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Biomedical subjects

R L Taber

Publications and source records attributed to R L Taber.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Delayed neuropsychologic sequelae after carbon monoxide poisoning: prevention by treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a major clinical problem. The risk of morbidity and the most effective treatment have not been clearly established. We measured the incidence of delayed neurologic sequelae (DNS) in a group of patients acutely poisoned with CO and tested the null hypothesis that the incidence would not be affected by treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). DESIGN: We conducted a prospective, randomized study in patients with mild to moderate CO poisoning who presented within 6 hours. Patients had no history of loss of consciousness or cardiac instability. INTERVENTIONS: The incidence of DNS was compared between groups treated with ambient pressure 100% oxygen or HBO (2.8 ATA for 30 minutes followed by 2.0 ATA oxygen for 90 minutes). DNS were defined as development of new symptoms after oxygen treatment plus deterioration on one or more subtests of a standardized neuropsychologic screening battery. RESULTS: In 7 of 30 patients (23%), DNS developed after treatment with ambient-pressure oxygen, whereas no sequelae developed in 30 patients after HBO treatment (P < .05). DNS occurred 6 +/- 1 (mean +/- SE) days after poisoning and persisted 41 +/- 8 days. At follow-up 4 weeks after poisoning, patients who had been treated with ambient pressure oxygen and had not sustained DNS exhibited a worse mean score on one subtest, Trail Making, compared with the group treated with HBO and with a control group matched according to age and education level. There were no differences in scores between the control group and the hyperbaric oxygen group. CONCLUSION: DNS after CO poisoning cannot be predicted on the basis of a patient's clinical history or CO level. HBO treatment decreased the incidence of DNS after CO poisoning.

Adolescent↗

Asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a condition in which a urine culture has more than 100,000 colonies per ml and in which the patient has no symptoms. There is a startling prevalence of this condition in the elderly population. Uncertainty exists about both the need and the nature of possible therapy for asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly. Adequate studies do not define well the associated morbidity or mortality of this condition in the patient without obstruction. When obstruction is present, therapy is necessary until the obstruction is relieved.

Aged↗

Studies on the penetration of mammalian cells by deoxyribonucleoside-5'-phosphates.

We have tested the ability of [5'-32P]-deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates (dNMPs) to penetrate living mouse fibroblast L cells and human HeLa cells. Under the conditions of our experiments, small numbers of apparently intact dNMP molecules appeared to penetrate into the interior of L cells and be incorporated into DNA. This incorporation was not due to mycoplasma contamination nor to extracellular hydrolysis of the dNMPs followed by resynthesis inside the cell. Under these same conditions, penetration of HeLa cells by intact dNMPs did not occur to a significant extent. However, HeLa cells were capable of hydrolyzing extracellular dNMPs to Pi and deoxyribonucleosides at a much faster rate than L cells. These experiments provide a starting point for attempts to specifically label the DNA in intact, living eukaryotic cells with [32P]-dNMPs.

Animals↗

Characterization of virus-like particles released from the hamster cell line CHO-K1 after treatment with 5-bromodeoxyuridine.

Simple biochemical measurements have been shown to seriously overestimate the production of C-type particles by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated with 5-bromodeoxyuridine. First, most particle-bound DNA polymerase activity released by induced cells was associated with particles which had a different density from C-type particles. Second, when labelled with radioactive uridine, induced CHO cells released small amounts of particle-bound radioactivity. Most of the radioactivity, however, was in DNA and did not sediment with the particle-bound polymerase. Thus, few particles which had RNA, an associated DNA polymerase, and the density typical of RNA tumour viruses were released by BrdUrd-induced CHO cells. In spite of this, some immature C-type forms were observed by electron microscopy in partially purified preparations of DNA polymerase-containing particles from induced CHO cells.

Animals↗