Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M M Ali.
A significant difference in the levels of thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid volume among settlements at various selected Orang Asli locations is reported. The levels improved according to the level of socio-economic development. No significant difference was found in mental performance by location.
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Cells of the neural tube are thought to be committed to form only the central nervous system, whereas the peripheral nervous system is believed to be derived from neural crest cells and from placodes, which are specialized regions of the surface ectoderm. Neural crest cells arise early from the dorsal part of the neural tube. The possibility that after emigration of the neural crest cells, another population of cells arising from the ventral part of the neural tube also emigrates via a different route was examined. Here we report that, after labeling cells of the ventral neural tube in the rostral hindbrain of E3 duck embryos with DiI, they were later found in the trigeminal ganglion of the fifth cranial nerve. A trail of labeled cells could be traced from the ventral part of the neural tube to the peripheral ganglion. Further, expression of the homeobox gene Islet-1 in cells of the neural tube and the ganglion also indicated that some ventral neural tube cells may normally emigrate to the trigeminal ganglion. It is concluded that not all neural tube cells are committed to form the central nervous system; the ventral part of the neural tube also provides cells for the formation of the trigeminal ganglion. These results raise the possibility that the ventral neural tube may serve as an additional source of cells for the formation of various other components of the peripheral nervous system.
Glutamate (glu), an excitatory amino acid (EAA) abundantly present in the brain of mammals, is also a neurotoxin. We examined lipid peroxidation (LPO) potential and antioxidant parameters of midbrain region (MBR) and frontal cortex of adult rats following treatment with monosodium glutamate (MSG) during postnatal day (PND) 1 through PND 10 at a daily dose of 4 mg g-1 body weight. In PND 90 rats MSG increased LPO by 56% and altered antioxidant status of MBR. This indicates that oxidative stress produced by glu in vulnerable brain regions may persist for prolonged periods and could be one of the mechanisms of EAA neurotoxicity resulting in chronic neurodegeneration.
The inductive signals for the differentiation of motor neurons in the spinal cord have been experimentally shown to arise from cells in the midventral region of the neural tube, often referred to as the floor plate, and from the notochord. Although the prevailing view is that a similar mechanism accounts for the differentiation of motor neurons in the brain stem, supporting experimental evidence is lacking. Here, using the formation of the trochlear nucleus in the midbrain of duck embryos as a model system, we report that the floor plate and the notochord are not necessary for the development of these motor neurons in the brain stem. Early damage to the floor plate or extirpation of the floor plate and notochord does not prevent the development of these cranial motor neurons. Thus, either the inductive signals for the formation of these cranial motor neurons arise from some other structure or the germinal epithelium of the cranial neural tube is intrinsically programmed to form specific cranial motor nuclei.
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It has been suggested that praziquantel (40 mg/kg) and albendazole (400 mg) administered together may have a synergistic effect on intestinal parasites. In the present study, the pharmacokinetics of these agents, alone and in combination, were investigated in the presence and absence of food in two groups of Sudanese males. The results indicated that praziquantel pharmacokinetics were not effected by co-administration of albendazole although, in the presence of food, the area under the curve (AUC(0-infinity)) of praziquantel increased 2.6 fold. The AUC(0-infinity) of albendazole sulphoxide (the active metabolite of albendazole) increased 4.5-fold when administered with praziquantel, eight-fold when given with food and 12-fold when given with praziquantel and food. The balance between the therapeutic efficacy of this combination of drugs and its safety profile needs to be studied, especially with regard to albendazole.
