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Biomedical subjects

V Sharma

Publications and source records attributed to V Sharma.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

The role of intraluminal radiotherapy and concurrent 5-fluorouracil infusion in the management of carcinoma esophagus: a pilot study.

Fifty patients with carcinoma of the esophagus were entered in a randomized pilot study to test the efficacy of intraluminal radiotherapy (ILRT) and concurrent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion. The median age was 65 years, with 80% having middle third lesions; in 62%, the lesions were longer than 5 cm. After external beam therapy of 50 Gy in 5 weeks, patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy. Significant improvement in dysphagia was recorded in 76% patients with complete response in 47 cases ranging from 6 to 27 months. The overall survival at 2 years was 15% with ILRT alone versus 22% with ILRT plus 5-FU infusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Polyamine metabolism in some helminth parasites.

Polyamine levels of some helminth parasites were analyzed by reverse phase HPLC of benzoyl derivatives. Setaria cervi, Acanthocheilonema viteae, Hymenolepis nana, H. diminuta, and Ascaridia galli contained higher levels of spermine than spermidine while in Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis the spermidine levels were higher than spermine; putrescine was either absent or present in minor quantities. The enzymes of polyamine biosynthesis viz., ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)-decarboxylase, and arginine decarboxylase were present in very low to negligible amounts in all the parasites examined. A. ceylanicum exhibited high activity of ornithine amino transferase (OAT) and catalyzed appreciable decarboxylation of ornithine. The ornithine decarboxylating activity of A. ceylanicum was localized in the particulate fraction containing mitochondria, not inhibited by alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine, the specific inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), but inhibited in the presence of glutamate, suggesting the involvement of mitochondrial OAT rather than a true ODC in ornithine decarboxylation in this parasite. Significant activity of polyamine oxidase was also detected in helminth parasites. The absence of polyamine biosynthesizing enzymes in helminth parasites suggests their dependence on hosts for uptake and interconversion of polyamines, providing a potential target for chemotherapy.

Ancylostoma↗
PubMed1991

Experience with peritoneal oocyte and sperm transfer as an outpatient-based treatment for infertility.

Fifty-nine patients underwent 74 peritoneal oocyte and sperm transfer procedures. Forty-nine had previously failed treatment with inseminated frozen donor sperm and 10 had unexplained infertility. All procedures were carried out under ultrasound direction on an outpatient basis without general anesthetic by the transabdominal or vaginal route. Eighteen (24%) procedures resulted in pregnancy. Of these patients, 16 have delivered live infants (1 set of triplets, 2 twins, and 13 singletons) and 2 miscarried. Peritoneal oocyte and sperm transfer offers an outpatient-based alternative to gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) for in vivo conception. It can also be used in patients scheduled for intrauterine insemination where stimulation is excessive because the number of oocytes replaced can be limited.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Heavy drinking as a risk factor for depression and dementia in elderly men. Findings from the Liverpool longitudinal community study.

A random community sample of subjects aged 65 and over was re-interviewed after three years by psychiatrists using the GMS and HAS. The relationship between drinking history and current psychiatric morbidity was examined. Men with a history of heavy drinking for five years or more at some time in their lives were found to have a greater than fivefold risk of suffering from a psychiatric disorder at the time of the interview. Among this group past alcohol consumption was significantly higher for those with a current psychiatric diagnosis compared with those who were well. This association between heavy alcohol consumption in earlier years and psychiatric morbidity in later life is not explained by current drinking habits.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

The effect of human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy on the circulating level of relaxin.

The effect of hCG and pregnancy on the circulating levels of relaxin was investigated in 48 women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (ET) for the treatment of infertility. Subjects were allocated randomly to receive hCG (Profasi; 2000 IU, im) or placebo on the day of ET (day 0) and on day 3 after ET (day 3). Samples of peripheral blood were taken on days -4, 6, and 10. An additional sample was taken on day 22 from women who became pregnant. The subjects were allocated retrospectively to 1 of 4 groups: no pregnancy, no hCG (NP); pregnancy, no hCG (P); no pregnancy, hCG (NPH); and pregnancy, hCG (PH). Two patients with blighted ova and one with a tubal pregnancy were excluded from the analysis. The concentrations of relaxin were similar and rose significantly in all groups at each time point (P less than 0.05). On day 6 there was no significant difference in the increment between the groups, but by day 10, circulating levels in the P compared to the NP and those in the PH compared to the NPH group were significantly greater (P less than 0.05). By day 22 the difference between the PH and the P groups was significant (P less than 0.05). Relaxin levels correlated with progesterone levels on day 10 in the NP and P groups (r = 0.633; P less than 0.05 and r = 0.697; P less than 0.05, respectively) and with estradiol levels in the P group only on days 6 and 22 (r = 0.659; P less than 0.05 and r = 0.783; P less than 0.05, respectively). These data demonstrate that in women undergoing in vitro fertilization, relaxin levels increase during the luteal phase, and in those women who establish a pregnancy, the values are significantly greater by day 10. The administration of hCG in the early luteal phase, before implantation, to women who subsequently become pregnant significantly increased the level of circulating relaxin on day 22. The positive correlation between relaxin levels and ovarian steroid levels in the groups not receiving exogenous hCG suggests that a common factor may control the release of both.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1991

The dimension of focussed attention: relationship to behavior and cognitive functioning in children.

A sample of 73 nonreferred school children were administered a newly developed Visual Focussed-attention Test along with other measures of attentional, cognitive, and behavioral functioning. Internal reliability and construct validity for the test were established. Children were then divided into underfocussed (distractible, n = 6), normofocussed (n = 38), and overfocussed (n = 5) groups based upon their test scores. The three groups did not differ with regard to age, intellectual functioning, or academic achievement. However, the underfocussed and overfocussed groups contained a greater proportion of behaviorally disturbed children than the normofocussed group. Underfocussed children, as a group, were rated higher than normofocussed, but not higher than overfocussed children on the Hyperactivity factor of the Conners Teacher Questionnaire. The significance of these focussed attention deficits is reviewed in relation to the more familiar concepts of distractibility and hyperactivity.

Attention↗
PubMed1991

Osteoclastoma of occipital bone.

Osteoclastoma of the calvarial bone of membranous origin is a rare entity. This paper presents a case of osteoclastoma of the occipital bone and a brief review of literature.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Cystic meningiomas in infancy.

A suprasellar meningioma with multiple intratumoral cysts in a 6-month-old boy is reported. A review of literature disclosed only 11 cases so far. They showed a characteristic predominance in males and predominance of fibroblastic type on pathological examination. Intratumoral cystes are less common than peritumoral cysts. The various hypothesis regarding cyst formation are discussed.

Cysts↗
PubMed1991

Scanning of key residues in antibody binding sites by two saturation-mutagenesis approaches.

The complementarity-determining region 3 of the heavy chain (CDRH3) generally contributes the most to antibody-antigen binding. His101H in CDRH3 of the antibody Se155-4, which is specific for a trisaccharide epitope of Salmonella serotype B O-antigen, was mutated systematically into all nineteen other amino acids by a double mutation approach. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and affinity chromatography showed that the Asn, Gln, Gly and Ser mutants exhibited moderate to strong activity. Some mutants, such as Thr and Pro, had weak binding activity, while the acidic and hydrophobic amino acid substitutions resulted in complete loss of activity. A second mutation approach which randomly changed a selected residue into all other nineteen amino acids, while precluding wild-type transformants, is also described.

Amino Acid Sequence↗