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Biomedical subjects

A Dasmahapatra

Publications and source records attributed to A Dasmahapatra.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

MRI of pituitary abscess: two cases and review of the literature.

Pituitary abscesses, rare lesions, may be divided into primary and secondary types. Primary pituitary abscesses occur within a previously healthy gland, while secondary abscesses arise within an existing lesion, such as an adenoma, craniopharyngioma, or Rathke's cleft cyst. Secondary abscesses share radiologic characteristics with the lesions from which they arise. There has been no review of the MRI characteristics of primary pituitary abscesses. We report two cases and review the literature. The typical primary pituitary abscess gives the same or slightly lower signal than brain on T1-weighted images, and could be mistaken for a solid mass or presumed to represent a pituitary adenoma. Contrast-enhanced images are useful, demonstrating absence of central enhancement, suggesting a fluid or necrotic center. In one of our cases, meningeal enhancement was obvious; this has not been reported previously and may be diagnostic, when associated with a rim-enhancing pituitary mass.

Adenoma

Left ventricular diastolic function in hypertension and role of plasma glucose and insulin. Comparison with diabetic heart.

BACKGROUND: Experimental production of glucose intolerance has been associated with increased diastolic stiffness of the left ventricle, accompanied by interstitial fibrosis. Because carbohydrate metabolism is altered in hypertension, we undertook the present study to assess the relation of diastolic dysfunction in hypertension to plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. The latter are also affected by obesity. To facilitate this analysis, we studied moderately obese hypertensives. Elucidation of these relations was then sought in diabetic subjects. METHODS AND RESULTS: Subjects undergoing catheterization for chest pain were included in the study when significant coronary disease was not present. In groups 1 (lean), 2 (obese), 3 (lean hypertensive), and 4 (obese hypertensives), intraventricular pressures and volumes were determined. Fasting plasma glucose, insulin, hemoglobinAIC, and glucose tolerance were assessed. Basal ejection fraction and end-systolic wall stress were normal in the four groups. Chamber stiffness was significantly elevated in the hypertensives and was higher in group 4 than in group 3 (P < .05). Diastolic dysfunction was correlated with fasting blood glucose (r = .69, P < .006) but not with plasma insulin or left ventricular mass. Chamber stiffness was also increased in diabetics, with a larger effect in the obese. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension is associated with increased diastolic stiffness of the left ventricle, which is enhanced by moderate obesity, and abnormal carbohydrate metabolism. Experimentally and in humans, hypertension is associated with interstitial fibrosis of mycardium, the presumed basis for the diastolic dysfunction. Chamber stiffness in group 4 hypertensives was similar to that in the lean diabetics but less than that in the obese diabetics. Although the latter exhibited a correlation with plasma hemoglobinAIC, the large rise in stiffness suggests a potential role for growth factors in further alteration of myocardial composition.

Blood Glucose

Incipient and overt diabetic nephropathy in African Americans with NIDDM.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the prevalence of incipient and overt nephropathy in African-American subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) attending a hospital clinic. Contributory factors, such as blood pressure (BP), duration and age at onset of diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and body mass index (BMI) also were evaluated. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--We recruited 116 African-American subjects with NIDDM for this cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study. BP, BMI, 24-h urine albumin excretion, creatinine clearance, serum creatinine, lipids, and GHb levels were measured. Albumin excretion rate (AER) was calculated, and subjects were divided into three groups: no nephropathy (AER < 20 micrograms/min), incipient nephropathy (AER 20-200 micrograms/min), and overt nephropathy (AER > 200 micrograms/min). Frequency of hypertension and nephropathy was analyzed by chi 2 testing, group means were compared using analysis of variance, and linear correlations were performed between AER and other variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the association of these variables while controlling for the effects of other variables. RESULTS--Increased AER was present in 50% of our subjects; 31% had incipient and 19% had overt nephropathy. Hypertension was present in 72.4%; nephropathy, particularly overt nephropathy, was significantly more prevalent in the hypertensive group. Mean BP and diastolic blood pressure (dBP) were higher in the groups with incipient and overt nephropathy, and systolic blood pressure (sBP) was increased in overt nephropathy. Men with either form of nephropathy had higher sBP, dBP, and mean BP, whereas only women with overt nephropathy had increased sBP and mean BP. Subjects with incipient or overt nephropathy had a longer duration of diabetes, and those with overt nephropathy had a younger age at onset of diabetes. By multiple regression analysis, AER correlated with younger age at diabetes onset, but not with diabetes duration. No correlation with age, lipid levels, or GHb was noted. BMI correlated with AER. CONCLUSIONS--Incipient and overt nephropathy were observed frequently in these African-American subjects with NIDDM. Albuminuria correlated with BP, younger age at diabetes onset, and BMI. Association of albuminuria and increased cardiovascular mortality may place 50% of inner-city African-American patients with NIDDM at risk for developing cardiovascular complications.

