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Biomedical subjects

M A Ali

Publications and source records attributed to M A Ali.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Diabetes mellitus in Egypt: glycaemic control and microvascular and neuropathic complications.

We performed a cross-sectional, population-based survey of persons 20 years of age and older living in Cairo and surrounding rural villages. The purpose was to describe glycaemic control and the prevalence of microvascular and neuropathic complications among Egyptians with diagnosed diabetes, previously undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and normal glucose tolerance. A total of 6052 households were surveyed. The response rate was 76% for the household survey and 72% for the medical examination. Among people with previously diagnosed diabetes, mean haemoglobin A1c, was 9.0%. Forty-two per cent had retinopathy, 21% albuminuria, and 22% neuropathy. Legal blindness was prevalent (5%) but clinical nephropathy (7%) and foot ulcers (1%) were uncommon in persons with diagnosed diabetes. Among people with diagnosed diabetes, microvascular and neuropathic complications were associated with hyperglycaemia. Retinopathy was also associated with duration of diabetes; albuminuria with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia; and neuropathy with age, female sex, and hypercholesterolaemia. Albuminuria was as common in people with previously undiagnosed diabetes (22%) as those with diagnosed disease (21%). Mean haemoglobin A1c was lower (7.8%) and retinopathy (16%) and neuropathy (14%) were less prevalent in people with previously undiagnosed disease. Ocular conditions, blindness, and neuropathy were prevalent in the non-diabetic population. The microvascular and neuropathic complications of diabetes are a major clinical and public health problem in Egypt.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Phase II study of hyperfractionated radiotherapy and concurrent weekly alternating chemotherapy in limited-stage small cell lung cancer.

Despite recent advances in combined modality therapy, long-term survival remains elusive in most patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The present study was designed to evaluate the activity and toxicity of concurrent hyperfractionated radiotherapy and weekly, alternating-regimen chemotherapy. Twelve patients with limited-stage SCLC and performance status 0-1 were treated with cyclophosphamide 250 mg/m2, etoposide 100 mg/m2, and cisplatin 50 mg/m2 on day 1 every other week, and vincristine 1 mg/m2 on day 8, and ifosfamide 1.2 mg/m2 on days 8 and 9 every other week. Hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy, consisting of three daily doses of 1.1 Gy for 20 days to a total dose of 66 Gy, was started on day 1 of chemotherapy. Ten patients (83%) exhibited an objective response (9 CRs and 1 PR) with a median duration of response of 8.6 months. Two complete responders died at 50 and 53 months without evidence of progression and two remain alive and free of SCLC at 73 and 87 months. Median survival was 19.8 months with 2- and 5-year survival rates of 50 and 17%, respectively. Severe toxicity, including grade 3-4 esophagitis (67%) and granulocytopenia (83%), as well as debilitating fatigue and pneumonitis, prompted early termination of the trial. Hyperfractionated radiotherapy and concurrent weekly alternating-regimen chemotherapy resulted in promising response and survival rates, but induced excessive toxicity, in patients with limited-stage SCLC.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Induction of apoptosis by a short-chain neuropeptide analog in small cell lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells express a variety of neuropeptides which act as autocrine growth factors. Although several neuropeptide analogs have been reported to antagonize SCLC proliferation, the development of these compounds has been limited by their low potency and the cytostatic nature of their effects. In the present study we evaluated the cytotoxic activity of four short-chain substance P analogs (NY3460, NY3238[-pHOPA], NY3238[Phe1], NY3238[Lys5]) against a panel of five SCLC cell lines. NY3460 was the most potent compound in all five SCLC cell lines (IC50 = 2.8-3.7 microM) as assessed by a MTT growth inhibitory assay. NY3238[Phe1] was also relatively active in all cell lines (IC50 = 3.5-11.2 microM), while NY3238[Lys5] and NY3238[-pHOPA] were substantially less active. NY3460 was the only agent to induce an increase in the percentage of cells with subdiploid DNA content suggestive of apoptosis by flow cytometric DNA content analysis. The induction of apoptosis was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy in NCI-H69, NCI-H82, NCI-H446, and NCI-H510 cells after exposure to 5.0 microM NY3460 for 48 h. These findings suggest that NY3460 is a relatively potent cytotoxic inhibitor of SCLC growth, and that short-chain neuropeptide analogs deserve further evaluation as anti-SCLC agents.

Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal↗
PubMed1998

Note: lack of influence of adherent Lactobacillus isolates on the attachment of Escherichia coli to the intestinal epithelial cells of chicken in vitro.

Two Lactobacillus isolates, Lact. acidophilus I 26 and Lact. fermentum I 25, were selected, based on their poor aggregation with Escherichia coli and strong ability to adhere to ileal epithelial cells (IEC), to study in vitro interactions with E. coli O1:K1, O2:K1 and O78:K80 in an IEC radioactive-assay under the conditions of exclusion (lactobacilli and IEC, followed by the addition of E. coli), competition (lactobacilli, IEC and E. coli together) and displacement (E. coli and IEC, followed by the addition of lactobacilli). The results indicated that Lact. acidophilus I 26 and Lact. fermentum I 25 could not significantly reduce the attachment of E. coli O1:K1, O2:K1 and O78:K80 to IEC under the three conditions tested in vitro, except that the attachment of E. coli O1:K1 was slightly reduced by Lact. fermentum I 25 in the test for competition.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Enhancement of hydroxyl radical generation in the Fenton reaction by alpha-hydroxy acid.

The effect of various organic acids on hydroxyl radical (.OH) generation in the Fenton reaction were examined by the ESR spin trapping technique, where 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyroline-N-nitroxide (DMPO) and alpha-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN) were used as the spin trapping reagents. alpha-Hydroxy acids such as lactic acid, glycolic acid and 2-hydroxy isobutyric acid were found to markedly enhance .OH generation in the reaction. In contrast, beta-hydroxy acid, alpha-keto acid, esters of alpha-hydroxy acids, aldehydes and other straight chain organic acids had no such enhancing activity. alpha-Amino acids had also no enhancing effect. The results suggest that the alpha-hydroxy acid moiety is prerequisite for the enhancement of .OH generation in the Fenton reaction. Superoxide dismutase did not inhibit the enhancing effect of alpha-hydroxy acids whereas catalase completely inhibited the .OH generation. Thus, alpha-hydroxy acids directly enhanced the .OH generation via the Fenton reaction but not the Haber-Weiss reaction. Possible role of lactic acid manipulating .OH generation is discussed in relation to the ischemia-reperfusion cell damage.

Catalase↗
PubMed1997

Steroid receptor measurement in breast cancers: comparison between ligand binding and enzyme-immunoassay in cytosolic and nuclear extracts.

We have analysed cytoplasmic and nuclear extracts of breast-cancer tissue from a total of 799 patients, measuring both oestrogen and progesterone receptors (ER, PR) using either the ligand binding assay (LBA) or the enzyme immunoassay technique (EIA). Mean and median receptor levels were much lower than those widely reported by others. For ER, this may in part be a consequence of the younger median age of the patient group. The frequency of positivity, using consensus cut-off values for clinical evaluation, was also lower than that reported by the EORTC Receptor Study Group. Although the measurements comparing the 2 methods were statistically correlated in terms of positivity, based on the above criteria for clinical assessment, concordance was considered to be relatively poor, particularly for ER when assayed in the same samples by the 2 methods. In cytosolic but not nuclear extracts, the LBA method gave a higher median value for ER than the EIA (except in the group that had EIA values greater than 15 fmol/mg protein); for PR, median values were higher with EIA in both cell fractions. There was an excellent correlation between receptor amounts in cytosolic and nuclear extracts for both ER and PR using the EIA; this was significantly better than with LBA. We also observed a correlation between ER and PR in both cytosolic and nuclear fractions which was most pronounced when the analysis was done by EIA. The amounts of ER in the cytosolic fraction were also correlated with the those of PR in the nuclear fraction and ER in the nuclear fraction with PR in the cytosolic fraction, but only when the EIA method was used. We conclude that the EIA method appears to be more sensitive and gives biologically more reliable results. However, the disagreement between the methods may be due to legitimate recognition of altered forms of the receptor and may be of biological significance. Although the presence of receptor in the cytosolic fraction is artifactual, its measurement by EIA does parallel the amounts of nuclear receptor, which may be a more relevant biological parameter.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Predictive value of intraoperative biopsies and liver function tests for preservation injury in orthotopic liver transplantation.

