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Biomedical subjects

F Blanchard

Publications and source records attributed to F Blanchard.

70 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

[Isolation, social support, life events and health status].

Research on the influence of social networks and social support on health status, conducted in English-speaking countries over the past decade, is not yet widespread in France. A review of the literature reveals that this social support has undeniable effects on mental health, and less obvious effects on physical health; it also stresses the major conceptual and methodological problems encountered in socio-epidemiological approaches. It would appear necessary to construct an overall model integrating life events, coping abilities and individual psychological factors; Social support is considered as a function of social networks, fulfilling roles of emotional support, material help, information provider, egostrengthener and social normalizer. Its mechanisms for dealing with stress, especially the buffer-role hypothesis, are also discussed.

Health↗
PubMed1984

HLA-DR antigens and the antibody response against Epstein-Barr virus.

Antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens, i.e. the viral capsid antigen (VCA) and the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA), were determined in two independent populations with known HLA-DR phenotypes. The first population consisted of 151 patients with rheumatoid arthritis; the second one of 88 healthy parents of leukemic children. Although the group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis differed significantly in the frequency of 4 DR antigens from the second group, both groups had the same correlation between HLA-DR antigens and the antibody response to EBV antigens. There was a significant correlation between HLA-DR1 and reduced titers of antibodies to VCA, whereas the persons with only one identifiable DR antigen had higher anti-VCA titers. The persons with HLA-DR5 had significantly higher anti-EBNA titers than those without DR5.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Strict correlation between anti-RANA antibodies and anti-EBNA antibodies apart from rheumatoid arthritis. Assessment of the diagnostic value of anti-RANA antibody].

In order to study the relationship between anti-RANA antibodies (aRANA) and the antibodies capable of recognising other Epstein-Barr induced antigens, we examined the sera of 51 patients without rheumatoid arthritis for anti-RANA, anti-EA, anti-VCA, and anti-EBNA antibodies. These subjects were cases of Burkitt's lymphoma, infectious mononucleosis, naso-pharyngeal carcinoma, immune disorders, Hodgkin's disease and normal controls. A blind study was conducted in two separate laboratories. Anti-RANA was detected by indirect immunofluorescence on RAJI cells synchronised in phase G1. There was a very strict correlation between anti-RANA and anti-EBNA with no correlation between anti-RANA and anti-EA or anti-VCA. In another experiment, 15 coded sera from patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis were tested following adsorption of the rheumatoid factor. One serum was found to be devoid of both anti-RANA and anti-EBNA. These results demonstrate that anti-RANA is widely distributed outside of rheumatoid arthritis and they question the distinction between EBNA and RANA, as the antibody titres directed against these antigens are regularly linked together.

Antibodies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection and measurement of rheumatoid factor using a new immunoenzyme technique with peroxidase/anti-peroxidase complex.

A new, solid-phase enzymatic technique is proposed for the detection and measurement of rheumatoid factors (RF). A complex (PAP) consisting of peroxidase and rabbit IgG anti-peroxidase antibodies was used as antigen. The sensitivity of the technique is such that even "physiological" levels of RF may be detected in the majority of serum samples. The intra-assay and inter-assay repeatability (6-8% and 12%) is better than that for either of the traditional agglutination techniques (latex fixation test and Waaler-Rose reaction, or LWR) and this means that the serological evolution of the illness may be followed more accurately for each patient. The detection of non-agglutinating RF was also possible. The antigen used (i. e. rabbit IgG) was fixed immunologically to the enzyme, hence it was not denatured by chemically labelling. This antigen resembles that of the Waaler-Rose reaction. A variation of this method enabled the detection of RF immunoglobulin class, when only the IgM fraction of the sera tested could be fixed to the solid phase by means of anti-mu F(ab')2 antibody before introduction of the antigen. The affinity constant could be measured without antibody purification. In 211 cases of adult rheumatoid arthritis, abnormally high levels of RF were revealed in 78% of the subjects using the PAP technique and in only 53% with the agglutination (LWR) techniques. On the other hand, the RF levels were within normal limits in the 51 cases of other inflammatory rheumatisms lacking RF according to LWR techniques, in 62 cases of non-inflammatory diseases (hip osteoarthrosis, low back pain) and also in the 42 cases of other inflammatory diseases.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the quality of life in dementia with a generic quality of life questionnaire: the Duke Health Profile.

OBJECTIVE: The study was designed to determine the acceptability, feasibility and validity of measuring quality of life in a representative sample of dementia patients with a generic instrument, the Duke Health Profile. METHOD: The French version of the Duke Health Profile was administered to 148 subjects with a mental disorder according to the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria. The feasibility and acceptability of employing the instrument were determined by the refusal rate, the type of administration, and the percentage and distribution of missing data. Reliability was determined with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Instrument reproducibility was assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest values. Internal construct validity was determined by factor analysis. Discriminant capacity was determined by comparing the average scores on each measure among patients with and without an additional chronic pathology. The measurements obtained were compared by source of information (patient, family proxy and care provider proxy). RESULTS: The feasibility and acceptability of the instrument was good. Only 2% of the patients refused to complete the questionnaire. Help from the interviewer was necessary in 79% of the cases. The average completion time was 10.6 min. Missing data exist in only 3.5% of the cases on average, except among patients with severe dementia (Mini Mental State Examination <10). For reliability, internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's coefficient alpha = 0.5--0.7) when the self-esteem (0.23) and social health (0.26) concepts were eliminated. Reproducibility as measured by test-retest scores was moderate to good (intraclass correlation coefficient r = 0.53--0.80), except for anxiety (0.48) and perceived health (0.45). Severity of dementia mainly affected the feasibility, acceptability and reproducibility of the instrument. The family proxy seemed to agree more with the patient than did the care provider proxy. CONCLUSION: Quality of life can be measured in patients with dementia, but special tools need to be developed for severe dementia.

Aged↗