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Biomedical subjects

S Kaur

Publications and source records attributed to S Kaur.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

Pharmacokinetics of aspirin and chloramphenicol in normal and leprotic patients before and after dapsone therapy.

Pharmacokinetics of aspirin and chloramphenicol was studied in 16 normal and 16 patients suffering from leprosy. A significant increase (p less than 0.05) in the elimination half-life of chloramphenicol was observed before and after dapsone treatment in leprotic patients as compared with the normal volunteers, while no significant difference was observed in any of the pharmacokinetic parameters with aspirin.

Adult↗

Phrenic nerve conduction in leprosy.

Phrenic nerve conduction was performed bilaterally in 22 multibacillary (BL-LL) and 18 paucibacillary (BT-TT) leprosy patients and 25 control subjects. Prolonged phrenic nerve conduction time and/or reduced amplitude of diaphragm muscle action potential beyond 2.5 standard deviations of control mean values was observed in 9 BL-LL patients (4 bilateral) and 6 BT-TT patients (all unilateral). Out of the nine BL-LL patients with phrenic nerve involvement, median motor and/or sensory nerve conduction was also abnormal in seven patients. On fluoroscopy, diaphragm movements were normal in all patients. The study documents subclinical phrenic nerve involvement in leprosy--a fact not previously recognized.

Adolescent↗

Hepatic epoxide hydrolase activities and their induction by clofibrate and diethylhexylphthalate in various strains of mice.

The presence of epoxide hydrolase activity in cytoplasm, microsomes and mitochondrial fraction in livers from twelve strains of mice (AKR/J, A/J, BALB/cByJ, CBA/J, C3H/HeJ, G57BL/6J, C57BL/10J, DBA/2J, NZB/B1NJ, PL/J, SEC/1ReJ and SW), and the influence of orally administered clofibrate and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) (0.5 and 2%, respectively, in diet) on epoxide hydrolase activities, were studied. Significant differences in basal cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity, which ranged from 5.6 to 11.2 nmol diol.min-1.(mg protein)-1 using trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) as substrate, were noted among the mice. The highest and lowest enzyme levels were observed in the A/J and DBA/2J strains respectively. Similarly, microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity, monitored with cis-stilbene oxide (CSO), varied with the mouse strain, with the highest and lowest microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity being observed in A/J and SW strains respectively. Variations were also noted in the epoxide hydrolase activity in the mitochondrial fraction (monitored with TSO) with the highest and lowest levels observed in C57BL/6J and SW strains respectively. Clofibrate or DEHP treatment induced both cytosolic and microsomal epoxide hydrolases in nearly all of the strains examined. In contrast, the hydrolysis of TSO by the mitochondrial fraction in these strains was either not affected or decreased by clofibrate or DEHP treatment. The induction of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase was found to range between 1.2- and 2.8-fold, with generally a higher level of induction in mouse strains with low basal levels of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity. This level of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity, monitored with TSO as substrate, closely reflected the level of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase protein detected by immunoblot. There were also no significant differences observed in the molecular weight, immunological characteristics, pH-dependence and heat stability of hepatic cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activities of control and clofibrate-treated mice from various strains. These results suggest that clofibrate and DEHP induce both cytosolic and microsomal epoxide hydrolases but not the epoxide hydrolase in the mitochondrial fraction.

Animals↗

Cold reactive lymphocytotoxic antibodies in patients with tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy.

Fifty-seven sera from leprosy patients and 33 sera from age- and sex-matched hospital controls were tested for the presence of cold-reacting lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCAs) at 15 degrees C against a panel of 30 HLA-typed normal lymphocytes. Eighteen of 57 (31.6%) leprosy sera and 22 of 33 (67%) control sera showed reactivity, but the strength of reactivity of the patients' sera was significantly more than that of the control group (p less than 0.01 by Wilcoxon rank sum test). Within the leprosy group, there was no significant difference in the reactivity of 30 tuberculoid and 27 lepromatous sera. The occurrence of LCAs was independent of the sex or the HBsAg status of the serum donor. LCA activity was not correlated with treatment status, bacillary load, or reaction state.

