Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Petit

Publications and source records attributed to M Petit.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

[One thousand consecutive radiofrequency ablation procedures. Indications, results, and complications].

INTRODUCTION: Radiofrequency ablation has become the treatment of choice in the majority of patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmias. In this study we present our experience in a large group of patients treated using this procedure. METHODS: Between January 1992 and February 1996, we performed 1000 consecutive ablation procedures in 938 patients with different cardiac arrhythmias. The indication for ablation were: tachycardias due to the presence of an accessory pathway (n = 487), atrio-ventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (n = 284), atrio-ventricular nodal ablation (n = 104), atrial tachycardia (n = 42), atrial flutter (n = 41) and ventricular tachycardia (n = 42). RESULTS: Radiofrequency ablation was initially effective in 908 out of the 938 patients (97%). Effectiveness ranged from 100% in atrio-ventricular nodal ablation to 83% in atrial tachycardia. During follow-up, a total of 45 recurrences of the arrhythmia were documented (5%) ranging from 2% in atrial tachycardia to 28% in atrial flutter. In 40 out of the 45 patients a second procedure was performed, being effective in 34 of them. Finally, radiofrequency ablation was effective in 896 out of the 938 patients (96%). A total of 13 significative complications were observed (1.3%). Of them, 10 occurred during the 250 initial procedures (4%) and 3 in the remaining 750 procedures (0.4%). CONCLUSIONS: In centers performing a large number of procedures, radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective method for the treatment of the majority of cardiac arrhythmias.

Adolescent↗

[Initial evaluation of the ACL-Futura coagulation analyzer].

PURPOSE: The first analytical performance of analyzer ACL-Futura (Instruments Laboratory) is presented. RESULTS: The analyzer shows an within-between day imprecision with controls, for PT (prothrombin time) of 0.7-8%, APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) of 0.7-4%, fibrinogen (derived) 2-6%, ATIII (antithrombin III) of 3-9%, with specimens the imprecision is lowest. The linearity and carry-over for all the techniques were studied. An study of medicine interferences (Aspirin and Sintrom) and bilirubin, lipemia was performed. The reference values are presented. We study the practicability of the analyzer: technical difficulty, time consuming, determination cost and the usefulness in the urgency laboratory. CONCLUSION: These results validate the method to resolve the increased demand of these parameters.

Acenocoumarol↗

Further evidence for anticipation in schizophrenia.

The term 'anticipation' is used to describe the increase in disease severity or the decrease in age of onset in succeeding generations within families. This phenomenon has been related to expansion of trinucleotide repeat DNA sequences in some genetic illnesses. We examined age of onset among two generations in familial schizophrenia. Twenty-six unilineal pedigrees previously ascertained for linkage studies were used. We defined the older generation as G1 and the younger generation as G2. Cumulative survival analysis for intergenerational pairwise comparisons in groups G1 and G2 showed a significantly earlier age of onset in G2 (10 years earlier). Additional analyses, which took into account some biases such as the censoring effect of age at interview and preferential ascertainment of late-onset parents, did not modify the results. No evidence for genomic imprinting was found in our sample. We conclude that anticipation occurs in our sample of familial schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

No evidence for linkage or association between the dopamine transporter gene and schizophrenia in a French population.

Pharmacological and clinical findings suggest that the dopamine transporter (DAT) gene may be involved in the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. Linkage of a Taq I VNTR polymorphism in the DAT gene to schizophrenia was studied in multiplex schizophrenic families from Rouen, France (n = 10) and the Island of La Réunion (n = 21). Neither the lod score method nor nonparametric methods (the affected pedigree member method of Weeks and Lange [1988] and the sibling method of Green and Woodrow [1977]) provided any evidence for linkage. An association study, carried out within a group of 91 unrelated schizophrenic patients from Rouen and 91 matched control subjects, examined a 40 base-pair repeat polymorphism located in the 3' nontranslated end of the DAT mRNA. There was no significant difference in allelic or genotypic frequencies between the two groups. These results exclude any substantial involvement of the DAT gene in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia in the population studied.

Adult↗

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia: their evolution during an acute phase.

