Biomedical subjects

L Benoit

Publications and source records attributed to L Benoit.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

[Incidence and prevalence of colostomies. The future of stoma societies. Results of a Côte-d'Or survey. Federation of Stoma Patients in France].

Few data are available in France about the impact of Ostomy Associations in the population of patients with permanent colostomy. The aim of this study was to assess the percentage of patients with permanent colostomy involved in local Ostomy Associations in a well-defined population (Côte-d'Or department, 493,931 inhabitants) in 1992. A minimum number of incident colostomy cases was computed using data from the Digestive Tract Tumor Registry in case of cancer and using the surgical reports from the University Hospital in case of benign disease. The maximum number of incident cases was computed using results from a survey conducted by the Public Administration (Social Security) during the same period. An interval of prevalent cases was assessed the number of collecting pouches based on sold during 1992 in the same area. A colostomy was set up in 37 to 84 patients. The number of prevalent cases was in a range of 274 to 410 patients. The corresponding percentages of Ostomy Associations members were included in a 8.3% to 19% range for incident cases and 9.5% to 19% for prevalent cases. These percentages are less than 30%, which is the presumed value previously evaluated in a survey conducted among physicians. As the incidence of colostomy cases continues to decline regularly, more effective methods must be developed to maintain a constant number of members.

Colostomy↗

PubMed1997

Amino-acid substitution in alpha-spectrin commonly coinherited with nondominant hereditary spherocytosis.

Nondominant hereditary spherocytosis (ndHS) is a disorder characterized in some patients by severe hemolytic anemia and marked deficiency of erythrocyte spectrin. This report describes the identification of a variant spectrin chain, alpha-spectrin Bughill or alpha(BH), that is associated with this disorder in a number of patients. Tryptic maps of spectrin from affected individuals revealed an acidic shift in isoelectric point of the alphaII domain peptides at 46 kD and 35 kD. A point mutation at codon 970 of the alpha-spectrin gene (GCT-->GAT), that changes the encoded amino acid from an alanine to an aspartic acid, was identified in genomic DNA of affected patients. The alpha(BH) variant was present in 8 patients with ndHS from five different kindreds but was absent in 4 patients from two other kindreds. The 8 ndHS patients with the alpha(BH) variant appeared to be homozygous for the alpha(BH) variant by analysis of peptide maps of limited tryptic digests of erythrocyte spectrin. However, following genomic DNA analysis, only 2 of these patients were true homozygotes, whereas 6 were found to be doubly heterozygous for the alpha(BH) allele and a second, presumably abnormal, alpha-spectrin gene. These results suggest that, in these 6 patients, the second alpha-spectrin allele is in fact associated with one or more genetic defect(s), causing decreased accumulation of alpha-spectrin. The pattern of transmission of the alpha(BH) allele in certain families suggests that the alpha(BH) amino-acid substitution is not itself responsible for ndHS but is more likely a polymorphic variant that, in some but not all cases, is in linkage disequilibrium with another uncharacterized alpha-spectrin gene defect that itself is a cause of ndHS.

Alleles↗

PubMed1997

[Acute intra-abdominal gastric volvulus in adults. Defect of dorsal mesogastrium fusion].

A case of acute intra-abdominal gastric volvulus in an adult patient is presented. It was caused by the absence of dorsal mesogastrium fusion and was responsible for a gastric necrosis and peritonitis. The mobile spleen displaced the greater curvature of the stomach to the right. This case-report illustrates an association between an anatomical abnormality and a case of intra-abdominal gastric volvulus.

Abdomen↗

PubMed1996

Studies of Clostridium cellulolyticum ATCC 35319 under dialysis and co-culture conditions.

The degradation of cellulose by Clostridium cellulolyticum has been studied in several ways: (1) in batch fermentation in 50-ml sealed-cap flasks, referred to as the control; (2) in batch fermentation with pH at 7.2; (3) fermentation in dialysis which permits elimination of all the products of metabolism; (4) fermentation in dialysis with a constant bubbling of nitrogen; (5) in co-culture with Clostridium A22 in batch with and without pH regulation and with dialysis. H2, CO2, acetate, ethanol and lactate were the major end-products of cellobiose and cellulose fermentation. Compared to batch culture, growth of Cl. cellulolyticum on cellobiose increased by a factor of 10 in dialysed culture. The end products from the dialysed culture were detected in a small range compared to the concentration for the batch culture. Related to the biomass, CMCase activities were of the same level, showing a direct relation between the biomass formation and the cellulase production. The percentage of cellulose degradation (50%) by Cl. cellulolyticum was greater when dialysis of end products with a constant bubbling of nitrogen took place during the course of fermentation (6 d) in comparison with cultures in 50-ml sealed-cap flasks (23%), in a fermentor (36%) or using dialysis without N2 bubbling (40%). The presence of two micro-organisms produced no further enzyme activities and hence the percentage of cellulose degradation was quite similar in mono- and co-culture. No synergistic action was found between two cellulolytic strains.

