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Biomedical subjects

J Levy

Publications and source records attributed to J Levy.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Continuous epidural anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery in young children.

The benefits of epidural anaesthesia combined with general anaesthesia were studied in young children scheduled for major abdominal surgical procedure (pull-through for Hirschsprung's disease). Two groups of nine children were studied receiving, respectively, general anaesthesia or general anaesthesia plus epidural anaesthesia. In the group receiving both general and regional anaesthesia, a polyurethane 24 G catheter was inserted via a Tuohy needle 19 G into the lumbar epidural space after induction of anaesthesia and intubation and bupivacaine, 0.25%, was injected epidurally (mean initial volume 0.71 +/- 0.04 ml kg-1). No opiates were needed during operation on the children in this group. After epidural anaesthesia, heart rate decreased significantly but systolic blood pressure remained unchanged. During surgery mean values of both heart rate and systolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the regional analgesia group compared to the general anaesthesia group. The need for blood replacement was also significantly lower, whereas pre- and post-operative haematocrit values were not significantly different. Administration of fluid and electrolytes during operation was also similar in both groups. A combination of epidural and general anaesthesia avoids the use of opiates during surgery, provides excellent per- and post-operative analgesia, allows a rapid and safe recovery, and facilitates the nursing of young children.

Anesthesia, Conduction↗
PubMed1987

Type of facial cleft, associated congenital malformations, and parents' ratings of school and conduct problems.

Parents' ratings of conduct and school problems were evaluated in 79 subjects with palatal clefts. Subjects were divided into four groups consisting of: (1) unilateral complete clefts of the lip and palate (UC Group); (2) unilateral complete clefts of the lip and palate with associated congenital malformations (UC-C Group); (3) cleft palate only (CPO Group); and (4) cleft palate only with associated congenital malformations (CPO-C Group). Comparisons between groups suggested that subjects with associated congenital malformations, whether or not they had UC or CPO, tended to have more serious school and conduct problems when compared to children with clefts and no associated congenital malformations. The association of congenital malformations with a cleft lip and palate increased the risk of reported conduct problems at home and behavioral and learning problems at school.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1987

Effects of human serum on cathepsin D activity.

The proteolytic activity of bovine splenic cathepsin D was evaluated by using the digestion of tritiated hemoglobin. Acid-denatured human serum was an enhancer of cathepsin D activity. Concentrated serum sources showed decreased activity because of competition of serum albumin with tritiated hemoglobin for cathepsin D. The enhancing activity of serum did not separate with any isolated protein as assessed by Sephadex G-50-80 chromatography or protein electrophoresis. The extraction of serum with ethanol-ether and chloroform-methanol showed that the enhancing activity separated with the phospholipid fraction, which had 2.6 times as much activity as the total lipid fraction. The activity was stable to heat at 56 degrees C for 30 minutes and to freeze-thawing, and was not dependent on metal ions.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

(Na+ +K+)-ATPase activity in kidney basolateral membranes of non insulin dependent diabetic rats.

Insulin resistant, Type II diabetes mellitus (NIDD) in a rat animal model results in profound changes in basal and insulin-stimulated membrane (Ca2+ +Mg2+)-ATPase activity in kidney basolateral membrane (BLM) preparations. We find that NIDD in these animals does not result in similar changes in membrane (Na+ +K+)-ATPase activity. Basal enzyme activity was the same in diabetic and control animals. Insulin treatment of diabetic animals in vivo resulted in hyperinsulinemia and increased BLM (Na+ +K+)-ATPase, while food restriction for 18 hr resulted in lowered enzyme activity. There was no direct effect of insulin on (Na+ +K+)-ATPase activity in isolated membranes from any of the animal groups. Thus, physiologic perturbations which alter insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis are accompanied by altered levels of (Na+ +K+)-ATPase activity. Lower levels of this membrane enzyme activity appear to be associated with optimal insulin action.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Phosphoinositide phosphorylation precedes growth in rat mammary tumors.

DMBA-induced rat mammary tumors were used to study the possible association of phosphoinositide phosphorylation to tumor growth. These membranous enzymatic activities were measured during various stages of tumor growth induced by pharmacological manipulation of plasma prolactin level. An increase in phosphorylation of both phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl inositol 4-phosphate preceded the growth induced by prolactin concomitantly with an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. Good correlation (r = 0.87) existed between the tyrosine kinase activity and phosphatidyl inositol kinase activity of 21 individual tumors taken from animals at different stages of hormonal manipulation. Phosphoinositide phosphorylation was inhibited by quercetin and was not affected by cAMP, similar to tyrosine kinase. Phosphorylation of angiotensin II by tyrosine kinase was inhibited by 0.2 mg/ml phosphatidyl inositol 4 phosphate or phosphatidyl inositol 4,5-bisphosphate.

1-Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase↗
PubMed1986

Complete recovery of pure red cell aplasia by intramuscular gammaglobulin therapy in a child with hypoparathyroidism.

A 10-year-old girl with multiple endocrinopathies, hypoparathyroidism, and pernicious anemia subsequently developed pure red cell aplasia, which responded only temporarily to cytotoxic therapy. Because of transfusion dependency, resistance to steroids, plasmapheresis, and Cytoxan, she was given injections of intramuscular gammaglobulin. The injections caused a prompt and sustained rise in the child's erythropoiesis.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Metastatic focal infections due to multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium in children: a 34 month experience in Rwanda.

