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Biomedical subjects

R Katz

Publications and source records attributed to R Katz.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Interleukin-1 and interleukin-2 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Contradictory results have been reported concerning the secretion of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) by mononuclear cells of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In the present study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 18 RA patients were stimulated in vitro to produce IL-1 and IL-2 and compared with monocytes of age-matched healthy control subjects. Endotoxin-stimulated monocytes of RA patients produced normal amounts of IL-1 compared with healthy controls (P = 0.5), whereas T-lymphocytes from the same patients produced decreased amounts of IL-2 compared with control T-lymphocytes (P less than 0.01). There was no difference in IL-1 or IL-2 production by mononuclear cells from patients with active or inactive disease. These findings could not be explained by concurrent therapy, and support the notion that defective immunoregulatory T-cell functions are involved in the pathogenesis of RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Immunological investigations in 2 families with progressive diaphyseal dysplasia.

Immunological studies were done in members of 2 families with progressive diaphyseal dysplasia. In one family 10 patients and 5 healthy consanguineous relatives were studied, and in the second family one patient and 4 healthy consanguineous relatives were investigated. Evaluation included serum immunoglobulin and complement levels, peripheral blood mononuclear cell subpopulations and lymphocyte stimulation by mitogens. Immunoglobulin and complement levels were normal. All patients had markedly elevated proportions of OKM1 positive mononuclear cells and some of the healthy consanguineous relatives also exhibited the same abnormality. Proliferative responses of lymphocytes to phytomitogens were generally normal. This abnormality of mononuclear cell subset seems to serve as a marker of the disease and may reflect immune mechanisms involved in this disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

[Results of palliative chemotherapy in advanced small cell bronchial carcinoma].

Results of chemotherapy for small cell bronchial carcinoma were analysed retrospectively on 36 of 40 consecutive patients with the disease, admitted to an oncology unit between January 1985 and December 1987. The survival curves indicated a highly significant trend (log-rank p = 0.001). Patients with extensive disease and Karnofsky index of 40-50% had a median survival of four months, but for those with Karnofsky index greater than 50% it was 15 months. There was virtually no age difference between the two groups, but there were significant differences regarding additional diseases (e.g. coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, etc.) frequency of liver and CNS metastases, rates of complete or partial remission, number of early deaths, haematological toxicity, and severe weight loss (greater than 5 kg). These results suggest that aggressive chemotherapy (primary designed for patients with limited disease) failed to improve the grave prognosis of patients with distant metastases and a low Karnofsky index (less than 50%). Supportive care should be intensified for these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Frequent nonrandom chromosome abnormalities in 27 patients with untreated large cell lymphoma and immunoblastic lymphoma.

Fresh tumor samples from 27 patients with large cell lymphoma, either previously untreated (26 patients) or minimally treated (one patient), were processed for cytogenetic studies. Cytogenetic abnormalities were observed in all patients, most commonly in chromosomes 1, 3, 7, 12, 14, 17, and 18. Nine chromosomal breakpoints appeared frequently: 14q32 in 14 instances; 18q21 in seven; 9p13-21, 17p11-13, and 3q21-23 in six each; 1p11-21 in five instances; 1p36 in four; and 2p21-23 in three. The most common structural abnormalities were t(14;18)(q32;q21) in seven patients (26%) and 17p- in six (22%). The presence of 17p- was associated with a significantly higher proliferative capacity as manifested by the percentage of S phase = 22% versus 11% for cases without 17p-(P less than 0.05). Trisomy 12, typical of small lymphocytic lymphoma, was seen in five patients in this series, all of whom had diffuse large cell lymphoma; frequently, it appeared simultaneously with t(14;18). The two patients with immunoblastic lymphoma of B-cell type had an abnormality involving chromosome 2p21-23. Deletions in the long arm of chromosome 6, previously described as typical of diffuse large cell lymphoma and B-cell immunoblastic lymphoma were observed infrequently in this series. However, this abnormality has been present in 50% of patients with large cell lymphoma previously exposed to therapy, suggesting that it may be related to effects of chemotherapy or to clonal evolution.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed1988

