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J Devesa

Publications and source records attributed to J Devesa.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Metabolic and hormonal parameters after insulin-induced hypoglycemia in man, comparison between biosynthetic human insulin and purified pork insulin.

Although clinically undistinguishable, some authors have found important differences in the counterregulatory response between Biosynthetic Human Insulin (BHI) and Purified Pork Insulin (PPI). To reassess the problem 10 healthy volunteers of both sexes underwent paired iv insulin tolerance test with both BHI and PPI (0.10 U/kg b.w.). To check the humoral response the variations of glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), prolactin, growth hormone, ACTH and plasma renin activity were evaluated. Blood glucose depression and further recovery by BHI and PPI administration paralleled each other, so were, prolactin, FFA, and plasma renin activity. A slight section of ACTH, and GH was observed under BHI challenge. There were not statistically significant differences between both insulins on any of the six parameters studied. The data do not confirm earlier published reports indicating hormonal and metabolic differences between human and porcine insulin.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1985

Glucocorticoid deficiency with achalasia of the cardia and lack of lacrimation.

Four recent reports describe a multisystem disorder in which ACTH insensitivity is associated with achalasia and alacrima. We report studies on a male patient with this rare triad. The patient had alacrima from birth; isolated glucocorticoid deficiency had been diagnosed at 3.5 years of age and achalasia at age 6. The possibility that this syndrome could be due to a parasympathetic degeneration has already been proposed; the cause of the glucocorticoid deficiency, however, remains unclear. Parasympathetic function in other areas was investigated to determine whether there might be a more generalized abnormality. Specific cardiac tests of parasympathetic function showed that parasympathetic input to the heart was affected in the patient, while the same tests in an Addisonian child were normal. We show, then, a hitherto undetected parasympathetic abnormality in a patient with this syndrome, suggesting a generalized disturbance of this system. On this basis we may hypothesize that the glucocorticoid failure may be a consequence of the loss of parasympathetic input to the adrenal gland, although this remains to be demonstrated experimentally.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1984

Automatic preoperative classification of carcinoma of the colon and rectum.

The Dukes' and TNM systems for staging carcinoma of the colon and rectum are still the best pathologic classifications, but they do not apply to all patients and do not distinguish between patients who will die and patients who will be cured by the same therapeutic procedure. A new approach to this problem should be to establish a biochemical automatic classification, complementary to the morphologic one, which allow us to classify every patient before and after the first and subsequent treatments. By using several nonspecific tumor markers, such as CEA, AAT, AF, AAG, GGT and transferrine, a discriminant analysis was executed among the groups of patients with LD, RD and DD. Our initial results with only 12.8 per cent of incorrect classifications, that is patients classified in a less advanced group, suggest that this system may be quite useful in order to select those patients with carcinoma of the rectum who should benefit from preoperative radiotherapy as well as those who should receive adjuvant therapy after the first treatment. On the other hand, for patients classified in a more advanced group than the pathologic grading, we may well be able to identify those patients with occult disease for which the frequency of revisions should be shorter.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Description of psychosocial risk factors in four companies].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the distribution of work-related psychosocial risk factor scores in four companies according to the personal and occupational characteristics of the workers. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of a sample of 890 workers in four companies who participated in this study voluntarily. The overall response rate was 34.5%. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to measure the presence of demand, control and social support according to the workers' perceptions. Statistical analyses were performed using median and dispersion measures of psychosocial risk factors for each company separately, as well as description of their distribution according to personal and occupational variables. RESULTS: The median score for social support was almost always equal to 5 for all four companies. However, there was greater variability in psychological demand (between 13 and 16), and for control (between 20 and 26). Comparison of the scores for social and occupational variables revealed similar values for social support but not for control and demand, which showed greater variation according to sex (men), age group (less than 40 years) and occupation (clerks). CONCLUSIONS: Although the low response rate could limit the validity of our results, this is the first study to value the distribution of work-related psychosocial risk factor scores in four companies in Spain. Variability among companies for different groups of workers was found. This study could be useful for future studies exploring the feasibility of defining reference values for use in preventive measures.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pattern of presentation of the human growth hormone variant (hGH-V) gene in the normal population.

The human growth hormone variant (hGH-V) gene is a member of the GH gene family, expressed by the syncytiotrophoblast. Although its physiological role is poorly understood, certain data suggest that it may be involved in the control of fetal growth and development. As a first step to asses its physiological relevance, we investigated its degree of polymorphism in the normal population. Genetic studies have been difficult to carry out due to the high sequence identity among GH-family members. We overcame this problem by selectively amplifying a fragment of the hGH-V gene by PCR. DSCP analysis of the amplimers revealed a heterozygous pattern in one of the 64 subjects studied. Investigation of the subject's relatives showed a similar pattern in his father. In all, our results indicate that the hGH-V gene is highly conserved in the normal population.

Adolescent↗