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Biomedical subjects

M S Alam

Publications and source records attributed to M S Alam.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Clinical significance of measurements of antithyroid antibodies in the diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis: comparison with histological findings.

Measurements of antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal (antiperoxidase) antibodies have been performed widely for the clinical diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid diseases. The present study was designed to compare these antibody titers with histological findings of the thyroid in patients with diffuse goiter who were suspected of having Hashimoto's thyroiditis. One hundred and ten euthyroid or hypothyroid patients (10 males and 100 females; age 48 +/- 15 (SD) years old) with diffuse goiter were studied for the measurement of antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal or antiperoxidase antibodies by a hemagglutination technique (TGHA and MCHA, respectively) and by a newly developed radioassay (TgAb and TPOAb, respectively). The antibody titers were compared with the histological findings obtained by needle biopsy. TgAb, TPOAb, TGHA, and MCHA were detected in 80 (96.4%), 61 (73.5%), 37 (44.6%), and 54 (65.1%) of 83 patients with histologically proven Hashimoto's thyroiditis, respectively, but in only one (3.7%) of 27 patients without any inflammatory changes in the biopsy specimen. In 55 patients with negative TGHA and MCHA, the TgAb positivity was more closely associated with the histological diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis than the TPOAb positivity was, the incidence of each antibody in Hashimoto's thyroiditis being 89.7% (26/29) and 27.6% (8/29), respectively. In conclusion, the histological diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis can most precisely be predicted by the newly developed radioassay for TgAb.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Tumoricidal cytokines enhance radioiodine uptake in cultured thyroid cancer cells.

UNLABELLED: We explored whether the stimulation of iodine uptake by interferons seen in rat thyroid cell line is reproducible in human thyroid cancer and thus applicable to enhance the efficacy of radioiodine therapy. METHODS: Surgical specimens from 12 papillary and 2 follicular adenocarcinomas were minced and seeded in culture trays. After 14-16 days in a medium supplemented with 5% calf serum, we measured cellular uptake of 125I during a 40-min incubation period. RESULTS: In 8 of 12 papillary and all 2 follicular carcinomas, interferon-gamma significantly stimulated iodine incorporation. The four nonresponder tumors had lower basal iodine uptake and relatively less differentiation of histologic features. The effect was dose dependent (0-100 U/ml), and the average maximum increase in responding cases was 35.1% over basal values. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha alone did not alter uptake, but at 300 U/ml it further enhanced the effect of interferon-gamma in the two follicular tumors. In addition to the pure cytokines, supernatant from lymphocyte culture conditioned with a bacterial immunostimulator also boosted radioiodine trapping in thyroid cancer cells. CONCLUSION: These in vitro results warrant animal experiments to test potential usefulness of tumoricidal cytokines in radioiodine therapy.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗
PubMed1996

Prelacteal feeding: influencing factors and relation to establishment of lactation.

This study was carried out with a view to finding out factors influencing prelacteal feeding and its relation to establishment of lactation in rural Bangladesh. 420 mothers in early post-partum period were interviewed at home. Prelacteal feeding was given to 77% of the babies, and honey was given to 72% of them. The common methods of prelacteal feeding were by finger (41%) and spoon (40%). Twelve socio-demographic and health care variables were studied for their probable influence on prelacteal feeding. Nine of them accounted for 22% of the variability in giving prelacteal feeding. Reasons of giving prelacteal feeding and the time of first breast feeding influenced the practice significantly (P < 0.05). Type and duration of prelacteal feeding had significant negative influence on "coming in" of milk (P < 0.05). Prelacteal feeding accounted for 44% of variations in coming in of milk. Prelacteal feeding and coming in of milk formed a vicious cycle: the former delayed initiation of lactation and on the other hand delay in coming in of milk encouraged prelacteal feeding. These observation emphasized the need for coordinated efforts for promotion of proper infant feeding practices in our rural community.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Defective phospholipase D activation in Ki-ras-transformed NIH3T3 cells: evidence for downstream effector of PLC-gamma 1 in PDGF-mediated signal transduction.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a potent mitogen for fibroblasts and many other cell types, was used to examine phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase D (PLD), phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and tyrosine phosphorylation in NIH3T3 fibroblast and its Ki-ras-transformed derivative, DT. When cells prelabeled with [3H] myristic acid were stimulated by 10 and 50 ng/ml of PDGF in presence of 0.3% butanol, formation of phosphatidylbutanol (PtdBut) was increased three to six fold in NIH3T3 fibroblasts whereas it was marginal in DT cells. Myo-[3H]inositol-labeled cells showed higher inositol phosphate production in nontransformed control fibroblasts, indicating higher phospholipase C activity compared to the transformed DT cells. PDGF caused increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of a group of proteins with 110-130 kDa, PLC-gamma 1 and PDGF receptor in NIH3T3 cells. There was no significant increase in tyrosine phosphorylation in both PDGF receptor and PLC-gamma 1 in DT cells. These results suggest that PLD acts as a downstream effector molecule of PLC-gamma 1 in the PDGF-mediated signal transduction pathway.

1-Butanol↗
PubMed1994

A baseline survey on use of drugs at the primary health care level in Bangladesh.

