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Biomedical subjects

R Kumar

Publications and source records attributed to R Kumar.

At least 1,297 records · Page 72Linked to original sources

Impaired vitamin D metabolism with aging in women. Possible role in pathogenesis of senile osteoporosis.

Calcium absorption decreases with aging, particularly after age 70 yr. We investigated the possibility that this was due to abnormal vitamin D metabolism by studying 10 normal premenopausal women (group A), 8 normal postmenopausal women within 20 yr of menopause (group B), 10 normal elderly women (group C), and 8 elderly women with hip fracture (group D) whose ages (mean +/- SD) were 37 +/- 4, 61 +/- 6, 78 +/- 4, and 78 +/- 4 yr, respectively. For all subjects, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] did not decrease with age, but serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], the physiologically active vitamin D metabolite, was lower (P = 0.01) in the elderly (groups C and D; 20 +/- 3 pg/ml) than in the nonelderly (groups A and B; 35 +/- 4 pg/ml). The increase of serum 1,25(OH)D after a 24-h infusion of bovine parathyroid hormone fragment 1-34, a tropic agent for the enzyme 25(OH)D 1 alpha-hydroxylase, correlated inversely with age (r = -0.58; P less than 0.001) and directly with glomerular filtration rate (r = 0.64; P less than 0.001). The response was more blunted (P = 0.01) in elderly patients with hip fracture (13 +/- 3 pg/ml) than in elderly controls (25 +/- 3 pg/ml). We conclude that an impaired ability of the aging kidney to synthesize 1,25(OH)2D could contribute to the pathogenesis of senile osteoporosis.

Aged↗

A prospective study of emotional disorders in childbearing women.

A group of first-time mothers (119) were interviewed repeatedly at fixed intervals during their pregnancies and until their babies were a year old; they were then followed up at four years. A similar investigation was carried out on 38 other primiparae and 39 multiparae, but only postnatally. The incidence of depressive neurosis rose significantly in early pregnancy and in the first three months after delivery (10 per cent and 14 per cent of the main sample respectively). Subjects mainly suffered either from antenatal or postnatal depression, not both. Marital conflict and severe doubts about having the baby were associated with depression at either time. Bereavement and preterm birth were the only life events to relate with the onset of depression and bereavement had a greater impact during pregnancy. Depressed mothers were more likely to express negative or mixed feelings about their three-month-old babies. Many who had become depressed for the first time in their lives continued to experience psychological problems for up to four years after childbirth.

Adult↗

Vitamin D metabolism in familial benign hypercalcemia (hypocalciuric hypercalcemia) differs from that in primary hyperparathyroidism.

We compared serum concentrations of immunoreactive PTH and plasma levels of vitamin D metabolites in 11 patients with adenomatous primary hyperparathyroidism and 32 individuals with the syndrome of familial benign hypercalcemia or familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH). Serum immunoreactive PTH was elevated in the hyperparathyroid group but indistinguishable from control in FHH, despite comparable degrees of hypercalcemia. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were normal in both groups, but plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels in FHH were significantly lower than control (P less than 0.0025) or hyperparathyroid (P less than 0.01) values. FHH is pathogenetically distinct from primary hyperparathyroidism and should not be thought of simply as a variant of that condition.

Adult↗

Noonan syndrome.

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Child, Preschool↗

A facile route to semi-synthesis of acetyl glycerylether phosphoethanolamine and its choline analogue.

A facile route to the semi-synthesis of acetyl glycerylether phosphoethanolamine and, subsequently, its choline analogue (platelet-activating factor) has been developed. In essence, this technique takes advantage of the fact that the phosphatidylethanolamine fraction of bovine erythrocytes contains 75-80% of a 1-O-alkyl-2 fatty acyl derivative. Isolation of the latter by silicic acid chromatography followed by base-catalyzed methanolysis allowed good recovery (60-70%) of the 1-O-alkyl-(lyso)-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphoethanolamine, which contained a mixture of long chain alkyl ethers. This compound was treated with acetic anhydride in the presence of trace amounts of perchloric acid for 45 sec to give, in excellent yield, 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphoethanolamine (AGEPE). This procedure gave a 70% yield of purified AGEPE, based on the starting component, 1-O-alkyl-(lyso)-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphoethanolamine. Separation of AGEPE into fractions individually enriched in the 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1 alkylether substituents was accomplished by silica gel G combined with silver nitrate-impregnated silica gel H thin-layer chromatography. The AGEPE or its individual molecular species can be converted in high yields to the corresponding 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphocholine (AGEPC) analogues by reaction with methyl iodide in the presence of a crown ether. Characterization of the derivatives was achieved through thin-layer chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, gas-liquid chromatography, and combined gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The ability of these analogues to induce irreversible aggregation and secretion of serotonin from washed rabbit platelets was evaluated.

Acetylation↗