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Biomedical subjects

A Golik

Publications and source records attributed to A Golik.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Effect of dietary manipulations on glomerular filtration rate of mice offspring of nephrectomized mothers.

We have previously reported that mice, offspring to uninephrectomized mothers, have greater than normal kidneys with supernumerary glomeruli. In this study we assessed glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in 40 mice offspring of nephrectomized mothers and 40 mice offspring of sham-nephrectomized animals aged 7 weeks. Each group was divided into 4 equal subgroups according to the following dietary manipulations: regular, high protein, high salt and high protein/high salt. At the end of 1 week, GFR was determined by 51Cr EDTA. In the first group, GFR was significantly greater in each experimental subgroup compared to control. In the offspring of sham-nephrectomized mothers, only the subgroup on the combined diet had a significantly greater GFR. We conclude that the capacity to raise GFR in response to dietary manipulations is greater in offspring of nephrectomized mothers. It remains to be elucidated whether the difference results from the increased number of nephrons or from an augmented single nephron GFR reserve.

Animals↗

Renal mononuclear cells secrete a factor triggering mesangial cell proliferation.

Thirty-six Charles River rats underwent left unilateral nephrectomy and 18 counterparts had sham nephrectomy. After 48 h the kidneys of all animals were removed, and renal mononuclear cells (RMNC) harvested. The RMNC were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with either 20% fetal calf serum or sera procured from sham operated rats, or from nephrectomized animals. Ten days later the conditioned media of RMNC cultures were collected. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from sham-operated or nephrectomized rats were also grown in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 20% fetal calf serum, sham serum or post-nephrectomy serum. The conditioned media of PBMC cultures were also collected after 10 days. Mesangial cells procured from kidneys of different normal animals were cultured in DMEM/F12HAM cell culture medium supplemented with 50% of the various RMNC- or PBMC-conditioned media. Proliferation of mesangial cells grown in conditioned medium of post-nephrectomy RMNC which had been precultured with post-nephrectomy serum was significantly augmented compared with control or any other experimental situation. There was no statistically-significant difference between proliferation rates of mesangial cells cultured in any other medium of control or experimental RMNC or PBMC. We conclude that following unilateral nephrectomy, RMNC of the remaining kidney are activated to secrete, under a sustained signal of post-nephrectomy serum, a growth factor(s) stimulating proliferation of normal mesangial cells.

Animals↗

[Cimetidine hepatitis].

A 41-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis developed severe acute hepatitis 3 days after starting cimetidine for duodenal ulcer. Other causes were ruled out and he recovered after cimetidine was discontinued. Mild transient elevations of hepatic enzymes have been reported in 3.6% of patients taking cimetidine. However, only 12 cases of severe acute hepatitis associated with cimetidine, mostly secondary to idiosyncrasy, have been reported in the English literature. This rare but serious complication of cimetidine should be kept in mind.

Acute Disease↗

Effect of exercise training on glomerular filtration rate of mice with various degrees of renal mass reduction.

We studied the effect of repeated heavy physical activity on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in healthy, uninephrectomized and experimentally uremic mice. Exercise consisted of running uphill in the inner surface of a rotating cylinder in ideal environmental temperature. In the control groups, no extra physical activity was imposed. In sham-operated and nephrectomized mice, GFR rose significantly following training. By contrast, GFR did not change significantly in the exercised mice with experimental renal failure 24 h following the last exercise session. During the same period, no significant change was observed in GFR of any of the control groups. Following training in each experimental group, mean aortic blood pressure as well as fractional kidney weight (kidney weight/body weight) were not different from the respective controls. Our results indicate that the capacity to augment GFR by physical training is dependent upon the amount of remaining functional renal tissue.

Animals↗

Postnephrectomy mesangial cells secrete a factor(s) that stimulate(s) tubular cell growth in vitro.

Rat kidney mesangial cells were procured from 5 sham-operated and 10 previously uninephrectomized rats. They were grown in cell culture medium supplemented with 20% fetal calf serum. Cell free conditioned medium was collected on the 10th day. Tubular cell cultures were then prepared from 18 normal unoperated 3-week-old rats. Tubular cells from each separate kidney sample were grown in pooled-mesangium conditioned medium from sham-operated or from nephrectomized rats, supplied with 20% pooled serum from either sham-operated or nephrectomized animals. 3H-thymidine incorporation of normal tubular cell cultures grown in nephrectomy mesangium conditioned medium supplemented with sera from nephrectomized animals proved to be significantly greater than that of any of the other three experimental variations. No statistically significant difference was evident when either preconditioned medium of postnephrectomy mesangial cells or postnephrectomy serum were used alone.

Animals↗

Sibutramine in weight control: a dose-ranging, efficacy study.

