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Biomedical subjects

A Laufer

Publications and source records attributed to A Laufer.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of papain on experimental amyloidosis.

Experimental amyloidosis was induced in mice by repeated injections of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) reinforced with a bacterial vaccine. Papain was administered i.p. at various time intervals during the treatment with CFA. Amyloidosis was found only in the spleen and the liver. No statistically significant differences were found between the papain-treated and the control groups. It is assumed that, although papain releaseed the polysaccharide moiety from the polysaccharide protein complex, the released polysaccharides were most probably bound by electrostatic forces to the amyloid fibres, and did not interfere with amyloidogenesis.

Amyloidosis

Isolation of mycoplasmas from the genital tract of women with reproductive failure, sterility or vaginitis.

The presence of mycoplasma was investigated in 77 women with infertility, 34 women complaining of sterility, 92 women with vaginitis and 66 healthy control subjects. The group of infertile women was subdivided into those with one or two spontaneous abortions, those with three or more abortions and those with missed abortions. The isolation rate of mycoplasma from the vagina and cervix of the infertile women ranged from 18 to 36%. The endometrial isolation rate was 21% in women with missed abortions but lower in women of the other two subdivisions. Mycoplasmas were infrequently found in patients investigated for sterility. They were isolated at a higher rate in patients with vaginitis, especially in those with trichomonas-associated vaginitis. They were not found in healthy control subjects. In the endometria positive for mycoplasma no specific histological features for this infection were found.

Abortion, Spontaneous

Fine structure of Sertoli and Leydig cells in azoospermic human testis.

Testicular biopsy specimens taken from seven patients with azoospermia were studied by electron microscopy. We considered the possibility of a relationship between the annulate lamellae in the Sertoli cells and azoospermia. In the Leydig cells, we observed intranuclear and intracytoplasmic paracrystalline inclusions and considered their relationship with the Reinke crystalloid.

Adult

[Methods and indications for low peridural analgesia in the aged. Report of 300 cases].

Continuous peridural analgesia took a long time to be accepted in current practice in surgery of the elderly, owing to the apprehensions for the possible cardiovascular consequences and also, the difficulty in using this form of anaesthesia in the elderly. The experience of more than 300 cases, collected in the Nice department of Anesthetics and Intensive Care, has shown that: 1--technical failures are exceptional with routine use of prior epidurography; 2--its indications depend on the site and type of surgery and on the clinical conditions of the patient; 3--until now, there have been no severe complications due to this method whatever the degree and number of morbid conditions; 4--in the elderly subject, the importance of problems of pre and post-operative analgesia have led us to enlarge the indications for long-term peridural analgesia. Peridural anesthesia may be used as a routine when the site of the operation involves areas situated below the IXth metamere. This shows its importance in surgery in the elderly.

Aged

Histochemical studies of human breast tumors: Activity of alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Histochemical studies of human breast tumors were performed with particular emphasis on the activity of alkaline phosphatase (AIP), acid phosphatase (AcP) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). Enzyme activities in benign and malignant lesions were compared. AIP was prominent in normal mammary epithelium, limited to the myoepithelial layer in benign tumors and was absent in cords of malignant cells. AcP activity was faintly detected in normal mammary epithelium, increased in canalicular epithelium of fibroadenomas and was marked in malignant cells. G6PDH exhibited marked activity in neoplastic epithelium and the stroma of nearly all carcinomas studied, whereas in benign tumors, G6PDH activity was strictly limited to the connective tissue. The study suggests a strong correlation between G6PDH activity and malignancy. The different results obtained by various workers in this field are critically reviewed, and discussed in the light of the results of the present study.

Acid Phosphatase

The effect of beta aminoproprionitrile (BAPN) on experimental amyloidosis.

Experimental amyloidosis was induced in mice with repeated injections of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) reinforced with bacterial vaccine. BAPN administered in a mixture with CFA or on its own before the injection of CFA reduced the incidence of amyloidosis. The reduction in the incidence of amyloidosis following the administration of BAPN may be due to its inhibitory effect on the oxidative deamination of amino acids, which presumably inhibit cross-linking of amyloid fibrils or interfere with metabolic pathways which involve the formations of mucopolysaccharide formation. It is suggested that the defective formation of the mucopolysaccharide-amyloid protein complex inhibits amyloid deposition and induces the activity of beta glucuronidase observed in the present study. The reduced incidence of amyloidosis following BAPN adminsitration cannot be due to lysosomal enzyme degradation of the amyloid as the activity of cathepsin D and acid phosphatase is decreased during this process.

Acid Phosphatase