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Biomedical subjects

M Morales

Publications and source records attributed to M Morales.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

[Long-term study of patients with active chronic hepatitis treated with leukocyte interferon].

Seven patients with active chronic hepatitis who received Interferon Alfa showed a marked humoral and histological improvement one year after the treatment was concluded, in 3 patients the hepatic histology was almost normal, 2 evolved to a persistent chronic hepatitis and only one showed deterioration. These results differed from those obtained immediately after the treatment (p 0.05). Interferon Alfa proves to be of the most usefulness in this disease, studies should be continued up to one year after the treatment has ended.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1987

Barium spikes are generated in the spines of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum.

In the presence of calcium, Ba2+ ions, at concentrations as low as 1-2 mM, block the action potentials (a.p.'s) elicited by the electrical stimulation of the primary spines of Diadema antillarum. Lower concentrations of barium (0.1 mM) potentiate the a.p.'s recorded from spines equilibrated with Ca-Free artificial sea water (ASW). Exposure of the spines to a saturated solution of EDTA in Ca-free, unbuffered ASW reversibly blocks their electrical activity. Spines blocked by EDTA continue to generate a.p.'s following their equilibration with Ca-free ASW containing 1 mM of Ba2+ ions. The time course of the a.p.'s recorded from spines equilibrated with normal ASW is only slightly affected by the combined action of 15 mM of tetraethylammonium (TEA) and 5 mM of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). In contrast, the duration of the a.p.'s recorded from spines blocked by EDTA and placed in 1 mM barium is markedly increased by the combined actions of TEA and 4-AP at the above concentrations. We conclude that the Ca-channels of the neurites present in Diadema spines are not, at least qualitatively, an exception with regard to their permeation by Ba2+. The blocking action of low concentrations of these ions, particularly in the presence of calcium, may be explained by the extremely high surface to volume ratio prevailing in neurites with a diameter of only less than 0.1-0.3 micron.

4-Aminopyridine↗
PubMed1987

Electrophysiological characteristics of cardiac pacemaker cells of the frog Caudiverbera caudiverbera.

1. The cardiac pacemaker cells of the frog Caudiverbera caudiverbera are centrally located in the sinus venosus. These cells are rounded, smaller than contractile fibres and have large nuclei. 2. Intracellular recording confirmed the existence of primary and transitional pacemaker cells. 3. Action potentials from primary cells were resistant to blockade by tetrodotoxin (TTX), but were abolished by verapamil suggesting that their bioelectric activity is dependent on a slow inward current. 4. Transitional cells appeared to have two different inward currents contributing to the upstroke: a fast TTX-sensitive and a slow verapamil-sensitive current.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Bilateral abscessed orchiepididymitis associated with sepsis caused by Veillonella parvula and Clostridium perfringens: case report and review of the literature.

Veillonella species is a gram-negative coccus which is part of the anaerobic normal flora in the oral cavity, small intestine, upper respiratory tract, vagina, and urinary tract. The role that this organism plays in infection is not well known, and it is generally associated with other bacteria. We present a case of bilateral abscessed orchiepididymitis associated with septicemia due to Veillonella parvula and, later, to Clostridium perfringens, with the development of severe renal insufficiency and septic shock, which resolved favorably with antibiotic therapy, treatment of shock, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In reviewing the literature, we have not found any other case of sepsis due to Veillonella sp. associated with urological disorders.

Abscess↗
PubMed1987

Electrophysiological effects of bupivacaine on transitional pacemaker cells of the frog heart.

The effects of bupivacaine, a long-acting local anesthetic, were studied on action potentials of spontaneously beating sinus venosus of the frog Caudiverbera caudiverbera. The study was accomplished by recording transmembrane potentials of pacemaker transitional cells. Action potentials of these cells are known to have both a fast and a slow ionic component. Bupivacaine (1 X 10(-5) M to 1 X 10(-4) M) caused a reversible negative chronotropic effect accompanied by decrease of diastolic depolarization rate and prolongation of sinus cycle length. This drug also markedly depressed rate of rise [(dV/dt)max] of action potentials. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) (1 X 10(-7) M) induced similar effects than bupivacaine. In atropine-treated sinus venosus the effect of bupivacaine on spontaneous rate of firing was less intense. However, in cells exposed to both drugs, a greater depression of (dV/dt)max and of other electrophysiological parameters such as action potential amplitude, overshoot and maximum diastolic potentials was observed. Depression of phase 4 depolarization seems difficult to be explained in view of the complex nature of the ionic currents underlying pacemaker depolarization. Reduction of (dV/dt)max caused by bupivacaine and mimicked by TTX was ascribed to blockade of sodium channels. It was concluded that bupivacaine by decreasing (dV/dt)max of transitional cells and by depressing diastolic depolarization slows down conduction of impulses arising from primary cells and that this action may contribute to its cardiac toxicity.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Low-dose autologous in vitro opsonized erythrocytes. Radioimmune method and autologous opsonized erythrocytes for refractory autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura in adults.

