Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Simon

Publications and source records attributed to J Simon.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources

Short-term behavioral effects of beta-adrenergic medications in men with mild hypertension.

beta-Adrenergic-inhibiting drugs are widely prescribed for the treatment of hypertension. These drugs have previously been found to influence a variety of psychologic and behavioral functions and have, in some cases, been associated with serious psychiatric side effects. The present study examined psychologic changes associated with beta-blockade therapy. Twenty-six men with mild hypertension (diastolic blood pressure 90 to 110 mm Hg) were randomly assigned to receive either a selective beta 1-antagonist (atenolol), a nonselective beta 1- and beta 2-antagonist (propranolol), or a placebo. Both before and after a 2-week period of drug administration, subjects completed a comprehensive assessment of quality of life including measures of mood, memory performance, and side effects. In general, beta-blocker therapy was associated with relatively few adverse symptoms, particularly when compared with control subjects taking placebo. Reductions in negative emotional states (tension and anger) were observed for subjects receiving atenolol, and the largest improvements in memory performance were observed for subjects receiving propranolol. These results suggest that beta-blocker therapy is not invariably associated with negative side effects and that some behavioral functions may actually be improved.

Adult↗

The combined effects of dietary protein and fat intake during the promotion phase of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced breast cancer in rats.

A 3 X 3 factorial experiment was conducted to examine the effects of dietary protein (8, 16 or 32% of energy from casein) and dietary fat (12, 24 or 48% of energy from corn oil) on the promotion phase of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast carcinogenesis in rats. A purified diet with protein and fat supplying 16 and 24% of energy, respectively, was fed to 360 rats. After 4 wk each rat received DMBA (20 mg/kg) via gastric intubation. Forty rats were then randomly assigned to each of the nine dietary treatments for 28 wk. We observed no effects of protein or interactions between protein and fat on mammary tumorigenesis. At necropsy, rats fed diets containing 12, 24 and 48% of energy from corn oil following DMBA administration showed tumor prevalences of 53, 60 and 70% with 109, 127 and 140 total tumors, respectively. Linear logistic statistical modeling indicated that each doubling of dietary fat concentration multiplied the odds of finding a tumor of any histologic type at necropsy by 1.52. Dietary fat had no significant effects on the prevalence of adenomas or fibroadenomas, whereas those fed corn oil at 12, 24 and 48% of dietary energy showed adenocarcinoma prevalences of 34, 41 and 52% with total adenocarcinoma counts of 66, 75 and 96, respectively. Our results suggest that increasing dietary fat enhanced the promotion of DMBA-induced breast carcinogenesis over a wide range of protein intake.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

Infrequency of primary hyperparathyroidism in renal stone formers.

Repeated measurements of serum calcium and immunoreactive parathyroid hormone were performed in 1433 renal stone formers systematically referred from Accident and Emergency Departments and from Departments of Urology and Nephrology, irrespective of their serum calcium. Primary hyperparathyroidism was found in 23 patients and confirmed in 19/20 patients who underwent neck surgery, including 8 with intermittent hypercalcaemia. Our data suggest that when selection bias is minimised, primary hyperparathyroidism is found in about 2% of renal stone formers in a western country such as Belgium.

Calcium↗

A pituitary-thymus connection during aging.

Thymic involution is a normal consequence of aging. It has often been speculated that if this age-associated atrophy of the thymus gland could be prevented, the natural decline that occurs in a number of T-cell-mediated immune responses could be reversed. It has recently become clear that thymic involution can indeed be reversed by altering the hormonal environment of aged animals. These data support the concept of an active and functional pituitary-thymus axis. Since thymic reconstitution can result in restoration of some T-cell responses, it would appear that intrinsic defects which exist in T cells of aged animals can be at least partially reversed. This suggests that the aged environment plays a greater role in the decline of T-cell functions than has been previously recognized. Furthermore, phorbol esters and calcium ionophores can restore suppressed proliferative responses of T cells from aged rodents, so we speculate that intrinsic defects in T cells of aged subjects lie between the recognition system for antigen/lectin and intracellular transmission of this signal.

Aging↗

Some indicators of welfare of crated veal calves on three dietary iron regimens.

