Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Boix

Publications and source records attributed to J Boix.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

EWS/FLI-1 rearrangement in small round cell sarcomas of bone and soft tissue detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification.

Recent cloning of the t(11;22) region has led to the detection of a number of sequences involved in the breakpoints by substituting a sequence which encodes a putative RNA binding domain for that of the DNA binding domain of the human homologue of murine FLI-1. Several tumours display consistent translocation at t(11;22) (q24;q12), a finding that suggests these fusion transcripts could be expressed and detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification. To date, only a small number of Ewing's sarcomas (Es) and peripheral neuroectodermal tumours (pPNET) of bone have been tested with this novel molecular biology approach. In this study, we confirmed the presence of the three putative chimaeric transcripts on 7 cases of Es and pPNET sarcomas of bone and soft tissue, providing 100% positivity for the tested tumours. For comparative purposes, a number of other neuroectodermal tumours were analysed with negative results: esthesioneuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, Schwannoma. A primitive soft tissue sarcoma (ectomesenchymoma) with a 22 chromosome rearrangement did not express any transcript, nor did a number of non-neuroectodermal small round cell sarcomas of soft tissue (rhabdomyosarcomas) and bone (microcellular osteosarcoma), conventional bone sarcomas, leiomyosarcomas, malignant fibrous histiocytomas and synovial sarcomas. These results reinforce the value of molecular biology techniques for the correct assessment of histology difficult evaluable neoplasms, such as the group of small round cell tumours within the Es family.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Increased histone H1(0) expression in differentiating mouse erythroleukemia cells is related to decreased cell proliferation.

The amount of histone H1(0) increases relative to other H1 subtypes in terminally differentiated cells, and its expression has been associated with the onset of differentiation. We have studied the kinetics of H1(0) accumulation in mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells and found that the levels of H1(0) reflect the rate of cell proliferation rather than the state of differentiation. This suggests that changes in the relative amount of H1(0) during MEL cell differentiation are primarily a consequence of cell cycle arrest.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Prognostic factors of hepatic encephalopathy after portacaval anastomosis: a multivariate analysis in 50 patients.

Portacaval anastomosis has proved to be effective in avoiding active and recurrent hemorrhage from gastroesophageal varices in liver cirrhosis. However, hepatic encephalopathy is the most common and serious complication of this procedure. The aim of this study was to investigate by multivariate analysis the predictive factors of development of hepatic encephalopathy in 50 Child's A and B cirrhotic patients whose variceal bleeding was treated with emergency (n = 17) or elective (n = 33) portacaval anastomosis. The etiology of the cirrhosis was alcoholic in 74% of cases. The mean follow-up was 22.7 +/- 16.6 months (range 1-60 months). The 2-yr probability of suffering from at least one episode of hepatic encephalopathy in the overall group was 43%. The multivariate analyses (Cox's regression method) of 37 variables based upon clinical history, physical examination, and laboratory data disclosed that only five of these variables had independent predictive value: need for diuretic treatment in the days prior to surgery, absence of hepatomegaly, and serum levels of total bilirubin, gamma-globulin, and hemoglobin. According to the contribution of each one of these factors to the final model, a prognostic index was obtained which allowed the division of patients in two different groups of risk for developing hepatic encephalopathy (20% and 74%, respectively, after 2 yr of surgery; p = 0.0002). This index may help to better choose those candidates for portacaval anastomosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Prophylactic sclerosis of esophageal varices. Results of a controlled prospective study].

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic sclerosis of esophageal varices is effective both to treat active hemorrhage and to prevent recurrences. By contrast, its usefulness for the prophylaxis of the first episode of hemorrhage is not well established, the available data being contradictory. METHODS: Overall 46 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices of type B or higher, without previous upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage, were randomized to be treated with prophylactic sclerosis or not (n = 22 and 24, respectively). Both groups were comparable in age, sex, etiology of cirrhosis (mainly alcoholic), Child's degree of hepatic failure, coagulation studies, laboratory data and endoscopic findings. RESULTS: In a mean follow up of 16 months, the patients treated with sclerosis had a higher frequency of hemorrhage from gastroesophageal varices (27%) than those in the control group (8%) (n.s.). However, this difference reached significance (p = 0.02) when only patients from Child's classes A and B were considered (31% in the sclerosis group vs 5% in the control group). The mortality rate was similar in both groups, with a probability of one year survival of 80 and 76% in the sclerosis and control groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that prophylactic sclerotherapy does not improve short-term survival or reduce the risk of a first hemorrhage due to gastroesophageal varices of type B or higher in hepatic cirrhosis. It may even facilitate the development of this severe complication in Child's A and B class patients.

