Biomedical subjects

A Dragomir

Publications and source records attributed to A Dragomir.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Storage of trachea for X-ray microanalytical studies of tracheal submucosal glands.

Pig trachea is a good model system to study airway fluid transport with relevance to human diseases such as cystic fibrosis, since both in pig and in man, the submucosal glands play a quantitatively important role in fluid secretion. Pig trachea can be easily obtained from the local slaughterhouse. In the present study, we investigated the procedure to transport the tissue from the slaughterhouse to the laboratory where physiological experiments can be carried out. Transport of the tissue in a solution with high K+ content (resembling the intracellular environment) maintained the morphology of the glands and a high intracellular K/Na ratio. Physiological experiments can be carried out in solutions with a high Na+ concentration resembling the extracellular environment. The glands secrete chloride on stimulation with alpha-adrenergic, beta-adrenergic, cholinergic and peptidergic agonists. Transport and temporary storage of tissue in high K+ solutions expands the scope of possible X-ray microanalytical studies in the field of pathophysiology.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Knee pain and knee osteoarthritis severity in self-reported task specific disability: the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the contributions of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) and knee pain severity to self-reported disability performing upper and lower extremity tasks in a rural, population based sample. METHODS: Data from 1192 African-American and Caucasian participants in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project were analyzed with multiple logistic regression to examine the roles of Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic knee OA grade and knee pain severity in self-reported difficulty performing 20 activities of the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Potential confounders included age, sex, race, marital status, education, and body mass index. RESULTS: Forty-three percent reported difficulty performing at least one task. Mild knee pain was independently associated with difficulty performing 16 upper and lower extremity tasks, and moderate/severe knee pain with all 20 tasks, with little change after adjustment (p < 0.0001). In contrast, mild radiographic knee OA was associated with difficulty in only 4 mobility and transfer tasks: climbing 5 steps, taking a tub bath, getting in/out of a car, and performing chores. Moderate/severe radiographic knee OA was associated with difficulty in 17 of 20 tasks (in 10 of 17, p < 0.0001), except lifting a cup, opening car doors, and turning faucets. However, no associations between radiographic knee OA and difficulty were statistically significant after adjustment for knee pain and the above factors. CONCLUSION: Knee pain severity was the strongest risk factor for self-reported difficulty performing tasks of upper and lower extremity function. Future studies of disability should include data on knee pain severity.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

Self-reported functional status in osteoarthritis of the knee in a rural southern community: the role of sociodemographic factors, obesity, and knee pain.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the roles of sociodemographic factors (age, race, gender, education, marital status), obesity, and severity of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) and knee pain on self-reported functional status. METHODS: The sample included 1,272 African-American and Caucasian individuals, aged 45 years or older, from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Analysis of variance was used to assess variation in mean Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scores by the above variables. RESULTS: Mean HAQ scores differed by severity of radiographic knee OA and knee pain, obesity, and all demographic factors (P < 0.0001), except race. Only age, female sex, obesity, and knee pain severity were independent effects (P < 0.0009). Disability associated with knee pain varied by both radiographic knee OA severity and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Knee pain severity was more important than radiographic knee OA severity in determining disability. Obesity was independently associated with disability and compounded disability from knee pain. Studies of disability in knee OA should include assessment of obesity, severity of radiographic knee OA, and severity of knee pain, as well as their interactions.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

Ethnic differences in self-reported functional status in the rural south: the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project.

OBJECTIVE: We examined ethnic differences in self-reported functional status in a rural, population-based sample in North Carolina. METHODS: Data from 1,197 African-American and Caucasian participants, aged 45 and older, in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project were analyzed using multiple logistic regression to examine differences in difficulty performing tasks of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and in risk factor profiles associated with difficulty. RESULTS: Forty-three percent reported difficulty in one or more HAQ tasks. African-Americans were more likely than Caucasians to report difficulty performing 3 tasks (P < 0.04); these differences were minimal after adjustment for confounders. For some tasks, risk factor profiles included body mass index in African-Americans only, and age and female gender more often in Caucasians. Low educational attainment was part of the risk factor profile for walking in African-Americans. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in proportions of African-Americans and Caucasians reporting difficulty in performance of HAQ tasks were minimal, but risk factor profiles for difficulty appeared to vary by ethnicity.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1992

Selective immunosuppression by administration of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-binding peptides. I. Evidence for in vivo MHC blockade preventing T cell activation.

Draining lymph node cells (LNC) from mice immunized with hen egg white lysozyme (HEL) display at their surface antigen-MHC complexes able to stimulate, in the absence of any further antigen addition, HEL peptide-specific, class II-restricted T cell hybridomas. Chloroquine addition to these LNC cultures fails to inhibit antigen presentation, indicating that antigenic complexes of class II molecules and HEL peptides are formed in vivo. MHC class II restriction of antigen presentation by LNC from HEL-primed mice was verified by the use of anti-class II monoclonal antibodies. Coinjection of HEL and the I-Ak-binding peptide HEL 112-129 in mice of H-2k haplotype inhibits the ability of LNC to stimulate I-Ak-restricted, HEL 46-61-specific T cell hybridomas. Similar results are obtained in mice coinjected with the HEL peptides 46-61 and 112-129. Inhibition of T hybridoma activation can also be observed using as antigen-presenting cells irradiated, T cell-depleted LNC from mice coinjected with HEL 46-61 and HEL 112-129, ruling out the possible role of either specific or nonspecific suppressor T cells. Inhibition of T cell proliferation is associated with MHC-specific inhibition of antigen presentation and with occupancy by the competitor of class II binding sites, as measured by activation of peptide-specific T cell hybridomas. These results demonstrate that administration of MHC class II binding peptide competitors selectively inhibits antigen presentation to class II-restricted T cells, indicating competitive blockade of class II molecules in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Pseudophakic uveitis].

One of the most important complication in the cataract surgery is the uveitis of the IOL ("toxic lens syndrome"). There are shown the main factors related to the artificial lens, viscoelastic materials and sutures, which may provoke inflammatory reactions. The symptoms may appear early after the operation or later. Concerning those things there is presented a study achieved in the University Clinic of Ophthalmology of the Central Military Hospital.

Adolescent↗