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Biomedical subjects

L M Wolf

Publications and source records attributed to L M Wolf.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

[Familial medullary thyroid cancer. Contribution of genealogy and genetics to the study of two families].

A geneological study made it possible to establish a link between two medullary thyroid carcinoma families from Normandy totalling 9 sick subjects, and a probable link with a third family. The study contributed to the diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIa, whereas the condition had been diagnosed for 6 years as familial medullary thyroid carcinoma, without phaechromocytoma. Group in these two families together increased the number of subjects tested, thereby facilitating genetic link analysis and enabling the link with markers of the disease on chromosome 10 to be asserted. The genetic study can now be used to detect individuals at risk, and with regular laboratory tests the diagnosis will be made at the "precancerous" stage. A genealogical study going back to the family-founding couple will increase the population which will benefit from screening in this region north of Rouen.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1990

[A hormone assay as a therapeutic choice in male sterility].

In order to study the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis in men referring for severe oligospermia, the hormonal pattern of 57 oligospermic men was compared to those of 19 healthy volunteers. Fourteen patients had plasma gonadotrophin levels in the normal range contrasting with low plasma testosterone (T) levels. An hyperprolactinemia was found in 2 of these men who were treated with bromocriptine. A dramatic increase in sperm count was obtained on month 9 to 12 of the therapy and 5 pregnancies were obtained. Two men with hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and azoospermia were treated with gonadotrophins. Such a treatment induced a desquamation of immature germinal cells in the sperm on month 6 and the maturation et spermatozoa on month 18. By contrast to the latter patients, 8 men had a decrease in plasma T levels without clinical signs of hypoandrogenism. The spermocytogram showed numerous immature germinal cells. On month 7 of a treatment using gonadotrophins, the sperm count rose and 4 pregnancies were obtained after 3 to 12 months of therapy. In 2 patients an isolated FSH deficiency was suspected on the basis of undetectable FSH levels unresponsive to the infusion of GnRH. These patients were treated with hMG. This treatment induced a sharp increase in sperm count on month 6. Forty-three patients had an increase in either LH and/or FSH: 24 men had plasma testosterone and LH levels in the normal ranges, contrasting with an increase in plasma FSH level. In such men, the mean of testosterone level was significantly (p less than 0.001) lower than in controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Eating disorders and obesity].

In most cases, obesity does not stem from a specific psychologic disturbance. Some obese people overeat, as do their family or their socio-professional peers, and this cannot be considered a pathologic behaviour. Many obese patients increase their energy intake when frustrated, anxious, or tired, like many normal individuals who enjoy a better weight regulation. But when obesity increases suddenly and/or severely in these circumstances, and in gross obesity, abnormal feeding behaviour is usually responsible: prandial or, more often extraprandial overeating (nibbling, gorging, binge eating, night eating, excess alcohol, carbohydrate craving). Serotoninergic mechanisms of the latter have focused wide interest. Conflicting situations and/or anxiety are usually a factor in child obesity. Deppreciated self-image and feelings of culpability, partly secondary to obesity itself and dietary failures often contribute to feeding disturbances, sometimes surreptitious, carrying a risk of vicious circle. But weight reduction itself, while improving self image, carries a risk of unmasking depressive tendencies, especially when too quick. Hence the importance of careful and comprehensive management.

Feeding and Eating Disorders↗
PubMed1989

hCG test in gynaecomastia: further study.

