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Biomedical subjects

J Catalan

Publications and source records attributed to J Catalan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Spontaneous occurrence of a Robertsonian fusion involving chromosome 19 by single whole-arm reciprocal translocation (WART) in wild-derived house mice.

Chromosomal races of the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) bear Robertsonian (Rb) fusions, which consist of centric translocations between two non-homologous acrocentric chromosomes. The high level of diversity of these fusions in house mice is generated by de-novo formation of Rb fusions and subsequent whole-arm reciprocal exchanges (WARTs). This paper describes the spontaneous occurrence of a new Rb fusion, Rb(4.19), in progeny of wild-derived house mice segregating for Rb(4.12). The chromosomal mutation was traced to a female which exhibited germline and somatic mosaicism indicating an early embryonic origin of the mutation. FISH analysis of centromerically-located ribosomal genes suggested that no modification was observed on chromosomes 12 and 19 prior to or following the occurrence of Rb(4.19). Distribution of telomeric sequences showed that both Rb fusions lacked telomeres in their centromeric regions. It is argued that this spontaneous mutation most likely originated by single whole-arm reciprocal translocation (WART) between Rb(4.12) and an acrocentric chromosome 19, resulting in Rb(4.19) and a neo-acrocentric chromosome 12. Sequences required for centromeric function and proximal telomeres would have been transferred to the neo-chromosome 12 from chromosome 19 during the translocation. The existence of such WARTs which generate derived acrocentric chromosomes has several implications for chromosomal evolution in house mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Joint liaison psychiatry-diabetes clinic: a new specialist service.

AIMS: Specialist diabetes clinics have an established role in prevention and management of complications. As psychological problems are usually treated separately from diabetes centres, the role of a specialist psychiatrist within a teaching hospital was assessed. The aims of the study were to describe referral patterns, specific psychiatric conditions and treatments offered. RESULTS: During weekly outpatient sessions over a 12-month period, 31 patients were referred with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses. One-third of patients were seen on the day and two-thirds within 2 weeks of referral. Treatments included anti-depressant medication, counselling and cognitive behaviour therapy. Successful discharge was obtained in 10 subjects and eight were undergoing continued treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The range of specific diagnoses requiring psychiatric supervision supported the role of specifically trained personnel as seen in a joint liaison psychiatry-diabetes service.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Sexual dysfunction in gay and bisexual men with HIV infection: evaluation, treatment and implications.

Sexual dysfunction problems are common in people with HIV infection, but their relevance has been recently highlighted in response to the increased survival shown by many individuals with HIV, and the publicity surrounding the development of new treatments for male sexual dysfunction. Thirty-four gay/bisexual men with HIV infection presenting with sexual dysfunction were assessed. Antiretroviral combination therapy including protease inhibitors was taken by 44%, other combinations not including protease inhibitors by 24%, while 32% were not taking any antiretrovirals. Primarily psychogenic sexual dysfunction was thought to be present in 44%, primarily organic dysfunction in 22% and a mixed aetiology in 34%. Treatments offered included psychological interventions and physical methods of treatment, alone or in combination. Treatment was effective, with 76% reporting resolution of the problems, 14% reporting improvement and only 10% reporting no change. Practical and ethical issues raised by the findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The changing pattern of mental health problems in HIV infection: the view from London, UK.

As we end the second decade with AIDS, profound changes in our understanding of its aetiology, mechanism of disease and its treatment have led to significant improvements in survival, disease progression and quality of life for those individuals with HIV infection who are fortunate enough to have access to health care and to treatments for the infection and its complications. Unsurprisingly, the psychological and social consequences of HIV have also seen important shifts, giving rise to new and unforeseen difficulties, as well as a greater sense of hope. Here, some of the changes seen among people with HIV infection being looked after in a Central London teaching hospital and referred to the mental health services are reviewed and discussed.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2000

Recombinant chimeric yellow fever-dengue type 2 virus is immunogenic and protective in nonhuman primates.

