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Biomedical subjects

A Lavy

Publications and source records attributed to A Lavy.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Plasma lipid peroxidation: inhibited by drinking red wine but stimulated by white wine].

The effects of drinking red or white wine (11% alcohol) on the propensity of plasma and low density lipoprotein (LDL) to undergo lipid peroxidation (LP) was studied. 8 healthy men drank 400 ml of red wine a day for 2 weeks and 9 drank white wine similarly. The red wine supplementation resulted in a 20% similarly. The red wine supplementation resulted in a 20% reduction in the propensity of their plasma to undergo LP (in the presence of a free radical-generating system) and a 46% reduction in that of their LDL to undergo LP (in response to copper ions). Contrarily, drinking white wine for 2 weeks resulted in a 33% increase in propensity of plasma to undergo LP and in a 57% increase in that of LDL to undergo LP. The antioxidant effect of drinking red wine on plasma LP can be related to increase in plasma high density lipoprotein concentration, as well as to increase in plasma and LDL polyphenols. We conclude that some phenolic substance present in red, but not in white wine, may be responsible for the antioxidative properties of red wine supplementation for LDL LP, and thus may possess antiatherogenic properties.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1994

Hyperbaric oxygen for perianal Crohn's disease.

Perianal involvement in Crohn's disease is common (< or = 50%), distressing, and frequently refractory to treatment. Clinical features include painful induration and stenosis, discharging fistulas, and fissures. The pathogenesis of these lesions is unclear, but local ischemia and secondary anaerobic infection may play a role. Following three sporadic reports of successful treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), we undertook a trial of this method in 10 patients with refractory perianal disease. These patients' perianal Crohn's disease had not responded to treatment that included local medications, salicylates, corticosteroids, metronidazole, or 6-mercaptopurine were treated. Treatment was administered in a hyperbaric chamber at a pressure of 2.5 atm absolute. Each session lasted 90 min, and each course consisted of 20 daily sessions. Complete healing occurred in 5 patients after one to two courses. In an additional 2, after three courses, 1 patient improved but did not heal, and 2 did not improve. No adverse effects were noted by any of the 10 patients. Follow-up of 18 months did not reveal any recurrence. These preliminary results confirm that HBO therapy is a safe and efficient therapeutic option for perianal Crohn's disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effect of dietary supplementation of red or white wine on human blood chemistry, hematology and coagulation: favorable effect of red wine on plasma high-density lipoprotein.

Twenty healthy males were divided into two groups: 10 subjects were supplemented for 2 weeks with 400 ml of red wine (11% alcohol) per day and the other 10 subjects were given 400 ml of white wine (11% alcohol) per day for a similar period. Blood samples were drawn prior to wine supplementation, after 1 week and at the end of the study. No significant effects were found on plasma concentrations of urea, creatinine, bilirubin, creatine kinase, amylase, blood cell counts, platelet counts and platelet aggregation. Both red- and white-wine supplementation resulted in a transient minor reduction in plasma glucose concentration and in a minor elevation in blood coagulation properties such as prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time. Red (but not white) wine resulted in an 11 and 26% increment in plasma triglyceride concentrations after 1 and 2 weeks of supplementation, respectively. Plasma cholesterol, as well as very-low- and low-density-lipoprotein levels did not change during the 2 weeks of red- or white-wine supplementation. The most impressive effect of red-wine intake was a significant (p < 0.01) increase in plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and in plasma apolipoprotein A-I concentrations by up to 26 and 12%, respectively. These effects were not observed after the intake of white wine. We conclude that the major effect of red-wine supplementation (about 40 g of alcohol per day for a period of 2 weeks) was a significant increase in plasma HDL concentration which may contribute to the reduced risk for cardiovascular diseases observed in red-wine drinkers.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A 10 year survey on Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Israel and their drug resistance.

An increased incidence of tuberculosis has been observed in Israel in 1985, 1986 and since 1990--years of large waves of immigrations. A very similar trend of disease was observed in the Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory of Israel, and consequently a survey was undertaken among the 1,181 bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis cases newly registered there in 1983-92. The overall percent distribution of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis during this period was 12.6% (7.3% resistant to one drug and 5.3% (multiple drug resistance). The highest percent distribution of drug-resistant bacilli was found among immigrants from the former Soviet Union (37.3%) and Ethiopia (16.2%). The highest incidence of disease was found in males and in patients aged > 30. Pulmonary disease was the most common form for all patients: among the extrapulmonary cases, the most frequently involved site was the genitourinary system in Israelis and the lymph nodes in Ethiopians. Most isolates fit into one variant by biochemical analysis, indicating the need for a more sensitive method to type M. tuberculosis for epidemiological purposes. The data included in this survey provide information useful for a national tuberculosis program.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Mycobacterium simiae infection in Israeli patients with AIDS.

