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Biomedical subjects

A Salomon

Publications and source records attributed to A Salomon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring after recovery from hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The outcome of acute renal failure due to diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (D+ HUS) is generally predicted to be good. However, there are only a few long-term observations with detailed reports on long-term sequelae. Specifically, adequate long-term blood pressure (BP) evaluations are scarce. The present study evaluated BP in pediatric patients after childhood D+ HUS. The study group comprised 28 patients (20 males) aged 6-23.5 years (median 10.1 years). All patients had a history of D+ HUS at a median age of 1.1 years (range 0.5-6 years). Based on the duration of oliguria and/or anuria, the primary disease was classified as mild (n=6), moderate (n=6), or severe (n=16). The BP in these patients was studied at a median time of 8.4 years (range 2.3-22.9 years) after manifestation of D+ HUS by means of office BP measurements and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) using a Spacelabs 90207 oscillometric monitor. Measurements were compared with normal values of published standards for healthy children and adolescents. Conventional office BP measurements were above the 95th percentile in 1 patient. By ABPM, 2 patients were diagnosed to have mean systolic daytime and nighttime values in the hypertensive range, and systolic and diastolic hypertension was confirmed in the first patient. All these patients had a severe form of D+ HUS in the past. By applying ABPM, BP anomalies were detected in 5 additional patients. Elevated systolic BP loads were found in 4 patients, and daytime systolic and diastolic hypertension in the other 1. At the time of the study, 2 of them were classified as "recovered." The late outcome of D+ HUS may be worse than anticipated. BP anomalies as long-term sequelae of D+ HUS could be identified by ABPM but not by office BP measurements. These findings may represent an isolated sign of residual renal disturbance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Deficiency of epithelial basement membrane laminin in ulcerative colitis affected human colonic mucosa.

Imbalances in epithelium-matrix interactions have been discussed as a pathomechanism in ulcerative colitis, causing a colonic mucosal barrier dysfunction. Laminin, the major noncollagenous component of the basement membrane, plays a role in epithelial basal lamina formation and promotes differentiation of human enterocytes. We therefore investigated the distribution of laminin in ulcerative colitis affected colonic tissues. Tissue specimens from both affected and nonaffected colonic regions were obtained from ten patients with ulcerative colitis during colonoscopies or operations. Healthy tissue from five patients with colorectal cancer was used as control. After histological classification, the localization and distribution of the basement membrane associated extracellular matrix proteins were determined by immunohistochemistry. Paraffin-embedded sections were incubated with antibodies against laminin and type IV and V collagen. No positive immunoreactivity against laminin was found in most of the epithelial basement membranes surrounding the crypts in affected colonic tissues, without involvement of the subendothelial structures. In contrast, a type IV and V collagen accumulation occurred in all these tissue samples. The lack of laminin in combination with an overexpression of type IV and V collagen, as reported for the first time in this paper, leads to changes in basement membrane structure. These findings indicate that the three-dimensional network of the colonic epithelial basement membrane and its function are seriously disturbed in exacerbating ulcerative colitis. This provides new insights into the importance of cell-matrix interactions for physiological and pathological mechanisms in the etiology of ulcerative colitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Cyclosporine metabolism in patients after kidney, bone marrow, heart-lung, and liver transplantation in the early and late posttransplant periods.

Cyclosporine is used in the prevention of allograft rejection. Owing to its narrow therapeutic index, regular monitoring of the whole blood levels of cyclosporine is required. We observed that immunoassays measured significantly higher cyclosporine levels than did high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) over time after transplantation. As cyclosporine metabolites cross-react even with immunoassays, this observation might be due to alterations of the cyclosporine metabolism. We analyzed cyclosporine metabolite concentrations in the early and in the late posttransplantation periods in 127 patients after kidney, bone marrow, heart-lung, and liver transplantation by HPLC and determined whole blood levels of cyclosporine by 4 immunoassays (enzyme-multiplied immunoassay [EMIT], cloned enzyme donor immunoassay [CEDIA], AxSYM [Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL], and TDx [Abbott Laboratories]). Despite reduced dose, we found significantly higher cyclosporine concentrations measured by the EMIT, AxSYM, and TDx assays in various patient groups. These results are due to the increased metabolite/cyclosporine ratio in the late posttransplantation period. In particular, the metabolites AM1 and AM19 increased significantly over time in bone marrow transplant recipients. Therefore, cyclosporine levels measured by immunoassays should be interpreted with caution.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗
PubMed1997