A chimeric yellow fever (YF)-dengue type 2 (dengue-2) virus (ChimeriVax-D2) was constructed using a recombinant cDNA infectious clone of a YF vaccine strain (YF 17D) as a backbone into which we inserted the premembrane (prM) and envelope (E) genes of dengue-2 virus (strain PUO-218 from a case of dengue fever in Bangkok, Thailand). The chimeric virus was recovered from the supernatant of Vero cells transfected with RNA transcripts and amplified once in these cells to yield a titer of 6.3 log(10) PFU/ml. The ChimeriVax-D2 was not neurovirulent for 4-week-old outbred mice inoculated intracerebrally. This virus was evaluated in rhesus monkeys for its safety (induction of viremia) and protective efficacy (induction of anti-dengue-2 neutralizing antibodies and protection against challenge). In one experiment, groups of non-YF-immune monkeys received graded doses of ChimeriVax-D2; a control group received only the vaccine diluents. All monkeys (except the control group) developed a brief viremia and showed no signs of illness. Sixty-two days postimmunization, animals were challenged with 5.0 log(10) focus forming units (FFU) of a wild-type dengue-2 virus. No viremia (<1.7 log(10) FFU/ml) was detected in any vaccinated group, whereas all animals in the placebo control group developed viremia. All vaccinated monkeys developed neutralizing antibodies in a dose-dependent response. In another experiment, viremia and production of neutralizing antibodies were determined in YF-immune monkeys that received either ChimeriVax-D2 or a wild-type dengue-2 virus. Low viremia was detected in ChimeriVax-D2-inoculated monkeys, whereas all dengue-2-immunized animals became viremic. All of these animals were protected against challenge with a wild-type dengue-2 virus, whereas all YF-immune monkeys and nonimmune controls became viremic upon challenge. Genetic stability of ChimeriVax-D2 was assessed by continuous in vitro passage in VeroPM cells. The titer of ChimeriVax-D2, the attenuated phenotype for 4-week-old mice, and the sequence of the inserted prME genes were unchanged after 18 passages in Vero cells. The high replication efficiency, attenuation phenotype in mice and monkeys, immunogenicity and protective efficacy, and genomic stability of ChimeriVax-D2 justify it as a novel vaccine candidate to be evaluated in humans.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2000

HIV, childbirth and suicidal behaviour: a review.

Women who are both pregnant and HIV positive may be at particularly high risk of suicidal behaviour. This is important in view of recent guidelines recommending routine antenatal HIV testing. We present a case and review the relevant literature.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The psychological outcome of hysterectomy.

The objective of this study is to review the published literature on psychological outcome of hysterectomy and oophorectomy for non-malignant indications. The relevant publications over the past 30 years until the end of 1997 were identified by a MEDLINE computer search. This was followed by hand searches of the relevant references in the literature identified by the electronic search. The published studies on the psychological outcome of hysterectomy have been selected to identify the incidence, possible causes and risk factors of psychological morbidity, and the measures that can be adopted to improve the outcome. The study showed that the majority of retrospective studies reported an adverse psychological outcome after hysterectomy. However, all prospective studies showed that the incidence of depressed mood is higher even before hysterectomy, owing to pre-existing psychiatric illness and personality and psychosocial problems, as a result of the emotional response to gynecological symptoms or as a manifestation of associated ovarian failure. Hence, the therapeutic effects of hysterectomy include improvement of mood in some but not all patients, unless proper case selection, psychiatric evaluation and preoperative counselling are arranged. An early detection of ovarian failure after hysterectomy, the initiation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) immediately after surgery in perimenopausal women and in those undergoing oophorectomy, as well as regular follow-ups to ensure long-term compliance with HRT, would also improve the psychological outcome. In conclusion hysterectomy itself is not the cause of any adverse psychological outcome. Psychological symptoms actually improve in the majority of women, with the relief of distressing gynecological symptoms and the correction of ovarian hormone deficiency, but hysterectomy may not be of any benefit in women with prior psychiatric illness and those with personality and psychosocial problems.

Affect↗
PubMed2000

Current awareness

In order to keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, John Wiley & Sons are providing a current awareness service in each issue of the journal. The bibliography contains newly published material in the field of diabetes/metabolism. Each bibliography is divided into 17 sections: 1 Books, Reviews & Symposia; 2 General; 3 Genetics; 4 Epidemiology; 5 Immunology; 6 Prediction; 7 Prevention; 8 Intervention: a&rpar General; b&rpar Pharmacology; 9 Pathology: a&rpar General; b&rpar Cardiovascular; c&rpar Neurological; d&rpar Renal; 10 Endocrinology & Metabolism; 11 Nutrition; 12 Animal Studies; 13 Techniques. Within each section, articles are listed in alphabetical order with respect to author (8 Weeks journals - Search completed at 19th Apr. 2000)

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Microgeographical distribution of two chromosomal races of house mice in Tunisia: pattern and origin of habitat partitioning.

