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Biomedical subjects

J K Levy

Publications and source records attributed to J K Levy.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Effect of FIV infection on lung inflammatory cell populations recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and ovine progressive pneumonia virus have been associated with lymphocytic pneumonitis. Pulmonary cell populations in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) were evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to identify changes associated with lentivirus infection in this species. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed through an endotracheal tube using 15 ml kg-1 body weight of sterile 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Results of BAL fluid cytologic analysis from 19 cats experimentally infected with FIV for at least 8 months were compared with results from 34 uninfected cats. Infected cats had significantly higher total cell counts and relative neutrophil counts (P < 0.01). Lymphocytosis did not occur. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was collected from nine additional cats prior to, and 2, 6, and 17-18 weeks following infection with FIV. Neither neutrophilia nor lymphocytosis was associated with FIV infection in these cats.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Changes in lymphocyte subsets with age in perinatal cats: late gestation through eight weeks.

The age-related changes in numbers and proportions of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets (pan-T, CD4, CD8, Ig, and null) were evaluated by two-color flow cytometry in 16 feline fetuses (56-58 days gestational age) and 21 kittens from birth through 8 weeks of age. Populations of pan-T+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells increased in total numbers as a function of increases in total lymphocyte numbers while proportions of these subsets remained relatively static. In contrast, both the total number and proportion of Ig+ cells increased from birth to 4 weeks of age, after which there were essentially no changes. Null (pan-T-, Ig-) cells were highest during late gestation and declined steadily thereafter to become a minimal component of the peripheral lymphocyte subsets. Compared with normal adult values, CD4/CD8 ratios were high throughout the 8 week study period. These results illustrate that the neonatal cat blood lymphocyte profile undergoes maturational changes and emphasize the importance of evaluating age-matched controls in studies of conditions that may alter feline lymphocyte subsets.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

The cerebellum and cognitive function: implications for rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the cognitive effects of isolated cerebellar lesions. DESIGN: Review of two inpatient cases. SETTING: The rehabilitation unit of a tertiary general hospital. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Two patients with acute ischemic strokes who had solitary cerebellar infarcts. INTERVENTIONS: Assessment with standard neuropsychological tests. Scores were compared with patients' premorbid levels and standardized test norms. A classical conditioning eyeblink paradigm was performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Neuropsychological measures of intellectual and executive functions, learning and memory, visual-spatial abilities, language functioning, fine motor speed, and dexterity. RESULTS: Test findings suggested lesion-associated deficits in higher aspects of cognition (visuospatial reasoning, verbal and visual memory, and intellectual and executive functions). These functions are not usually associated with the fundamentally motoric role of the cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Lesions in the cerebellum can be associated with impairments in higher cognitive functioning. (2) Such effects may be severe enough for a diagnosis of dementia under current diagnostic criteria. (3) These rehabilitation patients may benefit from comprehensive cognitive examination to determine if cognitive effects will detract from their participation. (4) Further research is needed to localize which cerebellar areas affect which cognitive abilities.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Molecularly cloned feline immunodeficiency virus NCSU1 JSY3 induces immunodeficiency in specific-pathogen-free cats.

A full-length feline immunodeficiency virus NCSU1 (FIV-NCSU1) genome (JSY3) was cloned directly from FIV-NCSU1-infected feline CD4+ lymphocyte (FCD4E) genomic DNA and identified by PCR amplification with 5' long terminal repeat, gag, env, and 3' long terminal repeat primer sets. Supernatant from FCD4E cells cocultured with JSY3-transfected Crandell feline kidney (CrFK) cells was used as an inoculum. Cell-free JSY3 virus was cytopathogenic for FCD4E lymphocytes but did not infect CrFK cells in vitro. To determine in vivo infectivity and pathogenesis, six young adult specific-pathogen-free cats were inoculated with cell-free JSY3 virus. Provirus was detected at 2 weeks postinfection (p.i.) and was still detectable at 25 weeks p.i. as determined by gag region PCR-Southern blot analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell lysates. Infectious virus was recovered from peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 6 and 25 weeks p.i., and an antibody response to FIV was detected by 4 weeks. In the acute phase of infection, JSY3 provirus was found only in the CD4+ lymphocyte subset; however, by 14 weeks p.i., the greatest provirus burden was detected in B lymphocytes. All six cats were panlymphopenic at 2 weeks p.i., CD4+/CD8+ ratios were inverted by 6 weeks p.i., and five of the six cats developed lymphadenopathy by 10 weeks p.i. To determine if the JSY3 molecular clone caused immunodeficiency similar to that of the parental wild-type FIV-NCSU1, the cats were challenged with the low-virulence ME49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii at 29 weeks p.i. Five of six cats developed clinical signs consistent with generalized toxoplasmosis, and three of six cats developed acute respiratory distress and required euthanasia. Histopathologic examination of the severely affected cats revealed generalized inflammatory reactions and the presence of T. gondii tachyzoites in multiple tissues. None of the six age- and sex-matched specific-pathogen-free cats inoculated with only T. gondii developed clinical disease. Our results suggest that the pathogenesis of the molecularly cloned NCSU1 JSY3 is similar to that of wild-type FIV-NCSU1.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Effects of methylphenidate in HIV-related depression: a comparative trial with desipramine.