Eighty liver allografts were studied to determine the predictive value of intraoperative biopsies and postoperative liver function tests for the development of preservation injury (PI). Peak transaminase (aspartate transaminase [AST] and alanine transaminase [ALT]) and prothrombin time (PT) values achieved by each patient during postoperative days (POD) 1 through 7 were determined. PI in day 0 preperfusion biopsies (0Pre) (obtained immediately before implantation) and postperfusion biopsies (0Post) (obtained immediately after revascularization) was categorized by histological criteria as present or absent. PI in biopsies taken during POD 2 through 14 was histologically graded as either moderate-to-severe, mild, or absent. Of the 80 allografts, 8 were omitted because of primary nonfunction or postoperative complications. 0Pre and 0Post biopsies were available on 25 of 72 (35%) and 69 of 72 (96%) allografts, respectively. Only 2 (8%) of the 0Pre biopsies showed histological PI compared with 48 (70%) of the 0Post biopsies. Fifty-nine patients were biopsied between POD 2 through 14. Of these, 15, 28, and 16 patients developed moderate-to-severe, mild, or no evidence of PI, respectively. The presence of PI in the 0Post biopsy strongly correlated with the development of PI during POD 2 through 14 (P < .0005). Peak AST and ALT values in patients with moderate-to-severe PI on POD 2 through 14 were significantly elevated compared with those patients with either mild (P = .01 and .03) or no PI (P = .02 and .006). Because of extensive overlap in AST and ALT values between the three groups, however, transaminase values were not useful in predicting the presence or absence of PI in the individual case. The development of PI during POD 2 through 14 correlated with advanced donor age (P = .06) but was unassociated with 0Pre biopsy findings, cold ischemia time, or peak PT values. We conclude that the 0Post biopsy is a valuable tool for the prediction of subsequent PI in the early postoperative period. In contrast, 0Pre biopsy findings and peak AST and ALT values are not useful in the assessment of PI.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Early failure of a carbon-fiber composite femoral component.

Carbon fiber has a theoretical advantage over other materials for hip arthroplasty. It has a modulus of elasticity closer to that of bone than other materials. This property has been used in the production of a femoral component for use in hip arthroplasty. Isoelasticity could avoid the problems of stress shielding prevalent with other uncemented metal prostheses; however, the early failure of one such prosthesis due to implant breakage at the neck-body junction is reported.

Carbon↗
PubMed1997

Human herpesvirus-8/Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in organ transplant patients with immunosuppression.

Several recent studies have demonstrated Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV), also known as putative human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8), DNA in various epidemiologic forms of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), including AIDS-associated, classic, and endemic types. Risk of developing KS in non-HIV-infected immunosuppressed hosts, such as patients following solid organ transplantation, is also significantly higher compared to normal individuals. We have retrospectively evaluated 28 organ transplant patients with KS (23 cutaneous and five visceral) for the presence of KSHV genome by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival tissue samples. 27/28 KS patients were positive for the presence of KSHV. In four KS patients, tissue samples with no histologic evidence of KS were also analysed for KSHV. No evidence of positivity in three samples was noted, but one patient had weak positive amplification products on DNA samples isolated from a gastric biopsy with chronic gastritis and lymph node with sinus histiocytosis. These data support the association of KSHV with KS developing in non-HIV-infected immunosuppressed patients, similar to other forms of KS, and suggest that KSHV may play a significant role in the development of all forms of KS.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed1997

Identification of Chlorella T-1 ingredient which enhances DMPO-OH adduct formation in Fenton reaction.

Chlorella T-1 is a micro algae which carries out highly active photosynthetic carbon fixation. For searching the OH scavenging molecules in this strain, the methanol extract of T-1 was fractionated by RP-HPLC and the fractions were analyzed for DMPO-OH formation by ESR after Fenton reaction. In the course of study, a single chlorella T-1 ingredient was found to enhance the formation of DMPO-OH rather than scavenge in the Fenton system. The OH enhancing chlorella component was further purified by chromatography and finally identified as lactic acid by NMR and LC-MS. From the analysis of the reaction conditions for DMPO-OH, it was found that lactic acid did not serve as direct source of OH but accelerated Fenton reaction.

Chlorella↗
PubMed1997

Laparoscopic appendectomy: a viable alternative approach.

Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is relatively a new technique and requires comparison to open appendectomy (OA) to determine the more favorable approach in the surgical management of acute appendicitis. We designed this study to compare the course and postoperative complications between LA and OA. We reviewed the charts of both groups of patients and followed their course in the hospital. Seventy-seven patients who underwent LA with one conversion to the open technique (1.3%) were compared to 84 patients who underwent OA. There was no difference in age and sex distribution. The mean hospital stay was shorter in the LA (32.5+/-10 vs 74.2+/-24 h, p < 0.0001). Parenteral analgesia requirement was higher in the OA group (4.7+/-1.4 vs 2.6+/-2, p < 0.0001). The total cost was higher in the OA group ($11,260+/-4000 vs 7,090+/-3500, p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the OR time, duration of the procedure, and surgery costs between both groups. Normal appendices removed were similar in both OA and LA groups (23.8 vs 28.9%). There was no difference in the rates of postoperative complications between both groups. We conclude that LA is a viable alternative to OA. It is safe, cost effective, and less invasive than the OA with less pain and shorter hospital stay.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Proficiency testing of hemoglobinopathy techniques in Ontario laboratories.

The Laboratory Proficiency Testing Program has been in effect for 20 years. During the past 6 years, samples were distributed for screening, investigation, and identification of hemoglobinopathies to test laboratory proficiency. Six samples for hemoglobin (Hb) S screening were distributed to from 37 to 163 laboratories that perform screening tests for sickle cell disease, and 10 samples were distributed to from 52 to 71 laboratories that perform Hb electrophoresis. Assessment of unacceptable results was based on clinical significance of the errors; educational follow-up was implemented to address these results. Most participants demonstrated acceptable performance. The error rates for sickle cell screening were 2.7% to 19.7%; the poorest performance was noted for Hb SC disease. The error rates for Hb electrophoresis were 1.4% to 36.8%; the poorest performance was noted in the investigation of Hb H disease and alpha-thalassemia trait. Improved survey performance was observed in the screening for Hb S trait and in the investigation of Hb H disease, which illustrates the benefits of proficiency testing and its positive effect on laboratory services.

Certification↗
PubMed1997

Sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma: the chromophobe connection.

Eleven cases of sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma were studied to determine the relative frequency of various subtypes of renal cell carcinoma that may be associated with sarcomatoid transformation. The epithelial components in these tumors were subcategorized according to established histologic criteria into chromophobe carcinoma (n = 6 cases), clear cell carcinoma (n = 3), papillary carcinoma (n = 1), and indeterminate (n = 1). In nine cases, material was available for immunohistochemical and DNA ploidy studies. The sarcomatoid component in all cases showed positivity for epithelial membrane antigen cytokeratin, indicating an epithelial derivation of these cells. Staining for mesenchymal markers was mostly negative, except for vimentin, which reacted strongly in all cases. DNA ploidy studies using flow cytometry and cell image analysis provided very similar results. Five of five chromophobe sarcomatoid carcinomas showed hypodiploid cell lines in the epithelial areas, whereas the sarcomatoid components mostly showed aneuploid peaks. In the remaining cases, DNA ploidy pattern was more variable. These findings indicate that chromophobe carcinoma may be the most frequent epithelial component associated with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Comparison of fasting and 2-hour glucose and HbA1c levels for diagnosing diabetes. Diagnostic criteria and performance revisited.