We tested the safety and efficacy of sibutramine, 5 and 20 mg, and placebo on weight loss. Medication was added to caloric restriction, behavior modification, and exercise in a parallel-group, double-blind clinical trial. Participants were 130% to 180% of ideal body weight and in good health. The study lasted 12 weeks over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Weight loss during 8 weeks of study medication was: placebo, 1.4 +/- 2.1 kg (n = 19); 5 mg sibutramine, 2.9 +/- 2.3 kg (n = 18); and 20 mg sibutramine, 5.0 +/- 2.7 kg (n = 18) (p less than 0.05 sibutramine, 5 and 20 mg, versus placebo; p less than 0.05 sibutramine, 20 mg versus 5 mg). There is a significant dose-effect relationship. Five participants left the study before completion, all because of adverse events; placebo (one patient), 5 mg sibutramine (one patient), and 20 mg sibutramine (three patients). Sleep difficulties were noted by eight participants (20 mg sibutramine, seven patients; 5 mg, one patient; and placebo, no patients). Six of 21 participants receiving 20 mg complained of irritability, unusual impatience, or "excitation." Sibutramine, 5 and 20 mg, added to a multimodal program assisted participants in losing weight.

Adult↗

Elevated serum liver enzymes in obesity: a dilemma during clinical trials.

We found that 17 out of 60 (28.3 percent) obese, otherwise healthy volunteers had elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) or alkaline phosphatase (AP) at least once in the course of a 12 week clinical trial. ALAT was the most commonly elevated serum aminotransferase occurring in 16 out of the 17 participants. Its range of elevation, as a percentage of the upper limit of normal (ULN) at screening was 102-164 percent (mean +/- s.d.; 127 percent +/- 18.4). Three participants had slight elevations of AP (112 percent, 113 percent, 119 percent of ULN). One participant had a minor elevation of ASAT (107 percent of ULN at screening). Of the 17 participants with elevated aminotransferases and AP, six were randomized to placebo, seven were treated with the low dose and four with the high dose of the new medication. Study participants having elevated enzymes had higher ideal body weight (IBW) than the group with normal values at screening (162 +/- 10 percent IBW, 152 +/- 11 percent IBW respectively), and at week 8 (152 +/- 3 percent IBW, 146 +/- 2 percent respectively) (P less than 0.05). The corresponding body mass index (BMI) values are 36.8 +/- 2.8 for the participants with elevated liver enzymes vs 34.2 +/- 2.6 (P less than 0.001) for the participants with normal values at screening and 34.9 +/- 3.1 and 32.8 +/- 2.8 (P = 0.02) respectively at week 8. Males (46 percent) were more likely than females (21 percent) to have elevated aminotransferases. We found no evidence for hepatic disease during the study period. Slightly elevated and fluctuating serum aminotransferases and alkaline phosphatase concentrations are a more frequent finding in healthy obese populations than previously established. In studies of anti-obesity agents investigators should broaden the entry criteria since elevated aminotransferase levels rarely interfere with the safe conduct of clinical trials in obesity.

Adult↗

Effect of diuretics on captopril-induced urinary zinc excretion.

The urinary zinc/creatinine ratio has been measured in five groups of patients with essential hypertension and in a group of healthy controls. The first four groups of patients consisted of subjects being treated for at least three months with captopril alone, hydrochlorothiazide alone, captopril plus hydrochlorothiazide, or captopril and furosemide. The fifth group comprised hypertensive patients not on any medication. The first four patient groups exhibited significantly increased urinary zinc/creatinine ratios when compared to the control and untreated hypertensive groups, but in the two combination regimens there was little zincuria. It is suggested that both diuretics inactivate the zincuric effect of captopril by binding to its sulphydryl group within the tubular lumen.

Adult↗

Zinc metabolism in patients treated with captopril versus enalapril.

Several zinc parameters were assessed in 13 patients with essential hypertension who were chronically taking only captopril (six subjects) or enalapril (seven subjects), as well as in six untreated hypertensives, and nine healthy controls. Serum zinc levels were comparable in all groups. Twenty-four-hour urinary zinc excretion was significantly increased in the captopril-treated patients compared with the other three groups. The zinc:creatinine ratio in 24-hour urine was significantly increased in both captopril and enalapril groups, but was significantly greater in the former. Although plasma zinc concentrations were comparable in all groups, red blood cell (RBC) zinc values were significantly decreased in the captopril group compared with the other three groups. We conclude that (1) although both captopril and enalapril produce renal zinc loss, this loss is far greater in patients receiving captopril; and (2) captopril administration over 3 months or more generates RBC zinc depletion.

