Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Stanton.
Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is a rare small-cell neoplasm of bone and soft tissue. After reviewing the literature, we believe that the patient in this report is the youngest in whom mesenchymal chondrosarcoma originating in a cervical vertebra has been diagnosed.
Attitudes held by various groups of healthcare professionals with regard to suicide prevention were assessed using an attitude inventory before and after they attended a formal lecture. The lecture presented basic facts and statistics, discussed clinical techniques and challenged negative attitudes. Evidence is presented to suggest that a reduction in the proportion of expressed attitudes which were equivocal or negative towards the feasibility of suicide prevention in clinical practice, can be achieved by a lecture of this kind.
Many children are given so many soft, easy-to-swallow foods that they do not learn to chew. This affects not only their dental development but also their health. Up to one-third of Australian children are overweight and 50 per cent of 10-15 year olds have high levels of serum cholesterol. It's time to encourage children to eat fewer soft, fatty, sugary foods and more fruits, vegetables, chewy breads, and grain-based foods. This paper aims to show that the diet that is good for children's teeth is also good for their health.
Intravenous bolus adenosine was given to four pediatric patients aged 1 month to 8 years who had paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia that had not responded to conventional medical therapy. Adenosine (one to three doses) was successful in converting the arrhythmia to normal sinus rhythm in all four cases, and no side effects of the drug were noted.
The irritable bowel syndrome is a highly prevalent condition whose underlying aetiology is not understood. While many patients respond to a combination of gastrointestinal antispasmodics, bulking agents and dietary manipulation, controlled clinical trials have suggested that the benefit is only marginal and is due mainly to the large placebo effect found in this condition, which has been calculated to range between 54 and 81%. Associations between the syndrome and psychological and social stresses suggest, however, that treatment involving a systematic approach to the management of symptoms may hold out real therapeutic possibilities. In the current study, 42 IBS patients were randomly allocated to either medical treatment or to behavioural psychotherapy with a nurse therapist. They were assessed initially and at 4 and 9 months. There was a general improvement over the 9 months on a number of physical and psychological symptoms measured. However, no differences were found between treatment groups except for changes in two avoidance scores. A significant correlation was found, however, between improvement in the bowel symptoms of IBS (stomach pain and diarrhoea) and improvement in the psychological symptoms measured by the Clinical Interview Schedule, suggesting a close interrelationship between the two.
A treatment trial was briefly mentioned in two British publications and women suffering from premenstrual syndrome were invited to write to us. After initial screening, postal questionnaires were sent to all eligible women. Six-hundred and ninety-nine questionnaires were returned and of these 658 were included in the analyses. Although the results of the study need to be considered cautiously because of the unrepresentative nature of the sample, the survey was helpful in ascertaining the views of women who report PMS symptoms and what they had found helpful. The majority of respondents were aged in their 30s and were married with children. Over 60% were chronic sufferers, having had symptoms for 5 years or more. High proportions of the women experienced both psychological and somatic symptoms but it was the psychological symptoms which were perceived as the most distressing. Over 60% of the sample were ascertained as suffering from some degree of psychological distress and the same proportion had one or more social problems. Overall 84% had visited their GP for this problem and many had also visited gynaecologists, family planning clinicians and psychiatrists. Agencies offering alternative medicine were also frequently contacted and often found more helpful. Most women had tried more than one type of medication but no one treatment was found to be particularly helpful.
Laughlin, Mohan, and Kutcher have evaluated photon beams for Co-60 through 24 MV for eight clinical disease sites plus pediatrics and concluded that two energy ranges are required for the best patient care: a 4 to 6 MV beam and a 10 to 18 MV beam. The present study investigates the question which two energies in a dual energy machine are optimum for the average patient mix. The method used is to calculate two dimensional sample cases including breast, head and neck, and pelvic tumors on the same treatment planning system using machine data including Co-60, 4 MV, 6 MV, 10 MV, and 18 MV x-ray beams. The resulting plans were evaluated considering tumor doses, spinal cord doses, doses to subcutaneous tissues and doses to other radiosensitive structures. The conclusion is that the optimum two beams are 6 and 10 MV.
Details of physical symptoms, psychological and social dysfunction of 42 outpatients diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were collected by interview and questionnaire. Social stresses and problems were also elicited as well as the impact of symptoms on their subjects' daily lives. High proportions of subjects were handicapped in their social, sexual and working lives by IBS symptoms and social stresses and problems were common. Forty-eight per cent were classified as having a 'minor psychiatric illness' using the Clinical Psychiatric Interview. Women were more severely affected by physical symptoms (with the exception of diarrhoea) and were more likely to be in pain longer and for more days in the month. They were also more likely than men to be diagnosed as having a psychiatric illness.
