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Biomedical subjects

F Vidal

Publications and source records attributed to F Vidal.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Pulmonary diffuse amyloidosis and ankylosing spondylitis. A rare association.

We report herein the association of primary pulmonary amyloidosis and ankylosing spondylitis. To our knowledge, this rare association has never been reported. This case reemphasizes that not all pulmonary complications that appear in the course of ankylosing spondylitis are related to the seronegative spondyloarthropathy. Primary pulmonary amyloidosis should be considered in patients with interstitial pulmonary disease.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1991

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) study of mouse embryos obtained from isolated blastomeres.

Preimplantation diagnosis and embryo sexing offer great possibilities in the prevention of human diseases and in the field of animal production. These techniques involve blastomere isolation. Isolated blastomeres can grow in culture and develop as whole embryos. In this paper we describe, at the scanning electron microscope level, the characteristics of the plasma membrane surface of isolated blastomeres obtained from mouse embryos at the two-cell stage and of embryos grown to the 2/4- and 4/8-cell stages and compare them to control embryos grown in vitro. According to our results the in vitro manipulation of these embryos does not affect the surface characteristics of the plasma membrane in the early cleavage stages.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Programming response duration in a precueing reaction time paradigm.

To determine whether the duration of certain motor activities can be a prespecified dimension of the motor program, we studied the duration of a motor response and the hand to be used, in a precueing paradigm. The response to be produced (a press on a push-button) was either short or long and involved either the right or the left hand. In Experiment 1, 200 and 700 ms (Block 1) or 700 and 2,500 ms (Block 2) were respectively chosen as short and long durations. No RT difference between short and long appeared when response duration was certain. When response duration was uncertain, RTs were longer for long than for short responses. In addition, the RTs that preceded the 700-ms response were longer in Block 1 than in Block 2. These results suggest that response duration can be programmed up to 2,500 ms and that the relative duration of a response in a given range is more relevant for programming mechanisms than its absolute duration. In Experiment 2, uncertainty concerning the response was maintained constant in a similar precueing paradigm, in which only 700-and 2,500-ms response durations were considered. The RTs preceding a long duration were shorter when duration was certain than when neither side nor duration was certain. No RT difference appeared before the short response duration. This seems to confirm that duration can be programmed up to 2,500 ms and also suggests that the program elaborated for the short duration constitutes a common basis for short and long responses: When duration is uncertain, programming a long duration requires just an additional operation to complete the program corresponding to the short duration, which has already been selected by default.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Recognition of the CDEI motif GTCACATG by mouse nuclear proteins and interference with the early development of the mouse embryo.

We have reported previously (1) two unexpected consequences of the microinjection into fertilized mouse eggs of a recombinant plasmid designated p12B1, carrying a 343 bp insert of non-repetitive mouse DNA. Injected at very low concentrations, this plasmid could be established as an extrachromosomal genetic element. When injected in greater concentration, an early arrest of embryonic development resulted. In the present work, we have studied this toxic effect in more detail by microinjecting short synthetic oligonucleotides with sequences from the mouse insert. Lethality was associated with the nucleotide sequence GTCACATG, identical with the CDEl element of yeast centromeres. Development of injected embryos was arrested between the one-cell and the early morula stages, with abnormal structures and DNA contents. Electrophoretic mobility shift and DNAse foot-printing assays demonstrated the binding of mouse nuclear protein(s) to the CDEl-like box. Base changes within the CDEl sequence prevented both the toxic effects in embryos and the formation of protein complex in vitro, suggesting that protein binding at such sites in chromosomal DNA plays an important role in early development.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

XY-trivalent association and synaptic anomalies in a male carrier of a Robertsonian t(13;14) translocation.

Synaptonemal complexes were analysed in 91 pachytenes from a patient carrier of a Robertsonian translocation 45XY, t(13;14). Electron microscopic studies were carried out in 36 pachytenes. In some cases, sequential light microscopy/electron microscopic images were obtained (16/36). As the resolution of the light microscope does not allow an accurate characterization of anomalies, only EM images have been taken into account. Association of the trivalent and the sex vesicle was detected in 8 of 36 pachytenes (22.2%). Synaptic anomalies (25%), fragmentation of synaptonemal complexes (11.1%) or both (2.8%) were seen in 14 of 36 nuclei. According to previous studies, synaptic anomalies may produce a spermatogenic arrest. However, it has been suggested that synaptic anomalies may be the result of a process of cell degeneration, and not its cause. The non-random relationship between the sex vesicle and the translocation trivalent may result from the tendency of unpaired segments to associate with each other after homology search is relaxed and heterologous synaptic adjustment is allowed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Acid aspiration prophylaxis in morbidly obese patients: famotidine vs. ranitidine.

Famotidine and ranitidine were compared as agents for the prevention of acid aspiration syndrome in 32 morbidly obese patients undergoing vertical banded gastroplasty. Single-dose oral famotidine or double-dose oral ranitidine were administered on a random basis before surgery. Gastric contents were aspirated through a gastric tube, manually aided by the surgeon with the abdomen open. Mean (SD) gastric volumes were 13.8 ml (6.7) and 12.1 ml (13.0) for the famotidine and ranitidine groups, respectively. Mean (SD) gastric pH values were 6.2 (1.5) and 6.8 (1.5), respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups and no patient was considered 'at risk' (pH less than 2.5 and gastric volume greater than 25 ml). We conclude that single-dose oral famotidine and double-dose oral ranitidine are equally effective for preventing acid aspiration syndrome in morbidly obese patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis due to Salmonella enteritidis in cirrhotic ascites.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis due to Salmonella is uncommon. We report three patients with ascites infected by Salmonella. All three patients had advanced chronic liver disease, typically cirrhosis with portal hypertension. Salmonella enteritidis grew in the ascite fluid culture of the three patients. There was no clinical or microbiological evidence of Salmonella infection other than in the ascitic fluid. One patient died before antibiotic treatment was started, but the other two were treated with different combinations of antimicrobial drugs. One of them died on the fourteenth day of hospitalization, and the other survived.

Ascites↗