Adult

Protein kinase C and CYP1A1 induction in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocyte culture.

1. The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in B-naphthoflavone (BNF) induction of CYP1A1 in rainbow trout hepatocytes was investigated. 2. Primary cultures of rainbow trout hepatocytes treated with BNF for 24 hr showed an increase in microsomal 7-ethyoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity compared to cells treated with vehicle (DMSO) only. 3. Increases in EROD activities were proportional to increased concentrations of BNF from 1 to 10 nM reaching a plateau at higher concentrations (20-100 nM) of BNF. 4. Western blot analysis using specific antibody (LM4b) against CYP1A1 showed that changes in microsomal CYP1A1 protein paralleled that of EROD activity. 5. The induction of EROD activity by BNF required both protein and RNA synthesis since the process was blocked by both cycloheximide and actinomycin D. 6. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) led to a dose dependent suppression of BNF-induced EROD activity and CYP1A1 content. TPA alone had no effect on hepatic EROD activity and CYP1A1 protein level. 7. Pretreatment with sn-1,2 didecanoylglycerol, a PKC activator, had no effect on BNF-induced EROD activity in these cells. 8. Pretreatment of cells with staurosporine, a PKC inhibitor, effectively blocked BNF-induced EROD activity. 9. PKC may play a role in the induction of CYP1A1 gene expression in fish liver by BNF.

Alkaloids

Erythrocyte Ca, Na/K-ATPase in long-term streptozotocin diabetic rats. Effect of good glycemic control and a Ca antagonist.

This study evaluated the effect of chronic hyperglycemia on erythrocyte membrane Ca and Na/K-ATPase activities in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The activity of Ca-ATPase was significantly lower in diabetic than in normal rats. Good glycemic control by insulin restored the Ca-ATPase activity to normal. By contrast, diltiazem, a calcium entry blocker, had no effect on the enzyme activity. Calmodulin stimulated Ca-ATPase activity in all groups of rats. Na/K-ATPase activity was not altered in diabetic rats, and no effects of either insulin or diltiazem treatments were observed. The results suggest that erythrocyte Ca-ATPase activity is decreased in diabetic rats and is normalized by good glycemic control.

Animals

Platelet sodium-hydrogen antiport in obese and diabetic black women.

In this investigation we correlated platelet Na-H antiport parameters with blood pressure and serum lipids in a sample population of non-insulin-dependent diabetic obese, nondiabetic obese, and nondiabetic nonobese black women. Parameters of the Na-H antiport were examined in aspirin-treated platelets. These parameters were not altered in resting or in thrombin-stimulated platelets of diabetic patients. The activity index of platelet Na-H antiport after thrombin stimulation was positively correlated with the blood pressure (systolic blood pressure, r = 0.5320 and p = 0.0001; diastolic blood pressure, r = 0.5123 and p = 0.0017). Lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were associated with an alkaline shift in the cytosolic pH set point for activation of the Na-H antiport. Highly significant correlations were also observed between the total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and the cytosolic pH set point for activation of the Na-H antiport. These correlations were independent of diabetes or the body mass index. Together, these observations indicate that parameters of platelet Na-H antiport are altered with an increase in blood pressure and a decrease in serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Adult

