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Biomedical subjects

S Elias

Publications and source records attributed to S Elias.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

An outbreak of cameline filariasis in the Sudan.

Sheathed microfilariae (mean length 278 +/- 10 microns SEM; mean width 7.2 +/- 0.8 microns) were detected in the blood of 7/14 housed camels (Camelus dromedarius). Microfilaraemic camels of either sex were inappetent, lethargic, reluctant to move and exhibited weakness in the hind limbs; some remained in sternal recumbency. Cardiac disorders, orchitis and skin nodules were conspicuously absent. The microfilariae showed a biphasic pattern in the blood that peaked at 20:00 and plateaued between 04:00 and 06:00. Adult filarial worms were recovered from the mesenteric and femoral arteries. Marked clinical improvement within 1-2 weeks was seen in three camels treated at 10:00 with a single subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mg/kg of ivermectin. These camels became amicrofilaraemic 2-5 days after treatment and remained so for the length of the observation period (133 days). Treatment of two camels at the time of high microfilaraemia (06:30) resulted in adverse reaction and death.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The goat as a model for Corynebacterium renale pyelonephritis.

Nubian goats were experimentally infected with Corynebacterium renale type II by either the intravenous or intraurethral routes using infection rates of 1.75 x 10(10), 7.08 x 10(19) or 5 x 10(23) organisms. All inoculated goats were anorexic, lost weight and became dull or depressed. Albuminuria, pyuria and epithelial casts were noted in the urine. Following intravenous challenge the animals showed a dose-related elevation of serum ammonia, urea, and creatinine with significant changes in haemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume and leucocyte counts. A mild to severe (sometimes haemorrhagic) cystitis and urethritis and a mild nephrosis were noted post mortem and mucoserous or mucogelatinous non-purulent discharges were present in the renal pelvis. The findings are compared to the naturally occurring C. renale pyelonephritis in cattle and the suitability of the goat as a model for that disease is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Noninvasive determination of fetal RhD status using fetal DNA in maternal serum and PCR.

OBJECTIVE: Because prenatal testing of fetal RhD status by amniocentesis carries small yet finite risks to the fetus and mother, this study sought to determine whether fetal DNA in maternal serum could be used to detect fetal RhD status by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of frozen serum specimens from 20 sensitized RhD-negative pregnant women (ranging from 15.0 to 36.0 weeks' gestation) who were confirmed by serology at birth to have been carrying RhD-positive fetuses. Eleven serum specimens from RhD-negative individuals served as controls. DNA was isolated from serum and used in two PCR-based methods to detect a 99 base pair (bp) DNA fragment specific for the RhD gene and a 113 bp fragment specific for the RhCE gene as control. RESULTS: Overall, in 14 (70%) of 20 RhD-positive fetuses the 99 base pair RhD-specific PCR product was detected. There was no false positive detection among the 11 control serum specimens. CONCLUSION: The results illustrate the ability to detect fetal RhD sequences in maternal serum of sensitized women. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that fetal single-gene disorders can be detected prenatally by using DNA isolated only from maternal serum.

Blood Grouping and Crossmatching↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of HLA haplotype segregation in the Schmiedeleut Hutterites of South Dakota.

HLA data from 1,085 South Dakotan Schmiedeleut Hutterites were examined for evidence of nonrandom transmission of haplotypes. The inheritance of haplotypes was viewed as a series of genetic contests between competing pairs of parental haplotypes using a maximum likelihood approach first put forward by Carlisle and Woodbury. Haplotype transmission probabilities were expressed in terms of weights, and the null hypothesis that the inheritance pattern was a random stochastic process, equivalent to the equality of the weights, was tested via the likelihood ratio. A total of 1,517 competitions was subjected to analysis, first globally using all data, and then for particular haplotypes of interest. Transmission of haplotype observed to compete with only a single other haplotype was also assessed using an exact procedure. No evidence of preferential transmission of HLA haplotypes was found. These results do not rule out transmission biases that may arise because of selection against homozygotes, mechanisms specifically affecting particular alleles or haplotypes not considered in the present study, or biases arising from maternal-fetal interactions.

Consanguinity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inability to detect fetal metaphases in flow-sorted lymphocyte cultures based on maternal-fetal HLA differences.

Separation of fetal cells from maternal blood could provide a means for prenatal diagnosis that would not endanger the fetus. In this pursuit, we attempted cytogenetic analysis of candidate fetal cells flow sorted on the basis of parental HLA disparity. Metaphases showing 46,XY or aneuploidy and concordant with prenatal diagnostic studies (i.e., amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling) would presumably be fetal in origin. Blood samples were obtained from 78 pregnant women and their partners. Among 18 HLA informative cases in which metaphases were recovered, 15 involved fetuses that were 46,XY or aneuploid. From these 15 cases, 2,483 metaphases were analyzed. All metaphases were 46,XX. Cytogenetic analysis of flow-sorted fetal cells thus probably will need to emphasize not metaphase analysis but in situ hybridization with chromosome-specific probes.

