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Biomedical subjects

N James

Publications and source records attributed to N James.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The routinization of hospice: charisma and bureaucratization.

In 25 years the number of hospices in Britain has multiplied from under 15 in 1965 to over 430 in 1991. During this period, often working out with the mainstream health system, the hospices actively sought to transform terminal care. More recently a process of diversification and legitimation has meant that hospices have become increasingly subject to mainstream influence. Using Weber's concept of charisma we examine the development of the hospice movement during this period of expansion. We suggest there are a number of factors leading to the routinization of hospice care including the ways in which it was sponsored and developed at the local level, and pressures toward bureaucratization and professionalization. We make links with recent developments in the health services. Finally we consider whether it is possible for the hospice movement to sustain its founding ideals.

Hospices↗
PubMed1992

Bladder cancer: inter-relationships between chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

There has been increasing interest in the role of chemotherapy as primary treatments for patients with urothelial cancer and because of the poor prognosis of locally advanced tumours with conventional treatment, trials have been initiated comparing radiotherapy with chemotherapy as primary therapies. In this context it is important to assess the relationship between the responses to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and this we have examined in 64 patients treated with MVMJ (methotrexate, vinblastine, mitozantrone and carboplatin). Either a complete or a partial response was found in 29 of the 64 patients, 15 had stable disease and 13 had progression of disease. Seven patients died within the first treatment month. The survival of the responding patients ranged from 114 to 1184 days. Six of 15 patients who had had pelvic irradiation prior to chemotherapy responded to MVMJ, the maximum duration of response being more than 3 years. Twenty-two patients had radiotherapy following their chemotherapy. One of 13 patients not responding to MVMJ had a transient response to radical radiotherapy. Only 1 of 9 patients responding to chemotherapy and then relapsing responded to subsequent radical radiotherapy. Patients with metastatic disease or with recurrent disease after radiotherapy have a worthwhile chance of responding to chemotherapy and achieve durable remissions. In contrast, radiotherapy appears relatively ineffective in patients whose disease progresses or relapses after chemotherapy given as primary treatment with curative intent.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Immune modulation and cancer.

The concept that the immune system is involved in defence against cancer goes back nearly a hundred years. Despite increased sophistication in our analysis of the immune response it has proven difficult to demonstrate a powerful role of the immune system in either the prevention or treatment of cancer. Animal data has consistently and clearly shown that the immune system can identify and reject experimental tumours. In patients the data is more conflicting. The isolation of individual cytokines which stimulate specific components of the immune response and have a anti-cancer effect does suggest, however, that as we learn more about the interaction between immunity and cancer, novel methods for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer will be developed.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1991

Vitrectomy, argon laser, and gas tamponade for serous retinal detachment associated with an optic disc pit: a case report.

We report the case of a 9-year-old boy with a right optic disc pit and associated serous retinal detachment of the macula. This was treated by vitrectomy, endolaser, and gas tamponade as a primary procedure, which resulted in complete resolution. We review the literature and conclude that further reports of the management of this uncommon condition are required so that firmer guidelines on treatment can be established.

Child↗
PubMed1990

The eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome with neuritis associated with L-tryptophan use.

Causes of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome other than L-tryptophan include parasitic myositis (that is, trichinosis), acute tropical myositis, sarcoidosis, granulomatous myositis, polymyositis, collagen vascular diseases, neoplastic myositis, and eosinophilic myositis. Some of these can be excluded by the absence of associated findings, that is, sarcoidosis, collagen vascular disease, neoplastic myositis; or on epidemiologic grounds, for example, acute tropical myositis. A muscle biopsy is diagnostic for trichinosis and for granulomatous, neoplastic, and eosinophilic myositis. A normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate militates against but does not rule out neoplastic or collagen vascular disease-associated myositis. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate may be elevated in most of these disorders although trichinosis is characterized by a very low rate. Most conditions associated with eosinophilia are characterized by both blood and local tissue eosinophilia.

Eosinophilia↗
PubMed1990

Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (L-tryptophan-associated neuromyopathy).

Histopathologic study of skeletal muscle biopsy in a patient with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome following L-tryptophan use showed prominent lymphocytic perineuritis, neuritis, and perimysial fasciitis. The presence of perineuritis and neuritis provides a histopathologic basis for clinical features of neuropathy in eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and occurred in conjunction with a fasciitis or interstitial myositis that was predominantly perimysial and focally endomysial.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1989

A pharmacological evaluation of a new 3-month depot preparation of buserelin for prostatic cancer.

A new slow-release formulation of buserelin given as a 3-month depot injection was evaluated in four patients with advanced prostatic cancer. Treatment was maintained for a mean period of 15 months. Steady-state urinary buserelin concentrations were reached by the beginning of the 3rd week of treatment and maintained until the end of the 3rd month. Serum testosterone remained suppressed in the castrate range for the duration of the study. This preparation offers an advantage for the patient and clinician over existing methods of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue administration and will enter further clinical trial.

Buserelin↗
PubMed1989

New combination chemotherapy programme for bladder cancer.

Forty patients with either metastatic, post-radiotherapy recurrent, or poor prognosis locally advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were treated in a new combination chemotherapy programme with methotrexate, vinblastine, mitozantrone and JM8 (carboplatin); 33 patients were assessable for response. There were 9 complete responses (27%), 12 partial responses (36%) and 7 disease stabilizations (21%); 5 patients (15%) had progressive disease. The median duration of complete response has not been reached and is in excess of 9 months (range 4- greater than 18 months). This regimen was without significant toxicity and this is in contrast with M-VAC, which is thought to be currently the most effective treatment for urothelial cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Double-blind randomised controlled trial of folate treatment before conception to prevent recurrence of neural-tube defects.

A randomized controlled double-blind trial was undertaken in south Wales to prevent the recurrence of neural-tube defects in women who had had one child with a neural-tube defect. Sixty women were allocated before conception to take 4 mg of folic acid a day before and during early pregnancy and 44 complied with these instructions. Fifty-one women were allocated to placebo treatment. There were no recurrences among the compliant mothers but two among the non-compliers and four among the women in the placebo group. Thus there were no recurrences among those who received supplementation and six among those who did not; this difference is significant (p = 0.04). It is concluded that folic acid supplementation might be a cheap, safe, and effective method of primary prevention of neural-tube defects but that this must be confirmed in a large, multicentre trial.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