PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W C Wright

Publications and source records attributed to W C Wright.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Transdermal scopolamine decreases nausea and vomiting following cesarean section in patients receiving epidural morphine.

The authors evaluated the antiemetic properties of transdermal scopolamine (TDS) in healthy patients undergoing elective cesarean section and receiving epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia. Prior to administration of anesthesia, 203 patients had either TDS or a placebo study patch applied behind one ear. All patients were hydrated with lactated Ringer's solution iv and given 2.0% lidocaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine epidurally for surgical anesthesia. Following delivery of the infant, 4 mg of morphine sulphate was injected through the epidural catheter. After the operation patients were evaluated by "blinded" observers at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 24, and 48 h for nausea, vomiting, retching, pain relief, itching, and adverse effects. In addition, medications received were noted. No differences were found between the groups in terms of severity or incidence of pain, or requests for analgesic or antipruritic medication. Although there was no difference between the groups in the first 2 h, patients with TDS had significantly less nausea, vomiting, and retching than patients in the placebo group in each time interval between 2 and 10 h. Additionally, the TDS group required less antiemetic medication. There was no difference in the frequency of retching or vomiting between groups. Side effects were minimal and equal in both groups. The authors conclude that TDS results in a decreased incidence of nausea and vomiting in patients who have delivered by cesarean section and received epidural morphine. TDS appears safe for continuous antiemetic administration.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1989

Unrecognized thrombocytopenia and regional anesthesia in parturients: a retrospective review.

Charts from 2929 consecutive parturients were reviewed. Twenty-four had platelet counts less than 100,000/microL in the peripartum period. Seventeen of the 24 had predisposing causes for thrombocytopenia, including preeclampsia (nine), immune thrombocytopenia purpura (two), infection (three), placenta accreta (one), abruption (one), and excessive surgical bleeding (one). Seven had asymptomatic thrombocytopenia of unknown origin. Fourteen of the 24 thrombocytopenic patients received regional anesthesia, and none had permanent sequelae. Based upon this retrospective review, peripartal thrombocytopenia (15,000-99,000/microL) did not increase the risk of neurologic complications after a regional anesthetic. There have been no reports in the literature of spinal or epidural hematomas in parturients after regional anesthesia, except for one patient with a spinal ependymoma.

Anesthesia, Conduction↗
PubMed1985

Cryptococcosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

The clinical course and response to therapy of 27 patients with cryptococcosis and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were reviewed. Cryptococcosis was the initial manifestation of the syndrome in 7 patients, and the initial opportunistic infection in an additional 7. Meningitis was the commonest clinical feature (18 patients). Blood cultures and serum cryptococcal antigen were frequently positive. In patients with meningitis, leukocyte count, protein level, and glucose level in cerebrospinal fluid were frequently normal; cerebrospinal fluid India ink test (82%), culture (100%), and cryptococcal antigen (100%) were usually positive. Only 10 of 24 patients had no evidence of clinical activity of cryptococcal infection after completion of therapy; 6 of these 10 had relapses shown by clinical findings or at autopsy. Standard courses of amphotericin B alone or combined with flucytosine were ineffective. Cryptococcosis in patients with the syndrome is a debilitating disease that does not respond to conventional therapy; earlier diagnosis or long-term suppressive therapy may improve the prognosis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1981

Distinction of seventy-one cultured human tumor cell lines by polymorphic enzyme analysis.

A large collection of cultured human tumor cell lines was characterized for the phenotypes of 16 polymorphic enzyme loci: ACP1, ADA, AK1, ESD, FUCA, GLO1, GOT2, G6PD, ME2, PEPA, PEPB, PEPC, PEPD, PGD, PGM1, and PGM3 primarily to detect and monitor against cell line contamination. Among 100 highly characterized cell lines, 59 lines from different patients and 6 pairs of lines (each pair from the same patient's tumor) had unique phenotype combinations and were therefore presumed to be authentic, uncontaminated cell lines. Besides these 71 lines, the remaining 29 lines consisted of several small groups of two to three lines, each group having a different combination and being among the more frequent in the normal population. The 29 lines, therefore, were not suspected to be contaminants. Among unusual findings were the ME2 1 plus 2 phenotype determined for two bladder tumor lines, a G6PD A phenotype found in a line of Caucasian origin determined not to be a HeLa contaminant, and asymmetrical heterozygous phenotypes in several lines. Except for kidney tumor lines, there was no correlation of adenosine deaminase tissue isoenzymes between tumor lines and normal tissues of origin. For several enzymes significant deviations were found in proportions of the phenotypes observed in Caucasian cell lines from expected proportions on the basis of normal population data, indicating possible natural selection among these lines in tissue culture or among the patients of origin.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1980

Two relative efficiencies of polymorphic enzymes for characterizing cell lines, detecting contaminations, and monitoring transplants.

A new calculation of the relative efficiency of polymorphic enzyme markers, called the REB, was determined and compared with one of Fisher's determinations of the relative efficiency called REA here. The REA estimates the chance of failing, and 1-REA of succeeding, to show a phenotypic difference between two randomly selected persons or cultured cell lines (Case 1). In this study it was shown that the REA also estimates the chance of detecting a cell line mislabeling or similar mixup (Case 2) and a cell line cross-contamination leading to the complete replacement of an original line by contaminating line (Case 3). The new REB determines the probability of failing, and 1 - REB of succeeding, to detect a contamination of an original line by another line leading to their coexistence, or at least a sufficiently long period of transitional coexistence before one overgrows the other. The REA and REB also apply to determining the efficiency of polymorphic markers in detecting donor and recipient cells in tissue transplants.

