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Biomedical subjects

C Duval

Publications and source records attributed to C Duval.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Adult onset Still's disease and pregnancy.

The interactions between pregnancy and adult onset Still's disease (AOSD) are unclear. Between 1983 and 1990, 5 pregnancies occurred in 4 women with AOSD. AOSD occurred at the 5th and 6th month of the 1st pregnancy in 2 patients; a 2nd pregnancy occurring in one of them was not associated with a flare. In the other 2 patients pregnancy occurred 36 and 44 months after the AOSD; during gestation only transient arthralgia were observed in both cases. Pregnancy seems to have no effect on AOSD, and conversely, in our experience, AOSD has no influence on pregnancy, fetal growth or infant health.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) and hyaluronectin in the extracellular matrix of human breast carcinomas: comparison between invasive and non-invasive areas.

We performed quantitative determination of the distribution of hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid, HA) and the HA-binding protein, hyaluronectin (HN), 2 components of the extracellular matrix of tumor desmoplasia, within 71 human breast carcinomas. Results showed that HA and HN were more elevated in tumoral than in non-tumoral adjacent tissue, and that the peripheral invasive area of tumors contained increased levels of HA and HN as compared with the central non-invasive area (p less than 10(-3) and p less than 10(-5) respectively). HN and HA levels of 61 ductal carcinomas were related to the histological grade of tumors; no significant difference was found between grades for HA; HN was found to be significantly lower in grade III than in grade II tumors (p less than 0.01). HA and HN rates were correlated in grade I and grade II tumors and were not correlated in grade III. Mean percentage of HA saturation level by HN for whole tumors was found to be less than 4%, indicating that HA is essentially free of proteins and could be used as a target for cancer diagnosis or therapy.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

Toxic effects and detection of oxygen free radicals on cultured articular chondrocytes generated by menadione.

The aim of this work was to study the proliferation pathological perturbations of cultured chondrocytes in response to menadione, an oxygen free radicals producing drug. Rabbit articular chondrocytes in monolayer culture were treated with 10(-5) M, 1.5.10(-5) M and 2.10(-5) M of menadione during three days. A dose dependent decrease of the proliferative capacity was observed. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a perturbation of the cell cycle progression consisting in an accumulation of cells in the S and G2 + M phases. This growth perturbation was due to oxygen radicals production since a treatment with catalase suppressed these toxic effects. Furthermore, to identify oxygen derived radicals in the cellular suspension of cultures treated with menadione, we used a technique of spin-trapping coupled with electron spin resonance (ESR). The ESR signal corresponding to the DMPO hydroxyl radical adduct (DMPO-OH) has been detected. The spectra observation indicated the actual production of hydroxyl radical. However, superoxide anions have not been identified; this fact can be explained by the low reactivity of these anions with DMPO and by the decomposition of signal DMPO-OOH to DMPO-OH.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Expression and post-transcriptional regulation of ornithine decarboxylase during early Xenopus development.

In this paper we show that large changes in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity occurred during early Xenopus development. Following fertilization, this enzyme activity rises with a quantitatively correlated accumulation of putrescine and spermidine. This increase in ODC activity was associated with an increased translation of the maternal ODC mRNA, which was stable in the embryo and whose polyadenylation increased slightly between fertilization and the mid-blastula transition (MBT). ODC activity was stable in cycloheximide-treated embryos, indicating that before the MBT this enzyme was not degraded. After the MBT, ODC activity fell, but no decrease in this mRNA was observed. In gastrulae, ODC mRNA was both increased in amount and polyadenylated. The reduced ODC activity at this stage of development was not associated with a fall in ribosome loading of the mRNA. Treatment of post-MBT embryos with cycloheximide lead to an accentuation of the normally observed decrease in ODC activity. Expression of Xenopus ODC in mutant ODC-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells (C 55.7 cells) showed that the Xenopus enzyme was rapidly degraded and can be regulated post-translationally by polyamines, indicating that the post-MBT fall in ODC activity could be caused by a change in protein turnover or by polyamine-mediated regulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Cytogenetic studies in untreated Hodgkin's disease.

Very little data have been published on cytogenetic abnormalities in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and their correlation with clinicopathologic features are scanty. We have performed chromosomal analysis of lymph nodes from 60 previously untreated HD patients and obtained analyzable metaphases in 49 patients (82%). Chromosomal abnormalities were found in 33 patients (55%) but only 31 karyotypes could be, at least partially, described. Twenty-nine cases showed numerical abnormalities that involved all chromosomes with the exception of chromosomes 13 and Y, which were gained less frequently and lost more frequently than other chromosomes. Structural abnormalities were found in 30 cases, involving all chromosomes except Y. Chromosomal regions 12p11-13, 13p11-13, 3q26-28, 6q15-16, and 7q31-35 were rearranged in more than 20% of the analyzable cases. No correlation was found between cytogenetic findings and initial characteristics. When compared with diffuse B-cell lymphomas, defects in regions 2p25 (P less than .01), 12p11-13 (P less than .01), 13p11-13 (P less than .01), 14p11 (P less than .01), 15p11-13 (P less than .02), and 20q12-13 (P less than .05) were more frequent in HD. When compared with T-cell lymphomas, only defects in regions 12p12-13 (P less than .01) and 13p11-13 (P less than .01) were more frequent in HD. Failure to obtain analyzable metaphases was correlated with stage IV of the disease (P less than .05) and with a poor survival (P less than .01), but cytogenetic results showed no other correlation with clinical outcome. We conclude that molecular studies in HD should be focused on the short arms of chromosomes 12 and 13. Determination of the clinical significance of cytogenetic findings will require a larger number of patients and a longer follow-up period.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Infectious spondylodiscitis after a cure for genital prolapse. 5 cases].