This report is a randomized, double-blind, comparative trial of desipramine with the psychomotor stimulant methylphenidate. Twenty HIV antibody-positive patients with depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to either drug. After individual dose titration, the mean daily dose of desipramine was 150 mg. and methylphenidate 30 mg. daily. The differences in responses between desipramine and methylphenidate were not statistically significant on various measures of depression. The antidepressant effect of methylphenidate did not occur any faster than that of desipramine. Both significantly reduced depressive and anxious symptomatology over the blinded portion of the treatments. Thus, methylphenidate relieves depressive symptomatology with efficacy similar to that of desipramine, offering an alternative to patients who are unable to tolerate standard tricyclic antidepressant therapy. The dopaminergic effects of methylphenidate are likely to mediate its antidepressant effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The management of depression and anxiety in the elderly.

The most common psychiatric disorders in later life, with the exception of dementia, are depression and anxiety. Often underdiagnosed or simply accepted with resignation as an inevitable part of aging or as an unavoidable complication of other constitutional illnesses, these disorders contribute to excess disability in older patients and further compromise their quality of life. This report discusses depression and anxiety in the growing elderly population--its prevalence, detection methods, diagnostic considerations, and present interventions.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Decreased urinary catecholamines in a cat with dysautonomia.

Feline dysautonomia was diagnosed in a 2-year-old cat with a history of regurgitation, constipation, mydriasis, and dry eyes. The diagnosis of parasympathetic and sympathetic failure was confirmed by abnormal physiologic autonomic function tests and decreased urinary catecholamine measurements. Despite intensive supportive care, the cat failed to improve and was euthanatized 70 days after the onset of illness. Feline dysautonomia is rarely reported in the United States, and the cat had no history of travel to a country where the disease is more prevalent.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Psychopharmacology in HIV spectrum disorders.

The psychiatric complications of HIV spectrum disorders are common and diverse in nature. HIV itself undermines the individual's psychological functioning by attacking the CNS and further compromises the patient's psychosocial and coping capacity. Psychopharmacologic strategies are vastly underutilized in the management of these psychiatric complications but often must be innovative, given the complexities of medical management in most of these cases. Conventional and innovative psychopharmacologic interventions when used as part of an integrated comprehensive biopsychosocial approach are effective adjuvants that help patients achieve the greatest functional adaptation possible.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1993

The use of molindone in the treatment of psychotic and delirious patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Case reports.

Four patients with HIV infection and psychosis from various etiologies, refractory to standard treatments, and suffering from severe extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), had a marked beneficial response to molindone. There was significant control of neuropsychiatric dysfunction without major adverse side effects. The results suggest that further evaluation is warranted of the use of molindone in treating severely ill, psychotic, or delirious HIV-infected patients.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1993

Standard and alternative adjunctive treatments in cardiac rehabilitation.