Two chromosomal races of the house mouse occur in Tunisia, a standard morph (40St) found all over the country, and a derived morph (22Rb) occurring only in central Tunisia. In this region, habitat partitioning between the two morphs was investigated by a microgeographical analysis of their distribution, assessing habitat characteristics and demographic parameters. Results showed that the 22Rb mice always occurred in the oldest sections of towns (medinas), often extending to more recent surrounding neighbourhoods where the 40St morph was most abundant. The latter was never trapped within the medinas. The transition between the two morphs was located within cities in the more recent areas, the hybrid zone being estimated at less than 0.5 km in width by a clinal analysis of chromosomal data. Although differences between habitats exist, almost no demographic differences were found between populations of the two morphs when they occurred in the same or in different habitats. Two hypotheses are discussed to account for the origin of habitat partitioning. The first relies on competitive exclusion of the 40St mice from the medinas by the derived 22Rb mice; the second is based on stochastic processes related to historical evolution of Tunisian urban communities.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Manual-assisted cognitive-behaviour therapy (MACT): a randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention with bibliotherapy in the treatment of recurrent deliberate self-harm.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of deliberate self-harm (parasuicide) remains limited in efficacy. Despite a range of psychosocial, educational and pharmacological interventions only one approach, dialectical behaviour therapy, a form of cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), has been shown to reduce repeat episodes, but this is lengthy and intensive and difficult to extrapolate to busy clinical practice. We investigated the effectiveness of a new manual-based treatment varying from bibliotherapy (six self-help booklets) alone to six sessions of cognitive therapy linked to the booklets, which contained elements of dialectical behaviour therapy. METHODS: Thirty-four patients, aged between 16 and 50, seen after an episode of deliberate self-harm, with personality disturbance within the flamboyant cluster and a previous parasuicide episode within the past 12 months, were randomly assigned to treatment with manual-assisted cognitive-behaviour therapy (MACT N = 18) or treatment as usual (TAU N = 16). Assessment of clinical symptoms and social function were made at baseline and repeated by an independent assessor masked to treatment allocation at 6 months. The number and rate of all parasuicide attempts, time to next episode and costs of care were also determined. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients (18 MACT; 14 TAU) were seen at follow-up and 10 patients in each group (56% MACT and 71% TAU) had a suicidal act during the 6 months. The rate of suicidal acts per month was lower with MACT (median 0.17/month MACT; 0.37/month TAU; P = 0.11) and self-rated depressive symptoms also improved (P = 0.03). The treatment involved a mean of 2.7 sessions and the observed average cost of care was 46% less with MACT (P = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by the small sample, the results of this pilot study suggest that this new form of cognitive-behaviour therapy is promising in its efficacy and feasible in clinical practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Effects of humanization by variable domain resurfacing on the antiviral activity of a single-chain antibody against respiratory syncytial virus.

HNK20 is a mouse monoclonal IgA that binds to the F glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and neutralizes the virus, both in vitro and in vivo. The single-chain antibody fragment (scFv) derived from HNK20 is equally active and has allowed us to assess rapidly the effect of mutations on affinity and antiviral activity. Humanization by variable domain resurfacing requires that surface residues not normally found in a human Fv be mutated to the expected human amino acid, thereby eliminating potentially immunogenic sites. We describe the construction and characterization of two humanized scFvs, hu7 and hu10, bearing 7 and 10 mutations, respectively. Both molecules show unaltered binding affinities to the RSV antigen (purified F protein) as determined by ELISA and surface plasmon resonance measurements of binding kinetics (Ka approximately 1x10(9) M-1). A competition ELISA using captured whole virus confirmed that the binding affinities of the parental scFv and also of hu7 and hu10 scFvs were identical. However, when compared with the original scFv, hu10 scFv was shown to have significantly decreased antiviral activity both in vitro and in a mouse model. Our observations suggest that binding of the scFv to the viral antigen is not sufficient for neutralization. We speculate that neutralization may involve the inhibition or induction of conformational changes in the bound antigen, thereby interfering with the F protein-mediated fusion of virus and cell membranes in the initial steps of infection.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

Emotional distress and occupational burnout in health care professionals serving HIV-infected patients: A comparison with oncology and internal medicine services.

BACKGROUND: The present paper examines the levels of emotional distress and professional burnout among health care professionals working with HIV patients in two different settings, Infectious Disease (ID) Units and a Haemophilia (H) Unit, and compares them with those of professionals working in Oncology (O) or General Internal Medicine (IM) Units, all at public hospitals. METHODS: Cross-sectional anonymous survey assessing their psychological condition, occupational stress, work and social adjustment, and providing information about stressors, supports and coping methods, using the General Health Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Modified Social Adjustment Scale, and other self-administered instruments. RESULTS: Perceived stress was higher in both O and IM, and the number of stressful circumstances was especially higher in O. No significant differences in psychological morbidity were found among the groups, with these exceptions: a better status among the H staff, who also showed less overall burnout; emotional exhaustion was lower in both ID and H than in the two other groups; the ID staff showed less personal accomplishment. Using a multiple regression model, a series of variables - including work adjustment, social/leisure adjustment, and having chosen to work in their position - was able to predict outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the presence of substantial levels of emotional distress and work-related difficulties in a significant number of health care workers. The mental health services could play an important role in conducting further research in this field and in providing practical help to deal with staff's difficulties.

Adult↗