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Biomedical subjects

J D García

Publications and source records attributed to J D García.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Gangliosides minimize motor disabilities and histopathological changes in cortical lesioned and transplanted rats.

The effect of bovine brain gangliosides was studied in rats lesioned by partial suction of the right somatosensory cortex and also in rats implanted with a piece of fetal brain tissue in this area. In both experiments a group of animals received 30 mg/kg i.p. of gangliosides daily for a period of 7 days after surgery. In lesioned rats, the untreated group showed a lower maintenance on a tight rope test at 7 as well as at 14 days, as compared with a sham-operated group (p < 0.05). In transplanted rats ganglioside treatment prevented the increase of the probability of falls from a horizontal bar at days 7 and 14 post-operations and the probability of slips on a vertical bar at day 7 (p < 0.05). Rats were killed at day 15 and brain coronal sections were obtained. Nuclear area and circularity were measured in a sample of cortical and grafted cells in a computer aid-image analyzer. Ganglioside protection on the normal size and shape of the nuclei in the ipsilateral cortex in lesioned as well as in transplanted rats (p < 0.01) was found. A higher nuclear area in ganglioside than in saline treated grafts was noted. Results suggest a protective action of the gangliosides against the lesion-induced motor dysfunction and secondary cortical cell degeneration.

Animals↗

Method for analysis of polymer-supported organic compounds using mass spectrometry direct insertion.

A new approach on the use of mass spectrometry direct-insertion and a quadrupole detector for analysis of organic compounds supported in solid phase has been developed. This is a simple and efficient method based on cleavage due to the thermal-instability of the benzylic group of most commercial resins. The cleavage of supported compounds takes place in the spectrometer as a consequence of the high temperature in the instrument's chamber. These compounds are detected using a similar fragmentation pattern and a molecular ion corresponding to the same compound obtained by traditional synthesis. Polymer degradation fragments do not interfere with the spectrum interpretation, because only a few peaks and low intensities are detected. We report here the identification of different types of compounds supported in Merrifield resin, such as bis-o-aminobenzamides and simple aromatic and aliphatic compounds, using this new approach.

Journal Article↗

Impaired monocyte function in primary biliary cirrhosis.

A study was carried out on the chemotactic capacity and monocyte adherence in 11 patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC); 26 cases of Alcoholic Liver Disease (CALD); 18 cases of Chronic Active Hepatitis (CAH) and 43 controls. Overall, the chemotactic response was depressed in all patients and was correlated with the degree of hepatic affectation only in the CALD and CAH cases. In PBC, a chemotactic defect could be observed against all the chemoattractant agents employed, the sera from these patients being unable to inhibit the movement of control monocytes. In contrast, in CADL and CAH no disturbance was observed in locomotion against homologous activated serum whereas the serum of those patients was able to inhibit the chemotaxis of control monocytes. The adherence capacity was only depressed in the PBC patients. Our results suggest that in PBC there is a functional monocyte disturbance which in contrast to the situation in other hepatopathies, seems to be primary and may arise at the cellular level.

Adult↗

Monocyte function in the elderly.

Monocyte function was studied in 20 hospitalized elderly and 23 young adult subjects. 99mTc-monocyte chemotaxis, glass adhesion, S. aureus 14C-alanine phagocytosis and 51Cr-erythrocyte cytotoxicity (Natural Killer) (NK) and Antibody-mediated (ADCC) activities were studied. Monocyte function, as determined by the above test, was not significantly depressed in the elderly when compared with the young adult control group. Our results suggest that the immunologic abnormalities and the increased risk of infections observed with aging cannot be attributed to a deficit in monocyte function.

Adult↗