Adult patients with chronic autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (ATP), which proved refractory to various treatments, received a single dose of autologous in vitro opsonized erythrocytes with 100 micrograms of anti-D IgG. In 1983, 30 of these patients were treated with autologous erythrocytes that had been opsonized and labeled with 25 mCi (740 MBq) of technetium Tc 99m; this treatment was designated as the radioimmune method. Favorable responses were noted in 36% of patients so treated. In 1985, another group of 16 patients with refractory ATP received therapy with autologous opsonized erythrocytes (AOPE) and 55% of these patients showed favorable responses. Five (17%) of the patients treated using the radioimmune method attained a complete, long-term (greater than 35 months) remission of their ATP, and five (31%) of the patients treated using AOPE remained in complete remission over 270 days after cessation of therapy. Major complications were not seen. We concluded that the interaction of macrophages with low-dose AOPE is a successful therapeutic approach in ATP refractory to standard treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of sleep-deprived cats restores REM sleep in insomniac recipients.

In the past few years a steadily increasing number of substances have been suggested to qualify as sleep-inducing factors. Most 'sleep factors' appear to exert their effects on slow-wave sleep. Recently, however, it has been shown that the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of sleep-deprived cats may contain a rapid eye movement (REM) sleep factor, and that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) may be a specific REM sleep inducer. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the CSF of sleep-deprived cats and VIP can reverse insomnia produced by parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA). Donor cats were sleep-deprived for 24 h and their CSF extracted. Some donor cats were additionally pre-treated with chloramphenicol, and some extracted CSF was heated. Recipient cats were injected with 400 mg/kg i.p. of PCPA on two consecutive days. Twenty-four h after the second injection, the recipient cats were intraventricularly injected with a 100-microliters of the various CSF types or 200 ng of VIP. The results showed that only CSF from sleep-deprived cats and VIP were capable of restoring REM sleep in the otherwise PCPA insomniac cats. Since the return of REM sleep was through an increase in its frequency, it is suggested that the CSF of sleep-deprived cats contains a VIP-like sleep factor possibly involved in triggering REM sleep.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Dream content after using visual inverting prisms.

All night sleep electroencephalograms were recorded in 10 healthy adults for 2 nights. On the second night all subjects were requested to be at the laboratory 5 hr. before their usual bedtime and were submitted to the same routine for performance on several visuomotor tasks; experimental subjects were required to use visual inverting prisms upon their arrival and during the performance of the tasks. Subjects were awakened 10 min. after each paradoxical sleep episode for dream collection. Dream content was significantly affected by the use of the inverting prisms: the presleep tasks and day-time activities were more frequently incorporated into the dreams of the experimental subjects. The dreams of the experimental group were more active and vividness was evaluated as lower by them than by the control subjects.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Therapeutic effect of danazol on metrorrhagia in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is more frequently seen in young females than in any other age or sex group. Danazol, an impeded androgen with a decreased masculinizing potential, has been described as useful in ITP. A total of 25 women 16 to 41 years of age, with chronic ITP were studied. All patients were refractory to treatments with glucocorticoids and splenectomy; 19 were inadequately controlled by immunosuppressants, vinblastine or vincristine-loaded platelets, the radioimmune method, colchicine, plasmapheresis, or surgery for accessory spleens. Danazol was given at a daily dosage of 600 mg for 4 months. All showed clinical improvement, as indicated by cessation or decrease of bleeding, and 12 (48%) cases obtained a drug-dependent excellent or good response of their ITP. Therapy produced amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea in 21 patients (84%) and 7 cases of chronic metrorrhagia were successfully controlled. The drug was well tolerated. Accordingly, danazol may be an effective treatment for ITP or related conditions, especially in adult females with uncontrollable metrorrhagia.

Adolescent↗