Viral oncolysates in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Viral oncolysates (VO) derived from two cultured ovarian carcinoma cell lines infected with influenza A/PR8/34 were administered intraperitoneally (IP) to 40 patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma, including 31 with late-onset ascites and 5 with pleural effusions. PR8 virus-specific antigens and ovarian tumor-associated antigens have been demonstrated on two oncolysates designated OVO1 and OVO2. Thirty-five patients received 9 mg of a 1:1 mixture of OVO1 and OVO2, 5 patients received one or the other. During the first month three IP schedules were evaluated, i.e., single, biweekly, and weekly, which were followed by monthly injections. Intrapleural (IP1) injections of a 3.0-mg 1:1 mixture of OV1 and OV2 were administered to 3 patients concurrently with initial IP injections and to 2 patients following later development of pleural effusions. In 7 patients ascites disappeared; in 5 of these the number of cytologically detected malignant cells was markedly reduced, in 1 pleural effusion disappeared, and in 3 tumor masses were reduced. Tumor masses shrank also in 2 patients without ascites. Tumor reduction conformed to standard response criteria in 2 of the 5 patients. Response duration in the 9 responding patients lasted from 3 to 19 months and survival durations 4 to 42 months. Disease symptoms in 7 patients improved noticeably. Two of the 9 responders later developed unilateral pleural effusions that responded for 7 and 15+ months to a single IP1 injection. Seventeen patients experienced one or more treatment side effects including fever, nausea or anorexia, malaise, abdominal pain, and arthralgia, but in only 2 patients, both on the weekly schedule, was toxicity severe enough to require treatment withdrawal. Humoral responses to viral and tumor cell-surface antigens were frequently observed in patients demonstrating clinical activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Changes in presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres in man while standing.

Presynaptic inhibition of homonymous Ia afferent terminals to soleus, quadriceps and tibialis anterior motoneurons and of heteronymous Ia fibres from quadriceps to soleus was compared in the same subjects when standing without support and during a control situation (sitting or standing with back support). Changes in presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres were indirectly deduced from alterations in the amount of monosynaptic Ia facilitation elicited in motoneurons by a constant conditioning stimulation. Facilitation was measured during the first 0.5 ms when the monosynaptic Ia excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) was not yet contaminated by polysynaptic effects evoked by the conditioning stimulation. Two indirect methods were used to provide an estimate of the size of the conditioning Ia EPSP: (1) the resulting H reflex facilitation; and (2) the peak of increased firing probability elicited in voluntarily activated motoneurons by stimulation of homonymous and heteronymous Ia fibres (poststimulus time histogram PSTH method). Only those PSTH experiments in which the 'spontaneous' firing rate of the motor unit was identical in the different positions, thus ensuring an identical net synaptic drive to the motoneuron, were considered. Under these conditions it is assumed that changes in the size of the peak of facilitation elicited by the monosynaptic Ia volley are likely to be caused by changes in presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres. It is argued that the substantial changes in monosynaptic Ia excitation observed when standing without support probably reflect changes in presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres. Under this interpretation, presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres to soleus motoneurons is increased while standing without support, whereas presynaptic inhibition of homonymous Ia fibres to quadriceps motoneurons is decreased. There is no evidence for a change in presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibres to tibialis anterior motoneurons. The resulting alterations in the gain of the monosynaptic reflex of these muscles are discussed in relation to the possible role of the monosynaptic stretch reflex in human gait.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Distribution of recurrent inhibition within a motor nucleus. II. Amount of recurrent inhibition in motoneurones to fast and slow units.

The maximal recurrent inhibition was studied by intracellular recording from 43 triceps surae motoneurones (tentatively type-identified by the biophysical properties of the neurones) and from 67 medial gastrocnemius motoneurones (type-identified by the muscle unit properties; fast fatiguing, FF; fatigue resistant, FR and slow, S). Maximal homonymous recurrent IPSP (RIPSP) and input resistance (RN) were measured at 'resting' membrane potential and close to firing threshold. The 'synaptic current' at the peak of the RIPSP was estimated (RIPSP/RN). At 'resting' membrane potential the RIPSPs increased in the order FF less than FR less than S (0.9, 1.4, and 2.5 mV, respectively). This order was preserved when the 'current' (RIPSP/RN) rather than voltage was considered, although the overall range was much reduced. When investigated close to firing threshold there were no significant differences in synaptic 'current'. This apparent paradox may be explained by systematic differences in firing threshold between motor unit types; it increased in the order S less than FR less than FF (4.6, 8.9 and 13.5 mV, respectively).

