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Biomedical subjects

B Sharma

Publications and source records attributed to B Sharma.

216 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Brainstem auditory evoked response in tuberculous meningitis.

Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) abnormalities in tuberculous meningitis (TBM) were determined in 50 cases of tuberculous meningitis (36 male and 14 female) and 50 normal healthy children. Fifty six per cent cases had abnormal BAER findings. The commonest BAER abnormality observed in 32% was a combination of prolonged latency and prolonged interval while unilateral and bilateral absent response was observed in 4% cases. Prolonged latency was observed in 16% patients. Seizure activities, modified glasgow coma scale (GCS), raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and TBM stage III were significantly correlated with abnormal BAER, while age, sex, duration of illness, depressed sensorium, neurological deficit and CSF findings did not have a significant correlation with abnormal BAER. Follow up could be done in ten patients only. All the three patients with only prolonged latency had a normal BAER on follow up, two out of four patients with prolonged latency and prolonged interval had normalization of BAER while in three patients, initial as well as follow up BAER was normal. The present study shows that BAER abnormalities are observed in more than fifty per cent of the patients of tuberculous meningitis.

Child↗

Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) in childhood bacterial meningitis.

Brainstem auditory responses were recorded in 50 children of bacterial meningitis and age matched 50 normal children. Abnormal BAER was found in 32 (64%) patients of bacterial meningitis. These abnormalities included prolonged latency (56.2%); unilateral absent response (25%); bilateral absent response (25%) and prolonged interwave interval (25%). Follow-up could be done in 23 patients of 46 survivors. All the patients with prolonged latency either became normal or improved. In majority of the patients having absent response, the abnormality persisted. Abnormal BAER was significantly associated with age < 2 years (p < 0.02), Modified GCS Score < or = 8 (p < 0.001), Seizures (p < 0.02), raised Intracranial Pressure (ICP) (p < 0.02) and CSF sugar < 20 mg% (p < 0.05).

Adolescent↗

Potency testing of tissue culture rinderpest vaccine in rabbits.

Rinderpest (RP) vaccine potency testing requires virulent bovine rinderpest virus (RPV). Use of virulent RPV is a biosafety hazard. In this study we had vaccinated rabbits with tissue culture RP vaccine at different doses and thereafter challenged with lapinized virus. No thermal reaction in vaccinated rabbits was observed. Serum neutralizing antibody response to vaccine was dose dependent until the second week post-vaccination but by the fourth week post-vaccination all the rabbits had similar neutralizing antibody titres. Vaccinated rabbits exhibited mild clinical signs as compared to unvaccinated controls after challenge. All the vaccinated rabbits survived challenge while only 40% unvaccinated rabbits survived challenge with virulent lapinized RPV. A strong anamnestic response in all the vaccinated rabbits was observed after challenge with lapinized virus. This study shows that rabbits could be used for potency testing of RP vaccine virus.

Animals↗

Protected thiol-polyethylene glycol: a new activated polymer for reversible protein modification.

Monomethoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG) of average molecular weight 5000 was transformed in a series of synthetic steps to a new activated form of PEG, a stable thiol-protected intermediary, for reaction with cysteine residues in proteins under mild conditions to produce PEG--protein conjugates as possible candidates for therapeutics. The modified protein has PEG polymer molecules attached to the backbone by the newly formed disulfide bonds, which are readily cleaved to regenerate the native protein under mild reducing conditions. The model protein papain, which has seven cysteine residues including a lone cysteine in its active site, was modified through the free available thiol. The resulting PEG--papain was characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry, SDS-PAGE, and high performance gel filtration chromatography. The major modified PEG--papain variant was demonstrated to be 5000 Da larger than the unreacted papain.

Chromatography, Gel↗

Cardiac abnormalities in stroke patients with negative arteriograms.

Sixty-five consecutive patients with recent unequivocal TIA (33) or stroke (32), but nondiagnostic arteriograms, had two-dimensional echocardiograms (2DE) and electrocardiograms (ECG) to determine the incidence of cardiac abnormalities which could cause embolic stroke. Abnormalities were classified according to increasing probability of causing an embolic event: non-specific, possible emboligenic abnormality (PEA) or definite emboligenic abnormality (EA). Although 2DE was abnormal in 33 patients (51%), and ECG in 38 (59%), many abnormalities were nonspecific. Only four patients (6%) had EA on ECG and two (3%) on 2DE. Since one patient had EA on both tests, 2DE identified only one patient (mitral valve prolapse) not already identified by ECG. All patients with EA had a prior history of cardiac disease. PEA was present on ECG in 11 patients (17%), and on 2DE in 25 (38%). There was no correlation between age, CT results, or neurologic symptoms commonly associated with embolic stroke and the presence of EA or PEA on ECG or 2DE. Although TIA and stroke patients with negative arteriograms have a high incidence of abnormalities on ECG and 2DE, the percentage of patients with EA is low, and cardiac history and ECG identify most patients. 2DE provides little additional information.

Adult↗

Detection of multivessel coronary artery disease by early exercise testing after first myocardial infarction.

The ability of a symptom limited treadmill exercise test (TMT) to predict the presence of multivessel coronary artery disease (MVD) three weeks after a first myocardial infarction was assessed in 76 male patients aged 25-65 (mean 40.9 +/- 10.1) years. There were 6 patients with normal coronaries, 36 with single vessel disease (SVD), 20 with double vessel disease (DVD), and 14 with three vessel disease (TVD). TMT was positive in 20/34 (58.8%) patients with MVD, and 4/42 (9%) patients with SVD or normal coronaries. The predictive accuracy of a positive TMT in detecting MVD was 83.3%, and the predictive accuracy of a negative TMT in excluding MVD was 73.1%. It is concluded that TMT is useful test for predicting the presence or absence of MVD in survivors of a first transmural myocardial infarction.

Adult↗