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Biomedical subjects

E Martinez

Publications and source records attributed to E Martinez.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Herpes simplex pneumonia in a young immunocompetent man.

We report the case of a 33 year old man with herpetic bronchitis and bilateral pneumonitis. He presented without mucocutaneous lesions, and his cellular and humoral immunity were not compromised. Diagnosis was established on histological and cytological findings and confirmed by serology. Acyclovir treatment led to a favourable outcome.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1994

Percentiles of the waist-hip ratio in Cuban scholars aged 4.5 to 20.5 years.

Values of the waist-hip ratio (WHR), expressed as percentiles and stratified by sex and age, were obtained from a simple judgment sample of 7285 schoolchildren and adolescents (3721 males and 3564 females) aged between 4.5 and 20.5 years. WHR is higher with age in males, and it changes more gradually chronologically also. The graph for males shows three relative maxima at 6, 11-12 and 15-16 years; and for females, two relative maxima at 10 and 13 years. In females, there are two sharp reductions between 10 and 13 and between 13 and 16 years of age. The changes in WHR are associated with age and sexual maturation in both sexes. We conclude that WHR might be useful in assessing body fat distribution in late childhood and adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy in locally advanced esophagus carcinoma: long-term results.

PURPOSE: A prospective study with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced esophagus carcinoma for evaluating: toxicity, response rate, pattern of recurrence, and survival after a long follow-up. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1983-1988, 40 patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus were entered into a prospective trial of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Eight patients (20%) were Stage II and 32 patients (80%) were Stage III, according to American Joint Committee staging criteria. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisted of two cycles with cisplatin (120 mg/m2 day 1), vindesine (3 mg/m2 days 1, 8, 15, and 22) and bleomycin (10 mg/m2 days 3 to 6). Second cycle was initiated on day 29. Radiation therapy was administered 2-4 weeks after completion of chemotherapy, with a total dose on tumor of 60 Gy. RESULTS: Two patients died from treatment-related toxicity. Complete response was observed in 20 patients (53%) and symptomatic improvement in 31 patients (82%). The median survival was 11 months, with an actuarial survival at 1 year of 45%, 3 year 20%, and 5 years 15%. Significantly (p < 0.05) longer survival was observed in patients with Stage II (median survival 18 months) vs. Stage III (median survival 10 months). The pattern of failure was predominantly local/regional (62%). CONCLUSION: This treatment scheme is an effective and tolerable regimen but long-term survival was poor.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Changes in amino acid neurotransmitters and cerebral blood flow in the ischemic penumbral region following middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat: correlation with histopathology.

We simultaneously measured neurotransmitter amino acids by the microdialysis technique and cortical CBF by laser-Doppler flowmetry in the ischemic penumbral cortex of rats subjected to 2-h normothermic (36.5-37.5 degrees C) transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) clip-occlusion. Brains were perfusion-fixed 3 days later and infarct volume measured. CBF (% of preischemic values) fell to 32 +/- 2% (mean +/- SD) during ischemia and rose to 157 +/- 68% during recirculation. Extracellular glutamate levels increased from a baseline value of 7 +/- 3 microM to a peak value of 180 +/- 247 microM 20-30 min following onset of ischemia but subsequently returned to near baseline levels after 70 min of ischemia despite ongoing MCA occlusion. The threshold CBF for moderate glutamate release was 48%. Massive glutamate release was seen during the first 60 min of MCA occlusion in the two animals showing the largest infarcts and occurred at CBF values < or = 20% of control levels. Mean CBF during ischemia exhibited an inverse relationship with infarct volume, and the magnitude of glutamate release during ischemia was positively correlated with infarct volume. Extracellular gamma-aminobutyrate and glycine changes were similar to those of glutamate but showed no significant correlation with infarct volume. These results suggest that (a) accumulation of extracellular glutamate is an important determinant of injury in the setting of reversible MCA occlusion and (b) reuptake systems for neurotransmitter amino acids may be functional in the penumbra during transient focal ischemia.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1993

Hematological recovery after autologous bone marrow transplantation in acute leukemia: predictive factors.

