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Biomedical subjects

E Stark

Publications and source records attributed to E Stark.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Immunological and clinical response to immunosuppressive treatment in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical and immunological response to immunosuppressive treatment with cyclophosphamide in two patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration. DESIGN: Case reports. Clinical and immunological follow-up data available for 4 1/2 years in the first patient and for 2 years in the second patient. SETTING: A 1500-bed university hospital and a 1200-bed university teaching hospital. INTERVENTION: Cyclophosphamide intermittent treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Clinical disability. RESULTS: One of the patients, who was treated from an early stage, recovered completely. The other patient showed a partial clinical response. While the two patients were receiving a maintenance regimen with cyclophosphamide, the conditions of both patients remained stable for at least 2 years. In both patients, intrathecal antibody synthesis declined considerably. CONCLUSION: Early induction of immunosuppressive therapy with cyclophosphamide should be tried in treating patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

Cerebellar Diseases↗
PubMed1995

Killing the beast within: woman battering and female suicidality.

This article explores the importance of woman battering for female suicidality, with special attention to the link among black women. Suicidality has classically been framed with a distinctly male bias. As a result, suicide attempts (a predominantly female event) have been defined as "failed suicides" and the distinctive social context of suicidality among women has been missed. The authors propose that suicidality among battered women is evoked by the "entrapment" women experience when they are subjected to "coercive control" by abusive men. A literature review highlights the probable importance of male violence as a cause of female suicidality. Pursuing this possibility, we assess the significance of battering in a sample of women who have attempted suicide, the characteristics of battered women who attempt suicide, and the appropriateness of the medical response. The results indicate that battering may be the single most important cause of female suicidality, particularly among black and pregnant women. The implications of this finding for theory and clinical intervention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Comparative analysis of intrathecal antibody synthesis and DNA amplification for the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection of the central nervous system in AIDS patients.

We evaluated 49 paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples of 35 patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) for laboratory evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The patients were grouped according to clinical criteria as probable CMV encephalitis/polyradiculomyelitis, CMV retinitis, cerebral toxoplasmosis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, HIV-1-related cognitive/motor complex, HIV-1-associated myelopathy, and other neurological diseases. Paired CSF and serum samples were analysed for CMV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), quantitative intrathecal synthesis of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies specific for recombinant phosphoprotein 150 (pp150) of CMV and CMV-specific serum IgM. Intrathecal synthesis of pp150-specific IgG was detected in 26% of patients (9/35), serum IgM was found in 23% of patients (8/35), and PCR of CSF was positive in 11% of patients (4/35). Detection of CMV-specific DNA in CSF preceded the intrathecal antibody synthesis in three patients for whom serial samples were available. PCR results of the CSF became negative in one patient with CMV polyradiculomyelitis after successful therapy with 9-[2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethoxymethyl] guanine (DHPG). PCR has a higher diagnostic specificity in the acute phase of CMV infection than intrathecal antibody synthesis. The serum IgM response to CMV cannot be used to monitor a compartmentalized immune response in the central nervous system while an intrathecal immune response seems to be associated with recovery either spontaneously or as a result of treatment.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1993

Diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infections of the nervous system by immunocytochemical demonstration of infected cells in cerebrospinal fluid.

OBJECTIVES: Infections caused by the cytomegalovirus (CMV) are frequent complications in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Diagnosis of CMV infections of the nervous system is still difficult. METHODS: We evaluated immunocytochemical staining for a CMV early antigen in cells prepared from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with clinical evidence for neural CMV infections and from controls. RESULTS: CMV positive cells were found in four samples of patients with clinical evidence of CMV infection. Three of these patients were suffering from myeloradicalitis, one had a severe brain stem encephalitis. No CMV positive were found in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Immunocytochemical staining of CSF cells may be helpful in the diagnosis of CMV infection of the central nervous system and of the nerve roots.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1992

Presynaptic inhibitory effect of TNF-alpha on the release of noradrenaline in isolated median eminence.

The effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on the stimulation-evoked release of noradrenaline (NA) from isolated rat median eminence (ME) was investigated, using a low-volume perfusion system. Median eminence, loaded with [3H]noradrenaline, was superfused with Krebs solution and stimulated electrically (2 Hz, 120 shocks). The effect of TNF-alpha was studied on the S2/S1 ratio. It was found that stimulation-evoked release of NA from noradrenergic axon terminals in the isolated rat ME was inhibited by TNF-alpha and this effect was concentration-dependent. In contrast, TNF-alpha had no effect on the release of [3H]NA from the spleen. Since NA released in the ME might be involved in the modulation of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) production, it is suggested that TNF-alpha, through presynaptic modulation of NA release from noradrenergic nerve terminals in the ME, might regulate CRF and other neurohormone release in this hypothalamic structure.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Effect of chronic ACTH treatment on the physical state of lipid droplets in rat adrenocortical cells.

