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Biomedical subjects

M Malaise

Publications and source records attributed to M Malaise.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

[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↗
PubMed1987

Anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies and immune complexes in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura or IgA nephropathy.

Episodes of hematuria in IgA nephropathy or Henoch-Schönlein purpura are frequently associated with microbial infections. Some of those infectious agents bear alpha-galactosyl residues on their cell surface. These observations prompted us to determine, by passive hemagglutination, the titers of natural anti-galactosyl antibodies in the serum of children presenting with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (10 cases) or IgA nephropathy (7 cases). Antibody titers of normal subjects (103 cases), children with a pharyngitis of unknown etiology (7 cases), and children exhibiting mesangial IgA deposits but no hematuria at the time of testing (6 cases) ranged from 1:20 to 1:80. Elevated titers (greater than 1:80) were observed in nine of 11 patients with mesangial IgA deposits and micro- or macroscopic hematuria, in nine of 19 children with other evolutive glomerular diseases (5 cases of acute glomerulonephritis and 4 cases of minimal change disease), and in most subjects presenting with a M. pneumoniae (4/5 cases) or a E. Coli (4/5 cases) infection. Antibody titers decreased after incubation of normal and pathological sera with D-galactose (10 mM) or with alpha-galactosyl-glucoside (10 mM), but not with D-glucose (10 mM). The anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies purified, by affinity chromatography, from sera of 10 normal children, 10 pathological controls and four children with mesangial IgA deposits without hematuria belonged to IgG class. In contrast, both IgG and IgA anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies were detected in six of six patients with mesangial IgA deposits and hematuria. The IgA content of immune complexes detected in those patients decreased after incubation of sera with alpha-galactosyl-glucoside, but not with D-glucose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Elevated anti-alpha-galactosyl antibody titres. A marker of progression in autoimmune thyroid disorders and in endocrine ophthalmopathy?

The titres of anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies were measured by passive haemagglutination in 50 control subjects and in 128 patients presenting with various thyroid disorders. Titres of control subjects ranged from 1/10 to 1/80, regardless of age and blood group. Elevated titres (greater than 1/80) were constantly noted in 6/6 patients with progressive exophthalmos, in 5/5 patients with untreated Graves' disease, and in 11/12 patients with progressive nontoxic goitre. By contrast, the titres were within the normal range in primary myxoedema (17 patients) and in residual exophthalmos (11 patients), whereas they were only erratically increased in 1/31 patients with treated or cured Graves' disease and in 5/36 patients with nonprogressive nontoxic goitre. Finally, elevated titres were also found in 3/7 patients presenting with autoimmune thyroiditis. No correlations could be established between elevated titres and the thyrotropin binding inhibiting immunoglobulin activity, the antithyroglobulin antibody titres or the antimicrosomal antibody titres. As in the control subjects, the anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies mainly belonged to the IgG class. Affinity purified anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies were capable of binding to trypsinized human and porcine thyroid cells in culture, as shown by indirect immunofluorescence. On the other hand, they were not able to react with untreated thyroid cells. The data show that the measurement of anti-alpha-galactosyl antibody titres could represent an easy and useful tool to determine whether an autoimmune thyroid disorder is in progression. Besides, they suggest that some of the antigenic determinants implicated in the enhanced production of anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies are present, but normally hidden, within the cell surface of thyroid cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Measurement of proteoglycans, elastase, collagenase and protein in synovial fluid in inflammatory and degenerative arthropathies.

The number of leucocytes and the concentrations of protein, proteoglycans (PG), elastase a1 proteinase inhibitor complexes (E-alpha 1 Pi) and collagenolytic activity were measured in the synovial fluid (SF) of 15 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 18 with osteoarthritis (OA). The mean levels of protein, E-alpha 1 Pi and collagenase and the number of leucocytes were higher in RA than in OA SF. However, the mean level of PG was higher of OA SF than in RA. In the latter, they were principally in the form of monomers and fragments while in the former they were in the form of aggregates and monomers. There was a direct relationship between the concentration of E-alpha 1 Pi and either the number of white cells or the concentration of synovial proteins, suggesting that the measurement of E-alpha 1 Pi complexes is a biochemical index of the local inflammatory reaction. There was an inverse correlation between the concentrations of PG and E-alpha 1 Pi which may reflect the effect of degradation in PG of elastase and other enzymes released at the same time. Finally, there was a direct relationship between the concentration of E-alpha 1Pi and collagenase which may be the reflection of a simultaneous release of various enzymes from leucocytes and macrophages.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1985

Confirmative study of the effectiveness of thymopentin in active rheumatoid arthritis.

Forty-one patients with active rheumatoid arthritis entered a controlled double-blind randomized study. Of these patients, 21 received prolonged intravenous injections (10 min) of thymopentin 50 mg three times a week for 3 consecutive weeks, whereas 20 received placebo. Both groups were comparable with regard to clinical parameters. No immunological tests were performed. Analysis of the results after 3 weeks showed that the improvement in the thymopentin group was statistically significant (p less than 0.05 or p less than 0.01) for all clinical parameters, except for the left-hand grip strength. On the other hand, no significant improvement was observed for any parameter, except morning stiffness, in the patients on placebo. The intergroup comparison showed statistically significant differences, favoring thymopentin over placebo treatment, in the Ritchie index, the scores of swollen joints, the assessment of severity of pain, and the scores for changes in the activity of the disease. The present placebo-controlled double blind study thus confirms the positive results generated in a similar open study, i.e., the beneficial therapeutic effect of prolonged intravenous injections of thymopentin in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis. The drug appears to be safe at the dose regimen used.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1984

Interim results on the clinical effects of i.v. administered thymopentin in active rheumatoid arthritis.

