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Biomedical subjects

N Rudolph

Publications and source records attributed to N Rudolph.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Impaired niacin sensitivity in acute first-episode but not in multi-episode schizophrenia.

Niacin (vitamin B3) flushing--a marker of altered prostaglandin signaling--is indirectly linked to the phospholipid-prostaglandin metabolism. Diminished skin flushing was repeatedly found in schizophrenia, but has not been systematically investigated at different stages of disorder as yet. We compared niacin sensitivity of 32 first-episode and 32 multi-episode patients (mainly on stable medication) with age and gender matched healthy controls. Methylnicotinate was applied in three concentrations onto the inner forearm skin. Flush response was assessed in 3 min intervals over 15 min using optical reflection spectroscopy. Whereas first-episode patients showed significantly diminished flush response as compared to controls, comparable differences were not found between multi-episode patients and controls. Comparison of niacin sensitivity at different stages of schizophrenia support the notion of altered prostaglandin signaling primarily at the onset of disorder. Longitudinal studies have to rule out possible long-term effects of neuroleptic medication.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

Developmental patterns of antioxidant defense mechanisms in human erythrocytes.

To obtain a profile of erythrocyte antioxidant defense potential during late fetal development, we studied selected antioxidant parameters in blood samples from 65 neonates with birth wt between 520 and 4210 g and from 12 healthy adults. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity did not change significantly with maturation and no significant differences were observed among preterm infants grouped in increasing birth wt categories, term neonates, and adults. Erythrocyte catalase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as plasma vitamin E levels, showed highly significant positive correlations (p less than 0.001) with increasing fetal wt and gestational age; by term, CAT activity reached a level similar to the adult control group, but glutathione peroxidase activity, as well as plasma vitamin E levels, were markedly lower in all the preterm and in the term groups than in adults (p less than 0.01). Erythrocyte glutathione S-transferase activity showed a negative correlation with increasing gestational age (p less than 0.01) and the adult values were considerably lower than any of the neonatal levels (p less than 0.001). The role of glutathione S-transferase in erythrocyte metabolism remains obscure. Maturational changes in the activity of the red cell enzymes that were studied and in the plasma vitamin E level were apparent from about 31-36 wk of gestation, suggesting that the stimulation for these changes may have commenced from about 28-31 wk.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Vitamin E and selenium in preterm infants: lack of effect on clinical patency of ductus arteriosus.

Levels of antioxidant defenses, which include vitamin E and Se-dependent GSH-Px, are generally relatively low in the fetus and neonate. Se-dependent GSH-Px and vitamin E are known to modulate biosynthesis of eicosanoids and therefore could have the potential for affecting patency or closure of the ductus arteriosus after birth. We evaluated some indices of antioxidant defense in sick LBW infants in relationship to one another as well as to clinical PDA, and investigated the effects of producing a rapid rise in serum vitamin E levels in some of these infants. Twenty-nine sick preterm infants (B. W. 750-1750 g) were randomized into control and vitamin E supplemented groups; the latter received dl-alpha-tocopherol IM., commencing within 12 hours of birth, to a total dosage of 175 mg/kg over four weeks. Most E-supplemented infants attained serum tocopherol levels greater than 0.50 mg/dl (12 mumol/l) within 24 hours of the first dose. Vitamin E supplementation did not influence clinical patency or closure of the ductus arteriosus, and no correlation could be established between serum levels of alpha-tocopherol, Se, GSH-Px or NPS and PDA. At 4 weeks vitamin E-supplemented infants had serum levels of the other antioxidant indices that were not significantly different from the non-supplemented babies.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1986

Increased blood viscosity and tachypnoea in infants of diabetic mothers.

Tachypnoea was significantly more common in class B than in class A or C infants of diabetic mothers. Whole blood viscosity at a standardised packed cell volume and moderately low shear rate was significantly higher in infants of diabetic mothers with tachypnoea than in those without tachypnoea or healthy controls.

