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Biomedical subjects

E Louis

Publications and source records attributed to E Louis.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

[Results of hearing preservation in surgery of vestibular schwannoma. Value of combined retrosigmoid and middle fossa approaches].

We report our experience of hearing preservation in acoustic neurinoma surgery, using combined retrosigmoid and middle fossa approaches. Fifty neurinomas operated on between 1987 and 1994 were included in this retrospective study. Hearing preservation surgery was performed for patients with grade II or grade III tumors (mean average tumor diameter: 14.4 mm), presenting with normal or serviceable pre-operative hearing (pure tonal average decrease less than 50 dB, speech discrimination score better than 50%). Isolated middle fossa approach was used in 3 cases, isolated retrosigmoid approach in 2 cases. The 45 other cases were operated on using both routes during the same procedure. Total removal of the tumor with anatomic facial preservation was performed in all cases. No death occurred. The facial function assessed 3 months after surgery was good in 84% of cases (House-Brackmann grades I or II). The mean follow-up was 42 months. Post-operative hearing was measurable in 48% of cases and serviceable in 30% of cases. The size of the tumor and the level of preoperative hearing appear to be the most important predictive criteria for successful hearing preservation.

Adolescent↗

Extensive ulcerative colitis and extraintestinal manifestations in a patient with HIV infection and significant CD4 T-cell lymphopenia.

We report a heterosexual patient with HIV infection and a CD4 T-cell count of 0.45 x 10(9)/L who developed mild ulcerative proctitis, sacroileitis and oligoarthiritis. While he was treated with 5-aminosalicylic enemas, the patient rapidly developed severe pancolitis. An emergency colectomy without procetectomy was performed. A few months later, he suffered recurrence of ulcerative proctitis, aggravation of arthritic pain and developed anterior uveitis. All symptoms disappeared after proctectomy. There was no evidence for opportunistic infection or Kaposi's sarcoma. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were positive and the HLA-B27 antigen was present. CD4 counts were lower during the phases of active disease than during remission. This case demonstrates that severe ulcerative colitis can occur in the presence of moderate T-cell defects. In view of a recent report of remission of Crohn's disease under comparable circumstances, it is possible that the extent of T-cell involvement in both diseases is radically different.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Two stage genome-wide search in inflammatory bowel disease provides evidence for susceptibility loci on chromosomes 3, 7 and 12.

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (CIBD), are common causes of gastro-intestinal disease in the Western world, with a combined prevalence of 100-200/100,000 (ref. 1). Epidemiological studies, particularly concordance rates in twin pairs and siblings, strongly implicate genetic susceptibility in the pathogenesis of CIBD. In fact, the relative contribution of genetic factors to the pathogenesis of CD may be greater than in schizophrenia, asthma or hypertension, and at least equivalent to that in insulin-dependent diabetes. Systematic screening of the entire human genome now provides a strategy for the identification of susceptibility genes in complex polygenic disorders. We undertook a two-stage genome search for susceptibility genes in inflammatory bowel disease involving 186 affected sibling pairs from 160 nuclear families. We provide strong evidence for the presence of susceptibility loci for both CD and UC on chromosome 3, 7 and 12. We obtained the highest lod score (5.47; P = 2.66 x 10(-7) with the marker D12S83 and lod scores of 3.08 and 2.69 for D7S669 and D3S1573, respectively. Our data suggest that CD and UC are closely related, but distinct, polygenic disorders that share some, but not all, susceptibility genes.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Cytokine gene polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Concordance rates in siblings and twins provide strong evidence that genetic susceptibility is important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. The number and identity of susceptibility genes is largely uncertain. Cytokine genes are attractive candidate loci. AIMS: To study allelic frequencies of polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) gene and the tumour necrosis factor alpha gene in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. SUBJECTS: One hundred and twenty nine North European caucasoid patients with ulcerative colitis, 120 patients with Crohn's disease, and 89 healthy controls. METHODS: Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction. A variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in the IL-1RA gene and a single base pair polymorphism in the TNF alpha gene promoter region (TNF-308) were analysed. RESULTS: No significant differences in IL-1RA VNTR allelic frequencies were noted between Crohn's disease (allele 1: 72.6%, allele 2: 24.7%, allele 3: 2.6%), ulcerative colitis (72.6%, 24.3%, 3.1%, respectively), and controls (76.9%, 20.8% and 2.3%). Some 42.4% of patients with ulcerative colitis and 43.4% patients with Crohn's disease were carriers of allele 2, compared with 34.8% healthy subjects. The TNF2 allele was modestly reduced in Crohn's disease (13.2%), compared with healthy subjects (21.3%; p = 0.04), and ulcerative colitis (21.6%). CONCLUSIONS: The associations demonstrated are modest: these polymorphisms are unlikely to be important determinants of overall disease susceptibility.

Adult↗

Decrease in systemic tolerance to fed ovalbumin in indomethacin-treated mice.

