Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L David.
Streptomyces No. 4915 was isolated and revealed to produce cinerubins A and B. This strain was different from other cinerubins-producing strains. Production of cinerubins is reported. Assignments of the signals of the 13C-NMR spectrum of cinerubin A, the major product, have been made.
A pancreatic somatostatinoma metastatized to the liver was detected in a 70-yr-old woman presenting with chronic diarrhea, steatorrhea, pancreatic insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, and achlorhydria. At immunocytochemistry, most tumor cells stored both somatostatin and calcitoninlike substances. Chromatography of acid extracts of the tumor on G50 Sephadex gave two distinct peaks coeluting with cyclic ovine somatostatin and human calcitonin, respectively, thus ruling out the hypothesis of a single cross-reacting molecule synthetized by the neoplastic cells. When the tumor was extracted at neutral pH, larger molecular forms of the above components were found, which accounted for less than 20% of the total immunoreactivity. Gel permeation of plasma showed that the circulating calcitonin- and somatostatinlike components consisted of three and four different forms, respectively, including components of molecular weights similar to those of the reference peptides. Inhibition curves and immunoadsorption experiments indicated that the large forms were immunologically similar, if not identical, to the corresponding standard preparations. The present case illustrates the occasional ability of neoplastic somatostatin cells of pancreas to synthetize simultaneously components immunologically related to somatostatin and calcitonin. These two inappropriate secretions could account for the symptoms displayed by this patient.
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Internal male pseudo-hermaphrosdism (man with a uterus) constitutes an uncommon range of sexual ambiguity. Regard to 6 personal case histories covering 3 families of 2 brothers, and gazing on the different cases picking out the literature, some problems are looking on successively: concerning the etiopathogenesis, the genetical transferring way, the aspect of the mullerian duct structures and of the male internal genital canals, the prognosis and the chirurgical therapy of this disease which is founded by chance, most of the times during the chirurgical therapy of a cryptorchidy or during a laparotomy.
Unpurified peripheral blood leucocytes or purified eosinophils and neutrophils from patients with schistosomiasis and from normal individuals were compared for their ability to interact with antibody coated schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni. There was no difference in the ability of buffy coat cells or neutrophils from patients and from normal individuals to mediate antibody-dependent 51Cr release from labelled schistosomula. However, eosinophils from patients were significantly better than those from normal individuals in causing antibody-dependent 51Cr release. This enhanced activity of eosinophils from patients with schistosomiasis was found to correlate with the intensity of their infection as judged by faecal egg counts. Eosinophils from patients also contained a higher proportion of cells with detectable Fc receptors than those from normal individuals. It is suggested that the difference in the behaviour of eosinophils from patients and from normals may reflect an 'activated' state of these cells in the infected individuals.
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Opening of the terminal hemi-acetal in dihydronigericin drastically reduces the ionophoric properties of nigericin and dehydroxymethylnigericin with 6 intact heterocycles. This is shown by 2 complementary methods, first with a liquid membrane electrode system, secondly by testing their ionophoric activities in rat liver mitochondria.
A reliable and reproducible method that produces separate fractions of pure eosinophils and neutrophils from normal peripheral blood was described. The interaction of eosinophils and neutrophils with antibody coated schistosomula was examined in vitro. Neutrophils were highly active in the 51Cr release assay and most formed rosettes with antibody coated red cells, but they adhered poorly to schistosomula and did not kill the organisms. Eosinophils, although they were less active in the 51Cr release assay than neutrophils and few formed rosettes, adhered strongly to schistosomula and, in the presence of antibody, were able to kill organisms. Organisms from patients with S. mansoni infection and eosinophilia were more effecient than eosinophils from normal individuals in their capacity to release 51Cr from labelled somula in the presence of antibody.
To further investigate the GH secretion in juvenile diabetics, blood glucose (BG) and plasma growth hormone (GH) were determined during controlled exercise performed in basal condition and under glucose infusion, in 7 controls and 22 juvenile diabetics aged 12--35 years, 10 of them with fundal vascular lesions. In controls, glucose infusion significantly lowered the exercise induced GH rise observed under basal conditions. In diabetics, under basal conditions, diabetics with low basal BG (BG less than 100 mg/100ml) had higher GH secretion than those with high basal BG (BG greater than 140 mg/100 ml; p less than 0.05). Under glucose infusion, diabetics with normal BG peak values (not different from controls: BG = 284 +/- (SK) 45 mg/100 ml) had significantly higher plasma GH levels than controls (p less than 0.01). In contrast, in diabetics with BG peak value higher than controls (BG greater than 374 ng/100 ml), plasma GH levels were not different from control values. This study indicates that exercise induced GH secretion in diabetics is mainly related to actual BG levels. Furthermore, we found no relation between the magnitude of GH secretion and the presence of retinopathy in diabetics.
