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Biomedical subjects

A Accarino

Publications and source records attributed to A Accarino.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Variation of slow-wave frequency and locking during the migrating myoelectric complex in dogs.

Slow waves determine rhythm and polarity of spike bursts. We measured the variation of slow-wave frequency (swf) and locking (swl) in the canine jejunum during the various phases of the migrating myoelectric complex (MMC) and during induced phase III (erythromycin 125 micrograms/kg iv bolus or somatostatin 2.5 micrograms.kg-1.h-1 iv infusion), blocked phase III (atropine 20 micrograms/kg iv bolus), and so-called stationary phase III activity (cisapride 150 micrograms/kg iv bolus). The EMG of 4 dogs, implanted with 10 bipolar electrodes, was recorded on a polygraph. Our results indicate that swf and swl change during the MMC from a stepwise swf gradient with slow waves locked in plateaus during phase I to a continuous swf gradient without or with significantly reduced phase locking during phase III. The length of the first swf plateau decreases significantly from 42 +/- 12 cm post Treitz during phase I to 11 +/- 4 cm during spontaneous phase III. Atropine block of phase III activity prevents phase unlocking and development of a continuous swf gradient. Our hypothesis is that phase unlocking may be one of the induction mechanisms of spike-burst activity.

Animals↗

[Acute gastroenteritis due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Spain. Presentation of 8 cases].

Eight cases of acute gastroenteritis caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus in humans are described; to our knowledge, they are the first such reported cases in Spain. All cases appeared between August 20th and October 15th, with a frequency of 8.3% regarding the overall adult patients with acute gastroenteritis, and 11.5% regarding the overall patients with positive stool culture for any enteropathogenic organism. The eight strains were Kanagawa positive and in three patients other enteropathogenic organisms were isolated in addition to Vibrio parahaemolyticus, i.e. Aeromonas hydrophila in two and Salmonella serovariety enteritidis in another. In all cases fish or shellfish had been ingested outside the patients' homes; except for one patient, who ate living clams in the seaside of Galicia, all patients ingested them at seaside restaurants from the Barcelona province. The clinical features of acute gastroenteritis were definite in all patients, but no patients had significant electrolyte losses or required hospital admission. Recovery was spontaneous and no antimicrobial agents were required. All strains were sensitive to tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, cefotaxime, ceftazidime and nearly always to co-trimoxazole.

Acute Disease↗

Intestinal permeability to 99mTc-diethylenetriaminopentaacetic acid in inflammatory bowel disease.

Intestinal permeability in inflammatory bowel disease and its relation to periods of disease activity has been investigated by measuring the urinary excretion of DTPA labeled with 99mTc. Urine excretion in 10 control subjects was 2.7 +/- 1% of the test dose. Twelve patients with ulcerative colitis excreted 5.08 +/- 1.6% in remission, 10.61 +/- 2% during periods of mild activity, 19.41 +/- 0.9% during moderate activity, and 15.41 +/- 6.3% with severe activity. Sixteen patients with Crohn's disease excreted 5.7 +/- 1.9% in remission, 8.47 +/- 2.8% during mild activity of the disease, and 14.29 +/- 5.8% during moderate activity. No differences were observed between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, or between ileal and colonic forms of Crohn's disease. Excretion in remission was significantly greater than in control subjects and there was a correlation between excretion and disease activity. In serial determinations done in seven patients we found that urine excretion of the test substance correlated with disease activity. We also studied DTPA excretion in 10 cases with gastric or duodenal ulcer (2.28 +/- 1.4%), six cases of acute gastroenteritis (4.87 +/- 3.1%) and nine cases with other intestinal diseases (3.6 +/- 1.1%). In all these cases, DTPA excretion was lower than in inflammatory bowel disease. Our results show that the urinary excretion of DTPA is a simple test that measures accurately the degree of activity of inflammatory bowel disease. The test is useful in Crohn's disease as well as in ulcerative colitis, and detects intestinal permeability abnormalities even in clinical remission. Significantly lower excretions are found in other intestinal diseases. The test may be recommended as a screening test for use in clinical practice.

Adolescent↗

Toxic megacolon in typhoid fever.

A 40-year-old man with bacteriologically documented typhoid fever who was receiving correct antibiotic treatment developed toxic megacolon. Because of progressive clinical deterioration, the patient underwent surgical treatment, with quick postoperative improvement while receiving antibiotics and total parenteral nutrition.

Adult↗