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Biomedical subjects

S Kundu

Publications and source records attributed to S Kundu.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Comparative peptide mapping of a hepatitis C viral recombinant protein by capillary electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) and matrix assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were investigated as alternatives to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for peptide mapping with Staphylococcus aureus protease (V8) of a hydrophobic recombinant hepatitis C virus antigen, HC-31, which required 0.1% SDS for solubility. Controls (V8 only) or HC-31 digests were extracted with chloroform-methanol-water (1:4:3) to remove SDS, which interferes with MALDI-TOF, and high salt content, which affects CE. In two different runs by CE, the elution times of each of 11 peptide peaks were very reproducible (R.S.D. < 0.016). 25 fragments were resolved by MALDI-TOF-MS, including six smaller peptides (M(r) < 13 000) resulting from V8 autodigestion. MALDI-TOF-MS indicated that partial cleavages occurred, primarily at sites where there are paired glutamic and/or aspartic acid residues.

Alkylation↗

Effects of montelukast (MK-0476), a new potent cysteinyl leukotriene (LTD4) receptor antagonist, in patients with chronic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Cysteinyl leukotrienes mediate signs and symptoms of asthma. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, a new potent and specific cysteinyl leukotriene (LTD4) receptor antagonist, montelukast (MK-0476), was evaluated for tolerability and clinical efficacy in patients with chronic asthma (receiving and not receiving inhaled corticosteroids). METHODS: Twenty-nine nonsmoking patients with asthma (15 treated concomitantly with inhaled corticosteroids) with FEV1 percent predicted values between 50% to 80% received MK-0476, 200 mg, or placebo three times daily for 10 1/3 days (31 doses) in a random, crossover manner, after a 2-week, open, baseline period. Comparisons in FEV1 (mean percent change from baseline after the first and last dose), mean daily daytime asthma and nocturnal awakening scores, and mean daily beta-agonist use were made between treatment periods. RESULTS: Montelukast, compared with placebo, caused improvements in FEV1 (mean percentage point difference of the percentage change from baseline) 3 and 4 hours after dosing on day 1 (hour 3, 9.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53, 18.72; hour four, 10.9%; 95% CI -0.25, 20.20) and day 11 (hour 3, 14.0%; 95% CI 0.76, 31.43; hour 4, 13.4%; 95% CI 1.24, 28.83). Reductions were observed in mean daily beta-agonist use (1.0 puff/day [95% CI -1.61, -0.26]), mean daytime symptom scores, and nocturnal awakenings over the 10 1/3 day treatment period. There were no important differences between the groups receiving and those not receiving inhaled corticosteroids. Montelukast was well tolerated with no serious clinical adverse events reported. CONCLUSIONS: In this study Montelukast, 200 mg, administered three times daily for 10 1/3 days, compared with placebo, was generally well tolerated and resulted in significant improvement in chronic asthma, irrespective of the presence of inhaled corticosteroids.

Acetates↗

A randomized, placebo-controlled study of the immunogenicity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rgp160 vaccine in HIV-infected subjects with > or = 400/mm3 CD4 T lymphocytes (AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 137).

Immune responses provoked by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection ultimately are insufficient to control the disease and do not include strong lymphocyte-proliferative responses to HIV antigens or antibodies to many viral epitopes. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the immunogenicity of recombinant HIV envelope vaccine (rgp160) in HIV-infected subjects with > or = 400/mm3 CD4 T cells. Controls received hepatitis B vaccine. Of subjects receiving rgp160, 98% developed lymphocyte-proliferative responses to the immunogen, 33% to a different envelope protein, and 56% and 60% to p24 and p66, respectively. All doses of vaccine (20, 80, 320, 1280 microgram) induced new responses. New antibodies to epitopes on rgp160 developed only in recipients of higher doses of rgp160. CD4 T cell percentages declined less rapidly in recipients of rgp160 than in controls. Vaccination of HIV-infected subjects with rgp160 results in cellular and humoral immune responses to HIV that infection itself had not stimulated.

AIDS Vaccines↗

Early fine motor and adaptive development in high-risk appropriate for gestational age preterm and healthy term children.

The development of fine motor and adaptive skills during the first 2 years of life is reported in 97 high-risk preterm children and 94 healthy term children. Most stages of fine motor and adaptive development were found to occur at slightly later ages among preterm children. Neurological development was significantly correlated with fine motor and adaptive development in preterm children only. No significant influence of prenatal, perinatal and postnatal variables on fine motor and adaptive development was noted. No significant sex differences were observed in both the term and preterm group. The strongest predictors of later intellectual functioning were fine motor performance at 9 months and fine motor and adaptive skills at 18 to 24 months.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Neurological outcome in high risk weight appropriate for gestational age preterm children at early school age.

Neurological development in preterm children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age is reported in two separate groups: a longitudinal study of 97 preterm children and 93 term children as a control group and a cross-sectional study of 249 preterm children. Both preterm groups were regarded as high risk with respect to number of outborns, distribution of gestational age and perinatal risk factors. Neurological outcome at 5-6 years of age in the majority of the preterm children was comparable to that of the term children. However, 15% of boys and 9% of girls in the preterm group were diagnosed as having cerebral palsy. Mild diplegia was most frequently observed; 4% of the children were severely impaired. Fourteen percent of the preterm vs 2% of the term boys and 6-9% of the preterm vs none of the term girls received motor therapy during early school age. There was a small but consistent sex difference in neurological outcome in favour of the term and preterm girls. Effects of drop out rate and of incompleteness of ascertainment are reported in detail.

