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Biomedical subjects

P Morse

Publications and source records attributed to P Morse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Prevalence, incidence, and correlates of chlamydia and gonorrhea among young adult injection drug users.

PURPOSE: To measure prevalence, incidence, and correlates of chlamydia and gonorrhea among injection drug users (IDUs). METHODS: Participants (n = 2129; 63% male, 52% white, ages 18-30 years) in five US cities were tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea by urine LCR assay and completed a standardized questionnaire about demographics and recent sexual behavior. Logistic regression identified correlates of prevalent infection; incidence rates were calculated from 6-month follow-up data. RESULTS: Chlamydia prevalence was 5.2% and did not differ by gender. Gonorrhea prevalence was 0.2% among men and 2.0% among women, P < .001. Among men, younger age [OR (95% CI): 0.89 (0.83-0.96)], age at sexual debut [0.91 (0.83-0.99)], and African American race [2.92 (1.53-5.59)] were associated with chlamydia. Among women, age at sexual debut [1.16 (1.02-1.31)] and commercial sex [1.96 (1.03-3.74)] were associated with chlamydia, and with gonorrhea [1.27 (1.04-1.56)] and [5.17 (1.66-16.11)], respectively. At 6 months, the cumulative incidence of chlamydia was 1.7% among men and 4.4% among women, P = .03; no men and 1.3% of women tested positive for gonorrhea, P = .01. IMPLICATIONS: Prevalence and correlates of chlamydia and gonorrhea were similar to other samples, suggesting that screening criteria need not be modified for IDU populations. The number of behavioral correlates identified was limited; perhaps unmeasured sexual-network-level factors play a role in determining sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Carcinogenicity of the N-hydroxy derivative of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, 2-amino-3, 8-dimethyl-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline and 3, 2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl in the rat.

Heterocyclic amines and carcinogenic aromatic amines are similarly metabolically activated suggesting that they may have similar organ specificity. Three day-old male ACI/seg rats were injected, i.p., twice a week for 10 weeks with 50 micromol/kg of N-hydroxy-3, 2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (N-OH-DMABP; Group II), N-OH-2-amino-3, 8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (N-OH-MeIQx; Group III) or N-OH-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidaza-[4,5-b]pyridine (N-OH-PhIP; Group IV). Animals in control group (Group I) were similarly injected with solvent alone. The animals were sacrificed at age 68 weeks, and 31, 30, 27 and 31 rats from Groups I, II, III and IV, respectively, were evaluated. Colon carcinomas were found in 0, 15 (P<0.001), 2 and 4 (P<0.06), and bladder transitional cell tumors in zero, two, two and four (P<0.06), in Group I, II, III and IV, respectively. The incidence of atypical hyperplasia of ventral prostate in Groups III and IV, and of anterior prostate and seminal vesicle in all treated groups was also significantly greater (P<0.05). These results suggest that N-OH-PhIP and N-OH-MeIQx may be potential carcinogens for the prostate. Since bladder tumor is rare in ACI rats, N-OH-PhIP may also be a potential carcinogen for the bladder.

Aminobiphenyl Compounds↗
PubMed2000

Reactivity to alcohol-related stimuli in the laboratory and in the field: predictors of craving in treated alcoholics.

AIMS: (1) To search for predictors of alcohol craving in treated alcoholics; (2) to evaluate the relationship between craving and drinking immediately after treatment. DESIGN: Alcoholic patients in treatment underwent cue-reactivity trails in the laboratory and then recorded craving in the field using hand-held computers. Laboratory craving was correlated with craving in the field, and moods and situations recorded in the field were correlated with contemporaneous craving ratings using a multi-level correlational design. SETTING: A VA Medical Center substance abuse treatment program provided the treatment and laboratory settings. The patients' home environment was the field setting. PARTICIPANTS: Male alcohol-dependent veterans (N = 26) treated in a VA inpatient or intensive outpatient program. INTERVENTION: Participants underwent two cue-reactivity laboratory sessions prior to discharge to measure craving. Following discharge, participants recorded drinking and cravings eight times per day for 21 consecutive days. MEASUREMENTS: Craving ratings in the laboratory and multiple recordings per day of surroundings, craving and mood state in the field. FINDINGS: Desire to drink in the laboratory accounted for 8-10% of the variance in later drinking and urges to drink recorded in the field--a modest correlation. Frequency of positive urges in the field was significantly correlated with drinking frequency. Those who reported urges in the field had greater alcohol dependence and higher trait anger and anxiety scores than non-reporters. CONCLUSIONS: Craving is related to drinking immediately following treatment, and is most likely in those who have more severe dependence and greater mood disturbance. These individuals may benefit most from interventions for coping with cravings after treatment.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2000

