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Biomedical subjects

A Moreno

Publications and source records attributed to A Moreno.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Comparison of prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies in differing South American populations.

Very little is known about the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) within South America. To assess the exposure of the general population to this virus, a number of sera obtained from three distinct geographical and racial groups were screened using a combination of immunoassays. Initial screening was undertaken with an inhouse immunoassay (core-ELISA) using synthetic peptides based on the N-terminus of the HCV core protein. Sera which were repeatedly positive by core-ELISA were also assessed using a commercial third-generation assay. The highest prevalence rate (2.3%) was seen in sera taken from the Tumaco region of Colombia. Lower rates were found in sera taken from La T, Ecuador (0.7%) and Las Majadas, Venezuela (0.7%). This indicates significantly different prevalence in different racial and geographical groups within the region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Quantitative and qualitative characterization of 1H NMR spectra of colon tumors, normal mucosa and their perchloric acid extracts: decreased levels of myo-inositol in tumours can be detected in intact biopsies.

Sixteen colonic tumours and 10 normal mucosa biopsies have been examined by 1H NMR spectroscopy at 9.4 T. A complete characterization and quantification of the aliphatic region of PCA extract spectra and the analysis of the two-dimensional COSY spectra of five pairs of intact biopsies (tumor and control mucosa) has been carried out. The analysis of the PCA extracts demonstrated a significant increase in the concentration of the endogenous compounds: lactate, glutamate, aspartate, taurine, spermine, glutathione and glycerophosphoethanolamine, and a significant decrease of myo- and scyllo-inositol, in tumours with respect to mucosae. Among these metabolites, the high myo-inositol and taurine levels and the reciprocal changes found between them in tumours and mucosae make their resonances interesting as possible malignancy markers if they are detectable in vivo. In contrast to the easy observation of taurine in one-dimensional spectra of intact biopsies, the difficulty of observing myo-inositol prompted us to use two-dimensional COSY spectra for the detection and quantification of both these metabolites. In the two-dimensional spectra, the use of a ratio between the cross-peak volumes of both metabolites permits an excellent differentiation between tumours and normal mucosa and suggests its potential to detect malignant changes in the healthy tissue, provided a two-dimensional approach is used.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1996

Genetic mapping of the human pituitary-specific transcriptional factor gene and its analysis in familial panhypopituitary dwarfism.

We have analyzed the human pituitary-specific transcription factor (Pit-1) gene using PCR amplification of DNA fragments that span intron III and contain portions of exons III and IV. A PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRFLP) was detected in intron III by RsaI digestion, which was used to assign the human Pit-1 locus to chromosome 3p by linkage analysis of the CEPH panel. Analysis of corresponding Pit-1 segments from six nonrelated probands with familial panhypopituitary dwarfism (FPD) did not reveal any alterations in size and co-segregation of Pit-1, or a tightly linked microsatellite marker (D3S1559), and FPD was excluded in all six kindreds. Our data (1) assign Pit-1 to human chromosome 3p by linkage, (2) provide a PCRFLP and identify a variety of tightly linked markers, for analysis of FPD, and (3) exclude Pit-1 defects as the basis of at least one form of FPD.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Biochemical characterization of antigens detected with anti-platelet monoclonal antibodies.

A panel of 18 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) defined by the third workshop as specific for platelets, clustered in three preliminary groups: PC7, PC13 and PC27. These mAbs were further analysed by immunoprecipitation using extracts of iodinated and biotinylated peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMC) and platelets. We could confirm the existence of mAbs with specificities to WC9 (in PC7) and CD41/61 (in PC13). Two mAbs formed a new cluster, WC13, which may be homologous to human CD31 (in PC27). The influence of EDTA and thrombin on the expression of the different antigens on the platelet membrane was assessed by flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, as well as cross-reactivity with platelets from different species.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

A monoclonal antibody to ruminant fibrinogen produced through immunization with ovine peripheral blood leukocytes.

