Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Briere

Publications and source records attributed to J Briere.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Immunohistochemical detection of bcl-2 protein in thymoma.

The protooncogene bcl-2 encodes a protein that inhibits apoptosis. The protein is expressed in most epithelial cells of the fetal thymic medulla but, to the best of our knowledge, no data are available on bcl-2 expression in thymoma. Expression of bcl-2 protein was analysed in 30 cases of thymoma by immunohistological staining of paraffin-embedded tissue. All cases were examined and classified according to the Salyer and Eggleston and the Müller-Hermelink classification. In four cases, the protooncogene bcl-2 was abnormally expressed in spindle cells of pure medullary thymoma, whereas the non-spindle cells in mixed and in cortical thymoma were negative. All the lymphocytes were also strongly positive in medullary thymoma while a few lymphocytes showed light staining in other thymomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in extranodal T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (T-NHL). Identification of nasal T-NHL as a distinct clinicopathological entity associated with EBV.

T-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (T-NHL) can be defined as clonal malignant proliferations related phenotypically and functionally to normal T-cell populations of the lymphoid tissue. There is increasing evidence that T-NHL with similar morphology but originating from different sites differ in their clinical behaviour, immunophenotypic features, oncogene expression and relation with oncogenic viruses such as HTLV-I and EBV. Indeed, it has been shown that the prevalence of EBV in T-NHL is related to the site of origin. Thus, EBV was found in nearly all nasal T-NHL but only in a proportion of primary nodal, lung, gastrointestinal and Waldeyer's ring T-NHL while it was undetectable in most primary cutaneous T-NHL. Besides their constant association with EBV, nasal T-NHL display peculiar clinical, histological, immunophenotypic and genotypic features. They present clinically as lethal midline granuloma and histologically as pleomorphic malignant tumours variably associated with angiocentricity, angioinvasion and necrosis. Moreover, they frequently exhibit extensive loss of T-cell antigens, including CD3 and TCR alpha beta and gamma delta proteins, usually express the Natural Killer (NK)-related CD56 antigen and frequently show absence of clonal rearrangements of TCR beta, gamma and delta loci. Therefore, among T-NHL, nasal T-NHL can be regarded as a distinct clinicopathologic entity associated with EBV, which could be derived either from immature T-cells or from NK cells.

Herpesviridae Infections↗
PubMed1994

Sexual fantasies, gender, and molestation history.

A total of 314 university students (107 males and 207 females) completed a questionnaire examining reports of childhood sexual abuse history and extent and type of adult sexual fantasies. Multivariate main effects of gender and abuse history were found, as well as a multivariate interaction between these variables. Males had more fantasies of forcing someone to have intercourse with them, participating in an orgy, and having sex with a stranger. Subjects with histories of sexual abuse had more sexual fantasies than their nonabused peers in four of five categories. Finally, sexually abused women reported more fantasies of being sexually forced than did women without sexual abuse histories or men regardless of molestation history. In several instances, fantasies correlated with especially early and extended abuse.

Child Abuse, Sexual↗
PubMed1994

Spontaneous megakaryocyte colony formation in myeloproliferative disorders is not neutralizable by antibodies against IL3, IL6 and GM-CSF.

Megakaryocyte progenitor growth in 42 patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD), including 23 essential thrombocythaemia (ET), eight polycythaemia vera (PV), six chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) and five primary myelofibrosis (PMF), was studied in vitro using plasma clot assay and serum-free agar culture. Spontaneous megakaryocyte colonies (CFU-MK) were found in 34/40 (80%) blood and 14/18 (77.8%) bone marrow plasma clot cultures, and also observed in 27/35 (77.1%) blood and 10/18 (55.6%) bone marrow serum-free agar cultures. In the blood of 27 patients with MPD (15 ET, four PV, four CML and four PMF) and the bone marrow of 10 patients (five ET, four CML and one PV), spontaneous colony formation was observed in both plasma clot and serum-free agar cultures. However, spontaneous CFU-MK was only found in plasma clot culture, but not in agar culture in two blood (one ET and one CML) and four bone marrow cultures (one ET, two PV, one CML). The colony numbers were greatly increased in the presence of aplastic anaemia serum (AAS) under both conditions. In 17 patients (12 ET, two CML and three PV) with spontaneous megakaryocyte colonies, anti-cytokine antibody neutralizing experiments were carried out in blood cultures. Anti-IL3, anti-IL6 and anti-GM-CSF antibody, alone or in combination, at different concentrations (1, 5 and 10 micrograms/ml), were added into plasma clot or agar cultures without exogenous stimulating growth factors. The results showed that the numbers of spontaneous megakaryocyte colonies were not significantly decreased in the presence of these monoclonal antibodies in the cultures. The data indicated that the megakaryocyte progenitor growth in MPD under in vitro conditions was heterogenous, and independent of exogenous stimulatory factors in most patients and that optimal megakaryocyte colony development in MPD still requires exogenous growth factors. Three possibilities are discussed with regard to the phenomenon that the spontaneous colony formation was not decreased with the addition of anti-IL3, anti-IL6 and anti-GM-CSF antibodies.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1993

