Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Ali.
Increased fecal excretion of In-111 tagged leukocytes in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease may lead to a false-positive site of disease in patients with a diverting colostomy or ileostomy and fecal collection bags that overlie the abdominal wall or groin region.
A case of acute tentorial subdural hematoma detected by In-111 leukocyte scintigraphy and confirmed by CT brain scan is herein described. White blood cells are an integral part of the blood pool and labeled white cells freely leave the intravascular space in case of active bleeding. Acute hemorrhage and hematoma can thus be a cause of a false-positive study.
The impact of blindness on egg production was investigated by utilizing genetically blind chickens in a factorial experiment involving two genotypes (blind vs. sighted), two densities (1000 cm2 per bird vs. 2000 cm2 per bird), two flock sizes (1 male, 4 female female vs. 4 male male, 16 female female), and two replications (floor pens). Traits measured were number of eggs collected, egg weight, amount of feed taken from the feed troughs, body weight gain, fertility of eggs, feather pecking and comb damage scores, leukocyte count, plasma corticosterone level, and adrenal gland weight. During the 2-month experimental period, blind hens produced 12.7% more eggs (hen-day production) while requiring 44.1 g less feed per bird day compared to sighted hens. There was no significant difference in body weight gained between the two genotypes. Significant genotype X flock size and genotype X density interactions also indicated that the performance of the blind chickens was less affected by differences in density and flock size compared with sighted chickens. Other traits measured provided evidence that the blind chickens were less active, had better feather coverage, and were perhaps under less stress than sighted ones.
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Chironomid larval densities in the saltwater lagoon of Venice, Italy, were assessed in the spring of 1984. Four organophosphates; chlorpyrifos, temephos, fenthion and fenitrothion, and three pyrethroids; cypermethrin, permethrin and deltamethrin, were tested in the laboratory against field-collected larvae. Three industrial formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (B.t.i.) were also tested as midge larvicides. Only Chironomus salinarius occurred in the benthic samples taken from different sections of the lagoon. The densities of this species ranged from 0 to 38,976 larvae/m2. The highest mean larval density of 15,673/m2 was encountered in a section of the lagoon adjacent to Venice airport and receiving large quantities of raw sewage. The lowest mean density (less than 1 larva/m2) existed in another area of the lagoon receiving discharge from chemical industry. Cypermethrin and permethrin were 21-233X more active against the larvae than the four organophosphates. Chlorpyrifos was the most active organophosphate. Formulations of B.t.i. were economically ineffective against the larvae.
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Serum zinc levels were measured in three groups of children aged 6 months to 6 years. In group I, there were 25 children with diarrhoea, who had a history of measles within the 2 weeks preceding the zinc level tests (post-measles diarrhoea); in group II there were 17 children who had diarrhoea only; and in group III there were 20 children who were apparently healthy and had neither diarrhoea nor measles (controls). Serum zinc concentrations of less than 5 mumol/l were observed in 5 out of 16 children in group I, but none of the children in group II had such low levels. The serum zinc level in group II rose significantly during the recovery stage compared to the acute stage (P less than 0.01). Children with post-measles diarrhoea showed a continued and prolonged depression of serum zinc levels.
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Various authors have advocated quantitative methods of evaluating bone scintigrams to detect sacroiliitis, while others have not found them useful. Many explanations for this disagreement have been offered, including differences in the method of case selection, ethnicity, gender, and previous drug therapy. It would appear that one of the most important impediments to consistent results is the variability of selecting sacroiliac joint and reference regions of interest (ROIs). The effect of ROI selection would seem particularly important because of the normal variability of radioactivity within the reference regions that have been used (sacrum, spine, iliac wing) and the inhomogeneity of activity in the SI joints. We have investigated the effect of ROI selection, using five different methods representative of, though not necessarily identical to, those found in the literature. Each method produced unique mean indices that were different for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and controls. The method of Ayres (19) proved superior (largest mean difference, smallest variance), but none worked well as a diagnostic tool because of substantial overlap of the distributions of indices of patient and control groups. We conclude that ROI selection is important in determining results, and quantitative scintigraphic methods in general are not effective tools for diagnosing AS. Among the possible factors limiting success, difficulty in selecting a stable reference area seems of particular importance.
