Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Levy

Publications and source records attributed to L Levy.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Pain control in a patient with myeloma in Zimbabwe.

The treatment of pain control in hospitals in developing countries must take into account the knowledge of the local health care workers, the traditional means of curing illness and treating pain, limited resources, and the general cultural values of that society. The authors discuss the treatment history of a patient with myeloma in a hospital in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Although the patient understood and promised to comply with a long-term treatment plan of radio- and chemotherapy aimed at alleviating pain, for periods of time he defaulted and returned home to be treated by traditional healers. In this way, ancestral spirits were appeased. Traditional treatment by scarification did alleviate pain. Although the hospital does not accept such alternative methods of pain control, patients are allowed to leave the hospital to receive native treatment after completing initial courses of therapy and receiving the date of the next treatment course. The authors also discuss the difficulties of giving medication for pain control in Zimbabwe: Health care workers may have misconceptions about addiction, and patient may be too stoical.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Measurement of cytosolic calcium using 19F NMR.

Fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of cells and perfused organs loaded with fluorinated ion chelators represent a new approach to determining cytosolic free calcium levels in situ. The molecular basis for this approach and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the NMR technique are discussed in this paper. Results obtained on perfused normoxic and ischemic rat hearts are presented, indicating that ischemia is associated with an elevation in the level of cytosolic free calcium before the onset of irreversible cell injury. The results are therefore consistent with this elevation playing a causative role in the mediation of myocardial cell injury resulting from ischemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The disease of CBA and BALB/c mice that follows inoculation of a small number of Mycobacterium lepraemurium into the hind foot pad.

To learn if the lack of an immune response in mice infected with Mycobacterium lepraemurium (MLM) was a consequence of the organisms, we studied the disease that followed inoculation of less than or equal to 5000 organisms into the hind foot pads of CBA and BALB/c mice. The mice of both strains demonstrated a rapid increase of bacterial numbers soon after inoculation, with a slowing of the rate of multiplication once the number of organisms per foot pad passed 3 x 10(7). By 1 year after inoculation, the numbers of organisms had reached levels greater than or equal to 10(11) in the spleen and liver, and greater than or equal to 10(8) in the femoral bone marrow. In mice that had been inoculated with as few as 5 MLM or 50 MLM, the organisms had multiplied to numbers greater than 10(8) in the foot pads and to greater than or equal to 10(9) in the spleens, suggesting that the ID50 of viable MLM may be less than or equal to 5 organisms per foot pad. No protection against superinfection could be demonstrated. On the other hand, initial multiplication of MLM in the foot pads was followed virtually immediately by the death of at least 97% of the organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Doubling time of Mycobacterium lepraemurium in mouse footpads.

The doubling time of Mycobacterium lepraemurium (MLM) was measured in CBA/Ca mice. In eight experiments, 5 X 10(3) MLM were inoculated into the hind footpads of groups of mice, and the organisms were harvested from 1-45 days later. The harvested organisms were enumerated, and the doubling time was calculated assuming that MLM had multiplied without a lag phase and that multiplication continued at a constant rate from inoculation to harvest. Simultaneously, the proportions of viable organisms in the inocula were determined by inoculation of serially diluted suspensions into the footpads of other mice, harvesting 4 months later and calculating the most probable number. MLM were observed to multiply rapidly during the first several days, and more slowly thereafter; the mean initial doubling time was determined to be 0.5 days, a value much smaller than those previously reported by other workers.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Effects of beta-adrenergic activity on T-wave amplitude.

This study addresses the hypothesis that electrocardiographic T-wave amplitude is influenced by beta-adrenergic stimulation of the heart. Beta-adrenergic activity was manipulated both pharmacologically and through behavioral challenge. Under resting conditions, 12 healthy men underwent infusion of placebo and then the beta-agonist, isoproterenol, and the beta-blocker, propranolol, in a counterbalanced, crossover design. During infusion of placebo, subjects also underwent two behavioral challenges, a structured interview and mental arithmetic. Analysis of the resting data indicated that propranolol produced a significant increase in T-wave amplitude, and isoproterenol produced significant T-wave amplitude attenuation. As previously reported, drug effects were also in evidence for heart rate. Behaviorally-induced reduction of T-wave amplitude was observed for mental arithmetic but not structured interview, which again paralleled heart rate data. Both pharmacological and behavioral data reported in this study support the hypothesis that the T-wave is significantly affected by beta-sympathetic influence on the heart. However, a nonspecific effect of heart rate change on T-wave amplitude would also account for these results. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the utility of T-wave amplitude in psychophysiological research.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Affective responses to activities: a comparative study.