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genomes and EBV-encoded latent membrane protein (LMP) in pulmonary lymphomas occurring in nonimmunocompromised patients.

Recently, in situ hybridization (ISH) techniques have shown that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) could be detected in tumor cells of most angiocentric T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). These studies included only a few cases of T-NHL of the lung and pulmonary B-NHL and have not been investigated. Furthermore, the expression of the EBV-encoded latent membrane protein (LMP), which is known for its oncogenic properties, has not been reported. Twelve pulmonary NHL (six angiocentric T-NHL and six B-NHL) arising in nonimmunocompromised patients were examined for the presence of EBV-EBER mRNAs and LMP with ISH and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Four cases of pulmonary lymphomas arising in immunocompromised patients were also included in the study for comparison (one T-NHL in a patient under immunosuppressive treatment and three B-NHL in AIDS patients). EBV-RNA and LMP were detected in tumor cells in two of six nonimmunocompromised angiocentric T-NHL and in the four immunocompromised NHL. The six nonimmunocompromised B-NHL were EBV negative. These results suggest that EBV is associated with some angiocentric pulmonary T-NHL arising in patients without overt immunodeficiency whereas it is absent in such patients with B-NHL. The presence of the transforming EBV-encoded LMP in tumor cells suggests that EBV may be involved in the pathogenesis of some pulmonary T-NHL.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Sexual abuse, family environment, and psychological symptoms: on the validity of statistical control.

M. R. Nash, T. L. Hulsey, M. C. Sexton, T. L. Harralson, and W. Lambert (1993) reported on the effects of controlling for family environment when studying sexual abuse sequelae. Sexual abuse history was associated with elevated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Rorschach scores in a sample of 105 women, but many of the reported differences disappeared when a Family Functioning Scale score was used as a covariate. The present article considers the findings of Nash et al. in terms of the theoretical and statistical constraints placed on analysis of covariance and other partializing procedures. Because family dysfunction is not always causally antecedent to sexual abuse, and given the quasi-experimental quality of most abuse research, the use of covariate techniques to test hypotheses about the causal role of family environment in the impacts of sexual abuse may be ill advised. Analyses of a 2,964-subject data set illustrate these concerns.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Multicenter randomized study comparing cyclosporine-A alone and antithymocyte globulin with prednisone for treatment of severe aplastic anemia.

We report the results of a randomized multicenter study comparing the efficacy of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) with that of cyclosporin A (CsA) as first-line therapy for severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Patients were randomized to receive ATG and prednisone (PDN) or CsA; hematologic response and toxicity were compared. At 3-month evaluation, patients who had no or minimal response received the alternative therapy to assess the value of a sequential immunosuppressive therapy for treatment of severe aplastic anemia. One hundred nineteen patients were randomized; 25 were excluded, of whom 3 were misdiagnosed and 22 did not follow the cross-over protocol. Ninety-four patients were analyzed; 46 received CsA, and 48 received ATG-PDN. The actuarial survival was 66.7%, with a median follow-up time of 19 months. There was no significant difference in survival between the groups with, at 3 months, an actuarial survival of 88% in the CsA group and 75% in the ATG group (NS); at 12 months, it was 70% in the CsA group and 64% in the ATG group (NS). The percentage of complete and partial response was 11.6% and 16%, respectively, at 3 months, and 31.6% and 30%, respectively, at 12 months (NS). The main prognostic factor was the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) at entry: Patients with ANC less than 0.2 x 10(9)/L had a significantly lower survival as compared with patients with more than 0.2 x 10(9)/L ANC (P = .0001). At 12 months, 62 evaluable patients were alive, with a complete or partial response in 36 patients. Patients who had responded to the first treatment had a better recovery of bone marrow failure than those who had sequential immunosuppression. The main complication was infection, which was more often observed and more often lethal during ATG and PDN therapy. In this study, initial treatment of SAA with either CsA or ATG-PDN followed by cross-over therapy for nonresponders produced comparable response and survival rates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Sexual abuse trauma among professional women: validating the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40).