Captopril↗

Aeromonas in adult diarrhea: an enteropathogen or an innocent bystander?

This is a study from a district hospital in Israel serving a population of 250,000. During 1986-1987, 1,005 stool specimens were cultured from 932 adult inpatients with acute diarrhea. Seventeen yielded Aeromonas species. Of the 12 strains phenotyped, 10 qualified as enteropathogenic. Five hundred stool specimens from asymptomatic control subjects, inhabitants of the same region, were negative for Aeromonas. The finding of Aeromonas as the apparently sole pathogen in acute adult diarrhea in a geographical area with a negligible asymptomatic carriage rate lends support to the possibility that Aeromonas is an enteropathogen in adults.

Adolescent↗

Aeromonas species bacteremia in nonimmunocompromised hosts. Two case reports and a review of the literature.

Aeromonas hydrophila septicemia usually occurs in immunocompromised hosts. We present two case reports of Aeromonas hydrophila septicemia in uncompromised patients from two medical centers. Three additional cases (two in immunocompromised hosts and one in a normal host) were found in these centers after retrospective screening of bacteriologic records over the last 3 years. A review of the English medical literature over four decades revealed only 24 additional cases of Aeromonas infection in the nonimmunocompromised host. The primary sources of Aeromonas bacteremia are abdominal and soft tissue infections. In the normal host the prognosis is good when antibiotic treatment is initiated early. Aeromonas are sensitive to aminoglycosides, second- and third-generation cephalosporins, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole and ureidopenicillin. There appears to be an increased recognition of this organism, as well as an increase in frequency of Aeromonas-related infection.

Aeromonas↗

Increased concanavalin A-induced suppressor cell activity in humans with occupational lead exposure.

E-rosette-forming cells (E-RFC), mitogen-induced blast transformation, OKT4+, OKT8+ cells, and their ratio were found to be normal in 10 subjects chronically exposed to lead with blood levels of 40-51 micrograms%. However, concanavalin A (Con A)-induced suppressor cell activity (SCA) in these subjects was significantly greater than in normal matched controls. The clinical relevance of this observation is not clear, but it may have some bearing on the various immunologic defects described in lead exposure.

Adult↗

Cimetidine-related cardiac conduction disturbances and confusion.

A 70-year-old woman free of renal or hepatic dysfunction developed reversible mental confusion, sinus bradycardia, and extreme QT interval prolongation following initiation of intravenous cimetidine 1200 mg daily. The association of mental confusion with cardiac conduction impairment in a single patient in the context of cimetidine toxicity is highly unusual. We review this and other reports on potentially fatal cimetidine-related cardiac conduction disturbances to suggest that in patients at risk, in addition to reducing cimetidine dosage, electrocardiogram (ECG) follow-up is indicated to identify dangerous bradycardia and QT interval prolongation.

Aged↗

Acute resin phenol-formaldehyde intoxication. A life threatening occupational hazard.

1. A 38-year-old previously healthy worker accidentally spilled phenol-formaldehyde resin over a large area of his skin. 2. Several days later he was hospitalized with extensive necrotic skin lesions, fever, hypertension, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), proteinuria and renal functional impairment. 3. All symptoms improved progressively and eventually disappeared. 4. We propose that toxic materials originating from the necrotic skin lesions and the continued facilitated absorption of the resin and/or its components via the skin lesions were the main factors responsible for this alarming multisystem involvement. 5. Workers handling this material should be instructed to take appropriate precautions and physicians should be alerted to the potential pathophysiological consequences.

Adult↗

Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure induced by paraphenylenediamine.

1. We present a 40-year-old healthy man who developed a typical clinical picture of rhabdomyolysis following the administration of paraphenylenediamine by a witchdoctor as a pain killer. 2. Two groups of 15 mice were given paraphenylenediamine 70 mg/kg and 35 mg/kg respectively. Biochemical and histological findings of rhabdomyolysis developed in both groups, without kidney damage. 3. Paraphenylenediamine may cause rhabdomyolysis resulting in acute renal failure in humans. In mice, however, it produces rhabdomyolysis, but the kidneys are not affected.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Effect of levamisole on chemotaxis of granulocytes from uremic patients.

Uremic granulocyte chemotaxis was assessed in the presence of four different concentrations of levamisole. Chemotactic responsiveness of uremic granulocytes was significantly decreased compared to normal, both in the absence of levamisole and with all levamisole concentrations tested. However, with 10(-3) and 10(-4) M levamisole concentrations, uremic granulocyte chemotaxis was similar to that of normal granulocytes without levamisole. Defective chemotactic activity of granulocytes may play a role in the increased susceptibility of uremic patients to infections. Pharmacological correction of this defect may improve the patients' ability to cope with infections.

Adult↗