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Biomedical subjects

M Levy

Publications and source records attributed to M Levy.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Infants with medulloblastoma: a single institution review of survival.

Although the prognoses of children with medulloblastoma have improved dramatically over the last several decades, the reported survival for very young children with this tumor remains poor. We undertook a retrospective review of patients less than 36 months of age at the time of the diagnosis of a medulloblastoma who were treated at our institution during a 36-year period. Of 28 such patients, 10 patients are presently surviving without disease at a median of 150 months from diagnosis. The presence of a metastatic tumor at the time of diagnosis was identified as a significant indicator of a poor prognosis, and all completely staged patients without metastasis are surviving without a recurrence of disease. This report suggests that the survival of very young children with a medulloblastoma may not be as poor as has been previously reported, particularly if a disseminated tumor is not present at the time of diagnosis.

Cerebellar Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Partitioning of small and large saline loads in supine and head-up tilted dogs.

A previous study from our laboratory has demonstrated that acute saline loading in supine anaesthetized dogs (7% body weight) is associated with significant protein efflux from the intravascular compartment, and a smaller retention of infusate than would be predicted from theoretical considerations. The advent of postural stresses (quadruped and 45 degrees head-up tilt positions) aggravate this phenomenon. In the present study 'small' (3.5% BW) and 'large' (15% BW) saline loads were administered to supine and tilted anaesthetized dogs. In supine dogs, the 3.5% load was associated with a 22.8% reduction in circulating protein (TIP) and 14.6% retention of the infusate (increased from 10.9% in 7% BW loading), while 15% BW loading was associated with only a 4.3% retention of infusate and 47% reduction in TIP (p less than 0.05). When dogs were tilted, the 3.5% group retained zero infusate and the reduction in TIP rose to 43.6%. In the 15% group, 2.6% of the infusate was retained even though a 56.8% reduction of TIP was observed. We conclude that retention of isotonic infusate is most efficient when transcapillary protein efflux is limited. With very large degrees of volume loading, tilted animals will retain more infusate than dogs receiving a small load, presumably because the increased rate of infusion matches the vascular fluid losses.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed1990

Erythema infectiosum and pregnancy-related complications.

Erythema infectiosum, an acute, communicable viral disease with a highly distinctive exanthem, follows the usual course of a self-limiting benign disease. In pregnant women, however, it may be associated with fetal death and nonimmune hydrops fetalis. Because of the association of human parvovirus (HPV) B19 infection with fetal damage we reviewed the current knowledge of the clinical aspects of erythema infectiosum, focusing on pregnancy and fetal outcome, to determine the magnitude of fetal risk and offer recommendations for management. Among 180 infected pregnant women 44 fetal deaths (24%) occurred, 1 to 12 weeks after the infection was noted. Pregnant women should be advised that (a) because of the high prevalence (up to 65%) of anti-HPV B19 IgG antibody among adults most of them are not at risk and (b) if maternal infection does occur therapeutic abortion is not indicated since intrauterine infection causes fetal death more often than abnormal development. Infection should be suspected in pregnant women who exhibit the symptoms of erythema infectiosum with or without arthropathy. They should be monitored for an elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein level (indicating fetal aplastic crisis) and undergo serial ultrasonography for the detection of hydrops fetalis. Although the incidence of congenital malformation is no higher than the expected rate in the general population (3% to 5%), the precise incidence of fetal adverse outcomes remains unknown and requires investigation in larger, prospective studies.

Erythema↗
PubMed1990

Retention of topical liposomal formulations on the cornea.

The ability of liposomes composed of different kinds of phospholipid materials to adhere to the surface of the cornea was studied in the rabbit. The liposomes were labelled with tracer amounts of an I125-labelled phosphatidylethanolamine derivative and were instilled in 10 microliters drops onto the cornea. The retention of radioactivity was monitored. The results show that liposomes containing positively charged phospholipids are better retained than an albumin control. Thus, it may be possible to develop a drug delivery liposome system which would permit long-term sustained release of ophthalmic drugs onto the cornea.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1990

C4 null alleles in childhood onset systemic lupus erythematosus. Is there any relationship with renal disease?

C4 genotyping was performed in 38 unrelated patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) aged 2-16 years at onset. Null alleles were found in 68% of patients. Ten patients had one null allele at the C4A locus and 11 others had one null allele at the C4B locus. One patient was homozygous for C4A*Q0, 2 homozygous for C4B*Q0 and 1 heterozygous C4A*Q0/B*Q0. The last patient was C4A*Q0B*Q0/B*Q0. Three patients, being heterozygous C2 deficient, had thus a combined C2 and C4 deficiency. A significant increase in C4 null alleles in SLE patients has been reported by different authors who have suggested that the C4 null alleles confer susceptibility to SLE. However, when considering only the 20 patients of French descent, no differences in gene frequencies were found between this group and the French population. Disease patterns were compared in patients with or without null C4. Renal involvement was more frequent in the C4A*Q0 or C4A*Q0/C4A*Q0 patients than in the patients without null C4 (9/11 vs 3/12). These data suggest that differences between these results and those of others might be due to clinical heterogeneity of the disease, as exemplified by the frequency of renal involvement in the different groups. In susceptible individuals the absence of one C4A gene product may predispose the patient to renal involvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Family history of hypertension and cardiovascular reactivity to forehead cold stimulation in black male children.

The effects of family history of hypertension on cardiovascular reactivity to forehead cold stimulation was examined in 16 black males from 11 to 14 years of age. Measures of blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume and systemic vascular resistance were obtained during baseline, forehead cold stimulation and recovery phases. Diastolic blood pressure and systemic vascular resistance increases to the forehead cold stimulation were significantly greater in subjects with positive family histories of hypertension than in those with negative family histories. These findings are compared with the results of adult studies and discussed in terms of racial differences in alpha and beta-adrenergically mediated cardiovascular reactivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Individual and cross-spouse correlations of perceptions of family functioning, blood pressure and dimensions of anger.

Individual and cross-spouse correlations of perceptions of family cohesiveness, emotional expressiveness and conflict with blood pressure and five dimensions of anger were examined in 85 couples. Wives' perceptions of family cohesiveness were negatively related to their diastolic blood pressure, whereas husbands' perceptions of all three dimensions of family functioning were unrelated to their blood pressure. Cross-spouse correlations showed that both husbands' and wives' perceptions of emotional expressiveness were negatively related to their spouses' blood pressure, and husbands' perceived family cohesiveness was negatively related to wives' diastolic blood pressure. Individual and cross-spouse correlations with dimensions of anger were also obtained. These findings are discussed in terms of prior cross-spouse correlational research, and gender differences in the pattern of relationships are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