Cellulose↗

PubMed1996

[Pulmonary excisions in patients aged 75 and over. Study of postoperative mortality].

The aim of this study was to determine what factors beyond age affect post-operative mortality. We included 971 patients (mean age 61 +/- 10 years; 882 men, 89 women). There were 61 patients (6%) 75 years of age and over. Post-operative death rate was 15% in patients 75 and over versus 6% in patients under 75 (p = 0.01). Other variables significantly correlated with post-operative death after univariate analysis were: heart failure, Karnofsky score, VEMS, CV, PaCO2, tumor size, right side resection, pneumonectomy and large exeresis. Multivariate analysis retained 6 independent variables affecting post-operative mortality: age > or = 75 years (p = 0.019), Karnofsky score (p = 0.0001), right side resection (p = 0.0002, pneumonectomy (p = 0.04, large resection (p = 0.029) and hypocapnia (p = 0.01). If these parameters are considered when deciding on surgery, pulmonary exeresis may be proposed in elderly patients.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

[Gastroduodenal arterial aneurysm and chronic pancreatitis. A case and review of the literature].

A case of pseudoaneurysm of the gastroduodenal artery due to chronic pancreatitis is reported. Pancreatitis causing splanchnic arterial aneurysm is more likely to affect the splenic artery than the gastroduodenal artery. Ten percent of cases of chronic pancreatitis are associated with splanchnic aneurysm. Hemorrhage occurs in 50% of cases. Color Doppler ultrasound is the best diagnostic tool, indicating the need for coeliac arteriography. In our case report, transcatheter embolization was performed with stainless steel coils and the pseudoaneurysm was successfully occluded.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Carboxymethylcellulase and Avicelase activities from a cellulolytic Clostridium strain A11.

The extracellular cellulase enzyme system of Clostridium A11 was fractionated by affinity chromatography on Avicel: 80% of the initial carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) activity was adhered. This cellulase system was a multicomponent aggregate. Several CMCase activities were detected, but the major protein P1 had no detectable activity. Adhered and unadhered cellulases showed CMCase activity with the highest specific activity in Avicel-adhered fraction. However, only adhered fractions could degrade Avicel. Thus, efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis of Avicel was related to the cellulase-adhesion capacity. Carboxymethylcellulase and Avicelase activities were studied with the extracellular enzyme system and cloned cellulases. Genomic libraries from Clostridium A11 were constructed with DNA from this Clostridium, and a new gene cel1 was isolated. The gene(s) product(s) from cel1 exhibited CMCase and p-nitrophenylcellobiosidase (pNPCbase) activities. This cloned cellulase adhered to cellulose. Synergism between "adhered enzyme system" and cloned endoglucanases was observed on Avicel degradation. Conversely, no synergism was observed on CMC hydrolysis. Addition of cloned endoglucanase to cellulase complex led to increase of the Vmax without significant Km variation. Cloned endoglucanases can be added to cellulase complexes to efficiently hydrolyze cellulose.

Cellulase↗

PubMed1995

Recurrent fatal hydrops fetalis associated with a nucleotide substitution in the erythrocyte beta-spectrin gene.

We studied a kindred in which four third-trimester fetal losses occurred, associated with severe Coombs-negative hemolytic anemia and hydrops fetalis. Postmortem examination of two infants revealed extensive extramedullary erythropoiesis. Studies of erythrocytes and erythrocyte membranes from the parents revealed abnormal erythrocyte membrane mechanical stability as well as structural and functional abnormalities in spectrin, the principal structural protein of the erythrocyte membrane. Genetic studies identified a point mutation of the beta-spectrin gene, S2019P, in a region of beta spectrin that is critical for normal spectrin function. Both parents and two living children were heterozygous for this mutation; three infants dying of hydrops fetalis were homozygous for this mutation. In an in vitro assay using recombinant peptides, the mutant beta-spectrin peptide demonstrated a significant abnormality in its ability to interact with alpha spectrin. This is the first description of a molecular defect of the erythrocyte membrane associated with hydrops fetalis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Poikilocytic hereditary elliptocytosis associated with spectrin Alexandria: an alpha I/50b Kd variant that is caused by a single amino acid deletion.

