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Biomedical subjects

K Mulcahy

Publications and source records attributed to K Mulcahy.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Urokinase plasminogen activator as a predictor of aggressive disease in breast cancer.

Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is a multifunctional protein involved in both extracellular proteolysis and signal transduction. uPA usually mediates its actions while attached to a membrane-bound receptor, termed uPAR. In this study, uPA and its receptor were measured at both protein and mRNA levels in breast cancer. At both levels, concentrations of uPA were significantly correlated with those for uPAR. uPA levels also correlated significantly with cathepsin B and cathepsin D but not with cathepsin L, MMP-8 or MMP-9 levels. Irrespective of the cut-off point used (e.g., median, tertile or quartile values), uPA was a significant prognostic marker for breast cancer.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1995

Postoperative laryngeal competence. The laryngeal mask airway and tracheal tube compared.

We investigated the incidence of postoperative laryngeal incompetence in 40 patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups using a standardised general anaesthetic/muscle relaxant technique; in group A the patients' lungs were ventilated via a laryngeal mask airway and in group B via a tracheal tube. Following recovery from general anaesthesia, at a time when patients were considered safe for discharge back to the general ward, they were asked to swallow 20 ml of barium, and an immediate portable chest X ray was taken. The X rays were examined for evidence of tracheopulmonary aspiration. Contrary to previous studies the incidence of aspiration was low, occurring in only one patient. This aspiration was, however, clinically silent. The exact mechanism of this apparent laryngeal incompetence, which occurred in a patient from the tracheal tube group, is unclear. Due to the relatively small numbers of patients studied no conclusions can be drawn about the relative benefits of the use of the laryngeal mask airway with regard to postoperative laryngeal competence.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Hypoglycemic emergencies.

Optimal control of blood glucose requires a balance of diet, exercise, and in some cases, medications. Many factors can cause a state of imbalance, resulting in extremes of glucose control. Hypoglycemia is defined generally as a blood glucose level lower than 50 mg/dL. Although the causes of hypoglycemic episodes are diverse, the management is always aimed at normalizing the plasma glucose concentration. Treatment ranges from simple carbohydrate ingestion in mild to moderate cases to intravenous administration of glucose when the reaction is severe and loss of consciousness occurs. Recognition of warning signs and prompt treatment is essential in all cases.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Enhanced proliferation of transfused marrow and reversal of normal growth inhibition of female marrow in male hosts 2 months after sublethal irradiation.

We have previously shown that bone marrow will seed and proliferate in normal recipients. Transfusion of 50 million cells on each of 4 or 5 consecutive days, a total of 200-250 million cells, resulted in the recipient's marrow being 20-40% of donor origin. The present paper reported on the marked enhancement of proliferation of donor cells in animals that were exposed to sublethal doses of irradiation of 300-900 R. Two months later, when their peripheral blood values had returned to normal, they were transfused with 100 million cells. The number of donor cells in the recipients exposed to 600-900 R reached 55-100% at various intervals after transfusion, with controls averaging 24% and never exceeding 40%. Since the transfused cells numbered less than 40% of the host's own complement of marrow cells, they could not replace 100% of them unless they proliferated more rapidly than the host cells. The implied competitive advantage of the donor cells was ascribed to a reduced capacity for self-renewal of the host's irradiated cells. In recipients exposed to 300 R and in nonirradiated controls, female cells failed to grow in male recipients, while male cells grew as well in female as in male hosts. The inhibition of growth of female cells in the male host was abolished by irradiation with 600 or 900 R, or by the exposure of the female donor cells to anti-Thy-1 serum and complement prior to transfusion. Experiments are under way to test the suggested immunologic nature of the inhibition phenomenon.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Paradoxical cerebral embolism originating from thrombus in tumour veins as presenting manifestation of retroperitoneal liposarcoma.

The coincidence of pulmonary and systemic emboli suggests paradoxical embolism. We present the case of a young man in whom a blood clot travelled from the veins in a retroperitoneal liposarcoma via a patent foramen ovalis to the systemic arterial circulation. Young patients with embolic disease but no obvious source of thrombus may have underlying neoplastic disease. Venous thrombosis is a frequent complication of neoplastic disease. Arterial embolism associated with neoplasm is, however, not widely recognised.

Humans↗