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Biomedical subjects

M John

Publications and source records attributed to M John.

247 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

A case-control study on risk factors for pancreatic diseases in Kerala, India.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We simultaneously conducted case-control studies, in Kerala of South India, on chronic calcific pancreatitis of the tropics (CCPT), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) with CCPT, and PDA alone to assess similarity of and difference between their risk factors. METHODOLOGY: Cases with one of these diseases were identified at the Trivandrum Medical College (TMC) Hospital, in Kerala, from 1994 to 1996. Controls were selected from healthy hospital visitors of the TMC Hospital by individual age (within +/- 3 years) and sex-matched with the index case. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals for potential risk factors were calculated. RESULTS: Frequent consumption of cassava was positively associated with the risk of PDA with CCPT. Heavy cigarette smoking and drinking large amounts of coffee and/or tea everyday were positively related to the risk of PDA alone. Frequent consumption of vegetables and/or fruits was correlated to the decreased risk of PDA alone. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors as well as preventive factors seem to be different between PDA with CCPT and PDA alone. Further study is necessary, especially to clarify the prognostic factors which would induce pancreatic malignancy in patients with CCPT.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Syndrome myxoma presenting as a pulmonary embolism: a case report.

Although the incidence of primary cardiac tumors is approximately 0.28%, they are encountered in every age group and their clinical presentation usually resembles that of other cardiac or systemic diseases. The clinical symptoms of primary cardiac tumors are usually few until they are at an advanced critical stage making early diagnosis and treatment problematic. However, there is a subgroup of patients who may present with extracardiac systemic, endocrinologic or cutaneous manifestations and familiar inheritance allowing for early detection. This article describes the diagnosis and treatment of a young female who presented with an acute thromboembolic complication of an intracardiac myxoma.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of three assays to detect enterotoxigenicity of Aeromonas isolates from patients with diarrhoea in Vellore, south India.

Fifty strains of Aeromonas spp, isolated from patients with diarrhoea, were tested by three different assays to detect their enterotoxigenicity. Culture filtrates of the isolates were tested for their ability to produce haemolysin and to produce cytopathic changes in Vero cells and for their effects in the suckling mouse assay. The data indicated that biotypes alone are not adequate indicators of pathogenicity of different groups of Aeromonas isolated from patients with diarrhoea. No significant differences were observed in the results of the three assays for the detection of enterotoxigenicity.

Aeromonas↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The spontaneous NBT-test in granulocytes of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis].

30 patients with definite seronegative juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and 3 patients with tendosynovitis and unclear arthralgia respectively were examined by the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test (46 tests). A positive result could be obtained in 72 per cent of the examinations. Patients with a joint manifestation of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis showed relatively more positive results than patients with Morbus Wissler and the transition forms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Tendosynovitis and unclear arthralgia were negative in the NBT test. The NBT test is not useful for the differentiation of bacterial-septic and rheumatoid-inflammatory joint diseases.

Arthritis, Juvenile↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Profilographic studies with 99mTc-pertechnetate in joint diseases in children].

The inflammatory activity of joints can be stated after intravenous administration of 99mTc-pertechnetate by demonstration of an enrichment of isotope. In 85 out of 111 patients (77%) a good accordance between profilogram and clinical finding could be seen. "False positive" results could be found in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, reactive arthritis and juvenile gout. In some cases of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis the clinical finding is later obvious than the demonstration by nuclear medicine. "False negative" results mainly can be seen at the wrists of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and tendosynovitis as well as in already existing radiological changes of the bones. Differential diagnostical evidences of profilography cannot be expected with the investigation technique used here. It, however, may contribute to assure the diagnosis in non-inflammatory joint diseases ("psychogenic rheumatism", lymphatic oedema).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pathological features of intra-uterine growth retardation in the piglet: differential effects on organ weights.

The body and organ weights of twenty-four intra-uterine growth retarded neonatal piglets were compared with those of seventeen normal littermate controls. There was a highly significant relation between organ weight and body weight for the following organs which all showed a reduction as body weight decreased: liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, spleen and pancreas. In contrast, brain, pituitary, adrenal and thyroid weights did not change significantly with body weight implying preferential protection from the pathological effects of intra-uterine growth retardation. Our results also show that the pattern of natural growth retardation in the piglet is similar to that reported in man, and to that of the experimental growth retardation produced in a number of animal species.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Clinical effects of anti-human lymphocyte globulin in the treatment of collagenoses in childhood].

