Biomedical subjects

M Alves

Publications and source records attributed to M Alves.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Response of soluble IL-2 receptor, interleukin-2 and interleukin-6 in patients with positive and negative Borrelia burgdorferi serology.

This study was designed to investigate serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (S-IL-2R), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-6 levels (IL-6) in patients with either a positive or negative Borrelia burgdorferi serology. Serum samples from 101 individuals, divided in to five groups according to clinical symptoms and outcome of serology were analysed. Samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from nine of the individuals were also studied. The highest average serum S-IL-2R levels (1,180 +/- 1,140 U/ml) were found in patients with erythema migrans, the hallmark of Lyme borreliosis, followed by patients with symptoms closely related to Borrelia infection (900 +/- 1,200 U/ml) and with a strong positive serology. In two patients with central nervous system (CNS) involvement, increased levels of S-IL-2R of 920 and 620 U/ml respectively (normal value < 50 U/ml) were detected in the CSF. No statistically significant relationship between IgG or IgM antibody activity and serum S-IL-2R levels was found. Detectable levels of IL-2 were only found in three patients. Increased levels of IL-6 were found in sera from 14 patients. The highest concentration, 90 pg/ml (normal value < 10 pg/ml), was measured in a patient presenting with vasculitis. In conclusion, B. burgdorferi infection causes a moderate increase of serum S-IL-2R levels, although there is no relationship between the severity of the infection, as estimated by the antibody concentration or to serum IL-2 or IL-6 levels. Secondary complications of the infection, such as vasculitis, may cause an increased level of serum IL-6.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serological follow-up of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis treated with itraconazole using Dot-blot, ELISA and western-blot.

Twenty-seven mycologically proven cases of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) were treated with itraconazole (100-200 mg/day in month 1 and 100 mg/day until month 6-8) and evaluated clinically and serologically, up to 3.5 years post-therapy, using Dot-blot and ELISA for measuring the titers of IgG, IgA and IgM anti-P.brasiliensis antibodies and Western-blot for determining IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies against the antigen components of the fungus. Before treatment, 81.5% (Dot-blot) and 84% (ELISA) of the patients presented elevated IgG anti-P.brasiliensis antibody titers which dropped slightly with treatment. On the other hand, the percentages of pre-treatment high-titered sera for IgA and IgM anti-P.brasiliensis were lower (51.9% and 51.8%: Dot-blot; 16.5 and 36%: ELISA, respectively) but the titers tended to become negative more frequently with treatment. Prior to treatment, the percentages of positivity for IgG, IgA and IgM anti-P.brasiliensis antibodies in Western-blot were 96%, 20.8% and 41.6%, respectively. Antigens with molecular weights varying from 16-78 kDa, from 21-76 kDa and from 27-78 kDa were reactive for IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies, respectively. The most frequently reactive antigenic components had molecular weights of 27, 33 and 43 kDa for IgG, and 70 for IgA and IgM antibodies. During the period of study, the patients responded well to treatment. The present data confirm the diversity and complexity of the humoral response in PCM, and the importance of utilizing different serological tests to detect IgG, IgA and IgM anti-P. brasiliensis antibodies.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Degradation of oleic acid in anaerobic filters: the effect of inoculum acclimatization and biomass recirculation.

The degradation of oleic acid in anaerobic filters was studied and the effect of an acclimated inoculum and biomass recirculation was evaluated. Three anaerobic filters (R1, R2, and R3) were operated in parallel. The anaerobic filters R1 and R2 were inoculated with nonacclimated biomass, whereas the anaerobic filter R3 was inoculated with acclimated biomass. In the anaerobic filters R2 and R3, biomass settling and recirculation were applied. The use of an acclimated inoculum and biomass recirculation (R3) was beneficial in terms of removal efficiency, which was 4 to 8% higher than in the anaerobic filters R1 and R2 when oleate was the sole carbon source fed to the reactors at an applied organic load of 12.5 kg of chemical oxygen demand (COD)/m3 x d, even with an oleate to calcium and magnesium ion molar concentration ratio of 6.8. Biomass recirculation significantly reduced the biomass washout and the toxic effect on the acetogenic and methanogenic populations. The use of an acclimated inoculum was beneficial in terms of methane yield, which was 50% greater than that observed for the reactors inoculated with nonacclimated inoculum for the highest applied organic loading rate (12.5 kg COD/m3 x d). At the end of the operation, the biomass was encapsulated by a whitish matter, which was well detected by microscopic examination. When this sludge was incubated in batch vials at 37 degrees C where no substrate was added, methane production from the adsorbed organic matter was evidenced, attaining a maximum value (at standard temperature and pressure) of 39.7 mL/g volatile solids x d for the biomass taken from R1. With stirring (150 r/min), the methane production rate was 13.8 times higher than under static conditions. When oleate was added to this sludge, methane production was delayed, suggesting that adsorbed matter can be an intermediate of oleate degradation such as stearic, palmitic, myristic, or other saturated acids.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Relationship between parenteral gangliosides administration and the Guillain-Barré syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: We carried out a case a case-control study to analyze the relationship between parenteral gangliosides administration and the Guillain-Barré syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrieved 64 patients with the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, and 148 controls. In cases and controls the proportion and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of subject receiving gangliosides, was calculated. The number of patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome who needed ventilation or died was also calculated. RESULTS: Four of 36 patients (95% CI = 81-0.6), over 40 years, received gangliosides prior to Guillain-Barré syndrome. One of these patients was ventilated (95% CI = 25-2) and died. None of the controls less than 40 years old took gangliosides, while from the 108 over 40 (95% CI = 15-4) 9 received gangliosides. None developed signs suggesting Guillain-Barré syndrome. Although gangliosides were more often used in Guillain-Barré syndrome (OR = 1.75), the difference was not significant (95% CI = 4.82-0.69). CONCLUSION: The present work proves that in spite of the association of Guillain-Barré syndrome, with gangliosides intake, there is no statistical difference between this group of patients and control population.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Neurophysiologic study of the phrenic nerve].

