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Biomedical subjects

H Krieger

Publications and source records attributed to H Krieger.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

The genetic epidemiology of leprosy in a Brazilian population.

Data on leprosy patients have been obtained from the Dispensary of Leprosy of Campinas, São Paulo, where records on practically all cases of leprosy in the Campinas area during the period 1960-70 are filed. The whole sample comprises 10,886 individuals, distributed among 1,568 families. Complex segregation analysis was utilized to determine the nature of the genetic factors that may operate on leprosy and its subtypes. The results suggest the presence of a recessive major gene controlling susceptibility to leprosy per se, with frequency of approximately .05, although there are deviations from the expected Mendelian segregation proportions. Possible etiologic heterogeneity was examined by considering two subtypes separately: for lepromatous leprosy and tuberculoid leprosy there are suggestions for a segregating major effect; however, Mendelian transmission could not be demonstrated in either case. Therefore, there is no evidence to suggest unique genetic determinants for leprosy subtypes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Survival ability of Trichomonas vaginalis in mineral baths].

The role of mineral thermal baths and particularly of bath fittings such as benches and toilet seats in the spreading of Trichomonas vaginalis is controversial. In order to clarify the possibility of transmission by smear infection of this ubiquitous urogenital parasite the ability to survive was investigated in 11 mineral baths in Baden-Württemberg by contamination of water samples of varying mineral content. In addition, Trichomonas-contaminated water samples were placed in Petri-dishes on different benches in the bath area to determine the different milieu-factors influencing survival and thus the possibility of smear infections. The determination of viable cells was carried out by recultivation and semiquantitative extinction measurement. The survival time of Trichomonas vaginalis in the water samples of the 11 mineral baths varied considerably from 30 min up to more than 3 hours. The total mineral content played the most important role. When exposed in Petri dishes in addition the evaporation of the medium (mineral water) is of importance. Generally at high evaporation rates the cells will lose viability faster than in closed tubes. But also in open dishes in 4 mineral baths viable Trichomonads were still detectable after 3 hours. Generally the ability of Trichomonas vaginalis to survive in water of a total mineral content of 0.05-2.2% is increased to such an extent that infection is theoretically possible. Transmission in the mineral pool itself appears nevertheless highly unlikely due to the dilution effect of the enormous water volume. However transmission of infection via wet, contaminated benches and toilet seats cannot be generally ruled out.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Unstable hypoendemic malaria in Rondonia (western Amazon region, Brazil): epidemic outbreaks and work-associated incidence in an agro-industrial rural settlement.

A longitudinal study was conducted from January 1991 to January 1992 on the Urupa farm, a rural agro-industrial forestry settlement in Rondonia state (Western Amazon Region, Brazil) to define the parasitologic and clinical profile of malaria. Three cross-sectional, parasitologic, and clinical surveys were performed. In the intervals between surveys, malaria cases were monitored by twice a week medical visits to the farm and permanent local surveillance. The population of residents was approximately 170 and was characterized by high mobility. The slide positive rates found in the cross-sectional surveys were 0.5, 4.2 and 2.1, respectively, for the total population (Plasmodium vivax plus P. falciparum). Spleen rate values in children 2-9 years old were always less than 1%. However, this basically hypoendemic malaria situation was unstable, with occurrence of a typical epidemic outbreak at the end of the dry season. The total number of malaria cases recorded from January to December 1991 was 163, giving an annual parasite index of 970 per 1,000 inhabitants. However, sex and age distribution of cases showed rare incidence of malaria in infants and low incidence in children less than the age of 10. Male adults 16-40 years of age represented the main risk group. The observed clustering of cases allowed us to identify the place of work as a factor responsible for high incidence of malaria among adults. The general epidemiologic profile indicated that indoors transmission of malaria by the local Anopheles vector was low or absent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Intraoperative assessment of internal mammary artery bypass graft patency by thermal coronary angiography.

