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Biomedical subjects

M Lorber

Publications and source records attributed to M Lorber.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Association of lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies with thrombosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, primary antiphospholipid syndrome and other disorders.

Lupus anticoagulant (LA) and anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) have been associated with thrombotic events and recurrent fetal loss. In order to assess the role of LA with the thrombotic tendency in various disease states we evaluated 38 patients with confirmed LA [tissue thromboplastin index (TTI) greater than 1.3; circulating anticoagulant index (CAI) greater than 15], subgrouped as follows: a) LA associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (n = 13); b) primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) (n = 16); and c) LA associated with other disorders (n = 9). Male/female ratio differed between the groups: 0/13, 6/10 and 4/5, respectively. Venous and arterial thrombotic events were more common in the PAPS group (87%) compared with the SLE group (61%) and the other disorders group (22%). Serum ACA antiphospholipid IgG levels by ELISA were increased in the SLE and PAPS patients, but did not differ between the groups (167 +/- 24 vs. 190 +/- 28 mu respectively). Antiphospholipid IgM levels were higher in the SLE group compared with the PAPS group (127 +/- 15 vs. 67 +/- 16 mu). Mean TTI and CAI levels did not differ between the SLE, PAPS and other disorders groups (1.8 +/- 0.19, 2.8 +/- 0.9, 2.0 +/- 0.3 for TTI; 25 +/- 4, 33 +/- 4, 32 +/- 5 for CAI). Likewise TTI, CAI and ACA levels did not differ in patients with or without thrombosis. We conclude that the prevalence of thrombotic manifestations varies among patients with similar serum intensities of LA and levels of ACA, suggesting that other factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of thrombosis in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Branchings and course of the larger ducts and accompanying structures within the rat submandibular salivary gland.

In the rat submandibular gland, the larger ducts, vessels, and autonomic elements are surrounded by appreciable collagen to form an extensive, ramifying core for the bulk of the parenchyma. This entity is analogous to the armature within a clay sculpture because it provides a framework supporting softer surroundings. Its largest portion, the trunk, begins dorsorostrally at the hilus. Along its caudal course, the trunk emits limbs that, in turn, branch. Rostrally, the trunk and major limbs have their greatest diameters and contain lymphatic vessels and autonomic ganglia that are fewer or absent in the smaller divisions. Four to six orders of branching commonly occur. This architectural device constitutes a physical gradient which peaks at the hilus and is minimal where its components undergo the transition to the lobular parenchyma. The presence of an appreciable amount of connective tissue, nerves, and larger vessels would make this entity firmer than the highly hydrated parenchyma. The major divisions of this grouping are contacted by septa that extend from the organ capsule and demarcate lobules into which smaller divisions penetrate. The parenchyma is consequently ensconced between several strong structures containing abundant connective tissue. The dense collagen encompassing individual components of the biological armature would stabilize duct epithelium and its intercellular channels as well as brace vessels' walls. As a result of this architectural arrangement, the patency of all acinar, duct, and vascular structures is likely to persist despite neck and jaw movements that would otherwise distort them and thus hinder the formation and flow of saliva during feeding. This mechanism may be widespread among organs.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Lack of association between clinical improvement and effects on sleep.

Thirteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis (mean +/- SD age 55.8 +/- 10.5 years) received 20 mg of tenoxicam daily for 90 days following a 3-7 day "washout" period and 4 days of placebo treatment. Clinical evaluations were conducted at the end of the washout period and at monthly intervals thereafter. All-night polysomnography was performed in a sleep laboratory during the last 2 days of placebo treatment and on days 13, 14, 89, and 90 of tenoxicam treatment. Although there was improvement in the patients' clinical condition, there were no treatment-related changes in any of the sleep parameters. Eight of the 13 patients, however, were found to have primary sleep disorders. Four had periodic leg movements during sleep, 3 had sleep apneas, and 1 had a combination of both disorders. The implications of these findings in the treatment of sleep disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are discussed.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1991

Giant lymph node hyperplasia (Castleman's disease): a clinical study of eight patients.