This study examines the usefulness of the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC-40) in measuring the long-term sequelae of sexual abuse. In a national survey of 2,963 professional women, the TSC-40 was found to be reliable and to display predictive validity with regard to childhood sexual victimization. Women who reported a sexual abuse history scored significantly higher than did women with no history of abuse on each of the six subscales and on the overall TSC-40 score. Various aspects of childhood victimization were associated with the subscale scores, with the Sexual Abuse Trauma Index and Dissociation subscales being more sensitive to the specific components of the abuse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A multicenter randomized study comparing cyclosporin-A alone and antithymocyte globulin with prednisone for treatment of severe aplastic anemia. The cooperative group on the treatment of aplastic anemia.

This article reports the results of a randomized multicentric study comparing the efficacy of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) with cyclosporin-A (CsA) as first line therapy for severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Patients were randomized to receive ATG and prednisone (PDN) or CsA; hematological response and toxicity were compared. At 3 months, patients who had no or minimal response received the alternative therapy in order to assess the value of a sequential immunosuppressive therapy for treatment of severe aplastic anemia. One hundred and sixteen patients were analysed, 60 received CsA and 56 received ATG/PDN. The actuarial survival was 55% with a median follow-up time of 19 months. There was no significant difference in survival between the two groups. The main prognostic factor was the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) at entry: patients with ANC less than 0.2 x 10(9)/L had a significantly lower survival when compared with patients with an ANC greater than 0.2 x 10(9)/L (P = 0.0001). At 3 months, 16% of patients had a complete or partial response and a cross-over treatment was given to 68 patients. At 12 months, 77 patients were alive, with a complete or partial response in 47 patients. Patients who had responded to the first treatment had a better recovery of bone marrow failure than those who had a sequential immunosuppression. The main complication was infection which was more often observed and was more often lethal during ATG and PDN. This study demonstrates that CsA is comparable to ATG for primary treatment of SAA, but it is less toxic with fewer infectious deaths.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anemia, Aplastic↗
PubMed1992

Methodological issues in the study of sexual abuse effects.

Despite its relative infancy, child abuse research has provided a substantial literature on the psychological sequelae of sexual molestation. These findings have been helpful in informing social policy and guiding mental health practice. Because of the recency of interest in this area, however, as well as the costs and time investment associated with more rigorous longitudinal research, many of these studies have used correlational designs and retrospective reports of abuse. The implications of this methodology are outlined, and remedies are suggested where possible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[The bronchial arteries and their anastomoses with the coronary arteries].

We studied bronchial arteries (BA) and their anastomoses with coronary arteries in 53 adult subjects (30 female and 23 male, mean age 82) and one 2 month old child. Each subject had 1 to 4 BAs, born from an area on the anterior side of the descending aorta measuring less than 2 cm in diameter in 62 percent of the cases and never exceeding 4 cm in the other cases. In 6 cases BAs vascularize the left auricle; more than half of all cases had an anastomose with the coronary arteries: 11 with the right coronary artery and 9 with the left one. These anastomoses preserve the vascularization of the carina after a cardio-pulmonary transplantation. The may have a function of vascular supply in some coronarian patients and the study of associated coronary pathology gives confirmation of it in one fourth of the cases.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Effects of cryopreservation on the adherent layer of human long-term bone marrow cultures: study of cell phenotypes.

