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Biomedical subjects

A Shapiro

Publications and source records attributed to A Shapiro.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Argon laser-induced cataract. A clinicopathologic study.

A patient with diabetic retinopathy and senile anterior cortical and nuclear cataract was treated with argon laser photocoagulation of the fundus. During the treatment, white ovoid opacities appeared in the lens cortex, extending into the nucleus. They remained nonprogressive for five weeks, when cataract extraction was performed. The lens was studied by light and electron microscopy. The lenticular opacities contained rows of damaged, spindle-shaped lens fibers, with laminated cellular debris and clear spaces. We compared the unique features of the laser-induced lenticular lesions with the senile cataractous changes in the same crystalline lens.

Argon↗
PubMed1984

A randomized comparison of 1-day versus 10-day antibacterial treatment of documented lower urinary tract infection.

We randomized 58 women with lower urinary tract infection diagnosed on bilateral ureteral catheterization studies to a 1-day or 10-day treatment regimen. The study revealed that 1-day adequate antibacterial treatment was as effective as 10-day treatment for lower urinary tract infection. Sterile urine was obtained in all 27 women (100 per cent) given 1-day treatment and in 30 of 31 (97 per cent) given 10-day therapy. Three weeks after the 1-day treatment significantly more postmenopausal women had infected urine than premenopausal women. This difference was not seen in the 10-day group. We conclude that 1-day treatment is sufficient for the cure of lower urinary tract infection in women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of the efficacy of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin with thiotepa, mitomycin C, poly I:C/poly-L-lysine and cis platinum in murine bladder cancer.

The efficacy of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for the treatment of the mouse bladder tumor MBT-2 was compared with that of thiotepa, mitomycin C, cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II and poly I:C/poly-L-lysine. MBT-2 cells were instilled into the bladder immediately after electrocauterization. Drug instillations were initiated 24 hours later and continued on a weekly basis for 4 weeks. Both Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II significantly (p less than .0004) inhibited MBT-2 tumor implantation when compared to diluent-treated controls. Neither mitomycin C, thiotepa nor poly I:C/poly-L-lysine significantly inhibited tumor implantation. Mean tumor weights also were significantly (p less than .05) reduced in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II-treated mice, while tumor mean weights in mice treated with thiotepa, mitomycin C or poly I:C/poly-L-lysine were not significantly different than controls. These results suggest that the efficacy of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin in comparison with other drugs in the MBT-2 mouse bladder tumor model is similar to observations reported in human clinical trials in which intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin was shown to be more effective than other cytotoxic drugs. These data further support the utility of the MBT-2 model for the study of the mechanisms by which Bacillus Calmette-Guérin inhibits bladder tumor growth.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1984

Intraocular pressure in retinal vein occlusion.

The intraocular pressure of 59 patients with retinal vein occlusion was studied. Central retinal vein occlusion (CVO) was diagnosed in 24 patients and branch retinal vein occlusion (BVO) was diagnosed in the rest. The intraocular pressure of a sex and age matched group of controls was also studied for comparison. The intraocular pressure in the CVO group were significantly different from those of the matched controls (p less than 0.001). A statistically significant difference of a lesser degree (p less than 0.05) was also found in a comparison of the intraocular pressures of the BVO group with those of their sex and age matched group of controls. These findings may indicate the possible role of increased intraocular pressure in the pathogenesis of CVO and BVO.

Constriction, Pathologic↗
PubMed1984

Noninvasive measurement of optic nervehead mechanical compliance in normal and ocular hypertensive beagles.

We have proposed that the susceptibility of some eyes to glaucomatous damage is due to an abnormal weakness of the structural support of the optic nervehead. To verify this hypothesis and, if it proves correct, to provide an early test of glaucoma, we have developed a noninvasive method of measuring the optic nervehead compliance. We present here the first in-vivo measurements that were performed in a normal beagle dog and dogs with congenitally elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) over different periods of time. The quality of the measurements was tested and the reproducibility of the optic nervehead displacement was +/- 15 microns. The optic nervehead displacement was found to be higher in the older dogs that also sustained ocular hypertension for a longer period. These results were compared with ophthalmoscopic observations of the optic disc. The present study indicates that the method is applicable to the measurement of the optic nervehead compliance and that the structural support of the optic nervehead may vary.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Technical factors affecting the reproducibility of intravesical mouse bladder tumor implantation during therapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin.