Fingerstick glucose determination in shock.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of fingerstick glucose measurements in severely hypotensive patients. DESIGN: Prospective, nonrandomized comparison study. SETTING: Emergency department in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-five severely hypotensive patients (systolic blood pressure less than or equal to 80 mm Hg) and 39 normotensive patients. MEASUREMENTS: Simultaneous fingerstick reagent strip glucose, venous reagent strip glucose, and laboratory glucose values were compared. Data were analyzed using error-grid analysis. RESULTS: In hypotensive patients, the mean fingerstick glucose values were significantly lower than the values obtained either by venous reagent strip or laboratory glucose measurements. Fingerstick glucose values in the hypotensive group were 67.5% of laboratory glucose values, and were significantly lower than the values obtained in the normotensive group (91.8%, P less than 0.001). Only 36% of the hypotensive patients had fingerstick glucose values within the acceptable range of 20% of the laboratory glucose value. Thirty-two percent of hypotensive patients were incorrectly diagnosed as hypoglycemic (glucose less than 3.89 mmol/L [70 mg/dL]); 2 of these patients were actually hyperglycemic (glucose greater than 11.10 mmol/L [200 mg/dL]). Venous reagent strip measurements accurately reflected laboratory glucose values in both hypotensive and normotensive patients. CONCLUSIONS: Fingerstick glucose testing does not accurately represent venous glucose levels in severely hypotensive patients. If fingerstick glucose testing is relied on for these patients, errors in clinical management may be made. Venous reagent strip glucose testing correlates well with laboratory glucose measurements and should be the preferred method for rapid assessment of glucose level in critically ill patients with severe hypotension.

Blood Glucose

Sorbinil partially prevents decreased erythrocyte deformability in experimental diabetes mellitus.

The ability of red blood cells (RBCs) to undergo an adaptation in shape that permits passage through the smallest vessels is reportedly impaired in diabetes. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain decreased erythrocyte deformability, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of microvascular complications, but the mechanisms responsible for this change have not been clearly delineated. In view of the fact that sorbitol accumulates in RBCs in diabetes and the postulate that increased sorbitol could alter deformability properties, we examined the influence of the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil on erythrocyte deformability. Erythrocyte deformability, determined as the volume of RBCs (VRBC) filtered per minute through 4.7-micron pore size filters, was significantly reduced in samples from diabetic rats compared with samples from controls (0.76 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.97 +/- .02 ml RBC/min; P less than .001). In contrast, deformability of RBCs from diabetic animals treated with sorbinil was significantly greater than in untreated diabetes, although not completely normalized (0.88 +/- 0.02; P less than .01 vs. diabetic, and P less than .02 vs. control). The reduced deformability characterizing cells from diabetic rats and its partial prevention by sorbinil persisted even when RBCs were washed to eliminate hyperglycemia and hyperviscous plasma. Thus, hyperviscosity per se is not responsible for the decreased deformability, and sorbinil can partially prevent this change despite persistent hyperglycemia. This effect may derive from sorbinil's action as an aldose reductase inhibitor and/or its ability to influence physicochemical properties of the erythrocyte membrane.

Animals

Evaluation of adenosine deaminase activity in patients with head and neck cancer.

ADA is a key enzyme in the mammalian purine salvage pathway. The lack of ADA activity has been linked to a lack of cellular immunity in various immune and myeloproliferative disorders. Data on its role in patients with solid tumors are scant and inconclusive. In this report, we have evaluated the activity of this enzyme in the peripheral lymphocytes of patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNC). The mean ADA activity in Stage IV patients (0.57 +/- 0.08 SEM, n = 12) was significantly lower than that of controls (1.55 +/- 0.25 SEM, P less than 0.05, n = 14) and also significantly lower that the mean ADA activity in patients with Stages I, II, and III (1.14 +/- 0.10 SEM, P less than 0.05, n = 17). Fourteen out of 19 controls, Stage I, II, and III patients had positive skin tests compared to 7 out of 10 Stage IV patients. These differences were not statistically significant. There was also no correlation between ADA activity and the absolute lymphocyte counts. Our results indicate that ADA activity in lymphocytes of patients with advanced HNC is lower than that of controls or patients with earlier stages of the disease. ADA may be a more sensitive indicator of suppressed cellular immunity than delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions, or monitoring absolute lymphocyte counts.

