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Biomedical subjects

S Serrano

Publications and source records attributed to S Serrano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Bone remodelling in human immunodeficiency virus-1-infected patients. A histomorphometric study.

The aim of this study was to identify and describe possible alterations of bone histomorphometry in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection and to assess the relation between these alterations and disease severity. Forty-four HIV-1-infected patients seen successively at our hospital were evaluated for the study. In an attempt to avoid confounding factors as far as possible, we excluded patients who fulfilled any of the following criteria: age less than 18 or greater than 40 years; recent history of extended bed rest; previous diagnosis of metabolic bone disease, renal insufficiency, or hepatic failure; clinical or echographic signs of liver cirrhosis; diabetes mellitus or previous diagnosis of other endocrine diseases; drug therapy that could act on bone metabolism; and/or moderate to severe nutritional alteration. Twenty-two patients (13 men, 9 women; age: 27.9 +/- 4.1 years, mean +/- standard deviation) were included in the study. Plasma and urine biochemistry and calcium-regulating hormones were determined. Bone mineral content was measured on vertebrae L2 to L4 and on the neck and intertrochanteric areas of the femur by dual-photon absorptiometry. A transiliac bone biopsy was performed after double-tetracycline labelling, with histomorphometric study of undecalcified bone. Serum osteocalcin was found to be lower in patients who, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classification, had greater disease severity, and showed a positive correlation with the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes. No alterations in bone densitometry were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1995

Bone growth and modeling changes induced by periosteal stripping in the rat.

In this study, the changes in longitudinal bone growth and metaphyseal modeling induced by middiaphyseal periosteal stripping in the rat femur were analyzed by means of histomorphometrical techniques. One hundred forty-four male 30-day-old Sprague-Dawley albino rats distributed in 4 groups of 36 were studied: a control group, a sham group, a group with middiaphyseal right femoral periosteal stripping, and a group with a polyethylene ring wrapped around the stripped zone. The animals were euthanized at 1, 2, or 4 weeks from the start of the experiment, after double tetracycline labeling. A statistically significant, albeit small, longitudinal overgrowth of stripped femurs was observed after a latency period of 2 to 4 weeks. The metaphyseal diameters were greater in stripped femurs than nonstripped femurs. This finding was associated with a lower osteoclastic index in the external metaphyseal surface and with a lower bone formation rate in the internal surface of the metaphyseal cortex. These latter findings have not been reported previously in the literature and may support the role of the periosteum in controlling metaphyseal modeling.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Alcohol-induced bone disease in the absence of severe chronic liver damage.

To define and identify metabolic bone disease and mineral alterations induced by chronic heavy alcoholism in patients without severe liver damage, we studied a prospective series of unselected patients admitted to a 300-bed general hospital in Barcelona (Spain). A total of 26 chronic heavy drinkers of more than 150 g/day for at least 3 years were included. A general analytic and hormonal study, including liver biopsy in cases with any abnormality in liver function tests, and plasma and urine biochemistry with calcium regulating hormones and osteocalcin levels were determined. A transiliac bone biopsy after double-tetracycline labeling, with histomorphometric study of undecalcified bone, was performed. Statistical analysis was adjusted by age and sex by means of logistic regression. A total of 26 (20 men and 6 women) chronic alcohol abusers were studied. After adjustment for age and sex, alcoholic patients showed slight but significantly increased concentrations of plasma calcium (9.56 +/- 0.56; OR = 17.93; 95% CI 3.17-101.48) and decreased cPTH (0.36 +/- 0.11; OR = 0.097; 95% CI 0.018-0.528) compared with controls. Osteocalcin values were low (1.49 +/- 0.89, normal range 1.8-6.6). There was a significant decrease in bone volume, BV/TV (12.56 +/- 5.29; OR = 0.06; 95% CI 0.01-0.34), with increased resorption surfaces, ES/BS (4.28 +/- 2.43; OR = 9.86; 95% CI 2.16-45.07), and increased osteoclast number, N.Oc/TA (0.21 +/- 0.37; OR = 6.41; 95% CI 1.27-32.25).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effect of cyclosporine A on normal human osteoblasts in vitro.

