no hormone use, or weight change in 3 months. The women were 35.2 +/- 5.6 years in age, 22.6 +/- 5.1 years gynecologic age, runners of 4.1 +/- 2.5 years with premenstrual symptoms, previous pregnancy 4/14, no infertility and 2/14 remote amenorrhea. BBT records were obtained and analyzed by Vollman's criteria (1977). There was no weight loss. 32/48 cycles were biphasic but only 16 were normal in the length of the premenstrual phase (PreM = luteal, nl 10 - 16 d) with a mean of 11.1 +/- 1.2 days. The other 16 biphasic cycles had short PreM phase of 6.4 +/- 1.8 days. Monophasic (M = anovulatory) cycles occurred in 16/48 records. Cycles which were abnormal (Short PreM and M) differed only in that usual run length was longer (9.6 - 9.9 miles) than in normal cycles (7.9 +/- 2.4 miles). Marathon training may be associated with normal length but M and short PreM type cycles.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alpha-interferon (Wellferon) as an adjunct to standard surgical therapy in the management of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

Ten patients received lymphoblastoid alpha-interferon (Wellferon) in a crossover study so that Wellferon and standard microsurgical laryngeal laser therapy could be compared to laser therapy alone. Wellferon was administered initially at an intravenous high dose of 15 megaunits/m2 for 5 days followed by a daily dose of 2 megaunits/m2 subcutaneously for 6 months. Dosage was adjusted according to predefined toxicity. One patient was withdrawn from the study. Of the others, all but one received over 75% of the planned total dose. At follow-up of the nine assessable patients, complete remission was achieved in two of them, partial remission in four, and no response in the remainder. The two complete remissions were sustained for 2 years, but the four partial remissions were not sustained. Thus, a role for alpha-interferon in the kind of regimen used here remains to be established.

Combined Modality Therapy↗