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Biomedical subjects

A Dowlati

Publications and source records attributed to A Dowlati.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Gastrin levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with lung cancer: comparison with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: The gastrin gene is known to be expressed in all classes of bronchogenic carcinomas. Furthermore, high levels of gastrin have been reported in both the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum of patients with lung cancer. Based on these preliminary data a study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of gastrin measurements in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with lung cancer (26 non-small cell (NSCLC) and nine small cell (SCLC)) and 25 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy and BAL. Gastrin levels were determined in both BAL fluid and the serum and compared with each other and with staging. RESULTS: No difference was found between the gastrin levels in the BAL fluid or serum of the study groups. There was no correlation with the stage in NSCLC and no correlation was found between the gastrin levels in the serum and the BAL fluid. A significant difference was seen in gastrin levels in BAL fluid between extensive and limited SCLC (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is no evidence of clinical usefulness for gastrin measurements in lung cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Evaluation of the solitary pulmonary nodule by positron emission tomography imaging.

Current noninvasive imaging methods are not sufficiently reliable for accurate detection of malignancy in most solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). Positron emission tomography (PET) using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), showing increased FDG uptake and retention in malignant cells, has proved useful to differentiate malignant from benign tissue and could, therefore, contribute to the evaluation of the SPN. We performed a prospective study of 50 patients referred to the Pneumology Department with unclear diagnoses of SPN after conventional radiological screening. PET study was performed on each subject before an invasive procedure was proposed. Thirty three patients had a malignant nodule and 17 had a benign nodule. The mean size of malignant nodule was 3 cm (range 1.5-4.5 cm). All showed a marked increase in 18-FDG uptake. The mean size of benign nodule was 1.8 cm (range 0.5-3.5 cm). PET imaging showed the absence of 18-FDG uptake and correctly identified 15 of 17 benign nodules. There was two false-positive cases with a moderate increase in 18-FDG uptake (1 postprimary tuberculosis; and 1 anthracosilicotic nodule with nonspecific inflammation). At present, the sensitivity and specificity of the method are 100 and 88%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of PET imaging for SPNs are 94 and 100%, respectively. Our preliminary results demonstrate that PET-FDG imaging is a noninvasive technique, which appears highly accurate in differentiating malignant SPN from benign SPN.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Staging of the mediastinum: value of positron emission tomography imaging in non-small cell lung cancer.

Recent studies have shown limitations of morphological imaging in staging mediastinal lymph node involvement in lung cancer. In contrast to computed tomography (CT), which depends primarily on anatomical imaging features, positron emission tomography (PET) with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) depends mainly on the metabolic characteristics of a tissue for the diagnosis of disease. We have performed a prospective study comparing FDG-PET and CT of the thorax in the presurgical assessment of the mediastinum in 50 patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). CT and PET scans were interpreted separately, and results were compared to pathological staging obtained during thoracotomy. Hilar or mediastinal lymph node involvement was present in 58%. In staging for lymph node involvement, CT had a sensitivity of 72% and specificity of 81%, whereas PET had a sensitivity and specificity of 90% and 86%, respectively. When the PET study was compared to histological results, there were four cases showing more advanced mediastinal involvement with PET and four cases showing less involvement with PET. From our preliminary results, we conclude that positron emission tomography with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose is significantly more accurate than computed tomography in the mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Effect of hormone replacement therapy for menopause on the mechanical properties of skin.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause on the mechanical properties of the skin in healthy women. DESIGN: A group of 114 women, including 43 nonmenopausal controls, 46 menopausal women with HRT and 25 menopausal women without HRT, participated in the study. Mechanical properties of the skin were measured on the volar forearm using a computerized suction device. SETTING: University medical center. Research laboratory in bioengineering and biometrology. RESULTS: Computerized measurements of skin deformability and viscoelasticity revealed differences between the three groups of women. A steep increase in skin extensibility was evidenced during the perimenopause in untreated women. HRT appeared to limit the age-related increase in cutaneous extensibility, thereby exerting a preventive effect on skin slackness. No effect of HRT was found on other parameters of skin viscoelasticity. CONCLUSION: HRT has a beneficial effect on some mechanical properties of skin and thus may slow the progress of intrinsic cutaneous aging.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effects of softened and unsoftened fabrics on infant skin.

BACKGROUND: The effects of softened and unsoftened fabrics on the skin of infants of 1-12 months of age were evaluated under real life conditions of skin contact with fabrics. METHODS: During 4 weeks, 24 infants wore cotton fabrics washed with a granular detergent on one side of their lower back, and on the other side, cotton fabrics washed with the same detergent and softened with a liquid fabric softener. Skin effects were evaluated by visual grading for redness, dryness, and smoothness, by skin stripping and measuring of Chroma C* (squamometry), by measurements of elasticity and bioelastic ratio, and by instrumental measurements of skin parameters (pH, capacitance, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and erythema by colorimetry). RESULTS: No deleterious effects were observed in any infant. A decrease in squamometry (Chroma C*) and an increase in capacitance were detected in skin exposed to softened fabrics relative to unsoftened ones. Values of pH tended to be higher in the sites treated with softened versus unsoftened fabrics (pH 6.06 and 5.87, respectively, at end of study). All other parameters showed no significant differences in the two treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: Neither softened nor unsoftened fabrics produced any adverse effects on the skin of infants after continuous wearing during 29 days. A slight beneficial effect on the infants' skin was observed with softened relative to unsoftened fabrics. Methods measuring the structure and function of the stratum corneum were more sensitive discriminators of the effects of fabrics on the skin than traditional methods of visual clinical evaluation.

Double-Blind Method↗
PubMed1994

Modulation of immunological histamine release from human lung fragments by stem cell factor, IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF: comparison with human leukocytes.

Because of the importance of cytokines in the regulation of allergic inflammation, we investigated the effects of SCF, IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF on immunological histamine release from sensitized human lung fragments as well as human leukocytes. SCF (0.2-20 ng/ml) caused a concentration-related enhancement of anti-IgE (1/100) induced histamine release from lung fragments reaching maximally 64% at 20 ng/ml. In contrast, enhancement produced by IL-5, IL-3 and GM-CSF (0.2-20 ng/ml) was quite marginal and reached at best around 20% at the higher concentration, IL-5 being slightly more effective than IL-3 and GM-CSF. Further, SCF potentiated histamine release whatever the level of immunological control whereas potentiation by IL-5 primarily occurred when the amount of histamine release induced by the immunological control ranged between 5 and 10%. SCF acted synergistically with IL-5, producing a greater enhancement of histamine release than the sum of each cytokine used alone. Both SCF and, to a lesser extent, IL-5 potentiated anti-IgE-mediated histamine release regardless of passive sensitization of lung fragments. Unlike what was observed with lung fragments, IL-3, GM-CSF and to a lesser extent IL-5, were potent enhancing agents of anti-IgE (1/2,000)-induced histamine release from leukocytes. Maximal enhancement produced by IL-3 (20 ng/ml), GM-CSF (2 ng/ml) and IL-5 (20 ng/ml) reached 92%, 78% and 61%, respectively. By contrast, SCF (0.2-20 ng/ml) was ineffective on human leukocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Chemical warfare casualties and yperite-induced xerodermoid.

Chemical warfare agents have been used in recent conflicts. We present a review of the clinical manifestations of mustard gas casualties and we studied the histological presentation of cutaneous lesions. Four groups of alterations were recognized, namely (a) alterations of keratinocytes, (b) epidermal hyperplasia with or without atypia, (c) alterations of the melanocytic system, and (d) structural changes of the dermis.

Adult↗