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Biomedical subjects

D Michaeli

Publications and source records attributed to D Michaeli.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Infectious disease among Ethiopian immigrants in Israel.

From 1980 to 1985, 14,465 refugees arrived in Israel from Ethiopia. Typhoid fever, tuberculosis, or malaria was present in 1.8% to 9% of immigrants; as many as 93% were infested with intestinal parasites. Extreme malnutrition was common, and serologic evidence of syphilis and hepatitis B was frequently encountered. A program for diagnosis, therapy, and immunoprophylaxis following the massive influx of African refugees is described.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Antibodies against acetylcholinesterase and low levels of cholinesterases in a patient with an atypical neuromuscular disorder.

Antibodies against acetylcholinesterase were found in the serum of a patient presenting dyspnea, generalized muscle paresis, diminished tendon reflexes, and fasciculations. Electrodiagnostic studies showed a decremental response, an incomplete interference pattern, and reduced motor nerve conduction velocity. Edrophonium administration resulted in extreme cholinergic crisis. Biopsies displayed muscle atrophy and nervous tissue degeneration. Recurrent acute respiratory failure ended in death. The patient's serum pseudocholinesterase and red blood cells acetylcholinesterase levels were generally very low, with periodical fluctuations. Minute quantities of the patient's serum inhibited the activity of cholinesterases from normal human serum and from various fetal tissues. Enzyme inhibition was abolished following preadsorption of the serum immunoglobulins with goat antihuman Fab, and radioiodinated acetylcholinesterase from human erythrocytes was precipitated by the patient's serum, confirming that anticholinesterase antibodies were present. Acetylcholinesterase extracted from fetal striated muscle with detergent and salt was inhibited to a larger extent than the enzymes similarly prepared from other fetal tissues and more efficiently than buffer-soluble muscle enzyme. These findings suggest that the patient's serum contained antibodies which interacted preferentially with the membrane-associated forms of muscle acetylcholinesterase and indicate that autoantibodies against acetylcholinesterase could play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1988

The influence of heparin on the wound healing response to collagen implants in vivo.

The biologic response to fibrillar collagen (collagen) and fibrillar collagen plus heparin (collagen/heparin) implants have been compared in the rat subcutaneous and guinea pig dermal wound models. The reconstituted bovine dermal collagen implants were injected subcutaneously in rats at concentrations ranging from 18 to 30 mg/ml and in volumes ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 ml. The biologic response to the collagen implants alone was characterized by a transient invasion of a modest number of inflammatory cells within the first three days of implantation that was followed by limited fibroblast invasion into the peripheral 1/3 of the implant during the course of the next three to four weeks. Occasionally, blood vessels were observed to invade the peripheral regions of the implant. The degree (number) and extent (depth) of cell invasion were inversely related to initial collagen implant concentration. Addition of heparin (0.3-20 micrograms/mg collagen) to these implants resulted in a significant dose-dependent increase in the degree and extent of fibroblast invasion. Radiolabeling studies showed that the collagen and collagen/heparin implants were cleared from the subcutis at identical rates. Implantation of these formulations in a guinea pig dermal wound model was also performed, using a semi-occlusive wound dressing (Opsite) to maintain the implant in the wound site. The fibrillar collagen implant alone was pushed upward by developing granulation tissue at the base of the wound and served as a support for epidermal cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation as wound closure proceeded. The implant was slowly invaded and turned over as granulation tissue developed from the base and margins of the wound bed. The inclusion of heparin in these implants resulted in a significantly different pattern of wound healing. The collagen/heparin implants histologically presented a more broken-up or porous appearance following implantation, which was associated with a greater degree of penetration of developing granulation tissue into the implant itself as compared to the collagen implants. Radiolabeling studies revealed that clearance rates of implants with and without heparin from wound sites were similar, as noted in the rat subcutis. Laser doppler flowmetry studies suggested that the heparin--containing implants were more vascular than control wound sites or sites treated with collagen alone.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The epidemiology of shigellosis in Israel.

Analysis of Shigella isolates referred for serotyping to the Central Shigella Reference Laboratory has revealed a slight predominance of S. sonnei (47%) over S. flexneri (44%) in Israel. In female patients, the predominance of S. sonnei isolates was more accentuated (54 v. 37.5% for S. flexneri). On the other hand, an increased incidence of S. flexneri was observed in military personnel (59 v. 32% for S. sonnei), and even more so in the Arab population (69 v. 19%). Incidence peaked in summer (July, August) for all subgroups.