By immunizing BALB/c mice with peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) we have obtained a monoclonal antibody (MAb) named Co.1C9D10, specific for the gamma chain of ruminant fibrinogen. This MAb immunoprecipitates a molecule of apparent molecular weight of 55/65 kDa under reducing conditions and of around 300 kDa under nonreducing conditions. Co.1C9D10 recognized the gamma chain of fibrinogen by immunoblotting techniques and blood vessel plasma from paraffin embedded tissues by immunocytological techniques. Flow cytometry analysis showed that fibrinogen appears adhered to monocytes and granulocytes being eliminated through EDTA treatment of the cells. This phenomenon explains why PBL used as immunogen was able to induce an MAb against fibrinogen.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Hepatitis-HIV Spanish Study Group.

Liver disease secondary to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a rising cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals who have been infected parenterally with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) such as injection drug users, hemophiliacs, and transfused patients. We analyzed both the efficacy of interferon (IFN) alpha therapy in these patients and the predictors of response to this agent. A total of 119 patients with chronic hepatitis C (90 of whom were infected with HIV and 29 of whom were not) were included in a multicenter, prospective, open, nonrandomized observational study. IFN-alpha was given subcutaneously in a dosage of 5 million units three times a week during a 3-month period; those patients who responded received a dose of 3 million units given subcutaneously three times a week for an additional 9 months. One hundred seven patients completed the study; the level of aminotransferases returned to normal and sera became negative (complete response) for HCV RNA in 26 (32.5%) of 80 HIV-infected patients and 10 (37.0%) of 27 non-HIV-infected patients (P = .666) after completion of the treatment. Two variables were independently associated with a response in HIV-infected patients: a CD4+ T lymphocyte count of > 500 x 10(6)/L and a baseline HCV viremia level of < 10(7) copies/mL. In the 12 months following treatment, relapses occurred in 30.8% of the HIV-infected patients and 12.5% of non-HIV-infected patients (P = .403).

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Primary hyperthyroidism and associated hyperparathyroidism in a patient with myotonic dystrophy: Steinert with hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism.

A patient with myotonic dystrophy and associated primary hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism is described; this association has not been reported previously, to the authors' knowledge. The patient also suffered from hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and hyperinsulinism with insulin resistance. The etiology of hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism is not clear. At surgery, a parathyroid adenoma was extirpated, and a subtotal thyroidectomy was performed. Postoperative course was unremarkable, with consistently normal serum calcium levels but persistently elevated serum parathyroid hormone concentrations. The possibility that the patient had a residual hyperparathyroidism could not be eliminated. Thyroid function was normal. After surgery, the patient reported subjective improvement in his muscle strength. The authors conclude that both diseases-- hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism--exert a negative effect on the myotonic dystrophy and that an early recognition of these two diseases is crucial for the favorable evolution of the patient.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1996

Clinical features of adrenal insufficiency in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a well known complication of AIDS. However, the clinical and biochemical features of AI in HIV infected patients have not been extensively studied. DESIGN: A retrospective clinical study. PATIENTS: We reviewed clinical records of 74 AIDS patients with clinical and/or biochemical indications of AI who underwent Synacthen testing in order to determine adrenocortical function during a 5-year period. MEASUREMENTS: AI was diagnosed when cortisol levels failed to rise above 496 nmol/l at any time during the test. Cortisol was measured by RIA. RESULTS: Sixteen patients (22%) were diagnosed with AI. Most were young males and all of them had a known risk factor, principally i.v. drug users. The main complaint was fatigue. Hyponatraemia or hyperkalaemia were uncommon. All of them were severely immunosuppressed, with AIDS-defining conditions from at least 6 months before the diagnosis of AI, and had been diagnosed with at least one disease that has been reported to produce AI in AIDS patients. Survival was poor. Thirteen of these patients (81%) died within 6 months. Basal cortisol levels were lower than 275 nmol/l in 75% of patients with AI but in only 2% of the group of 58 patients who had normal adrenal responses to Synacthen. CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal insufficiency features in AIDS patients with advanced disease, without specific findings and with a history of previous opportunistic diseases. Basal cortisol values at 0830 h lower than 275 nmol/l are highly suggestive of adrenal insufficiency in patients with AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

Changes in T-cell phenotype and adhesion molecules expression in psoriatic lesions after low-dose cyclosporin therapy.