Birth Weight↗

Intellectual outcome, speech and school performance in high risk preterm children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age.

Intellectual development, speech and school performance of preterm infants with birth weight appropriate for gestational age are reported in two separate investigations: a longitudinal study of 97 preterm children and 93 term children as a control group, and a cross-sectional study of 249 preterm children. Both preterm groups were regarded as high risk groups with respect to number of outborns, distribution of gestational age and perinatal risk factors. Intellectual outcome at 5 and 7 years of age in the majority of the preterm children was comparable to that of the term children. However, 8% of the preterm boys and 2% of the preterm girls achieved lower IQ scores than any of the term children. Between 15% and 17% of the preterm boys and 9%-12% of the preterm girls did not attend school at grade level, compared to 4% and 2% in the term group, respectively. Intellectual and neurological development and school performance were higher interrelated in the preterm than in the term children. Articulation defects, stuttering and dysgrammatism occurred more frequently in the preterm than in the term children and in boys more so than in girls.

Achievement↗

Predicting developmental outcome at school age from infant tests of normal, at-risk and retarded infants.

The predictive validity of developmental testing was investigated in term, preterm and retarded children. Verbal, performance and locomotor development were assessed at various ages and individual development curves constructed. Inter-age correlations between development tests at nine to 24 months and intellectual assessment at seven years revealed a strong effect on prediction for age at testing and level of mental performance. Categorisation by level of mental performance demonstrated that at seven years 98.6 per cent of the children with developmental quotients (DQs) greater than 85 at 24 months achieved IQs greater than 85, while 98.7 per cent of the seven- to eight-year-old children with DQs greater than 85 at nine to 24 months achieved IQs greater than 85. The Griffiths language and performance scores and their combination were the strongest predictors of later intellectual functioning. The social score was of moderate significance, while the locomotor score had no predictive value. Analysis of individual development curves revealed that prediction was hampered in some children by factors not detectable by statistical analysis, such as dissociations in development, organic impairment and major life events. Among the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal variables studied, only socio-economic status was of predictive significance; its effect depended on the level of mental performance and was most marked in term children, but it had no effect on retarded children.

Child↗

Antibody response of infants in tropics to five doses of oral polio vaccine.

Sixty-two infants 1-12 months of age were administered five doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine (TOPV) at intervals of 4 weeks. The seroconversion achieved were 88.7, 93.5 and 96.5 per cent for type I, II, and III polioviruses. These seroconversion rates are significantly better when compared to seroconversion achieved after two and three doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine. Factors which were considered in previous studies to be responsible for low seroconversion rates viz. interference by enteroviruses, breast feeding, malnutrition, and age were found to be insignificant when five doses of oral polio vaccine were given. It is possible that these effects were overcome by increasing the number of doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine.

Antibody Formation↗

Significance of prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors in the development of AGA preterm infants at five to seven years.

The effects of prenatal, perinatal and postnatal events on developmental outcome at five to seven years of preterm infants with birthweights appropriate for gestational age were investigated in two separate cohorts: one a longitudinal study of 97 infants, the other a cross-sectional study of 249 infants. Among the prenatal variables, the number of minor congenital anomalies was negatively correlated with neurological development, as was the deformation score. The pregnancy optimality score was not significantly related to outcome. Among the perinatal variables, gestational age and birthweight had some significant correlations with development, but birth and neonatal optimality scores were only inconsistently significant in relation to outcome. Socio-economic status was strongly related to language and intellectual development. Infants with gestations of 32 to 36 weeks had a more favourable neurological and intellectual outcome than those born before 32 weeks: however, the former group comprised about 80 per cent of the population studied, so the majority of children with lower function were found in that group.

Birth Weight↗

Prolonged, progressive dementia with spongiform encephalopathy: a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?

A 46-year-old female is described with prolonged, progressive dementia and a brain biopsy consistent with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). She had neither myoclonic jerks nor an electroencephalogram with periodic spikes and suppression. Five of her close relatives were also demented. The nosology of CJD was discussed in the light of this case in which histopathology was characteristic of spongiform encephalopathy but the clinical features were atypical. We concluded that it would be premature to expand the traditional diagnostic criteria to include such cases as having CJD but, at the same time, it would be prudent to handle tissue, linens and surgical instruments as if they were contaminated by the resistant agent of CJD.

Biopsy↗

Effects of phenobarbital on the distribution pharmacokinetics and biological half-lives of model nonmicrosomal enzyme metabolizable sulfonamides in rats.

The pharmacokinetics of sulfisoxazole and sulfanilamide were studied in control rats and in rats treated for 5 days with a daily 100 mg/kg ip dose of phenobarbital. These drugs represent the organic anionic and nonionized drugs, respectively, whose nonmicrosomal enzymatic metabolisms were unstimulated by phenobarbital. Sulfisoxazole showed the characteristics of a two-compartment open model. However, its biological half-life and the apparent distribution volume of the central compartment were significantly lower and the intercompartmental transport rate constants and the urinary excretion rate constant were significantly greater, in phenobarbital treated rats than in control rats. The apparent steady-state distribution volume of sulfisoxazole was smaller in the phenobarbital treated rats at the 90% confidence level. Sulfanilamide showed characteristics of a one-compartment model in both the control and phenobarbital treated rats, but none of the pharmacokinetic parameters of the compound in the phenobarbital treated rats were significantly different from those in the control rats.

Animals↗