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Glutamate (glu), an excitatory aminoacid neurotransmitter is abundantly present in the brain of mammals, as well as in dietary protein. Earlier studies with glu mostly involved histopathological and neuroendocrine changes in the blood-brain-barrier deficient areas of brain following its systemic administration. The present study examined lipid peroxidation potential and anti-oxidant parameters of immature rat mid-brain region which include arcuate nucleus, hypothalamus, and other circumventricular organs (CVO) following their exposure to monosodium glutamate (MSG) neonatally. This compound was administered at a dose of 4 mg/g bwt, sc, for the first ten days of postnatal period. Animals were sacrificed on postnatal day 25, and the lipid peroxidation potential was evaluated. The treatment of MSG significantly increased lipid peroxidation (P < 0.01) as well as the activity of anti-oxidant enzyme catalase (P < 0.025) and significantly depleted total and free sulfhydryl groups (P < 0.05) in the CVO. These results indicate that neonatal MSG treatment produces neuronal damage in the CVO by increasing lipid peroxidation and is in agreement with the hypothesis that excitotoxins may generate free radicals in causing neurotoxicity.
Chronic osteomyelitis is a major health problem in the aftermath of the conflict in Somalia. We studied the microbiology of chronic osteomyelitis among 30 patients in a large hospital in Mogadishu. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from 77% of patients; most of these isolates were highly resistant to standard antibiotic agents but all were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, an oral fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Ciprofloxacin may prove useful in the management of chronic osteomyelitis due to highly resistant gram-negative bacteria.
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Glutamate (glu) an excitatory neurotransmitter amino acid, is present in high concentrations in the mammalian central nervous system and is the most abundant amino acid in our daily diet. In the present study the activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were evaluated in the circumventricular organs (CVO) of the brain in 25-day-old rats following MSG administration at a dose of 4 mg/g b.wt during the first ten days of life. The results show the LDH activity increased to 265% of that in the control (p < 0.001), whereas GDH activity was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The great elevation in LDH, a cytoplasmic marker enzyme, is apparently due to cytoskeletal changes brought about as a consequence of glu toxicity, whereas lowered GDH activity indicates altered glu homostasis in the blood-brain-barrier deficient areas following neonatal exposure to glu.
Extrahepatic manifestations have been reported in a majority of patients with ACAH. We describe an 11-year-old girl with CAH who developed life-threatening AH and was successfully managed with mechanical ventilation and high-dose steroids. Although a number of pulmonary manifestations have been described in association with AICAH, this article is the first showing its association with AH.
Three stains, Hansel's stain, alkaline erythrocin B (AEB) and naphthalene black (NB), were used to demonstrate eosinophils in the urine of patients infected with Schistosoma haematobium. Hansel's stain was superior to the other two stains; it stained eosinophils bright red and their nuclei faint blue, and they were easily differentiated from neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages and epithelial cells. The method using AEB took longer than Hansel's stain and 10% of the specimens were lost during staining with this method. Like eosinophils, the neutrophils took up NB stain and their nuclei stained poorly with the counterstain.
Through the use of portable ultrasonography, eight cases (2%) of periportal fibrosis were identified in a random sample of 400 subjects selected from a village with a high prevalence and morbidity due to schistosomiasis haematobium in the White Nile Province of Sudan. In contrast, 36 cases (15%) of fibrosis were seen in an area with a similar prevalence and morbidity due to schistosomiasis mansoni in the Gezira Managil region of Sudan. Although there was only one case of Schistosoma mansoni as determined by repeated stool examination of the entire sample population in the first village, the majority of those with fibrosis and age-matched controls showed serologic evidence of active S. mansoni infection. This led to the conclusion that the cases of periportal fibrosis seen in the White Nile Province are most probably due to S. mansoni rather than to S. haematobium.
The effect of co-administration of vitamin E (VE) on cadmium (Cd)-induced locomotor deficits in growing rats was investigated. Intraperitoneal administration of 0.4 mg Cd/kg/d for 4 w resulted in significant decreases in time of ambulation and stereotype and numbers of stereotypic and vertical movements, but the resting time was enhanced. Administration of VE (5 mg alpha - tocopherol acetate/kg im on alternate days) to these rats effectively antagonised these locomotor deficits. The data support the hypothesis that Cd may induce oxidative stress in the CNS and that treatment with an antioxidant may be beneficial against such damage.