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Biomedical subjects

L Ranek

Publications and source records attributed to L Ranek.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Fatal hepatitis following irradiation and vincristine.

The increasing use of combination therapy with irradiation and cytostatics in malignant disease increases the risk of toxicity. An account is given of a patient with liver toxicity terminating fatally, in whom increased radiosensitivity may have been induced by vincristine.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

The hepatic glutathione content in liver diseases.

We measured the total glutathione content in 38 liver biopsies from patients undergoing diagnostic liver biopsy to study whether liver diseases result in decreased glutathione content making the liver more sensitive to different toxic damages. The glutathione concentrations ranged from 20.2 to 41.0 mumol/g hepatic protein in six biopsies without light microscopic pathological changes (mean +/- SD = 26.9 = +/- 8.1). The mean concentrations +/- SD in patients with toxic hepatitis (n = 3), viral hepatitis (n = 4), chronic active hepatitis (n = 4), cirrhosis (n = 14) and steatosis (n = 7) were 62.5 +/- 27.2, 47.4 +/- 25.9, 38.3 +/- 17.0, 29.1 +/- 15.7 and 21.0 +/- 9.6, respectively. The hepatic glutathione content is not decreased in patients with moderate hepatic impairment.

Fatty Liver↗
PubMed1981

Short-term parenteral and peroral testosterone administration in men with alcoholic cirrhosis.

Serum concentrations of testosterone were measured in 24 male patients with alcoholic cirrhosis during testosterone administration. The purpose was to compare serum concentrations of testosterone during peroral with those during parenteral testosterone administration in these patients. Patients who were injected intramuscularly with a combination of short- and long-acting testosterone (Triolandren, 348 mg testosterone) had median peak values of serum testosterone of about 40 ng/ml, which fell to basal levels after a fortnight. During testosterone propionate injections (84 mg testosterone) every other day, rather constant serum concentrations with median values of about 30 ng/ml were reached after 4 days. Peroral testosterone administration (800 mg micronized free testosterone) each day also resulted in fairly constant serum concentrations after 4 days, and the median values were about 50 ng/ml. No side effects were observed.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1981

Continuous reaction time in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. A quantitative measure of changes in consciousness.

In 14 patients with encephalopathy due to cirrhosis of the liver levels of consciousness were assessed by clinical ratings and continuous reaction time measurements. The observations were compared with similar measurements made in patients with chronic brain syndrome, patients sedated with diazepam, and hospitalized controls. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy were characterized by having slower reaction times than patients from the other groups. Furthermore, the performance of several liver patients was decreasing during the test. This phenomenon was not seen in the other groups. The continuous reaction times in the liver patients were correlated with the clinical ratings, but the reaction times appeared to be more sensitive, since on several occasions this test became abnormal before the clinical rating. Patients dying within 3 months after the test had more abnormal reaction times than patients surviving this period, indicating a relation between this test and the severity of the liver disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Hepatitis type A, B, and non-A non-B in fulminant hepatitis.

Serological investigations for hepatitis B surface and e antigen, antibody to hepatitis B surface, core and e antigen and antibody to hepatitis A virus were carried out in 22 patients with fulminant hepatitis admitted to Medical Department A, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, in 1970-77. Nine patients had hepatitis type B and four type A. One patient had evidence of both type A and B infection, whereas the remaining eight patients showed no evidence of type A or B infection. Two of these had been treated with disulfiram and a drug aetiology could not be excluded, but in six patients no known cause of fulminant hepatitis could be determined and these patients were classified as having hepatitis type non-A non-B. The survival rate was not statistically different for patients having type A, B, or non-A non-B hepatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Evidence for liver cell proliferation during fatal acute liver failure.