The oral administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) to animals induces a quick increase in intestinal permeability and secondary inflammatory lesions of the intestine. The mechanisms leading to the inflammatory lesions are hypothetical. The increased intestinal permeability could allow a greater mucosal and systemic penetration of fed antigens and bacterial products leading to an abnormal mucosal and systemic immune and inflammatory response toward these materials. We examined the effect of oral dosing with indomethacin on ovalbumin serum levels and the systemic immune response to ovalbumin in mice fed with ovalbumin. The ovalbumin serum level was higher in indomethacin-treated mice and the increase was proportional to the dose of indomethacin. It was associated with epithelial and subepithelial lesions. Moreover, the systemic humoral and, to a lesser extent, the cellular tolerance were partially abrogated in the treated mice. These findings suggest that the oral administration of indomethacin in mice induces an increased passage of fed antigen through the intestinal epithelium associated with a decrease in systemic tolerance to this antigen. The reason for this decrease remains unclear. Besides a disequilibrium between systemic and mucosal immune responses, a loss of integrity of the intestinal epithelial cells and a direct immunomodulating effect of indomethacin may also be involved. This decrease in systemic tolerance to luminal antigen could be involved in the development of NSAID enteropathy.

Administration, Oral↗

Risk of Parkinson's disease among first-degree relatives: A community-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative risk (RR) and cumulative incidence of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) in first-degree relatives of PD patients compared with relatives of controls from the same geographic region. DESIGN: A family history questionnaire was used to obtain information on all first-degree relatives of cases and controls. A subset of these first-degree relative was also examined. A Cox proportional hazards model with double-censoring techniques for missing information was used to model the RR for PD, adjusting for gender, ethnicity, and relationship to proband. RESULTS: A total of 1,458 first-degree relatives of 233 PD patients were 2.3 times as likely (95% CI = 1.3 to 4.0) as 7,834 relatives of 1,172 controls to develop PD. The cumulative incidence of PD to age 75 among first-degree relatives of PD patients was 2% compared with 1% among first-degree relatives of controls. The risk in male first-degree relatives was higher than in female relatives (RR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1 to 3.4) and the risk in relatives of Caucasians was higher than in African-Americans and Hispanics (RR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.4 to 4.1). Risk for siblings and parents of probands was similar. CONCLUSIONS: Susceptibility to PD is increased in first-degree relatives of both sporadic and familial cases. The pattern of inheritance and the relationship between genetic and environmental risk factors warrant further study.

Aged↗

Soluble interleukin-2 receptor in Crohn's disease. Assessment of disease activity and prediction of relapse.

In Crohn's disease, the activity of the disease is difficult to evaluate and the evolution of the disease is difficult to predict. The soluble interleukin-2 receptor serum level has been reported to correlate with clinical activity of the disease and with mucosal immune activation. We compared serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor to classical inflammatory markers and other immune parameters in the assessment of clinical disease activity and prediction of relapse in patients with Crohn's disease. Soluble interleukin-2 receptor serum levels correlated well with the Crohn's disease activity index, and multivariate analysis showed that this correlation was independent of the other inflammatory and immune markers. The correlation was not greater, However, than that between some inflammatory markers, such as ESR, and Crohn's disease activity index. Longitudinal follow-up showed that a high soluble interleukin-2 receptor serum level was highly predictive of relapse. Multivariate analysis showed that the soluble interleukin-2 recepteur serum level was complementary to other inflammatory and clinical markers in the prediction of relapse of disease. We conclude that soluble interleukin-2 receptor is of use in monitoring Crohn's disease, particularly in prediction of relapse.

Adolescent↗

Increased frequency of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Although bronchopulmonary manifestations are rare in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), subclinical abnormalities have been described in up to 50% of cases. The pathophysiology of these abnormalities remains unknown. However, a latent inflammation of the bronchial mucosa secondary to the inflammation of the intestinal mucosa has been suggested. This subclinical inflammation may lead to increased bronchial responsiveness. We studied the bronchial responsiveness in 38 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, using the methacholine test. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness was defined by a PC20M < 16 mg/ml. Twenty-four healthy controls were also studied. There was no significant difference in baseline FEV1 between IBD patients and controls. However, there was a significantly greater fall in FEV1 in the IBD patients at the concentrations of methacholine tested. The frequency of bronchial hyperresponsiveness was significantly higher in the IBD population (45%) than in controls (17%; P < 0.03). Atopy, defined by skin test, was more common in IBD patients (42%) than in controls (21%). Even when only nonatopic subjects were considered, the frequency of bronchial hyperresponsiveness was significantly higher in IBD patients (41%) than in controls (5%; P < 0.02). Thus, subclinical bronchial hyperresponsiveness is common in IBD, and may be considered a further extraintestinal manifestation.

Adolescent↗

Systemic immune response after rectocolonic administration of ovalbumin in mice.

The aim of our study was to determine the effect of a rectocolonic preimmunization with ovalbumin on the systemic immune response induced by a subsequent subcutaneous injection of this antigen in Balb/c mice. One rectocolonic, but not intragastric, administration of 25 mg of ovalbumin induced a detectable increase in serum anti-ovalbumin antibody level. The level reached was however much lower than after subcutaneous injection. Both intragastric and rectocolonic immunization with ovalbumin induced specific systemic cellular tolerance. However, after rectocolonic, but not intragastric, preimmunization there was no systemic humoral tolerance to this antigen. These differences in systemic immune responses after rectocolonic or intragastric administration of ovalbumin could be due to different stimulation of the systemic immune system or to differences between the colonic and small bowel mucosal immune system, which remain to be elucidated.

Administration, Rectal↗