Biomedical subjects

A Magro

Publications and source records attributed to A Magro.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

How reliable is axillary temperature measurement?

AIM: To assess whether axillary temperature measurements reliably reflect oral/rectal temperature measurements. METHODS: This observational study compared paired axillary-rectal and axillary-oral temperatures in a general paediatric ward with the participation of 225 children aged < or = 4 y and 112 children aged between 4 and 14 y. RESULTS: Changes in oral/rectal and axillary temperatures correlated significantly (p < 0.0001). However, axillary temperature measurements were significantly lower than both oral (mean -0.56 degrees C, SD 0.76 degrees C) and rectal measurements (0.38 degrees C; SD 0.76 degrees C). Ninety-five percent of axillary measurements fell within a 2.5-3 degrees C range around respective paired oral/rectal measurements. The mean difference increased with increasing temperature, and was 0.4 degrees C at low body temperatures, and over 1 degree C with a fever of 39 degrees C. Neither seasonal fluctuations nor the amount of clothing worn influenced this difference. CONCLUSION: Axillary temperatures in young children do not reliably reflect oral/rectal temperatures and should therefore be interpreted with caution.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Effect of zinc supplementation on metallothionein, copper, and zinc concentration in various tissues of copper-loaded rats.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of Zn administration on metallothionein concentrations in the liver, kidney, and intestine of copper-loaded rats. Male CD rats were fed a diet containing 12 mg Cu and 67 mg Zn/kg body wt. They were divided into either acute or chronic experimental protocols. Rats undergoing acute experiments received daily ip injections of either Cu (3 mg/kg body wt) or Zn (10 mg/kg body wt) for 3 d. Chronic experiments were carried out on rats receiving Cu ip injections on d 1, 2, 3, 10, 17, and 24, Cu injections plus a Zn-supplemented diet containing 5 g Zn/kg solid diet, or a Zn-supplemented diet alone. Rats injected Zn or Cu had increased MT concentrations in liver and kidney. Zn produced the most important effects and the liver was the most responsive organ. Rats fed a Zn-supplemented diet had significantly higher MT concentrations in liver and intestine with respect to controls. Increased MT synthesis in the liver may contribute to copper detoxification; the hypothesis of copper entrapment in enterocytes cannot be confirmed.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Pubarche induction with testosterone treatment in women with panhypopituitarism.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of T therapy in the induction of pubic hair growth in women with congenital panhypopituitarism. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Patients followed at the University Endocrinology Clinic. PATIENTS: Four women with congenital panhypopituitarism, showing no pubic hair development, currently treated with substitutive therapy with L-thyroxine, cortisone acetate, and estrogen-progestin combination. INTERVENTIONS: A long-acting T preparation (25 to 50 mg) was given IM each month; serum T levels were determined before and after 12 and 24 months of therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Evaluation of pubarche stages (according to Tanner classification of stages). RESULTS: Patients developed pubarche (Tanner stage 3 to 5) after 3 to 18 months of T therapy. Testosterone levels were within the normal range during treatment. No hirsutism or other side effects were recorded. CONCLUSION: A cautious T treatment represents an effective and safe approach to the problem of pubarche induction in women with congenital panhypopituitarism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Collagen-induced rat platelet reactivity is enhanced in whole blood in both the presence and absence of dense granule secretion.

Collagen induced aggregation, ATP secretion and thromboxane (TxB2) generation of storage pool deficient platelets were compared to normal platelets of closely related rat strains. Platelet function was monitored in citrated-platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) and citrated whole blood. Wistar (W) and fawn-hooded (FH) rat strains and their F2 hybrids were utilized. The W strain, which is ancestral to the FH strain, is not storage pool deficient while the FH strain is. This was manifested by the total lack of collagen induced ATP secretion from platelets of the FH strain while the platelets of the W strain secreted normally. Utilizing platelets from the F2 generation of WxFH matings, the absence of dense granule secretion (ATP) from the FH platelets, as well as other platelet defects of FH rats, were shown to be associated with homozygosity for the red-eyed dilution gene [r]. The non-secreting FH platelets were utilized to determine the effects of secreted dense granule constituents upon collagen induced aggregation and TxB2 generation. The non-secreting storage pool deficient platelets did aggregate and did generate TxB2 upon stimulation with collagen; however, the storage pool deficient FH platelets demonstrated less TxB2 generation and did not aggregate as effectively as the normally secreting platelets of the W strain. When evaluating collagen induced platelet function in whole blood as compared to PRP, the storage pool deficient platelets remained less reactive than normally secreting platelets, but both platelet types demonstrated enhanced aggregation and increased TxB2 generation in whole blood.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1990