Liver cell regeneration was assessed by determining the mitotic index and the frequency of liver cells with interploid DNA values in livers from patients dying from fulminant hepatitis. For comparison, the same parameters were determined in patients with uncomplicated hepatitis. We found comparable levels of regeneration in the two groups, indicating that the rate of liver cell destruction is a major determinant in the prognosis of acute liver failure. Accordingly, measures to prevent liver cell necrosis seem at least as important as stimulation of regeneration. Judged from available experimental evidence, substances with documented hepatotrophic effect in animals, such as insulin and glucagon, may therefore not be effective in acute liver failure unless the patient has impaired secretion of these substances.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effect of long-term disulfiram administration on rat liver.

No hepatotoxicity was demonstrated after 90 days in rats treated with two dose levels of disulfiram. A reversible inhibition of microsomal p-nitroanisole demethylase activity was found. In phenobarbital-treated rats disulfiram 100 mg/kg did not alter the induction response as indicated by the cytochrome P-450 content, but inhibited the p-nitroanisole activity to control levels. As no sign of histological liver damage was found, we conclude that the rare cases of disulfiram hepatotoxicity in man may be due to an allergic reaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Functioning liver mass in uncomplicated and fulminant acute hepatitis.

The galactose elimination capacity and the plasma clearance of phenazone were investigated in 24 patients with uncomplicated acute hepatitis and in 8 patients who survived and in 26 who died of fulminant hepatitis. The galactose elimination capacity was 52% of the normal mean value on admission to the hospital in uncomplicated hepatitis, 47% in patients who survived fulminant hepatitis, and 22% in the fatal cases, while the plasma clearance of phenazone was 43%, 22%, and 10%, respectively. Both quantitative liver function tests showed rapid improvement in most cases of uncomplicated acute hepatitis and in the patients who survived fulminant hepatitis. They did not improve in the fatal cases of fulminant hepatitis, among whom the patients with the lowest initial values died first. Both the galactose elimination capacity and the plasma clearance of phenazone were significantly higher in survivors than in non-survivors of fulminant hepatitis. The results indicate that the loss of functioning liver cell mass is about 60-70% in the acute stage of uncomplicated hepatitis and 80-85% in patients who survive fulminant hepatitis, whereas patients who die of fulminant hepatitis have nearly total loss of functioning liver cell mass.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Circulating autoantibodies in patients with acute viral hepatitis. Relation to etiology and clinical course.

The prevalences of liver-cell-membrane antibody (LMA), smooth-muscle antibodies, antinuclear antibodies and antimitochondrial antibodies were evaluated in 63 selected patients with acute viral hepatitis of types A, B, and non-A non-B. Twenty patients had a complete, uneventful recovery, 19 patients had fulminant hepatitis, and 24 progressed to a chronic liver disease. Acute-phase and follow-up sera from all patients were tested for antibodies of IgA, IgM, and IgG class. The prevalences of the IgM autoantibodies in the acute-phase sera were not significantly different in the three groups irrespective of clinical outcome. Similar prevalences were found with respect to IgG class; however, antinuclear antibodies of IgG class were predominantly found in acute-phase sera from patients who later progressed to a chronic liver disease. The diagnostic significance of these autoantibodies was stressed by the fact that 85% of the sera with LMA of IgG class and 100% of the follow-up sera with smooth-muscle antibodies of IgG class at a titer at or above 1:128 originated from patients with chronic liver disease. A similar pattern was found for antinuclear antibodies, and testing for all these antibodies of IgA anad IgM class did not yield any further information. In some serum samples LMA could be found independently of smooth-muscle antibody and vice versa, indicating the essential difference between these two autoantibodies.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Azathioprine in primary biliary cirrhosis: a preliminary report of an international trial.

The effects of azathioprine on the course of primary biliary cirrhosis were studied prospectively in a multinational, double-blind randomized clinical trial involving 236 patients, of which 124 received azathioprine and 112 placebo. No significant effects were seen on survival, clinical course, hepatic histologic features, hepatic tests, or immunologic abnormalities after a median follow-up period of 18 mo, but most of the trends observed were in favor of azathioprine. The results obtained so far indicate that the effect of azathioprine as a single treatment is limited and probably of little clinical importance, but more years of follow-up will be needed to provide a definite conclusion.

Actuarial Analysis↗