OBJECTIVE: Nearly two decades ago, the National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Diabetes Mellitus published diagnostic criteria for diabetes. We undertook this study to compare the performance of three glycemic measures for diagnosing diabetes and to evaluate the performance of the WHO criteria. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional population-based sample of 1,018 Egyptians > or = 20 years of age, fasting and 2-h glucose and HbA1c levels were measured, and diabetic retinopathy was assessed by retinal photograph. Evidence for bimodal distributions was examined for each glycemic measure by fitting models for the mixture of two distributions using maximum likelihood estimates. Sensitivity and specificity for cutpoints of each glycemic measure were calculated by defining the true diabetes state (gold standard) as 1) the upper (diabetic) component of the fitted bimodal distribution for each glycemic measure, and 2) the presence of diabetic retinopathy. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine the performance of the glycemic measures in detecting diabetes as defined by diabetic retinopathy. RESULTS: In the total population, the point of intersection of the lower and upper components that minimized misclassification for the fasting and 2-h glucose and HbA1c were 7.2 mmol/l (129 mg/dl), 11.5 mmol/l (207 mg/dl), and 6.7%, respectively. When diabetic retinopathy was used to define diabetes, ROC curve analyses found that fasting and 2-h glucose values were superior to HbA1c (P < 0.01). The performance of a fasting glucose of 7.8 mmol/l (140 mg/dl) was similar to a 2-h glucose of 12.2-12.8 mmol/l (220-230 mg/dl), and the performance of a 11.1 mmol/l (200 mg/dl) 2-h glucose was similar to a fasting glucose of 6.9-7.2 mmol/l (125-130 mg/dl). CONCLUSIONS: Optimal cutpoints for defining diabetes differ according to how diabetes itself is defined. When diabetes is defined as the upper component of the bimodal population distribution, a fasting glucose level somewhat lower than the current WHO cutpoint and a 2-h glucose level somewhat higher than the current WHO cutpoint minimized misclassification. When diabetic retinopathy defines diabetes, we found that the current fasting diagnostic criterion favors specificity and the current 2-h criterion favors sensitivity. These results should prove valuable for defining the optimal tests and cutpoint values for diagnosing diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Enteroviruses in sewage: comparison of different technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse.

Seven wastewater treatment plants were twice sampled to compare their different technologies for the removal of enteroviruses. These technologies are extended aeration, oxidation ditch, stabilization pond, aerated stabilization pond, submerged fixed film reactor, trickling filter and trickling filter followed by activated sludge in El-Serw, El-Rahamna, El-Adliya, Daqahla, El-Barashiya, Sohag and El-Fayoum wastewater treatment plants, respectively. Virus counts of raw sewage ranged between 2.7 x 10(3) and 20 x 10(3) PFU/L and for treated effluents was between 0 and 6 x 10(3). The percentage of virus removal was varied where trickling filter and tickling filter followed by activated sludge reduced virus counts by 95.7 and 99.9, respectively. Extended aeration removed 64.2%, oxidation ditch 66.5%, stabilization pond 44.9%, aerated stabilization pond 13.34%, and submerged fixed film reactor removed 53.4%. The neutralization test revealed five types of enteroviruses, poliovirus types 1,2 and 3 and Coxsackievirus types B4 and B5. The isolated polioviruses were vaccine strains. From the frequency distribution of the detected viruses, poliovirus type 2 was the most dominant.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

New approaches to virus removal: the way to produce virus-free drinking water.

Virus control in drinking water is considered one of the serious problems to be encountered in the near future. Trials to remove viruses from drinking water were directed to enhance water treatment processes, use of different disinfectants or use of a good virus adsorbent material. In the present study, four materials were prepared, dimethylaniinoethyl chitin, chitosan and cellulose and starch acrylate and examined for adsorption of hepatitis A virus from drinking water. Also, three types of eluates (3% beef extract-glycine, 3% beef Virus control in drinking water is considered one of the serious problems to be encountered in the near future. Trials to remove viruses from drinking water were directed to enhance water treatment processes, use of different disinfectants or use of a good virus adsorbent material. In the present study, four materials were prepared, dimethylaniinoethyl chitin, chitosan and cellulose and starch acrylate and examined for adsorption of hepatitis A virus from drinking water. Also, three types of eluates (3% beef extract-glycine, 3% beef extract and glycine) were used for virus recovery from adsorbed materials. The results obtained showed that dimethylaminoethyl chitosan was a good adsorbent (99.16%) and the three eluents were poorly desorb viruses.

Chitin↗
PubMed1997

Ultraviolet, chlorine and ozone disinfection of some enteroviruses in drinking water and treated effluents.

The inactivation efficiency of chlorine, ultraviolet light and ozone were determined for poliovirus type 3, Coxsackievirus type B4 and Hepatitis A virus in drinking water and treated effluent. Ultraviolet was more efficient than the other two disinfectants at wave length 254 nm where no infective virus was detected after 4 min of UV irradiation in both drinking water and treated effluent. Inactivation by chlorine dose more than 25 mg/L was sufficient for studied viruses in both drinking water and treated effluent. Also virus-seeded drinking water was exposed to ozone for 18 min at ozone rate of 319 mg/L/h to obtain the maximum inactivation of PV3, CoxB4 and HAV but about 20 min of ozone exposure was needed for treated effluent. Physico-chemical parameters were measured before and after disinfection assay. No significant changes were observed.

Chlorine↗