Four methods of intravesical implantation of the transplantable mouse bladder tumor, MBT-2, and their effects on intravesical therapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were compared, and modifications which improved implantation are described. Pretreatment of the bladder with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) resulted in tumor implantation in approximately two-thirds of the animals; however, all tumors penetrated the bladder wall. Using the MNU implantation procedure, intravesical BCG therapy was shown to reduce MBT-2 outgrowth by 77%. Tumor cell instillation after electrocautery produced an incidence of tumor implantation similar to that of the MNU procedure. The efficacy of BCG for the electrocautery implantation procedure also was similar to the MNU method. With the electrocautery procedure, the electrode and tumor cells were introduced into the bladder via a catheter prepared from PE 10 polyethylene tubing. The procedure required two catheterizations and produced a 24% incidence of extravesical tumors. Use of a Teflon catheter and a single catheterization for tumor cell instillation resulted in a reproducible method for implanting MBT-2 tumors which were all confined within the bladder. The efficacy of BCG therapy was unchanged from that described for the other implantation techniques.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Heightened interferon-gamma production by mononuclear cells from bladder cancer patients.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by peripheral blood leukocytes from bladder cancer patients was compared with that of patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, nontumor-bearing patients with bacterial infections, and normal controls. Leukocyte preparations including mononuclear cells isolated on a Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient (Fraction 2) and glass-nonadherent mononuclear cells (Fraction 3) were stimulated with Protein A from Staphylococcus aureus, and IFN-gamma production was monitored 24 hr later. The class of interferon produced was identified by antibody neutralization experiments which clearly showed S. aureus Protein A-induced interferon to be IFN-gamma. There was significantly heightened IFN-gamma production by Fraction 3 cells from bladder cancer patients and patients with bacterial infections. Heightened IFN-gamma production by bladder cancer patients was not observed in the Fraction 2 cells. No correlation was observed between IFN-gamma production and patients with invasive or noninvasive bladder cancer, but IFN-gamma production was lower in patients having Stage C or D tumors than in those having Stage A or B tumors. These results in conjunction with previous reports demonstrating heightened IFN-gamma production during periods of antigenic stimulation suggest that bladder tumors may induce a cell-mediated immune response in the host as evidenced by the elevation in IFN-gamma production. Moreover, the results suggest that macrophages may be important regulators of IFN-gamma production in bladder cancer patients.

Cell Separation↗
PubMed1984

Inhibition of mouse bladder tumor proliferation by murine interferon-gamma and its synergism with interferon-beta.

We studied the effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and mouse L-cell interferon (IFN-beta) on the proliferation of a mouse bladder tumor, MBT-2. A liquid culture clonogenic assay was used, and a linear relationship was obtained between the number of cells plated and the number of colonies formed. When the cells were assayed in the presence of various doses of murine IFN-gamma or IFN-beta, colony formation was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Partially purified IFN-gamma was more effective than IFN-beta in inhibiting MBT-2 colony formation in that IFN-beta exhibited a 50% inhibition dose of approximately 1000 units/ml, while the 50% inhibition dose for the partially purified IFN-gamma was approximately 70 units/ml. The 50% inhibition dose for recombinant IFN-gamma was 700 units/ml, suggesting that multiple lymphokines were active in the partially purified preparation. Further studies with partially purified IFN-gamma showed that the inhibitory effect was time dependent with the maximal effect observed after 48 hr of exposure in a 5-day assay. Treatment of partially purified IFN-gamma for 24 hr at pH 2.0 resulted in the abrogation of the antiproliferative effect. Studies in which partially purified IFN-gamma preparations were treated with a monoclonal antibody against IFN-gamma also resulted in abrogation of antiproliferative activity, confirming the nature of the antiproliferative agent to be IFN-gamma. Further studies showed that murine recombinant IFN-gamma also inhibited MBT-2 proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, confirming that IFN-gamma alone mediates antiproliferative activity. Combinations of IFN-beta and recombinant IFN-gamma acted synergistically in the inhibition of MBT-2 proliferation.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The effect of physical activity on the intraocular pressure of glaucomatous patients.

