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Biomedical subjects

B Berman

Publications and source records attributed to B Berman.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Addition of short-contact anthralin therapy to an ultraviolet B phototherapy regimen: assessment of efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the addition of short-contact anthralin therapy to an ultraviolet B phototherapy regimen would result in more rapid resolution of psoriatic plaques. A bilateral paired comparison between an ultraviolet B phototherapy regimen with and without short-contact anthralin was completed in eleven patients. Only two of the patients responded faster on the anthralin-treated side. Our results do not support the routine addition of short-contact anthralin therapy to ultraviolet B phototherapy regimens, but this combination may be more effective in a minority of patients.

Anthracenes↗
PubMed1985

Interferon enhancement of HLA-DR antigen expression on epidermal Langerhans cells.

Langerhans cells (LCs) are dendritic epidermal cells whose ability to function as accessory/stimulatory cells in initiating the immune response is, like that of macrophages, dependent on the expression of class II major histocompatibility antigens. In normal human skin approximately 50% of LCs identified by cell surface T6 antigenicity also express HLA-DR histocompability determinants. We report here that recombinant DNA-derived human interferon (IFN)-gamma, but not IFN-alpha 2, induces the expression of HLA-DR antigens by the population of human epidermal LCs on which such antigens normally are not detected. IFN-gamma effectively induced HLA-DR on both neonatal and adult epidermal LCs and such induction was blocked by neutralization with a murine monoclonal antibody to IFN-gamma. IFN-gamma induction of LC HLA-DR expression is inhibited by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and is mimicked by the presence of fatty acid cyclooxygenase inhibitors, known to reduce PGE2 production. These results suggest that IFN-gamma may play a role in regulating skin-associated immune responses through enhanced expression of HLA-DR antigens on LCs and that such enhancement may be mediated by alterations in arachidonic acid metabolism.

Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors↗
PubMed1985

Reduced epidermal Langerhans cell densities in patients with pulmonary malignancies do not correlate with anergy or nutritional status.

Epidermal Langerhans cell (ELC) densities are markedly reduced in a number of clinical situations including anergic sarcoidosis patients. To help determine whether this reduction is related to the anergic or nutritional status of the patient, we examined the non-sun-exposed epidermis of 23 hospitalized patients with various malignancies (MP), 10 hospitalized control (HC) patients without malignancy, and 24 biopsies from historical control (HIC) patients. There was no significant difference in the density of HLA-DR+ ELC among HC, HIC, or patients with nonpulmonary malignancy (primary or metastatic). Six patients with pulmonary malignancy had significantly fewer HLA-DR+ and OKT6+ epidermal cells. The reason ELC densities are reduced specifically in pulmonary malignancies remains under study.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The resolution of health problems in school children.

The resolution rates of health problems identified in school children by primary care, physical examination, or screenings were examined during a two-year period. The evaluation component of the National School Health Program involved a range of school health services provided in four states to more than 13,000 children. A school nurse practitioner-health aide team worked in collaboration with a community physician consultant to manage the resolution of identified problems. More than 95% of the problems were resolved or in process of resolution at the end of each school year. Resolution patterns were relatively consistent across problem severity levels. Factors contributing to the timely resolutions of health problems by nurse practitioners included their ability to manage and resolve more than 90% of the problems within the school-based practice with physician backup and their access to a medical support network for external referrals.

Child↗
PubMed1985

The aging skin.

The anatomic, biochemical, and physical changes occurring in the skin with aging are reviewed and discussed. An attempt is made to distinguish between changes resulting from accumulated injury from environmental factors and the changes of aging per se.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

An integrative approach to intracranial hydraulic physiology. I. Basic concepts, pressure-volume relationships, and infusion studies.

A computer simulation of the anatomy of the intradural fluid compartment is used to explore intracranial hydraulic physiology. It examines the mutual interactions of fluid flow rates, volumes, and pressures that control the physiology of the intracranial fluid. The mechanisms of change in intracranial pressure despite the fixed volume constraint are elucidated. The physical origins of the pressure-volume curve and data on the infusion of cerebrospinal fluid are examined. The dynamic behavior of this passive system closely simulates the observed physiologic response to bolus infusion, constant rate infusion, hypercapnia- hypocapnea , and hydrocephalus.

Brain↗
PubMed1983

T6-antigen-bearing cells in eosinophilic granuloma of bone.

