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Biomedical subjects

E Sprecher

Publications and source records attributed to E Sprecher.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Skin Langerhans cells play an essential role in the defense against HSV-1 infection.

The role of the Langerhans cells (LC) during HSV-1 infection in murine skin was examined. LC function as very potent antigen-presenting cells and represent the most peripheral immune cellular elements in the body. The footpad route was used to study the response of LC to infection with a pathogenic and non-pathogenic strain of HSV-1. Following infection with a pathogenic HSV-1 strain, there was an increase in the number of LC in the footpad skin. Depletion of LC from the skin by treatment with 10 per cent aqueous saline and abrasion led to the enhancement of HSV-1 virulence and the nonpathogenic virus became highly pathogenic. Progressive recovery of LC in the skin during the healing process was accompanied by a gradual increase in resistance to HSV-1 infection.

Animals↗

Laterality effects in response to the offset of visual stimuli.

In a study of simple reaction time to visual stimuli it was found that the offset (or termination) of stimuli presented in the right visual field elicits significantly later responses than does the offset of stimuli presented in the left visual field. No such difference was observed for the responses to stimulus onset. A similar effect has been reported for responses to tonal stimuli. The results do not support the view that hemispheric asymmetries arise at higher stages of information processing than those which mediate simple reaction time.

Color Perception↗

Distribution and strain-dependent formation of volatile metabolites in the genus Ceratocystis.

The accumulation of volatile metabolites in cultures of 34 strains comprising ten species of the genus Ceratocystis (Ascomycetes) has been investigated under defined culture conditions. The identified compounds include short-chain alcohols and esters, lower terpenes, terpenoids, and 2-phenylethyl acetate. Certain species can be recognized by a number of common volatiles traced in all strains, although the quantities of these constituents may vary enormously (up to a factor 1:1000) within one species. The formation of some metabolites is restricted to a few strains.

Acetates↗

Ethnicity and prevalence of scleroderma-like syndrome: a study of Arab and Jewish Israeli insulin-dependent diabetic children.

Scleroderma-like syndrome (SLS) may represent the earliest apparent diabetes complication in insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) patients. To evaluate the frequency of SLS and its association with other diabetes-related pathology in our diabetic population, we studied 153 (127 Jewish and 26 Arab) IDDM patients and 45 healthy age- and gender-matched controls (25 Jewish, 20 Arab). The mean age and diabetes duration of the patients were 14.09 +/- 5.1 years and 51 +/- 45 months, respectively. While no diabetes-related pathology was found in the controls, SLS was detected in 47% of all patients (skin, 31.4%; arthropathy, 37.9%; both, 22%), and nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy were present in 10.5%, 5.2%, and 4.6%, respectively. Independent of age, SLS directly correlated with diabetes duration (p < 0.01) and with the presence of either nephropathy or neuropathy (p < 0.009 and p < 0.005, respectively). One or more features of systemic diabetic involvement were present in 22% of patients with SLS, compared to only 7.2% in patients without SLS (p < 0.009). When patients were analyzed according to ethnicity, the frequency of skin involvement and neuropathy were found to be higher among Arab patients, particularly males (p < 0.002 and p < 0.005, respectively), and detection of one was significantly associated with the presence of the other (p < 0.001). In conclusion, our results suggest that SLS is the most common diabetic complication among Jewish and Arab IDDM patients, and its presence may reflect an inherited tendency to develop other serious diabetic complications. Ethnicity (Arab) by itself, particularly when associated with male gender, seems to accelerate neurological and dermatological diabetic involvement.

Adolescent↗

Postural control of patients with hemiparesis: force plates measurements based on the clinical sensory organization test.

