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Biomedical subjects

J Zang

Publications and source records attributed to J Zang.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Utility of the latex agglutination nephelometric immunoassay (Albusure Test) in screening for microalbuminuria in patients with diabetes mellitus.

All diabetic patients should be screened for early signs of diabetic nephropathy, because it is a prognostic factor in the disease. The albusure test (AT), a latex agglutination nephelometric immunoassay, is a rapid and low cost test for the detection of microalbuminuria of 30 mg/L or more. We compared the results of AT and of radioimmunoassay (RIA) for urinary albumin to evaluate the clinical utility of AT using fresh urine samples from 74 diabetic patients without persistent proteinuria and from 11 healthy subjects. Urinary albumin levels were 6.0 +/- 2.3 mg/L in the healthy subjects, 11.0 +/- 8.7 mg/L in the AT-negative group (n = 61), and 38.1 +/- 10.2 mg/L in the AT-positive group (n = 13). Using a cut-off value of 30 mg/L by RIA, the rate of coincidence between AT and RIA was 89.2%, although five subjects were false-positive by AT, and three were false-negative. These results show that AT may provide a useful monitor for microalbuminuria, a reliable early marker of diabetic nephropathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Acquired factor VIII inhibitor.

Development of a circulating inhibitor of the coagulant activity of factor VIII is a rare event producing a clinical picture similar to that of classic hemophilia. A case of autoimmune factor VIII inhibitor has been presented. Although a hemostatic response was rapidly achieved with the infusion of factor IX concentrates, immunosuppressive therapy was initiated. The inhibitor disappeared in less than 20 days from the initiation of therapy.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1990

Immediate antiasthmatic effect of acupuncture in 192 cases of bronchial asthma.

192 cases of bronchial asthma were treated by acupuncture on Kongzui (Lu 6) and Yuji (Lu 10) with an immediate total effective rate of 98.9%, and the rate of clinical remission plus marked improvement was 76.5%. The efficacy for patients of varying ages and varying duration of the disease was not significantly different. Effects for asthma of the cold type according to TCM and of the allergic type according to western medicine were the most remarkable; and cases that responded to the treatment the most promptly would have better long-term curative efficacy, which was also associated with the length of needle retention. The author deemed that 40 minutes of needle retention after the treatment took effect was desirable. This modality for treatment of bronchial asthma was very satisfactory, particularly useful for cases with history of drug allergy.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modulation of cytokine-induced cardiac myocyte apoptosis by nitric oxide, Bak, and Bcl-x.

-Cytokine-induced NO production depresses myocardial contractility and has been shown to be cytotoxic to cardiac myocytes. However, the mechanisms of cytokine-induced cardiac myocyte cell death are unclear. To analyze these mechanisms in detail, we treated neonatal cardiac myocytes in serum-free culture with a combination of the macrophage-derived cytokines interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma. These cytokines caused a time-dependent induction of cardiac myocyte apoptosis, but not necrosis, beginning 72 hours after treatment, as determined by nuclear morphology, DNA internucleosomal cleavage, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, reflecting caspase activation. Apoptosis was preceded by a >50-fold induction of inducible NO synthase mRNA and the release of large amounts (5 to 8 nmol/ microgram protein) of NO metabolites (NOx) into the medium. Cell death was completely blocked by an NO synthase inhibitor and attenuated by antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine and DTT) and the caspase inhibitor ZVAD-fmk. Cytokines also mediated an NO-dependent, sustained increase in myocyte expression of the Bcl-2 homologs Bak and Bcl-x(L). The NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione also induced apoptosis and cell levels of Bak, but not of Bcl-x(L). All effects of cytokines, including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, could be attributed to interleukin-1beta; interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha had no independent effects on apoptosis or on NOx production. We conclude that cytokine toxicity to neonatal cardiac myocytes results from the induction of NO and subsequent activation of apoptosis, at least in part through the generation of oxygen free radicals. The rate and extent of this apoptosis is modulated by alterations in the cellular balance of Bak and Bcl-x(L), which respond differentially to cytokine-induced and exogenous NO and by the availability of oxidant species.

Animals↗