Two children were followed for severe congenital tubulopathies: a boy presented an excessive sodium, calcium and water excretion; a girl had cystinosis and a De Toni-Debré-Fanconi syndrome. These renal defects were both associated with increased levels of plasma renin activity and aldosterone, and excessive urinary PGE1 production. They had been unresponsive to therapeutic attempts. Only indomethacin treatment was successful in reversing the biochemical abnormalities and improving the growth pattern.
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A case of copper deficiency associated with hypocalcemia, radiological features of rickets and hyperparathyroidism is described in a small-for-date infant (gestational age 39 weeks, B.W 1 240 g). Neonatal serum copper (Cu) levels were found between 223 and 138 mumol/l. She was given daily 2 400 U of vitamin D2 and a load dose of 80 000 IU at the age of 55 days. At the age of 79 days, X-rays of the legs and wrist showed spread, cupped and frayed metaphyses. Serum Ca was 1.35 mmol/l, P = 0.99 mmol/l with high alkaline phosphatases (A.P.) 590 IU/ml. But plasma level of 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-CC) was normal = 10.8 ng/ml. Serum Cu was low = 3.14 mumol/l and serum immunoreactive parathormone (iPTH) level was elevated: 520 mulEq/ml (N less than or equal to 100). Administration of vitamin D2 (15 mg) induced an immediate normalization of serum Ca, normal serum iPTH (68 mulEq/ml) in one month, normal X-rays in two months and normal A.P. in four months. Serum Cu and ceruloplasmin levels increased slowly without any supplementation to subnormal levels at the age of eight months (14.9 and 1.65 mumol/l. Serum Cu concentrations were found to be normal (16.0--33.7 mumol/l) in five children with hypocalcemic rickets. These results suggest a role of Cu deficiency in the occurrence of this transient vitamin D-resistant rickets.
The authors questioned residents and supervisors at a large clinic about their attitudes and experiences regarding clinical supervision. Half of the residents then videotaped one of their psychotherapy sessions and presented the tape in their next supervisory session. The procedure had little effect on patients, was anxiety-provoking for the residents, and had some diagnostic benefit for the supervisors. After the taping, the residents' views about taping were less positive than before the taping, but the supervisors' views did not change significantly.
A case of 17-hydroxylase deficiency in a 14 years old girl is reported. She presented with the unique association of hypertension, hypokaliemia, delayed puberty and growth failure. It is suggested that the reduced statural growth starting between 7 and 10 years of age and accompanied by a markedly reduced bone maturation was, at least in part, the consequence of the absence of adrenarche. The secretion rate of cortisol was very low while an increased production of D.O.C. and corticosterone was demonstrated by the elevated levels of their urinary tetrahydroderivatives. A good feminisation and a growth spurt were observed under ethinyl oestradiol substitutive therapy. A progressive normalization of the kaliemia and the blood pressure was obtained with hydrocortisone treatment but long term hydrocortisone therapy appears less satisfactory with easy clinical manifestations of overdosage on the one hand and incomplete maintenance of normal blood pressure of the other hand.
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In an 18-year-old boy with Bartter's syndrome, hypophosphatemia was discovered (2.4 mg/100 ml) with normal serum calcium concentration (9.7 mg/100 ml) and elevated alkaline phosphatase level: 528 mU/ml (normal less than or equal to 150). Skeleton X-rays showed osteomalacia on the pelvic bones and metaphyseal rickets on the wrists. Plasma 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHCC) concentration was 7.2 ng/ml (normal = 13 +/- 4.4), and serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration 160 micron1Eq/ml (normal less than or equal to 150). Ca infusion (1500 mg/m2/12 h) induced an increase in serum P level to 3.2 mg/100 ml, in tubular phosphate reabsorption from 72 to 90%, while serum iPTH decreased to 33 micron1Eq/ml. Vitamin D2 administration (45 mg) resulted in increased 25-OHCC concentration to 28 ng/ml and in healing of pelvic osteomalacia. However, there was little change of the radiological aspect of the wrist and of serum phosphorus and iPTH concentrations. In a control 6-year-old hypokalemic girl, administration of parathyroid hormone (8 USP/kg) produced a marked phosphaturic response and an increase in urinary cyclic AMP excretion. These data suggest that hypophosphatemia can be attributed to secondary hyperparathyroidism in the patient with Bartter's syndrome. Hypokalemia does not impair the renal activity of parathyroid hormone.