Endoscopy, Digestive System↗
PubMed1991

Characterization of HMG2 complement changes in chicken tissues.

Variations in the content of nonhistone proteins high mobility group 2a (HMG2a) and HMG2b have been determined in several cell types of chicken. HMG2a was found to accumulate during erythrocyte maturation. HMG2b is the major HMG2 subtype in testis and reaches the highest proportion, detected so far, in spermatid cells obtained by centrifugal elutriation. In hepatocytes HMG2b is barely detectable and HMG2a is the major subtype. In conclusion, the pattern of HMG2 composition is different in three quiescent and terminally differentiated cell types, no correlation between the state of cell proliferation and HMG2 composition can be established.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Portacaval shunt versus endoscopic sclerotherapy in the elective treatment of variceal hemorrhage.

Eighty-two consecutive Child-Campbell class A and B cirrhotic patients were included in a prospective controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of portacaval anastomosis vs. endoscopic sclerotherapy as elective treatment of variceal hemorrhage. Forty-one patients were randomized to portacaval anastomosis and 41 to sclerotherapy. After excluding dropouts, 34 patients were treated with portacaval anastomosis and 35 with sclerotherapy. The incidence of variceal rebleeding during follow-up (mean +/- SD, 20.6 +/- 14.2 months) was significantly higher in the sclerotherapy than in the portacaval groups, either considering the overall treated group or only patients completing sclerotherapy (40% and 25% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.0002 and P = 0.01, respectively). The 2-year probability of suffering from at least one episode of hepatic encephalopathy was significantly higher in patients submitted to portacaval anastomosis than in those treated with endoscopic sclerotherapy (40% vs. 12%; P = 0.04). However, disabling encephalopathy only appeared in 3 of 34 patients who underwent surgery (8.8%). Early and long-term mortality did not differ between the therapeutic groups; 2-year survival rates were 83% for portacaval anastomosis and 79% for sclerotherapy. It is concluded that portacaval anastomosis is more effective than endoscopic sclerotherapy in preventing variceal rebleeding in spite of the greater incidence of hepatic encephalopathy. The role of portacaval anastomosis in the elective treatment of variceal rebleeding should be reassessed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Acute gastroduodenal lesions in patients with venous thromboembolism. Identification of patients at risk.

The prime complication of heparin therapy is bleeding, and the gastrointestinal tract is the most common site of bleeding in patients treated with heparin. We recently reported that gastroduodenal lesions are common in patients admitted because of acute venous thromboembolism, and now we present our experience in a larger series of patients. The aims of the study were to try to validate our previous findings and to identify clinical factors that could increase the likelihood of having an acute, potential bleeding lesion in the gastroduodenal tract. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on admission in 155 consecutive patients with acute venous thromboembolism (118 with deep vein thrombosis, 37 with pulmonary embolism). Acute lesions (both peptic ulcers and diffuse erosions) were found in 19 of 118 patients (16 percent) with venous thrombosis, and in 14 of 37 patients (38 percent) with pulmonary embolism (p = 0.005). When only patients with pulmonary embolism were considered, lesions were more commonly found in men, and in patients with severe hypoxemia on admission. When considered overall, only the timing of endoscopy was statistically significant; acute lesions were more commonly found when endoscopy was performed early after admission. No significant differences were found in terms of age, sex, smoking habits, alcohol intake, concomitant drug ingestion, comorbid diseases, or previous history of ulcer. The very high incidence of upper GI tract lesions in these patients will have long-term diagnostic/therapeutic implications which cannot be ignored. Who should receive prophylactic H2 blockers and for how long remains to be determined.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Aleatory clinical study comparing otilonium bromide with a fiber-rich diet in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

We studied 114 patients affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (group A = 53 patients, group B = 61). Group A received diet with high content of roughage (20 g of fibers) and 10 g of bran, group B received otilonium bromide (OB) 40mg tid and normal diet (10-15 g of fibers). Abdominal pain, abdominal distension, bowel movements were evaluated before treatment (T0) at the end (T24) and after 12 months (T12). In group B otilonium bromide induced a significant improvement (p less than 0.01) of abdominal pain and distension when comparing T0 with T24. In group A diet produced an improvement, albeit not significant, of the aforementioned parameters at T24. On the basis of our data OB seems to be more effective than a high-fiber diet in the treatment of IBS.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1991

Histone H1c decreases markedly in postreplicative stages of chicken spermatogenesis.

