Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Price.
In 14 schizophrenic patients, prolactin levels are studied in relation to dosage of depot fluphenazine and gender of patient. Prolactin levels in individual patients are similar across injection cycles. For males, the association between fluphenazine dosage and prolactin level was found to be significant (Spearman rho = .925, p less than .05).
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We have studied the kinetic properties of the interaction of internal Na with four different Na transport pathways (ouabain-sensitive Na, K pump, bumetanide-sensitive Na,K cotransport, Li:Na countertransport and passive Na permeability) in erythrocytes from 197 essential hypertensive patients. This study permitted us to classify 168 of the 197 hypertensives studied into the following groups: Pump - hypertensives-six patients showing low pump affinity for internal Na and high maximal pump rate; Co - hypertensives -95 patients characterized by low cotransport affinity for internal Na and low or normal maximal outward cotransport rate. Counter + hypertensives - 35 patients characterized by low countertransport affinity for internal Na and high maximal countertransport rate; and Leak + hypertensives - 32 patients showing increased passive Na permeability. Having studied the apparent affinity of the Na,K cotransport system for external K we divided the co - hypertensives into three subgroups (symmetric, asymmetric or antisymmetric) according to the presence of low, normal or high K affinity. Forty-five hypertensive patients were submitted to antihypertensive treatment with a new diuretic and antihypertensive drug, cicletanide. Preliminary results indicate that one of the factors involved in the antihypertensive efficiency of the compound is the subgroup to which the hypertensive belongs.
Urinary tract status was reviewed in 60 men with spinal cord injury who had external bladder drainage from 1 to 159 months. Before use, 34 (57%) patients were free of roentgenographic abnormalities, and 27 (79%) of these developed changes. Twenty-six (43%) patients of the total group initially had morphologic defects; 5 (19%) of these became free of abnormalities, while 21 (81%) did not improve or showed progression. Glomerular filtration rate improved in 2 (3%) of the total study group, deteriorated in 12 (20%), and remained stable in 46 (77%). Infection persisted in 32 (53%); 10 (31%) of the positive cultures grew multiple isolates. In 18 (56%) of those patients with positive urine cultures, tissue invasion was indicated by the presence of antibody-coated bacteria. After external drainage 5 (8%) required sphincterotomy, 3 (5%) supravesical diversion, and 2 (2%) suprapubic cystotomy. Patient histories and examinations revealed tendencies toward poor hygiene and inattention to adequate bladder emptying. Equipment obstruction was common because of twisting or improper placement of drainage apparatus. It was concluded that although carefully monitored external catheters may accomplish adequate drainage and sterile urine, the hazards of infection and overdistention are great and must be countered by medical monitoring and ongoing patient education.
Two groups of patients with uncomplicated systemic hypertension were studied. Group 1 included 11 patients who had overt hypokalemia with diuretic drug treatment, and group 2 included 11 patients who remained normokalemic. After baseline studies without treatment were performed, both groups received hydrochlorothiazide, 50 mg twice daily. Plasma potassium (PK) was significantly reduced within the first day of treatment and stabilized by day 7 in both groups. The average decrease in PK was 1.0 +/- 0.1 mEq/liter (p less than 0.01) in the first group and 0.6 +/- 0.2 mEq/liter (p less than 0.01) in the second group. Cumulative losses of K were approximately 200 mEq in the hypokalemic group and were minimal in the normokalemic group as assessed by 24-hour urinary collections. Patients in the hypokalemic group also had a greater reduction in body weight and blood pressure. Supplementation with KCl, 96 mEq/day, or triamterene, 200 mg/day, in 9 hypokalemic patients resulted in an increase of PK to approximately 3.5 mEq/liter leveling off by day 7, and a cumulative K retention of approximately 200 mEq. Thus, overt thiazide-induced hypokalemia was associated with small and biologically unimportant losses of K from body stores. With replacement therapy the estimated amount of retained K was also small.
