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Biomedical subjects

F Joseph

Publications and source records attributed to F Joseph.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A case of haemangiopericytoma-associated hypoglycaemia: Beneficial effect of treatment with radiotherapy.

A 72-year-old lady presented with recurrent hypoglycaemia and a large pelvic mass. Hypoglycaemia was accompanied by undetectable serum insulin and c-peptide and high insulin-like growth factor II (IGFII) to IGFI ratio. She had undergone successful resection of a large bladder haemangiopericytoma 7 years earlier. A core biopsy was performed, and histology confirmed the recurrence of the haemangiopericytoma. Local palliative radiotherapy resulted in the reduction of IGFII level and IGFII to IGFI ratio and increased insulin, c-peptide and growth hormone (GH) level with long-term amelioration of hypoglycaemic episodes. Clinically and biochemically, radiotherapy was more effective than GH therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Troponin T: how high is high? Relationship and differences between serum cardiac markers according to level of creatine kinase and type of myocardial infarction.

Cardiac troponins have emerged over recent years as the "gold standard" serum biochemical marker for the diagnosis and management for patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). The relationship between old (creatine kinase; CK) and new (troponin T; TT) markers of myocardial injury were examined in this study of 392 consecutive patients admitted to a district hospital with a diagnosis of an acute MI. Significant correlation of serum TT and peak CK levels were seen (R = 0.58, p<0.0001) in all types of MI. A significant relationship was also seen according to type of MI (Q wave or non-Q wave MI) or peak CK level. The regression equation (TT (microg/l) = 0.0027 (peak CK) + 1.1160 (IU/l)) may be used by clinicians to estimate TT release from a known peak CK result and thus provide some guidance on equivalence between the two tests. Our findings provide physicians with a benchmark reference range between the two cardiac markers, according to level of peak CK.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Treatment of carbimazole-induced agranulocytosis and sepsis with granulocyte colony stimulating factor.

We present the management of agranulocytosis and neutropenic sepsis secondary to carbimazole with recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). A 72-year-old woman with a history of thyrotoxicosis presented with sore throat and fever two weeks after starting carbimazole. Investigations confirmed a leucopenia and neutropenia. G-CSF was used as an adjunctive therapy with discontinuation of carbimazole, barrier nursing and a broad-spectrum antibiotic regimen to treat her neutropenic sepsis. Total white cell count and neutrophil count returned to normal and she made an uneventful recovery. She was subsequently rendered euthyroid with radioiodine treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Osteosarcoma of the sella.

Primary osteosarcoma of the skull is rare. Osteosarcoma arising from the sellar region is extremely uncommon. The case of a 38-year-old man with osteosarcoma of the sella is described, and the literature is reviewed. The patient was treated with surgery followed by aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Currently he is in remission at 12 months.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effects of caffeine on heart mitochondria in newborn rats.

Caffeine consumption has been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, in the present study, litters of rats were combined upon birth, and 8 pups were randomly assigned to each dam. Dams with pups were divided into 2 groups: group 1 received a 20% protein diet as a control, and group 2 received the 20% protein diet supplemented with caffeine (4 mg/100 g body weight). Pups from both groups were killed on days 11 and 15. Transmission electron microscopy revealed swollen, disrupted, degenerating mitochondria and intracellular edema in the hearts of rats in the caffeine groups when compared with those of the controls. Plasma Cu concentration was significantly decreased. These results indicate that early exposure to caffeine through maternal milk adversely affects cardiac mitochondria of rat pups and may be associated with decreased plasma Cu levels. It is unclear whether these results apply to the human infant. Interspecies extrapolation from rat to human must be made with caution.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Carcinoma of the pancreas presenting as an orbital tumor: a case report.

Metastasis to the orbit from pancreatic adenocarcinoma is rare. A 38-year-old man with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the right orbit at initial examination is described. Two months later he was diagnosed with a pancreatic primary tumor. The incidence and pattern of orbital metastasis in carcinomas is briefly discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1998

Cutaneous malignant melanoma--clinical epidemiology and survival.

Melanoma of the skin is rare in the Asian population. However, this malignancy results in a high mortality due to the inadequacies in the referral pattern and management. India is one of the low incidence regions of the world. Cancer registries in India report that the age specific incidence rates for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) are less than 0.5 per 1,000,000. There are only few reports in the literature on CMM in the Asian population. The Regional Cancer Centre at Trivandrum registers about 6000 new cancer cases per year and CMM forms 0.5% of them. This paper presents the clinical epidemiology and survival of 79 cases of CMM registered in the hospital cancer registry during the period 1985-90. The peak age frequency was in the 7th decade. The male:female ratio was 1.6:1. All cases had undergone a surgical manipulation in a peripheral centre, before being referred to this centre. This has posed limitation in staging and in deciding the extends of surgical excision. The overall 5-year survival rate was 25.2% (95% confidence intervals, or, CI, 14%-38%). CMM in the low incidence regions may have a different aetiology and needs to be addressed in epidemiological studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Postnatal caffeine effects on copper, zinc, and iron concentrations in mammary gland, milk, and plasma of lactating dams and their offspring.