A histophysical method has been adapted to determine the thermotropic phase transitions of adrenocortical lipid droplets using a polarizing microscope equipped with a cold/hot stage. Cryosections of freshly-removed, unfixed adrenals, derived from control (untreated), and 14 days ACTH-treated rats were examined. The lipid droplets in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the untreated rats were birefringent at room temperature (22 degrees C). The birefringence of zona glomerulosa lipids selectively increased in the temperature range from -10 to -15 degrees C. In cryosections prepared from ACTH-treated rats, thermotropic phase transitions of the lipid droplets appeared at a temperature range between -30 and -40 degrees C in each cortical zone. The chemical analysis of the isolated lipids revealed that the relative amount of triglycerides in the zona fasciculata lipids increased, while that of free and esterified cholesterol decreased after chronic ACTH treatment. Present data suggest that the increased fluidity of lipid droplets promotes lipid mobilization in response to the enhanced demand of the chronically stimulated adrenocortical cells. Viscosity-dependent mobilization of free cholesterol from lipid droplets is not a rate-limiting process in adrenal steroidogenesis, but rather may represent an important control of the availability of precursor from lipid stores.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1992

Early onset MS under the age of 16: clinical and paraclinical features.

MS in juvenile patients under the age of 16 occurred in 31 (5%) of our whole MS population of 620 patients in the time from 1975-1991. It does not differ clinically from the disease as observed in 72 patients with later onset MS in respect to symptoms at onset, course, progression rate, rate of relapses and abnormalities in CSF and MRI. However, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting with pleocytosis in CSF during the first episode and development of oligoclonal bands with passage of time may be characteristic in some juvenile patients. The presence of oligoclonal bands and MRI results are of high diagnostic value in this special group of patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

CRF-dependent and CRF-independent mechanisms involved in hypophysial-adrenal system activation by bacterial endotoxin.

The immune system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis play important role in the overall inflammatory response. The mechanism through which lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) stimulates the HPA axis is not well understood. In order to clarify the role of hypophysiotropic peptides of paraventricular origin in the effect of LPS on ACTH and corticosterone secretion, the effect of LPS was studied on rats with lesions of hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). It was shown that 90 min after 2 mg/kg LPS i.p. the ACTH, but not the corticosterone response was effectively blunted in PVN-lesioned rats, as compared to sham operated animals. However, in PVN-lesioned rats 240 min after treatment with LPS a significantly higher plasma ACTH and corticosterone level was monitored. It is, therefore, suggested that in response to LPS activation of HPA both CRF(s)-dependent and CRF(s)-independent mechanisms are involved, even a direct effect of the adrenal cortex should be taken into account.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1991

The use of recombinant antigens in ELISA procedures for the quantification of intrathecally produced HIV-1-specific antibodies.

An ELISA procedure is described for the quantification of intrathecally synthesized immunoglobulin G antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens. Recombinant p17, p24, endonuclease (END), reverse transcriptase (RT), a peptide from the transmembrane region of gp41 (ENV80) and a fusion protein containing HIV-1 and HIV-2 epitopes were compared with a commercially available ELISA. Using a reference serum, antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to all of the antigens could be measured quantitatively in a reliable and reproducible fashion. Despite the fact that the titer varied up to 10(5)-fold between CSF and serum, interassay variability ranged from 3.87% for p17 to 8.41% for RT and intra-assay variability varied from 3.9% +/- 1.2% for p17 to 14.3% +/- 3.9% for the commercial ELISA. Antibody specificity indices (ASI) obtained by relating CSF/serum titers with reference to the corresponding IgG concentrations can be used to detect intrathecal synthesis of virus specific antibodies.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay↗
PubMed1991

Extended multiplicative signal correction and spectral interference subtraction: new preprocessing methods for near infrared spectroscopy.

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy spectra can be converted mathematically to precise quantitative information of chemical and physical nature by multivariate calibration. This makes NIR analysis useful for a variety of "difficult" sample types (powders, slurries), more or less without any sample preparation. The paper emphasizes the importance of using prior knowledge for spectral preprocessing of spectral data prior to the linear multivariate calibration modelling. Two new preprocessing methods are presented: extended multiplicative signal correction (EMSC) for elimination of uncontrollable path length or scattering effects, and spectral interference subtraction (SIS) for elimination of known spectral interferences. Determination of toluene in mixtures with benzene and xylene from NIR spectra with gross simulated light scattering effects is used for illustration.

Calibration↗
PubMed1991

Serum antibodies to GM1 and GM3-gangliosides in systemic lupus erythematosus with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.

Acute symmetric demyelinating polyneuropathy of the Guillain-Barré type is known in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Chronic idiopathic demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) has been reported rarely with SLE. A case is reported of CIDP accompanying SLE with autoantibodies against GM1- and GM3-gangliosides. There was no historical evidence to suggest SLE, and CIDP was the first manifestation of SLE. The 38-year-old patient had elevated CSF-protein, slow nerve conduction velocities, sural nerve biopsy revealed mixed axon loss with demyelination and CIDP white matter lesions were observed in magnetic resonance imaging, the GM1- and GM3-autoantibodies may play a role in the pathogenesis of CIDP in SLE.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Action of ACTH in the luteal ovary.