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Quiescent human peripheral blood lymphocytes have been shown to maintain a relatively constant intracellular pH of 7.0-7.2 over an extracellular pH range of 6.9-7.4. Two methods of measuring intracellular pH were used in these studies, 19F nuclear magnetic resonance and [14C]5,5-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4-dione (DMO) equilibrium distributions. When ATP levels were decreased in these cells, actively maintained pH regulation was abolished and cells exhibited a constant pH gradient of 0.2 pH unit (acid inside relative to outside). Possible mechanisms for pH regulation are discussed. The effects of the Na+ and K+ composition of the medium on pH regulation showed no correlation with their effects on mitogen-induced proliferative response, which we have previously determined (Deutsch, C., and M. Price, 1982, J. Cell. Physiol., 111:73-79). In low-Na+ mannitol medium, pH regulation was similar to that observed for lymphocytes in normal medium, whereas mitogen-induced proliferation was severely inhibited in low-Na+ mannitol. In contrast, high-K+, low Na+ medium caused loss of pH homeostasis, whereas it restored the proliferative response. Loss of pH homeostasis was also observed on prolonged exposure of lymphocytes to mitogen (greater than 6 h in culture). However, mitogen stimulation led to little or no change in intracellular pH in the first few hours of cell culture. Therefore, a shift in intracellular pH is not a necessary or general event in mitogen-stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes.
Of the three bacterial peptide transport systems only one, the oligopeptide permease, has been characterized in any detail. We have now isolated Salmonella typhimurium mutants deficient in a second transport system, the tripeptide permease (Tpp), using the toxic peptide alafosfalin. Alafosfalin resistance mutations map at three loci, the gene encoding peptidase A (pepA) and two transport-defective loci, tppA and tppB. Locus tppA has been mapped to 74 min on the S. typhimurium chromosome, cotransducible with aroB, and is a positive regulator of tppB. Locus tppB maps at 27 min in the cotransduction gap between purB and pyrF. We cloned tppB, the structural locus for the tripeptide permease. Two simple methods are described for mapping the location of cloned DNA fragments on the chromosome of S. typhimurium.
Urine lactic dehydrogenase (LD) and urinary LD isoenzyme determinations were performed for 59 adult afebrile patients with spinal cord lesions. Twenty-eight were found to have a predominance of LD 1 and 2. Thirteen had positive urine cultures and 12 also had positive antibody coated bacteria (ACB). Twenty were found to have a predominance of LD 4 and 5, with a mean total urine LD activity of 175.7 mU/ml. Sixteen of this group had positive urine cultures and 12 also ACB positive. Eleven had no demonstrable LD isoenzyme with a mean total urine LD activity of 17.5 mU/ml. Eight had positive urine cultures and four were also ACB positive. Forty-six normal controls had a mean LD activity of 15.1 mU/ml. In the study population changes in U-LD occurred in the absence of bacteriuria most frequently in patients who were appliance-free or used catheterization. In the absence of bacteriuria bladder overdistention may contribute to changes in LD isoenzyme patterns.
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The ribosomes of Entamoeba invadens trophozoites have sedimentation coefficients of 77, 53 and 36 S. Most of the ribosomal proteins are basic and their one- and two-dimensional electrophoretic patterns differ from the corresponding patterns of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two dozen bands were observed in the 10 000 to 100 000 molecular weight range following sodium dodecylsulfate-gel electrophoresis of amoebal ribosomal proteins. Long, thin pronase-sensitive structures were seen in electron micrographs of E. invadens ribosomal preparations.
In 50 normotensive controls, the increase in erythrocyte Na+ concentration up to 12.4 +/- 2.0 mmol/l cells (mean +/- SD) ensures half-maximal stimulation of outward Na+,K+ cotransport fluxes. Forty-six out of sixty-five patients with essential hypertension required more than 16 mmol/l cells of internal Na+ concentration to obtain a similar effect, strongly suggesting an abnormal cotransport function. Seven out of fourteen hypertensive patients with normal Na,K cotransport function showed Na+,Li+ countertransport fluxes higher than the normal upper limit of 220 mumol (1 cells h)-1. Conversely, countertransport fluxes were normal in fourteen hypertensives with abnormal cotransport function. The above results indicate that the total population of patients with essential hypertension is heterogeneous and includes one subgroup of subjects with abnormal Na+,K+ cotransport function, and another with increased Na+,Li+ countertransport fluxes.
