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Biomedical subjects

A Kamal

Publications and source records attributed to A Kamal.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Pharmacokinetic studies of benoxaprofen in geriatric patients.

Benoxaprofen plasma profiles were obtained in 10 elderly patients (mean age 77 years) suffering from osteoarthritis and various underlying diseases. Blood levels were measured over a 17-day period. Benoxaprofen, 600 mg, was given daily for the first 10 days. The mean peak plasma concentration on Day 1 occurred three hours after the fasting dose. Mean plasma levels on Days 2-10 showed a continuing rise with no indication that a steady-state level was achieved. Elimination half-lives calculated from plasma levels on Days 12-17 resulted in a mean of 101 hours in these elderly patients. This is a substantial increase compared with normal subjects (half-life 30 to 35 hours). Most haematologic and biochemical results were judged to be within the usual range for this type of elderly patient (A.K.) No evidence of renal impairment due to the treatment was shown. The higher benoxaprofen concentrations and the long elimination half-life show evidence of accumulation in the elderly, probably due to several causes, including poor bowel motility and decreased renal clearance common with increasing age. The recommended dose may require modification in geriatric patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Plasma profiles of two differing doses of fenoprofen in geriatric patients.

Plasma levels after single doses of 300 mg and 600 mg fenoprofen were measured in 10 elderly patients with osteoarthritis. Mean peak concentrations occurred at 4 hours. For the 300 mg dose, this was similar to levels obtained in an earlier study with young volunteers but the drug was absorbed more slowly in the elderly, peak levels being achieved approximately 2 hours later. There was no significant difference in the area under the plasma concentration-time curves compared with previous studies, and plasma levels after multiple doses showed no evidence of drug accumulation. Haematological and biochemical values were within acceptable limits for this patient population. It is concluded that fenoprofen is reliably but more slowly absorbed in the elderly, and that normal dosages can be utilized.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Effects of a heatwave on mortality-rates in elderly inpatients.

The relation between the number of in-patient deaths occurring in a department of geriatric medicine and external air temperatures recorded during the heatwave of 1976 in the U.K. was investigated. There was a close correlation between the mortality-rate and the weekly average of peak daily temperatures. There was less of an increase in mortality among the elderly patients in the better insulated buildings. The total number of deaths among elderly patients increased threefold during the hottest period of the heat-wave. These results suggest that measures may need to be taken in the elderly to combat the harmful effects of heatwaves.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The detection of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax in DNA-extracted blood samples using polymerase chain reaction.

Seventeen pairs of published primer sets were compared for their relative sensitivity to detect malaria DNA extracted from blood samples, which were obtained from Pakistani patients suffering from malaria. The primer sets investigated consisted of: (i) 9 pairs of direct primers and 3 sets of nested primers for detecting Plasmodium falciparum, (ii) 2 pairs of direct primers and 2 sets of nested primers for detecting P. vivax, and (iii) 1 set of multiplex primers for detecting both P. falciparum and P. vivax, simultaneously. After a miniscreen of 9 DNA-extracted blood samples using the 17 primer sets stated above, 5 primer sets were short-listed (based on their superior sensitivity) and used for a maxi-screen of DNA extracted from 126 microscopy-positive blood samples from Pakistan, with the following results. (i) For the detection of P. falciparum, the direct primer pair 'PF1 + PF2' gave a sensitivity of 95% and the nested primer set 'RIT405 + RIT406/RIT371 + RIT372' gave a sensitivity of 97%. (ii) For the detection of P. vivax, the direct primer pair 'Forward + Reverse' and the nested primer set 'PLF + UNR/PLF + VIR' both gave a sensitivity of 94%. (iii) The nested multiplex primer set 'rPLU5 + rPLU6/rFAL1 + rFAL2 + rVIV1 + rVIV2' gave a sensitivity of 97% and 96% for P. falciparum and P. vivax, respectively. It was concluded that the nested multiplex primer set was the most optimal primer set to use for the detection of malaria DNA extracted from blood samples. Furthermore, the nested multiplex primer set has the advantage of simultaneously detecting and differentiating between P. vivax and P. falciparum.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

IFN-gamma production from human Th1 cells is controlled by Raf kinase.

Raf kinase is an important intracellular mediator in T cell signalling and may be crucial for the proliferation of this inflammatory cell. In order to elucidate its effect on cytokine production by human T cells in response to T cell receptor activation, experiments were carried out on human T cell clones using antisense (AS) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) to inhibit the expression of Raf kinase. AS ODN to Raf were shown to have a significant effect on a human Th1-like T cell clone, inhibiting antiCD3-induced IFN-gamma secretion by 76%, whereas no inhibitory effect was observed on IL-5 or IL-4 production by a Th2-like clone. IL-2 secretion from both clones was also not affected by the Raf AS ODN. In all cases, a reduction in Raf kinase within the cell was demonstrated by Western blot. Our results clearly demonstrate the importance of Raf kinase in the production of IFN-gamma from Th1 cells, but also show the lack of effect of this intracellular mediator on cytokine (IL-5, IL-4) release from Th2 cells.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of common atrial flutter--acute and follow-up results.

Atrial flutter with a structurally well-defined macro-reentrant circuit in the right atrium has recently become amenable to radiofrequency ablation with the recognition of isthmus as a narrow zone of slow conduction. This study describes 20 consecutive and symptomatic patients with atrial flutter (15 males, 5 females; mean age 38.5 +/- 10.2 years) who underwent radiofrequency ablation in our institute in the last 18 months. Fourteen patients had structurally normal hearts, while the remaining six patients had specific disorders (prior surgery for closure of atrial septal defect-2, idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy-1, primary sinus node dysfunction-2, tachycardiomyopathy-1). The endpoints of a complete isthmus block and conversion to sinus rhythm were achieved in 19 of the 20 patients. Total number of pulses needed to attain the endpoints was a mean of 4.2 (range 1-5), each pulse being delivered for 90 seconds. At a mean follow up of 9.4 +/- 3.2 months (range 6-12 months), recurrence of atrial flutter was seen in one patient, atrial fibrillation in two and sinus node reentrant tachycardia in one. These results are comparable to those reported in the literature. Achievement of a complete isthmus block appears to be an important endpoint in obtaining optimal results. The issues of alternative sites of ablation, long-term results and advantages of an 8 mm tip catheter need to be examined further. In conclusion, radiofrequency ablation appears to be the preferred mode of treatment for patients with atrial flutter with excellent short-term and mid-term results.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Differential tumor markers and hepatitis markers profile in liver tumors.

The differential diagnostic utility of AFP, CEA, CA19.9 and TPA was evaluated in liver tumors. They were determined in the sera of 61 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 18 with secondary liver metastasis, 61 of benign liver cirrhosis in comparison to 20 normal healthy control subjects. The association of either HBV or HCV infection and HCC was also studied through the assay of HbSAg, HbSAb, and HCV-Ab. The optimal cut-off values were determined using the diagnostic accuracy measurements and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. AFP at an optimal cut-off value of 100 ng/ml and TPA at 160 U/L showed the highest sensitivity and specificity in detecting liver metastasis (100% and 87% for AFP; 100% and 54% for TPA respectively). The obtained data indicated that the combined assay of AFP and TPA resulted in a better discrimination of HCC among patients with hepatic focal lesions. HCV-Ab was detected in a higher ratio of HCC patients (83.6%) compared to HbsAg (68.9%), and both were detected in (34%) of HCC patients. This high incidence of HCV-Ab may suggest the implication of HCV in the molecular events leading to hepatic carcinogenesis.

Adult↗