Inhibition of lung metastases of murine renal cell carcinoma by the combination of radiation and interferon-alpha-producing tumor cell vaccine.

We have previously demonstrated in a murine lung metastasis model that local sublethal radiation of tumors can synergistically enhance their sensitivity to immunotherapy with either systemic high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) or vaccination with autologous tumor cells expressing IL-2, interferon (IFN)-gamma and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Host antitumor activity was mediated in large part by natural killer cells, which can be activated by IFN-alpha. In the present study, we used this lung metastasis model to investigate the efficacy of combined therapy with local tumor radiation and vaccination with IFN-alpha-secreting tumor cells (Renca/IFN-alpha). The in vitro and in vivo growth rates of Renca/IFN-alpha cells were significantly reduced relative to normal controls. Subcutaneous vaccination with Renca/IFN-alpha or selective X-irradiation of the left lung (300 rad) reduced the number of lung tumors by 40% and 27%, respectively. The combination of lung irradiation plus vaccination reduced the number of lung metastases by 60%, and the net tumor volume by 95%. The reductions in tumor volume in both irradiated and non-irradiated lungs were comparable. These results indicate that host antitumor response to subcutaneous vaccination with Renca/IFN-alpha was systemic, and was significantly enhanced by radiation of tumor-bearing lungs. A regimen based on enhancement of IFN-alpha immunotherapy by local tumor radiation may be useful in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

N-Acetyltransferase expression and DNA binding of N-hydroxyheterocyclic amines in human prostate epithelium.

Intact prostate epithelial cells prepared from benign prostatic hypertrophy tissues from two patients were incubated for 2 h with N-hydroxy derivatives of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4, 5-b]pyridine (N-OH-PhIP) or 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4, 5-f]quinoxaline (N-OH-MeIQx). (32)P-post-labeling analysis detected PhIP and MeIQx adducts in the DNA of these cells but not in the untreated control. Adduct levels were approximately 100 times greater in N-OH-PhIP- than in N-OH-MeIQx-treated cells. Repair synthesis of DNA was observed in cells, prepared from two additional patients, treated for 24 h with these carcinogens and was greater for N-OH-PhIP than for N-OH-MeIQx. PhIP, MeIQx and their nitro derivatives did not produce repair synthesis of DNA in this system. The difference in the activity of N-OH-PhIP and N-OH-MeIQx may be due to their stability, since N-OH-MeIQx decomposed rapidly in neutral solution. Transcripts of NAT1 and NAT2 were detected by an in situ hybridization method in prostate epithelial cells, but were absent from stromal tissues. These results suggest that PhIP may be a potential carcinogen for human prostate, since cooked meats, which contain this heterocyclic amine, have been associated with human prostate cancer.

Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase↗
PubMed1999

Immunotherapy for lung metastases of murine renal cell carcinoma: synergy between radiation and cytokine-producing tumor vaccines.