Following early graft failure in some patients during routine use of the internal mammary artery in coronary bypass surgery, a thermal coronary angiography technique was used for direct intraoperative control of internal mammary artery graft patency. This non-invasive method allows the evaluation of graft patency, anastomotic integrity and initial flow patterns without compromising the conduct of the surgical procedure. Internal mammary artery graft patency was controlled by thermal coronary angiography in 348 patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery. Graft anatomy, perfusion and distal run-off in the recipient native coronary artery was delineated by thermal coronary angiography using the temperature gradient of the warm perfusing blood and the cold myocardium. Thermal coronary angiograms were evaluated for graft and anastomotic patency as well as for direction and magnitude of internal mammary artery flow in the native coronaries. Some 348 internal mammary artery grafts, including 13 sequential grafts, were evaluated. Thermal coronary angiography failed for technical or logistical reasons in seven of 348 cases (2.0%). Thermal coronary angiography documented optimal anterograde flow in 282 of 341 cases (82.7%), reduced anterograde flow in 38 of 341 (11.1%) and no anterograde flow in 21 of 341 (6.2%). Using this approach 21 internal mammary artery graft occlusions were discovered, 18 at the anastomotic site and three at the site of the previously placed bulldog clamp. In addition, six unexpected distal native coronary stenoses and three internal mammary artery graft spasms were detected by thermal coronary angiography and found to be responsible for impaired anterograde flow. Based on these findings, 16 anastomotic revisions, nine additional vein grafts and two additional vein patches were performed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Some factors affecting the secondary sex ratio in a Latin American sample.

A sample based on hospital birth records from the Latin American Collaborative Study on Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) was used in this study. ECLAMC, which covers 11 countries (Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica), registered 1,037,272 live births in the period 1982-1986. We applied several multivariate analysis models to the data and found that the sex ratio was significantly affected by secular, spatial (countries), biological (maternal age, birth order, and ethnic group), and socioeconomic (evaluated by hospital payment) variables. The black ethnic component carried sufficient weight to remove the spatial effect (Brazil and Venezuela) in certain cases. The Amerindian admixture effect on the sex ratio was negative and significant.

Birth Certificates↗
PubMed1992

Familial analysis of eosinophilia caused by helminthic parasites.

A highly significant familial aggregation of eosinophil levels (X2(3) = 38.00) was detected in a sample from three Brazilian populations with a high incidence of helminthic parasitism. The data were unable to resolve genetic or common environment causation due to the lack of environmental concomitant variables. Results of path analysis indicate that the familial cause accounts for about 58% of the total variability of eosinophil levels among parasite-infected individuals.

Ascariasis↗
PubMed1992

Use of recombinant antigens for the accurate immunodiagnosis of Chagas' disease.

We tested two Trypanosoma cruzi recombinant antigens in a diagnostic test for Chagas' disease. These antigens were a cytoplasmic repetitive antigen (CRA) and a flagellar repetitive antigen (FRA). The results indicate that the recombinant antigens give better results when used in combination than when used separately, and that the removal of the beta-galactosidase portion of the recombinant fusion proteins increases the specificity of the diagnostic test for Chagas' disease. In addition, a direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which involves the use of peroxidase-labeled antigens to detect the immune-complexes, was developed and compared with a conventional ELISA. The results indicate that the recombinant (CRA+FRA) ELISA is better than the conventional ELISA in the diagnosis of Chagas' disease, providing 100% specificity and sensitivity in all sera tested to date. The recombinant ELISA was compared with conventional serologic tests (hemagglutination and immunofluorescence) for Chagas' disease diagnosis, and the results show that the recombinant ELISA does not give rise to false-positive results that are observed with the two other tests. The use of the recombinant ELISA should be useful in the prevention of transmission of Chagas' disease by blood transfusions.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Demography of the human sex ratio in some Latin American countries, 1967-1986.

A sample based on hospital births recorded for the Latin American Collaborative Study on Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) program was used in the present study to determine sex ratios for live births and for stillbirths. Sixty-four cities and 147 hospitals in 11 countries (Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica) were included in the present analyses. The number of live births was 1,886,653 in the period 1967-1986, and the number of stillbirths was 24,818 in the period 1978-1986. The sex ratio for the total sample was 0.5112 for live births and 0.5477 for stillbirths. The sex ratio as a whole is decreasing with time in a parabolic fashion. Each country in our study behaved differently. Except for Peru and Uruguay, the countries experienced a significant decrease in the sex ratio after 1978 for live births; only Brazil did not show a temporal trend for the sex ratio for stillbirths.

Birth Rate↗
PubMed1991

IMA-graft patency control by thermal coronary angiography during coronary bypass surgery.