The relative proportions of four major chicken histone H1 subtypes (referred to as H1a, H1b, H1c and H1d) change markedly in different chicken tissues. The relative amount of H1c is higher in nonreplicating somatic tissues, such as liver, than in replicating immature testis. The proportion of H1c sharply decreases as spermatogenesis proceeds, being much lower in mature than in immature testis. It has been proposed that the relative increment of H1c correlates with low rates of cell division in chicken tissues. It was assumed that the sharp decrease in H1c observed during maturation of chicken testis was a consequence of the intensification of proliferative activity in spermatogonia (Berdnikov et al., 1976). Our results, however, clearly show that the decrease of H1c during maturation is due to the low levels of this protein in postreplicative stages of spermatogenesis, where H1c is barely detectable. These results suggest that the presence of the arginine-rich H1c subtype would neither be compatible with the relaxed structure of acetylated chromatin present in active replicating cells nor with the hyperacetylated chromatin characteristic of postreplicative late spermatids undergoing the nucleohistone nucleoprotamine transition.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Sequential esophageal motility studies after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy: a prospective investigation.

To assess prospectively the effects of endoscopic intravariceal sclerosis (EIS) on esophageal function, we performed esophageal manometry on 13 cirrhotic patients before EIS, 24 h after the second session and 4 wk after the fourth session. EIS had no impact on lower esophageal sphincter pressure. However, a significant decrease in the amplitude of peristaltic waves was observed immediately post-EIS in the lower two-thirds of the esophagus. There was no modification of duration or velocity of progression of peristaltic waves. A four-fold increase in simultaneous contractions was observed early after EIS. These changes were reversible, as assessed by late esophageal testing after EIS. No correlations were demonstrated between esophageal motor parameters and doses of sclerosant. We conclude that sclerosant injection into the esophageal wall acutely impairs esophageal motility, but motor function is partially restored 4 wk after completion of EIS, suggesting that dysmotility is reversible.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Soft tissue Ewing's sarcoma. Characterization in established cultures and xenografts with evidence of a neuroectodermic phenotype.

This study characterizes the histogenesis of soft tissue Ewing's sarcoma (StEs) based upon an analysis of three tumors. Long-term cultured cell lines and nude mice xenografts were established from original neoplasms or from their metastases. Histologically they revealed a small round cell pattern without signs of differentiation. Several ultrastructural features of neural type were found; the same were also seen on culture cell lines. Moreover, immunohistochemical study for neural markers revealed the presence of HNK-1, NSE, LIRC-LON 36, S-100 protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilaments (70 kilodaltons), and chromogranin; some of these markers were present only in the transplants. Cytokeratin was also seen. The translocation t(11;22)(q24;q12) was found in all three neoplasms together with other chromosomal abnormalities. N-myc RNA gave negative results whereas c-myc RNA was expressed. Therefore it may be postulated that StEs displays neuroectodermal features somewhat similar to those seen in peripheral neuroepithelioma as well as in atypical Ewing's sarcoma of bone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Analysis of U1snRNP-specific A protein cross-linked complexes.

The organization of the U1snRNP-specific A protein (34 kDa) has been analyzed by 12 and 16 A thiol-reversible chemical cross-linking and Western blotting. A-containing cross-linked complexes had molecular masses of 43, 47, 56, 62, 67, 105 and 125 kDa. None of these complexes could be cross-linked following ribonuclease digestion, suggesting that UsnRNA may play important roles in the spatial organization of A and other proteins. Moreover, the data suggest that A is proximal to, and may have interactions with, UsnRNP-specific proteins C and 70 kDa as well as with UsnRNP-common proteins B, E and G.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1990

Serum zinc, copper, and selenium levels in inflammatory bowel disease: effect of total enteral nutrition on trace element status.

