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Biomedical subjects

L Serra

Publications and source records attributed to L Serra.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Dietary factors and gastric cancer risk. A case-control study in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Evidence supports that gastric cancer has an environmental etiology, of which diet appears to be the most important component. The authors examined the effect of diet on the risk of gastric cancer. METHODS: A case-control study of dietary factors and gastric cancer was conducted between September 1986 and March 1989 in the Barcelona metropolitan area, Spain. One hundred seventeen cases with histologically confirmed diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma were matched by age, gender, and whether they possessed a telephone to 234 community controls. One hundred eighty-eight (80.3%) controls were selected by random-digit telephone dialing and 46 (19.7%) by neighborhood of residence. Information about frequency and amount of consumption of 89 food items in one year was gathered by using a questionnaire, and cases and controls were interviewed in their homes by trained interviewers. Unconditional logistic regression was used for the analysis. RESULTS: Gastric cancer risk rose with increasing intake of smoked and pickled foods (OR 3.67 for upper tertile) and salt (OR 2.11 for upper quartile). Intake of citrus fruits (OR 0.47 for upper tertile) and raw-green vegetables (OR 0.56 for upper quartile) appeared to be protective. Gastric cancer risk was not associated with intake of cereals, rice, total vegetables, and fruits as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that high intake of salt and smoked and pickled food may be associated with a high risk of gastric cancer, and this association could be due to intragastric formation of nitrosamines. The negative association with citric and green vegetables consumption to be associated with the inhibition of nitrosation process.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Generalized juvenile polyposis with mixed pattern and gastric cancer.

Generalized gastrointestinal juvenile polyposis is a rare form of diffuse polyposis in which cancer infrequently develops. A clinical case is described in which gastric polyps showed a variety of histological features, including both in situ and invasive adenocarcinoma. Many mixed lesions were observed, confirming a morphological sequence already documented in colorectal tumorigenesis but still undefined in gastric tumors. The patient seems strongly predisposed to gastric cancer, presumably on a genetic basis, because he developed a malignancy in a hyperplastic juvenile polyp, usually not considered a precancerous lesion. There is no doubt that cases like this may be important for accurate genetic evaluation and biological characterization.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1993

Study on the synthesis of complement components by human renal mesangial cells in culture. Assessment of the effect of cytokines.

Renal mesangial cell (MC) cultures are easily established and widely used. MC produce some complement (C) regulatory proteins. We studied whether MC synthesize C components (C3, C5, C8). MC cultures were established from normal portions of cortices of nephrectomies for renal cancer. After growing to near-confluence in RPMI/17% FBS and resting for 24 h in RPMI/0.5% FBS, MC were stimulated up to 72 h with IL-1 beta or IL-6 (10, 100, 1000 U/ml). Neither C5 nor C8 were detected by ELISA. While C3 was present in supernatant under basal conditions (15.5-107.6 ng/10(6) cells/24h) in different MC lines. IL-1 beta up-regulated the synthesis by 2.4-4.5 folds, whereas IL-6 did not show any effect. C3 synthetic rate was 1.76 ng/h/10(6) cells under IL-1 stimulation versus basal rate of 0.37 ng/h/10(6) cells. MC production of C3, especially induced by IL-1 may have pathogenetic relevance in glomerulonephritis.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed1993

Primary systemic amyloidosis with giant hepatomegaly and portal hypertension: a case report and a review of the literature.

Amyloidosis is a manifestation of a group of diseases resulting from the variable infiltration of multiple organs by a fibrillar protein called amyloid. Hepatic involvement in amyloidosis is common both in the primary and in the secondary forms, whereas clinically-dominant liver amyloidosis is relatively rare. The authors describe a case of primary systemic amyloidosis with giant hepatomegaly, portal hypertension and renal insufficiency; the patient did not develop jaundice, ascites or gastrointestinal bleeding but died 6 months later, death being due to cerebral haemorrhage.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Cerebellar vermis hypoplasia in a case of cri-du-chat syndrome.