Forty patients with moderate degrees of dehydration and acidosis because of acute watery diarrhoea were successfully treated randomly with either WHO recommended oral rehydration solution containing 2.5 g sodium bicarbonate or an oral solution containing 2.94 g sodium citrate in place of sodium bicarbonate per litre of oral rehydration rehydration solution. Efficacies were compared by measuring oral fluid intake, stool and vomitus output, change in body weight, hydration status, and rate of correction of acidosis during a period of 48 hours. Seventy five per cent (21 cases) in the citrate group and 83% (19 cases) in the bicarbonate group were successfully rehydrated (p greater than 0.05). There were no significant differences in intake, output, gain in body weight, fall in haematocrit and plasma specific gravity, and correction of acidosis between the two groups of patients within 48 hours after initiation of therapy. The solution with sodium citrate base was as effective as WHO-oral rehydration solution for management of diarrhoea. This study shows the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of citrate containing oral rehydration solution for rehydration and correction of acidosis in diarrhoea.
A total of 50 cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) were diagnosed among 1,184 patients examined in different parts of Ethiopia. The overall male: female sex ratio was 4:1. About 56% of the cases occurred in the 15- to 29-year age group. The incidence of VL in Aba Roba Village was 5.2 per 1,000 population. New foci of transmission identified include lowlands of Algena, Nakfa, Afabet, Teseney, and Genale River Basin, and west of Moyale.
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Autoantibodies against double-stranded DNA in the sera of patients with various autoimmune diseases have been examined by fluorometric assay using ethidium bromide as intercalating dye. Forty-three per cent of SLE patients, 14% of SLE patients with overlapping PSS, 20% of PSS patients and none of the RA and SS patients were positive for anti-DNA antibodies. The method was found to be more sensitive than immunoprecipitation techniques and comparable with the hemagglutination assay. The technique is simple, sensitive, specific and can be employed for the detection of low concentration of anti-DNA antibodies.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is described for the assay of anti-DNA antibodies. The method employs plastic surface for immobilization of the antigen and alkaline phosphatase-linked rabbit anti-human IgG for the detection of immune complex using PNP-P and 4MU-P as substrates. The sensitivity of the assay increased by as much as 16-fold when fluorogenic substrate was used instead of conventional PNP-P and could therefore be employed for the detection of low avidity antibodies. Using PNP-P as substrate 57% of SLE patients were positive for DNA antibody, but if 4MU-P was introduced as substrate, 71% gave a positive response. Moreover, using a fluorogenic substrate, it was possible to minimise the amount of antigen (2 nM bp). The technique is simple, reproducible and of high sensitivity.
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A spectrophotometric assay for the detection of anti-DNA antibodies in the sera of patients with various connective tissue diseases is described. The sensitivity of the method was compared with hemagglutination and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The method is convenient, specific and suitable for use in clinical laboratories where facilities for radioimmunoassay do not exist.
Thirty-six patients with chest pain but no myocardial infarction or conduction defects and 4 volunteers (3 normals and 1 with asymptomatic aortic insufficiency) underwent radionuclide angiocardiography. Phase analysis was performed and the standard deviation (SD) ("spread") and skewness ("asymmetry") of the left ventricular (LV) phase histogram determined at rest and during maximum exercise. The SD of the LV phase histogram was of no value; however, when -0.1 was taken as the upper limit of normal skewness at maximum exercise, skewness was equally as sensitive as conventional criteria for coronary artery disease (CAD) and also more specific. The authors conclude that LV histogram skewness during maximum exercise may be superior to conventional criteria for detection of CAD with rest/exercise radionuclide angiocardiograms.
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