Serum levels of zinc, copper, and selenium, and alkaline phosphatase activity were prospectively studied in 29 patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Fifteen patients had extensive active colitis (active colitis group). Seven patients had active, and seven cases inactive small bowel or ileocecal Crohn's disease (small bowel disease group). Ninety-three healthy subjects acted as controls. Serum trace element levels were considered in relation to vitamin A and E levels, nutritional parameters, the activity of the disease, and the recent intake of steroids. The effect of total enteral nutrition on serum trace elements was studied in seven cases. Serum zinc levels were lower and serum copper levels higher in the active colitis group than in controls (p = 0.0007, and p = 0.02, respectively). More than 50% of patients with active colonic or small bowel disease showed zinc levels below the 15th percentile of the control group. Serum zinc levels correlated with plasma vitamin A in acute colitis (r = 0.67; p = 0.006), and with both serum albumin concentration (r = 0.76; p = 0.002) and disease activity score (r = -0.67, p = 0.009) in patients with small bowel disease. The copper:zinc ratio was higher in the active colitis group than in controls (p = 0.002). In spite of the increase in serum albumin levels and the decrease in disease activity, serum zinc levels remained low after total enteral nutrition. The implications of the abnormal trace element status in patients with inflammatory bowel disease are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Pigmented esthesioneuroblastoma showing dual differentiation following transplantation in nude mice. An immunohistochemical, electron microscopical, and cytogenetic analysis.

Esthesioneuroblastoma (ESTH) is a neuroepithelial-cell-derived neoplasm of the olfactory mucosa composed of homogeneous small round cells which contain neurosecretory granules. Melanin has been detected in such tumours only occasionally. Here we describe a new case of ESTH with divergent differentiation. The primary neoplasm was found in a 67 year-old female, involving the left nasal and maxillary sinus; she died of cerebral metastasis ten months after diagnosis. Histologically only small round cells were seen, with S-100 and NSE positivity. Electron microscopy revealed neurosecretory granules and filaments, as well as the occasional presence of melanosomes. A nude mice xenograft line has been established, and is presently in its ninth transfer. Two cell types are present: small round-to-spindle shaped cells with neural features, and large epithelial-like ones. Both immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy confirm this dual differentiation, with the presence of membrane-bound dense-core neural secretion, as well as melanosomes of neuroectodermal origin. Additionally, an in vitro cell line has been established. Cytogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of both malignant human melanoma patterns; non-random abnormalities in chromosomes 1 and 6, extra copies of chromosome 7. Duplication of the long arm of chromosome 14, as seen in olfactory neuroblastoma, is also seen.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

[Usefulness of microscopic study of the duodenal bile in the diagnosis of pancreatitis of unknown cause].

In spite of the numerous causes of acute pancreatitis reported, among which the most frequent are biliary lithiasis and alcoholism, the etiology remains obscure in many patients, being termed idiopathic in these cases. The presence of microcalculi in the bile juice has been described as a cause of some pancreatitis initially labeled as of unknown cause. We studied the duodenal bile juice of 22 patients who were admitted on various occasions for acute pancreatitis, in whom the etiology could not be clarified in spite of the anamnesis and explorations. Microscopic study of the bile juice showed the presence of microlithiasis in 36.3% of cases. We conclude that microscopic study of the bile juice is a risk-free technique that should be included systematically in the investigation of the etiology of idiopathic pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

[Emergency endoscopic sclerosis in active hemorrhage caused by esophageal varices: analysis of 31 cases].

We have reviewed our experience in urgent endoscopic sclerosis of bleeding esophageal veins in most patients (67.7%) secondary to alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Through the flexible gastroscope, 1% of polydocanol was injected intra and periveinaly for sclerosis. Initial and primary hemostasis was achieved in 90.3% and 87% of the cases respectively. Hemorrhage recurred in 14.2% of the patients. Hospital mortality was 38.7% (11 patients classified in Childs group C and 1 patient in group B), although only 19.3% of the patients died because of esophageal vein bleeding. These results suggest that in a satisfactory percentage of cases urgent sclerosis of esophageal veins controls active bleeding, and the hospital mortality depends mainly on the severeness of liver failure in these patients.

Adult↗