Holstein calves were managed from less than 1 wk of age as in the special-fed veal industry but subjected to three dietary regimens (n = 10/group): low dietary iron (LI = approximately 5 mg iron/kg dry milk replacer) throughout 16 wk; 2) high then low dietary iron (H-LI = 140 mg/kg through d 18, then approximately 5 mg/kg through wk 16; a typical industrial scheme) or 3) high dietary iron (HI = approximately 105 mg/kg throughout the study). Several physiologic, behavioral and health indicators of welfare were monitored at various times. From wk 7 on, blood hemoglobin concentration was higher in HI calves than in LI, whereas that in H-LI calves was intermediate. Blood red cell count was higher in HI calves than in LI from wk 11 to 16, and was higher in HI than in H-LI from wk 14 to 16. Ratio of blood segmented neutrophils to lymphocytes (an indicator of stress) did not differ due to dietary regimen. Between wk 2 and 16, lying time increased from 69.5 to 76.6% of total time. Oral behaviors (e.g., licking and gnawing) occupied less than 15% of total time. Dietary regimen did not affect time spent either lying or engaging in oral behaviors. Calves in all dietary-regimen and slaughter-age groups experienced high frequencies of pneumonia, digestive-tract maladies and trichobezoars, but neither disease nor medical-treatment frequency was related to dietary regimen. Live, hot-dressed carcass and liver weights of the five calves/group slaughtered at 16 wk were not affected by dietary regimens, but carcass grade was highest for LI calves and lowest for HI.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗

Fat-suppression MR imaging of the orbit.

The effect of fat suppression on orbital MR imaging was tested by using a derivative of the Dixon method called chopper fat suppression in eight normal volunteers and eight patients with normal conventional orbital MR studies. Chopper fat suppression requires no postacquisition image processing or increased scan time and can be applied through a wide range of T1 to T2 weighting. In normal orbits, fat suppression was found to be advantageous for imaging the lacrimal gland and the optic nerve. Using fat-suppressed T1- or intermediate-weighted sequences, 2000/30 (TR/TE), the optic nerve was recognized by its high signal intensity relative to adjacent CSF, dural sheath, and surrounding fat. The technique minimized loss of anatomic detail by reducing chemical shift misregistration artifact. Disadvantages included an overall lower orbital signal/noise ratio. When used in conjunction with a TR/TE combination carefully selected for both anatomic region of interest and suspected pathology, the fat-suppression technique has the potential for improving the visualization of orbital lesions.

Adult↗

Cross-sectional study of beer consumption and blood pressure in middle-aged men.

Alcohol consumption in the week prior to examination was assessed in 352 men (average age 52.5 years) selected randomly from a cohort of employees of an industrial plant. Men drinking more than 350 g ethanol per week, largely in the form of a local beer, did not differ in respect of BP but they smoked more cigarettes and had lower serum magnesium levels and immunoreactive insulin levels than the rest of the sample. In a multiple linear (step-wise) regression analysis, body mass index, age, immunoreactive insulin two hours after glucose load and serum total cholesterol contributed directly to the BP value but the weekly ethanol intake did not. Smoking contributed negatively to the BP value after an a priori exclusion of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, magnesium and results of glucose tolerance tests. Only immunoreactive insulin and age were related significantly to ethanol consumption. No significant association of alcohol consumption with BP was found.

Age Factors↗

Disseminated meningeal tumor in a dog.

A 6-year-old Golden Retriever was referred for evaluation of hind limb paresis and generalized weakness. Neurologic examination revealed multifocal cervical and lumbosacral spinal disease. Radiography and myelography failed to identify a lesion. Cerebrospinal fluid was markedly cellular and had a high protein concentration, consistent with myelitis or a neoplastic process. The dog did not improve with medical management. Gross and histologic examination of the brain and spinal cord revealed a thick meningeal surface characterized by polymorphic histiocytic-like cells to multinucleate giant cells. The neoplastic process was considered to be a disseminated meningeal polymorphic cell sarcoma.

Animals↗

Covalent labeling of opioid receptors with 3H-D-Ala2-Leu5-enkephalin chloromethyl ketone. I. Binding characteristics in rat brain membranes.

The chloromethyl ketone derivative of D-Ala2-Leu5-enkephalin was synthesized in a radioactive form, and the resulting compound (3H-DALECK) was used to label opioid receptors. 3H-DALECK binds with high affinity, specificity and saturability to rat brain membranes. The number of sites labeled is 130 fmoles/mg protein. Unlabeled opioids inhibited the binding of 3H-DALECK; etorphine and DAGO being most potent. A 10-fold preference for mu sites over delta was seen in site-specific competition experiments; while DALECK displayed low affinity for kappa sites of rat brain. DALECK irreversibly blocked a certain population of sites. Approximately 40% of 3H-DALECK binding at 15 min, and 60% at 60 min association time did not dissociate in the presence of a large excess of unlabeled DALECK and was resistant to washing. Autoradiography performed after SDS-PAGE revealed specific alkylation of proteins with molecular weight of 74, 65, 56, 43 and 34 kD. These results demonstrate the applicability of using 3H-DALECK to covalently label opioid receptors.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