T6-antigen-bearing Langerhans' cells were detected in a touch imprint of eosinophilic granuloma involving a thoracic vertebra of an 11-year-old boy. It is interesting to note that in this localized form of histiocytosis X, no T6-antigen-bearing Langerhans' cells were found in the peripheral blood. Immunofluorescence detection of T6 antigenicity has not been described in this disease and may serve as a rapid diagnostic test.

Antigens↗
PubMed1983

Achieving optimal immunization levels in school-age children.

In a school-based immunization program in four states, 70% of the students were fully immunized by the end of the first year and 85% by the end of the second year. Because of student turnover, 20% of the immunization levels achieved by the end of a school year were not sustained into the subsequent year. Levels reported by the state immunization officers were higher than those recorded by school personnel. Completed immunization series for students requiring immunizations were 33% to 40% higher for students enrolled at the start of the year than for students who entered during the school year. Students who were unimmunized at the beginning of the year had a better change (P less than 0.001) of being immunized by the end of the year than those whose immunization status was unknown. To maintain high levels, a program must be sustained and continuing, provide immunizations, and have careful administrative monitoring of child-specific population-based data. Schools are uniquely able to provide all of these elements, which can augment the efforts of private practitioners.

Child↗
PubMed1983

Comparative values of school physical examinations and mass screening tests.

In this study mass screenings identified more problems than did physical examinations, but more problems per 100 contacts were identified by physical examinations (51.6) than by screenings (4.7). When time necessary to accomplish the evaluation is considered, screenings are a more efficient way of identifying problems in the general diagnostic categories for which screenings can be provided, but most (85.8%) of the problems identified by physical examination were in categories for which screenings are not provided. Overall, 99.1% of the problems were identified without overlap between physical examinations and screenings. Eighty-three percent of the problems identified by physical examinations were previously unknown. By the end of the school year, 86.3% of the problems identified by physical examinations and 94.5% of those identified by screenings had been or were in the process of being resolved. The integration of physical examinations and screenings in a school setting, staffed by nurse practitioners supported by physicians, can maximize the identification and resolution of health problems.

Child↗
PubMed1983

Dermatoglyphic patterns in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Fingertip dermatoglyphic patterns of forty-five patients with atopic dermatitis were compared to those of sixty nonatopic dermatologic patients, twenty-one of whom had hand dermatitis. The average number of digits in which linear grooves were detected was significantly higher in the atopic group than in the nonatopic controls (p less than 0.005). Three or more digits with linear grooves were found in 95.2% of atopic patients with hand dermatitis and in 61.9% of controls with hand dermatitis (p less than 0.005). A greater number of digits displaying linear grooves was found in control patients with hand dermatitis than in control patients without hand dermatitis. However, atopic patients with hand dermatitis had, on the average, an even greater number of digits with linear grooves than did control patients with hand dermatitis (p less than 0.005). These findings suggest that linear grooves, although associated with hand dermatitis in general, are more commonly found in patients with atopic hand dermatitis. Although a significant increase in the whorl pattern was detected in female, but not in male, atopic patients when compared to sex-matched control groups (p less than 0.0025), this increase was significant only in Caucasian females when compared to sex- and race-matched controls (p less than 0.0005).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Modulation of expression of epidermal Langerhans cell properties following in situ exposure to glucocorticosteroids.

Langerhans cells (LC) have been implicated as antigen-presenting and target cells in contact allergic, cell-mediated reactions. We have examined the effects in guinea pigs, rats, and humans of in situ (epicutaneous) exposure to glucocorticosteroids (GCS) on the expression of epidermal LC markers. Reductions in the number of Fc-rosetting, C3b-rosetting, and immune-associated (Ia) antigen-bearing LC occurred in a dose-related fashion, with the degree of such reductions dependent upon the specific GCS employed. These reductions were determined to be reversible following cessation of exposure to GCS. T6 antigenicity, another cell surface marker of human LC, was little affected by GCS exposure. Simultaneous immunofluorescent staining for T6 and Ia antigenicity within human epidermis of amcinonide treated skin detected reduced numbers of T6+/Ia+ cells with a concomitant increase in T6+/Ia- cells. The data presented suggest a selective reduction in the expression of immunologically important receptors and antigens by LC which may be involved in steroid-responsive contact allergic reactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Quantitation of cutaneous Langerhans cells of sarcoidosis patients.