Antilymphocyte Serum↗

Venous involvement in leprosy: a venographic and histopathological correlation.

Venous system involvement was studied by venography and vein histology in 30 leprosy patients irrespective of age, sex, duration of the disease, and treatment. Vascular abnormalities by venography were seen in 96.3% and by histopathological studies in 76.6% of patients. The percentage and severity of radiological and histological changes increased from tuberculoid to lepromatous in the disease spectrum. Perfect correlation of histology and venography was found in 40% of the paucibacillary patients and good correlation was found in 100%. In multibacillary patients perfect correlation was found in 29.4%, good correlation in 41.1%, and no correlation in 29.4% of the patients.

Adult↗

Distribution and nature of epoxide hydrolase activity in subcellular organelles of mouse liver.

Mouse liver light and heavy mitochondrial fractions contain significant epoxide hydrolase activity in addition to that present in the cytosol and microsomes. As the mitochondrial fraction itself contains a number of subfractions, experiments were designed to determine the localization of the epoxide hydrolase activity in these subfractions. Subcellular fractions were prepared using livers from 6- to 8-week-old Swiss-Webster male mice. Using trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) as substrate, the highest activity was localized in the cytosolic fraction, followed by the light mitochondrial fraction. Subfractionation of the light mitochondrial fraction by isopycnic sucrose density gradient resulted in the separation of mitochondria from peroxisomes as monitored by marker enzymes. The separation of these two subcellular organelles was also confirmed by the electron microscopic studies. Distribution of TSO-hydrolase activity in the sucrose density gradient fractions closely resembled the activity distribution of the peroxisomal markers catalase and urate oxidase, but significant activity was also found in mitochondria. Treatment of mice with clofibrate selectively induced TSO-hydrolase in the cytosol without affecting this enzyme activity in the peroxisomal fraction. There was no difference in the distribution pattern of TSO-hydrolase and marker enzymes in sucrose density gradients of mitochondrial fractions from clofibrate-treated and control mice. The epoxide hydrolase activity in the peroxisomes is immunologically similar to, and also has the same molecular weight as, the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase.

Animals↗

Effect of aging on testicular epoxide hydrolase and glutathione-S-transferase activities in mice.

The effect of aging on epoxide hydrolase (EH) and glutathion-S-transferase (GST) activities was investigated in testes of C57BL/6 mice 1-30 months of age. Microsomal EH (mEH) activity, as monitored with cis-stilbene oxide (CSO), showed statistically insignificant changes throughout the lifespan of mice. Although cytosolic EH (cEH) was detected in testes by immunoblotting, the enzyme activity towards trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) could not be measured under the experimental conditions used. Gonadal GST monitored with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) as substrate displayed an increasing trend until the mice reached senescence, showing a 3.7-fold increase in the enzyme activity in old animals (30 months) when compared with that in young animals (2 months). However, with CSO as substrate, GST showed no change in activity in mice of different ages.

Aging↗

Selection of sites for slit skin smears in untreated and treated leprosy patients.

A total of 1000 slit-skin smears were taken from multiple sites (both ear lobules, right elbow, dorsal aspect of middle phalanx of the left finger, and dorsum of middle phalanx of the right foot) from 558 leprosy patients. There were 319 sets (1595 smears) from untreated patients and 681 sets (3405 smears) from the treated group. The duration of treatment varied from 6 months (multidrug therapy) to 7 years (dapsone monotherapy). The ear lobules gave significantly higher values for the bacterial index (BI) compared to toes and fingers in the untreated group. The morphological index (MI) was also significantly higher from the ear lobules compared to toes, elbows, and fingers. In five patients from the untreated group, bacilli were found in some other sites when the earlobes did not reveal any. In the treated group, all sites yielded similar BI and MI values, the figures being lowest from elbows and toes but not different statistically. In 20 long-treated patients, bacilli were detected at sites other than the ear lobules. In 28 patients, sites other than the ear lobules gave a higher MI and in 20 patients, solid bacilli were seen at sites other than the ear lobules.

Ear↗