Whereas the instability of positive symptoms over time is well recognized, the instability of negative symptoms is still debated. This controversy could be due to the fact that different negative symptoms have been studied in different phases of schizophrenia. We, therefore, hypothesized that some negative symptoms would improve whereas others would remain perfectly stable during the remission of the acute phase of illness. We further hypothesized that the changes in these negative symptoms would be linked to changes in other domains such as extrapyramidal, depressive and positive symptomatology. A broadly defined sample of schizophrenic patients was evaluated at admission and discharge of the hospital with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale (ESRS). Doses of antipsychotic medications were converted into chlorpromazine-equivalents. Fifty-seven patients (mean age 40.3 years old) were included in the sample and followed-up during their hospitalization. All the sub-scores of the SANS-SAPS decreased significantly but 4 items of the SANS belonging to the affective flattening subscale (unchanging facial expression, decreased spontaneous movements, paucity of expressive gestures and lack of vocal inflections) and one item belonging to the alogia subscale (poverty of speech) did not vary significantly, showing the necessity of taking into account the individual items of the SANS rather than the subscale scores to evaluate the course of negative symptoms. Changes in all the SANS subscores except the alogia subscore were associated with variations in scores of other scales. The change in attentional subscores was positively correlated to the change in the positive formal thought disorder subscores, probably because both belong to the same syndrome. The change in affective flattening subscores was associated with changes in depressive and akinetic scores and 28% of the variance of the change in the affective flattening subscores was explained by the change in the MADRS scores. Changes in avolition-apathy and anhedonia subscores were also associated with changes in MADRS scores but not with the change in akinesia scores.

Acute Disease↗

Characterization of nosocomial strains of Enterobacter aerogenes by arbitrarily primed-PCR analysis and ribotyping.

OBJECTIVE: To study the spread of strains of Enterobacter aerogenes in our hospital in 1992 and 1993 by using two genotypic markers, and to evaluate these methods for the epidemiological investigation of this species. DESIGN: Ribotyping (using two endonucleases) and arbitrarily primed (AP)-PCR (using two different 10-mer primers) were applied to the epidemiological typing of clinical strains of E aerogenes isolated from hospitalized patients. SETTING AND PATIENTS: The intensive care unit (ICU; 5 patients, 13 isolates), nephrology units (3 patients, 5 isolates), and surgery units (2 patients, 2 isolates) of the university hospital of Saint-Etienne (France). RESULTS: Eight epidemiologically unrelated isolates, chosen as controls, exhibited distinct profiles, both by AP-PCR and ribotyping. Two clones of E aerogenes circulated in the ICU; both were isolated successively from samples of a single patient who stayed in the unit for almost 1 year. A third clone was recovered from patients of surgery units. A fourth clone was shown to have infected patients of nephrology units. CONCLUSIONS: Ribotyping and AP-PCR appear to be reliable methods for typing E aerogenes strains implicated in nosocomial infection. The spread of independent clones of E aerogenes in different units of our hospital in 1992 and 1993 was demonstrated by both methods. This study emphasizes the need to choose the endonucleases or primers with care to obtain high discriminatory results in genotypic investigations.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗

Direct connection between the coronary arteries in the human heart. Intercoronary arterial continuity.

Seven cases of intercoronary arterial continuity are described, which were obtained from a study of 100 human hearts in individuals with an average age (+/- standard deviation) of 61.09 years (+/- 21.96). The methods used in the study were postmortem coronary angiography and dissection. In those cases in which intercoronary continuity was found, a histologic study was performed on the connecting vessel, together with the distal portions of the interconnected arteries. Of the 7 cases observed, 5 showed continuity between the anterior and posterior interventricular arteries, in the distal portion of the posterior interventricular groove. The remaining 2 cases showed continuity between the distal portions of the right coronary artery and the circumflex artery, occurring in the posterior auriculoventricular groove. In all cases, continuity was by means of a single vessel in epicardial position, with a diameter similar to that of the terminal portions of the interconnected arteries. The histologic structure of the connecting vessel had the characteristics of a normal arterial wall, so the authors conclude, therefore, that in these cases of intercoronary continuity reported in adult hearts, there is a persistence of the type of coronary circulation observed in the fetus.

Coronary Angiography↗

A rare allele of a microsatellite located in the tyrosine hydroxylase gene found in schizophrenic patients.