Nineteen out of 139 children with severe systemic disease due to multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium observed during a 34-month period in an in-patient department in Rwanda had focal metastatic infections. More than 80% of the invasive Salmonella infections were acquired in the hospital. Focal metastatic infections occurred after longer hospital stays than bacteremia (29.1 +/- 17.4 days as against 13.5 +/- 9.0 days, p less than 0.01) and were diagnosed more time after the first sign of infection (3.28 +/- 1.41 days as against 1.86 +/- 1.10 days, p less than 0.01). Bacteremia was documented in 13 of the 17 children with focal infection from whom blood cultures were obtained. Seven of 12 had positive stool cultures. The sites of metastatic focal infection were meninges (7 cases), soft tissue (5 cases), joint or bone (4 cases), pleura (2 cases), eye (1 case). The clinical course of meningitis was fulminant and 6/7 patients died before receiving adequate antimicrobial therapy. One child with meningitis and 9 patients with focal infections at other sites were treated with cefotaxime and were cured or improved.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Evaluation of the direct detection of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal antigen in a pediatric population: comparison with the traditional culture technique.

An evaluation of the Directigen Group A Strep Test (DGAST) in comparison with the traditional culture technique, was carried out on 1907 throat specimens, obtained from pediatric patients suspected of having a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis. Of the 344 specimens positive by culture, 277 were DGAST positive (sensitivity, 81%). Of the 1563 specimens negative by culture, 1511 were DGAST negative (specificity, 97%). Nineteen isolates of non-group A beta-hemolytic streptococci were recovered, primarily group C, B and G. The DGAST is easy to perform, rapid and very specific, but lower sensitivity indicates that a back up traditional culture is still necessary, especially in pediatric patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

LAV/HTLV-III infection in children of African origin: experience in Belgium.

From December 1982 to June 1985, we diagnosed LAV/HTLV-III infection in 16 children of African origin living in Belgium or referred to one of the hospitals participating in this study. Diagnosis was proven in seven of them by isolation of virus of the LAV/HTLV-III group. In the nine others, LAV/HTLV-III infection was highly probable because of the presence of antibodies against the virus (seven subjects) or clinical and immunological evidence of immune deficiency associated with a parental history of LAV/HTLV-III infection (two subjects). Five of these children had a severe illness starting in the first months of life (range 20 days--4 months) and died within 4 months (range 19 days--10 months). Eight children presented later in life (mean age 35 months, range 2-66 months) with a milder and more chronic disease characterized by the presence of generalized lymphadenopathy (6/8), hepatomegaly (5/8), splenomegaly (5/8), interstitial pulmonary infiltration (4/8), parotid swelling (3/8), CSF lymphocytosis (3/5), diarrhoea without pathogen isolated (1/8) and fever (1/8). At least one of the parents of each child was of African origin. At the time of birth of their child two mothers and one father had an AIDS-related complex. After a mean period of 34 months (range 3-87 months) five fathers and six mothers had a symptomatic LAV/HTLV-III infection (AIDS or AIDS-related complex).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Plasma calcium and phosphate levels in an adult noninsulin-dependent diabetic population.

Duplicate or triplicate measurements of fasting plasma glucose, calcium (Ca), phosphate (Pi), and glycosylated hemoglobins were performed on a group of non-insulin dependent diabetic patients and controls at 3-6 month intervals. In the diabetic group (48 males and 44 females), 18 were on diet only, 21 on diet and oral hypoglycemic treatment, and 51 on diet and insulin. These were a total of 217 measurements for each parameter. Results were compared to 416 measurements obtained from sex and age-matched controls. Plasma Ca levels were higher in the diabetic group (2.48 +/- 0.004 vs 2.38 +/- 0.006 mmol/liter) P less than 0.001; plasma Pi levels were similar to those of controls. The difference in plasma Ca was not influenced by age, sex, or mode of treatment. No correlation was found in the three treatment groups between plasma Ca and duration of diabetes nor with patients' weights. The results are consistent with the view that an alteration in calcium homeostasis accompanies the diabetic state.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Laboratory investigation of pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Unique laboratory abnormalities, found in pediatric patients with clinical features of immunodeficiency, led to the original observation that a syndrome of acquired immunodeficiency (AIDS) was also occurring in pediatric populations. Initial observations which demonstrated the nonspecific findings of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia and T-cell deficiency were followed by confirmatory findings when testing for the AIDS retrovirus became available. In the pediatric population availability of antibody testing and viral isolation became critical in differentiating primary immunodeficiency disorders which involved both the B- and T-cell systems from AIDS associated with retrovirus infection. At this time based upon clinical, epidemiologic, immunologic, and serologic studies, the syndrome of pediatric AIDS can be distinguished from other primary and secondary pediatric immunodeficiency disorders.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

A right hemispatial field advantage on a verbal free-vision task.

Within a fixed time limit for each stimulus item, right handers searched, in a top-to-bottom scan and from right to left for half the subjects and from left to right for the other half, among randomly placed and oriented words for target words that rhymed with a designated sound. A right hemispatial field advantage emerged, as well as an advantage for targets above as compared to below the horizontal meridian. A lateral X vertical location interaction showed a right-side advantage only for targets below the horizontal meridian and an upper target advantage only for targets on the left. Even though the task was presented in free vision, results were highly similar to prior findings with lateralized tachistoscopic presentation of verbal stimuli.

Adolescent↗