Thermal coronary angiography (TCA) was evaluated for the intraoperative assessment of graft patency and flow in internal mammary artery (IMA) bypass grafts. TCA was performed in 210 patients undergoing 460 vein and 153 IMA bypass grafts after completion of the distal anastomoses. The IMA grafts and the recipient coronary arteries were delineated by the temperature differential between a cold epimyocardium and the perfusing warm blood after bulldog clamp release. TCA provided information about graft and anastomosis patency, initial flow patterns, and native coronary stenoses. TCA was performed in all studied IMA bypass grafts: 142 grafts were patent. Low flow but patency was observed in 24 IMA grafts and 11 IMA grafts showed no flow. Subsequently, 8 anastomotic failures and 3 proximal IMA graft occlusions were encountered. Based on these findings, 8 anastomoses were successfully revised and 7 additional vein grafts were added. One low flow IMA graft was not revised leading to postoperative ST elevation. Thirty-one distal native coronary stenoses were detected in the recipient LADs, 3 of which were not seen in the preoperative cineangiogram. In 20 instances, TCAs were obscured by an excess of fat or myocardium impeding image analysis. In 8 cases, TCA results were confirmed by conventional angiography postoperatively showing an excellent correlation in all cases. We conclude that intraoperative TCA demonstrates early IMA graft function and initial flow patterns. During our study, TCA documented a 7.2% IMA graft early failure rate. Intraoperative decision making was aided by TCA in 9.2% of all IMA grafts; this confirmed the clinical relevance of TCA.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Note on estimates of the inbreeding coefficient through study of pedigrees and isonymous marriages.

Crow and Mange (1965) developed a method to estimate the inbreeding coefficient (F) through an ingenious surname analysis. Such formulations assume a regularity of transmission of surnames, monophyletism, and random occurrence of consanguineous marriages. Accordingly, the ratio of isonymous partners to F of the offspring is equal to 4. Nevertheless, genealogy analyses show that the consanguineous marriages do not necessarily occur regularly. Therefore the isonymy analysis gives a misestimation of the inbreeding coefficient, depending on the prevailing form of nonrandomness. We suggest a small correction to the formulation in situations when pedigree information is available. The weighted mean of the ratio of isonymous partners to F of the known consanguineous marriages is suggested as a way to improve the formulas. The technique was applied to a northeastern Brazilian sample, and the results agree well with those of bioassays and therefore provide an apparently more realistic estimate of the inbreeding coefficient by isonymy.

Brazil↗
PubMed1990

Is there a sex-phenotype association for esterase D (EC 3.1.1.1)?

Recently, a significant sex distortion of the esterase D locus segregation, both in Portugal and Germany, was reported. In contrast to these puzzling results, data on around 1,200 informative northeastern Brazilian individuals did not show any signs of a sex-phenotype association (chi 2 = 0.35). The joint analysis of this sample together with that of the previous report showed that, although the pooled material presented a significant sex distortion (p less than 0.05), the heterogeneity was also high (p less than 0.05) as to discourage any generalization based upon the European findings. Moreover, since the present sample is almost 3 times larger than the pooled European one, the whole picture suggests strongly that there is no segregation distortion attributed to sex, at this locus.

Brazil↗
PubMed1990

[Polychemotherapy of non-small cell bronchial cancer with mitomycin C, ifosfamide and vindesine].

The results of antineoplastic polychemotherapy in non-small-cell carcinomas of the lungs revealed on overall remission rate of 42.1%, with a distribution from limited to extensive disease of approximately 32% to 58%. Severe undesired side effects of the treatment were not observed, the duration of remission was, on average, 78 days, and the survival period 101 days.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1990

[Churg-Strauss syndrome].

The Churg-Strauss syndrome, or allergic angiitis and granulomatosis of the lungs, is one of the systemic vasculitides with predominantly involvement and an unclear genesis. The clinical picture is characterized by a combination of intrinsic bronchial asthma, eosinophila with elevated IgE, and systemic vasculitis of the small blood vessels. Apart from the lungs, other organ systems may also be involved. We report, here, on a case, observed for a period of eight months, that showed complete remission under treatment with corticosteroids.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Decline of the twinning rate in Brazil.

The twinning rate during a twenty-year period (1965-1985) was investigated at five-year intervals in four Brazilian hospitals. During this period the twinning rate has decreased significantly (from 10.68% to 8.11%), being highly negatively correlated with the five-year intervals (r = -0.97). This change was due mainly to the decline in dizygotic twinning, since the incidence of DZ twins has fallen from around 7% in 1965 to around 3.6% in 1985. The detected decline in DZ twinning seems to be due to the remotion of the fertility advantage of the more fecundable DZ twin-prone women by the introduction of effective birth control at the present, while some other mechanisms are causing the decline irrespective of the type of twinning.

Brazil↗
PubMed1989

Heritability of quantitative orbital traits.

We conducted a study of 63 couples and their 242 normal children from northeastern Brazil (no facial malformations or deformities) to evaluate the heritability of 4 quantitative traits of the orbital region adjusted by covariance for sex, age, (age)2, sex x age, and sex x (age)2. The heritability is estimated as 0.514 for the mean horizontal diameter of the palpebral fissures, 0.454 for the interpupillary distance, 0.390 for the internal intercanthal distance, and 0.337 for the external intercanthal distance. The heritability of the first principal component of the orbital region is estimated as 0.418.

Adolescent↗