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Thirty-three histologically diverse bone and soft tissue tumors were analyzed biochemically for the presence of estrogen receptor protein (ERP) and progesterone receptor by means of a conventional, commercially available, steroid-binding assay (dextran-coated charcoal method) on fresh frozen tissue. These results were compared with analysis of ERP by using a specific monoclonal antibody both in an enzyme immunoassay and on frozen tissue sections by using immunohistochemical procedures. Frozen tissue sections were also examined for the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors using fluorescein-labeled steroids. Six of the 33 tumors (18%) contained low levels of ERP ranging from 19 to 73 fmol/mg as determined by the dextran-coated charcoal method. The remaining 27 cases contained no (less than 10 fmol/mg) ERP. The ERP-positive group included a fibromatosis, leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma (2 cases), neural sarcoma, and a synovial sarcoma. Four were high grades sarcomas, and two were low grade sarcomas. There was excellent agreement between the ERP levels determined by the dextran coated charcoal method and those determined by enzyme immunoassay. ERP could not be demonstrated immunohistochemically on frozen tissue sections of the tumors even though it could be demonstrated in breast carcinomas serving as positive controls. The failure of the immunohistochemical technique may be related to the low levels of ERP in these tumors and the difficulty of detecting antigen at threshold levels. Cytochemical localization of receptor protein employing fluoresceinated steroids did not correlate with cytosolic ERP as determined by enzyme immunoassay or the dextran coated charcoal method. Moreover, the high level of background fluorescence gave rise to a significant amount of intraobserver and interobserver variation. Although the clinical significance of ERP protein in mesenchymal tumors is still uncertain, the present findings, coupled with various clinical observations suggesting hormonal dependency of some mesenchymal tumors, indicate that investigation of a larger group of patients amenable to statistical analysis is warranted.
A 3-week-old girl with failure to thrive and cardiomegaly died of cardiac arrest at age 4 weeks. Morphologic studies of the heart showed enlarged muscle fibers with large accumulations of mitochondria, characteristic of histiocytoid cardiomyopathy. Biochemical studies showed markedly decreased succinate-cytochrome c reductase and rotenone-sensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase activities, while other mitochondrial enzymes were normal. In isolated mitochondria, cytochrome spectra showed a severe defect of reducible cytochrome b and a less marked defect of cytochrome cc1, while the content of cytochrome aa3 (cytochrome c oxidase) was normal. Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy appears to be due to a defect of complex III (reduced coenzyme Q-cytochrome c reductase) in the respiratory chain of heart mitochondria.
A novel approach to patient radiation dose reduction in X-ray computed tomography (CT) (variable dose scanning) is proposed and evaluated. This technique spares radiosensitive tissues from unnecessary radiation if they are not in the area of immediate clinical interest. Specifically evaluated is the potential for reduction of dose to the eye and active bone marrow in head transmission CT. Using computer simulations, doses are calculated for an easily implementable two level exposure variation, and results are discussed for the fully optimized case in which the intensities of all pencil beams are independently variable. Dose reductions of more than 80% in peak dose are possible in head scanning. To determine whether the filtered backprojection algorithm is optimal in terms of signal-to-noise ratio of the final images for this novel scanning technique, a Cramer-Rao lower bound to noise in the image (which is independent of reconstruction algorithm) is derived and calculated for several types of scan. The bound uses the photon distributions determined from mathematical optimization and is compared with the actual noise of the reconstructions. The comparison indicates that little if any improvement can be expected in signal-to-noise ratio using reconstruction algorithms other than the filtered backprojection.
Pediatric polymyositis may be an entity distinct from dermatomyositis. Chronic polymyositis can occur in childhood and, as in adults, may be associated with arrhythmias. Microscopical involvement of the myocardium and pericardium in dermatomyositis is probably far more common than suspected on clinical grounds. Cardiac evaluation is suggested for all children with dermatomyositis or polymyositis, particularly prior to surgical procedures. Intracardiac electrographic recording techniques offer improved accuracy in determining the site of cardiac conduction defects, and may aid in planning for the use of antiarrhythmia medications or a pacemaker. In children with dermatomyositis or polymyositis known cardiac stimulants should be administered with care.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.