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S Mukherjee

Publications and source records attributed to S Mukherjee.

At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources

Androgen treatment protects mouse liver chromatin from cleavage by endogenous nucleases during aging. Androgen and nuclease activity.

We have examined the endogenous nuclease activity of the liver of intact, castrated and testosterone-treated mice of different ages. Both Mg(2+)- and Ca(2+)-dependent endogenous nuclease activities decline in old age. Withdrawal of the hormone increases nuclease activity in the immature and young. However, testosterone administration prevents the digestion of nuclei to different extents in all ages. These findings suggest a possible protective role of testosterone in the cleavage of liver chromatin by endogenous nucleases during the aging of mice.

Aging↗

Rural health services.

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Health Personnel↗

Detection of Leishmania in the blood of early kala-azar patients with the aid of the polymerase chain reaction.

Samples from 39 patients with symptoms suggestive of early visceral leishmaniasis were independently assayed by microscopy of tissue smears, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of blood deoxyribonucleic acid. Of these patients, 19 were confirmed as positive or negative by all 3 tests; 11 patients (28%) negative by smear were positive by ELISA and PCR; and 7 (18%) were positive by PCR alone. These results demonstrate the high sensitivity of the non-invasive PCR and, to a smaller extent, ELISA, in the early diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.

Animals↗

Neuropsychological deterioration and CT scan findings in chronic schizophrenia.

Structural abnormalities of the brain, particularly ventricular enlargement and prominence of cortical sulci, have been documented reliably in CT scan investigations of chronic schizophrenic patients. Although the clinical significance of these findings is still obscure, neuropsychological (NP) deficits have emerged as relatively robust correlates of the structural anomalies. Unfortunately, it remains unknown whether the previous findings of NP impairment in association with CT scan abnormalities reflect poor premorbid abilities or deterioration from previously higher levels. This study involved administration of an extensive NP battery and CT scans in a chronic schizophrenic sample. In addition to global and specific scales of NP functions, indices of premorbid ability and deterioration were also employed. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that CT scan findings are associated more with deterioration of functioning than with global measures of NP dysfunction or poor premorbid ability. Conversely, the findings suggest that in patients with normal scans, NP morbidity may be a consequence of failure in the acquisition of a normal cognitive repertoire.

Adult↗

The autonomic orienting response and CT scan findings in schizophrenia.

CT scan measures of prefrontal sulcal prominence, parieto-occipital sulcal prominence, ventricle-brain ratio (VBR), and third ventricle width (TVW) were examined in 24 schizophrenic patients who were grouped on the basis of their autonomic orienting response (OR) status. A two-component definition of the OR was used that required concordance across both electrodermal and finger pulse volume components for response status assignment. The nine OR responders had significantly greater TVW than the 15 OR nonresponders. Although OR responders had higher values also on the other CT scan measures, these differences were not significant. These findings are consistent with the possibility that OR responsiveness and nonresponsiveness are related to different pathological dimensions of schizophrenia.

Arousal↗

History of obstetric complications, family history, and CT scan findings in schizophrenic patients.

It has been proposed that obstetric complications (OCs) are more common in patients with nonfamilial schizophrenia, and associated with lateral ventricular enlargement in such patients. We examined the relations among OCs, family history of schizophrenia or bipolar mood disorder, and lateral ventricular size and cortical sulcal prominence in 44 schizophrenic patients. A history of OCs was not related to an absence of a family history of schizophrenia, ventricle-brain ratio, or cortical sulcal prominence. None of the CT findings was related to family history.

Adult↗

Diabetes mellitus in schizophrenic patients.

Studies conducted in the United States and Japan indicate that diabetes mellitus is more common among schizophrenic patients than among the general population. The prevalence of known diabetes was examined in 95 schizophrenic patients aged 45 to 74 years admitted to a long-term care facility in Italy. The overall prevalence of diabetes was 15.8% (95% confidence interval, 12.1% to 19.5%), and increased from 0% in those younger than 50 years, through 12.9% in the 50- to 59-year age group, and to 18.9% in the 60- to 69-year age group, and then decreased to 16.7% in those aged 70 to 74 years. These rates are considerably higher than those reported from population surveys in Italy, and indicate that a higher prevalence of diabetes in schizophrenic patients may be a universal phenomenon. The clinical picture indicated that in all cases this was the common variant of type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was more common in patients not receiving neuroleptics than in those who were receiving such treatment. There was no association between diabetes and the use of anticholinergic drugs.

Adult↗

Cultured skin fibroblasts as a cell model for investigating schizophrenia.

Cultured skin fibroblasts, among other non-neuronal cells (e.g. platelets, lymphocytes, red blood cells), provide an advantageous system for investigating dynamic molecular regulatory processes underlying abnormal cell growth, metabolism, and receptor-mediated signal transduction, without the confounding effects of disease state and its treatment in a variety of brain disorders, including schizophrenia, and are useful for studies of systemic biochemical defects with predominant consequences for brain function. These cells are also useful for studying aspects of neurotransmitter functions because the cells express enzymes involved in their metabolism, as well as their receptors with complete machinery for signal transduction. These processes also function predictably with receptors that are transfected in fibroblasts. This review will focus on the use of cultured skin of which have also been studied in post-mortem brains. These mechanisms might involve DNA processing and mitogenesis, cell-cell adhesion molecules, actions of growth factors, oxidative damage, and membrane phospholipid derived second messengers. This review will further discuss the implications of these processes to clinical and structural brain abnormalities. An understanding of these biochemical processes might help establish therapeutic implications and identify the risk for illness through experimental strategies such as epidemiology, family pedigree and high risk populations. Finally, despite some methodological limitations, skin fibroblasts are relatively easy to grow and maintain as primary cultures or as immortalized cell lines for long periods of time for use in investigating newly identified biochemical abnormalities.

Cell Division↗