Biomedical subjects

P Hull

Publications and source records attributed to P Hull.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Patients treated by dental students in outreach: the first year of a pilot project.

This paper describes the patients treated by 4th year undergraduate students during the first year of a pilot outreach course to teach Restorative Dentistry in community clinics in 2001-02. Data were collected from 908 summaries of patient treatment completed by the students, and from 139 patient questionnaires. Some 75% of patients were aged between 16 and 64, 58% were female, and 16% had dental phobia or anxiety. Most lived locally to the clinic and 41% made their initial contact as an emergency or drop-in. Some 37% made only a single visit (including children treated as emergencies) but 22% made six or more visits. Did not attend (DNA) was a problem and 18% of patients DNA to complete their treatment. Students undertook the full range of restorative procedures, with the emphasis on direct restorations, preventive treatment and advice, scaling, extractions and emergency treatment. Patients' main reasons for attending the clinic were lay recommendation, the need for treatment, convenience, free treatment, or the lack of access to a dentist. Some 30% said they did not have or did not know of an alternative source of dental care, and half had not seen a dentist for at least 2 years. The study demonstrates that despite difficulties related to attendance, a suitable patient base can be established offering students the opportunity to provide comprehensive care for adults in a primary care setting.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Regular salbutamol use increases CXCL8 responses in asthma: relationship to the eosinophil response.

Regular salbutamol use can exacerbate allergen-induced airway eosinophilia in asthmatics, but its effect on airway eosinophil chemokine responses is unknown. Asthmatic subjects (n=14) were treated for 10 days with placebo or salbutamol in a double-blind, cross-over study, then given same-dose allergen challenges. Their sputa were then analysed 1 and 7 h later for a panel of eosinophil-related cytokines. Eosinophils from five test and three control subjects were tested for expression of CXCL8/interleukin (IL)-8, and its receptors and responsiveness to CCL11/eotaxin and CXCL8/IL-8. Sputum CXCL8/IL-8, but not IL-5, CCL5/regulated on activation, T-cell expressed and secreted, CCL7/monocyte chemotactic protein-3, CCL11/eotaxin, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or tumour necrosis factor levels, were increased (42%) by the salbutamol treatments. The CXCL8/IL-8 levels correlated with the proportions of sputum eosinophils and these cells, but not other sputum cells, stained strongly for CXCL8/IL-8. The circulating eosinophils of the tested subjects (n=5) expressed CXCL8/IL-8 receptors and secreted high levels of this chemokine. Neutralisation of sputum CXCL8/IL-8 reduced eosinophil chemotactic responses to these samples by 19 +/- 5%. These data suggest that regular use of salbutamol can augment airway CXCL8/interleukin-8 responses to allergen challenge and that this CXCL8/interleukin-8 could contribute to the airway inflammatory response.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

The role of Apligraf in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

A cultured, allogeneic, bi-layered human skin equivalent has recently become available to help clinicians manage difficult-to-heal venous ulcers. This skin equivalent has an epidermis and dermis similar to human skin. Its living keratinocytes and fibroblasts are from cultured cell banks derived from human neonatal foreskin. Because the skin equivalent is made up of viable human cells, it cannot be terminally sterilized. Safety concerns, which have been addressed, include the risk of possible transmission of infection, immunogenicity, immunological graft rejection, and tumor formation. However, the maternal blood of the neonatal donor and the master cell banks are screened for infectious agents. Additionally, the human skin equivalent is produced under strict aseptic control, with sterility continuously monitored by the Good Manufacturing Processes. This paper reviews the characteristics of this human skin equivalent and provides practice guidelines.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1997

Oral terbinafine in the treatment of toenail onychomycosis: North American multicenter trial.

BACKGROUND: Onychomycosis is an increasing problem with limited therapeutic options. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the safety and efficacy, of oral terbinafine, a new fungicidal antimycotic, in patients with toenail onychomycosis. METHODS: A North American multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the mycologic and clinical efficacy of oral terbinafine 250 mg/day for 12 or 24 weeks in 358 patients with toenail onychomycosis. RESULTS: A total of 74% of patients treated with 12 or 24 weeks of terbinafine achieved a successful clinical outcome. Approximately 11% of terbinafine responders showed evidence of relapse 18 of 21 months after cessation of treatment. Terbinafine was well tolerated; most adverse events were transient and mild to moderate in severity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study confirm that oral terbinafine is a safe and effective therapy for the treatment of onychomycosis.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMed1997

Localization of the gene causing keratolytic winter erythema to chromosome 8p22-p23, and evidence for a founder effect in South African Afrikaans-speakers.

Keratolytic winter erythema (KWE), also known as "Oudtshoorn skin disease," or "erythrokeratolysis hiemalis," is an autosomal dominant skin disorder of unknown etiology characterized by a cyclical erythema, hyperkeratosis, and recurrent and intermittent peeling of the palms and soles, particularly during winter. Initially KWE was believed to be unique to South Africa, but recently a large pedigree of German origin has been identified. The disorder occurs with a prevalence of 1/7,000 in the South African Afrikaans-speaking Caucasoid population, and this high frequency has been attributed to founder effect. After a number of candidate regions were excluded from linkage to KWE in both the German family and several South African families, a genomewide analysis was embarked on. Linkage to the microsatellite marker D8S550 on chromosome 8p22-p23 was initially observed, with a maximum LOD score (Z(max)) of 9.2 at a maximum recombination fraction (theta(max)) of .0 in the German family. Linkage was also demonstrated in five of the larger South African families, with Z(max) = 7.4 at theta(max) = .02. When haplotypes were constructed, 11 of 14 South African KWE families had the complete "ancestral" haplotype, and 3 demonstrated conservation of parts of this haplotype, supporting the hypothesis of founder effect. The chromosome segregating with the disease in the German family demonstrated a different haplotype, suggesting that these chromosomes do not have a common origin. Recombination events place the KWE gene in a 6-cM interval between D8S550 and D8S552. If it is assumed that there was a single South African founder, a proposed ancestral recombinant suggests that the gene is most likely in a 1-cM interval between D8S550 and D8S265.

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed1996

Pharmaceutical published literature databases: a survey.

Pharmaceutical companies often maintain a bibliographic database of published articles on their products. Although such databases share the common purpose of providing the company with a centralized source of published information, the databases themselves vary in scope, uses, and technologies. In order to explore the current status of these databases, a survey was conducted in early 1995. This article provides an overview of pharmaceutical product literature databases and the results from that survey.

Databases, Bibliographic↗

PubMed1992

Familial occurrence of pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) was noted in four women with unusual family relationships. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to document the occurrence of PUPPP in these families and to make observations on their possible relevance. METHODS: Case reports of the four patients are detailed. Histologic and HLA studies are recorded. RESULTS: In both families, sisters were married to brothers. A common paternal influence is suggested. CONCLUSION: We postulate that PUPPP may be a maternal response to a circulating paternal factor for which tolerance develops in subsequent pregnancies.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989