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Biomedical subjects

J Palma

Publications and source records attributed to J Palma.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Suppression of a cellular differentiation program by phorbol esters coincides with inhibition of binding of a cell-specific transcription factor (NF-E2) to an enhancer element required for expression of an erythroid-specific gene.

Induction by hemin increases, while induction with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) represses, erythroid-specific gene expression in the human cell line K562. We analyzed the effects of hemin or TPA induction on the binding and activity of transcription factors at a regulatory element found within the transcriptional regulatory sequences of many erythroid-specific genes. TPA induction increases the binding of ubiquitous AP-1 factors to this element. TPA induction inhibits the binding of the lineage limited transcription factor NF-E2 to this transcriptional control element. Hemin induction of K562 cells does not facilitate the binding of NF-E2 to its recognition site. Hemin induction appears to nonspecifically increase the expression of transiently transfected genes in K562 cells. Beyond this nonspecific increase in gene expression, hemin induction acts to increase the activity of the lineage limited transcription factor NF-E2. The divergent effects of hemin and TPA on gene expression in K562 cells are mediated, in part, by their contrasting effects on the transcription factor NF-E2.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Effects of ursodeoxycholic acid in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

The efficacy and safety of ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy was investigated in an open pilot study. Five patients received 1 gm/day of ursodeoxycholic acid during 20 days and another three patients received two identical periods of treatment separated by a 14-day interval free of the drug. Pruritus and serum levels of total bile salts and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase improved significantly during treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid. In the three patients who received two periods of treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid, pruritus and the laboratory alterations relapsed in the second week after the drug was discontinued, but they improved again when ursodeoxycholic acid was readministered. No adverse reactions were detected in the mothers or in their babies. All newborns were thriving normally during a follow-up period that lasted 5 mo after delivery. It is concluded that UDCA appears to be safe when administered in late pregnancy; its promising efficacy in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy should now be confirmed in controlled clinical trials.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Treatment of gastric ulcer with sucralfate and famotidine].

We conducted a double blind random study on 79 patients with gastric ulcer: 39 received sucralfate, 1 g 4 times a day (Group 1) and 40 received a single evening dose of famotidine, 40 mg (Group 2). At 4 weeks, endoscopy revealed healing of the ulcer in 46% of patients in Group 1 and 40% in Group 2 (NS). At 8 weeks, corresponding figures were 90% and 75% (NS). All patients were able to complete treatment and minor side effects were reported from all patients, 36% with sucralfate and 28% with famotidine. Thus, sucralfate and famotidine are equally effective for therapy of gastric ulcer. The higher percentage of healing with sucralfate observed in this study was not statistically significant.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Effects of ursodeoxycholic acid in patients with cholestasis of pregnancy].

In an open, pilot study, the efficacy and safety of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy was investigated. Four patients received 1 g/day of UDCA during 20 days and another 2 patients received 2 identical periods of treatment separated by a 14-day interval free of drug. Pruritus and serum levels of total bile salts and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase improved significantly during treatment with UDCA. Although pruritus and the laboratory alterations had a relapse in the second week after UDCA was discontinued, they improved again in the 2 patients who received a second treatment with UDCA. No adverse reactions were detected in the mothers or in their babies. All newborns are thriving normally, in a follow-up that lasted 3 to 6 months after delivery. It is concluded that UDCA appears to be safe when administered in late pregnancy; its promising efficacy in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy should now be confirmed in controlled clinical trials.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Lateral percutaneous spinothalamic tractotomy.

The main elements of the percutaneous spinothalamic tractotomy technique by the lateral approach are presented and the results obtained in 163 consecutive patients are communicated. We emphasize the importance of its early use in cases of intractable pain avoiding drug addiction. The simplicity of the method permits a less strict selection of the patients compared with the classic open cordotomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The effect of bromocriptine in benign prostatic hypertrophy and vesicosphincteric dynamics.

Four studies were carried out on 66 patients in order to examine the effect of bromocriptine in benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and to clarify its mechanism of action. Two studies were clinical: the first was a double-blind, controlled trial (lasting 6 months) in which bromocriptine 5 mg/day was compared with placebo, and the second was an open study to evaluate the effect of bromocriptine 5 mg on patients with acute retention due to BPH. The other two studies were designed to investigate the action of the drug on vesicosphincteric dynamics. These were double-blind, controlled, parallel trials, one comparing bromocriptine at dosages of 2.5 and 5 mg with placebo 90 min after administration, and the other comparing bromocriptine 5 mg/day with placebo after 15 days' administration in post-prostatectomy patients. Bromocriptine had a favourable effect on patients with BPH but no effect on cases of acute retention. The urodynamic studies suggested that the drug affected urethral sphincteric mechanisms specifically. The weight and volume of the prostate remained unchanged after administration of the drug, so that any clinical response was not due to a direct effect on the gland itself.

Bromocriptine↗
PubMed1985

Gammasubdurography in the diagnosis of chronic subdural bilateral and communicating effusion in infants.

