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Biomedical subjects

S Binks

Publications and source records attributed to S Binks.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Prevalence and healthcare burden of illegal drug use among emergency department patients.

OBJECTIVES: Illegal drug use is common in emergency department (ED) patients, but previous prevalence studies have relied upon approaches that may underestimate the true extent of the problem. The aim of this study was to examine illegal drug use in a typical adult ED. METHODS: We employed an independent researcher to prospectively and anonymously interview patients attending an inner city adult ED throughout all 168 hours of a typical week. Additional information collected from the treating clinician indicated whether each presentation was directly or indirectly related to illegal drug use. RESULTS: We found that 6.9% of all patient attendances were directly or indirectly related to illegal drug use, and hospital admission was required in nearly half of these. The majority of drug related problems were acute injuries, overdose, and the medical complications of drug use. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that the emergency healthcare burden related to illegal drug use is substantial, and higher than previously reported.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Visuospatial working memory in patients with schizophrenia.

Recent investigations have documented abnormalities in working memory related processes in schizophrenics on tasks assessing the central executive component of this cognitive model. This preliminary study investigated the function of another component of the working memory system, the visuospatial scratch pad in schizophrenia. The "scratch pad's" passive visual store--responsible for the temporary retention of visual material--was assessed via a computerized spatial delayed response task, whereas its active spatial rehearsal subsystem--specialized for retaining the temporal properties--was explored through visual block span. To assess elemental visual spatial abilities we used the Judgment of Line Orientation test. Thirty-two schizophrenics and 27 controls were tested. Although we discovered the basic perceptual abilities of patients to be intact, we determined that whenever memory was necessitated on spatial tasks, patients demonstrated marked deficits. This pattern of cognitive dysfunction is consistent with impairments in a neural network involving prefrontal and/or posterior brain regions in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

p53 gene product expression in resected non-small cell carcinoma of the lung, with studies of concurrent cytological preparations and microwave antigen retrieval.

AIM: To document the frequency and extent of p53 gene product expression in paraffin sections of resected non-small cell carcinoma of the lung and in cytological preparations of the same tumours; to determine the effect of microwave antigen retrieval on antigen detection. METHODS: Representative paraffin sections of 50 non-small cell carcinomas were stained with an antibody to p53 gene product (DO-7) both with and without prior microwave antigen retrieval. Cytoblocks and cell smears obtained from 19 cases were similarly stained. RESULTS: Using a histochemical scoring system (0-300) which takes into account staining intensity and extent, 78% (n = 39) of microwave pretreated paraffin sections and 52% (n = 26) of non-pretreated sections scored between 5 and 300; p = 0.001; 56% (n = 28) of microwave pretreated sections and only 2% (n = 1) of non-pretreated sections scored between 100 and 300 (p = 0.0001); 75% of direct smears of tumours and 80% of cytoblocks stained similarly to the paraffin sections of the resected specimens. No smears or cytoblocks stained positively when the sections of the resected specimen were negative. CONCLUSIONS: As up to 78% of non-small cell lung carcinomas overexpress p53 gene product, this may prove to be a valuable diagnostic method in biopsy or cytological material when the morphological diagnosis is uncertain. Microwave antigen retrieval is effective on formalin fixed tissue.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1997

Combined antagonism of leukotrienes and histamine produces predominant inhibition of allergen-induced early and late phase airway obstruction in asthmatics.

We defined the contribution of histamine and leukotrienes to allergen-induced airway obstruction in asthmatics; 12 subjects with allergic asthma underwent identical allergen bronchoprovocations on four occasions. At a control session, all subjects displayed early (EAR) and late asthmatic (LAR) reactions. The mean (+/- SE) drop in FEV1 during EAR (0-2 h) and LAR (2-12 h) was 29 +/- 2% and 28 +/- 4%, respectively. Thereafter, the influence of 1 wk randomized pretreatment with the leukotriene receptor antagonist zafirlukast (Accolate) (80 mg twice daily), the antihistamine loratadine (10 mg twice daily), and the combination of both antagonists was assessed. Expressed as AUC FEV1 in percent of the control reaction, zafirlukast reduced the response during EAR and LAR by 62 +/- 11% and 55 +/- 12%, respectively (p < 0.05 versus control). Loratadine inhibited EAR and LAR by 25 +/- 14% and 40 +/- 16%, respectively (p < 0.05 versus control). Zafirlukast was significantly more effective than loratadine during EAR but not during LAR. The combination of zafirlukast and loratadine reduced the AUC FEV1 during EAR and LAR further, by 75 +/- 8% and 74 +/- 14%, respectively (p < 0.05 versus control). The combination was significantly (p < 0.05) more effective than either drug alone during the LAR. The findings indicate that leukotrienes and histamine together mediate the major part of both the EAR and the LAR following exposure of asthmatics to allergen. Combination of leukotriene antagonism and antihistamines may represent a new strategy for treatment of airway obstruction in asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

A comparison of pathological methods of measuring lung cancer volume.

AIM: To determine which of several pathological methods of measuring lung cancer volume compared most favourably with the gold standard. METHODS: Three pathological methods were used on 54 resected lung cancers: (1) measuring the maximum dimension and assuming a spherical shape; (2) measuring three dimensions and assuming an ellipsoidal shape; and (3) deriving the volume from the area of tumour on sequential 1 cm slices using a photocopier and an image analysis system. The gold standard was obtained from the area of whole mount tumour sections on sequential 0.1 cm slices of eight cancers. RESULTS: Volumes derived from 1 cm lung slices gave results closest to our gold standard but assuming tumours were ellipsoidal was only a slightly less accurate and less time consuming method. Assuming cancers were spherical resulted in gross overestimation of the tumour volumes. CONCLUSIONS: For practical purposes, it is reasonable to measure three dimensions of a lung tumour at sectioning and calculate the volume using the formula for an ellipsoid (V = 4/3 pi d.e.f, where d, e and f are the semi-axes).

Carcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modulation of leukocyte phagocytic and oxidative burst responses by human seminal plasma.

The typical absence of immune responses to spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract at the time of insemination, despite the presence of a marked leukocytic infiltrate into the cervical mucus is intriguing. It may be that localised immunoregulatory mechanisms exist and this study used whole blood flow cytometry to determine the effects of human seminal plasma on neutrophil and monocyte function. Seminal plasma inhibited the proportion of neutrophils and monocytes phagocytosing E. coli, and the intensity of neutrophil phagocytosis, but enhanced the magnitude of the phagocytic response of those monocytes that escaped inhibition relative to PBS treated controls. Oxidative burst responses to E. coli were also inhibited and this effect was mediated by low molecular weight species, as dialysis totally abrogated the inhibitory activity. Seminal plasma had no effect on the neutrophil burst response to fMLP when compared to the controls, however there was a significant difference between the responses of undialysed and dialysed seminal plasma treated samples. Undialysed seminal plasma significantly inhibited the proportion of monocytes undergoing the burst response to fMLP and there were significant differences between the proportion of cells responding and their intensity in undialysed and dialysed seminal plasma treated samples. In summary, this study reports differential modification of neutrophil and monocyte function by human seminal plasma. The residual capacity of these cells to undergo phagocytosis and generate oxidative burst responses suggests that localised innate immune function remains intact and is possibly enhanced in the female reproductive tract at the time of insemination. Other mechanisms must protect inseminated sperm at this time.

Dialysis↗