The thymidylate synthase (TS)-encoding gene from Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) has been isolated from cDNA and genomic libraries. The 1127-bp gene contains three introns and a 951-bp open reading frame encoding a 35,844-Da protein. The cDNA clones lack 324 bp of the 5' coding region of the gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA gene (DYT1) for idiopathic torsion dystonia maps to chromosome 9q34 in Ashkenazi Jewish families with early onset of symptoms. Further, there is linkage disequilibrium between DYT1 and a particular haplotype of alleles at 9q34 loci in this population. This implies that a large proportion of early-onset idiopathic torsion dystonia in Ashkenazi Jews is due to a founder mutation in DYT1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the development of chronic painful oral or genital sensations in 11 patients with tardive akathisia, tardive dyskinesias, or tardive dystonia. In each case, the pain syndrome became a source of profound distress for the patient, overshadowing all other concurrent neuropsychiatric symptoms, and requiring treatment. Agents effective in treating tardive dyskinesia and tardive akathisia, such as catecholamine depletors, proved effective in reducing the painful sensations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBetween January 1970 and December 1991, 201 patients < or = 40 years of age underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Group 1 (1970 to 1980, n = 119) and group 2 (1981 to 1991, n = 82) corresponded to the eras before and after the onset of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), respectively, and were analyzed for trends in patient profile, treatment, and risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD): smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and family history. Mean age at operation was similar in the groups (1, 37 +/- 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne hundred fifty consecutive Marfan patients undergoing composite graft repair of an ascending aorta aneurysm are reported. Twenty-six of the 150 patients had a preoperative dissection of the ascending aorta. There were no early deaths among 138 patients undergoing elective composite graft repair.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-term behavioral and neurochemical effects of bilateral lesions to only the infracallosal component of the "so-called" septohippocampal pathways (cingular bundle, fimbria and fornix) have not been assessed. This experiment compared the behavioral, histochemical and neurochemical effects of supracallosal (SUPRA; cingular bundle) and infracallosal (INFRA; fimbria-fornix) hippocampal denervations in Long-Evans female rats. The rats were tested, over two periods (8-52 and 92-170 days postlesion), for open field locomotion, spontaneous alternation and radial-maze performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined the effects in young adult female Long-Evans rats of single or combined lesions of the infracallosal and supracallosal septohippocampal pathways on a battery of behavioral tasks over two postoperative periods (14-65 and 75-150 days, respectively). During the first period, rats with lesions of the infracallosal pathways, whether given alone or in combination with lesions of the supracallosal pathways, were more active in the open field and in their home cage, and showed increased reactivity to novel extracage stimuli. Behavioral results during the second postoperative period were similar to those of the first except that rats with lesions of the infracallosal pathways (either alone or in combination with lesions of the supracallosal pathways) were no longer hyperactive in their home cage and rats with the infracallosal lesion alone were no longer hyperactive in the open field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe thymidylate synthase (TS) gene from Lactococcus lactis has been highly expressed in Escherichia coli. The TS protein was purified by sequential chromatography on Q-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose. Six grams of cell pellet yielded 140 mg of homogeneous TS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined the effects of focal X-irradiation of the hippocampus in infancy on the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) in weanling rats in a runway and on running wheel activity at 40 days of age. Our results show a dose-dependent X-irradiation-related reduction in granule cell neurogenesis. Weanling rats showed a corresponding increase in running speed in both acquisition and extinction and a dose-dependent reduction in the PREE--an increase in persistence after CRF and a decrease in persistence after PRF training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the pharmacokinetics of methotrexate were studied in 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ketoprofen (3 mg kg-1 day-1), flurbiprofen (3 mg kg-1 day-1), piroxicam (20 mg day-1), or a non-NSAID control (paracetamol/acetaminophen) were administered to patients for at least 6 days (13 days in the case of piroxicam to establish steady state) in a randomized crossover design prior to receiving a weekly oral dose of