The kinetics of hematological recovery after autologous marrow transplantation have been studied in 70 patients with acute leukemia (38 acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia [ANNL] and 32 acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL]). The incidence of graft failure in this group was 3.2%, and a persistent severe thrombocytopenia was observed in 24% of the cases. Variables influencing engraftment have been studied using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. Analysis of the entire group showed a correlation between graft colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) content and granulocyte recovery (p < 0.001). Marrow purging was associated with a delayed engraftment (p < 0.001). In ANLL patients, we found that high cummulated AraC doses before marrow cryopreservation correlated with poor granulocyte recovery after marrow infusion (p < 0.002). Platelet recovery was essentially affected by age, with shorter thrombocytopenia periods in younger patients (p < 0.001). Finally, excluding autotransplants with purged marrows, ALL patients showed better platelet recoveries than ANLL patients (p < 0.005). These findings will be useful to evaluate the risk of delayed engraftment after autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) in patients with acute leukemia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Inhibition of estrogen-responsive gene activation by the retinoid X receptor beta: evidence for multiple inhibitory pathways.

The retinoid X receptor beta (RXR beta; H-2RIIBP) forms heterodimers with various nuclear hormone receptors and binds multiple hormone response elements, including the estrogen response element (ERE). In this report, we show that endogenous RXR beta contributes to ERE binding activity in nuclear extracts of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. To define a possible regulatory role of RXR beta regarding estrogen-responsive transcription in breast cancer cells, RXR beta and a reporter gene driven by the vitellogenin A2 ERE were transfected into estrogen-treated MCF-7 cells. RXR beta inhibited ERE-driven reporter activity in a dose-dependent and element-specific fashion. This inhibition occurred in the absence of the RXR ligand 9-cis retinoic acid. The RXR beta-induced inhibition was specific for estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated ERE activation because inhibition was observed in ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cells only following transfection of the estrogen-activated ER. No inhibition of the basal reporter activity was observed. The inhibition was not caused by simple competition of RXR beta with the ER for ERE binding, since deletion mutants retaining DNA binding activity but lacking the N-terminal or C-terminal domain failed to inhibit reporter activity. In addition, cross-linking studies indicated the presence of an auxiliary nuclear factor present in MCF-7 cells that contributed to RXR beta binding of the ERE. Studies using known heterodimerization partners of RXR beta confirmed that RXR beta/triiodothyronine receptor alpha heterodimers avidly bind the ERE but revealed the existence of another triiodothyronine-independent pathway of ERE inhibition. These results indicate that estrogen-responsive genes may be negatively regulated by RXR beta through two distinct pathways.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Abnormal renovascular impedance in patients with hepatic cirrhosis: detection with duplex US.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether duplex ultrasound (US) can allow detection of early impairment of renal function in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. The authors calculated the pulsatility index (PI) and resistive index (RI) by using duplex US in 17 patients with cirrhosis and ascites but with normal renal function (group A), in 16 patients with cirrhosis but no ascites (group B), in 20 with chronic hepatitis (group C), in six with peritoneal carcinomatosis (group D), and in 16 healthy control subjects (group E). All patients had normal renal function on the basis of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine values. PI and RI were higher (P < .001) in group A patients than in others. Cirrhotic patients with ascites had renal vasoconstriction even in the absence of clinically apparent renal impairment and full-blown hepatorenal syndrome. Impaired renal perfusion plays a key role in sodium and fluid accumulation in patients with liver disease. On the basis of these results, duplex US is useful in pathophysiologic and clinical studies in such patients.

Ascites↗
PubMed1992

4-acetylaplykurodin B and aplykurodinone B, two ichthyotoxic degraded sterols from the Mediterranean mollusk Aplysia fasciata.

Two ichthyotoxic lactones, 4-acetylaplykurodin B [1] and aplykurodinone B [2], were isolated from the external parts of the body of the mollusk Aplysia fasciata. Their structures, determined by spectroscopic and chemical means, are closely related to aplykurodin B [3] previously isolated from Aplysia kurodai. The interconversion of delta- and gamma-lactones in the aplykurodin derivatives has been also investigated.

Animals↗