Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Halevy.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is now seen in non-endemic areas, especially in travellers to and troops serving in the Middle East. It was a common problem among American troops returning from the Gulf war. This article presents the clinical manifestations, the laboratory findings and the treatment options for this disease.
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Allergic contact dermatitis can be acute or chronic and is caused by delayed hypersensitivity to allergens in the surroundings. This retrospective study, the first of its kind in the Negev district, included 150 patients with allergic contact dermatitis. Nickel was the most frequent allergen causing contact dermatitis in both females and males, while chrome was second in frequency. Most of those with positive reactions to patch tests, were females. In females it appeared relatively early, in the 3rd and 4th decades, while in males it tended to appear later. The first lesions most frequently appeared on the dorsal aspect of the hands.
BACKGROUND: A controlled study of the efficacy of topical paromomycin sulfate (PR) and methylbenzethonium chloride (MBCl) in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has not yet been performed. OBJECTIVE: The therapeutic effect of an ointment containing 15% PR and either 12% or 5% MBCl (15/12 or 15/5 P-ointment) on patients suffering from Old World CL was examined in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with Old World CL caused by Leishmania major were treated topically, twice daily, for 10 to 20 days with 15/12 or 15/5 P-ointment and 10 to 20 days with a placebo ointment to achieve a total of 30 days of treatment in all groups. RESULTS: In the P-ointment-treated groups, 74.2% (29 of 39 patients) of the patients were cured versus 26.6% (4 of 15 patients) in the placebo-treated group. Little difference was found between the 15/12 and 15/5 P-ointment groups. CONCLUSION: In most of the patients treated with the active ingredients, total elimination of the parasites was achieved within the first 10 days of treatment.
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Hypomelanosis of Ito is an uncommon syndrome where bizarre, systematized hypopigmentation is often associated with neurological and other non-cutaneous abnormalities. We report two cases, one which was associated with laryngomalacia and sudden death (in which the parents were consanguineous), and one which was associated with episodes of loss of consciousness.
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It has been suggested that pathogenic protozoa like Trypanosoma evolved from toxic algae and retained their ancestral algal toxins throughout evolution. These toxins may have enabled them to overcome their host's defense mechanisms and were therefore preserved by the parasites. Implications of this hypothesis are presented.
Two cases of clear cell acanthoma (CCA) with marked signs of cellular atypia and mitotic figures are reported. Although the nature of CCA is not completely understood, it is considered to be a benign epithelial tumor. Our cases show that these lesions can develop malignant features.
The diagnostic value of the macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) test was evaluated in 90 patients with the clinical diagnosis of drug eruption. There were 40 males and 50 females who ranged in age from 15-84 years (mean 61.0). Controls were 120 patients being treated with drugs without adverse reactions and 21 patients with dermatologic disorders unrelated to drugs. Positive MIF responses for 1 or more drugs were observed in 71.1% of the patients with drug eruptions as compared to 4.2% and 9.5% of the control groups, respectively (p less than 0.001 for both). The proportion of positive MIF responses in those in whom drugs were implicated (45.2%) was significantly greater (p less than 0.0001) than in those with eruptions in whom drugs were not implicated (18%). The MIF test may be of aid in the diagnosis of drug eruptions and in the identification of the offending drugs.
A man developed acne keloidalis-like lesions in the scalp during treatment with diphenylhydantoin and carbamazepine for epilepsy. These drugs were suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of this skin disease in an unusual location, based on clinical evidence and on the in vitro test, mast cell degranulation (MCD).
A search for possible lithogenous factors was under-taken in a group of 42 lichen planus (LP) patients (15 with urolithiasis and 27 without). Normal mean values of calcium, phosphorus, uric acid and creatinine were found in the serum and in the 24-hour urine collection. However, 9 patients (21%) manifested laboratory deviations consisting of hyperuricemia, hyperuricosuria or hypercalciuria, or combinations of the three. The prevalence of hyperuricemia among LP patients was greater than in matched controls and vis-à-vis the recorded prevalence of hyperuricemia in the general population and in other calcium stone formers. These findings may suggest involvement of metabolic defects in LP.
A controlled study was conducted to evaluate the macrophage migration inhibition factor test as a diagnostic aid in 50 patients with drug eruption. Two groups of patients served as controls: group A, 110 patients being treated with drugs without known cutaneous adverse reactions, and group B, 15 patients suffering from dermatologic disorders unrelated to drugs being taken. Positive macrophage migration inhibition factor responses were found toward a variety of drugs in 35 (70%) of the patients with drug eruptions, with no relation to the type of eruption or the duration of drug intake. The percentage of positive macrophage migration inhibition factor responses toward drugs in the patients with drug eruptions was higher than that in the two control groups (4.5% and 6.7%, respectively). The percentage of positive macrophage migration inhibition factor responses recorded for clinically "suspected" drugs was significantly higher than that recorded for the "nonsuspected" drugs.
Increased peripheral vascular reactivity has been noted in preeclampsia. However, in a recent study we found decreased reactivity to vasoactive agents in umbilical arteries of preeclamptic patients. A similar preliminary study, therefore, was carried out on umbilical veins to determine whether preeclampsia affected umbilical venous reactivity. Helical strips of human umbilical veins from 7 preeclamptic and 8 control patients were set up isometrically in physiological salt solution. The resting tensions did not differ between the groups, but spontaneous rhythmic contractions began much earlier in the preeclamptic group than in the controls (8.29 +/- 4.14 vs. 49.22 +/- 9.71 min). There were no differences in the mean amplitudes of the contractions at their time of onset, but in 5 patients of each group the mean amplitudes progressively rose to a maximum at approximately 90 min after incubation, and this maximum was significantly lower in the preeclamptic group (234.43 +/- 72.95 vs. 751.64 +/- 186.13 mg). The frequencies of the contractions did not vary with time or between groups. Log-dose response curves were made for serotonin and KCl, and there were no differences in threshold doses, ED50, maximal tensions or relaxation times between groups. These results are similar to those reported in human umbilical arteries from preeclamptic patients in that no increase in reactivity to vasoactive agents was noted. In conclusion, the differences in the spontaneous rhythmic contractions between preeclamptic patients and controls may be new evidence of pathological changes in the umbilical venous system in preeclampsia.
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1. An in vitro study, using helical preparations of human umbilical arteries and veins obtained from healthy women at term pregnancy, was designed to determine: (a) whether three local anaesthetics commonly utilized in obstetric anaesthesia (bupivacaine, 2-chloroprocaine, and lignocaine) can induce contraction or relaxation of resting umbilical vessels; (b) whether these agents can induce contraction or relaxation of umbilical vessels which have been previously induced to contract by a known activator, potassium chloride (KCl); and (c) the relative potency of these agents as compared to KCl. 2. The results indicate that: (a) these local anaesthetics are vasoactive on human umbilical vascular smooth muscle; (b) bupivacaine induces contraction in over 90% of the resting vessels examined, while 2-chloroprocaine consistently causes relaxation and lignocaine causes a small degree of contraction in 40% of vessels examined; (c) bupivacaine causes further contraction (or potentiation) of KCl-contracted muscle in 50% of the vessels studied, while 2-chloroprocaine and lignocaine both induce relaxation of these contracted vessels.