This report describes the effects of cryopreservation on the adherent layer of human long-term bone marrow cultures (HLTBMC). Stromal cells are believed to be the most important cells of medullar microenvironment to regulate hematopoiesis. To study effects of cryopreservation, we compared the cell phenotypes of adherent layers of fresh and frozen-thawed bone marrows. To characterize stromal cells we used monoclonal antibodies reacting with components of these cells (CGA-7 alpha SM and gamma SM actin isoforms; HHF-35, all muscle actin isoforms; BMS-1, stromal cell lysosomes). The other components studied were: fibronectin (BMS-2 monoclonal antibody) and hematopoietic cells (monoclonal antibodies against CD45, CD33, and CD14). Results show a decrease of cells positive for CGA-7, HHF-35, and BMS-1, in adherent layer of HLTBMC of frozen-thawed bone marrows. Expression of BMS-2 is unchanged, and CD45 and CD14-positive cells proportionately increased. These results are consistent with an impairment of stromal cell proliferation in frozen-thawed marrows, without impairment of most stromal cell functions. The difference between stromal cell and hematopoietic cell kinetics seems to be an additional fact suggesting a different origin for both cell populations.

Actins↗
PubMed1991

Carbohydrate composition of human megakaryocyte membranes in culture: identification using binding of seven lectins.

Seven tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate- (TRITC) labeled lectins: lens culinaris (LCH), ulex europeus-1 (UEA-1), lycopersicon esculentum (LEA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), dolichos biflorus (DBA), soybean agglutinin (SBA) and erythrina cristagalli (ECA) were applied on cultured human megakaryocytes (Megs) detected by immunofluorescence. All stages of Megs (from lymphocyte-like Megs to mature Megs) and platelets were labeled by LCH, LEA, UEA-1 and WGA. ECA binds to platelets but only to some Megs. DBA did not bind to platelets but did bind to some Megs, irrespective of stage. SBA binds to all stages of Megs, but did not bind to platelets. These results indicate the presence of mannose, glucose (LCH), sialic acid (WGA), and glucosamine (UEA-1, LEA, WGA) on the surface of all cells of the Meg lineage, a variable presence of galactosamine (DBA, SBA, ECA), and a discrepancy in the presence of some galactosamine compounds between platelets and Megs (DBA, SBA).

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1991

Incidence and impact of sexual abuse in a child outpatient sample: the role of direct inquiry.

From the child psychiatry outpatient department of a university medical center, 64 charts were reviewed in two phases: 29 were randomly selected from outpatient files, and 35 were examined after clinicians were asked to directly query sexual abuse. Although the reported sexual abuse rate for randomly selected charts was quite low (6.9%), reference to sexual abuse history in charts of children who were asked about molestation was 4.5 times more frequent (31.4%; 11.5% of all boys, 50% of all girls). Children with an identified sexual abuse history reported more psychological symptoms, had made more suicide attempts in the past, and were more likely than nonabused children to receive a diagnosis of major depression.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1991

Interleukin-2 therapy for refractory and relapsing lymphomas.

Recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) has been reported to be active in metastatic renal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. The purpose of this trial was to determine the efficacy and toxicity of rIL-2 administered in continuous infusion in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). 21 patients with HD (4 patients), diffuse large-cell NHL (7) or low-grade NHL (10) in failure or relapse after multiple-conventional treatments were included in this trial. rIL-2 therapy consisted of an induction period of two cycles separated by 3 weeks of rest, and, in the absence of progressive disease or undue toxicity, a maintenance period of 4 monthly cycles. Each induction cycle comprised the continuous infusion of rIL-2: 18 x 10(6) IU/m2 per day on days 1-5 and days 12-16. Each maintenance cycle comprised the continuous infusion of rIL-2: 18 x 10(6) IU/m2 per day on days 1-5. Among the 21 treated patients, 5 (all of those with low-grade NHL) responded to the induction phase (1 complete response, 4 partial responses) and 2 patients had a mixed response. Conversely, no response was observed in patients with HD or large-cell NHL. The median duration of response was 4 months. rIL-2 administered as a continuous infusion was well tolerated and most patients received the full dosage, and management did not require intensive care. During the induction period, 2 patients experienced grade III cardiovascular or renal toxicity. During the maintenance period, rIL-2 had to be interrupted in 1 patient because of a myocardial infarction. This trial confirms the inefficacy of rIL-2 for the treatment of large-cell NHL and HD. Conversely, in low-grade NHL, rIL-2 activity needs to be explored by further studies. rIL-2 may have a place in the early phase of the disease, when the immune system is not compromised, as an adjuvant treatment in residual disease in order to improve the duration of response.

Adult↗