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Biomedical subjects

A Mansour

Publications and source records attributed to A Mansour.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Effect of hydrocortisone, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine and methotrexate on cutaneous delayed and arthus hypersensitivity in the rat.

The effect of 4 immunosuppressive agents--hydrocortisone (HC), cyclophosphamide (CY), azathioprine (AZ) and methotrexate (MTX)--, on cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and Arthus reactions to the intradermal injection of ovalbumin (OA) in rats sensitized to OA in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) was studied. Multiple doses (daily for 4 days) were given either early, beginning on the day of sensitization, or late, beginning 9 days after sensitization. Single doses were given on the day of challenge with OA. All late multiple doses of drugs except HC depressed the DTH at 24 h in the following order of decreasing magnitude: MTX, CY, AZ. The DTH at 24 h was depressed by early multiple doses of MTX at all doses, by CY at all but the lowest dose, and by AZ at the intermediate dose; HC had no effect. When the drugs were given as single late doses, only CY at the lowest dose and MTX at the higher doses effectively depressed the DTH at 24 h. Increased Arthus reactions occurred after early and late multiple doses of HC and after a late single dose of CY at the highest dose. After late multiple doses the Arthus reaction was unaffected by either CY or MTX but was depressed by all doses of AZ. HC administered as 3 injections around the time of challenge markedly depressed the delayed and Arthus reactions. These results show that each of the 4 immunosuppressive drugs could depress DTH and Arthus reaction to OA, but the degree of depression varied with the time of drug administration relative to sensitization and challenge, and the dose of drug used. Histologic examination of skin test sites showed that an apparently negative reaction did not necessarily imply total absence of a cellular inflammatory response.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

2-Deoxy-D-glucose-induced decrements in operant and reflex pain thresholds.

Acute exposure to many environmental stressors induces significant analgesia. The present study examined whether 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), an antimetabolic glucose analogue, which induces glucoprivation and peripheral sympatho-adrenal discharge, would also produce analgesia as measured by either an operant liminal escape or a reflex tail-pinch procedure. In the liminal escape paradigm, 9 rats were tested at weekly intervals in 6 randomly selected testing conditions: 30 min pre-test injections of four 2-DG doses (100, 225, 350 and 700 mg/kg, IP) and 180 min pre-test injections of the 2 higher doses. Moderate analgesia occurred at the lower 2-DG doses 30 min after injection, while profound analgesia occurred at the higher doses. After 180 min, only the 700 mg/kg 2-DG dose produced moderate analgesia, which was further enhanced by food deprivation. Rats tested in the tail-pinch paradigm displayed a similar dose-dependent analgesia course. These results demonstrate that 2-DG decreases nociceptive sensitivity, possibly through stress-induced activation of an intrinsic pain-inhibitory system.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Effect of hydrocortisone on the response of rat lymphocytes to phytohaemagglutinin.

The proliferative response of rat peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen cells to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) was studied following treatment with single or multiple doses of hydrocortisone. A transient lymphopaenia with a rapid recovery at 24 h occurred with both dose schedules. Hydrocortisone in vitro caused a dose-dependent depression of blood lymphocyte response to PHA but enhanced the response of spleen cells when the steroid was added after the mitogen. An inverse relationship between blood and splenic lymphocyte responses to PHA occurred after a single dose of hydrocortisone. Blood lymphocytes from multiple dose hydrocortisone-treated rats had an enhanced response to PHA. Serum collected within 5 min of injection from single dose-treated rats depressed normal rat blood lymphocyte responses. After multiple doses of hydrocortisone serum enhanced blood lymphocyte responses to PHA. The primary antibody response to sheep erythrocytes was only affected by near toxic doses of hydrocortisone.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Extrahepatic portal hypertension--long-term results.

This report reviews 164 cases derived from 2 Australian and 3 U.S. centres. There were 128 direct operations and 63 shunts. There were 16 deaths (10% mortality) but 3 were due to unrelated causes. Direct procedures; In the long term these appear of little value. 37 of 48 children having splenectomy subsequently rebled. Almost all children having ligation of varices and direct operations on the stomach rebled subsequently. Acute bleeding can almost always be controlled by conservative measures and direct operations would appear to offer no benefit over non-operative management except in the occasional case of catastrophic management that cannot be controlled conservatively. Shunts; A properly performed decompressive shunt offers the best hope of long term control for bleeding varices. Meso-caval shunts seem to give somewhat better results than splenorenal shunts. About two-thirds of the patients undergoing shunts remain free of any further bleeding. Non-operative management; 27 children have had no surgery performed and all are alive except for one child who subsequently died in a railroad accident. Bleeding episodes become less frequent after the age of 15 years and there are a number of reasons for this including the progressive development of natural shunts. We are not aware of any deaths or major complications from hypersplenism. Growth and development of all children in this series has been normal, although other have commented on a significant incidence of encephalopathy. Conclusions; 1. GIT bleeding becomes progressively less after the age of 15 years. 2. Direct operations have little place in treatment. 3. Decompressive shunts are the most effective method of controlling continuing bleeding but require a shunt of at least 1 cm diameter. 4. Splenomegaly and hypersplenism are not serious problems. 5. One can anticipate the progressive development of natural shunts. 6. Splenectomy should be avoided in this disease unless accompanied by a shunt.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Anthropological studies among Libyans. Erythrocyte genetic factors, serum haptoglobin phenotypes and anthropometry.

