Efficacy of renal vascular embolization versus surgical nephrectomy in the treatment of nonfunctioning renal allografts.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
R Gutierrez
Publications and source records attributed to R Gutierrez.
Determination of a protein structure by iodination: the structure of iodinated acetylxylan esterase.
Enzymatic and non-enzymatic iodination of the amino acid tyrosine is a well known phenomenon. The iodination technique has been widely used for labeling proteins. Using high-resolution X-ray crystallographic techniques, the chemical and three-dimensional structures of iodotyrosines formed by non-enzymatic incorporation of I atoms into tyrosine residues of a crystalline protein are described. Acetylxylan esterase (AXE II; 207 amino-acid residues) from Penicillium purpurogenum has substrate specificities towards acetate esters of D-xylopyranose residues in xylan and belongs to a new class of alpha/beta hydrolases. The crystals of the enzyme are highly ordered, tightly packed and diffract to better than sub-angström resolution at 85 K. The iodination technique has been utilized to prepare an isomorphous derivative of the AXE II crystal. The structure of the enzyme determined at 1.10 A resolution exclusively by normal and anomalous scattering from I atoms, along with the structure of the iodinated complex at 1.80 A resolution, demonstrate the formation of covalent bonds between I atoms and C atoms at ortho positions to the hydroxyl groups of two tyrosyl moieties, yielding iodotyrosines.
Acetylesterase↗
Early induction and augmentation of parasitic antigen-specific antibody-producing B lymphocytes in the non-Peyer's patch region of the small intestine.
In this study, B lymphocytes from the small intestine of immunized rats were examined for their expression of specific antibodies against Trichinella spiralis (TS) antigen. The isotypes of the antigen-specific antibodies on B cells were examined via immunofluorescence microscopy. Monoclonal mouse anti-rat IgE, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG2c, IgA and IgM primary antibodies in conjunction with FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse Ig secondary antibody and XRITC-conjugated 9D4 T. spiralis antigen were used to study the dynamics of the appearance of activated B lymphocytes in the small intestine, Peyer's patch, both the germinal center (PP-GC) and the non-germinal center (PP-NGC), the mesenteric lymph node (MLN), and the spleen. The results demonstrate that activated B cells are elicited by TS in the non-Peyer's patch region of the small intestine to express all isotypes of antibodies against TS antigen. IgG- and IgE-producing cells (Ab-PC) began proliferation only 1 and 2 days after infection, respectively. The strongest response was mounted by the IgE-PC in the lamina propria of the intestine. The response by IgA-PC generated was not only significantly delayed and also much weaker than that of the IgE- and IgG-PC. Peyer's patches failed to be a significant contributor in this immune response. Although this antigen-specific immune response was produced in the MLN and the spleen, it was weaker than that of the small intestine. The study indicates the potential ability of an immunized host to generate an early, yet effective, humoral immunity against T. spiralis in the non-Peyer's patch region of the small intestine."
Animals↗
Oculomotor movements and football's Law 11.
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Humans↗
Treatment of chronic ventilatory failure using a diaphragmatic pacemaker.
We present our series of patients with chronic ventilatory failure treated with electrophrenic respiration: 13 males and nine females with a mean age of 12 +/- 11.5 years. The etiology was, 13 tetraplegia, five sequelae of surgical treatment of intracranial lesions, and four central alveolar hypoventilation. The mean duration of the conditioning period were 3-4 months. Eighteen patients (81.8%) achieved permanent, diaphragmatically-paced breathing with bilateral stimulation and in four (18.2%) patients, pacing was only during sleep. Five patients died (22.7%): two during the hospital stay and three at home; two deaths had unknown cause and three were due respectively to, lack of at-home care, recurrence of an epidermoid tumor, and sequelae of accidental disconnection of the mechanical ventilation before beginning the conditioning period. Two cases were considered failures: One patient had transitory neurapraxia lasting 80 days, and the other had an ischemic spinal cord syndrome with progressive deterioration of the left-side response to stimulation. One patient had right phrenic nerve entrapment by scar tissue and four suffered infections. The follow-up periods since pacemaker implantation are currently: 1, 11 years; 4, 10 years, and 17, less than 5 years. The results of our experience demonstrate that complete stable ventilation can be achieved using diaphragmatic pacing and that it improves the prognosis and life quality of patients with severe chronic respiratory failure.
