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Biomedical subjects

A Bender

Publications and source records attributed to A Bender.

102 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Thymomas in patients with myasthenia gravis.

The records of 141 patients with myasthenia gravis who had thymomas were reviewed. In this series there were 69 noninvasive tumors and 52 invasive tumors. The five year survival for all patients was 60%, with the invasive group demonstrating a poorer prognosis than the noninvasive. The remission rates for the whole group (both invasive and noninvasive) of myasthenics was quite low (7%). Although the overall survival of this series of patients was relatively high, it is felt that by earlier diagnosis and a more aggressive surgical approach their prognosis will be even better.

Adolescent↗

Multiple forms of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody in myasthenia gravis.

Sera of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) contain anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) IgG antibodies (Ab) which have different antigenic specificities. Three Ab types were detected: (1) MG-I, which forms immune complexes with AChR; (2) MG-C, which decreases binding of AChR to concanavalin A; and MG-B, which blocks alpha-bungarotoxin binding to AChR. Sera from 152 MG patients were screened for the Ab types. Sixty-one percent contained MG-I, 26% contained MG-C, 10% contained MG-B, and 5% contained both MG-C and MG-B. The latter Ab types were associated with more severe forms of MG but showed no other clinical correlations. IgG antibodies of defined type were purified, and their interaction with unlabeled and toxin-prelabeled AChR from denervated rat muscle was studied in detail. Receptors are homogeneous with respect to determinants recognized by MG-I, but heterogeneous with respect to determinants recognized by MG-C (3 subpopulations, 22%, 28%, and 50% of AChR) and by MG-B (2 subpopulations, 30% and 70% of AChR). The stoichiometry of AChR interaction with the antibodies indicates that for each toxin-binding site, the receptor is divalent as an antigen for MG-I and MG-C but is tetravalent for MG-B. Denervated muscle AChR appears to be a mixture of at least 3 molecular forms of AChR, each of which has distinct immunological features as well as components common to all the receptor subpopulations.

Acetylcholine↗

Inhibition of HIV in vitro by antiviral drug-targeting using nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles are known to accumulate in the phagocytic cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Therefore, the use of this carrier system for the targeting of antiviral drugs to monocytes/macrophages (MO/MAC) is an attractive concept in the treatment of diseases involving MO/MAC, e.g. infection with HIV. In this study, the ability of macrophages isolated from peripheral blood of healthy blood donors to phagocytose and metabolize human serum albumin microspheres was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, nanoparticles manufactured using human serum albumin or polyhexylcyanoacrylate were loaded with nucleoside analogues (AZT and ddC) and tested for their ability to prevent HIV infection in MO/MAC cultures. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of this drug-targeting system to one of the major target cells for HIV.

Antiviral Agents↗

[The potential for training of proprioceptive and coordinative parameters in patients with chronic ankle instability].

AIM: This study was aimed at assessing the outcome of physical therapy based on both subjective patient's satisfaction and objective measurement of peroneal reaction time in patients with chronic ankle instability. METHOD: 25 patients with chronic ankle instability based on functional deficits were included. Physical therapy consisted in a 6 weeklong program with muscle strengthening and coordination exercises for one hour, three times a week. Before starting physical therapy as well as two weeks after finishing the program, patients underwent both a clinical exam as well as measurement of their peroneal reaction time. RESULTS: Following physical therapy peroneal reaction time of the long (p = 0.0001) and short (p = 0.0003) peroneal muscles significantly decreased. Prior to physical therapy the Kitaoka score was calculated to be 72.2 (+/- 18.7), the post treatment value was 93.3 (+/- 11.7) with a p-value of < 0.001. As for subjective patient's assessment on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the least and 10 the most satisfied with therapeutical outcome, patients gave an average post treatment score of 8.3 (+/- 1.9). CONCLUSION: Measurement of PRT can be used as a helpful diagnostic parameter, as a parameter for quality control and for verification of therapy results. Specific physiotherapy leads to good clinical results and increased PRT.

Adolescent↗

Group work is political work: a feminist perspective of interpersonal group psychotherapy.

When practicing as group leaders, mental health nurses often incorporate Irvin Yalom's (1995, 1998) concepts of social microcosm and here-and-now. This article examines these concepts from a feminist perspective and offers an approach to group psychotherapy that processes gender issues and fosters collective consciousness-raising. A feminist perspective in group therapy challenges us to view the social microcosm as a reenactment of sociopolitical contexts and the here-and-now as a medium for developing personal and social responsibility. Therapy is not only about individual and interpersonal change in group members, but is an opportunity for healthy social change. Therapy becomes political work, raising the social consciousness of each participant as well as the group as a whole.

Adult↗