Fundus pulsation measurements in diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: There is experimental evidence that retinal blood flow is impaired in patients with diabetes mellitus. Much less attention has been paid to choroidal blood flow. Hence it was the aim of the present study to investigate choroidal blood flow in diabetic retinopathy. METHODS: A new non-invasive laser interferometric technique was used to measure fundus pulsations in the macula. The fundus pulsation amplitude, which is the maximum distance change between cornea and retina during the cardiac cycle, is a measure of local pulsatile blood flow. The eyes (n = 214) were divided into four groups according to the modified Airlie House classification: (1) no retinopathy (control group), (2) background retinopathy, (3) moderate to severe preproliferative retinopathy, (4) proliferative retinopathy. In 83 eyes of different group fundus pulsation measurements were repeated after 1-6 weeks. RESULTS: Fundus pulsation amplitudes were significantly smaller in group 4 than in the control group (P < 0.027). The reproducibility of the measurements was high and did not differ among the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: Local fundus pulsations in the macula are reduced in proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which is compatible with previous findings of reduced choroidal blood flow in late stages of the disease. Laser interferometric measurement of fundus pulsations is non-contactile, assures optimal comfort for the patient and could be used for the long-term observation of patients with diabetes mellitus.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The characteristics and needs of sheltered homeless and low-income housed mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To compare characteristics of homeless and low-income housed mothers across economic, psychosocial, and physical health domains. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Community of Worcester, Mass. PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional sample of 220 sheltered homeless mothers and 216 low-income housed (never homeless) mothers receiving welfare. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Income, housing, life events, social support, history of abuse and assault, and mental and physical health. RESULTS: Comparison of homeless and housed mothers revealed some important similarities and differences. The proportion of homeless mothers with annual incomes of less than $7000 was 46% vs 17% for housed mothers (P<.O1). Homeless mothers experienced more residential instability than the housed mothers (3.8 moves vs 1.8 moves; P<.001) and had smaller support networks (P<.001). More homeless mothers reported severe physical and sexual assault over the lifespan than housed mothers (91.6% vs 81.1 %; P<.003). No significant differences were found between the groups in mental and physical health. However, the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders was overrepresented compared to the general female population. Both groups had lower physical functioning compared to the general population and a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Sheltered homeless mothers had fewer economic resources and social supports and higher cumulative rates of violent abuse and assault over their lifespans than their housed counterparts. However, both groups faced extreme adversity that compromised family well-being. Practitioners and social policymakers need to be cognizant of the multiple economic, psychosocial, and physical health needs of these mothers in providing treatment and developing program interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The relationship between the frequency and the processing complexity of linguistic structure.

In this paper the relative frequencies of the possible resolutions of ambiguities involving noun phrase attachment sites are compared to the results of off-line psycholinguistic measurements of syntactic complexity. A lack of correlation between the two is observed. It is therefore argued that the comprehension system is distinct from what is driving the frequencies in the corpora. A production heuristic separate from the comprehension system is proposed to account for the observed frequencies.

Cognition↗
PubMed1996

Patterns of welfare use among poor and homeless women.

The relationship between demographic, health, and social factors and patterns of welfare use was assessed in a cross-sectional survey of homeless and poor housed women on welfare. Factors associated with long-term welfare and those associated with episodic (as opposed to continuous) welfare use are identified. Implications for welfare reform are discussed in light of findings that highlight the complexity of poor women's lives and the variations in their use of welfare.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Transport of vitamin K to bone in humans.