Cyclosporin is a very effective treatment for severe psoriasis, but its exact mechanism of action in this disease is not completely understood. It has been hypothesized that the drug could act through the inhibition of the expression of certain cell adhesion molecules on the keratinocytes prior to the reduction in the number of epidermal inflammatory cells. Several studies have focused on ICAM-1 changes on keratinocytes and endothelial cells after cyclosporin treatment in psoriatic patients but their results have been somewhat contradictory. We examined changes in T-cell markers and adhesion molecules among keratinocytes, endothelial and inflammatory cells after low-dose cyclosporin treatment for severe psoriasis. We performed a histological and immunohistochemical study on psoriatic skin among 10 patients (7 males and 3 females; mean age 37 years) treated with low-dose (2.5 mg/kg/day) cyclosporin, prior to therapy, after 1 month, and after 3 months of treatment. The mean PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) before treatment was 23 +/- 4, 13 +/- 7 after the first month of therapy, and 8 +/- 2 at the end of the third month of therapy. Pretherapy samples showed a moderate to severe inflammatory infiltrate mainly due to T-lymphocytes expressing a T-cell memory (UCHL-1) and helper/inducer (CD4) phenotype. Most of these cells also expressed HLA-DR and LFA-1 and ICAM-1 antigens. After the treatment, an overall reduction in the degree of epidermal hyperplasia was seen (p = 0.01). The severity of the infiltrate was clearly reduced (p = 0.05), but no significant changes in the phenotype profile were observed. Although slightly reduced, endothelial ICAM-1 expression persisted after cyclosporin therapy. Keratinocyte ICAM-1 expression was uniformly and significantly reduced after 1 month and 3 months of therapy (p = 0.01). These results support the hypothesis that cyclosporin interferes with the expression of keratinocyte adhesion molecules in patients with psoriasis. Servitje O, Bordas X, Serón D, Vidaller A, Moreno A, Curcó N, Sais G, Peyrí J. Changes in T-cell phenotype and adhesion molecules expression in psoriatic lesions after low-dose cyclosporin therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Neurospectroscopic alterations and globus pallidus hyperintensity as related magnetic resonance markers of reversible hepatic encephalopathy.