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The Camberwell Collaborative Depression Study. I. Depressed probands: adversity and the form of depression.

The Camberwell Collaborative Depression Study is an investigation of a series of 130 patients (76 female; 54 male) attending the Maudsley Hospital Services with unipolar depression of recent onset (the probands), and of their first-degree relatives. This paper describes the first element of the study, the investigation of the index cases or probands, which was carried out by members of the MRC Social Psychiatry Unit over the period 1982-1985. A description of the methods of the study is followed by an analysis of life events in relation to the symptomatic pattern of the depressive state. An 'endogenous' group was defined as cases of depression falling within Catego classes D and R, and compared with a 'neurotic' group conforming to classes N and A. The hypothesis that the 'endogenous' group of disorders would be relatively independent of prior life stress was not confirmed. Depressed women were more likely to have experienced life events or difficulties than their male counterparts, and there was some evidence that sex, but not age or social class, influenced the relationship between adversity and the type of depression. Examination of the timing of life events was strongly suggestive of a causal effect, with a pronounced rise in the month before onset. This was not limited to the most severe events. Differences between the 'endogenous' and 'neurotic' groups in the temporal patterning of events before onset are discussed. The findings are interpreted in terms of the literature on the topic.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The Camberwell Collaborative Depression Study. II. Investigation of family members.

Out of a consecutive series of 130 potential probands with recent onsets of depression, 124 were deemed 'in scope' for a family interview study of social and genetic influences on depression. We were able to interview first-degree relatives of 83 probands (67% of those families 'in scope'). Unexpectedly, interviewed first-degree relatives had, on average, a significantly lower occupational status than the depressed probands. However, the rates of depression among the first-degree relatives were high. Based on a PSE-Catego classification, 17.2% of 244 relatives were current 'cases' of depression at the time of interview. This was significantly greater than the estimated population prevalence. Using a Past History Schedule in combination with the PSE, the lifetime prevalence of depressive illness, expressed as the proportion who had ever fulfilled PSE-Catego case criteria, was 38.9%. High rates of psychiatric treatment were also found in family members. The lifetime prevalence of any form of hospital treatment for depression in 315 first-degree relatives was 15.5%. This gives an age-corrected morbidity risk to age 65 years of 24.6%, as compared with a population estimate of 8.9%. In common with previous studies, significantly higher rates of depression were found among female than among male first-degree relatives for broader categories of disorder, but there was a small and nonsignificant excess of men among those relatives who had received in-patient treatment for depression. This apparent lessening of sex differences with more severe categories was not supported by an examination of 'lifetime ever' depressive symptoms, where severity was expressed as highest ever PSE-Catego-ID level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The Camberwell Collaborative Depression Study. III. Depression and adversity in the relatives of depressed probands.

The relationship between life events and depressive disorder was assessed in 83 families ascertained through depressed probands. Contrary to expectation and to previous suggestions, we found no inverse relationship between the presence of familial loading and reactivity to stress. Thus the relatives of probands whose onset of depression followed life events or chronic difficulties had slightly higher lifetime rates of depression than the relatives of probands whose onset was not associated with adversity. There was only a weak and non-significant relationship between recent life events and current disorder among relatives, and no apparent tendency for life-event-associated depression to 'breed true' within families. Comparison with a community sample showed that the first-degree relatives of depressives had significantly elevated rates both of current depression and of recent threatening life events. This finding still held when proband-associated life events were discounted, suggesting that both liability to depression and propensity to experience life events are familial.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Fracture of the clavicle in the newborn. An ultrasound diagnosis.

Forty-one cases of clavicle fracture in newborn babies were examined by both radiographic and ultrasonic methods. No substantial difference has been found between these two modalities. It is suggested that ultrasound should be the procedure of choice in the diagnosis of clavicle fracture. This is especially true in those cases where impaired movement of the arm is the only clinical sign.