Mycobacterium simiae is an environmental organism that has rarely been associated with human disease. In Israel M. simiae is frequently isolated from clinical specimens, and it usually colonizes damaged lungs. Until now, only two cases of AIDS patients with M. simiae infection have been reported, and these patients were coinfected with Mycobacterium avium complex. Two Israeli patients with AIDS complicating hemophilia developed prolonged fever that was unresponsive to therapy with broad-spectrum antibiotics. One of them had cavitary pulmonary infiltrates. M. simiae was isolated from blood in both cases and from sputum and bone marrow in one case. The identity of the mycobacterium was confirmed at three reference laboratories. Both patients died of the infection. Thus, the possibility of M. simiae infection should be considered for AIDS patients who live in areas where this mycobacterium is prevalent.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1993

Increased susceptibility to undergo lipid peroxidation of chylomicrons and low-density lipoprotein in celiac disease.

Gastrointestinal injury involves oxidative damage as the result of oxygen-derived free radicals which are formed during the inflammatory reactions. Chylomicrons which are synthesized by the intestine can thus be exposed to lipid peroxidation in celiac disease. Similarly, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) propensity to oxidation may be enhanced as a result of a direct or indirect effect of the oxidative process. To resolve these possibilities, plasma chylomicrons and LDL were isolated from a patient with celiac disease and from a control healthy subject before and 3 h after a fat-rich meal, and their propensity to copper-induced lipid peroxidation was then analyzed. The patient's chylomicrons, its LDL that was obtained before the fat-rich meal and its LDL that was obtained after the meal demonstrated 220, 39 and 48% elevation in their content of thiobarbituric-acid-reactive substances in comparison with the control lipoproteins. After a complete recovery of the patient's intestine, the susceptibility of the patient lipoproteins to in vitro oxidation returned toward normal levels. In the patient LDL fraction (obtained either before or after the fat-rich meal), but not in the patient's chylomicrons, the carotenoid content was reduced by 70%, vitamin E by 45%, and the LDL content of arachidonic acid was increased by 70% in comparison with the control lipoproteins. On recovery of the patient and return of the intestine to its normal morphology, normalization of all of these constituents was achieved.

Celiac Disease↗
PubMed1993

Preferential inhibition of LDL oxidation by the all-trans isomer of beta-carotene in comparison with 9-cis beta-carotene.

The synthetic all-trans isomer of beta-carotene was recently shown to possess antioxidant properties towards the formation of oxidized low density lipoprotein. In the present study, the binding of the all-trans and the 9-cis isomers of beta-carotene to plasma lipoproteins was investigated, and the effect of these isomers on the susceptibility of plasma lipoprotein to lipid peroxidation and on macrophage uptake of oxidized LDL were studied. Both the synthetic all-trans isomer of beta-carotene and the natural beta-carotene from the algae Dunaliella Bardawil [which is composed of the all-trans (70%) and the 9-cis (30%) isomers], were found to bind similarly to all plasma lipoproteins, following the incubation of beta-carotene with purified lipoproteins or with whole plasma. Incubation of the beta-carotene isomers with whole plasma, followed by separation of the lipoproteins, revealed substantial carotene binding to very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and to LDL and limited binding to high density lipoprotein (HDL). Lipid peroxidation of VLDL and LDL were significantly inhibited by beta-carotene. The synthetic beta-carotene, however, was twice as effective as the Dunaliella beta-carotene in inhibiting LDL lipid peroxidation (following LDL incubation with copper ions). Cellular degradation of oxidized lipoproteins (mediated via the scavenger receptor) was decreased by 40% and 18%, respectively, when they were prepared by incubation in the presence of synthetic or natural beta-carotene; the control oxidized LDL was prepared in the absence of beta-carotene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Diseases of the intestine mimicking Crohn's disease.

We describe five patients who were initially thought to have Crohn's disease and were treated accordingly. The original diagnosis was based upon clinical presentation, roentgenograms, and histological examination, but subsequent follow-up showed that diagnosis to be in error. The following diagnoses were established instead: tuberculosis, Actinomyces Israeli infection, reaction to gold therapy, metastatic cancer, and linitis plastica. We stress the importance of considering conditions that can mimic Crohn's disease.

Actinomycosis↗
PubMed1992

Mycobacterium xenopi, a potential human pathogen.

Mycobacterium xenopi is infrequently recognized as a cause of pulmonary disease. During a 12-year survey (1978-89),. 108 strains of this Mycobacterium were isolated from 90 persons and 6 hot water samples. From 87 patients 89 occasional strains of M. xenopi were isolated, and 3 patients were diagnosed as having pulmonary mycobacteriosis caused by it. The treatment and the response in these three cases were variable, depending on clinical conditions and sensitivity to drugs. Most of the strains isolated came from patients hospitalized at the Barzilai Hospital, Ashkelon, therefore a local environmental contamination was suspected. The suspicion was confirmed by the isolation of this thermophile organism from the hot water samples of the above hospital.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Enhanced in vitro oxidation of plasma lipoproteins derived from hypercholesterolemic patients.

