PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to M Phillips.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Alveolar gradient of pentane in normal human breath.

Previous studies have raised the question of whether pentane is a normal constituent of human breath, since its concentrations in inspired room air and expired breath are often similar. Using a highly sensitive assay for volatile organic compounds, we studied 37 normal subjects in order to determine the alveolar gradient of pentane in their breath (i.e. concentration in alveolar breath minus concentration in the inspired air). The chemical identity of pentane was confirmed by mass spectroscopy. The alveolar gradient of pentane was zero +/- 0.175 nmol/l in 54.1% of subjects, and distributed in an approximately bell-shaped curve. Determination of the alveolar gradient divided the normal subjects into three groups: the "passive equilibrators" who did not appear to excrete pentane in the breath (the majority), "metabolizers" who actively catabolized inhaled pentane, and "manufacturers" who excreted more pentane than they inhaled.

Breath Tests↗
PubMed1994

[Diabetes in Mexico: what does the National Health Survey tell us?].

The purpose of this monograph is to describe the sociodemographic and health characteristics of individuals who identified themselves as diabetics (through self-notification) in a national health survey that was conducted in Mexico in 1988 and in which information about more than 200,000 persons was collected by interviewing an adult member of each household. Of the population surveyed, 1.2% stated being diabetic, and it was noted that the frequency of the disease increased with age and socioeconomic status and that it was 30% higher in women than in men. Diabetics had higher notification rates for hypertension, heart disease, and blindness than the rest of the population. Twenty percent of diabetic patients and 12% of nondiabetic individuals smoked. People with diabetes consulted physicians twice as often as nondiabetics and their chances of being hospitalized were four times higher. At the end we discuss the limitations and possible biases of self-notification as a method for detecting diabetics. Finally we conclude that diabetes is an important health problem in Mexico and that it warrants more attention from epidemiologists and other public health specialists.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Opportunities for cost reduction in diabetic retinopathy treatment: case study from Mexico.

A study was performed in order to explore the costs of treating diabetic retinopathy at a large eye hospital in Mexico with a view to identifying opportunities for improving efficiency. Clinical records of a random sample of 69 diabetic patients were reviewed for data on each patient's background, medical history, and treatment; and the costs of all resources utilized in each type of procedure provided were documented and priced. The resulting data on clinical costs was complemented by data on the private costs of treatment (medical fees, accommodation costs, transportation costs, and lost wages) that were gathered from patient interviews. The study found that the patients, who were generally poor, shouldered a substantial economic burden associated with treatment at the hospital; however, less than half this burden was in the form of fees. The rest involved other out-of-pocket expenditures on food, travel, and accommodation (45% of the total) and lost wages (10% of the total). Suggestions for reducing various of these costs without endangering treatment quality are presented. These include suggestions for reducing waiting time; reducing the number of patient visits required by increasing the strength of individual laser treatments, completing more procedures in a single visit, and reviewing hospital policy on fluoroangiograms; and increasing the chances for early and effective treatment by educating at-risk relatives accompanying the patients about the need for early treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Psychiatric social work and socialism: problems and potential in China.

At present social work is almost unheard of in China. Grassroots responses to the needs of mentally ill people and their families, based on the use of untrained officials and volunteers, are insufficient. In some cases, intervention may be unwelcome because of the stigma that surrounds mental illness in China and the families' desire to keep the matter private. The problems and difficulties--practical, emotional, and social--that families and patients face are not dissimilar to those of their counterparts in the West. Doctors and nurses adopt a biological explanatory model and show little interest in the wider environment of the patient, even when environmental factors can be clearly demonstrated to impinge on the illness. The authors conclude that there is a role and a need for social workers in psychiatric settings in China. Although this would undoubtedly be social work with Chinese characteristics, it would be recognizable as consistent with professional social work practice elsewhere.

China↗
PubMed1993

Phase II trial of gallium nitrate in previously treated patients with small cell lung cancer.

Gallium nitrate is a group IIIa metal that was found to be active in animal species. Gallium nitrate exerts its antitumor effects via a transferrin binding mechanism. This agent is of interest in small cell lung cancer since 26 of 27 small cell carcinoma cell lines tested had increased levels of transferrin receptors. In a phase I study using a continuous infusion, the dose limiting toxicity was nausea when gallium nitrate was given at doses of 400 mg/m2/day. Other effects included elevations of serum creatinine, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, decreased hearing and paresthesias. Activity has been seen in pretreated patients with malignant lymphoma, bladder carcinoma and small numbers of patients with small cell lung carcinoma. To determine the activity of continuous infusion gallium nitrate, this phase II trial was undertaken in patients with small cell lung cancer previously treated with chemotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Diethyldithiocarbamate chemoprotection of carboplatin--induced hematological toxicity.

Carboplatin therapy has a more favorable toxicity profile than cisplatin and, given in appropriate doses, is equivalent in efficacy to cisplatin for suboptimal ovarian cancer. However myelosuppression frequently curtails therapy with carboplatin. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) is a thiol compound and heavy-metal-chelating agent that has been shown to protect against carboplatin-induced bone marrow suppression in animal models. This pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the ability of DDTC to ameliorate the degree and/or duration of myelosuppression from carboplatin chemotherapy in patients with relapsed ovarian cancer. Ten patients who had previously demonstrated a response to platinum-based chemotherapy, were treated with single-agent intravenous carboplatin 400 mg/m2 administered over 30-60 min every 4 weeks. Patients received their first cycle of carboplatin without DDTC, and their second cycle with DDTC. DDTC at 600 mg/m2 was infused over 3 h commencing 30 min prior to carboplatin and was well tolerated. Treatment with DDTC did not decrease the degree of leukopenia or thrombocytopenia associated with carboplatin chemotherapy, nor did it decrease the duration of myelosuppression. This clinical study demonstrates no evidence of a bone-marrow-protective effect for this dose and schedule of DDTC in patients receiving carboplatin chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma, Papillary↗
PubMed1993

Turning symptoms into allies: utilization approaches with posttraumatic symptoms.

