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Biomedical subjects

A Abad

Publications and source records attributed to A Abad.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

[Massive intravascular hemolysis in septicemia caused by Clostridium perfringens].

A case of massive haemolytic anaemia in the course of a C. perfringens sepsis of hepatic origin is presented. The diagnosis was strongly suggested by the presence of intragranulocytic capsulated bacilli in a Giemsa stained peripheral blood smear. The patient developed disseminated intravascular coagulation. The outcome was fatal and the patient died eight hours after admission. We review the aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of haemolysis in Clostridium perfringens infections.

Aged↗

[Levels of antithrombin III and proteins C in the newborn infant].

Antithrombin III and protein C levels were studied in cord blood from 91 babies born at term with weight adequate to their gestation age. No history of drug ingestion or any other cause of impaired blood coagulation in newborns was present in any of the mothers, and none of these had had thromboembolic diseases. Basic coagulation study and clinical status were normal in all the newborns. Antithrombin III was measured as antigen concentration and functional heparin cofactor, both values being similar (ratio: 0.97) and significantly lower than those of adults (p less than 0.001). Antigenic protein C was assayed by enzyme immunoassay, the value attained being also significantly lower than that of normal adults (p less than 0.001). Factor VII: C rates were assayed in order to establish the protein C/factor VII: C relationship, since this might be useful in detecting protein C deficiency due to the similar biological characteristics of both proteins. It was concluded that health normal newborns show decreased antithrombin III and protein C rates, probably due to lack of liver maturity.

Antithrombin III↗

A study of section wrinkling on single-hole coated grids using TEM and SEM.

To prevent section wrinkles usually encountered with the use of coated single-hole grids, a simple method was developed. Formvar film resting on a platform with holes (3.5 mm diameter) was heated with a slide warmer (60-65 degrees C). The bottom of a glass petri dish was inverted over the platform to keep the ambient air at the desired temperature. Sections were picked up from the boat of the diamond knife with a single-hole grid and deposited at the orifice of the platform and allowed to dry. The grids were then carefully pushed through the orifice of the platform with the blunt head of a nail (3 mm diameter).

Animals↗

Enteral nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease.

To assess the effect of the addition of enteral tube feeding with polymeric diets to the standard treatment of acute attacks of inflammatory bowel disease a total of 43 patients admitted to hospital (23 with Crohn's disease and 20 with ulcerative colitis) were studied retrospectively. Total enteral nutrition was given to 26 as the sole nutritional supply and to 17 in conjunction with a normal ward diet, when appropriate, according to the severity of attack (control group). Nutritional state was assessed and classified in all patients at admission and at the end of the study, by measuring the triceps skinfold thickness, mid arm muscle circumference, and serum albumin concentration as representative of body fat, muscle protein, and visceral protein, respectively. At admission the three nutritional variables were not statistically different between the groups. There was a significantly positive effect on mid arm muscle circumference in patients on total enteral nutrition compared with the control group, but there was no effect on either triceps skinfold thickness or serum albumin concentration. The percentage of subjects requiring intravenous albumin infusion, however, was significantly less in the group fed enterally than in the control group. In addition, fewer patients in the group fed enterally required surgical treatment compared with the control group, despite the fact that one of the criteria for starting enteral nutritional support was the expectancy that surgery would be needed. Total enteral nutrition was well tolerated and no major side effects arose during its use in patients with acute exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease.

Anthropometry↗

Adrenal function in paracoccidioidomycosis: a prospective study in patients before and after ketoconazole therapy.

The adrenal gland functional reserve was studied in a group of 22 patients with active paracoccidioidomycosis before therapy and in 18 of the same patients after termination of six months of ketoconazole treatment. 22 control subjects were also tested. Serum cortisol was measured before and after i.v. infusion of 250 micrograms of corticotropin given over a period of two hours. Basal cortisol levels were subnormal in only one patients before treatment and in four of 18 patients after therapy. Overt Addison's disease was found in 14% of the patients before treatment. However, corticotropin stimulation revealed diminished adrenal reserve in 23% of patients before, and in 44% of the patients after treatment. Although decreased adrenal cortex function after therapy may be influenced by ketoconazole, more studies are needed to determine the role of this agent after prolonged use. The high frequency of subclinical adrenal failure in paracoccidioidomycosis should alert clinicians in charge of such patients, should they face physiological stress.

Adrenal Glands↗

[Massive hemoptysis secondary to cardiac insufficiency in a context of dilated myocardiopathy].

