Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

About: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is a healthcare organization based out in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 44277 authors who have published 79222 publications receiving 4788882 citations.

Hypertension, Perfusion Pressure, and Primary Open-angle Glaucoma: A Population-Based Assessment

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the association of vascular factors with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Design: A population-based prevalence survey of ocular disease among black and white residents. Setting: Communities of east Baltimore, Md. Participants: A stratified cluster sample of 5308 residents 40 years of age or older. Main Outcome Measures: Primary open-angle glaucoma as defined by demonstrable glaucomatous optic nerve damage based on visual fields and/or optic disc findings. Intraocular pressure level was not a criterion for diagnosis. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed modest, positive association with POAG. The effect of blood pressure on POAG was modified by age, with a stronger association among older subjects. Lower perfusion pressure (blood pressure-intraocular pressure) was strongly associated with an increased prevalence of POAG, with a sixfold excess for those in the lowest category of perfusion pressure. Conclusion: These results suggest that POAG is associated with an alteration in factors related to ocular blood flow and a breakdown of autoregulation.

Targeting polyamine metabolism and function in cancer and other hyperproliferative diseases

Abstract: The polyamines spermidine and spermine and their diamine precursor putrescine are naturally occurring, polycationic alkylamines that are essential for eukaryotic cell growth. The requirement for and the metabolism of polyamines are frequently dysregulated in cancer and other hyperproliferative diseases, thus making polyamine function and metabolism attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. Recent advances in our understanding of polyamine function, metabolic regulation, and differences between normal cells and tumour cells with respect to polyamine biology, have reinforced the interest in this target-rich pathway for drug development.

DNA topoisomerase I--targeted chemotherapy of human colon cancer in xenografts

Abstract: Drug development is needed to improve chemotherapy of patients with locally advanced or metastatic colon carcinoma, who otherwise have an unfavorable prognosis. DNA topoisomerase I, a nuclear enzyme important for solving topological problems arising during DNA replication and for other cellular functions, has been identified as a principal target of a plant alkaloid 20(S)-camptothecin. Significantly increased concentrations of this enzyme, compared to that in normal colonic mucosa, were found in advanced stages of human colon adenocarcinoma and in xenografts of colon cancer carried by immunodeficient mice. Several synthetic analogs of camptothecin, selected by tests with the purified enzyme and tissue-culture screens, were evaluated in the xenograft model. Unlike other anticancer drugs tested, 20(RS)-9-amino-camptothecin (9-AC) induced disease-free remissions. The overall drug toxicity was low and allowed for repeated courses of treatment.