Forty-one patients with active rheumatoid arthritis entered a controlled, double-blind, randomized study; 21 received prolonged i.v. injections (10 min) of thymopentin 50 mg 3 times a week for 3 consecutive weeks; the other 20 received placebo under the same conditions. The groups were comparable at the start of the study. Statistical tests of changes within the treatment groups after 3 weeks showed that the improvement achieved in the thymopentin group was significant (p less than 0.05 or p less than 0.01) for each clinical parameter, except for left-hand grip strength. On the other hand, no significant improvement was observed for any parameter except morning stiffness in the patients on placebo. The intergroup comparison showed significant differences, favouring thymopentin over placebo treatment, in the Ritchie index, scores for swollen joints, assessment of severity of pain and scores for changes in the activity of the disease. Only minor side-effects were experienced in the two treatment groups. The present placebo-controlled double-blind study confirms the previous positive results achieved in open studies, i.e., the beneficial therapeutic effect of prolonged i.v. injections of thymopentin in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis observed after 3 weeks of therapy. The drug appears to be safe at the dose regimen used.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastrointestinal safety of amtolmetin guacyl in comparison with celecoxib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) appear to be safer than conventional NSAIDs on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Amtolmetin guacyl (AMG), a NSAID that inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2, has an anti-inflammatory effect comparable to that of traditional NSAIDs, with a better GI safety profile. The primary end-point of this study was to evaluate the gastrointestinal safety of amtolmetin guacyl in comparison with celecoxib in patients affected with rheumatoid arthritis. The assessment of efficacy was the secondary end-point. METHODS: This study was a 24-week, randomized, parallel group, double-blind, double dummy, multicentre trial; 235 patients were enrolled and 180 patients (85 in the AMG group and 95 in the celecoxib group) completed the study. Each patient received twice daily amtolmetin guacyl 600 mg or celecoxib 200 mg. Assessment of safety was performed by upper GI endoscopy, gastrointestinal symptoms evaluation, electrocardiography, blood and urine laboratory tests, adverse events recording. Assessment of efficacy was performed by using the American College of Rheumatology (ACR-20) responder index. RESULTS: Neither amtolmetin guacyl nor celecoxib determined a worsening of baseline gastro-duodenal endoscopy findings. The percentage of patients with normal findings did not significantly change after treatment with both drugs, being virtually identical with AMG (i.e. 75.29%) and increasing from 75.79% to 77.66% with celecoxib. Moreover an evaluation of the other safety parameters did not reveal any difference between the two treatment groups. Therapeutic efficacy was equivalent in both groups, with no statistical difference between the two drugs at all time intervals. CONCLUSIONS: In patients affected with rheumatoid arthritis, AMG and celecoxib proved to be equivalent, showing comparable gastrointestinal safety and therapeutic efficacy of treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis].

Psoriasis is a frequent multifactorial chronic skin disease that can lead to a decreased quality of life. Some patients also present arthritis. Those two complex inflammatory diseases share some of their characteristics, but several clinical manifestations can be distinguished in each of them. In addition to classical medications (constituted of topical treatments, methotrexate, ciclosporin and retinoids for cutaneous psoriasis and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or methotrexate for psoriatic arthritis), they are the target of a new generation of therapies: the biologics.

Arthritis, Psoriatic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Production of interferon gamma by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal subjects and from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A radioimmunoassay for human interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) has been carried out using a recombinant glycosylated interferon (Hu IFN-gamma) as tracer, the N.I.H. reference preparation (Gg 23-901-530) and a polyclonal rabbit antiserum. The assay is highly specific for IFN-gamma: there is no cross-reaction either with interferons alpha and beta, Interleukins 1 and 2, tumor necrosis factor alpha and beta or with various brain peptides. The sequential saturation procedure allowed a sensitivity of 0.4 U/ml with intra and between assay coefficients of variation less than 8 and 12%, respectively. The in-vitro production of IFN-gamma by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P.B.M.C.) was also measured. In unstimulated cultures, IFN-gamma production remained undetectable, i.e. below the 0.4 U/ml sensitivity level. After stimulation of P.B.M.C. from normal subjects with increasing amounts of PHA, both the 3H-thymidine incorporation and IFN-gamma release followed bell-shaped curves. There was no significant difference of 3H-thymidine incorporation between PHA stimulated cultures (0.2 and 2.5 ug/ml) from normal subjects (36 cases) and those with active (16 cases) or non-active (14 cases) rheumatoid arthritis. At two PHA concentrations of 0.2 and 2.5 ug/ml, mononuclear cells from patients with active disease produced significantly less IFN-gamma than those from either controls or cases with non-active disease.

Adult↗