Adolescent↗
Possible adverse skin reaction to carvedilol.
As experience with beta-blocker use in patients with congestive heart failure is increasing, enthusiasm for carvedilol use in these patients is also increasing. Dermatological reactions to carvedilol are rare and have not been well described in the literature. A patient who developed an acute dermatological reaction after one dose of 3.125 mg carvedilol is presented. Given the rapid onset of symptoms experienced by the patient after a single, small dose of carvedilol, clinicians should be aware of the potential adverse effects of the drug.
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
Results at 43 months' follow-up of a double-blind, randomized, prospective clinical trial using intravesical interferon alpha-2b in the prophylaxis of stage pT1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the intravesical efficacy of 60 million units of interferon (IFN) alpha-2b in preventing recurrences of Stage pT1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, as well as to assess its local and systemic toxicity. METHODS: A total of 90 patients were included in a double-blind, randomized, prospective clinical trial and divided into two groups of 45 patients. After complete transurethral resection, 60 million units IFN alpha-2b was instilled in one group; in the other, double-distilled water was used. The therapeutic regimen consisted of weekly instillation for 12 weeks, followed by once-monthly instillation until patients had completed 1 year of treatment. RESULTS: Only 78 patients were evaluable. After 12 months of follow-up, the relapse rate was 28.2% (11 of 39) for the IFN group and 35.8% (14 of 39) for the control group (P = NS). After 43 months (range 9 to 67), relapse rates were 53.8% (21 of 39) and 51.2% (20 of 39), respectively (P = NS). Progression, mortality, and local or systemic toxicity were similar in both groups. Flu-like syndrome was not reported. CONCLUSIONS: At the dose used in this study, IFN alpha-2b proved ineffective in the prophylaxis of Stage pT1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder compared with a control group. Toxicity was virtually absent.
Administration, Intravesical↗
Monoclonal antibody detection of Pseudomonas spp. in refrigerated meat by an indirect ELISA.
Monoclonal antibodies generated against live cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens have been used in an indirect ELISA format for the detection of Pseudomonas spp. in refrigerated meat. The detection threshold for the ELISA assay developed in this work was 10(4) cfu cm-2.
Antibodies, Bacterial↗
Can a bezoar cause acute pancreatitis?
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Acute Disease↗
Perineurial cell tumor (perineurioma) with granular cells.
A form of benign cutaneous tumor with perineurioma findings and with the presence of associated granular cells is described. The two cases studied consisted of whorls made up of a high number of circumferentially arranged flattened cells, with perineurial characteristics, including bipolar cell processes, pinocytotic vesicles, a basal lamina, a positive immunoreactivity for EMA, and absence of immunostaining for S-100 protein. The granular cells, enclosed within the whorls, contained densely packed vesicles, particles with an apparently solid core, as well as membrane-limited vacuoles with disintegrating cellular organelles and electron-dense amorphous material. While failing to demonstrate any immunoreactivity for EMA, the granular cells showed positivity for S-100 protein, which supports their Schwann-cell origin. Due to its morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics, this peculiar form of tumor can be considered as a perineurioma with perineurial cell whorls and granular cell changes occurring in associated Schwann cells at the center of the whorls.
Adult↗
[Value of detachable silicone balloon in the closure of coronary artery fistula. Apropos of 3 cases].
