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Biomedical subjects

W H Carter

Publications and source records attributed to W H Carter.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Relationships between various uses of antineoplastic drug-interaction terms.

In in vitro testing, no pharmacologic synergism has been found for the combination of cisplatin and etoposide in P388 leukemia in contrast to the demonstration of therapeutic synergism in the same model. No pharmacologic synergism has been found for the same combination in the treatment of four small-cell lung-cancer cell lines, although clinical results obtained using this combination in small-cell lung cancer and other cancers suggest a therapeutic advantage. The popular concept of synergy, implying a therapeutic advantage, is different from the pharmacologic meaning, which generally implies that less drug is required in a combination for an equal effect. Therapeutic advantage may be obtained regardless of whether drugs are synergistic in the pharmacologic sense in the treatment of a tumor. To gain a more comprehensive insight into concepts of drug interaction, it is important to recognize that the type of drug interaction seen is dependent on the drug doses used and may vary with the treatment of different cell lines. All of these factors complicate the use of the word synergism, or any associated term, in a categorical manner to describe the effects of combinations of antineoplastic drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Immunologic alterations in a murine model of hemorrhagic shock.

OBJECTIVE: To study multiple immune parameters in mice subjected to severe hemorrhage without fluid resuscitation. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled animal study. Anesthetized, female mice were hemorrhaged by tail bleeding. Immune parameters (spleen T-cell proliferation and activation, intracellular calcium flux, cytokine production, peritoneal neutrophil respiratory burst, and survival after intra-abdominal septic challenge) were measured at 24, 48, and 72 hrs after hemorrhage. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: T-cell proliferation was decreased in animals after two 20% blood volume hemorrhages, 30 mins apart; single 30%, 40%, and 50% blood volume hemorrhages did not depress proliferation. "Helper/inducer" T cells from twice-hemorrhaged mice showed decreased expression of activation antigens (interleukin-2 receptor, Ia) after mitogen stimulation. In contrast, "suppressor/cytotoxic" T cells displayed increased activation, shown by augmented expression of interleukin-2 receptor and Ia antigens. Leukocyte production of prostaglandin E2, a mediator frequently implicated in immune down-regulation, was unaffected by hemorrhage. Secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in culture was increased when cells were harvested 48 hrs after injury. Intracellular calcium flux in stimulated lymphocytes was decreased 24 hrs after hemorrhage, suggesting deranged intracellular signal transduction. Respiratory burst activity of peritoneal neutrophils was unchanged following hemorrhage. When animals were subjected to septic challenge, the survival rate was markedly decreased after two hemorrhages (when sepsis was induced 24 hrs after hemorrhage). By 72 hrs posthemorrhage, most of the immunologic alterations, including resistance to septic challenge, had resolved. CONCLUSIONS: This uninstrumented hemorrhagic shock model allows quantification of multiple immune derangements. Immune suppression was identified after two smaller (20% blood volume) hemorrhages, but not after a single, larger hemorrhage. Immune derangements are maximal at 24 hrs posthemorrhage, and resolve in the subsequent 48 hrs.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1991

A method for determining schedule dependency in tissue culture.

A dual-exposure drug treatment of cell lines in tissue culture provides a possible method for determining schedule dependency. This is suggested by results of treatment of human small cell lung carcinoma NIH H209 and murine L1210 leukemia cell lines with cisplatin, a non-schedule-dependent drug, and etoposide, a schedule-dependent drug. Nonlinear least squares was used to estimate the dose-response surface. The estimated regression coefficients for the effect of the first dose compared to that of the second dose support the premise that cisplatin is not schedule dependent. Unlike cisplatin, the second dose of etoposide was shown to be more effective than the first dose in the human small cell carcinoma line. This agrees with known clinical results where multiple etoposide dosing has been shown to be more effective and confirms schedule dependency. This methodology, or a refinement, may offer another tool for studying schedule dependency of drugs using tissue culture methods.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

An asymptomatic confidence interval for the response at the stationary point of a quadratic response surface.

The delta method is utilized to construct an asymptotic 100(1 - alpha)% confidence interval for the response at the stationary point of a quadratic response surface. The end-points of the interval can be found directly, compared to other more, computationally intense procedures that result in a conservative interval. The coverage probability associated with intervals constructed in this manner from studies with relatively small numbers of observations is investigated via a simulation study. Finally, the methodology is illustrated with an example involving the evaluation of a combination of cytotoxic agents in the treatment of murine L1210 leukemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of a two-drug combination pretreatment against organophosphorus exposure.