Massive hemoptysis is a life-threatening emergency that rarely occurs in association with heart failure and is even less frequent when the underlying cause is dilated myocardiopathy. We report the case of a 69-year-old man with undiagnosed heart disease who presented with severe hemoptysis. Images showed evident cardiac insufficiency. The unusualness of the case obliged us to rule out other diseases through differential diagnosis before starting to treat the underlying condition.

Aged↗

Changes in liver function tests in patients with inflammatory bowel disease on enteral nutrition.

Morphologic and functional hepatic changes occur in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients with this disease often require the administration of artificial nutritional support. Liver function tests (LFT) derangement is a widely recognized side-effect of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Therefore, the use of this modality of nutritional support may be an additional factor to cause hepatic damage in IBD patients. However whether or not the same occurs in patients receiving total enteral nutrition (TEN) is not well-established. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of TEN upon LFT in patients with moderate to severe acute attacks of IBD, by means of a prospective, controlled, and nonrandomized design. Forty-nine patients were included; 29 (11 patients with ulcerative colitis and 18 with Crohn's disease) received TEN, and 20 (11 with ulcerative colitis and 9 with Crohn's disease) did not. Both groups were homogeneous regarding age, sex, disease activity index, nutritional status, and length of the study (24.8 +/- 1.3 vs 23.9 +/- 16.8 days). In all cases, weekly measurements of serum alkaline phosphatase, GOT, and GPT were performed. There were no significant differences in LFT at the beginning of the study between groups. The percentage of patients showing derangement of some LFT during the study did not differ between both groups: six of 29 (20.6%) in TEN group vs three of 20 (15%) in control group. Six out of the nine patients (in both groups) who developed LFT derangement had one or more causes, other than TEN for explaining hepatic dysfunction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Multiple sclerosis and fatigue].

Fatigue is a frequent symptom in multiple sclerosis, known since the first descriptions of the disease, and it has been the object of special interest in recent years due to the great influence it has on the quality of life of those suffering from the disease. The fatigue of multiple sclerosis has clinical characteristics that differentiate it from the fatigue of other systemic diseases. At the same time, it is highly variable between patients and a clear distinction can be made between three types: astenia, fatigability and the worsening of symptoms with exercise. The physiopathological bases are not fully established, but there is data indicating that astenia is related to immunoactivation and evidence of the relation of fatigability to alterations of the pyramidal tract. Another point of interest in the study of fatigue is how to objectivise and quantify it, as well as the neurophysiological techniques for its evaluation and the measurement scales most frequently employed. The paper also sets out the principal therapeutic tests and considers the relative efficacy of aminopyridine and amantadine in alleviating it.

English Abstract↗

Determination of thiabendazole in fruit juices by a new monoclonal enzyme immunoassay.

A competitive, indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for thiabendazole has been developed and applied to the analysis of fruit juices spiked with this fungicide. The immunoassay is based on a new monoclonal antibody derived from a hapten functionalized at the nitrogen atom in the 1-position of the thiabendazole structure. To our knowledge, such a structure has not been previously used to obtain antibodies to thiabendazole. The I50 value and the detection limit of the ELISA for standards were 0.2 and 0.05 ng/mL, respectively. Fruit juices were analyzed by diluting samples in assay buffer, without extraction or cleanup. Samples were not even centrifuged or filtered to remove fruit pulp. Under these conditions, the immunoassay was able to accurately determine thiabendazole down to 1 ng/mL in orange and grapefruit juices, down to 5 ng/mL in banana juice, and down to 20 ng/mL in apple and pear juices. Sensitivity differences of the ELISA were caused by the minimum dilution required by each juice to minimize matrix effects: 1/10 for orange and grapefruit juices, 1/50 for banana juice, and 1/100 for apple and pear juices. In an attempt to further increase the sensitivity of the immunoassay for matrixes showing the strongest interferences, apple and pear juices spiked with thiabendazole at low levels (1-20 ng/mL) were extracted with ethyl acetate before analysis. This simple procedure entailed a significant reduction of matrix effects, which in fact allowed us to determine accurately as low as 5 ng/mL thiabendazole in apple and pear juices. Irrespective of whether samples were analyzed by the direct dilution method or after extraction, the simplicity, sensitivity, and sample throughput of this monoclonal immunoassay makes it a very convenient method for the routine monitoring of thiabendazole residues in fruit juices.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