We investigated the combination therapy of local radiation of lung metastasis and vaccination with autologous tumor cells that produced interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) using the mouse Renca pulmonary metastasis model. Wild-type Renca (W/Renca) were transfected with pEF-BOS vector incorporating cDNAs for IL-2, IFN-gamma, or GM-CSF to express these cytokines. W/Renca, IL-2-producing Renca (Renca/IL-2), and IFN-gamma-producing Renca (Renca/IFN-gamma) produced subcutaneous tumor at the injection site in eight of eight, one of eight, and two of eight mice, respectively. No tumors were found in the GM-CSF-producing Renca (Renca/GM-CSF) group (zero of eight). Renca/IFN-gamma produced subcutaneous (s.c.) tumors in all Balb/c nude mice, but Renca/IL-2 and Renca/GM-CSF did not. To test the elicitation of antitumor activity, Balb/c mice were injected intravenously with 1 x 10(5) W/Renca on day 0, vaccinated, s.c., with 1 x 10(6) cells each of 5,000 rad preirradiated Renca/IL-2, Renca/IFN-gamma, and Renca/GM-CSF or 3 x 10(6) cells of preirradiated W/Renca on days 1, 7, and 14, and radiated with 300 rad to both lungs on day 5. The animals were killed on day 21 and tumor nodules in the lungs were enumerated. Neither local irradiation alone nor the combination of lung radiation and multiple vaccination with irradiated W/Renca significantly reduced the number of lung tumors. In contrast, the combination of lung radiation and the multiple vaccinations with cytokine-producing Renca cells significantly reduced the number of lung tumors. This regimen was more effective than the multiple vaccinations with cytokine-producing Renca cells alone. These studies demonstrate the efficacy of vaccination with autologous tumor cells expressing these cytokines and sensitization of the tumor target with radiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Traumatic stress in HIV-infected women.

This study assesses the prevalence of specific traumatic stressors that meet criterion A for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM-IV) diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms of PTSD in a representative sample of HIV-infected women. The study also assesses the impact of these stressors and symptoms on the clinical progression of HIV infection. The Life Stressor Checklist and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised were administered via interview to 67 Africa-American women beyond the initial stages of HIV infection. The ratio of CD4 t-cells to CD8 t-cells were abstracted from medical records at dates that approximated psychological interviews and were examined at two points in time 12 to 14 months apart. The prevalence of traumatic stressors and PTSD symptoms were high among HIV-infected women. Traumatic stressors were significantly associated with a lower CD4 to CD8 ratio at the 1-year follow-up. Among women who reported a traumatic event, those who also met criteria for PTSD evidenced a lower CD4 to CD8 ratio at the follow-up assessment. The study concludes that prevention and treatment efforts targeted at HIV-infected women must take into account traumatic stressors and PTSD symptoms and their potential impact on the course of the disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with treated alcoholics: methodological problems and potential solutions.

Ecological Momentary Assessment, a methodology by which information can be obtained about phenomena as they occur in a person's natural environment, was used to assess the antecedents to relapse in treated alcohol abusers. Alcoholic participants (N = 27) were asked to record their urge to drink alcohol and their mood state, situation, and alcohol use on 5- x 7-in. record cards in response to 8 random prompts per day for 21 consecutive days after discharge from a Veterans Affairs inpatient treatment center. The purpose of the research was to determine the extent to which drinking urges occurred in the patient's home environment after treatment and to identify the mood states and alcohol-related stimuli associated with urges. Field recordings were prompted by a programmable wrist watch. Results suggested that compliance with procedures was excellent and that the occurrence of drinking and of drinking urges was relatively rare. However, significant methodological problems were brought to light that may have compromised the results. These problems are presented and potential solutions are proposed.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1997

The white blood cell adhesion molecule E-selectin predicts restenosis in patients with intermittent claudication undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have shown that endothelial dysfunction is an early event preceding restenosis. Monocytes and neutrophils have been shown to bind to damaged endothelium via the cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). The selectins are involved in capturing the leukocytes and tethering them to the endothelium. E-selectin is a CAM that is only expressed on activated endothelial cells. Its ligands are expressed on monocytes and neutrophils and it has been found to exist in a soluble form. This soluble form may represent a marker for endothelial damage and may be a precursor of smooth muscle proliferation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-four patients who were undergoing peripheral arterial balloon angioplasty had blood sampled before angioplasty. E-selectin was measured in plasma with the use of an ELISA. At follow-up angiogram, 30% (n=14) of the patients had restenosed at 1 year. There was a significant difference in baseline E-selectin levels in patients who restenosed compared with those who did not (65.3 ng/mL [58.25 to 78.05] versus 52.3 [34.2 to 62.1], Mann-Whitney U, P<.007). Endothelial activation with subsequent adherence of white blood cells is an important step in restenosis. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown an increased level of shed E-selectin in patients destined for restenosis and suggest that this work further supports a role for white blood cell/endothelial interaction in restenosis after angioplasty.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Who Is the Customer?