The drug use pattern and the quality of care were assessed in 80 public sector facilities throughout rural Bangladesh. A total of 40 thana health complexes and 40 union subcentres, the lowest level in primary health care facilities, were selected at random. A total of 2880 prescriptions, consultations, and drug-dispensing practices were studied, and the availability and use of essential drugs and of the essential drugs list were recorded. The average consulting time (54 seconds), the proportion of adequate examinations (37%), and prescription of drugs according to standard treatment guidelines (41%) were unsatisfactory. The mean number of drugs prescribed per patient was 1.44; 25% were treated with antibiotics, and 17% with metronidazole, irrespective of the diagnoses. The availability of drugs (54%) and the presence of an essential drugs list (16%) in the health facilities were low. However, 78% of the drugs were prescribed by their generic names, 85% complied with the essential drugs list, and 81% were dispensed according to prescription. The average dispensing time (23 seconds) and the proportion of patients who correctly understood the dosage (55%) were poor.

Bangladesh↗
PubMed1988

Influence of di-butyltin dilaurate on brain neurotransmitter systems and behavior in rats.

Exposure to DBTL (20, 40 or 80 mg/kg body weight) caused a decrease in levels of noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) at all treatment levels. Hypothalamus and frontal cortex appeared to be most affected, since levels of all the three amines examined showed changes in these areas. Maximum decrease of DA was found in corpus striatum, NA in pons medulla and of 5-HT in frontal cortex. These animals also showed a decrease in spontaneous locomotor activity and learning at all the doses. The data indicates involvement of hypothalamus and frontal cortical regions of the brain in the neurotoxicity of DBTL.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1987

The prevalence of atypical serum cholinesterase in a Nigerian population.

The prevalence of the atypical phenotype of pseudocholinesterase was looked for in 345 individuals living in Zaria district of Northern Nigeria by the differential inhibitory actions of dibucaine and sodium fluoride. The frequency of the atypical gene, Ea1 was found to be 0.9% and the frequency of the fluoride insensitive phenotype Ef1, was 0.74%. The atypical enzyme or the intermediate phenotype was not observed in any of the 42 patients with sickle-cell disease.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular cloning of a gene encoding acid alpha-glucosidase from Tetrahymena pyriformis.

Lysosomal acid alpha-glucosidase is essential for the degradation of glycogen to glucose in lysosomes. The ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis secretes acid alpha-glucosidase into its culture medium. We have earlier reported the purification and characterization of acid alpha-glucosidase from T. pyriformis. The exact molecular mechanism of secretion of this enzyme has not yet been clarified. In the present study we have isolated a full length cDNA clone encoding acid alpha-glucosidase from T. pyriformis. The isolated clone (3019 bp) contained an open reading frame encoding 923 amino acids, and has an estimated molecular mass of 104 kDa. Northern blot analysis revealed that the isolated cDNA hybridized to a 2.8-kb mRNA transcript. N-terminal amino acids after the first methionine fulfilled the requirement of a signal peptide. The deduced amino acid sequence contains the amino acid sequences determined of several peptides derived from the purified enzyme, and was found to have 34% identity and 45% similarity with that of human lysosomal enzyme, with 75% identity in the 16 amino acids at the proposed active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prescribing and dispensing activities at the health facilities of a non-governmental organization.

BACKGROUND: Prescribing and dispensing surveys are pre-requisites to achieving rational drug use. There is a dearth of such studies in India, particularly in the non-governmental organization sector. METHODS: We carried out a survey at the outpatient facilities maintained by the Southern Health Improvement Samity, a non-governmental organization in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Data were collected prospectively by interviewing patients immediately after patient-physician and patient-dispenser encounters. Pre-designed forms were used to collect data pertaining to World Health Organization drug-use indicators and some additional indices. The calculations of cost of therapy involved some approximation. RESULTS: Of the 312 prescriptions analysed, the majority were signed, legible and complete with respect to age/gender data; 95.5% used Latin abbreviations and 7.7% mentioned neither signs and symptoms nor diagnosis. The average number of drugs per encounter was 3.2; only 2 patients were treated without drugs; 46.2% of drugs were prescribed by generic name. Use of antibiotics (72.8% of encounters) and irrational fixed dose combinations (45.6% of prescribed drugs) were frequent, but injection use (3.9% of prescriptions) was low. The average drug cost per encounter was Rs 74.19, of which antibiotics comprised 37.1%. The availability of first-line antitubercular drugs was adequate but other key drugs were in limited supply. Essential drugs lists and formularies were not followed. Only 45.7% of prescribed drugs conformed to the World Health Organization model list of essential drugs. Only 12 preparations accounted for 70.9% of the prescribed drugs, including therapeutically doubtful ones such as cough syrups, multivitamins and carminative syrups. For the dispensing survey, 301 prescriptions were analysed separately. All the prescribed drugs were supplied for only 11.6% of prescriptions. There were no serious errors in dispensing but 43.8% of dispensed products were inadequately labelled. Patients knew the correct mode of use for 64.5% of dispensed drugs. The average consultation and dispensing times were 3.7 and 3.1 minutes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Frequent use of antibiotics, irrational fixed dose combinations and preparations of uncertain efficacy, inadequate labelling of dispensed drugs and lack of access to standard tools for rational drug use such as locally adapted essential drugs list, formularies and standard treatment guidelines were some of the problematic prescribing and dispensing trends identified through this survey. Educational interventions are required to rectify these problems.

Adult↗