Standing balance of hemiparetic patients is characterized by increased sway and an asymmetrical weight bearing distribution. The objectives of the study were to determine the feasibility of using a modified clinical sensory organization test with patients following a stroke and to evaluate the contribution of visual and somatosensory input to the standing balance of hemiparetic patients during the first two months following a stroke. Thirty patients with hemiparesis underwent functional and posturographic testing one and two months following their stroke. Testing was conducted in six stance conditions differing in somatosensory and visual input. Fifteen age-matched non-impaired subjects served as the control group. Sway Index (SI) representing the displacement of the subjects' center of pressure during stance, was generally affected by time (p = 0.003), visual input (p = 0.0001), and somatosensory input (p = 0.0061), with the effect of vision significantly greater in the patient group as compared with the control group (p = 0.0006). Despite significant functional gains in the Barthel Index and functional ambulation (p = 0.01), percentage of body weight on the involved extremity (%BW) by stance condition did not change over time. Posturographic testing is useful for determining the sensory organization abilities of stroke patients with moderate impairment and indicates that these patients are dependent on visual input for postural control. The decrease in %BW borne on the affected extremity does not change over time or with the varying of sensory input.

Aged↗

Consolidation radiation therapy following cytoreductive surgery, chemotherapy and second-look laparotomy for epithelial ovarian carcinoma: long-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND: From 1979-1987, 139 stage IC-IV ovarian cancer patients who had undergone cytoreductive surgery received 6-11 cycles of cisplatin and adriamycin. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-four clinically complete responders underwent second-look laparotomy, and 60 of them received consolidation abdominal irradiation. The patients were then followed for a median follow-up of 39 months. RESULTS: Five- and 10-year actuarial survival for all patients was 43% and 24%, for no residuum at primary surgery, 80% and 35%, for residual tumor <2 cm, 45% and 35%, and for residual tumor >2 cm, 20% and 4%. Median survival for stage III-IV patients negative at second-look laparotomy was 72 months in irradiated compared to 25 months in non-irradiated patients (P = 0.14) and 77 months in irradiated patients with microscopic disease at second-look laparotomy. Median survival in patients with macroscopic disease at second-look laparotomy was 23.5 months if irradiated compared to 18 months if not (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Consolidation whole abdominal irradiation in advanced stages of ovarian cancer may be of value in patients with negative or microscopic disease at second-look laparotomy. Unfortunately, despite the initial survival advantage observed in irradiated patients, owing to late recurrences there was no significant difference in their long-term survival probability.

Adult↗

Role of Langerhans cells and other dendritic cells in disease states.

Langerhans cells belong to the dendritic cell lineage and function as potent antigen-presenting cells in the skin epidermis. During the last decade, much has been learned on dendritic cell involvement in the pathogenesis of disease states. This review briefly summarizes our current understanding of the role played by Langerhans cells and other dendritic cells in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated, neoplastic and infectious disorders.

Communicable Diseases↗

Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and the protection against X-ray-induced thymic leukemia in mice. A new interpretation.

About forty years ago, Henry Kaplan and collaborators reported that four weekly X-ray doses of 160 rads each were highly leukemogenic in C57BL mice. A single dose of 350 Rads had a week leukemogenic effect. These authors also demonstrated that lead shielding of the thigh during irradiation prevented the development of leukemia. They reported that intravenous injection of syngeneic bone marrow cells into irradiated mice facilitated the regeneration of the thymus and prevented the development of X-ray-induced tumors. We characterized the thymic Ia+ dendritic cells (DC) with the aid of a fluorescence-activated cell-sorter (FACS). It was found that exposure of mice to a leukemogenic regimen of fractionated X-irradiation treatment led to a gradual decrease in the number of thymic DC. The disappearance of thymic DC and the development of leukemia were prevented by intravenous injection of syngeneic bone marrow or by lead shielding of the femur during irradiation. These results indicated that the fractionated irradiation caused a decline in the number of DC and, as a result, diminution of the natural defense against the developing tumor. Homing of the injected bone marrow DC into the thymus can be connected to the prevention of tumor development. Since leukemogenic T cells produce interleukin-4(IL-4), we tested the effect of the conditioned medium in which YAB-3 cells (tumorigenic Th cells: CD4+, CD8-, Thy-1+) were cultivated. Following injection of the conditioned medium into the mouse footpads, the number of skin Langerhans cells (LC) decreased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