The purpose of this study was to determine if a special program of patient and family education in urinary tract care would result in improved control of urinary tract infection (UTI) by spinal cord injury patients at home. The Williamson Functional Impairment Scale, modified to measure outcomes of impairment due to UTI, was applied to 54 patients in 1975 and to 21 in 1979. Patients in the latter group had completed a special urinary tract care education program of classes, reading material, written examinations, and demonstrations of acquired skills. At follow-up, only 32% of the patients in the 1975 group were asymptomatic of UTI, compared with 71% of the 1979 group. Only 5% of the patients in the 1979 group lost time from their usual daily activities, compared with 23% of the 1975 group. The improvements in impairment outcomes were not related to a reduction in the incidence of confirmed or suspected UTI (found in 63% of patients in the 1975 group and 62% of patients in the 1979 group). It is concluded that the 1979 group recognized symptoms earlier and took definitive action which resulted in less impairment and time lost due to UTI. The patient education program did result in improved urinary tract care after discharge.
The transmembrane electrical potential has been measured across human peripheral blood lymphocytes under culture conditions using equilibrium distributions of the lipophilic cation 3H-tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP). The TPP equilibrates to a steady-state level that gives calculated voltages of -80 mV for unstimulated lymphocytes. This value of the potential is constant during the first few hours of succinyl concanavalin A stimulation. When the transmembrane electrical potential is lowered by isotonic replacement of Na with K, this neither by itself stimulates proliferation nor does it inhibit mitogen-stimulated proliferation. Lymphocytes with similar membrane potentials, such as those incubated in normal-Na MEM and low-Na-mannitol MEM, exhibit drastically different proliferative responses to mitogen stimulation (Deutsch et al., 1981). These results show that isotonic replacement of K for Na prevents low Na inhibition of DNA synthesis and that at least during the first 2.5 hours of lymphocyte activation transmembrane electrical potential per se does not play a significant role in the activation process.
Mean survival of 110.5 months (9 yr. 2.5 months) for spinal cord-injured persons who died between 1963 to 1976 compared favorable with the figure of 52.8 months (4 yr, 4.8 months) calculated in 1955 by Dietrick and Russi [1]. If suicides were not considered, then mean longevity for the deceased patients would be 126 months (10 yr, 6 months). The leading causes of death were related to the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, suicide and the urinary tract.
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Cytoplasts and karyoplasts were obtained by ultracentrifugation of Hepatoma D23 cells on a Ficoll gradient containing cytochalasin B. Their nuclear and protein content and their metabolic activity were determined. Three i.p. injections of 2.3 x 10(7) cytoplasts were unable to protect syngeneic WAB/Not rats against an s.c. challenge of 10(4) D23 cells, whereas a similar amount of karyoplasts, or 3 injections of 10(6) irradiated D23 cells, were fully protective. Ability of cytoplasts to act as primary or secondary immunogen were also studied, and compared to that of 0.01% glutaraldehyde-treated cells, 43 degrees C heat-treated cells and 3M KCl-soluble extracts, these preparations also being of weak immunogenicity. Only heat-treated cells behaved as a primary immunogen, whereas none of the preparations provided a secondary stimulation. Moreover, when these preparations were fed in vitro to peritoneal-exudate cells before their injection into rats, cytoplasts and glutaraldehyde-treated cells showed no immunogenicity, whereas heat-treated cells induced full protection against tumour challenge. Therefore, in this tumour model, the in vivo persistence of immunogen and the presence of a nucleus are likely to be crucial in inducing transplantation resistance to tumour.