Adult patients with symptoms connected to the trauma of childhood sexual abuse often present in therapy with multiple symptoms and life difficulties and offer a challenge to even the most experienced clinician. In this paper, I describe my work with three such patients who were crippled in different ways by symptoms that had proved resistant to years of various therapeutic interventions. In every case, I accepted and utilized these symptoms as positive resources for successful and rapid change. Patients were then taught self-utilization approaches which allowed them to sustain and extend initial improvements. I conclude that the indirect utilization principle introduced by Milton Erickson provides an effective method to use in approaching some of the more persistent patterns of posttraumatic symptomatology related to childhood sexual abuse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The use of ego-state therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Ego-state therapy has been cited in the literature as a promising tool for the treatment of patients who suffer from the effects of past trauma experiences. In this paper, I review various methods to activate ego states and to uncover traumatic experiences and their related internal conflicts in sexually abused patients with posttraumatic symptoms. I also discuss ego-state-therapy techniques that promote the integration and resolution of trauma. Three clinical case examples illustrate the use of ego-state therapy with posttraumatic patients. I suggest ways in which ego-state-therapy methods can be useful with some of the symptomatology specific to this population. The effectiveness of ego-state therapy is also explored in dealing with certain features of posttraumatic conditions that can complicate treatment, including dissociation and fragmentation, cognitive and perceptual distortion, and rigidification of personality and behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The involucrin genes of the mouse and the rat: study of their shared repeats.

The involucrin genes of the mouse (Mus musculus) and the rat (Rattus norvegicus) have been cloned and sequenced. The coding region of each gene contains, at site P, a segment of repeats homologous to that of other nonanthropoid mammals. In contrast to the repeats of species belonging to different mammalian orders, many individual repeats of the mouse and the rat can be matched. Both before and after the divergence of the two species, these repeats have been the site of systematic alterations in nucleotide sequence. One of the alterations is the correction of nucleotides of one repeat by those of another. Corrected nucleotides may be closely linked to flanking nucleotides that are uncorrected; the systematic correction process therefore appears to be due to gene conversion. There is a stretch of 18 reiterated CAGs in the segment of repeats of the Mus gene; most of these reiterations were introduced recently, supporting the idea that the gene was generated originally from poly CAG. An antiserum to a synthetic peptide encoded by the segment of repeats of the Mus gene reveals differentiation-specific expression of the gene in the epidermis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Women with alcohol problems: do they relapse for reasons different to their male counterparts?

A sample of 44 women and 50 men attending an alcohol treatment facility were assessed on a range of demographic, social and psychological measures in order to determine whether women and men relapse for different reasons. Clients were monitored for a 3 month period after the initial intake interview whereupon follow-up interviews were conducted. The data were analysed by the use of survival analysis techniques. The results indicated that there were different predictors of relapse across the three levels of post treatment alcohol use investigated. Gender differences were present at two of these levels. The implications of these differences are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Identification by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of a 58-kilodalton tumor necrosis factor-inducing protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We have previously identified proteins in fractions of culture filtrate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the capacity to induce cytokine production in monocytes, by using a technique we defined as "monocyte Western blotting" (immunoblotting). In this series of experiments, we have extended this technique to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and have identified a novel 58-kDa protein of M. tuberculosis which induces production of tumor necrosis factor by human monocytes. Nitrocellulose particles bearing this protein were used to develop murine monoclonal antibodies by the technique of intrasplenic immunization. The protein was purified by preparative isoelectric focusing and gel electrophoresis and subjected to N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. As tumor necrosis factor is a mediator of both pulmonary necrosis and macrophage activation for intracellular killing, this 58-kDa protein may play an important role both in the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis and in mycobacterial immunity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Increased pentane and carbon disulfide in the breath of patients with schizophrenia.

AIMS: To determine the concentrations of pentane (a marker of lipid peroxidation) and other volatile organic compounds in the breath of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Volatile organic compounds were assayed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) in 88 subjects--25 with acute schizophrenic psychosis, 26 with psychiatric disorders other than schizophrenia, and 37 normal volunteers. RESULTS: The mean alveolar gradients of pentane and carbon disulfide (CS2) were significantly higher in the patients with schizophrenia than in the control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Schizophrenia may be accompanied by accelerated lipid peroxidation in cell membranes, as well as increased manufacture of CS2, a known neurotoxin.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Peripheral hearing loss following head trauma in children.

The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the incidence and type of hearing loss occurring in children who suffered head injuries. Fifty children admitted to the neurosurgical service after sustaining head trauma were studied. Neurologic, otologic, and audiologic evaluations were performed. Diagnostic studies included skull roentgenograms and computerized tomography scans. A 32% incidence of conductive hearing loss and a 16% incidence of high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss was found in this group. All patients with temporal bone fractures had conductive hearing losses, but the presence of a skull vault fracture did not correlate with the presence, type, or degree of hearing loss. In addition, there was no correlation between either cause of injury, loss of consciousness, or Glasgow Coma Scale scores and the presence, type, or degree of hearing loss. There was a significant incidence of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss in this series of patients, which indicates that close audiologic and otologic follow-up is necessary for all head injury patients.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