Adenosine Deaminase

Decrease by cycloheximide of calcium binding and nonesterified fatty acids in rat-intestinal Golgi-enriched membrane fractions.

Rat intestinal Golgi-enriched membrane fractions bind more Ca2+ than do basolateral and microvillus-enriched membrane fractions, and this uptake is reduced by vitamin D-deficiency. The effect of the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, on this Ca2+ binding was determined in rat fed a normal, vitamin D-sufficient diet. Cycloheximide, 1.5 mg/kg, rapidly reduced protein synthesis (measured by [3H]leucine incorporation) to 12% of control values within 15 min, but Ca2+ binding diminished gradually to 50% of control values by 60 min. Ca2+ transport across gut sacs was also decreased. The reduction in Ca2+ binding was not due to an alteration in vesicle morphology or to a direct effect of cycloheximide. Nonesterified (free) fatty acids, the probable binding sites for Ca2+ in these membrane fractions, were reduced by cycloheximide to 48% of control values by 60 min. There was no significant change in total lipid phosphate. Cycloheximide may affect the synthesis of proteins necessary for the presence of nonesterified fatty acids in these Golgi membranes.

Animals

Erythrocyte sodium/potassium adenosine triphosphatase in thyroid disease and nonthyroidal illness.

Thyroid hormone is known to modulate cell membrane sodium/potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na/K-ATPase). To determine whether the activity of this enzyme differed in patients with nonthyroidal illness with low levels of circulating thyroid hormones and patients with documented clinical hypothyroidism, we measured Na/K-ATPase activity in red blood cells from patients with hypo- and hyperthyroidism, patients with nonthyroid disease with and without reduced circulating levels of thyroid hormone, and normal subjects. We also assessed whether the activity of this enzyme reflects decreased thyroid hormone action at the cellular level in patients with nonthyroidal illness. Hyperthyroidism was associated with decreased and hypothyroidism with increased erythrocyte Na/K-ATPase activity [142 +/- 24 (+/- SE) and 371 +/- 37 nmol Pi/mg X h; P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01 compared to normal]. Enzyme activity in cells from patients with nonthyroidal illness and low levels of circulating T3 was significantly higher than that in cells from normal subjects (289 +/- 11 vs. 223 +/- 16 nmol Pi/mg X h; P less than 0.01), but was not significantly different from that in cells from hypothyroid patients. Red cell Na/K-ATPase activity in patients with nonthyroidal illness and normal thyroid function tests (185 +/- 38 nmol Pi/mg X h was indistinguishable from normal values. These data confirm that hyperthyroid patients have decreased red cell Na/K-ATPase activity and provide direct evidence that erythrocyte ATPase activity is increased in hypothyroid patients. The change in enzyme activity in patients with nonthyroidal illness and decreased circulating T3 levels was comparable to that in hypothyroidism. These results suggest that since red cell Na/K-ATPase activity does not distinguish between ill patients with low thyroid function tests and those with hypothyroidism, tissue hypothyroidism may exist in the former group of patients.

Adolescent

Reduced glomerular sodium/potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity in acute streptozocin diabetes and its prevention by oral sorbinil.