We report on 8 patients with giant lymph node hyperplasia (GLNH), diagnosed over a 10-year period. The age of the patients at diagnosis, the clinical presentation and the histological subtype varied, indicating that GNLH is a heterogeneous condition. One case was associated with liver cirrhosis, and in another patient bacterial endocarditis was diagnosed post mortem. Our study shows that GLNH is localized and benign in the young, and diffuse and aggressive in the elderly. It is concluded that GLNH should be separated into 3 clinical entities--namely, localized, systemic and reactive GLNH--defined by their clinical presentation and course, and correlated or not correlated with the histological findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Presence of immunoreactive endothelin in synovial fluid: analysis of 22 cases.

The endothelins are a family of recently defined active peptides with a wide range of activities, including the activation of the synthesis of prostaglandins. The concentration of endothelin in inflammatory and noninflammatory synovial fluids (SF) was measured by a sensitive radioimmunoassay. Endothelin-like immunoreactivity was detectable in all SF samples and the mean concentration of endothelin was 2.6 +/- 0.3 pg/ml, more than twice that in normal human plasma. The mean level of endothelin in SF in rheumatoid arthritis was 2.5 +/- 0.4 pg/ml (n = 11), and was not statistically different from either osteoarthritis, 3.0 +/- 0.5 pg/ml (n = 7), or acute inflammatory arthritis, 2.0 +/- 0.4 pg/ml (n = 4). Our data do not support the hypothesis that endothelin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with recurrent pregnancy wastage: treatment and uterine blood flow.

The interest in autoimmune pregnancy loss has increased recently with the discovery of the association between the presence of antibodies to phospholipids and cardiolipin and habitual abortion. To evaluate the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with recurrent fetal loss and the effect of low-dose aspirin and corticosteroid treatment, we examined 67 women for anticardiolipin antibodies with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Increased levels of anticardiolipin antibodies were found in 34 of these women (50.7%) and in none of 12 normal pregnant controls. Seventeen of these 34 patients conceived and were treated with aspirin, 100 mg/day, and fluocortolone, 10 mg/day. Twelve gravidas reached term, all delivering live infants with good Apgar scores and normal birth weights. Three others delivered prematurely, two of them because of premature rupture of membranes and the other because of severe fetal growth retardation. This latter woman delivered at 31 weeks, and the 1000-g infant died neonatally. The neonatal survival rate was 82% in the treated patients, versus 18% in the same group of subjects in their previous, untreated gestations. The umbilical artery resistance index of the treated subjects was not different from that of anticardiolipin-negative hypertensive women who did not receive aspirin and corticosteroid therapy. However, the uterine artery resistance index was significantly lower in the hypertensive treated group than in the untreated group. Whether this difference reflected a beneficial effect of low-dose aspirin and corticosteroid therapy on pregnancy outcome and survival rate remains to be evaluated.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1990

Anticardiolipin antibodies in Behçet's disease.

Twenty-six patients with Behçet's disease were studied for serum levels of anticardiolipin (ACL) antibody isotypes IgG and IgM. The frequency of elevated levels of ACL antibody isotype IgM was found to be significantly increased in these patients. This increased frequency, however, did not correlate statistically with a thrombotic tendency, colchicine intake, antinuclear antibodies, or a positive VDRL test.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[The liver in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis].

Hepatic involvement in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis of the systemic type (JRA) is a diagnostic challenge because of the varied clinical picture it presents. We describe a 21-year-old woman in whom JRA had started at the age of 4 years as an illness resembling familial Mediterranean fever. This long-standing illness was complicated by liver damage and needle biopsy showed massive hepatic deposition of amyloid. It is possible that this patient may have developed JRA as a complication of familial Mediterranean fever.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Elastic fibers in the rat exorbital lacrimal gland duct system.