Surgical treatment of coronary artery fistulae is being progressively suppleated by interventional cardiology. Each method has its advantages and drawbacks. The authors report their experience with a silicone balloon inflated with contrast (ITC) and released into the fistula. Between May and September 1996, percutaneous embolisation of coronary artery fistulae was attempted by this technique in 3 children aged 8 months, 6 and 7 years. One had a right coronary artery to right ventricle fistula, the second had a right coronary artery to right atrium fistula and the third a left coronary artery to right ventricle fistula. The infant with a left-to-right shunt required digitalo-diuretic therapy and the 7 year old child had undergone surgical ligature with immediate repermeabilisation of the fistula 2 years previously. Catheterization was performed under general anaesthesia in 1 case and local anaesthesia in 2 cases. In all patients, complete occlusion was obtained when the balloon was inflated. However, in the infant, electrocardiogram signs of ischaemia were observed due to the distal origin of coronary vessels. The outcomes were uncomplicated. One child developed partial ischaemia of the lower limb which regressed with regressed with fibrinolysis and heparin therapy. The authors conclude that this is a reliable and safe technique for occluding large coronary artery fistulae. The results on the myocardium of occlusion can be assessed before final release of the balloon. For this reason, it may be proposed as the method of first intention before cardiac surgery.
Catheterization↗
Spread of low Mg2+ induced epileptiform activity from the rat entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus after kindling studied in vitro.
Extracellular recordings were performed in in vitro combined hippocampal-entorhinal cortex (HC-EC) slices obtained from control and amygdala kindled rats to investigate the spread of epileptiform activity from the entorhinal cortex (EC) to the hippocampus (HC). Epileptiform activity was induced by lowering extracellular Mg2+ concentration. In control slices epileptiform activity was in most slices characterized by intericatal discharges and short recurrent discharges in areas CA1 and CA3 and by early seizure like events and late recurrent discharges in the EC and the subiculum. In spite of well preserved anatomical pathways in the combined HC-EC slice in which most of the fibre connectivity between the EC and the dentate gyrus (DG) is intact, seizure like events and late recurrent discharges generated in the EC had only moderate effects on the epileptiform activity in areas CA3 and CA1. In contrast in HC-EC slices obtained from kindled rats epileptiform activity generated in the EC spread to the DG and the areas CA3 and CA1. Kindling facilitates the propagation of seizure like events and late recurrent discharges through the HC-EC slice and appears to alter the filtering function of the DG.
Amygdala↗
Induction of neovascularization in vivo by glycerol.
Glycerol, injected into a site between the femoral vessels of the rat, induced neovascularization, both from the preexisting microcirculation and from the side of the femoral vein facing the artery-vein interstitium where the glycerol was administered. The use of glycerol together with a known angiogenic substance (PGE2) did not modify the neocapillary density (NCD) obtained with glycerol alone. In contrast, the lower level of NCD achieved with an acylglycerol (triacetylglycerol) was increased when the latter was associated with PGE2. Values reached were similar to, but never higher than, those for glycerol alone, or combined with PGE2. The results suggest that glycerol and some substances containing glycerol, amongst which 1-butyrylglycerol has been previously considered, may stimulate angiogenesis by a direct or indirect mechanism of action.
Animals↗
Characterization of crystals of Penicillium purpurogenum acetyl xylan esterase from high-resolution x-ray diffraction.
Acetyl xylan esterase from Penicillium purpurogenum, a single-chain 23 kDa member of a newly characterized family of esterases that cleaves side chain ester linkages in xylan, has been crystallized. The crystals diffract to better than 1 A resolution at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and are highly stable in the synchrotron radiation. The space group is P2(1)2(1)2(1) and cell dimensions are a = 34.9 A, b = 61.0 A, C = 72.5 A.
Acetylesterase↗
Comparative study of three methods of evaluation of the corneal endothelium in pseudophakic patients: fluorophotometry, specular microscopy and pachymetry.