Alleles↗
PubMed1980

High rate of sister chromatid exchanges of Bloom's syndrome chromosomes is corrected in rodent human somatic cell hybrids.

The high rate of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) characteristic of cultured somatic cells from patients with Bloom's syndrome (BS) was found to be fully corrected in BS chromosomes retained by somatic cell hybrids between Chinese hamster cells (CHO-YH 21) and BS fibroblasts (GM 1492), independent of the type and the number of human chromosomes retained. On the contrary, the average rate of SCE per Chinese hamster chromosome remained unaffected by hybridization with both BS and normal human cells. A partial suppression of SCE of about 30% was observed in the BS cells themselves when these were co-cultivated with Chinese hamster/Bloom's syndrome hybrid cells. In these hybrids, the rate of SCE per chromosome (Chinese hamster or human) was unaffected by co-cultivation. The data reported indicate that the high rate of SCE in BS cells must be considered to be the consequence of a lost normal function, rather than the acquisition of a new abnormal one, and that several independent genetic systems may be involved in the control of SCE during the replication of mammalian cells. Accordingly, the high rate of SCE in a cultured cell line or an individual should be looked upon as the common phenotype resulting from mutation(s) at any one of these systems. The occurrence of genetic complementation for SCE across the species barrier suggests that at least some of these genetic systems are homologous in different mammalian species and emphasizes the potential(s) of somatic cell hybridization for studying the biology of SCE, in general, and the genetics of Bloom's syndrome, in particular.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Detection and analysis of a glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase phenotype B cell line contamination.

Eight of approximately 100 cell lines derived at the Scott and White Clinic from human solid tumors were found to have the same phenotypes when analyzed for 15 polymorphic enzymes at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. These data were confirmed at the M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. The similarity was supported by cytogenetic studies at both institutions. The chronology of the establishment of these cell lines and isoenzyme and cytogenetic studies indicated that six of these lines have cross cell contamination. These include SW-527 and SW-613 mammary carcinomas, SW-598 meningioma, SW-608 astrocytoma, SW-732 cervix carcinoma, and SW-733 bladder carcinoma. Our data supported the authenticity of SW-480 and SW-620, which were derived from a colon carcinoma and its metastasis, respectively, from the same patient.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Absence of HeLa cell contamination in 169 cell lines derived from human tumors.

Numerous cell lines derived from human tumors are not HeLa contaminants. Of 192 lines established in this or other laboratories, 169 lines were found to be G6PD type B. Twenty-three lines were type A as HeLa; three of these were of Negroid origin. There is reasonable doubt that the remaining 20 lines will all be shown to be confounded with HeLa.

Black People↗
PubMed1976

Partial DiGeorge syndrome with substantial cell-mediated immunity.

Results of studies on two male infants with incomplete expression of the DiGeorge syndrome are analyzed. Both infants demonstrated neonatal tetany with hypoparathyroidism, cardiovascular anomalies, and absence of a thymus shadow on roentgenographic examination. Some degree of cellular immunity was present in both infants, however, including normal in vitro responses to phytohemagglutinin, thus postponing attempts at thymus transplantation. Both infants died suddenly at home, one at age 7 1/2 weeks and the other at age 44 weeks. At autopsy, no thymus was found in one, and a 2x2-mm thymus was detected after extensive search in the other. These cases emphasize the need for repeated monitoring of all immunologic measurements in the partial DiGeorge syndrome, so that early therapeutic intervention can be undertaken.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1975

Decreased bactericidal activity of leukocytes of stressed newborn infants.

Previous studies have established that leukocyte phagocytosis and intracellular killing are normal in term and low-birthweight newborns who are well. To determine the effect of stress or illness on newborn leukocyte function, the phagocytic and bactericidal activity of leukocytes from 40 sick newborns was compared with that of leukocytes from 12 newborns and 23 normal adults. To eliminate abnormal phagocytosis resulting from serum opsonic defects in newborn sera, pooled adult sera were used in all assays. Twenty-five of the 40 stressed newborns (63%) had decreased in vitro activity against either Staphylococcus aureus 502A or Escherichia coli, or both, compared with decreased activity in two of 12 well infants (17%) and in four of 23 adult controls (17%). The mean bactericidal activity (percentage of organisms killed after two hours) of leukocytes from stressed newborns against S. aureus (83% +/- 2 [SEM]) and E. coli. (87% +/- 4 [SEM]) was significantly less than in the combined well infant and adult control group (94% +/- 1 for S. aureus and 97% +/- .5 for E. coli). Although the more severely ill infants had an increased incidence of impaired antibacterial activity, the degree of impairment was not related to the severity of illness. No consistent relationship of decreased activity to birthweight, gestational age, age when studied, or specific diagnosis was seen. The leukocyte abnormality in stressed infants against S. aureus was principally a killing defect, while against E. coli both phagocytosis and killing were abnormal. This study indicates that a wide variety of neonatal disorders may affect one or more of the steps required for normal bacterial killing. The lability of leukocytic antibacterial function under stress is an additional mechanism for the newborn's increased susceptibility to infection.

Blood Bactericidal Activity↗