In the rat, each paired subcutaneous exorbital lacrimal gland overlies the retromandibular area. The fibrous cord containing its ducts passes over the masticatory muscles to the temporal canthus. Thus, the lacrimal system must accomodate both jaw and lid movements. To see whether elastic fibers exist to modulate alterations in tension caused by such movements, light and electron micrographs were made of its duct system. The innermost elastic fibers are connected by elaunin fibrils and oxytalan microfibrils to the lamina densa, particularly near the hemidesmosomes. The innermost elastic fibers appear to be longitudinal and about 0.2 micron from the lamina densa. Circumferential fibers exist about 0.8-3.2 microns from that structure. More peripheral fibers of both orientations also exist. Light microscopy of the extraglandular duct demonstrated circumferential fibers near the basement membrane and longitudinal and angular elastic fibers amid the collagenous layers. Some of the longitudinal fibers assume a loose cross-weave. Intraglandularly, as duct size diminishes elastic fibers progressively decrease in number and size until the smallest ducts have none. Thus, an elastic gradient exists. It is believed that recoil of the angular elastic fibers aids distension of the large and medium ducts when secretion is great and that recoil of the circumferential ones permits those duct diameters to diminish when secretion does. The longitudinal elastic fibers would allow all but the smallest ducts to recoil from the stretching of much of the exorbital lacrimal duct system accompanying blinking and other facial movements.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Severe myalgia in familial Mediterranean fever: clinical and ultrastructural aspects.

Severe myalgia is an uncommon feature of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). A patient is presented in whom acute myalgia and high fever were the sole clinical findings during an FMF attack. The ultrastructural picture of the muscle tissue during the acute stage was characterised by a large deposition of collagen fibrils. The myalgia subsided during colchicine treatment. The clinical and ultrastructural features of myalgia in FMF are discussed in the light of the relevant literature.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

The stimulation of IgM rheumatoid factor from human B lymphocytes by rheumatoid arthritis complement-activating immune complexes.

Immune complexes from rheumatoid arthritis (RA IC) and Hodgkin's disease (HD IC) sera were separated on an anti-C3g affinity column and their ability to stimulate the production of IgM and IgM RF by normal and RA B lymphocytes tested in a culture system in vitro. RA IC stimulated IgM production of which up to 91.3% had IgM RF activity. HD IC were incapable of stimulating the production of IgM and IgM RF. The stimulation of IgM and IgM RF production by RA IC required de novo protein synthesis. Both RA IC and HD IC were capable of significantly inhibiting (from 47.6 to 72.0%) pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced and goat F(ab)2 antihuman mu-induced B lymphocyte proliferation. Thus it is proposed that IC present in human pathological sera may regulate immunoglobulin production by an effect on B lymphocyte proliferation while some may, in addition, be capable of inducing IgM RF production from such cells.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1985

Hypocholesterolaemia and abnormal high-density lipoprotein in rheumatoid arthritis.

Plasma lipid and lipoprotein patterns were determined in 54 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patients were divided into four groups, on the basis of the treatment that was being administered (gold, penicillamine, hydroxychloroquine and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Plasma cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in all groups. The reduced plasma cholesterol level was a result of 26% and 36% reductions in low- and high-density lipoproteins (LDL and HDL), respectively. Very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was reduced only in the group receiving hydroxychloroquine, and this was associated with decreased plasma triglycerides in this group. Plasma apolipoprotein (apo) B, the LDL protein moiety, demonstrated a pattern similar to that shown for LDL cholesterol. Plasma apo A-I, the major HDL protein, was, however, in the normal range, suggesting an abnormal HDL fraction. Even though reduced HDL cholesterol was found in RA patients, the HDL/LDL ratio was normal and the apo A-I/apo B ratio was increased, suggesting that these patients are not at increased risk for atherosclerosis.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