Beginning on the day of delivery and until the 15th or 22nd day of lactation, one group of dams received a 20% protein diet as a basal diet and one group received the basal diet supplemented with caffeine (4 mg/100 g body weight). A correlation between caffeine concentrations in the dams' plasma and milk was observed. In the caffeine group, levels of Fe and Cu in the dams' mammary glands at day 22 were decreased. Copper levels in the milk at day 15 and Fe and Zn levels in the milk at day 22 showed a significant decrease. Copper concentration in the plasma of 15-day-old pups showed a significant decrease also, but Zn and Fe concentration showed no difference between caffeine and noncaffeine control groups. The present study shows that the dams' consumption of a caffeine-containing diet influences trace elements of mammary glands, milk, and pups' plasma.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Is oral cancer susceptibility inherited? Report of five oral cancer families.

All the oral cancer patients registered at the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, during January to July 1995 were subjected to detailed pedigree analysis. This revealed that oral cancer tends to aggregate in families. Like other familial cancers, a family history of oral cancer was associated mostly with an early age of onset of the disease. Family members without habits such as tobacco chewing, smoking or alcohol consumption were also affected. These observations prompt us to suggest the probable inheritance of an oral cancer susceptibility gene in these families. The familial aggregation, mostly site-specific, with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, was observed in 0.94% of the total oral cancers. This necessitates the need to undertake studies to elucidate the molecular lesions responsible for oral cancer susceptibility in families.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Case report: malignant teratoma in the thyroid gland.

Malignant teratomas of the thyroid gland are rare. These are highly malignant tumours with a high frequency of local recurrence and metastases following surgery. We report a case of malignant teratoma of the thyroid gland in a 35-year-old female, who developed local recurrence immediately following total thyroidectomy. Despite achieving local control following chemotherapy and local radiotherapy, the patient developed distant relapse illustrating the aggressive nature of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Combined effects of caffeine and malnutrition on the development of the trigeminal nuclear center: autoradiographic and biochemical studies.

Six groups of pregnant dams were each fed a 20%, 12%, and 6% protein diet with and without caffeine (2 mg/100 g b.wt), starting on day 7 of gestation. Dams of each group were injected with two successive daily doses of 3H-thymidine in an overlapping series beginning on day 7 and ending on day 16 of gestation. At day 15 postbirth, brains of the offspring were removed, fixed and embedded. Neurogenesis in the rat trigeminal motor nucleus was examined by radiogram in serial sections. In general, the peak production of the neurons of the motor nucleus of V in the malnourished group of the control was on embryonic (E) days E10 + 11, whereas that of the caffeine group was E11 + 12. In the normally nourished group, peak production in the control was E9 + 10, whereas in the caffeine group it was E11 + 12. Trigeminal areas from the brains of pups of each group, which were kept frozen from our previous studies on suckling behavior (23), were used to analyze DNA, protein and cholesterol levels in the present study. At day 1 caffeine's effects on DNA, protein and cholesterol concentrations of the trigeminal area between the groups were different, depending upon the nutritional status. At day 15, those parameters in the caffeine group were greater although no caffeine was added to the lactating dams' diet. This study again demonstrated that prenatal caffeine intake in combination with protein-energy malnutrition produces permanent effects on the trigeminal nuclear center indicated by autoradiography and changes in biochemical parameters.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Combined effects of caffeine and malnutrition during pregnancy on suckling behavior in newborn rats.

Six groups of pregnant dams were fed a 20%, 12%, and 6% protein diet with and without caffeine (2 mg/100 g b.wt.), starting on day 7 of gestation. At day 18 of gestation, randomly selected dams of each group were used to record prenatal fetal behavior. The remaining dams were continuously fed their respective diets until the birth of their pups. Upon delivery, newborn pups from the dams fed a 20%, 12%, or 6% protein diet with caffeine were placed with foster dams that the dietary regimen during gestation was a 20%, 12%, or 6% protein diet, respectively. Dams fed a noncaffeine diet, along with their newborns, were fed their respective diets until day 15. Suckling behavior tests for newborns were conducted on days 2, 8, and 15. On day 15, both nondeprived and deprived newborn rats were studied. Caffeine in combination with a malnourished diet has different effects on general activity in prenatal stages compared to postnatal stages. Our findings support the view that prenatal exposure to caffeine may produce greater effects because: a) caffeine and its metabolites pass freely into the embryo and attain a concentration slightly lower than in the maternal plasma; and b) caffeine may be poorly metabolized during pregnancy, causing an accumulation in the fetal tissues. Prenatal caffeine at the dosage we have used in combination with malnutrition may produce lasting metabolic alterations in the nervous system related to the emergence of suckling behavior and general motor activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The effect of prenatal caffeine exposure on the enamel surface of the first molars of newborn rats.

