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Biomedical subjects

M Amit

Publications and source records attributed to M Amit.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Rash in systemic lupus erythematosus: prevalence and relation to cutaneous and non-cutaneous disease manifestations.

Rash is a common cutaneous sign in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but no data regarding its prevalence or relation to disease manifestations are known, possibly due to the fact that it is a common but non-specific sign. Rash was present in 48/81 (59%) patients with SLE. Patients with rash had more cutaneous symptoms and signs, lymphadenopathy, increased levels of antibodies to double stranded DNA and decreased complement levels. They were also receiving a higher dose of prednisone. There was no difference between patients with and without rash with respect to renal or central nervous system disease. Rash did not correlate with the disease activity index and clinical parameters of disease exacerbation.

Dermatitis↗

Disease patterns of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus as shown by application of factor analysis.

Clinical and laboratory test data of 77 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were evaluated by factor analysis. Six factors representing disease patterns were extracted: cutaneous symptoms of alopecia, malar rash, rash and photosensitivity; renal involvement; the anticoagulant syndrome of phlebitis and partial thromboplastic time inversely related to platelet count; lymphopenia; viral or fibromyalgia symptoms of headache, nervousness, joint and muscle pain; and serology of anti-DNA antibodies and complement inversely related. Application of factor analysis reveals various clinical presentations of SLE.

Adult↗

Alopecia in systemic lupus erythematosus. Relation to disease manifestations.

Alopecia was observed in 40/74 (54%) patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients with alopecia had a significantly higher rating for cutaneous manifestations, Raynaud's phenomenon and muscle tenderness, and most of these signs correlated with the magnitude of alopecia. There was no difference between patients with or without alopecia for arthritis, nephritis or central nervous system manifestations. Alopecia correlated with disease activity index but did not correlate with various specific measurements of disease exacerbation.

Adult↗

Induction of suppressor cell activity by cyclosporin A and/or uremic serum in normal versus uremic peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

We investigated induction of suppressor cell activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from normal or uremic subjects. The cells were primed with cyclosporin A (CS-A), uremic serum, or both and subsequently cocultured with fresh phytohemagglutinin-stimulated normal allogeneic responders. CS-A-primed normal as well as uremic PBMC significantly suppressed responder cell thymidine incorporation. Uremic serum primed normal, but not the uremic, PBMC exerted a significant suppression on responder cell proliferation. No significant additive suppressive effect was detected following coculture of responders with PBMC primed by CS-A and uremic serum together. Exclusion of a distinct suppressor cell subset by panning, using anti-Leu-2b monoclonal antibody, did not result in blunting suppressive activity of the CS-A or uremic serum pretreated cells. On the other hand, adherent cell depletion of primed PBMC completely abolished their subsequent suppressive effect on responder cell proliferation.

Adult↗

Neonatal polycythemia causing multiple cerebral infarcts.

A child had neonatal polycythemia, severe seizures beginning at 6 weeks of age, and a computerized tomography scan showing multiple cerebral infarcts. Follow-up showed substantial developmental delay with spastic quadriplegia. This case illustrates that neonatal polycythemia is a rare but preventable cause of multiple cerebral infarctions, subsequent seizures, and developmental delay.

Cerebral Infarction↗

Effect of the timing of perphenazine administration on pregnancy in the rat.

Perphenazine in doses of 10--50 mg kg-1 day-1 given at the early stages of pregnancy delayed nidation up to day 8 of pregnancy. Once nidation had occurred the length of the rest of the gestation period was normal. Doses of up to 20 mg perphenazine kg-1 day-1, injected on days 1--7, prolonged gestation but the mothers and young were apparently normal; lower doses were effective only when treatment commenced soon after copulation. The delay in implantation of the ovum caused by perphenazine was corrected and and implantation was brought about immediately, by injection of 0.1 microgram oestradiol together with perphenazine. It is suggested that perphenazine delays and prevents implantation in rats by counteracting oestrogen release from the ovaries.

Animals↗

Headache in systemic lupus erythematosus and its relation to other disease manifestations.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate headache in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its relation to other disease manifestations. METHODS: Clinical and laboratory variables of 148 SLE patients were prospectively recorded in a computed data base. RESULTS: The patients were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of patients who reported moderate to severe headache on at least two consecutive encounters, and Group B consisted of the remainder of the patients, with mild or no headache. The two groups did not significantly differ in age or in sex distribution. Patients in Group A suffered from more severe joint pain and inflammation, muscle pain, photosensitivity, mouth ulcers, fever and fatigue. They also had higher disease activity scores, and a higher number showed central nervous involvement. There were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the laboratory variables examined, nor in the proportion of patients with renal involvement. The prevalence of non-thromboembolic central nervous system (CNS) manifestations was 7.2%. The sensitivity of headache for the diagnosis of non-thromboembolic CNS manifestations was 90.9%, and the specificity was 29.2%. On logistic regression analysis, the total arthritis score, muscle pain, fatigue and photosensitivity were each found to be significantly independently related to headache. CONCLUSIONS: Headache is common in SLE, and in the majority of patients is related to musculoskeletal and constitutional disease manifestations.

Adolescent↗

Experimental septic arthritis in rabbits treated by a combination of antibiotic and steroid drugs.

OBJECTIVES: Intraarticular steroid injection is traditionally contraindicated during acute septic arthritis. However, there is abundant evidence which proves that the damage to the joint is not only due to the direct effect of bacteria, but also to the local protective mechanisms evoked by the organism. There is, therefore, theoretical justification for a combined therapy of systemic antibiotics and intraarticular corticostertoids in septic arthritis. METHODS: Experimental arthritis was induced by the intraarticular injection of Staphylococcus epidermidis in rabbits. The experimental scheme included three groups of animals: animals that were infected but not treated (group 1); animals treated with systemic antibiotics (group 2); and animals treated with systemic antibiotics and intraarticular steroids (group 3). Nine days later the animals were sacrificed and joint histopathological-histochemical indices were calculated. RESULTS: Animals from groups 2 and 3 had a smaller pannus, reduced proteoglycan loss, no loss of cartilage height and diminished synovial inflammation in comparison to the animals from group 1. The animals from groups 2 and 3 were identical in terms of cartilage cellularity, surface erosion, chondrocyte cloning, pannus formation and proteoglycan loss. Synovial inflammation appeared to be less pronounced in group 3 animals when compared to animals of group 2. CONCLUSION: Concomitant antibiotic-steroid treatment of septic arthritis seems to be harmless in this experimental setting.

Animals↗