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Biomedical subjects

M Hough

Publications and source records attributed to M Hough.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Skin excision and groin lymphadenectomy: techniques and outcomes.

A 10-year retrospective review of 25 patients undergoing groin lymphadenectomy for cutaneous malignancy in the Tayside region of the UK was conducted. Comparison was made between patients undergoing the procedure with an elliptical incision orientated as a long oblique of at least 4cm width (group 1) and those undergoing a similarly oriented incision with no skin excision (group 2). Outcome measures including survival, postoperative complications, operative time and hospital stay were analyzed. Patients in group I suffered significantly fewer complications (p < 0.004) and shorter hospital stay (p < 0.008). Elliptical excision of at least 4cm width is our preferred technique for groin lymphadenectomy in the treatment of cutaneous malignancy of the lower limb.

Adult↗

The impact of passive coping on rheumatoid arthritis pain.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the ability of coping to predict pain. METHODS: Data on 111 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (86 women and 25 men) were gathered from a mail survey. Statistical analyses were conducted on a range of clinical and psychological variables: physical disability, disease duration, pain, depression, helplessness, and passive and active coping. Pain was measured with both the pain subscale of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales and a visual analogue scale, and coping was measured with the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory. RESULTS: A series of multiple regression analyses revealed that the optimal predictors of pain in RA were physical disability and passive coping, which accounted for 40% of the variance associated with pain. Path analysis revealed that passive coping mediates between the physical disability and pain, and between physical disability and depression. CONCLUSION: The results of this study have implications for the overall management of RA. In addition to the medical treatment, the experience of pain and depression in RA should be addressed through an intervention programme designed to enhance coping strategies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Cloning of a cysteine protease required for the molting of Onchocerca volvulus third stage larvae.

We have investigated the involvement of a cysteine protease in the development of Onchocerca volvulus fourth stage larvae (L4) by testing the effect of cysteine protease inhibitors on the survival of third stage larvae (L3), and the molting of L3 to L4 in vitro. When larvae were cultured in the presence of specific inhibitors, the peptidyl monofluoromethylketones, viability of either L3 or L4 was not affected. However, the inhibitors reduced the number of L3 that molted to L4 in vitro in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Molting was completely inhibited in the presence of 50-250 microM inhibitor. Ultrastructural examination of L3 that did not molt in the presence of inhibitors indicated that new L4 cuticle was synthesized, but there was no separation between the L3 and the L4 cuticles. The endogenous cysteine protease was detected in molting larvae after binding to labeled inhibitors, and by antibodies directed against a recombinant O. volvulus L3 cysteine protease that was cloned and expressed. The enzyme was detected in cuticle regions where the separation between the cuticles occurs in molting larvae. These studies suggest that molting and successful development of L4 depends on the expression and release of a cysteine protease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Onchocerca volvulus: identification and characterization of an immunogenic eggshell protein (Oveg1).

A major antigen recognized by human sera in Onchocerca volvulus infections is a parasite eggshell protein. The cDNA clone for this antigen was isolated from a lambda gt11 O. volvulus cDNA library using antisera from patients with high microfilarial counts. Sequence analysis of the cDNA clone predicts a polyglutamine repeat near the 5' end of the cDNA, and a motif of four arginines near the 3' end, reminiscent of that found in many regulatory proteins. The cDNA was subcloned into a yeast expression vector and reagent quantities of recombinant antigen produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Antisera produced to the recombinant purified protein localized the antigen to the eggshell of developing microfilariae within the adult female uterus. No other sites of Oveg1 expression were noted in adult worms, but labeling was seen in internal membrane structures of L3 larvae. Sera from infected chimps recognized Oveg1 only after infections became patent. Sera from infected humans showed reactivity to Oveg1 that varied from 39 to 95%, depending upon the geographic location.

Amino Acid Sequence↗