In adult men referred with gynaecomastia, the prolonged plasma oestradiol (E2) response to hCG appears to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of feminizing Leydig cell tumour (LCT) of the testis. However, its specificity is uncertain. The hormonal status was therefore studied in 85 men with gynaecomastia including 17 with LCT, 52 with clinically isolated gynaecomastia and 16 hypogonadal men (13 with Klinefelter's syndrome and three with hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism). The data obtained after hCG (5000 IU i.m., n = 85) or GnRH (100 micrograms i.v., n = 70) administration were compared to those of a group of control men. Means of basal gonadotrophin and of gonadotrophin responses to GnRH were similar in LCT and controls but were significantly (P less than 0.001) higher than controls in patients with either Klinefelter's syndrome or isolated gynaecomastia. Half the patients with isolated gynaecomastia had normal gonadotrophin parameters (NGG) while half had significantly (P less than 0.001) higher levels (EGG) than controls, suggesting either primary testicular failure or androgen resistance. The T responses to hCG did not differentiate patients with LCT from either isolated gynaecomastia or controls. A prolonged E2 response (greater than 300 pmol/l on day 3 following hCG) was observed in all patients with LCT, in 10/21 EGG patients and in 3/13 patients with Klinefelter's syndrome. Such a response was observed in only one NGG patient. We conclude that a prolonged E2 response to hCG does not appear to be specific to LCT but that specificity is greatly improved (from 80 to 98%) when the gonadotrophin pattern (basal and/or responses to GnRH) is also taken into account.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Latent and postpartum thyroiditis. Prospective study].

Thyroid evaluation was performed in 85 women at childbirth, then between 2 and 7 months, and 14 months later. Transient subclinical hypothyroidism was found in one woman; antithyroid antibodies were found in 10 and were persistent in 6, suggesting a late thyroiditis. For these 6 cases, 5 HLA typing showed 3 Locus DR4. The proportion of antithyroid antibody was the same in a reference population. This finding would be in agreement with the hypothesis of a latent thyroiditis, revealed by pregnancy. Relative iodine deficiency in France could explain the low frequency of post partum thyroiditis in the present study.

Female↗
PubMed1989

[Pituitary adenoma treated with a somatostatin analog].

We studied for over 7 months the use of SMS 201-995, in 1 woman with pituitary adenoma. Eight years after surgical and irradiation therapy, adenoma relapsed with hyperthyroidism (T4 L = 71pmol/l, TSH = 5.3 mU/l, subunit: 309 micrograms/l) and was complicated by meningitis. It was invasive and removed only partly. SMS therapy, 100 micrograms SC q 8 h, allowed partial reduction of clinical hyperthyroidism and decreased TSH and alpha subunit of 47%. Increased dosage and changing route of administration did not increase efficacy. A modest decrease of adenoma was probably caused by several reasons. In summary in an adenoma unusual by the extremely high value of alpha subunit in contrast with modest value of TSH, SMS therapy allowed partial control only.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1987

[Male hypertestosteronemia].

Male hypogonadism is characterized by a lowering of plasma testosterone level below the lower limit of physiological variations. Conversely, some adult males, apparently eugonadic, have a plasma testosterone level much higher than normally. In most cases, male hypertestosteronaemia - defined by a plasma testosterone level above 13 ng/ml and due to various physiopathological mechanisms - is part of a wider pathological context. It betrays hyperandrogenism (elevated free testosterone) during treatment with androgens or chorionic gonadotropic hormone. In other cases, it seems to underlie a relative hypoandrogenism with rise of testosterone bound to transport proteins and/or excess of oestrogens. Hypertestosteronaemia therefore appears as a biochemical sign not to be ignored, but it also suggests that men with abnormally high testosterone levels present with new pathology and that aetiological investigations are necessary.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Testicular function during prolonged corticotherapy].

Prolonged corticosteroid therapy produces a major degree of protein catabolism. Short-term treatment with ACTH or glucocorticoids results, in males, in a fall in plasma testosterone levels. In order to determine the origin of this hypogonadism, the testicular function was investigated in 18 men under prolonged glucocorticoid treatment. The mean plasma testosterone level in men treated for less than 3 months (5.9 +/- 0.8 ng/ml) was not statistically different from that obtained in controls (7.5 +/- 0.5 ng/ml; P greater than 0.05). However, the mean plasma luteinizing hormone level was significantly higher in these patients than in controls (8.2 +/- 1.9 mUl/ml vs 3.6 +/- mUl/ml respectively; P less than 0.001). In patients treated for more than 2 years, the mean plasma testosterone level (3.8 +/- 0.6 ng/ml) was significantly lower than in controls (P less than 0.001), but the mean plasma luteinizing hormone level was normal (5 +/- 1 mUl/ml). Plasma testosterone levels are negatively correlated with the daily dose of glucocorticoid (r = -0.81; P less than 0.001). The free testosterone index was within normal range in 5 of the 9 men under prolonged steroid therapy, near the lower limit of normality in 2 men and definitely low in 2 other men. The gonadotrophin response to the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone was normal, whereas the testicular response to human chorionic gonadotrophin was reduced. These data suggest that prolonged treatment with steroidal anti-inflammatory agents influences both gonadotrophic and testicular function and may be associated with true hypoandrogenism.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1985