UNLABELLED: Cyclosporin-A (CsA) inhibits in vitro proliferation of non-human tumour-cloned osteoblasts. Our aims were to study the direct effect of CsA on proliferation of normal human osteoblast (NHOb) cultures and to ascertain whether CsA-treated patients' sera (CsATPS) may exert effects on the osteoblast which differ from the direct effects of CsA. We studied tritiated thymidine ([3H]thymidine) incorporation in NHOb cultures incubated with (a) increasing CsA concentrations (1.2 to 4800 ng/ml), (b) the same concentrations as in the previous experiment but with the addition of 20% fetal calf serum (FCS) or 20% normal human serum (NHS), (c) 40% NHS or 40% CsATPS. Results at 96 h in (a) CsA inhibited uptake from 300 ng/ml, in (b) CsA inhibited [3H]thymidine uptake from 2400 ng/ml for cultures with FCS and 4800 ng/ml for cultures with NHS, in (c) CsATPS produced [3H]thymidine uptake inhibition compared with NHS. CONCLUSION: CsA alone inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation in NHOb from concentrations similar to therapeutic concentrations. With FCS or NHS, inhibition was produced at higher concentrations. CsATPS inhibited at CsA concentrations lower than those of the two previous experiments.

Blood↗
PubMed1993

Addisonian crisis as the presenting feature of bilateral primary adrenal lymphoma.

The authors report a patient with a primary lymphoma of the adrenal glands presenting as acute adrenal failure. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the adrenal glands revealed a non-Hodgkin lymphoma of predominantly small cleaved cells and a low degree of malignancy. The absence of abnormal findings in clinical, bone marrow, and computed tomography scan examinations supports the diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the adrenal glands. Chemotherapy produced a complete functional recovery, and tumoral masses disappeared after the first three cycles of treatment.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1993

Correlation between densitometric and hystomorphometric values in isolated vertebrae of Sprague-Dawley rats.

The study of bone mass in experimental animals usually requires invasive techniques. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) may be an alternative as a non-invasive method (1). Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of 62 vertebrae of Sprague Dawley rats (SDr) measured by DEXA densitometry were compared with histomorphometric bone volume measurements, and a statistically significant correlation was found (r = 0.79 and 0.75, respectively, p < 0.001). In conclusion, DEXA is an accurate and feasible technique for the study of trabecular bone mass in SDr.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1993

Long-standing remission after 25-OH D3 treatment in a case of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.

This report describes a case of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) in whom a complete remission was achieved and sustained 15 months after treatment with 25-OH vitamin D3. No side-effects were observed. Although vitamin D1 has been used in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, to our knowledge this is the first case of long-standing remission in a patient with CMML. This 'differentiation therapy' might be considered as a possible alternative in the management of this disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

HLA molecules in basal cell carcinoma of the skin.

Fifty basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and 8 samples of healthy skin were studied for HLA class I and class II antigen expression and for the presence of mutations in codon 12 of the K-ras and H-ras genes. All samples of healthy skin and of epithelium near the tumor showed high levels of class I molecules, whereas 38% of the tumors showed complete absence. Sixty-two percent of the tumors presented positive class I expression with heterogeneous staining. These losses were due to the simultaneous lack of heavy chain and beta 2-microglobulin. Selective losses of HLA-A or HLA-B antigens were not detected. Class II antigens were absent in most of the tumors, only two tumors showing a few weakly positive cells with anti-HLA-DR mAb. The loss of class I expression correlated significantly with the degree of histological differentiation and aggressiveness. We were unable to correlate class I expression with clinical size, depth of invasion or the extent of leukocytic infiltrate surrounding the tumor. Analysis by PCR amplification of codon 12 of the K-ras and H-ras oncogenes detected H-ras mutations in 1 out of 50 cases, and no K-ras mutations in any of the tumors studied. Thus, a positive relationship between K-ras and H-ras mutations and BCC tumorigenesis or MHC alterations seems unlikely in this neoplasia.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1991

Effect of continuous oestradiol-medroxyprogesterone administration on plasma lipids and lipoproteins.

Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were measured in 21 post-menopausal women after 4 and 8 months of continuous treatment with an orally administered combination of oestradiol and medroxyprogesterone acetate. The mean concentrations of cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were reduced by 12% (P less than 0.001) and 11% (P less than 0.01), respectively, after 4 months of treatment and by 9% (P less than 0.05) and 12% (P less than 0.05) after 8 months. The mean level of high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol showed an initial fall of 5% (P less than 0.05) after 4 months and then increased by 13% (P less than 0.05) after 8 months of treatment. The plasma triglycerides level oscillated around the baseline value, but the changes were not statistically significant. Indexes such as the HDL-cholesterol/LDL-cholesterol and cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratios, which are considered to be good indicators of atherogenic risk, showed changes towards patterns considered to be beneficial. Although the clinical significance of these changes remains uncertain at present, it seems clear that an oestradiol and medroxyprogesterone combination administered continuously produces biochemical changes which are regarded as protective against cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the endometrial inertness attributed to the continuous oestrogen-progestogen therapy would warrant its use as a good alternative in post-menopausal replacement therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Infection in diabetes: the relation to the degree of metabolic control and protein malnutrition].

Sixty-one diabetic patients, followed for two years, were divided in two groups for evaluation. One group consisted of the patients who had a bacterial or fungal infection, and the other those in whom no infection had been recorded. The association of the infection with the degree of metabolic control and with the presence or absence of protein malnutrition were assessed. The group of patients with infection was positively correlated with malnutrition and poor metabolic control. In the group with infections, the prevalence of protein malnutrition was 77% while in the patients without infection it was 36%. 11% of patients with sugar blood level lower than 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/l) had infections, whereas 79% of those with sugar blood levels higher than 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/l) had infections. We emphasize the relevance of hyperglycemia and protein malnutrition as predisposing factors of infection in diabetes and the need to assess the nutritional status in those patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Peripheral blood and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in non-small cell lung cancer: analysis at the population and clonal level.

Tumor infiltrating (TIL) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from 18 patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing radical surgery. Surface marker analysis revealed that TILs and PBLs mainly consisted of CD3+ T cells and that TILs generally displayed a lower CD4/CD8 ratio. Differences were found in the expression of CD25 (IL-2 receptor) and DR (MHC class II) antigens, which were increased in TILs, and in the percentage of CD16+ natural killer (NK) cells, which was reduced in TILs as compared to PBLs. Accordingly, the NK activity of TILs was lower than that of PBLs, whereas neither TILs nor PBLs expressed spontaneous cytolytic activity against fresh autologous tumor cells, melanoma cells and the "NK-resistant" A549 lung carcinoma cell line. After 4 days of culture in medium with recombinant-interleukin-2 (rIL-2), TILs and PBLs acquired cytolytic activity against all cell targets, but TILs expressed higher levels of cytotoxicity than autologous PBLs only in 3 patients out of 16 tested. More importantly, both TILs and PBLs displayed similar levels of cytotoxic activity against autologous tumor cells. TILs and PBLs from 8 patients were also analyzed by a limiting dilution microculture system. Cloning efficiency was remarkably lower in TILs, and surface marker analysis of T cell clones confirmed that an accumulation of CD8+ lymphocytes, which displayed cytolytic activity in a lectin-dependent assay, occurred at the tumor site. The non-MHC-restricted cytolytic activity of TIL- and PBL-derived T cell clones against K562, A549, and allogeneic melanoma cells and the cytolytic activity against autologous tumor cells showed no significant differences. Only 53% of TIL clones released IL-2 in response to PHA + TPA stimulation, whereas 68% of PBL-derived clones were IL-2 producers. Moreover, most PBL- and TIL-derived clones released tumor necrosis factor alpha in response to mitogen stimulation.

Aged↗