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Biomedical subjects

J Chandra

Publications and source records attributed to J Chandra.

102 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Sonographic assessment of renal volume in Indian children.

In an attempt to making norms of renal volume (RV) in Indian children, 240 children (137 boys and 103 girls) below 5 years of age were subjected to sonographic examination in supine position. Left RV in female children increased from 18.04 mm3 in early infancy to 48.36 mm3 in 4-5 year age group. Similar increase was observed in the right RV. There was no significant left vs. right difference in RV in boys and girls (p > 0.05). Similarly, the RV did not differ significantly in both sexes (p > 0.05, in all age groups except 4-5 years, p = 0.04).

Age Factors↗

Fatal pulmonary infection caused by Mycobacterium smegmetis in an infant.

Mycobacterium smegmetis is a rapidly growing mycobacteria which is usually regarded as an environmental saorophyte. Recently it has been isolated from human beings mainly from skin and soft tissue lesions. Pulmonary lesions are extremely rare. A case of pulmonary consolidation caused by M. smegmetis in an infant is reported. The outcome was fatal. The organism was resistant to various antitubercular drugs. A brief review is presented.

Fatal Outcome↗

Mumps hemiplegia.

Neurological involvement of mumps is commonly restricted to aseptic meningitis. However, rarely mumps is associated with more severe encephalitic illness; other known associations described with mumps are cases of transverse myelitis and Gullain Barre like illness. We report a case of hemiplegia due to mumps parotitis probably caused by involvement of carotid artery.

Carotid Artery, Internal↗

Sonographic renal length in Indian children.

For the purpose of making norms of ultrasonographic renal length in Indian children, 240 children (137 boys and 103 girls) below 5 years of age were subjected to sonographic evaluation in supine position. Left renal length increased from 59.18 mm, in infancy to 81.89 mm between 4-5 years age in female children. Similar increase was observed in male children. There was no statistically significant difference in renal length in boys and girls in various age groups (p 0.05 to 0.1). Right renal length measured 1-3.5 mm than less than the left renal length, and this difference was statistically significant (p 0.05 to 0.0002) in both sexes. Renal length positively correlated to subject's age, length/height, body weight and body surface area in that order.

Anthropometry↗

Gemcitabine-induced programmed cell death (apoptosis) of human pancreatic carcinoma is determined by Bcl-2 content.

BACKGROUND: Gemcitabine is a new nucleoside analogue that produces a clinical response in 30% of patients with unresectable pancreatic carcinoma. The cytotoxic effects of many chemotherapeutic agents occur through induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis), which is controlled by the bcl-2 gene family. We determined whether induction of apoptosis by gemcitabine in pancreatic carcinoma is associated with cellular Bcl-2 content. METHODS: Four pancreatic carcinoma cell lines (MIA-PaCa-2, AsPC-1, Panc-1, and Panc-48) were screened by Western blotting for Bcl-2 protein expression. Dose-response relationships for the cytotoxic effects of gemcitabine were determined using methylthiotetrazole assays, and induction of apoptosis was confirmed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. MIA-PaCa-2 cells transfected with human bcl-2 were also analyzed for gemcitabine-induced apoptosis. RESULTS: Pancreatic cancer cell lines expressed varying amounts of Bcl-2, and the 50% lethal dose for gemcitabine-induced apoptosis was correlated with Bcl-2 content. Furthermore, Bcl-2 overexpression was associated with a significant increase in the 50% lethal dose for gemcitabine-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Cellular Bcl-2 content was directly correlated with the cytotoxicity of gemcitabine in pancreatic carcinoma. Therefore, routine immunohistochemical analyses may be useful in predicting gemcitabine efficacy, and patients who would likely not benefit could be spared gemcitabine administration. Furthermore, the effectiveness of gemcitabine and other chemotherapeutic agents may be increased by gene therapy-mediated alteration of bcl-2 gene family members.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Caspase-dependent apoptosis induced by telomere cleavage and TRF2 loss.

Chromosomal abnormalities involving telomeric associations (TAs) often precede replicative senescence and abnormal chromosome configurations. We report here that telomere cleavage following exposure to proapoptotic agents is an early event in apoptosis. Exposure of human and murine cancer cells to a variety of pro-apoptotic stimuli (staurosporine, thapsigargin, anti-Fas antibody, and cancer chemotherapeutic agents) resulted in telomere cleavage and aggregation, and finally their extrusion from the nuclei. Telomere loss was associated with arrest of cells in G2/M phase and preceded DNA fragmentation. Telomere erosion and subsequent large-scale chromatin cleavage were inhibited by overexpression of the anti-apoptotic protein, bcl-2, and two peptide caspase inhibitors (BACMK and zVADfmk), indicating that both events are regulated by caspase activation. The results demonstrate that telomere cleavage is an early chromatin alteration detected in various cancer cell lines leading to drug-induced apoptosis, and suggest that this event contributes to mitotic catastrophe and induction of cell death. Results also suggest that the decrease of telomeric-repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) may be the earliest event in the ara-C-induced telomere shortening, induction of endoreduplication and chromosomal fragmentation leading to cell death.

Animals↗