Langerhans cells play a role in cell-mediated immune reactions which are often depressed in sarcoidosis. We examined the epidermis of 17 anergic patients with sarcoidosis (Kveim-reactive and/or biopsy-proved) for the number of Langerhans cells in noninvolved skin and in any cutaneous sarcoidal lesions. Skin biopsies of 10 healthy volunteers served as controls. In comparison to controls, the epidermis overlying noninvolved (p less than 0.05), sarcoidal (p less than 0.0005), and Kveim-reactive (p less than 0.005) skin contained significantly fewer detectable Ia and T6 antigen-bearing Langerhans cells. The reductions within noninvolved skin were most pronounced in patients with multisystem disease. Lower epidermal Langerhans cell densities, in comparison to controls, were detected in both prednisone-treated and untreated patients. Epidermis overlying sarcoidal skin of untreated patients contained significantly fewer Ia and T6 antigen-bearing Langerhans cells (p less than 0.05, p less than 0.0025, respectively) than epidermis from noninvolved skin. Whether reduced numbers of cutaneous Langerhans cells are due to either a local and/or systemic effect of sarcoidosis, or reflect the anergic state of these patients is unknown.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Anatomical mapping of epidermal Langerhans cell densities in adults.

The densities of T6 antigen-bearing Langerhans cells in 112 biopsies of human skin from sixteen surgical out-patients and four cadavers were determined for eight anatomical regions. The regional mean densities (+/- s.e.m.) of epidermal Langerhans cells per mm2 were: head and neck, 489 +/- 27; chest, 466 +/- 22; back, 466 +/- 11; upper extremities, 458 +/- 25; lower extremities, 431 +/- 30; buttocks, 411 +/- 11; genitalia, 298 +/- 45; soles, 58 +/- 12. No statistically significant differences were found between any of these Langerhans cell densities except for that of the soles which was lower than those of all other regions (P less than 0.002). No significant differences were detected between the mean densities of patients and cadavers, Caucasians and Hispanics or males and females.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Skin metastases from small-cell carcinoma of the lung.

This paper reports the first case of skin metastases from small-cell carcinoma of the lung with electron microscopic confirmation. The 2 to 3-cm cutaneous lesions present on the chest and limbs were hard, nontender, smooth-surfaced, freely moveable nodules with normal appearing overlying skin. Characteristic dense-core granules 1562 +/- 123 A (SEM) in diameter were detected by electron microscopy. The detection by electron microscopy of dense-core granules may assist in confirming the diagnosis of small-cell carcinoma in cutaneous lesions with equivocal histologic findings.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Lithium is an ineffective therapy for human cyclic hematopoiesis.

Cyclic hematopoiesis is a rare disease in man in which severe neutropenia recurs at 21-day intervals with associated illness. Because lithium carbonate therapy has been shown to eliminate cyclic hematopoiesis in grey collie dogs, we examined the effects of lithium treatment on five patients with this disease. With lithium levels maintained between 0.5 and 1.0 meq/liter, these patients showed no change in the fluctuations of their neutrophil counts. We conclude that lithium carbonate is not a simple cure for human cyclic hematopoiesis.

Enuresis↗
PubMed1983

Kaposi's sarcoma, chronic ulcerative herpes simplex, and acquired immunodeficiency.

Recently, increasing numbers of young homosexual men with a fulminant form of Kaposi's sarcoma have been described. We report herein a case of a young homosexual man with Kaposi's sarcoma, chronic perianal and nasolabial ulcerating herpes simplex infection, oral candidiasis, and immunodeficiency, presumably acquired.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1982

Ultrasonic assessment of cutaneous atrophy caused by intradermal corticosteroids.

A noninvasive technique of pulsed ultrasound was used to determine the long-term changes in skin thickness resulting from intradermal injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TA). Injections of 0.1 ml of either saline or a suspension containing 5 mg/ml or 10 mg/ml of TA were made at selected sites on the forearms of two human volunteers. The corticosteroid-treated sites showed a maximal decrease of 30% to 40% of the original skin thickness at 4 to 8 weeks after a single injection. A transient thinning was observed at control sites injected with saline. A greater degree of thinning was seen at the site injected with 10 mg/ml of TA as compared to the site injected with 5 mg/ml of TA. The thinning at the corticosteroid injection sites persisted at least 18 weeks after the single corticosteroid injection but had approached normal thickness values by 44 weeks following treatment. Pulsed ultrasound may be useful as a noninvasive technique for monitoring the effects of intradermally injected corticosteroids on human skin thickness and may also be useful in assessing intrinsic atrophogenic potentials of different corticosteroid molecules in human skin and the duration of action of various injectable formulations of a corticosteroid.

Atrophy↗