Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M F Kahn

Publications and source records attributed to M F Kahn.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

[Symptomatic and prognostic differences according to ethnic group in systemic lupus erythematosus. A controlled study of 3 populations].

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been found in all ethnic groups, but some of these groups--notably the black populations of the United States--seem to develop severe forms of the disease. We compared the signs and course of SLE in 20 black patients from the French West Indies, 20 patients of North African origin and 40 European Caucasians. At the onset of the disease, most of the West Indian and North African patients were living in France, and their social level was similar to that of the European patients. On the whole, our study confirmed that SLE is particularly severe in black populations. This severity is primarily due to renal involvement: 7 of the 13 renal biopsies we performed showed diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis. In North African patients the severity of SLE was intermediate between that observed in West Indians and in European Caucasians. Five out of our 40 West Indian and North African patients died, as against only one female patient among the 40 European Caucasians. These differences seem to be ascribable to genetic factors rather than to environmental factors.

Adolescent↗

Tuberculosis of the sacroiliac joint: clinical features, outcome, and evaluation of closed needle biopsy in 11 consecutive cases.

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) involvement has been reported in up to 9.7 percent of patients with skeletal tuberculosis. Lack of awareness of this now uncommon form of infection often leads to diagnostic delay and increased morbidity. Eleven consecutive cases of SIJ tuberculosis are reported; clinical and radiologic features, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome are discussed. Buttock pain was the presenting complaint in all patients. However, radicular pain in the lower back (seven patients) or lower limb (10 patients) was common and in one patient precipitated an unnecessary surgical intervention. SIJ tuberculosis is frequently an isolated phenomenon. Therefore, direct sampling of the SIJ is necessary to establish the diagnosis. The recently described technique of closed needle biopsy of the SIJ was employed in all 11 patients and established the diagnosis in nine of the 11.

Antitubercular Agents↗

Prognostic significance of plasma cell morphology in multiple myeloma.

The effect of bone marrow plasma cell morphology at diagnosis on survival time was evaluated in 66 patients with multiple myeloma. According to the morphologic classification multiple myeloma was categorized as plasmacytic, plasmacytic/plasmablastic, or plasmablastic. The plasmablastic myeloma had an estimated median survival of 9 months compared with 42 months for plasmacytic/plasmablastic myeloma. Median survival of plasmacytic myeloma has not yet been attained. Plasma cell morphology at diagnosis is an important predictor of survival duration in patients with multiple myeloma. These parameters provide information required for decisions on treatment modalities.

Aged↗

[Lupus disease with antinuclear antibodies of the nucleolar type. Apropos of a series of 13 cases].

An exclusive or predominant nucleolar location of antinuclear antibodies is rare in the course of lupus disease: less than 1 p. cent of our patients. Thirteen cases of lupus disease with exclusive or predominant antinucleolar antibodies are analyzed: clinically, the only difference from other lupus diseases is the absence of pleurisy (p less than 0.03) and the frequent thrombopenia (p = 0.05). A proliferative glomerular lesion was found 4 times on renal biopsy. No patient presented any indications of overlapping sign with sclerodermia, polymyositis or Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome which are usually associated to a nuclear fluorescence of nucleolar type. 11 out of 13 patients have natural anti-DNA antibodies, including 9 with a very weak titer. Six patients present cytoplasmic anti-organic antibodies. Four patients have antibodies which precipitates on gelose, identifying nuclear or cytoplasmic antibodies: in 1 instance anti-SS-B et SS-A (Ro), in 1 instance anti-ribosomes associated with anti-ADN, in one instance anti-DNA. No serum contained anti-histones antibodies. The study of the sensitivity of nucleolar antigens to digestion by various enzymes (DNAse, RNAse and trypsin) showed that antinucleolar sera could be placed into three groups: 8/10 recognize a ribonucleic antigen, 1/10 a ribonucleoproteic antigen and 1/10 an antigen resisting to various enzymatic digestions. Therefore, in spite of its rarity, an exclusively nucleolar fluorescence should not rule out the diagnosis of lupus disease.

Adolescent↗

[Prognostic and therapeutic significance of bone marrow biopsy in multiple myeloma. Analysis of 31 stage II A and III A patients].

The prognostic value of bone marrow biopsy was established in 31 patients suffering from stage IIA and IIIA myeloma (Durie and Salmon classification). Data obtained from quantitative marrow cytology permit to differentiate 3 sub-groups of cells: plasmocytes, plasmoblasts, plasmocytes/plasmoblasts of which the incidence on the prognosis and the response to treatment was studied. There is a correlation between the response to MP and the nature of various cells populations and, on the other hand, the type of infiltration. A sub-group of patients, resisting to MP, was identified: diffuse plasmoblastic myelomas of poor prognosis. Induction poly-chemotherapy seems far superior over the MP combination, which was always a controverted issue.

Aged↗

[Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Comparative study of the effect of immunoglobulins G eluted from the placenta and of venoglobulins].