We investigated the frequency of a rare variant of a common microsatellite tetrarepeat allele in the tyrosine hydroxylase gene in 2 independent ethnic groups of schizophrenic patients and their matched controls. In a French population we found the rare variant allele in 5 of 94 (5%) unrelated chronic schizophrenic patients and in none of 145 unaffected controls, thus yielding a significant association (p < 0.01) between schizophrenia and the tyrosine hydroxylase gene. Similarly, in a replication study, we found the rare allele in 4 of 44 (9%) unrelated chronic schizophrenic patients and in none of 44 unaffected controls in a Tunisian population. Albeit the reason of this association is at the moment unknown, it is possible that this polymorphism in the tyrosine hydroxylase gene may be involved in the regulation of its activity.

Adult↗

[Depressive symptoms and negative symptoms during schizophrenia].

Taking into account the wellknown frequency of depressive and extrapyramidal symptoms in schizophrenia and the rare studies about their evolution, several questions can be raised: How do these different symptoms move? Are there specific characters of each of them? First, stability of negative symptoms evaluated by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) was studied among 57 schizophrenic patients at admission and at discharge. The course of negative symptoms was compared to that of depressive MADRS (Montgomery et Asberg Depression Rating Scale) and akinetic symptoms (Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale). All the subscores of the SANS decreased significantly but 4 items belonging to the affective flattening subscale and one item belonging to the alogia subscale did not vary significantly, showing the necessity of taking into account the individual items of the SANS rather than the subscale scores to evaluate the course of negative symptoms. Changes in all the SANS subscores except the alogia and anhedonia subscores were associated with variations in scores of other scales. Correlations between the changes of negative symptoms and the changes of depressive symptoms showed the necessity to do more specific scales, for example, scales for depression in schizophrenia. Langlois-Théry et al. (1994) evaluated among 53 schizophrenic patients stabilized with neuroleptic treatment, depressive symptomatology with Echelle de Ralentissement Dépressif (ERD, Widlöcher, 1983) and MADRS, negative symptomatology (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and akinesia (ESRS), to determinate whether ERD composed of 3 subscores (motor, ideic and subjective) could be able to evaluate the depressive symptomatology, independently of the measures of negative and akinetic symptomatology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arousal↗

[Identification of subgroups of schizophrenic patients by a typological analysis].

The existence of two subtypes of schizophrenia (positive and negative) is well established. The evidence in favour of other subtypes, in particular a disorganized subtype, is still the subject of some debate. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the possibility of further subtypes of schizophrenia by applying a Ward's method of cluster analysis with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores in 138 schizophrenic patients. The results from the cluster analysis suggested the existence of at least four sub-types of schizophrenia, positive, negative, mixed and disorganized. Evidence for the validity of these subtypes was provided by the observed differences between the clusters on a number of clinical characteristics. Thus, the negative-positive dichotomy in schizophrenia is an oversimplification, and the existence of a more complex structure needs to be taken into account in future research.

Acute Disease↗

A comparison of plasma homovanillic acid in the deficit and nondeficit subtypes of schizophrenia.

Plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) was measured over a 13 hr-period in 16 DMS-III-R schizophrenic patients, all treated with neuroleptic drugs and in a stable clinical and therapeutic status for the preceeding 12 months. Patients were categorized into deficit (n = 9) and nondeficit (n = 7) forms of schizophrenia according to the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS) criteria. As compared to the nondeficit group, deficit patients display significantly lower mean pHVA concentrations from 9 AM to 12 AM and a lack of diurnal variations. None of the demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables can explain these biological differences. These data suggest a specific biochemical basis for the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia as defined by the SDS criteria, that is, primary, enduring, negative symptoms.

Adult↗

Coronary arterial territories of the left ventricle: extension and exclusivity.

Ninety human hearts obtained from autopsies were used. The methods applied were post-mortem angiography, dissection and the construction of an arterial map by segments, according to the classification of Selvester et al. It was shown that the arteries which have the greatest extension are the anterior interventricular and circumflex aa., while irrigation by the right coronary artery is only moderate, except in the segments of the inferior wall. Differences in the perfusion territories of the main coronary arteries and between the patterns of arterial irrigation of the left ventricle (segmental pattern and grouped pattern) were found. Finally, we define risk groups on the basis of the proportion of the ventricular mass irrigated by each artery, which are of practical interest from the clinical, prognostic and therapeutic points of view.