BACKGROUND: At present, three techniques, based on different methodological suppositions, are used indiscriminately for the study of the corneal endothelium. These are pachymetry, specular microscopy and fluorophotometry. The purpose of this work was to study the corneal endothelium of pseudophakic patients with the three techniques mentioned. On the basis of the results obtained, we discuss the relations between them and their practical clinical utility. METHODS: One hundred and fourteen eyes of pseudophakic patients were studied using the three corneal endothelial evaluation techniques, both in the immediate pre-operative period and 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: Statistically significant relations exist between the number of endothelial cells and the fluorophotometric endothelial permeability coefficient (Kc.ca) 12 months after surgery, between the increase in corneal thickness in the first week after the operation and the Kc.ca 12 months after surgery, and between fluctuations of the corneal thickness greater than 30 microns and both the endothelial cell count and the Kc.ca 12 months after surgery. There are no significant relationships among the pre-operative values obtained with the three methods. CONCLUSION: The results show how the parameters measured with the functional techniques (fluorophotometry, pachymetry) generally become normal after the surgical trauma, while the endothelial cell count remains irreversibly altered. The results obtained with different techniques are more closely related in more pathological endothelia, while no relation among them are shown in the study of normal endothelia. It is also shown how pachymetry is a good clinical predictor, in the immediate post-operative period, of the long-term status of the corneal endothelium.
Cataract↗
[Unilateral spontaneous adrenal hematoma: an unusual cause of retroperitoneal hemorrhage].
Presentation of one case of spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage in a 72 year-old male, his first symptom being a left retrothoracic pain of sudden onset. The supplementary studies performed (ultrasound, CAT and MNR) pointed to the adrenal gland as the origin of the haemorrhage. Faced eith the uncertainty of the etiological diagnosis, a left supra-renalectomy was conducted which confirmed the pathological anatomy of the piece and the presence of massive haematoma of the suprarenal gland with no other pathological data. The clinical, diagnostic and therapeutical aspects are discussed.
Adrenal Gland Diseases↗
Norethisterone metabolites modulate the uteroglobin and progesterone receptor gene expression in prepubertal rabbits.
Norethisterone (NET) is a synthetic progestin, used as a contraceptive agent, that is biotransformed at target tissues into 5 alpha-NET and 3 beta,5 alpha-NET, which possess different pharmacological properties. The effects of these metabolites on the expression of uteroglobin (UG) and progesterone receptor (PR) genes, both regulated by progesterone (P4), were evaluated in the uterus of prepubertal female rabbits that were simultaneously treated with P4 (1.0 mg) for 5 consecutive days. As determined by Western and Northern blot analyses, 5 alpha-NET inhibited the P4-induced UG gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. A similar inhibition was observed with the administration of RU-486. The estrogenic agent 3 beta,5 alpha-NET and estradiol at a dose of 1.0 mg also inhibited the UG gene expression induced by P4. Both 5 alpha-NET and 3 beta,5 alpha-NET blocked the PR down-regulation induced by P4 as assessed by Western and Northern blot methods. The inhibition of UG synthesis and PR down-regulation by 5 alpha-NET and 3 beta,5 alpha-NET indicates that these NET metabolites possess antiprogestational properties.
Animals↗
Melatonin stimulates the activity of the detoxifying enzyme glutathione peroxidase in several tissues of chicks.
The pineal hormone melatonin has been shown to directly scavenge free radicals and to stimulate, in the mammalian brain, at least one enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, which reduces free radical generation. In the present studies, we examined the effect of melatonin on glutathione peroxidase activity in several tissues of an avian species. Melatonin (500 micrograms/kg), when injected into chicks, increased glutathione peroxidase activity within 90 min in every tissue examined. Tissue melatonin levels, measured by radioimmunoassay, also increased following its peripheral administration. Depending on the tissue, the measured increases in melatonin varied from 75% to 1,300% over the control values. The melatonin-induced increases in glutathione peroxidase activity varied with the tissue and were between 22% and 134%. These percentage increases in glutathione peroxidase activity were directly correlated with tissue melatonin content. These results suggest that melatonin induces the activity of the detoxifying enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, in several tissues in the chick. The findings also suggest that melatonin would reduce the generation of highly toxic hydroxyl radicals by metabolizing its precursor, hydrogen peroxide. Because of this ability to stimulate glutathione peroxidase activity, melatonin should be considered as a component of the antioxidative defense system in this avian species.
Animals↗