To explore metabolic changes associated with the sorbitol accumulation and myo-inositol depletion observed in glomeruli of rats with experimental diabetes, we examined total and ouabain-inhibited adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity in glomeruli isolated from control and streptozocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. Glomerular Na/K-ATPase activity (ouabain-inhibited) was significantly reduced in diabetic animals, while total (composite) ATPase activity remained unchanged. Treatment with insulin partially restored the Na/K-ATPase activity. Administration of the aldose reductase inhibitor, sorbinil, which normalizes glomerular contents of both sorbitol and myo-inositol in diabetes, completely prevented the diminution of Na/K-ATPase activity. These results establish that glomerular Na/K-ATPase activity is reduced in acute experimental diabetes. The ability of sorbinil to prevent this decrease suggests that it is related to polyol accumulation and/or myoinositol depletion, although an effect of the drug unrelated to its aldose reductase inhibiting property has not been excluded. Since increased polyol pathway flux, decreased myo-inositol, and reduced Na/K-ATPase activity have also been described in peripheral nerve, another tissue in which typical diabetic complications characteristically occur, the consequences of these metabolic changes may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

Kinetics of subcellular distribution in rat intestine of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol administered in vivo. Evidence for concentration within 5 min into purified nuclei.

To better understand the initial steps in the induction of intestinal Ca2+ transport by 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)2D3], we studied the early subcellular localization of 1,25(OH)2D3 in rat intestine. Vitamin D-deficient rats received 300 pmol of 1,25(OH)2[3H]D3 intravenously at 5 min to 4h before being killed. Cells homogenized in buffer of I = 90 mmol/litre were fractionated by centrifugation into a crude nuclear pellet, purified nuclei, Golgi and basal-lateral membranes, cytosol and a post-nuclear pellet. Nuclear purification was established by biochemical and morphological criteria and gave a yield of 32 +/- 2% (mean +/- S.E.M.; n = 21). Although re-establishment of Ca2+ uptake by Golgi is one of the earliest reported intestinal responses to 1,25(OH)2D3, no direct localization of 1,25(OH)2D3 to Golgi was detected. Purified nuclei had the highest specific radioactivity at all times studied, with nuclear localization detectable at 5 min and peak nuclear uptake at 1 h. Relative specific radioactivity of nuclei to cytosol increased from 5 min to 30 min, at which time equilibrium between cytosol and nucleus appeared to be attained. Nuclear uptake occurred in all cells from villus to crypt. Of total nuclear binding 10% was resistant to high ionic strength buffer (I = 365 mmol/litre); peak nuclear uptake was observed at 30 min in this buffer. This tight binding may represent the active fraction of 1,25(OH)2D3. These results indicate that localization of 1,25(OH)2D3 to rat intestinal nuclei precedes the observed Golgi-membrane effects and suggest the existence of high-affinity nuclear 1,25(OH)2D3-binding sites.

Animals

Deposition of basement membrane in vitro by normal and diabetic rat renal glomeruli.

Glomeruli isolated from rat renal cortex were incubated with radioactive precursor to study basement membrane production in vitro. Following incubation, basement membranes were purified with a novel technique of osmotic lysis followed by selective solubilization with detergents that leaves the membranes architecturally intact and results in their quantitative isolation. Incorporation of [14C]-proline into basement membrane increased in a linear fashion during the 3 h of incubation studied, with a progressive increase in the specific activity of hydroxy-[14C]-proline in isolated glomerular basement membrane. With identical incubational conditions, glomeruli from streptozotocin diabetic rats incorporated significantly greater amounts of precursor into the extracellular matrix than did glomeruli from nondiabetic animals.

Animals

Growth hormone response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in diabetes.

The effect of TRH on GH secretion was assessed in 13 insulin-dependent diabetics. PRL and TSH responses to TRH were also determined. Glycosylated hemoglobin levels and serial fasting glucose concentrations indicated that all but 1 of the patients had a period of poor diabetic control for several months before the study. Peak PRL and TSH levels after TRH injection in these diabetic patients did not differ significantly from values observed in nondiabetic individuals. Six of the patients responded to TRH with a significant rise in GH levels; basal GH concentrations were also elevated in these patients. Five of the 6 responders and none of the nonresponders had proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The results suggest that diabetics with elevated basal GH levels hyperrespond to TRH, and that nonspecific secretion of GH in response to TRH occurs in some patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Chronic hyperglycemia does not appear to be the critical factor in determining this response.

Adolescent