Blood Viscosity↗
PubMed1985

Postnatal decline in pyridoxal phosphate and riboflavin. Accentuation by phototherapy.

Riboflavin is a cofactor in the conversion of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) to pyridoxal phosphate (PALP), an essential coenzyme in numerous metabolic pathways, including neurotransmitter synthesis. Riboflavin and pyridoxine are light sensitive in vitro, and conflicting results have been reported on the in vivo effects of phototherapy on riboflavin. We studied 25 full-term neonates receiving phototherapy and 16 healthy controls to evaluate their riboflavin and PALP status. Both vitamin cofactors decreased in both sets of infants, but significantly more so in the irradiated group. While the biologic or clinical importance of a modest biochemical decline in the level of PALP has not been established, it is possible that transient behavioral changes in irradiated, jaundiced neonates could be mediated by decreased availability of PALP. The mechanism for the postnatal decline and the desirability of routine supplementation with pyridoxine, especially in irradiated infants, require further study.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗
PubMed1982

Postnatal persistence of capillary-venous differences in hematocrit and hemoglobin values in low-birth-weight and term infants.

Full-term and preterm infants were studied to determine whether differences between capillary and venous hematocrit and hemoglobin values were detectable after the first week of life. Significant differences were shown to persist in both term and preterm infants into at least the third postnatal months. However, the differences were considerably greater in low-birth-weight infants, with mean capillary values at ages 4 to 6 postnatal weeks approximately 11% to 12% higher than the corresponding venous values. The data indicated that capillary-venous differences were related not only to postnatal age, but also the postconceptual age.

Capillaries↗
PubMed1981

Hematologic and selenium status of low-birth-weight infants fed formulas with and without iron.

Preterm infants with birth weights between 1,001 and 1,600 gm were randomly assigned at one week of age to three groups and fed a standard milk-based formula, the same formula with iron, or a soy-based formula with iron. Hematologic values and selenium status were then studied prospectively for five weeks. Rates of decline in hematocrit and hemoglobin did not differ significantly among the three groups and did not correlate with red cell selenium values or glutathione peroxidase activity. Attainment of vitamin E sufficiency was variable among the infants, with no significant intergroup differences. Plasma selenium concentrations did not change significantly, but plasma glutathione peroxidase activity declined consistently in all three groups. Under the conditions of this study, iron at a concentration of 12 mg/L of infant formula did not accelerate hemolysis; nor was there evidence of a direct association between selenium values and early anemia of prematurity.

Glutathione Peroxidase↗
PubMed1978

Can newborn infants distinguish between tone and noise?

Full-term newborn infants were exposed to sounds produced alternatively either as tone at d = 293 Hz or as noise, each at a sound level of approximately 85 dB. In almost all cases, the infants were disturbed by noise but not by tone. The results suggest that the psychological distinction between tone and noise is inborn rather than conditioned.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1977

Congenital cutaneous candidiasis.

Three newborn infants are described in whom a generalized maculopapular rash was observed at birth or soon after. The eruption rapidly became vesicular, and in one infant it became bullous, and was followed in each case by extensive desquamation. Candida albicans was demonstrated on direct smear and on culture from the skin vesicles, and evidence of an intrauterine infection with this organism was detected on histologic examination of the placenta in at least two of the cases. Agglutinating antibodies to Candida were present in the sera of all three infants, though these may have reflected transplacental passage of maternal antibody.

Candidiasis, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1976

Miliary tuberculosis in two infants after nursery exposure: epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory findings.

Two infants born 4 days apart, and cared for in the same nursery, developed miliary tuberculosis at 2.5 and 5.5 months of age, respectively. A search for a source case among household contacts failed to reveal anyone with active tuberculosis. An epidemiologic study of nursery personnel revealed a nurse's aide with cavitary tuberculosis. Examination of 1,647 infants (98.9 per cent of all infants cared for in the nursery during the 10.5-month period preceding the discovery of the source case) failed to reveal any other infected children. Recommendations are made for tuberculosis control programs among nursery personnel that should be carefully and persistently followed.

Adult↗