Biomedical subjects

R T Liu

Publications and source records attributed to R T Liu.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1990

Insulin autoimmune syndrome as a cause of hypoglycemia--report of four cases.

Insulin autoimmune syndrome is a syndrome consisting of fasting hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and detectable insulin-binding antibodies in patients who have never been exposed to exogenous insulin. Four cases who developed symptoms of hypoglycemic attack with self-limited duration and spontaneous remission were collected in our hospital from 1984 to 1988. The elevated serum total and free insulin and C-peptide levels, as well as the titer of insulin autoantibodies, decreased gradually; but insulin autoantibodies were still present in the serum for more than six months after the initial episodes of hypoglycemia. Three of four patients had Graves' disease and developed the syndrome after methimazole treatment. The fourth one had a history of hemorrhagic cystitis and denied history of specific drug exposure. The cause or stimulus for insulin autoantibody formation is still unknown, but drugs containing a sulfhydryl group like methimazole may play a role in the development of the syndrome. Extremely high insulin antibodies in patients with fasting hypoglycemia along with elevated serum levels of insulin and C-peptide suggest a diagnosis of insulin autoimmune syndrome and usually exclude the possibility of insulinoma or factitious hypoglycemia.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Triiodothyronine autoantibodies in Graves' disease: their changes after antithyroid therapy and relationship with the thyroglobulin antibodies.

UNLABELLED: Sera of 63 patients with Graves' disease, and 49 control subjects were assayed for T3 autoantibodies by a sensitive radioimmunoassay after being stripped of the endogenous thyroid hormone. T3 autoantibodies were demonstrated in 27% of patients with Graves' disease. After antithyroid treatment, T3 autoantibodies in 75% of the patients with positive antibody before therapy changed to negative titre during a follow-up period of 1 to 12 months. Also, a significant decrease of T3 autoantibodies was observed at 1 month after therapy in all patients who received antithyroid treatment. A further study of T3 autoantibodies and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies showed that the latter were demonstrated in 100% of patients with positive T3 autoantibodies and that T3 autoantibodies existed in about one third of patients with positive anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. The results suggested that T3 autoantibodies could be a subpopulation of the heterogenous anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Although the fall of T3 autoantibodies in some patients was correlated to that of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies, the overall correlation between T3 autoantibodies and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies was poor. IN CONCLUSION: 1. T3 autoantibodies may be suppressed by antithyroid drugs. 2. Being a subpopulation of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies, T3 autoantibodies may be caused by an antigenic site within the big thyroglobulin molecule, whereas their titre was not correlated with that of the overall heterogenous anti-thyroglobulin antibodies.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Outcome following radioactive iodine therapy in Graves' disease.

One hundred and fifty three patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism treated with I-131 from March 1984 to September 1988 were analyzed. The dose of I-131 was given according to the formula: 100 microCi/gm x estimated thyroid size (gm) x 100/24 hr I-131 uptake (%) The mean dose was 5.41 mCi and the maximum dose was 7 mCi. After one year of follow up, 45 patients (29.4%) were euthyroid, 35 patients (22.9%) became hypothyroid, and 73 patients (47.7%) were persistently hyperthyroid. Discriminant analysis of pretreatment variables suggested that those patients who were still hyperthyroid at the end of the first year had significantly larger goiter size, and higher serum T4 and T3 levels. Men had greater incidence of relapse. Besides, those who had received antithyroid drug before I-131 therapy had a significantly higher incidence of failure. As compared with previous studies, our report had a significantly higher incidence (22.9%) of hypothyroidism one year after I-131 therapy, which may be due to recognition of subclinical hypothyroidism through TSH assay.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

[Effect of electro-acupuncture on the segment length of the myocardium and the left intraventricular pressure-length vector loop during experimental acute myocardial ischemic damage].

In order to explore the effect of electroacupuncture on myocardial contractibility in the ischemic area, a medical Silicon tube with Saturated Copper Sulfate was used as length gauge and set at 5mm below the ligated marginalis and paralleled with blood vessel. The signals of the length and the pumping function were transmitted into the polygraph and the signals of the left intraventricular pressure (LVP) and the segment length (L) were conveyed into the oscilloscope to display the LVP-L vector loop. Electroacupuncture was applied bilaterally on Neiguan points with electrical impulses of strength 5 volts. The coronary artery was ligated for 20 min and then loosened. electro-acupuncture was performed and lasted 20 min. Imbedded the needle for 30 min, then ligated at the original position and never loosened again; 15 min later, the electroacupuncture was performed for the second time, lasting 20 min, then the needle was with drawn and observed for 15 min. The Epicardial ECG was used as the standard to judge the degree of the myocardial ischemic injury. A comparison was made between the parameters determined 15 min after ligation and all the procedures after electroacupuncture. There were 15 dogs in the electroacupuncture group and 15 in the control group. 1. The mean amplitude of segment length of the myocardium was 23 mm before ligation. 15 min after ligation, it slightly decreased in the electroacupuncture group while slightly increased in the control group. There was no obvious difference in the duration of the amplitude between the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acupuncture Therapy↗

PubMed1989

HLA-A,B,C and DR antigens in Chinese with non-insulin-dependent diabetes: comparison with goitrous diabetics.

To examine the relationship between HLA antigens and Type 2 non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), 72 patients were studied and compared with 282 controls. Twenty of 72 patients had an associated non-toxic goiter. The clinical features of the goitrous diabetic patients were similar to those without goiter except that those with goiter were predominantly female (95%). Of the 46 antigens assayed, only A10 was increased in the 72 diabetics when compared with the controls (12.5 vs 5.7%, RR = 2.37, chi 2 = 4.07, p less than 0.05), but statistically this was not significant after p value correction. In the patients with goiter, antigens A2, A9, A10, B27, BW46, CW1, DR1, DR5, DR8, DRW9 showed 2 folds or greater differences in frequencies when compared to the non-goitrous diabetics. However, only A2 had a significant decrease in the former as compared with the latter (30.0 vs 59.6%, chi 2 = 5.07, p less than 0.05), but this was also statistically insignificant. The present study showed no significant HLA associations in Chinese NIDDM patients with or without non-toxic goiter, and the distribution of each antigen was not related to the presence or absence of goiter.

Adult↗

PubMed1987