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Biomedical subjects

Y Golan

Publications and source records attributed to Y Golan.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Cutaneous involvement in a rare case of adult visceral leishmaniasis acquired in Israel.

Skin lesions are rare in visceral leishmaniasis, especially in Mediterranean countries. We describe an unusual case of visceral leishmaniasis in a 41-year-old man that began with a skin lesion. The parasites isolated from both the skin lesion and the bone marrow were typed as Leishmania donovani sensu stricto. This pathogen is not endemic in Israel or neighboring countries; its contribution to adult visceral leishmaniasis in Israel is summarized.

Animals↗

Enzyme immunoassay for the diagnosis of cat-scratch disease defined by polymerase chain reaction.

Whole-cell immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) tests for detection of anti-Bartonella henselae immunoglobulin (Ig) G are commonly used to diagnose cat-scratch disease (CSD). The need to cultivate B. henselae in Vero cells for antigen preparation and the absence of routinely applied IFA assays for IgM constitute the major disadvantages of this form of test. We describe the results of an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for IgM and IgG that used N-lauroyl-sarcosine-insoluble outer membrane antigens from agar-grown B. henselae performed in 84 patients with definite CSD (regional lymphadenitis, cat contact, and > or =1 confirmatory test: polymerase chain reaction, skin test, or B. henselae culture). Although this method has been used as a diagnostic tool in several case reports, it has not previously been evaluated in a large study of definitively proven CSD cases. Results of this study indicate that the EIA described herein can play an important role in the serodiagnosis of CSD, although improvement of the sensitivity, particularly that of the IgM, would be desirable.

Adolescent↗

Direct observation of shear-induced orientational phase coexistence in a lyotropic system using a modified x-ray surface forces apparatus.

The second generation x-ray surface forces apparatus (XSFA-II) allows for the first time simultaneous in situ small-angle x-ray scattering and surface force measurements. We have used the XSFA-II to monitor shear-induced orientational transitions in a lyotropic model lubricant system. Upon applying small shear amplitudes (approximately 20 micrometer) to a relatively thick (approximately 800 micrometer) film, we observed evidence for the formation of an orientational boundary layer at the shearing surface. Time-resolved x-ray diffraction revealed the gradual transition to shear-favored orientation by growth of the boundary layer.

Journal Article↗

Molecular diagnosis of cat scratch disease: a two-step approach.

Amplification of Bartonella henselae DNA has been proposed as a diagnostic test for cat scratch disease (CSD). The sensitivities of the following three PCR assays were compared. PCR/rRNA with universal primers amplifies part of the 16S rRNA gene, followed by hybridization with a specific B. henselae probe; PCR/CS and PCR/HSP amplify portions of the gltA and the htrA genes, respectively, each followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The threshold of detection of B. henselae DNA in pus was 10(-4), 10(-3), and 10(-2) ng for PCR/rRNA, PCR/CS, and PCR/HSP, respectively. By these three assays, B. henselae DNA was detected in 100, 94, and 69% of 32 pus and lymph node specimens from CSD patients, respectively. The similar sensitivities of the PCR/rRNA and the PCR/CS assays for detecting B. henselae DNA in clinical specimens are in contrast to the 10-fold difference in sensitivities in favor of PCR/rRNA demonstrated with purified B. henselae DNA in sterile pus, suggesting that in the majority of cases, the bacterial load in clinical specimens is large enough to be identified by the PCR/CS assay. A two-step approach is suggested to achieve maximal sensitivity for detecting B. henselae in clinical specimens: initial testing by PCR/CS (which does not require hybridization), followed by PCR/rRNA with PCR/CS-negative specimens when CSD is strongly suspected.

Adolescent↗

Prediction of renal impairment in elderly patients with congestive heart failure treated with captopril.

This study assessed the usefulness of the oral captopril test in the prediction of renal impairment among elderly patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Forty-seven patients aged > or = 65 years with CHF (EF < 40%) participated in a prospective nonrandomized series. Blood samples for plasma renin activity (PRA) were drawn before and 60 minutes after 50 mg of oral captopril. Twenty-four hours later, captopril was administered (up to 75 mg/day over a 4 day period), and renal laboratory and clinical assessment were performed at baseline and for a 9 day period. In 7 of 47 patients (14.9%), deterioration of renal function was observed. During the captopril test, the PRA increased significantly after 1 hour in almost all patients and the mean blood pressure decreased from 99.2 +/- 14.6 mmHg to 92.2 +/- 13.7 mmHg (p < 0.001). All patients whose baseline PRA level was < 1.9 ng/ml/hr and whose stimulated PRA was < 3.2 ng/ml/hr maintained a stable renal function throughout the study period. Significant statistical correlation (p < 0.05) was found between the initial PRA, the changes in PRA or mean blood pressure during the captopril test, and the change in plasma creatinine and creatinine clearance in the entire group, and was even more evident in a subgroup of patients with an ejection fraction > or = 30%. All these correlations were not statistically significant in the patients with an ejection fraction < 30%. It is thus concluded that measurement of pretreatment PRA levels might be a useful laboratory tool for predicting the renal safety of captopril use in patients with CHF whose EF > or = 30%.

Administration, Oral↗

Situs inversus abdominis in association with duodenal obstruction and internal hernia.

Persistent bile-stained vomiting in a neonate led to a radiologic workup that revealed the existence of a situs inversus and a partial duodenal obstruction. A duodenal diaphragm with a central aperture was diagnosed. Surgery confirmed the preoperative diagnosis. In addition, an annular pancreas with an anterior gap and a right parietocolic internal hernia containing all the small bowel were discovered. Embryologic aspects, therapeutic options, and the literature were discussed.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Differential expression of HPV types 6 and 11 in condylomas and cervical preneoplastic lesions.

Tumor biopsies from exophytic and flat condylomas at different locations on the genital epithelium (10 cases) and in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grades 1-2 (6 cases) were analysed for HPV types 6 and 11 DNA and RNA. The presence of mRNA species which could encode the E6, E7, E1M, E2, E2C, E4, E5 and L1 proteins was determined using the RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique with primers that flank previously mapped or predicted splice sites. The state of the viral DNA in the tumor biopsies was established by Southern blot analysis. We could detect the various mRNA species in biopsies from condylomas associated with both HPV types. The size of the RNA PCR products were in agreement with the previously mapped splice sites of mRNAs recovered from an experimental condyloma induced by HPV11. The major viral transcript encoding the E1i--E4 protein was detected in all the tumor biopsies. From the rare transcripts the rate of detection of mRNA species encoding the E1M, E2C proteins was the highest. In 2 of 6 CIN biopsies analysed only the major viral transcript was detected. The overall results of this study suggest that early gene products of HPV types 6 and 11 may be important in the induction of cellular proliferation and condylamatous differentiation but these possibly may not be required for the development of the HPV-associated cervical neoplasia.

Base Sequence↗