methotrexate. In the non-NSAID control portion of the study, MTX oral clearance (CLo) was 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe reviewed the results of 40 consecutive patients who underwent thoracoscopy on the general thoracic surgery service at our institution. Pleural space disease was the indication for thoracoscopy in 34 patients (85%). In 18 patients (46%), a malignant tumor accounted for the pleural space disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA patient with a left upper lobe non-small cell lung cancer involving a previous left internal mammary artery graft is presented to highlight the potential complications associated with resective lung operations in these patients. If left internal mammary artery involvement by tumor is suspected, coronary and left internal mammary artery catheterization should be added to the standard non-small cell lung cancer staging evaluation before considering surgical resection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostnatal exposure to ethanol that produces high-peak blood ethanol concentrations (HP-BEC) in artificially reared infant rats affects hippocampal neuroanatomy and discrimination learning based on memorial cues from a patterned (single) alternation (PA) schedule in preweanling rats (P. L. Greene, J.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigates the relation of salivary cotinine and of the reported number of cigarettes smoked per day to body mass index among middle-aged male (n = 3,538) and female (n = 2,096) cigarette smokers participating in screening for entry to a clinical trial of early intervention in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Lung Health Study) from 1986 to 1989. Both before and after controlling for age, education, and alcohol intake, the number of cigarettes smoked per day was positively related to body mass index among both men and women, whereas salivary cotinine levels were negatively related to body mass index among both men and women. The opposite relation of salivary cotinine and of reported number of cigarettes smoked per day to body mass index is discussed with regard to nicotine metabolism, energy intake, and measurement issues in the assessment of cigarette smoke exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBetween 1984 and 1992, 559 patients with torticollis were treated with botulinum toxin type A (btx) injections. Twenty-four of these 559 patients (4.3%) had serological evidence of antibodies to btx by mouse neutralization assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe adjuncts of profound hypothermic circulatory arrest and aortic tailoring are combined with standard graft replacement of the noncritical portions of the aorta. This combination permits single-stage replacement of the arch, thoracic, and abdominal aorta in patients with postdissection aneurysm. Reconstruction is begun with repair of the mid to distal aortic arch and Dacron graft replacement of the proximal descending thoracic aorta, usually under profound hypothermic circulatory arrest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOptimal surgical treatment of mitral regurgitation in the Marfan syndrome (valve repair versus replacement) is controversial because the underlying connective tissue defect theoretically might compromise repair durability. To examine the results of mitral valve repair in these patients, we did a retrospective review of 160 patients with the Marfan syndrome who had cardiac surgical procedures between January 1983 and January 1993. Thirty-six patients had mitral procedures, 29 of which were repairs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Factors that predict mortality or morbidity risk in consecutive hepatic resections for neoplasm were examined, with controlled variables of surgical technique and experience.
Summary Background Data: Hepatic resection has become the therapy of choice for the management of metastatic or primary neoplasms of the liver. Although mortality for this procedure has steadily decreased, associated morbidity remains high.
This paper compares oral health status and presence of untreated, decayed permanent teeth in abused/neglected children with nonabused/non-neglected controls. The sample comprised 903 children between 5 and 13 years old; 30 were confirmed cases of child abuse and 873 served as controls. Their oral health status was assessed by two calibrated dentists using the DMFS index.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReplicating an earlier report under low-peak blood ethanol concentration (BEC) conditions, weanling rats, exposed in utero or postnatally to levels of ethanol that resulted in high-peak BECs, showed an attenuated partial reinforcement extinction effect, whereas pups exposed both pre- and postnatally did not differ from controls. Also supporting earlier work, postnatal exposure resulted in significantly reduced brain weight and had effects on hippocampal measures. These results from the combined-exposure group, along with earlier work, point to a possible mitigating influence in the rat of prenatal exposure to ethanol on the behavioral effects of postnatal exposure.
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