Birth Injuries↗
PubMed1988

Immunological studies of pancytopenia in visceral leishmaniasis.

We report three cases of combined anemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar). Using immunofluorescence techniques and the common antiglobulin (Coombs') test, we showed membrane-associated antiplatelet, antineutrophil and antierythrocytic IgG antibodies in all three cases. Treatment with sodium stibogluconate raised the patients' platelet, neutrophil and erythrocyte count. At that time no antibodies were detected on peripheral blood cells. Immunological studies performed on these patients did not show marked abnormalities except for reduced T-helper cells and elevated OKM1-positive cells, which normalized after recovery. As bone marrow suppression was not found, it is suggested that pancytopenia resulted from rapid destruction of antibody-coated blood cells. Whether these antibodies are specific is not clear.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is an important cause of chronic respiratory disease in infants and children. Infants with BPD are frequently readmitted to the hospital during the first 2 years of life usually because of infectious exacerbations of their chronic lung disease. This article is a review of the multisystem pathology of BPD and therapeutic approaches to the management of these infants in the PICU.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia↗
PubMed1988

Hypersensitivity vasculitis induced by terbutaline sulfate.

Hypersensitivity vasculitis developed in a patient six days after therapy with terbutaline sulfate was initiated. The casual association between the drug and hypersensitivity vasculitis is based on the temporal relationship, a positive lymphocyte transformation test with terbutaline sulfate, and exclusion of other causes. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of a leukocytoclastic vasculitic reaction to terbutaline sulfate.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Food chloride distribution in nature and its relation to sodium content.

Because of growing interest in the biological and clinical effects of dietary chloride as the anion accompanying the dietary cation sodium and because the standard food composition tables used in the United States to estimate sodium content do not contain data on chloride content, we analyzed the nutrient data base of the English workers Paul and Southgate, which contains an extensive listing of both chloride and sodium contents in foods. To examine food chloride distribution in nature, we focused on the uncooked, unadulterated, discrete, primitive foods in the data base (no. = 216 food items). The findings indicate the existence of both a large variability of chloride content among foods and a high degree of coupling of chloride with sodium. The contents of chloride and sodium varied over a similarly large range (coefficients of variation, 229% vs. 263%), differed very little from each other on the average (less than 20%), and correlated (r = 0.84, p less than 0.001) to the extent that greater than two-thirds of the overall variation of chloride content was linked to that of sodium content. Those findings accord with the often posited but untested assertion that the chloride content of foods approximates and parallels that of sodium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chlorides↗
PubMed1988

Cytogenetic features of Hodgkin's disease suggest possible origin from a lymphocyte.

Surface marker and gene rearrangement data have supported various hypotheses about the origin of the malignant cell in Hodgkin's disease. Cytogenetic data about this disorder, however, are very scanty. To determine if any chromosomal abnormalities that could add further information to this controversial point are present, we studied tumor samples from 49 patients. Abnormal metaphases were obtained in 18 cases. The most common breakpoints were in 11q23, 14q32, 6q11-21, and 8q22-24. These are common breakpoints in lymphoma and raise the possibility that the malignant cell in Hodgkin's disease may be derived from a lymphocyte. The 11q23 breakpoint is also seen in t(4;11) and t(9;11), which is typical of a type of childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia characterized by the presence of aberrant myeloid and monocytic markers. Myeloid and monocytic markers are common in Reed-Sternberg cells.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed1987

Solitary tumors of meibomian gland origin and Torre's syndrome.

We examined ten patients with solitary sebaceous gland tumors of the eyelid for Torre's syndrome (sebaceous gland tumors and visceral malignancy). In all of the benign and hyperplastic sebaceous lesions, an associated visceral malignancy was noted (predominantly colonic). Only one patient with a sebaceous carcinoma had an associated visceral malignancy. Our data suggest that the presence of a solitary sebaceous gland lesion of the eyelid excluding sebaceous carcinoma is clinically significant and should warrant a thorough history and physical examination to exclude a visceral malignancy, primarily of the gastrointestinal tract. The solitary sebaceous lesions excluding sebaceous carcinoma may represent part of the histologic spectrum associated with Torre's syndrome.

Adenocarcinoma↗