Timed-pregnant rats were randomly divided into three groups at day 7 of gestation. A caffeine tablet was implanted subcutaneously in the experimental group and a placebo tablet in the control group. The third group was used as surrogate dams. At birth, eight randomly selected pups born either to the experimental or control dams were placed with surrogate dams that had produced pups on the same day; these were then used in either the experimental or the control group, and so the surrogate dams raised pups that came from either the experimental or control group. At day 22 after birth, the pups were killed, and their first and second maxillary and mandibular molars were removed. They were then placed in a specially designed chamber and exposed to an acid solution. The outflowing acid solution was collected every 20 min and up to 80 min. Then the calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium contents of each fraction were measured. The enamel surfaces of untreated and acid-treated first molars of the caffeine and control groups were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Untreated teeth were powdered and separated into enamel and dentine. Pure enamel samples were examined with a Gandolfi X-ray powder camera to measure the crystallite size. At 20-, 40- and 60-min intervals, calcium and phosphorus contents of the first molars of the caffeine group were significantly higher than those of the control. The enamel surface of the untreated and acid-treated first molars of the caffeine group had significantly different scanning microscopic appearances from those of the non-caffeine untreated and acid-treated control groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The effects of caffeine on the maxillary composition in the newborn rat.

The possible influence of caffeine on maxillary structure was studied. Seventeen pregnant rats at days 9 of gestation were randomly divided into two groups. The dams of group 1 received a 20% protein diet ad libitum throughout the experimental period. The dams of group 2 were pair-fed, with group 1, a 20% protein diet supplemented with 2 mg/100 g body weight (B.W.) caffeine. At birth, pups were mixed within the same group and 8 randomly selected pups were assigned to each dam and continuously fed the respective diet. On day 22, 11 male pups from the control and 12 males from the caffeine group were randomly selected, separated from the dams, and continued to be fed their respective diets. On day 44, a rubber elastic band was inserted between the first and second maxillary right molars. The size of the elastic band was increased throughout the next 5 days. Animals were sacrificed at day 49 and the composition of the maxillas was analyzed. After pulverization, organic and inorganic contents of the bones were measured. Zinc (Zn) and hydroxyproline concentration of the caffeine group showed a significant decrease when compared with those of the controls. However, Ca, P, Mg, and hexosamine concentration showed no difference between the groups. The interdental space measured occlusally and laterally with the visual method, and occlusally in histological sections showed no significant difference between the control and caffeine groups, although variation of the space in the caffeine group was less than in the control group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of maternal caffeine intake during lactation on molar enamel surfaces in new-born rats.

Dams were fed normal laboratory chow until delivery. At birth, the litters were combined, and eight pups were randomly assigned to each dam. Dams with the recombined litters were divided into two groups. Dams of group 1 were fed a 20% protein diet as a control; dams of group 2 were fed a 20% protein diet supplemented with caffeine (2 mg/100 g of the dam's weight). On day 22, the dams of group 2 were anaesthetized with ether. They were injected with 2 iu of oxytocin in order to collect milk. Blood was collected from pups and dams to determine its caffeine concentration. The first and second molars were removed from each pup's mandible and maxilla. Radiographs were taken of 10 randomly selected first or second molars from each group. Four randomly selected molars from each litter were placed in a specially designed chamber and bathed with a constant flow of acid solution to determine the amount of mineral dissolved from the enamel surfaces. The remaining non-acid exposed molars were pulverized in freezer mills. A small portion of this powder was then analysed for the total amount of minerals. No differences were found in the radiographic density of enamel between the groups. The amount of dissolved calcium, phosphorus and magnesium from enamel surfaces in the caffeine group was consistently greater than that of the non-caffeine group in the first molars, whereas, in the second molars, there was no difference between the groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Relationship of prenatal caffeine exposure and zinc supplementation on fetal rat brain growth.

Pregnant rat dams were divided into four groups on the 3rd day of gestation. Group 1 dams were fed a 20% protein diet as controls. Dams of group 2 were fed a 20% protein diet supplemented with zinc (0.6 g ZnCl2/kg diet). Group 3 dams were fed a 20% protein diet supplemented with caffeine (2 mg/100 g body weight) and dams of group 4 were fed a 20% protein diet supplemented with both caffeine and zinc. Fetuses were surgically delivered on day 22, and brains were removed and analyzed for alkaline phosphatase activity, protein, zinc, cholesterol and DNA concentrations. Fetal brain caffeine levels, as well as maternal and fetal plasma caffeine levels, were determined in caffeine-supplemented groups. The body weight of group 4 and brain weights of groups 3 and 4 were higher than those of groups 1 and 2. Alkaline phosphatase activity of group 3 was less than that of group 1. The brain zinc concentration of group 2 was higher than in the other groups, but that of group 4 was less than that of group 1. The present study indicated that the supplementation of caffeine to the maternal diet decreased zinc levels in the fetal brain, and the addition of extra zinc to this diet did not return the zinc level to that of the control level as we had expected. In addition, the supplementation of caffeine and zinc together increased the body weights of the fetuses compared to the controls, but the addition of only one of these substances had no effect, suggesting that the combination of caffeine and zinc may have unique effects on fetal growth.

Administration, Oral↗