The results obtained by means of Gammasubdurography (G.S.G.) in 37 infants having chronic subdural bilateral effusions, are presented. The use of this procedure, which consists of unilateral injection of Radioiodinated Human Sero Albumin (RIHSA-I 131), into the subdural effusion, is suggested for the determination of a communication between the two cavities. At the same time it is possible to get valuable information about their exact localization and extension. Once the communication is diagnosed, the treatment proposed is internal or external unilateral drainage. The method is safe and is performed in a short time which permits its use in the screening of these patients, especially in conjunction with Gammaencephalography (G.E.G.) and Computer Tomography (CT), patients to it. The test (G.S.G.) has been used by us since 1979. All our cases are included in this series. All of them had been diagnosed by subdural puncture, transillumination, G.E.G. and or CT Scan, as having bilateral subdural collections. All the patients received a saturated iodine solution, 24 hours in advance and for 10 days, as a thyroid blocking agent, which was administered in the usual oral dosage. The radiopharmaceutical administration was performed through a unilateral subdural puncture in a dose of 50 to 80 microcurie of RIHSA-I 131 with a high specific activity. Immediately after this, sequential analog images were obtained with the patient supine and in anterior and lateral head projections. This was accomplished by using a PICKER DYNA 4 Gammacamera equipped with a medium energy parallel hole collimator. The interval between the images was determined during the test in agreement with the findings.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contactless optical scanning of fingerprints with 180 degrees view.

Fingerprint recognition technology is an integral part of criminal investigations. It is the basis for the design of numerous security systems in both the private and public sectors. In a recent study emulating the fingerprinting procedure with widely used optical scanners, it was found that, on average, the distance between ridges decreases about 20% when a finger is positioned on a scanner. Using calibrated silicon pressure sensors, the authors scanned the distribution of pressure across a finger, pixel by pixel, and also generated maps of the average pressure distribution during fingerprinting. Controlled loading of a finger demonstrated that it is impossible to reproduce the same distribution of pressure across a given finger during repeated fingerprinting procedures. Based on this study, a novel method of scanning the fingerprint with more than a 180 degrees view was developed. Using a camera rotated around the finger, small slices of the entire image of the finger were acquired. Equal sized slices of the image were processed with a special program assembling a more than 180 degrees view of the finger. Comparison of two images of the same fingerprint, namely the registered and actual images, could be performed by a new algorithm based on the symmetry of the correlation function. The novel method is the first contactless optical scanning technique to view 180 degrees of a fingerprint without moving the finger. In a machine which is under design, it is expected that the full view of one finger would be acquired in about a second.

Algorithms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Variations of the cellular antigens CD4 and CD8 in pollinic patients during the spring.

In order to study the possible variations of CD4 and CD8 antigens in pollinic patients, we have studied 25 individuals (11 rhinoconjunctivitis and 14 rhinoconjunctivitis-asthma) before (T0), in the middle (T1) and after the spring (T2). The number of receptors per cell of CD4 start from values in T0, decrease in T1 and increase at the end of the spring (p < 0.00001), which could represent a mechanism to limit the clonal response to an antigen. An increase in the CD4/CD8 bright ratio could be indicate a higher helper mechanism in T1 with respect to T0 and T2 (p < 0.01). The opposite meaning is to given to the increase of CD8bright receptors in the asthmatic patients, and not only in those who suffer only from a rhinopathy (the only difference between the two groups of patients) during T2 over the T1 (p < 0.00001). The greater number of lymphocytes CD8 dim + during T1 with respect to T2 (p < 0.009) and the increase in the number of receptors of such cells during T1 with respect to T2 (p < 0.00001) suggests a possible intervention of these cells in the regulation of the response of the B and T lymphocytes. Of the two soluble factors CD4 (sCD4) and CD8 (sCD8), only the sCD4 increases during T1 (p < 0.0001) in an inverse manner as occurs with CD4 cell receptors, while the sCD8 remains unchanged during the three periods.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Asthma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Echocardiographic evaluation of ischemic cardiopathy].

We studied a group of patients with ischemic heart disease divided into two groups: Group I coronary insufficiency. Group II myocardial infaction. We centered the work on the following aspects: analysis of the contractility; evaluation of the movement of the ventricular wall and of the septum; movement of the mitral valve; diagnosis of ventricular dyskinesias, akinesias, and hypokinesias. The patients in group I did not show significant alterations in the values of the ejection fraction and speed of circunferential shortening. The mean values of these parimeters are significantly less than the group of patients with infarcts, and 41% of these patients have EF less than 50% and Vcf less than 0.9. We did not find a correlation between these perimeters and the localization of the infarct. The velocity of the posterior ventricular wall was disminished in both groups of patients. The amplitude of movement of the posterior wall was reduced in the group of patients with infarctions. These parimeters were more altered in the posterior infarcts than in those with anterior localization and they are more an index of the state of the posterior wall than of the ventricular contractility considered overall, contary to mitral descriptions. In 3 cases of acute infarct we found paradoxical movement of the septum, which normalized itself in one patient in 6 months. In 6 other patients with old infarct we observed localized dyskinesias of the septum and of the free wall of the left ventricle. The mitral valve appears altered in a great proportion of coronary patients the most notorious characteristics being: a decrease in the EF pendent; an increase of the F index. These findings are considered in relation with the ventricular pressures and with the degree of distensibility of the left ventricle.

Adult↗