A 14-year-old girl was diagnosed at age 6 with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Both of her parents have been actively involved in her diabetic management. She recently gained 5.8 kg. At the time of presentation she was 174.2 cm tall and weighed 73.9 kg. While she was only moderately concerned about her recent weight gain, both her parents showed much more concern about her weight than about her blood sugar and vehemently objected to their daughter being interviewed separately, so that it became important to establish who the primary requester of treatment was. A very careful and delicate approach was chosen in which the adolescent was recommended to develop a regular exercise and eating regimen with participation and support of her parents.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Mouse targets undergo double-strand DNA fragmentation when exposed to syngeneic or xenogeneic LAK cells whereas human targets undergo single-strand breaks.

A number of recent studies have shown that mouse target cells (TC) of hematopoietic origin, when exposed to cytotoxic lymphocytes, undergo double-stranded DNA fragmentation. The cause and relevance of the fragmentation remain controversial. In this study we generated a number of mouse (M-LAK) and human LAK (H-LAK) cells and exposed them to a variety of mouse and human TC. YAC and SP/2, 2 mouse TC underwent rapid and extensive fragmentation when lysed by either human or mouse LAK whereas K562 and Daudi, 2 human TC, under the same conditions did not. All 4 TC, however, were killed quite efficiently. Next we labeled TC with 125I-deoxyuridine, exposed them to LAK cells for up to 18 h and loaded the LAK:TC mixtures over an alkaline linear sucrose gradient. After lysing the cells with a lysis buffer containing Triton X-100 we showed that K562 that had been in contact with LAK cells for more than 1 h exhibited single-strand nicks. However, whereas double-strand fragmentation preceded chromium release (lytic activity), the appearance of single-strand nicks did not. Finally, protein synthesis was not required for either type of fragmentation. In summary, we have demonstrated that: (1) the ability to undergo DNA fragmentation is a property of the TC rather than the effector cells that mediated their death, and (2) K562 and Daudi, 2 human TC, undergo single-strand nicks when lysed by LAK cells whereas SP/2 and YAC, 2 mouse TC undergo double-strand fragmentation when exposed to the same syngeneic or xenogeneic effector cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Comparison of stereofundus photographs in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes during conventional insulin treatment or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.

Sixty-five patients with mild to moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy who enrolled in a prospective controlled clinical trial had stereofundus photographs assessed for change over an 8-mo period. The entire study group showed a worsening of retinopathy with time (P less than 0.001). The worsening was greater in the pump-treated group (15/32) than in the conventionally treated group (9/33). The significance of this difference ranged from P = 0.67, if changes in mean retinopathy level for each patient were compared, to P = 0.177 if a grading system keyed to the worse eye was compared. The difference in rates of change between treatment groups was found to be related to the baseline mean retinopathy level (P = 0.031), but less significantly so if baseline retinopathy keyed to the worse eye was used as a covariate (P = 0.08). Worsening occurred more frequently in those patients starting with the lower retinopathy levels. Progression was associated with the appearance of retinal infarcts (cotton-wool spots, soft exudates) and/or intraretinal microvascular abnormalities, with the pump patients showing a significant increase in these individual retinal lesions compared with the conventionally treated patients over 8 mo (P less than 0.025).

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1978

Transformation of human embryo cells with the use of cell-free extracts of a human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line (HUS-2): brief communication.

Cell-free extracts of the human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line HUS-2 caused the transformation of human embryo fibroblasts. This transformation included morphologic alteration, karyotypic change, and an increase in culture longevity. With the use of sex markers, multiple karyotypes confirmed that the human embryo fibroblasts were transformed, and the use of cell-free material further suggested the presence of a transforming virus. RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity in a particle with a specific gravity of 1.16 g/cm3 indicated the presence of an RNA type C virus. Evidence also suggested that the known mammalian type C viruses, routine cytopathic effect-inducing viruses, or mycoplasma were not the agents responsible for the transformation. That both the donor (HUS-2) and converted (HUE-T) cell lines cross-reacted with antisera prepared against HUE-T indicated a common antigen arising in the process of conversion of HUS-2 cells to HUE-T cells.

Animals↗