In vitro oxidation of plasma lipoproteins, derived from either normolipidemic or hypercholesterolemic subjects, was performed in the presence of copper ions. Following this procedure, hypercholesterolemic low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) demonstrated greater propensity for oxidation than the corresponding normocholesterolemic lipoproteins. The oxidation was determined by the concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), which was 44%, 71%, and 54% greater in the patients' VLDL, LDL, and HDL in comparison to the normocholesterolemic lipoproteins, respectively. An associated reduction in trinitrobenzensulfonic acid (TNBS) reactivity in the patients' lipoproteins was noted. These changes were consistent whether expressed per lipoprotein protein or per concentration. Macrophage cholesterol esterification induced by oxidized LDL was substantially increased (up to 59%) when patients' lipoproteins were used, in comparison to control lipoproteins. A positive correlation was present between the LDL cholesterol to protein ratio, the extent of lipoprotein oxidation, and macrophage uptake of the oxidized lipoproteins. The lipoprotein content of pro-oxidant and antioxidant constituents was also analyzed. No measurable ferric or copper ions could be found in association with any of the lipoproteins. However, arachidonic acid content of the patients' LDL was 10.1% +/- 1.0% in comparison to 6.2% +/- 0.8% of total lipoprotein fatty acids in the control group (n = 5). Antioxidants such as vitamin E and carotenoids were significantly reduced in all patients' lipoproteins compared with those of controls. Thus, we suggest that increased cholesterol and arachidonic acid content and reduced concentration of antioxidants in lipoproteins of hypercholesterolemic patients may be responsible for the enhanced propensity for oxidation observed in these lipoproteins.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug↗
PubMed1990

[Actinomycosis imitating acute appendicitis].

Actinomycosis is a rare infection which can attack most parts of the body, even in normal individuals. In the gastrointestinal tract it may imitate acute appendicitis, Crohn's disease or tumors. We present a young soldier with appendiceal involvement who was mistakenly operated on. Because of its very good response to antibiotics, this infection should be recognized early and treated, to prevent prolonged, unnecessary suffering.

Actinomycosis↗
PubMed1990

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare in clinical specimens: etiological factor or contaminant?

The Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI) group comprised 10.5% of all nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated in the Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory, Tel Aviv, in an 11-year study period. From the Buirej Chest Hospital in Gaza, alone, 273 strains were isolated, representing 12.1% of the specimens from that hospital, while 149 strains (0.24% of all specimens) were isolated from all other institutions. Pulmonary disease was attributed to this organism in 22 patients, 17 of whom were hospitalized (initially for tuberculosis or another lung disease) in Buirej Hospital. The water was thought to be the source of contamination, since MAI strains, similar to those found in sputum, were isolated from it. In 1985, the water system was renovated and the MAI incidence in sputum from this hospital consequently declined.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1989

Right heart failure as the sole presentation of carcinoid syndrome.

We report the case of a woman with symptomatic right heart failure. Despite lack of the characteristic features of the carcinoid syndrome, echocardiographic and histologic investigations confirmed the diagnosis of carcinoid disease with cardiac involvement.

Carcinoid Heart Disease↗
PubMed1988

Cationic environment and secretin secretion in canine duodenal mucosa in vitro.

We examined the effects of the divalent cation calcium (Ca2+) and the monovalent cations potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) and different modalities that affect the fluxes of these cations on immunoreactive secretin (IRS) secretion from canine duodenal mucosa in vitro. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, the basal IRS secretion was inhibited by 29%. Increased uptake of Ca2+ by passive diffusion and facilitated uptake of Ca2+ by ionophore A23187 had no effect on basal IRS secretion. However, Ca2+ channel blocking agents, LaCl3 and verapamil, inhibited basal IRS secretion by 18 and 33% respectively. High concentrations of extracellular K+ caused a dose-dependent but delayed stimulation of IRS secretion. K+-stimulated IRS secretion was not neurally mediated. Similarly, 9-aminoacridine, which blocks K+ exchange, mimicked the effects of K+. Valinomycin (10(-6) M) inhibited both K+-stimulated and 9-aminoacridine-stimulated IRS secretion. In the absence of extracellular Na+, there was a delayed inhibition of both basal and K+-stimulated IRS secretion. These results suggest that changes in cationic environment are associated with alterations in the secretion of IRS. High extracellular K+ concentration is conducive, and the absence of extracellular Na+ and Ca2+ is inhibitory to IRS secretion.

Aminacrine↗