Biomedical subjects
S K Teoh
Publications and source records attributed to S K Teoh.
The testicular feminisation syndrome.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of alcohol in human brain.
The covariance between blood and brain alcohol levels and subjective reports of mood were examined in 6 healthy adult men after consumption of 0.7 g/kg of beverage alcohol. There was significant (p less than 0.01) temporal concordance between ascending and peak blood alcohol levels and regional brain alcohol levels as measured by in vivo proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) when N-acetyl aspartate (N-AA) concentration was used as an internal standard. The frequency of reports of both euphoria and dysphoria also paralleled the ascending limb of the blood and brain alcohol curve. However, peak blood alcohol levels were higher (125.67 +/- 10.91 mg/dl) and earlier (35 min postdrinking) than peak brain alcohol levels (26.25 +/- 6.38 mg/dl) detected 50 min after alcohol intake. This difference in brain and blood alcohol levels appears to be associated with the echo time (TE) parameters of the MRS. A decrease in TE from 270 msec to 50 msec resulted in a marked increase in brain alcohol detectability. MRS measures will permit analysis of regional differences in brain alcohol concentrations and covariance with behavioral, neurophysiologic and neuroendocrine concomitants of acute alcohol intoxication in man.
Prolactin and cortisol levels following acute alcohol challenges in women with and without a family history of alcoholism.
In a pilot study 5 matched pairs of female social drinkers received both 0.56 g/kg alcohol and placebo in a double-blind crossover design. Family history positive (FHP) women had biological fathers who met criteria for alcohol dependence, and FHN women had no relatives who met these criteria. FHP and FHN women had BALs about 70 mg/dl 60 min after alcohol. FHP subjects had significantly lower prolactin levels 40, 60 and 80 min following alcohol, but higher cortisol levels 130 and 150 min following alcohol. No significant differences in hormone levels occurred after placebo.
Screening for gonorrhea in a prenatal clinic in Southeast Asia.
Screening by culture of endocervical specimens revealed four cases of gonorrhea among 744 pregnant women attending the prenatal clinic at the University Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The observed prevalence of gonorrhea (0.54%) in pregnant women is similar to that in Great Britain (0.2-0.7%), but lower than the prevalences reported for North America (2.5-7.5%) and Thailand (11.9%). The results indicate that routine screening of pregnant women attending prenatal clinics in Malaysia would aid in the control of gonorrhea in that country.
Buprenorphine treatment of opiate and cocaine abuse: clinical and preclinical studies.
Buprenorphine, an opioid mixed agonist-antagonist, is a potent analgesic that appears to be effective for the treatment of opiate abuse. Recent preclinical studies have shown that buprenorphine also significantly reduces cocaine self-administration by rhesus monkeys for periods up to 120 days. This unexpected finding has led to clinical trials to evaluate buprenorphine's effectiveness for the treatment of dependence on both cocaine and opiates, as defined by DSM-III-R criteria. Buprenorphine's safety in combination with cocaine and opiates and its effects on electroencephalographic sleep patterns and regional cerebral blood flow were evaluated during inpatient studies. Buprenorphine (4 or 8 mg/day given sublingually) did not accentuate the cardiovascular and respiratory changes induced by an acute challenge dose of cocaine (30 mg given intravenously) or morphine (10 mg given intravenously) alone. In an outpatient open trial, buprenorphine significantly reduced both opiate and cocaine abuse by patients who had abused these drugs for more than 10 years. Most of these patients had failed in other drug abuse treatment programs. Reports of needle sharing also decreased significantly, and no patient tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The apparent safety and effectiveness of buprenorphine, combined with a high level of patient acceptance, led the Food and Drug Administration to grant a compassionate extension of the approved period for outpatient buprenorphine treatment from 26 to 52 weeks. Clinical trials of buprenorphine are ongoing. Possible mechanisms underlying buprenorphine-cocaine interactions are now under investigation.
Platelet adenylate cyclase and monoamine oxidase in women with alcoholism or a family history of alcoholism.
PURPOSE: Characteristic changes of platelet membrane monoamine oxidase and adenylate cyclase activities have been described in men with alcoholism. We studied the occurrence of these changes in abstinent alcoholic women and in nonalcoholic female control subjects with and without family histories of alcoholism. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 23 female alcoholics and 39 nonalcoholic female social drinkers. Platelet membrane assays were performed for monoamine oxidase and adenylate cyclase activities. RESULTS: Alcoholic women had lower basal adenylate cyclase (p < 0.01) and adenylate cyclase activities stimulated by cesium fluoride (p < 0.001), by the guanine nucleotide analog 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate (p < 0.02), and by prostaglandin E1 (p < 0.01). Female control subjects with family histories of alcoholism also had lower basal adenylate cyclase (p < 0.01) and adenylate cyclase activities enhanced by incubation with cesium fluoride (p < 0.005) and 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate (p < 0.001). Monoamine oxidase activity levels measured with (p < 0.001) and without ethanol (p < 0.01) were higher for alcoholic women. No significant differences were found between female control subjects with and without family histories of alcoholism for monoamine oxidase in the absence or presence of ethanol. DISCUSSION: In vitro platelet adenylate cyclase activity may facilitate a diagnosis of alcoholism in women and may be a biologic indicator of vulnerability in the offspring of alcoholics.