A double-blind multicenter study comparing the effect of placenta eluted IgG and venoglobulins in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis was conducted in 113 hospitalized patients. Rheumatoid arthritis was severe, classical (92 cases) or definite (21 cases), seropositive in 87 cases, with nodules in 32 cases; the mean duration of the disease was 10 years. The majority of patients had previously received numerous slow-acting drugs without result or with side-effects. A statistically significant decrease of all the quantitative indices but one (grip strength) was obtained with both products on the 8th day of treatment; the effect of placenta eluted IgG was statistically superior for the number of swollen joints (P less than 0.025), Ritchie's index (P less than 0.0005) and some extra-articular manifestations. There was no significant decrease in associated treatments and biological parameters (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor). Tolerance was excellent; some cases of benign venulitis were observed; treatment was never discontinued on account of side-effects. Further placebo-controlled of each of these immunoglobulins of placental origin are needed for firm conclusions to be drawn.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

[Components of the classical complement pathway in systemic lupus erythematosus].

Measurements of complement components in sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and some of their relatives indicated that decreased levels of CH50, C4 and C2 were mostly related to a genetic deficiency at one or both of the loci coding for C4, at least in those patients in whom decreased C4 levels were associated with normal C1 hemolytic activity. C4 deficiency is either isolated or associated with complement activation. In some patients with C4 deficiency, complement activation could only be demonstrated by measuring plasma level of the C3 cleavage fragment, C3a des Arg. Decreased concentration and/or hemolytic activity of C4 and C2 in SLE cannot be used to assess the activity of the disease.

Complement Activation↗

Profile and cross-reactivities of antiphospholipid antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus and syphilis.

Antiphospholipid antibodies have been determined in two groups of 48 sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and syphilis. Using an ELISA, IgG anticardiolipin (CL), antiphosphatidyl serine (PS) and antiphosphatidyl ethanolamine (PEA), antibodies have been detected with the same frequency in both groups of patients. Titres of antiphosphatidyl serine (PS) (p less than 0.005) and PEA antibodies (p less than 0.05) were significantly higher in the syphilitic sera compared to the SLE sera. Anticardiolipin binding activity of both groups of sera could be inhibited by preincubation with phosphatidic acid, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl glycerol and cardiolipin antigens, but the inhibiting ratio of phosphatidyl antigen was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in the SLE group. These data suggest that anticardiolipin auto-antibodies present in SLE sera are very similar to the "reagins" or antibodies to cardiolipin seen in syphilitic sera. IgG anticardiolipin antibodies may be an epiphenomenon and are probably not implicated in the pathogenesis of the thrombotic diathesis seen preferentially in some patients with SLE.

Antibodies↗

Pain in sciatica depresses lower limb nociceptive reflexes to sural nerve stimulation.

The inhibitory effects of acute pain produced by the Lasègue's manoeuvre on the lower limb nociceptive flexion reflexes induced by electrical sural nerve stimulation were explored in patients complaining of sciatica as a result of an identified unilateral disc protrusion. Lassègue's manoeuvre on the affected side produced a typical radicular pain and resulted in a powerful depression of nociceptive reflexes elicited either in the normal or in the affected lower limb. Simultaneously, patients reported relief of the electrically-induced pain. In contrast, painless Lasègue's manoeuvre on the normal side had no effect on these parameters.

Acute Disease↗

Cerebral blood flow in systemic lupus erythematosus with and without central nervous system involvement.

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was studied by the intravenous 133Xe method in 38 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); 21 patients had neuropsychiatric manifestations (N+) and 17 did not (N-). Twelve of the N+ patients had had neuropsychiatric episodes less than one year before measurement of CBF ("recent" N+), while seven patients in this group had had episodes over a year before measurement ("old" N+). The results were compared with those obtained from a group of 27 age-matched normal healthy subjects. It was found that, in most of the N+ and N- patients, rCBF was evenly distributed bilaterally, but there was a "patchwork" of high/normal and low flow areas. This disturbance of rCBF distribution was significantly greater in "recent" N+ patients than in "old" N- patients, but was not a function of the potential evolution of systemic lupus erythematosus. It was also found that there was a reduction in the physiological high frontal rCBF in the "old" N+ patients. No correlation could be found between rCBF, the topography of the neuropsychological lesions, other neurological investigations or the glucocorticoid dosage and treatment schedules.

Adolescent↗

[Acne-pustulosis-hyperostosis-osteitis syndrome. Results of a national survey. 85 cases].

The authors report the data collected by a national investigation organized by the French Society of Rheumatology, concerning the osteo-articular manifestations of severe acne, palmo-plantar pustulosis and primary thoracic and peripheral hyperostosis. This investigation collected 85 case-reports including 13 severe acne, 44 PPP and 28 hyperostosis without the dermatitis mentioned above. From this investigation, it appears that dermatological and osseous pictures described under various denominations, present common characteristics and transition forms justifying their common study under the acronym SAPHO (Syndrome Acne-Pustulosis-Hyperostosis-Osteitis). The bony involvement, especially anterior thoracic, but also vertebral and even peripheral seems to be the common denominator between these diseases. It realizes a true rheumatoid inflammatory osteitis, osseous counterpart of synovial and cartilagenous affections in inflammatory rheumatoid diseases. This group has rather loose connections with common psoriasis and slightly more definite relationships with primary ankylosing spondylarthritis. These clinical and immunogenetic connections occur also through bony involvement.

Acne Vulgaris↗