A pretreatment combination of physostigmine and azaprophen (6-methyl-6-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-ol-2,2-diphenylpropionate), a novel cholinolytic, was evaluated for its ability to minimize soman-induced incapacitation and lethality in guinea pigs. This was accomplished by using response surface methodology to model and analyze the combination, varying physostigmine from 0 to 194 micrograms/kg, azaprophen from 0 to 5 mg/kg, and soman from 30 to 150 micrograms/kg. One hundred percent survival was achieved against 5 LD50 of soman using as little as 100 micrograms/kg of physostigmine in the presence of 5 mg/kg azaprophen. Both survival and soman-induced incapacitation were similarly affected by this pretreatment combination. For both endpoints, greater efficacy was achieved with the combination than could be achieved with either component alone (therapeutic synergism). This suggests that such a pretreatment combination may prove very efficacious against soman-induced lethality and incapacitation in higher species.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Acute and chronic effects of cocaine on isolation-induced aggression in mice.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of acute and chronic cocaine administration on aggressive behaviour in mice. The animals were made more aggressive by individual housing for a period of 6 weeks. Group-housed anosmic conspecifics which were not aggressive were used as intruder controls. In acute studies, cocaine induced no significant change in aggressive behaviour at low doses (0.5-5 mg/kg) but significantly decreased aggressive behaviour after doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg. Cocaine increased the isolation-induced aggressive behaviour in mice when they were injected twice daily for a week with low doses of 0.5 or 1 mg/kg. In particular, the latency to first attack was significantly decreased by the drug and the frequency of attack towards the non-aggressive intruder was dramatically increased. Higher cocaine doses (10 or 20 mg/kg) under the described treatment regimen decreased these agonistic repertories. Tolerance did not develop to the anti-aggressive effects of high doses of cocaine on continued treatment.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of the efficacy of two carbamates, physostigmine and pyridostigmine, when used in conjunction for protection against organophosphate exposure.

Recent studies have shown that pretreatment with either pyridostigmine (PYR) or physostigmine (PHY) followed by atropine-oxime therapy is very effective in reducing the lethality of nerve agents. The therapeutic efficacy of a PHY and PYR combination pretreatment was evaluated in guinea pigs challenged with two LD50s of soman. Endpoints measured were percentage of acetylcholinesterase inhibition induced by the pretreatment and survival up to 24 hr postchallenge. Response surface methodology was employed to describe the relationship between each endpoint and the pretreatment combination. Although both carbamates contributed to blood acetylcholinesterase inhibition, PHY alone protected as well as the optimal dose of the combination.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1990

Assessing the efficacy of azaprophen and physostigmine as a pretreatment for soman-induced incapacitation in guinea pigs by response-surface modeling.

Physostigmine (PHY) has the advantage over pyridostigmine of minimizing OP-induced incapacitation because it penetrates into the CNS. However, physostigmine is behaviorally toxic at relatively low concentrations. It is anticipated that this could be offset by a cholinolytic to prevent behavioral deficit due to the carbamate pretreatment alone. The therapeutic efficacy of physostigmine/azaprophen pretreatment therapy was evaluated in soman-challenged guinea pigs. Response surface methodology was employed to describe the relationship of the pretreatment combination with duration of incapacitation. The significance of the combination relative to PHY alone was evaluated in addition to dose combinations that yield optimal time to recovery. Analysis of the fitted response surface indicated that combination pretreatment with these compounds significantly reduces the time to recovery after soman challenge versus pretreatment with PHY alone.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Effect of somatostatin analogs on gastric acid secretion in dogs and rats.

The effects of several superactive analogs of somatostatin on gastric acid response to various exogenous and endogenous stimulants were investigated in conscious dogs and rats with gastric fistulae (GF). The inhibition was compared to that induced by somatostatin-14 (S-S-14) at two dose levels. Several octapeptide analogs of somatostatin including D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH2 (RC-160) and D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Thr-NH2 (RC-121), which were superactive in tests on suppression of GH levels, were 4-5 times more potent than S-S-14 in inhibiting desglugastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion in GF dogs. The analog RC-160 also reduced the rise in serum gastrin levels and gastric acid secretion induced by sham feeding (SF) in dogs with gastric and esophageal fistulae (EF), but did not decrease food consumption. Gastric acid secretion induced by histamine (80 micrograms/kg/h) in dogs was not affected by 1-5 micrograms/kg/h of analog RC-121 or by 5 micrograms/kg/h of S-S-14. Analogs RC-160, RC-121, and RC-98-I (D-Trp-Cys-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr-Cys-Thr-NH2) and others also powerfully inhibited desglugastrin-induced potent as S-S-14 in dogs but its activity was higher in rats. The results indicate that octapeptide analogs which are superactive in GH-inhibition tests are also more potent than S-S-14 in suppressing gastric acid secretion. These findings may be of clinical value.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Interpreting plots of a multidimensional dose-response surface in a parallel coordinate system.