Oestrous rats and golden hamsters were anesthetized with pentobarbital, one of the femoral arteries and veins and one of the ovarian veins were cannulated. Blood fractions were collected from the ovary. After the first two fractions synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was injected i.v. Blood pressures and ovarian blood flow were continuously recorded. Progesterone (P) and oestradiol-17 beta (E2) were determined from the ovarian venous blood by radioimmunoassay (RIA). ACTH induced a temporary elevation in the ovarian blood flow, P and E2 secretion both in rats and hamsters. In rats and hamsters hCG induced a continuous elevation in P secretion but the ovarian blood flow and E2 secretion remained unchanged. Luteal cells from pseudopregnant rats or oestrous hamsters were dispersed with collagenase and incubated with ACTH or hCG. A sample of the cells was preincubated with polymixin-B, indomethacin or ibuprofen. P and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) contents of the medium and cyclic 3,5 adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) content of the cells were determined by RIA. ACTH stimulated the release of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and the secretion of P from the luteal cells of both species, which was inhibited by indomethacin or ibuprofen, but ACTH did not alter the cAMP content of luteal cells. The polymixin-B prevented ACTH to stimulate P secretion, but it did not elevate the 6-keto-PGF1 alpha release, while the cAMP content of the cells remained unchanged. It is supposed that the polyphosphoinositol-Ca(2+)-protein kinase-C second messenger system is involved in the ACTH induced stimulation of P secretion.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMed1991

Effects of beta 2-adrenergic stimulants on the progesterone and oestradiol-17 beta serum levels in pseudopregnant rats.

In CFY rats pseudopregnancy (PSP) was induced by mechanical stimulation of cervix uteri. On the days 1 or 7 of PSP indvelling catheter was built in one of the jugular veins and blood was collected daily until 7th or 14th days of PSP respectively, meanwhile the animals were daily injected with clenbuterol (0.1 mg/kg bw), fenoterol (0.5 mg/kg bw), ritodrin (1.0 mg/kg bw), propranolol (2.0 mg/kg bw) or 1.0 ml/kg bw 0.9% NaCl subcutaneously. From the blood samples progesterone (P) and oestradiol-17 beta (E2) were determined by RIA. beta 2-adrenergic agonists did not influence the serum levels of P either in the first or in the second half of PSP and the propranolol failed to alter also the serum levels of P during the PSP. Clenbuterol and ritodrin, however, decreased the serum levels of E2 in the first half of PSP, while in the second half of PSP fenoterol and ritodrin elevated, the propranolol diminished it. It was supposed that in PSP rats beta 2-adrenergic mechanism has a more pronounced effects on the theca-interstitial cells than that of the luteal cells.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1990

Loss of the effects of clonidine on the growth hormone release and hypotensive action in long-term castrated rats: the possible role of testosterone on alpha-2-adrenergic mechanisms of clonidine.

The effect of testosterone on the growth hormone (GH)-releasing and hypotensive actions of clonidine was evaluated in vivo using male Wistar rats. Clonidine at various doses and by various routes (5 micrograms/kg, i.c.v.; 15 micrograms/kg, i.v., and 7, 15, 31, 125 and 250 micrograms/kg, i.p.) induced a significant increase in plasma GH levels in rats. Intracerebroventricular (5 micrograms/kg) injection of clonidine significantly decreased blood pressure. The effects of clonidine on the GH release and blood pressure were lost in long-term castrated rats, but were restored by testosterone replacement in the castrates. In addition, the hypotensive response to clonidine in testosterone-replaced castrated rats lasted longer than in the sham-operated rats. The injection of yohimbine (3 mg/kg, i.p.) strongly inhibited the secretion of GH induced by clonidine treatment in sham-operated animals, and its inhibitory action was significantly attenuated in castrates. In long-term castrated rats, basal blood pressure decreased significantly compared with that of sham-operated rats. This was also restored after testosterone administration to castrates. The results of the present study indicate that the alpha 2-adrenergic receptor-mediated effects of clonidine on the GH release and blood pressure might be dependent on the endogenous testosterone secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Rethinking homicide: violence, race, and the politics of gender.

Although homicide is the fourth leading cause of premature mortality in the United States and the leading cause of death for young blacks, the health professions have been largely oblivious to violence. Prevailing explanations contribute to this neglect by emphasizing biological or psychiatric factors that make homicide unpredictable and cultural and environmental factors such as the emergence of a new "underclass" that link violence to race. Focusing on instances where no other crime is involved, this article proposes that "primary" homicide be reconceptualized as a by-product of interpersonal violence, a broad category of social entrapment rooted in the politics of gender inequality and including wife abuse, child abuse, and assaults by friends and acquaintances. The data show that blacks are no more violent than whites, though they are arrested and die more often as the consequence of violence. In addition, a majority of homicides are between social partners or involve gender stereotypes, are preceded by a series of assaults that are known to service providers, and grow out of "intense social engagement" about issues of male control and independence. Professional failure to respond appropriately is a major reason why assaults become fatal, particularly among blacks. An international strategy that combines sanctions against interpersonal assault, gun control, and the empowerment of survivors might prevent half of all homicides.

Adolescent↗