Coronary Circulation↗

Genetic study of dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptors in schizophrenia.

The goal of this study was to define precisely the involvement of the dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptor genes in the etiology of schizophrenia. A linkage analysis using the lod score method was performed in 37 families originating from France (n = 14) and from the Island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean (n = 23). No evidence of linkage between schizophrenia and genetic markers located at these loci was found. A simulation study was carried out to gauge the significance of these results. The conclusions of a nonparametric linkage test (i.e., the affected pedigree member method) were equally negative. For each genetic marker, an allelic association with the disease was also sought: 80 unrelated patients and 80 healthy control subjects were tested, and no significant association was found. These results, which are in agreement with those obtained by other groups, do not support the involvement of the dopamine D1, D2, and D4 receptor genes in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Female↗

No major role for the dopamine D2 receptor Ser-->Cys311 mutation in schizophrenia.

A new structural polymorphism (Ser311/Cys311) in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene has recently been reported to be associated with schizophrenia, particularly in patients with a positive family history of schizophrenia (Arinimi et al., 1994). However these findings remain controversial (Asherson et al., 1994; Nanko et al., 1994; Nöthen et al., 1994; Shaikh et al., 1994). Thus we investigated the role of the Cys311 mutation in schizophrenia using both association and family studies. First, we screened for the Cys311 mutation in 113 unrelated Caucasian schizophrenics (mean age 42 +/- 0.6; 34 females and 79 males) including 25 familial cases, and 184 unrelated controls (mean age 49 +/- 0.5, 74 females and 110 males) free of any psychiatric disorders. Diagnoses were ascertained according to DSM-III criteria (Campion et al., 1994). All patients and controls were native to the area of Rouen.

Alleles↗

Anomalous left coronary artery originating in the right aortic sinus with retroaortic course: a postmortem study.

Post-mortem study of a heart specimen from a forty-two-year-old man showed an anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery from the right aortic sinus and its course posterior to the aorta. In this case the branches of the left main artery were smaller than usual, being partly supplied by the right coronary artery, which originated in a common point with a right preventricular artery. In the case reported myocardial ischemic signs were not noted.

Adult↗

[Antidepressive drug treatment of the schizophrenic patient].

A review of the international literature concerned with controlled studies of antidepressants in schizophrenics shows that the therapeutic efficacy of these agents is primarily a function of the phase in the disorder during which they are administered. During the acute phases, administration of antidepressants, with or without neuroleptics, is to be avoided since it can aggravate florid symptomatology. In "depressed" schizophrenics in the post-psychotic phase, some studies have favored combination of an antidepressant with a neuroleptic, in particular for prevention of disorders of mood, as well as of suicidal behavior. Nevertheless, from the methodologic standpoint, they are still numerous problems in differentiation between depressive symptomatology and akinetic symptoms or deficit symptomatology. Finally, in terms of efficacy of antidepressants for negative or deficit symptomatology, there are some data suggesting efficacy of a combination of an antidepressant with the standard neuroleptic treatment. Nevertheless, confirmation of such efficacy would require comparison with the disinhibitory neuroleptics.

Antidepressive Agents↗

Patterns of the coronary artery irrigation in the left ventricle.

Nowadays, the classifications of coronary arterial preponderance (Schlesinger, Baroldi, Gensini) do not provide the necessary information for a good systematization of coronary arterial irrigation. Based on segmental analysis (Selvester's method) an alternative classification of the arterial distribution of the left ventricle is presented. One thousand eighty ventricle segments corresponding to 90 human hearts (age range from 4 days to 94 years) are studied, using microdissection techniques. In order to obtain segmental arterial patterns, a cluster analysis was used. The alternative classification is based on the predominance of the segments irrigated by: the anterior interventricular artery (Type I; 31% of cases), the circumflex artery (Type II; 37% of cases), or a balance between both arteries (Type III; 32% of cases). Each group can be divided into two subgroups (A and B), according to the existence or not of a balance between the territories of anterior interventricular and circumflex arteries. This classification allows as a more realistic approach to the subject of arterial dominance, given that the left ventricle always presents a predominant irrigation from the anterior interventricular, the circumflex or both arteries.

Adolescent↗