Amniocentesis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transvaginal chorionic villus sampling using transabdominal ultrasound guidance: a new technique for first-trimester prenatal diagnosis.

Transvaginal chorionic villus sampling (CVS) using concurrent transabdominal ultrasound guidance was performed in 20 women who desired CVS but could not be offered transcervical or transabdominal approaches because of uterine position and placental location. Satisfactory amounts of chorionic villi were obtained in all 20 cases with no maternal discomfort, an occurrence that contrasts with our experience in transvaginal CVS using endovaginal ultrasound guidance. We believe that transvaginal CVS using concurrent transabdominal ultrasound guidance warrants consideration as an alternative technique for first-trimester CVS in selected patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Severity of abnormality influences decision to terminate pregnancies affected with fetal neural tube defects.

We examined parental decision concerning pregnancy management in women having fetuses with neural tube defects (NTDs) to determine whether severity of defect or method of detection has an impact on the decision making process. Analysis of decisions by 50 women, whose pregnancies were affected by an isolated neural tube defect (NTD) and characterized by a singleton gestation at 24 gestational weeks or less with normal chromosomal complement (46,XX or 46,XY), were assessed. All 23 women carrying fetuses with anencephaly elected to terminate their pregnancies. Of the 27 women carrying fetuses with spina bifida, 21 (77.8%) elected to terminate their pregnancies and 6 (22.2%) elected to continue their pregnancies. Of the 6 pregnancies that were continued, 4 were initially detected by ultrasonography and 2 were ascertained by maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening; defects ranged from 2 to 14 vertebral bodies, and none of the defects were craniad to the T9 level. This is in comparison to 5 of the 21 spina bifida cases that were elective pregnancy terminations, which were characterized by fetal lesions craniad to the T9 level. Severity of NTD thus appears to influence the decision to continue or terminate an affected pregnancy.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of Hispanic ethnicity on interpretation of maternal serum screening.

Maternal serum concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), unconjugated estriol (uE3) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were measured in the sera of 3,046 Hispanic women and of 15,154 Caucasian women from gestational weeks 14 through 20 between January 1990 and December 1995. Median values for analytes were calculated for each gestational week and the two ethnic groups compared. Our findings indicate that the median values for Hispanics are lower for MSAFP and hCG, but higher for estriol. These differences are not accounted for by differences in median weights of the two ethnic groups. Although these results would suggest that Hispanic women at risk for a fetus with a neural tube defect (NTD) may be missed when cut-offs derived from a Caucasian population are used, in fact, that was not the case in our screening population. However, a disproportionate number of Hispanic women may be identified with an abnormal serum screening test unrelated to a risk for neural tube defects. This does not infer that detection rates are different across different ethnic groups since other factors are involved. Adjustment of medians for Hispanic ethnicity may have a small but significant effect, especially with regard to low values.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preservation of the laryngeal nerves during total thyroid lobectomy.

A technique of exposure and preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve at the very onset of thyroidectomy and preservation of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve at the close of the procedure is described, which is believed to afford maximum protection to these nerves during total thyroid lobectomy and isthmusectomy as well as total thyroidectomy. At the same time, preservation of the parathyroid glands is achieved. In 120 exposures and preservations of the recurrent laryngeal nerve there have been no instances of a single permanent paralysis of this nerve. In 111 total thyroid lobectomies in which the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve was placed in jeopardy, only one patient had a slight bowing of the vocal cord with excellent voice function during a limited follow-up period.

Arteries↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Positive serum screening for fetal Down syndrome does not predict adverse pregnancy outcome in absence of fetal aneuploidy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether false-positive maternal serum screening for fetal Down syndrome is predictive of poor pregnancy outcome. METHODS: The pregnancy outcomes of 99 women having positive serum screening for fetal Down syndrome (study group)--based upon maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), unconjugated estriol (uE3), hCG, and maternal age--were compared to the outcomes of matched control patients having negative serum screening results (control group). The outcome indices analyzed were fetal death, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), preeclampsia, and fetal anomalies. RESULTS: Between the study group and the control group, there were no statistically significant differences in pregnancy outcome with respect to fetal death, IUGR, preeclampsia, or fetal anomalies. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate no apparent increase in the adverse perinatal outcomes analyzed in women having unexplained positive serum screening for fetal Down syndrome. Although further investigation is needed, these results provide no evidence to support increased antepartum surveillance in such patients.

Adult↗