Phrenic nerve conduction was studied in 19 volunteers using two different percutaneous methods of stimulation, mono and bipolar. A response was obtained in all nerves studied. The results are comparable using mono or bipolar stimulation method. No significant difference in latency, amplitude, or intensity stimulation applied was found between left and right sides. There was no correlation of age or height with the latency. Latencies above 10 ms or differences between right and left above 1.6 ms are abnormal values. We studied two patients with neurological disorders, one of them with Guillain-Barré syndrome and the other with a bulbar form of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and respiratory failure. Both of them had prolonged conduction time. This method permits reliable analysis of localized phrenic lesions and abnormalities induced in either the phrenic nerveor diaphragm by generalized disease processes.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Absenteeism of hospital nursing personnel].

The author studied absenteeism rates of the nursing personnel in five hospitals, two publics and three privates, all with more than a hundred beds, in the city of Belo Horizonte. In addition she studied the relationship between sickness and injustified absences.

Absenteeism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapeutic communication in the professional and social practice of nursing].

The objective of this study was to identify the nurse's knowledge of the strategies of therapeutic and non-therapeutic communication and to evaluate their application on the professional and social practice. The strategies considered in this study were the ones proposed by Stefanelli (1985). The results have shown that nurses do not know the strategies although 42.1% said that at some time point during their academic life they were exposed to their content.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Asialotransferrin discriminating excessive, subacute and chronic active alcohol consumption. Clinical usefulness in hepatic disease].

The determination of serum levels of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) and transferrin ratio in the persistent abusive alcohol consumer arises with promising utility in the study of alcohol related disorders. This series shows the excellent specificity (97%), though poor sensitivity (52%), for CDT. However the CDT/Tft ratio affords a higher sensitivity, reaching 74%, maintaining the high specificity. In persistent abusive consumers (> 70 g/day) this index, which is positively correlated with serum transferrin, is capable of defining these amounts of alcohol per capita with a high frequency and provides independent information since it is not significantly correlated with the levels of traditional biological markers (AST, ALT, GGT, AGV). Although with defined methodological limitations, these indexes denote, with the improvement of technical accessibility, a practical applicability in the screening of chronic abusive consumers. In the field of hepatology the behaviour of CDT and the transferrin ratio is capable of showing the involvement of ethanol in the study of the nature of a chronic hepatic disease with a high frequency. However, the degree of liver lesion show by the PGA hepatic index, has no significant influence on the serum levels of CDT and the transferrin ratio. In this series, the circumstances and conditions of alcohol consumption seem to be the independent determinant of the informative character which these indexes reveal.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The Miller Fisher syndrome. Review of the cases of the Santa Maria Hospital].

A benign syndrome of acute ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia is commonly known as the Miller Fisher syndrome. It is generally believed that Miller Fisher syndrome is a type of Guillain-Barré syndrome, but several authors believe it to be a separate clinical entity caused by a central nervous system lesion. Eight patients with Miller Fisher syndrome diagnosis, admitted to our department in the last 20 years, were reviewed. Neurophysiological studies were carefully reviewed. Our patients had a clinical presentation and evolution identical to that described previously. Neurophysiological abnormalities were found in all patients and were characteristic of a sensory axonal neuropathy, with damage of the facial nerves and occasional demyelination of peripheral nerves. The pattern of abnormalities is distinct from the usual features seen in Guillain-Barré syndrome. The CT scan, MRI, and Evoked Potentials investigations in our patients did not confirm central nervous system lesion. Nevertheless we did not exclude the possibility of coexisting damage to the central nervous system in some patients, as shown in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy.

Adult↗