Effects of exercise on serum amino-transferase activity and pyridoxal phosphate saturation in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Aminotransferase activities were measured in the serum of two- to three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies and colts during a four week period of peak training for flat racing. Aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT, EC 2.6.1.1), mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase (m-AspAT) and alanine aminotransferase (AlaAT, EC 2.6.1.2) activities in serum were measured and the relative proportions of apoenzyme and holoenzyme were determined. The aminotransferase activities were increased only slightly immediately following exercise. This small and immediate post exercise increase in activity did not vary greatly over the period of peak training. Measured in the presence of exogenous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, mean enzyme activities (iu/litre at 30 degrees C) before exercise were: AspAT, 291; m-AspAT, 13; AlaAT, 18. After exercise they were: AspAT, 317; m-AspAT, 16; AlaAT, 23. Nearly all of the AspAT activity was present in the holoenzyme form (94 per cent holoenzyme) indicating excellent vitamin B6 status in these animals. Paradoxically, the AlaAT in serum from the same highly trained Thoroughbred horses was poorly saturated with pyridoxal phosphate, with nearly half of the AlaAT in most horses present in the inactive apoenzyme form (61 per cent that of holoenzyme). It is critical therefore, that exogenous pyridoxal phosphate be included in aminotransferase assays to determine the amounts of enzyme release into the peripheral circulation.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMed1984

Urinary and renal kallikrein in hypertensive fawn-hooded (FH/Wjd) rats.

Urinary excretion of kallikrein (UKal), sodium, potassium, protein, and creatinine, as well as the kidney content of kallikrein and renin, was studied in spontaneously hypertensive FH/Wjd (FH) male and female rats and in age- and sex-matched normal Wistar rats. With the exception of 1-month-old rats UKal excretion was significantly lower in FH rats than in Wistar rats. FH females also excreted less UKal than Wistar females. No UKal inhibitor or increased degradation of this enzyme in the urine of FH rats was detected. There was no difference in creatinine clearance, blood urea nitrogen, or serum electrolytes, and calcium between 5-month-old FH and Wistar males. Wistar rat kidneys contained about twice as much kallikrein as FH rat kidneys. From the age of 2 months FH males excreted more sodium, as well as urine, than all other groups. No differences in potassium excretion were observed. Only FH males, 4 months and older, developed proteinuria. FH males and females became hypertensive at the ages of 2 and 4.5 months, respectively. Plasma renin activity, as well as renal renin activity, was significantly lower in FH than in Wistar males. In conclusion, the decrease in UKal activity which precedes the onset of hypertension suggests that the abnormality in the renal kallikrein system may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension in FH rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Comparison of effects of investigational compounds upon allergic phenomena in rodents in vivo and in human basophils in vitro.

Investigational compounds active in anti-allergic/anti-asthmatic screens in rodents in vivo (IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in rats, IgE-mediated anaphylactic bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs, and histamine-, or acetylcholine-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs) were examined for their effects against IgE-mediated histamine release from human basophiles. Fifty-seven% (19/33) of investigational compounds active against passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in rats and 40% (12/30) of compounds active against anaphylactic bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs were active also against histamine release from human basophiles. Twenty-eight percent (8/29) and 38% (6/15) of compounds active agonist histamine- and acetylcholine-bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs, respectively, were active also against histamine release from human basophiles. The lack of consistent activity of investigational compounds in the in vivo IgE-mediated anaphylactic screens suggests that diverse inhibitory mechanisms are involved. Anaphylactic histamine release from human basophiles may serve as an adjunct in the determination of the activity profiles of new antiallergic agents. It is of limited value in the search for new bronchodilators.

Acetylcholine↗

PubMed1976

Alternative complement pathway: activity levels in allogeneic pregnancy.

Classical and alternative complement pathway activities have been evaluated in sera of women in progressive stages of gestation and in pregnant mice belonging to outbred or inbred matings, as compared to suitable controls. While classical C pathway was found to be unmodified, the alternative one attained in pregnancy significantly higher activity levels. Results are discussed in the light of mother-conceptus relationships.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical features and hormonal characteristics in a case of ovarian arrhenoblastoma.

We report a case of a 34-year-old woman affected with ovarian arrhenoblastoma characterized by very high testosterone (T) levels (34.0-60.0 ng/ml; n.v.0.2-0.9) and suppressed gonadotropin levels. The physical examination revealed: severe hirsutism, acne, amenorrhea and other virilization signs. Basal hormonal evaluation also showed a markedly elevated 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) and a mild delta 4 Androstenedione (A) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAs) increase. ACTH test induced only slight changes in androgen secretion. By contrast, dexamethasone test greatly decreased A and DHEAs whereas T levels were only partially suppressed. Moreover, hCG test was clearly stimulatory for T and A. Suppressed gonadotropin levels did not respond to LHRH stimulation. The removal of the neoplasia was followed by normalization of T levels and increase of serum gonadotropins with subsequent restoration of a normal responsiveness to LHRH and resumption of an ovulatory menstrual cycle. This observation suggests that the high T levels played a primary role in the pathogenesis of the gonadotropin suppression and anovulation. Recovery of acne was complete whereas hirsutism score was reduced but still elevated after one year. This may be due to postoperative A and DHEAs levels slightly above the normal range, indicating the presence of adrenal hyperandrogenism.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