The dose-response surface for a combination of drugs is a multidimensional figure. Consequently, it is not possible to view such a surface using orthogonal axes when the number of dimensions exceeds 3. Parallel axes have been used to represent hyperdimensional figures. This paper reports on the use of parallel coordinate axes to plot the dose-response surface and its contours of constant response (isobols) for a combination of drugs. It is shown that patterns formed by intersecting line segments in the parallel system can aid in the interpretation of the fitted dose-response surface. More generally, analytic results are developed that permit the ready visualization and characterization of interaction effects of a polynomial model.

Biometry↗
PubMed1990

Isobolographic characterization of drug interactions incorporating biological variability.

Isobolograms have been widely used to characterize the nature of the interaction between combinations of drugs or chemicals. Some authors have applied this technique without accounting for the variability in the data or without adjusting for multiple comparisons to the line of additivity. This paper develops a graphical procedure which takes into account the variability of the data and which maintains favorable statistical properties. The isobolographic procedure utilized is illustrated by using three classical pharmacological drug combinations in female ICR mice. An additive relationship is illustrated with the loss of righting reflex after combinations of doses of sodium hexobarbital with itself. An antagonistic relationship is illustrated with the protection by mecamylamine of nicotine-induced lethality. A synergistic relationship is illustrated with the loss of righting reflex after combinations of ethanol and chloral hydrate. The procedure's statistical properties (level of significance and power) were determined using a simulation study. The isobolographic procedures developed here are applicable for quantal, continuous and count data. These procedures are applicable for identifying beneficial drug combinations, or conversely, identifying hazards resulting from exposure to multiple toxicants.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Early diagnosis of relapse in acute myeloblastic leukemia: Serologic detection of leukemia-associated antigens in human marrow.

We tested serial bone-marrow samples from 47 adults with acute myeloblastic leukemia in remission for reactivity with heteroantiserums to leukemia-associated antigens, to determine whether imminent relapse could be detected in patients with acute leukemia. Of 26 patients who relapsed by standard morphologic criteria, 21 had increased immunoreactivity of bone marrow for one to six months (mean, 3.7 months) before relapse. High concordance was observed between a positive test and relapse during the period of study (chi-square = 27.53, P less than 0.001). The median time to relapse after a positive test was four months, as compared with the median remission duration of 19 months for the whole group (P less than 0.02, Peto's log-rank analysis). Serologic detection of leukemia-associated antigens in marrow may be a reliable indicator of imminent relapse in acute myeloblastic leukemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

An improved method for analyzing survival data from combination chemotherapy experiments.

In this paper, we present a new method for analyzing survival data from combination chemotherapy experiments. The analysis consists of relating survival to the dosage level of each drug in the combination and using response surface techniques to determine the importance of drug interactions and to estimate optimal doses. A combination experiment using cyclophosphamide, mechlorethamine, and mitomycin C in early L1210 leukemia, advanced L1210 leukemia, and advanced P388 leukemia is used to illustrate the analyses. A therapeutic synergism has been shown. As a result of the various drug interactions, the predicted optimal dose of mitomycin C is found to be zero. This result was duplicated in each tumor system studied.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

The determination of antibody to Streptococcus mutans serotypes in saliva for children ages 3 to 7 years.

The saliva of 29 children ages 3 to 7 years was followed by indirect immunoflourescence to determine the antibody reacting with the 5 different serotypes of S mutans. Fluorescent antisera specific for alpha chain and gamma chain were used. Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated a significant negative correlation between antibody of immunoglobin class (IgA) to S mutans type b and the decayed, extracted and filled surfaces of deciduous teeth.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1978

Combination chemotherapy: arriving at optimal treatment levels by incorporating side effect constraints.

This paper represents a method for determining optimal dose levels in a drug combination by analyzing the dose-response surfaces estimated from experimental data. In addition to using the presence or absence of a favorable response (in this instance, survival for at least twice the median untreated lifespan of B6D2F1 female mice bearing advanced sc implanted L1210 leukemia), the presence or absence of associated side effects is also employed (in this instance, Day-12 weight loss). The technique is potentially superior to existing methods of responding to the occurrence of treatment side effects due to its ability to take into account interactions between drugs. Since this method offers a way to determine optimal dose by including nonlethal toxicity information; it should find application in clinical situations.

Animals↗