We describe a 6-year-old child who presented the phenotype of cri-du-chat disease. The study of her caryotype confirmed an interstitial deletion of the short arm of chromosome 5. The neurological examination showed mental retardation, behavioral disturbances and features of cerebellar and cortico-spinal impairment. The MRI scan of the brain showed hypoplasia of the vermis associated with dysgenesia of the corpus callosum. This is the first report of vermian hypoplasia in cri-du-chat disease. We suggest that the most likely pathogenesis of this malformation is a midline dysraphia.

Cerebellum↗
PubMed1992

[Retrospective evaluation of the effectiveness of the BCG vaccine campaign in newborns of Barcelona].

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to know the efficacy of the BCG vaccination campaign of the newborns of Barcelona carried out during the period from 1966-1974. METHODS: To achieve this aim an epidemiologic investigation was undertaken by an observational analytical study of paired cases and controls. Two hundred and fifty randomly selected cases were studied between 1978-1988 from between 4-21 years of age during the study period. The cases were paired with 750 controls (1:3) with identical conditions and age, sex and place of residence. Statistical analysis of data was performed by the specific methods for this type of study. RESULTS: The estimated gross odds ratio was 0.68; the interval of confidence 95% and 0.51-0.91 (p < 0.025). The efficacy of this vaccination campaign was estimated as weak at 32%, in the age group and investigation time being greater in males and diminished with time. The percentage of new cases of tuberculosis potentially prevented by this campaign was calculated at 13%. CONCLUSIONS: The weak efficacy of the BCG vaccination campaign may be attributed not only to the unforeseen effects of this vaccine but also to the deficient operative aspects of the campaign itself.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Effect of aspirin and indomethacin on epidermal growth factor secretion in duodenal tissue fragments cultivated in vitro.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of aspirin and indomethacin on epidermal growth factor (EGF) secretion in duodenal tissue fragments cultivated in vitro. The fragments were obtained from healthy subjects by gastroscopy, cultured in McCoy's medium and gassed with 95% O2 and 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C. After an incubation of 30 min, the culture medium was decanted, and the quantity of hormone determined by radioimmunoassay. The mean EGF level detected in the medium was 10.94 ng/mg protein tissue. The addition of aspirin (final concentration 10(-7) M) to the medium reduced mean EGF levels to 7.5 ng/mg (p less than 0.05), whereas aspirin 10(-8) M did not produce such a modification. The addition of indomethacin (final concentration 10(-8) M) decreased mean EGF levels to 5.37 ng/mg (p less than 0.001). In all experimental conditions, the addition of anti-somatostatin (SRIF) antibodies determined a remarkable increase in EGF (p less than 0.01). The results of this study show aspirin and indomethacin to be direct, not SRIF-mediated inhibitors of EGF release.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Epidemiology of obesity among the adult population of Catalonia].

Several epidemiological studies have shown that obesity is related to the mortality from cardiovascular disease. In this study, the epidemiology of obesity and the correlation between body mass index and other cardiovascular risk factors was studied in a representative sample of the adult population of Catalonia. It was obtained a random sample (n = 704) of the adult population of Catalonia aged 15 or more years. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated (height in Kg/weight2 in m2). Obesity was defined as a BMI greater than 30, and overweight as a BMI from 25 to 30. In the first 314 participants, it was determined the concentration of total cholesterol, cholesterol-HDL and triglyceride, and it was measured the blood pressure. The correlation between BMI and other cardiovascular risk factors was analysed. The study was carried out in 1989. The mean of BMI increased with age in both sexes. BMI was significantly higher in men (26 kg/m2) than women (25 kg/m2). The prevalence of obesity was of 12% in both men and women, and the prevalence of overweight was of 48.5% in men and 38% in women. The prevalence of arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes was greater individuals with obesity, with differences statistically significant for hypertension (odds ratio of 3.26). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the association between obesity and hypertension was not statistically significant (OR adj. = 2.09), when the effect of the other risk factors, the age and sex were controlled.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Acute hepatitis induced by cyclofenil: a case report.

The case of a 47-year old woman suffering from acute hepatitis caused by cyclofenil, a drug proposed for the treatment of anovulation and scleroderma, is presented. Hepatitis developed seven weeks after the beginning of administration of the drug and its course was reversible after withdrawal. The case is documented on the basis of liver histology and the exclusion of other causes of acute hepatitis.

Acute Disease↗