Dysentery, Bacillary↗
PubMed1988

AIDS in Israel, 1987.

Between mid-1982 and 1 January 1988, 35 cases of AIDS among permanent residents of Israel were reported to the Israel Ministry of Health. In contrast to the experience in the United States and Europe, the semiannual incidence rates of AIDS are low and have increased slowly over the past 6 years (0.6 to 1.1 cases/million). Risk factors for AIDS were identified in 34 patients: homosexuality in 18, hemophilia in 14 and blood transfusions in 2. Seventeen of the 18 homosexuals were most likely infected abroad, and all hemophilia patients had received imported commercial clotting factors. The two patients associated with blood transfusion received blood donated in Israel. The spectrum of clinical presentations and opportunistic pathogens is similar to that reported in the Western world, except for one case of disseminated Mycobacterium simiae infection. Sexual relations abroad of local homosexuals and receipt of imported clotting factors by Israeli hemophiliacs are currently the most important risk factors for AIDS in Israel. However, the prevalence of HIV infection among Israeli homosexuals is still low and is probably indicative of the more conservative life-style, the later introduction of the virus, and the earlier application of safe sex, in comparison with other Western countries. Furthermore, since spread of the virus seems to be increasing among Israeli i.v. drug abusers, attention should be focused on this group as well, so as to prevent a major outbreak of AIDS in Israel.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Tuberculosis in a general hospital: high incidence of extrapulmonary disease.

Twenty six patients with tuberculosis were admitted between 1979 and 1982 to the Tel Aviv Medical Center. Most were immigrants from Eastern Europe. In contrast to previous studies, patients were relatively young (mean age 57 years) and lacked predisposing medical illness. Eighteen (69%) had extrapulmonary infections, half of which involved the genitourinary tract. Two instances of miliary tuberculosis were diagnosed at autopsy.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Should potted plants be removed from hospital wards?

Seventy-nine isolates of Gram-negative bacilli were recovered from 29 potted plants on six surgical wards. The distribution of bacterial species and antibiotic susceptibility patterns revealed no correlation with 235 isolates from nearby patients during the study period. Potted plants do not appear to constitute a bacteriological hazard in the hospital.

Bacteria, Aerobic↗
PubMed1986

Transmission of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by a blood transfusion given in 1979 in Israel.

AIDS developed in a blood donor-recipient pair in Israel. Transmission of HTLV III/LAV probably occurred via a blood transfusion in November 1979. The donor was asymptomatic at the time of blood donation, but initial symptoms of AIDS-related complex developed in the donor 3 months later and in the recipient 6 months following the blood transfusion.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Herpes encephalitis during pregnancy: failure of acyclovir and adenine arabinoside to prevent neonatal herpes.

A gravid woman with herpes Type II encephalitis delivered an infant with herpes neonatorum despite therapy with acyclovir. Acyclovir was not measurable in the baby's serum 10 h after birth. The viral isolate was sensitive to acyclovir in vitro, and the neonatal infection responded to treatment with the drug. Prenatal antiviral therapy may be ineffective in preventing intrauterine herpesvirus infection.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1985

Undiagnosed tuberculosis in hospitalized patients.

Eighty-two cases of active tuberculosis (TB) were diagnosed only at autopsy in patients hospitalized in the Chaim Sheba Medical Center during a 21-year period (1960 to 1980). Some 75 percent of the patients were over 50 years old and a large number of them suffered from accompanying diseases or drug therapy which suppresses the immune system. Diagnostic measures for the confirmation of tuberculosis (skin tests; cultures of sputum, urine, gastric juice; liver biopsy) were not taken in 75 percent of the cases. In those taken, skin tests were negative in 75 percent of cases, most probably as a sign of anergy. The rest were borderline cases in whom the diagnosis of TB was not accepted affirmatively.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Intravenous acyclovir for herpesvirus in immunocompromised patients.

Severe herpesvirus infections in 18 immunocompromised patients (25 episodes) were treated with i.v. acyclovir. Six patients had 13 episodes of mucocutaneous herpes simplex infections, eight children had varicella, three patients had generalized zoster, and one patient had cytomegalovirus pneumonia. No patient died from infections. In 18 episodes treatment with acyclovir produced a beneficial effect, in 5 episodes acyclovir was probably beneficial, and in 2 patients the effect could not be evaluated. No serious side effects could be definitely attributed to acyclovir administration. These data support the previous experience that i.v. acyclovir may be useful in the treatment of herpesvirus infections in immunocompromised patients.

Acyclovir↗