[Medical treatment of prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas. Influence of the size of the adenoma].

Forty-two patients with prolactin-secreting pituitary adenoma (prolactinoma) demonstrated by a radiologically abnormal sella turcica and hyperprolactinaemia were treated with bromocriptine. Baseline serum prolactin levels, which before treatment correlated with the size of the adenoma, returned to normal under bromocriptine in 30 out of 36 cases; in 6 female patients, however, they were lowered but remained moderately high. The dose of bromocriptine and the time required for normalization of prolactinaemia correlated with the size of the tumour. In 11 patients with macroadenoma bromocriptine dosage and prolactinaemia were inversely correlated; in 8 of these the adenoma was reduced in size. In 12 cases where the long-term treatment was interrupted, prolactinaemia rose again, suggesting that the medical treatment alone has no lasting curative effect.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1985

[Postpartum definitive hypothyroidism. 7 cases].

Seven cases of hypothyroidism developed within 6 months of delivery are reported. Radioimmunoassays regularly showed very low thyroxin levels and high thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, thus confirming that the thyroid deficiency was of peripheral origin. A significant rise in antimicrosomal or antithyroglobulin antibodies was noted in 5 cases. One patient had HLA-B8 and 4 had HLA-DR3, which was not significantly different from the prevalence in the regional population. In contrast with the transient post-partum hypothyroidism reported mainly in Japan, the condition proved to be permanent in 6 patients followed up for more than two years. The increased frequency of HLA-DR3 and 5 recently described in thyroiditis with transient post-partum thyrotoxicosis was not found in our series. It would appear that pregnancy, which is a period of immune incompetence, may disclose a latent lymphocytic thyroiditis.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

True hermaphroditism: from female to male endocrine status.

True hermaphroditism was revealed by monthly intrascrotal bleeding in a 21-yr-old subject of male phenotype who had undergone surgical treatment for gonadal ectopy at the age of 7 yr. The presence of an ovary was demonstrated by the endocrine profile of an ovulatory menstrual cycle. Evidence for the presence of a testis was provided by a plasma testosterone increase after hCG administration (5000 IU/day for 3 days) and its spontaneous response to an endogenous preovulatory LH peak. Further endocrine studies revealed that both gonads were stimulated by endogenous gonadotropins. At surgery, a hemiuterus and an ovary with corpus luteum were found in the left hemiscrotum, and a testis and epididymis were found in the right hemiscrotum. After removal of the ovary, the subject passed from a predominantly female to a male endocrine status, which suggests that the endocrine secretion of the testis was inhibited by the negative feedback effect of ovarian steroids on gonadotropin secretion.

3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1985

The in vitro interaction of alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO) and several interferons on human cell lines.

The antiproliferative effects of six different human interferons were examined on two human cell lines--HM7 (human melanoma cell line) and MDA-MB-231 (human breast carcinoma cell line). A dose-response curve was developed for each interferon in which the maximum dose applied gave at least 30% growth inhibition of control values after 96-128 h of continuous exposure. An amount of alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO) which caused 25% growth inhibition (0.01 mM for HM7 and 0.1 mM for MDA) was added to the cultures with various doses of each interferon. The inhibitory effects of DFMO and each interferon were additive at low concentrations. In no case was a synergistic effect observed. Unlike in the murine B-16 melanoma model, we could not show a synergistic inhibitory effect between DFMO and any of the six different interferons on two human epithelial tumor cell lines.

Antineoplastic Agents↗