The purpose of this study was to document variation in affective responses to different types of traditional occupational therapy activities. Each of 45 subjects (24 psychiatric inpatients and 21 matched control subjects) participated in a series of four activities: leather lacing, working with clay, filing, and exercycling. Immediately following each activity, each subject completed the Affective Self-Report Checklist designed to elicit affective responses. In addition, each of the activity sessions was professionally videotaped and later rated for affective responses by trained observers. The data analysis revealed no significant differences in affective responses to activities between groups. However, with the groups combined, significant differences were found in affective responses on 6 of the 15 scales of the checklist, with clay and filing the pair of activities that differed most. These findings are a necessary first step in the collection of baseline data regarding responses to activities.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The COSHH regs.....

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed1989

Is midazolam a dangerous drug?

Midazolam can be used to achieve anxiolysis, to provide conscious sedation with anterograde amnesia during operations performed under local or regional anesthesia, to induce general anesthesia, and as part of a balanced anesthetic. Understanding the pharmacologic properties and potential adverse side effects of any drug is necessary in order to dose and monitor patients effectively. When used with vigilance, appropriate patient monitoring, and slow, careful titration to desired effect, midazolam is an extremely useful and safe medication for both inpatients and outpatients.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1988

Haemophagocytosis and other haematological aspects of Mycobacterium lepraemurium disease of mice.

CBA mice inoculated i.v. with 2 x 10(8) viable MLM were observed at intervals for 5 months. In the bone marrow, haematopoietic cells were progressively displaced by MLM-laden phagocytes; depletion of erythroid cells began earlier and was more pronounced than that of myeloid cells. Transiently, mild anaemia and profound leucopenia were noted. The spleen was enlarged and the site of increasing histiocytosis and extramedullary haematopoiesis which was accompanied by displacement of splenic parenchyma. The liver was enlarged and its parenchyma contained scattered islands of haematopoietic elements. Lymph node cells had been largely replaced by MLM-laden macrophages by the end of the process. Thus, MLM infection exerts important effects on haematopoiesis of susceptible mice and is accompanied by active extramedullary haematopoiesis. In addition, the haemophagocytosis, observed most commonly in immuno-compromised patients infected with certain viral or mycobacterial pathogens, was observed late in the course of MLM disease of mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Visualization of a pseudomeningocele on isotope cisternography.

Pseudomeningocele, a hernial protrusion of the meninges, most commonly forms in wounds that have been incompletely closed at surgery. They are frequently seen with hydrocephalus, with or without increased intracranial pressure. The authors present a case of an incidental finding of a posterior fossa pseudomeningocele seen on cisternography that was performed because of postoperative hydrocephalus after removal of a cerebellar astrocytoma.

Craniotomy↗
PubMed1988

Response of the murine hematopoietic system to chronic infection with Mycobacterium lepraemurium.

Mycobacterium lepraemurium infection of mice produces a chronic lethal disease that is characterized by massive accumulation of macrophages throughout the mononuclear-phagocyte system. We studied the influence of M. lepraemurium infection on the composition and function of the hematopoietic system. Medullary erythropoiesis was virtually abolished, as reflected by a small number of erythroid elements and a decrease in the number and frequency of erythroid progenitors in the bone marrow, together with reduced uptake of 59Fe into bone marrow hemin. On the other hand, erythropoiesis was observed in the spleen, as demonstrated by a large number of erythroid cells, a sixfold increase of 59Fe uptake, and a pronounced increase in the number of erythroid progenitors. A considerable increase of monocyte progenitors was observed in the spleen, and a more modest increase was observed in the bone marrow. This increase may be accounted for, at least in part, by greatly increased levels of macrophage-colony-stimulating factor in the serum of infected mice. Thus, M. lepraemurium infection produces important changes in the hematopoietic system, during the course of which the spleen becomes the major hematopoietic organ.

Animals↗