Biomedical subjects

R Lerner

Publications and source records attributed to R Lerner.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Discrimination between antibodies to HIV and to related retroviruses using site-directed serology.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) strains can be separated into two types: HIV and HIV-related West African viruses. Site-directed serology using synthetic peptides offers possibilities for the determination of type-specific antibodies. A 22-amino-acid peptide with the sequence Ala-Ile-Glu-Lys-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Asp-Gln-Ala-Gln-Leu-Asn-Ala-Trp-Cys-Ala-Phe-Arg-Gln - Val-Cys representing a conserved region of the transmembranous protein of simian T-cell lymphotropic virus-type III (STLV-III; related to West African HIV) was used as antigen in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In parallel, tests were performed with a pair of previously described peptides, including the homologous region of the glycoprotein (gp) 41 of the HIV strain HTLV-IIIB. In tests with three groups of 20 sera it was shown that the different peptide ELISAs allowed a categorical distinction of antibodies to the two types of HIV. Tests using peptide antigens may provide excellent opportunities for large-scale testing for type-specific antibodies against HIV. The tests are simple, sensitive and specific and are readily standardized.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Spinal aspergillus abscess in a patient with bronchocentric granulomatosis.

Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae is often found in the lung tissue of patients with bronchocentric granulomatosis (BCG). This organism is believed to be one agent responsible for inciting the hypersensitivity response and subsequent development of the characteristic pathology that defines BCG. The definitive etiology of this disease, however, remains conjectural. Corticosteroids represent the mainstay of therapy. The fungi recovered from patients with BCG are considered noninvasive; thus, the risk of fungal invasion secondary to steroid-induced immunosuppression is believed to be negligible. However, we report a case of spinal aspergillus abscess that developed in a patient with BCG subsequent to steroid therapy. This case also highlights the necessity for aggressive medical and neurosurgical intervention to avert the development of neurological sequelae.

Abscess↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chronic venous insufficiency disease. Its etiology. A new technique for vein valve transplantation.

This is a two-year study of 25 patients with venous insufficiency who were found to be in the terminal stage, referred to in this paper as chronic venous insufficiency disease (CVID). Apart from the usual signs and symptoms of venous insufficiency, the patients were found to have severe pain on weight bearing, inability to ambulate, and nonhealing lower extremity ulcers as common features that did not respond to conservative management. The most common underlying etiology was valvular incompetency. In the surgical management of these patients, at present, all the procedures described in the literature are primarily performed in the femoral veins of the groin or above the knee. A new technique is described in this paper that enables one to transplant vein valve segments to distal popliteal vein below the knee. There was a six- to twenty-four-month follow-up. Patients were periodically followed up with venography, venous pressure measurements, and venous reflux studies.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparative characteristics of the peptide maps of the major proteins of influenza viruses type A].

A comparative study of peptide maps of major proteins of hemagglutinin, nucleoprotein, membrane of influenza A virus strains A/WS/33, A/FM/1/47, A/Singapore/1/57, A/USSR/090/77, A/Port Chalmers/1/73 (MRC-11), was carried out. The greatest differences were observed in the peptide maps of heavy and light chains of hemagglutinin of different serotypes. The peptide maps of nucleoprotein and membrane were more similar. The A/USSR/090/77 strain by peptide maps was close to but not identical with the A/FM/1/47 strain. Structural polypeptides of the virion separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis may be used satisfactorily for comparative studies of influenza virus peptide maps.

Animals↗