Bacterial osteitis of the discs and the vertebrae is rare after fixing the uterus to the promontary of the sacrum. Only 30 cases have been reported in the literature. Twelve cases were found in a Rheumatology Unit over a period of 12 years from 1975-1987. The initial symptoms of septic osteitis were low back pain or sciatica, and fever. They were confirmed by radiological evidence. Bacteriological diagnosis was obtained in every case by fine needle aspiration of the disco-vertebral space retrieving staphylococci or gram-negative bacilli. The same agent was found in blood cultures in four or five cases. Potentiating pathogenic factors include urinary tract infections, prosthetic material, and surgical errors.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Serum hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) in breast cancer patients.

Eighty-three women with breast cancer (57 with systemic metastasis, 26 without) were investigated for serum hyaluronan (HA) and compared to 50 patients with benign diseases of the breast. Hyaluronan was significantly increased in sera of metastatic patients compared to sera of non-metastatic patients (p less than 0.0001) and also in sera of non-metastatic patients when compared to control sera (p less than 0.01). The difference was not related to the number of metastatic sites involved. Three months after starting cytotoxic chemotherapy in metastatic patients, lower HA concentrations were observed in patients responding to chemotherapy. The initial level of serum HA had no predictive value concerning response to chemotherapy.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed1990

Stability of maternal mRNA in Xenopus embryos: role of transcription and translation.

The first 12 cell divisions of Xenopus laevis embryos do not require gene transcription. This means that the regulation of gene expression during this period is controlled at post transcriptional levels and makes Xenopus early development a potentially interesting biological system with which to study the mechanisms involved. We describe here the stability characteristics of several maternal Xenopus mRNAs which are deadenylated soon after fertilisation (J. Paris and M. Philippe, Dev. Biol., in press). We show that these mRNAs were only degraded in the embryo after the midblastula transition (MBT), when gene transcription was initiated. The kinetics with which the deadenylated maternal mRNAs decreased in the post-MBT embryos showed sequence specificity. The degradation of these mRNAs after the MBT was inhibited by cycloheximide but was not affected by dactinomycin. Therefore, the destabilization of these mRNAs does not appear to be initiated by new embryonic gene transcripts. Sequence comparisons of the 3' untranslated region of these mRNAs identified several motifs which may be involved in the posttranscriptional control of these gene products.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Interventional computed tomography in thoracic oncology. Apropos of 170 cases].

The authors report their experience with follow-up cytohistological examination of subclinical thoracic lesions in oncology by transparietal puncture with CAT-scanning localization in 170 patients. They detail a few special points concerning the material used and their techniques, in view of reducing the most common incidents and of managing the most severe complications. They analyze their results in two groups of patients, one investigated in a context of known malignancy and the other, with no history of malignancy in whom bronchoscopy, bronchial lavage and brushing were negative. They found an overall sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 100%, respectively, in the diagnosis of malignant disease. The method showed an efficacy of 83.5%. For the two populations, sensitivity was 84% and 87% respectively, and efficacy was 82 and 85% respectively. Thus, the results were better in the patients who had never received anticancer therapy. They also observed significant differences depending on whether the targets were mediastinal, pleuropulmonary or parietal. While the rapid diagnostic information appears invaluable in both groups of patients, in contrast, the small volume of the specimens, which may be hemorrhagic, necrotic, with more or less extensive fibrosis of the stroma, and the immaturity of certain tumors, sometimes make it impossible for the pathologist to give a precise diagnosis of the tumor other than the benign or malignant structural character of the lesion. This represents a significant obstacle in hematology for affections which, although non surgical, nevertheless require precise identification of the lesion for effective therapy. The elaboration of more effective sampling material, repeated punctures and immunohistoenzymatic analysis techniques would probably further improve the results of the method.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Latent and postpartum thyroiditis. Prospective study].

Thyroid evaluation was performed in 85 women at childbirth, then between 2 and 7 months, and 14 months later. Transient subclinical hypothyroidism was found in one woman; antithyroid antibodies were found in 10 and were persistent in 6, suggesting a late thyroiditis. For these 6 cases, 5 HLA typing showed 3 Locus DR4. The proportion of antithyroid antibody was the same in a reference population. This finding would be in agreement with the hypothesis of a latent thyroiditis, revealed by pregnancy. Relative iodine deficiency in France could explain the low frequency of post partum thyroiditis in the present study.

Female↗
PubMed1987

[Prolapse of the umbilical cord. 79 cases].

The authors are considering the prolapse of the umbilical cord, based on 79 personal observations collected in 15 years and data from the literature. They demonstrate that a simple approach (forcing back the presentation and caesarean section) decreases the perinatal mortality rate. The total rate of fetal deaths is 10 p. cent, the corrected rate of children dead on admission is 1.5 p. cent. 77 p. cent of caesarean sections were performed.

Female↗
PubMed1987

[Mycoplasmas and pregnancy].

The pathogenic role of mycoplasms during pregnancy remains quite controverted, depending on the studies; for some it has an incidence on prematurity, delayed growth in utero and premature rupture of the membranes. The purpose of this study was, from a population of patients with term delivery, without any specific pathology, to verify the frequency of mothers carrying Mycoplasma Hominis or ureaplasma, and to determine the possible consequences on the newborn. A linear analysis of the evolution of the samples between D0 and D6 in the mother and the new born, shows that the presence of mycoplasms in the genital passages is as frequent in this non-risk population, and that the child may be contaminated about every other time; but this contamination appears to be very transient and without any consequences on the immediate neo-natal pathology. Systematic screening of genital mycoplasms in pregnant women does not permit, therefore, to select a group of exposed patients. In newborns who are contaminated, the risk of infection appears to be very low, but it would perhaps be desirable to study the long range future evolution of healthy carriers.

Female↗