Cardiovascular rehabilitation is the process of restoring functional abilities degraded by a serious cardiovascular event or by a surgical procedure to preempt such an event. Cardiovascular rehabilitation also includes attempts to reverse risk factors that have contributed initially to the disease process. Rehabilitation programs generally comprise disease-related educational components, supervised prescriptive physical exercise, diet counseling and modification, cessation of tobacco use, psychoeducational interventions aimed at adjustment and coping, and relaxation and stress management to lower nonexertion-related sympathetic drive. The presence of so-called coronary-prone behavior patterns can be detected, and special behavioral modifications may be indicated to mitigate these putative risk factors. This paper reviews the roles of these behavioral adjuncts in treating cardiovascular disease and its aftermath, and notes new and unusual approaches to these components of treatment, such as alternative exercises, biofeedback, yoga, and other relaxation methods. Barriers to compliance are acknowledged, and enhancement of compliance is discussed briefly.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1992

Isolation of calicivirus from the joint of a kitten with arthritis.

Calicivirus was isolated from the joint of a kitten that had pyrexia, upper respiratory tract disease, and severe shifting-limb lameness. Marked mononuclear inflammation was found in the synovial fluid. Calicivirus infection or live-virus vaccination previously had been associated with arthropathy, but virus had not been recovered from affected joints. Calicivirus infection should be considered as a diagnosis in kittens with fever and arthralgia, especially if there is a history of recent vaccination or upper respiratory tract disease. Lameness associated with calicivirus infection may be severe, but appears to be self-limiting and is associated with an excellent prognosis for recovery.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Ataxia in a kitten treated with griseofulvin.

A 12-week-old male domestic shorthair kitten developed ataxia, fever, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia during treatment with griseofulvin for superficial dermatophytosis. The fever and hematologic changes resolved promptly with withdrawal of the drug, but the ataxia continued unchanged. Persistent ataxia may represent a previously unrecognized idiosyncratic reaction to griseofulvin in cats.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Psychopharmacotherapy of psychiatric syndromes in asymptomatic and symptomatic HIV infection.

It is evident that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most serious public health issues in decades. HIV infection compromises cell-mediated immunity which ultimately may result in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS, to date, remains an incurable and progressively fatal disorder. HIV infection is spreading beyond the originally identified high-prevalence groups of gay/bisexual males, intravenous drug abusers, and recipients of infected blood or blood products. Today, more and more heterosexual males, women, adolescents, and children have been infected with this lethal virus. This report addresses some of the psychiatric complications associated with HIV infection and discusses the diagnostic and clinical management challenges that clinicians must face as they deal with the increasing population of HIV-infected patients. Depression, anxiety, psychosis, delirium, and dementia are commonly encountered disorders associated with HIV spectrum disorders which must be accurately identified and can be effectively managed with psychopharmacological interventions.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Ifosfamide with mesna uroprotection in the management of lung cancer.

Fourteen patients with extensive disease small cell bronchogenic carcinoma (SCBC) received ifosfamide at 2,000 mg/m2/day for 5 consecutive days with simultaneous mesna and vincristine while 26 patients with extensive disease non-small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma (N-SCBC) received the same regimen without vincristine. Eight partial responses (57%) were observed with a 40-week median survival in the case of SCBC and four partial remissions (15%) with a 31-week median survival in N-SCBC. Granulocytopenia was the dose-limiting toxicity, whereas urotoxicity was well controlled with mesna. Neuropsychiatric toxicity consisted of anxiety, agitation, confusion, and hallucination. Neurobehavioral testing detected worsened performance during ifosfamide treatment. Ifosfamide is one of the few active agents in N-SCBC.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Phase I trial of 1-(2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-methyluracil (FMAU) terminated by severe neurologic toxicity.

FMAU (1-[2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl]-5-methyluracil) a newly synthesized fluorinated nucleoside, has potent in vitro antiviral and antileukemic activity and is active in murine leukemia lines resistant to cytosine arabinoside. In the initial phase I trial neurotoxicity, characterized by extrapyramidal dysfunction, was found to be the dose-limiting toxic effect, and a dosage of 32 mg/m2/day for 5 days was suggested for phase II studies. We report a second phase I study of FMAU using this schedule. Mild, transient neurologic dysfunction was encountered in patients treated at the starting dose of 4 mg/m2/day x 5 days and became severe and irreversible in two patients who received the highest cumulative doses administered at the 8 mg/m2/day x 5 days level. Both severely affected patients died. Severe neurotoxicity developed and progressed in these patients despite serial neurologic examinations, including detailed neuropsychologic tests implemented in an effort to detect early neurotoxicity. Because of these findings, further study of this drug as an antileukemic agent cannot be recommended. If it is to be used as an antiviral agent, further phase I study at lower doses is advised.

Adult↗