In patients with chronic hepatic encephalopathy, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy can be used to detect specific metabolic abnormalities in the brain; MRI shows a hyperintense globus pallidus on T1-weighted sequences. We investigated the relationship between these two MR findings in a series of 25 patients with the use of quantitative data and a multiple regression analysis model. The cerebral increase in glutamine compounds and the decrease in myoinositol and choline correlated separately with globus pallidus hyperintensity, and each was complementary in accounting for this imaging finding. Such as association suggests that spectroscopic and imaging alterations are two different expressions of the reversible events that occur in the brain of patients with hepatic encephalopathy in that both disappear after liver transplantation. Globus pallidus hyperintensity seems to be a global indicator of the cerebral metabolic disorder, and the spectroscopic pattern denotes the specific metabolic alterations.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Encapsulated papillary neoplasm of the thyroid: retrospective clinicopathological study with long term follow up.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical course of patients with the encapsulated variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, in which there is a well-defined fibrous wall completely separating the tumour cells from the adjacent tissue. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: University hospital, Spain. SUBJECTS: Of a total of 163 patients whose papillary thyroid carcinomas were treated surgically between 1975 and 1985, there were 25 encapsulated tumours. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinicopathological features and survival rate compared with those of non-encapsulated papillary thyroid carcinomas. RESULTS: Mean follow up was 9 years (range 7-17), and 42 were excluded because follow up was incomplete. Encapsulated tumours differed from the earlier age of other types in that they presented earlier (mean age 36 years compared with 45), they were significantly less likely to have symptoms of compression (1/25 compared with 24/96, p = 0.024), or nodal metastases (3/25 compared with 43/96, p = 0.002), or to recur (0/25 compared with 33/96, p = 0.002). No patients died in the encapsulated group compared with 11/96 in the other group. CONCLUSIONS: Encapsulated papillary carcinomas have an excellent prognosis, and can be cured by operation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Influence of abdominal incision on the formation of postoperative peritoneal adhesions: an experimental study in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To see if the three most commonly used abdominal incisions were associated with the development of postoperative peritoneal adhesions. DESIGN: Prospective experimental study. SETTING: University hospital, Spain. SUBJECTS: 30 Wistar rats. INTERVENTIONS: Three groups each of 10 rats underwent suprainfraumbilical midline laparotomy, right subcostal laparotomy or infraumbilical right transrectal laparotomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The animals were killed after 30 days and adhesions quantified according to a special designed score which assessed the number of adhesions, their site, vascularisation, thickness, and strength. RESULTS: The transrectal incision was associated with most adhesions (median: 9.3, interquartile 7-10), followed by subcostal laparotomy (5.5, 4-6.7), and midline laparotomy (2.0, 0-7). CONCLUSIONS: Infraumbilical incisions away from the midline are more traumatic, damage more of the peritoneum, and are more likely to come into contact with the omentum, peritoneal fat, bowel loops, and pelvic contents, thereby predisposing to the formation of peritoneal adhesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Intraparenchymatous hemorrhagic pathology in patients aged over seventy: a comparative study with younger subjects].

The aim of our study was to compare a group of over 70 year-old patients suffering from spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage with a similarly affected group under 70 years of age. With this in mind we carried out a prospective study of all patients admitted to the Neurology Service at the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital between March and December 1993. They totalled some 67 patients, 33 being over 70 years of age and 34 being younger than 70. Although our data clearly show that age is a factor indicative of bad prognosis, we found no other differences between these two groups which might justify these data with the exception of a greater prevalence of consciousness abnormalities at the moment of onset in those patients aged over 70. This fact, ascertained using the Canadian scale, may, we feel, be useful in dealing with patients presenting clinical pictures compatible with brain haemorrhage who attend hospitals not having computerized tomography.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in the transplant recipient].

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present was to study the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of 20 cases of pneumonia by Pneumocystis carinii (NPC) diagnosed over the last 10 years in renal, renopancreatic, liver and bone marrow transplant recipients. METHODS: The clinical histories of all the patients transplanted in the authors' hospital from 1985 to 1994 who developed NPC were analyzed. Diagnosis was established by visualization of cysts in methenamine silver staining of bronchialveolar lavage (BAL) samples. RESULTS: The global incidence of NPC in our transplant population was 1%. However, the incidence was 3% in the recipients who did not receive prophylaxis. No patient in this series received prophylaxis at the time of diagnosis. Ninety percent of the patients had history or rejection. Pneumonia was observed in 15 (75%) in the first 6 months post transplantation. The mean length of the symptoms prior to diagnosis was 10 days. Ninety-five percent of the patients presented cough, dysnea and fever. Radiology demonstrated diffuse alveolointerstitial infiltrates in 18 patients (90%). Basal arterial PO2 was lower than 60 mmHg in 14 (70%) patients and the alveoloarterial gradient of oxygen was greater than 60 mmHg in 9 (45%). Mechanical ventilation was required in 50% of the patients. BAL demonstrated cytologic alterations compatible with CMV infection in 50% of the cases and in two Aspergillus fumigatus was associated. Mortality was 35%. The only variable significantly associated with bad prognosis was the need for mechanical ventilation (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pneumonia by P. carinii in a population of transplant recipients was 1%. No patient received primary prophylaxis at the time of diagnosis. Most of the episodes were observed during the first 6 months post transplant. Mortality was 35% with the only variable with prognostic significance being the need for mechanical ventilation.

Adolescent↗