9 children with collagenoses were first treated with AHLG "Dessau" in combination with corticosteroids and then with Imurek (azathioprine). The children seemed to be vitally endangered and suffered from panarteritis, dermatomyositis, polyserositis or corticosteroid-resistent systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As assessed by decrease of inflammation and clinical symptoms the treatment appeared in one case to be very good and in another good; in four other children it was good for a short period; in three children there was no effect at all. Side effects occurred relatively frequently (thrombocytopenia, anaphylactoid reactions). The justification of an immuno-suppressive treatment together with anti-human-lymphocyte-globulin is discussed in relation to todays knowledge of the pathogenesis of collagenoses and of the mechanisms behind the effects of the AHLG.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A c-Jun activation domain peptide and its corresponding phosphopeptide have potential to adopt alpha-helical conformation.

The c-Jun transcription factor contains a transactivation domain that belongs to the "acidic" type of transcription activator. To determine the secondary structure of the Jun activation domain, we synthesized a peptide corresponding to amino acids 61 to 98 of c-Jun. Jun N-terminal kinases are able to phosphorylate Ser-63 and Ser-73 in vivo, which dramatically increases the transactivation potential of Jun. As this phosphorylation event may influence the secondary structure, we synthesized a second peptide containing two phosphoserine groups instead of serine in positions 63 and 73. Secondary structure predictions did not show potential for the peptides to adopt any stable, dominating conformation. Both peptides were purified and analyzed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The peptides appeared to be flexible and essentially unstructured in aqueous solution. At acidic pH, we observed a decrease in the negative ellipticity at 202 nm, suggesting that some ordered structure might be present under these conditions. alpha-Helical conformation, as a dominating secondary structure, was induced in the presence of trifluoroethanol, and there was no significant difference between the unphosphorylated and phosphorylated peptides.

Circular Dichroism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dose escalation in chemoradiation for anal cancer: preliminary results of RTOG 92-08.

PURPOSE: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group experience with chemoradiation for anal cancer has shown a local failure rate of 20% to 30% with radiotherapy doses of 45 to 50 cGy. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of higher radiotherapy doses on toxicity, local control, and survival in this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven patients with anal cancers measuring > or = 2 cm were treated with a concurrent combination of two cycles of 5-fluorouracil infusion (1000 mg/m2 over 24 hrs for 4 days) and mitomycin C (10 mg/m2 bolus) plus 59.6 Gy of pelvic and perineal radiotherapy administered over 8.5 weeks, including a 2-week rest period. Patients were followed for toxicity, disease status, and colostomy-free survival. Twenty-three (49%) patients had advanced (T3-4) primary tumors; 42 (92%) patients had NO disease, and 36 (77%) patients had squamous histology. For perspective, a comparative analysis was made with 147 patients treated on the previous RTOG protocol for anal cancers (RTOG 87-04) with identical chemotherapy but radiotherapy doses of 40 to 50.4 Gy. RESULTS: Transient hematologic and skin toxicity predominated during treatment or in early follow-up. One patient developed septicemia and died of multiple gastrointestinal toxicities. Twelve (26%) patients had greater than grade 3 complications and, of these, 9 (20%) had hematologic side effects alone. A comparative analysis with 147 patients treated on RTOG protocol 87-04 showed no significant differences in pretreatment characteristics of disease extent, performance status, or histology. A mandatory 2-week split in the current chemoradiation protocol contrasted with 12% of patients having a 2-week or greater treatment break in RTOG 87-04. Patients treated on the current protocol (RTOG 92-08) had a markedly lower incidence of > or = grade 3 dermal toxicity (34% vs. 55%) but a higher colostomy rate at 1 year (23% vs. 6%) and at 2 years (30% vs. 7%) compared with RTOG 87-04. CONCLUSIONS: Numerical increases in radiotherapy dose over those used in conventional chemotherapy regimens for anal cancers do not appear to increase local control when given in split-course fashion. For higher radiotherapy doses (> 50 Gy) to increase local control, radiation may have to be given in continuous fashion, which almost certainly means that our threshold of acceptable acute toxicity, particularly dermal toxicity, may have to be raised.

Adult↗