Chronic simple glaucoma patients who performed physical activity had headache and nausea, symptoms that simulated a sudden rise in intraocular pressure. Twelve patients, who were diagnosed as suffering from simple open angle glaucoma, performed multiple bicycle ergometry. The intraocular pressure was measured during the ergometry and was compared to intraocular pressure measurements at rest. A statistically significant decrease was found in intraocular pressure during the ergometry performance. It was concluded that there is no ocular restriction for simple open angle glaucoma patients in performing physical activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Prevalence and 15-year incidence of retinopathy and associated characteristics in middle-aged and elderly diabetic men.

We examined 178 men for the presence of diabetic retinopathy during 1978-80. They had been part of a group of 205 men from the Jerusalem area, diagnosed as being diabetic or having an abnormal glucose tolerance test in the Israel Ischaemic Heart Disease Project, a 5-year epidemiological investigation of Israeli male government employees. Seventy-four (42%) had diabetic retinopathy as determined by direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy, 3-mirror contact lens examination, and fundus photography. Those with and without retinopathy were compared for clinical, biochemical, behavioural, and biographical variables measured subsequently in 1963, 1965, and 1968. We found no significant differences between the 2 groups with respect to antecedent Quetelet index, blood pressure, peripheral vascular disease, blood lipids, haematocrits, smoking habits, area of birth, and education. Statistically significant differences between men with and without retinopathy were found for severity of carbohydrate metabolic intolerance at identification, duration of the metabolic abnormality, age, casual glucose values, and serum uric acid levels. Low serum uric acid appears to precede the incidence of diabetic retinopathy and to decline further as the disease progresses.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Salvage of an obstructed single kidney by combined percutaneous nephrostomy, percutaneous stone extraction and alkalinisation.

A 72-year-old woman with a single kidney and renal calculi was admitted as an emergency with sepsis and anuria. Renal drainage was established by percutaneous nephrostomy (PTN) as an emergency procedure. A nephrostogram showed multiple lucent stones and a single opaque calculus in the renal pelvis. The definitive treatment of the mixed calculi was carried out through the PTN. The lucent stones were dissolved by alkaline irrigation and the opaque stone removed by a biliary basket via the dilated tract. The safety and simplicity of PTN as an emergency procedure and its use for definitive treatment with the avoidance of surgery are stressed.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1983

Reduction of bladder tumor growth in mice treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and its correlation with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin viability and natural killer cell activity.

The effect of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG; Pasteur strain) treatment on the frequency of implantation and growth rate of the murine transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, MBT-2, was studied. MBT-2 cells were instilled into the bladder immediately after electrocauterization, and BCG instillations (40, 80, and 160 micrograms/instillation) were initiated 24 hr later and continued on a weekly basis for 4 weeks. BCG treatment significantly (p less than 0.0002) reduced the incidence of tumor implantation in a dose-dependent manner and resulted in significantly (p less than 0.0001) smaller tumors when they appeared in BCG-treated mice. The therapeutic effect of BCG correlated with augmentation of natural killer cell (NK) activity and positive purified protein derivative (PPD) footpad reactions. In experiments in which treatment was initiated with rapidly growing BCG organisms (10(7) colony-forming units/mg), tumor implantation was inhibited, there was a dose-dependent increase in NK activity, and mice had positive footpad reactions in PPD. In experiments in which BCG with reduced viability (10(6) colony-forming units/mg) and slower growth rates was used for treatment, no significant inhibition of tumor implantation was observed, NK activity was depressed, and PPD footpad tests were uniformly negative. The results suggest that the therapeutic effects of BCG therapy in this murine model correlate with augmentation of NK activity and positive footpad reactions to PPD and further suggest that the viability and growth rate of BCG organisms are important factors in determining the efficacy of intravesical BCG therapy.

Animals↗