Hereditary elliptocytosis (HE) is a heterogeneous disorder of red blood cells frequently associated with abnormal limited tryptic digestion of the alpha I domain of spectrin and impaired spectrin dimer self-association. We studied two related individuals with poikilocytic hereditary elliptocytosis (HE) of different severity. Limited tryptic digestion of spectrin from these individuals showed the presence of a variant alpha I/50b Kd peptide at the expense of the normal alpha I/80 Kd peptide. Amino acid sequence analysis of the abnormal peptide showed that the proteolytic cleavage occurred after the arginine at position 470 of the alpha spectrin chain. Spectrin from these patients had an impaired ability to undergo self-association, as evidenced by increased amounts of spectrin dimers in 4 degrees C extracts of erythrocyte membrane from affected individuals. The polymerase chain reaction was used to study the DNA sequence of the alpha spectrin gene encoding the region of the alpha spectrin chain surrounding the abnormal proteolytic cleavage site. We detected the in-frame deletion of the trinucleotide CAT, encoding histidine 469, two amino acid residues to the N-terminal side of the abnormal proteolytic cleavage site between residues 470 and 471. Similar to many other defects of spectrin associated with HE, this deletion occurs in helix three of repeat 5 of the proposed triple helical model of spectrin repeats.

Alleles↗

PubMed1987

Fast washout of thallium-201 from area of myocardial infarction: possible artifact of background subtraction.

A recent report described a pattern of "reverse redistribution" on poststreptokinase 201Tl studies which was believed to be due to rapid washout of 201Tl from the infarct area related to reperfusion of the infarct vessel. We have also observed the phenomenon of rapid washout of 201Tl from the area of infarction in the absence of thrombolytic therapy. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that rapid washout of 201Tl from an area of infarction is an artifact of background subtraction usually employed in analysis of washout. A total of 61 patients with previous myocardial infarction who underwent cardiac catheterization and exercise 201Tl imaging were examined. Thallium-201 images were analyzed using a validated quantitative method employing interpolative background correction. Abnormally increased 201Tl washout was noted in 11 infarct segments in 10 (18%) patients. Infarct segments with rapid washout had significantly less initial uptake, and more severe associated wall motion abnormalities than infarct segments with normal washout. When quantitative analysis was repeated without background subtraction, no segments with rapid washout were observed. A phantom model was constructed to further test our hypothesis. The frequency of observed rapid washout was directly related to the severity of the initial defect and was entirely dependent upon utilizing background correction during the quantitative analysis. Our study suggests that rapid washout of 201Tl in an area of previous infarction reflects an artifact of background subtraction involved with standard quantitative analysis.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Malignant tumours arising in extraovarian endometriosis: three case reports and review of the literature].

In its extraovarian form, co-existence of carcinoma and endometriosis is a sufficient argument used in favour of the malignant transformation of endometric lesions. Estrogen as well as the loss of 5q chromosome heterozygosity are considerate as initiators of that type of carcinogenesis. Endometrioid histological type is the most frequent and is revealed usually by abdominal pain. The incidence of carcinoma arising in endometriosis is about 0.8% and 5-year survival rate of pelvic endometrioid form is about a 100% after surgery and radiotherapy.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Medical imaging in the management of abdominal trauma].

There is a marked trend toward nonoperative management of abdominal trauma. This has been possible thanks to the advances in imaging and interventional techniques. Computed tomography (CT), angiography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) can guide the nonoperative management of abdominal trauma.

Abdominal Injuries↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Intra-abdominal gastric volvulus. An indication for gastropexy through laparoscopy.

Intra-abdominal gastric volvulus is a chronic or acute condition that may be cured by conventional surgery through laparotomy. We report a case of subacute intra-abdominal volvulus who benefited from a gastropexy through laparoscopy. We show that this technique is feasible, safe and efficient. Technical details are described to perform the procedure easily and rapidly.

Aged↗