Anthropological studies were done on 1276 Libyans from the Mediterranean cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, and from Sabha southward in The Sahara. The incidences of hemoglobin (Hb)-S and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency were low in the coastal areas and significantly high in Sabha. Hb-C occurred sporadically in Tripoli and Sabha, and was absent from Benghazi in the east. One case of Hb-J Benghazi was noted. There were no sigificant differences in the ABO blood group and Rh0 (D) type distributions in the three localities. G-6-PD gene GdAfrequency was significantly high in Sabha. The lowest value of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD) gene PGDA frequency and highest value of the gene PGDC were in Sabha. Adenylate kinase (AK) gene AK2 was only detectable in Tripoli. Acid phosphatase (AP) gene Pa frequency in Sabha was more than twice that in Tripoli and Benghazi, while pc was distinctly lower in Sabha than in the northern cities. Haptoglobin gene Hp1 frequency was almost identical in all areas. Anthropometric measurements revealed overall homogeneity of the three samples, closer similarity in the coastal region to adjacent North African populations, and Negroid influence in the Sahara Libyans. Anthropometry substantiated findings from blood markers.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Delta opioid receptor mRNA distribution in the brain: comparison to delta receptor binding and proenkephalin mRNA.

The recent cloning of the mouse delta opioid receptor (Evans et al., 1992; Kieffer et al., 1992) has demonstrated it to be a member of the seven transmembrane G-protein coupled family of neurotransmitter receptors. The present study describes the cellular localization in the central nervous system (CNS) of an mRNA encoding this receptor and compares it with the distribution of delta receptor binding and proenkephalin mRNA using a combination of in situ hybridization and receptor autoradiographic techniques. Delta receptor mRNA was visualized with a cRNA probe (472-903 bp) corresponding to transmembrane domains III-VI of the receptor, while proenkephalin mRNA was labeled with a cRNA probe to exon 3 (139-832 bp). A high level of correspondence was observed between the distribution of delta receptor mRNA and delta receptor binding as defined by the selective ligand [3H]D-Pen2-Pen5-enkephalin. Delta receptor mRNA and binding were expressed in the neocortex, caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, diagonal band of Broca, amygdala and the nucleus of the solitary tract. Discrepancies in the distribution of delta receptor mRNA and binding in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, globus pallidus and substantia nigra pars reticulata, may in part be due to differential receptor synthesis and transport. These results are discussed in relation to the distribution of proenkephalin mRNA and how this may affect our understanding of opioid circuitry in the CNS.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The distribution of dopamine D2 receptor heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA) in the rat brain.

Conventional in situ hybridization methods have been useful in characterizing the anatomical distribution of cells in the central nervous system that express dopamine D2 receptor mRNA. However, due to the large size of the D2 mRNA pool, this method may be insensitive to changes in D2 gene transcription. We have developed a method of hybridizing a 35S-labelled cRNA probe to an intron in the D2 receptor gene in order to measure the amount of primary transcript or heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA) in D2-expressing cells. Introns are found uniquely in hnRNA and are thought to be short-lived intermediates. Thus, monitoring introns could represent a more direct measure of D2 gene transcription. The anatomical distribution of the D2 hnRNA is similar to the distribution of D2 mRNA in the rat brain. D2 heteronuclear RNA was found in the nuclei of cells in the caudate putamen, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, olfactory tubercle, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and zona incerta. Other regions that contain D2 mRNA, but do not demonstrate intronic signal, include the globus pallidus, prefrontal, cingulate, entorhinal, and piriform cortex, septum, and amygdala. However, these areas have low amounts of D2 mRNA and may contain levels of D2 hnRNA that are below detection. Heteronuclear RNA quantitation by solution hybridization followed by RNase protection was performed on striatum, substantia nigra, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and pituitary using a D2 intron 7/exon 8 border probe. These results corroborate the distribution of hnRNA revealed with intronic in situ hybridization. In addition, protection assays were able to detect hnRNA in areas that express low levels of D2 like the cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus. hnRNA/mRNA ratios calculated from intron/exon border probe protection assays were not equivalent for all the tissue areas studied, indicating that transcription and/or hnRNA half lives may differ between tissues that express D2 receptors. The combined use of intronic in situ hybridization and intron/exon border protection assay as an index of D2 gene transcription and RNA processing provides more information than measuring the mRNA pool alone. It may also prove to be a more useful measure of gene regulation, allowing for evaluation of gene responses to acute treatments.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Placental site trophoblastic tumor in a patient with secondary infertility and radiological findings consistent with a leiomyoma: a case report.

Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) is the rarest form of gestational trophoblastic diseases. We report a 40-year-old woman who presented initially after a year of secondary infertility with prolonged menstrual flow. Her last pregnancy ended in a suction dilation and curettage at 8 weeks' gestation for a missed abortion. A hysterosalpingogram revealed a solid 5 x 4.5 cm filling defect impinging on the endometrial cavity suggestive of a submucosal leiomyoma. A vaginal sonogram confirmed the findings. The patient underwent a laparotomy for excision of the 5-cm friable, necrotic mass that was performed by curetting. Pathologic examination of the specimen revealed sheets of intermediate trophoblastic cells characterized by large polyhedral cells and positive human placental lactogen staining consistent with PSTT. The patient eventually underwent total abdominal hysterectomy 4 weeks later with no evidence of residual tumor on histologic examination.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ovarian metastases from carcinoma of the bilharzial urinary bladder.

A pathologic study of 135 cases of carcinoma of the bilharzial urinary bladder treated with radical anterior pelvic exenteration, including 60 cases examined by subserial sections of both ovaries, did not reveal a single incidence of ovarian metastases from bladder carcinoma. The same observation has been reported by some investigators examining the more aggressive forms of bladder carcinoma seen in Western countries. Based on these findings, we recommend that at least one ovary, the one away from the tumors, should be retained with an intact blood supply to avoid the distressing symptoms of menopausal syndrome. This is especially advisable in our patients where carcinoma of the bladder occurs at a younger age.

Age Factors↗