Molecules with vitamin K activity are important for optimal bone health. The major compound of this group in bone is vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), which is derived exclusively from plant foods in the diet. Vitamin K1 is absorbed along with dietary fat from the small intestine and transported by chylomicrons in blood. In serum obtained after an overnight fast from healthy men more than half of the vitamin K1 was recovered from the density fraction that contains chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants (CR), and only a quarter was associated with the major lipoprotein in serum, low density lipoprotein. The concentration of vitamin K1 in serum is closely related to the triglyceride concentration. Another determinant of vitamin K1 concentration in serum is the presence of specific variants of apolipoprotein E (apoE). ApoE is a small protein through which the vitamin K-rich CR bind to lipoprotein receptors. The three most common variants of apoE promote CR clearance from circulation with very different efficiency, in the order E2>E3>E4. The variant that promotes CR clearance best is associated with low vitamin K1 concentration in serum and increased response to vitamin K antagonists. Vitamin K1 concentration in serum is linked to vitamin K status of bone. The bone protein osteocalcin tends to be less completely carboxylated in people with low vitamin K concentrations in serum. Many hemodialysis patients with a history of bone fractures have indications of poor vitamin K status. The same patients also appear to have a greatly increased prospective bone fracture risk.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1996

Use of rat and human liver slices for the detection of steroid hormone-induced DNA-adducts in vitro by means of the (32)P-postlabeling technique.

Precision cut liver slices from humans and rats were used to investigate the covalent binding of xenobiotics to the DNA by means of the (32)P-postlabeling technique. Human liver slices were incubated with the structurally related steroid hormones chlormadinone acetate (5 mu g/ml), cyproterone acetate (0.01-5 mu g/ml), megestrol acetate (5 mu g/ml), and the positive control 2-aminofluorene (0.01-5 mu g/ml), which is known for its marked ability to form DNA-adducts in vivo. Rat liver slices were incubated with cyproterone acetate in concentrations of 0.1, 1, and 5 mu g/ml. The functional viability and metabolic activity of the slices were shown to be sufficiently maintained during the incubation time by measurement of the intracellular K(+)-content and the metabolic turnover of the model substrate 7-ethoxycoumarin, respectively. All three test substances and the control induced DNA-adducts in human liver slices, however, with a different adduct pattern. While the total DNA-adduct levels obtained with cyproterone acetate and megestrol acetate were in the same order of magnitude (on average 1000 DNA-adducts/10(9) nucleotides after incubation with 5 mu g /ml), the relative adduct labeling calculated for chlormadinone acetate was about 400. Following in vitro incubation of rat liver slices with cyproterone acetate, the relative adduct labeling values increased proportionally with increasing concentrations and added linearily to in vivo generated DNA-adducts. At the level of liver slices, different DNA-adduct patterns were induced by cyproterone acetate in rat and man. In contrast to the finding of others, using rat hepatocytes, the relative adduct labeling values of cyproterone acetate and megestrol acetate were in the same order of magnitude after incubation with human liver slices. The present study indicates that liver slices are a useful tool to investigate the in vitro DNA-adduct inducing potential of xenobiotics.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Effect of isoproterenol, phenylephrine, and sodium nitroprusside on fundus pulsations in healthy volunteers.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: Recently a laser interferometric method for topical measurement of fundus pulsations has been developed. Fundus pulsations in the macular region are caused by the inflow and outflow of blood into the choroid. The purpose of this work was to study the influence of a peripheral vasoconstricting (the alpha 1 adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine), a predominantly positive inotropic (the non-specific beta adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol), and a non-specific vasodilating (sodium nitroprusside) model drug on ocular fundus pulsations to determine reproducibility and sensitivity of the method. METHODS: In a double masked randomised crossover study the drugs were administered in stepwise increasing doses to 10 male and nine female healthy volunteers. Systemic haemodynamic variables and fundus pulsations were measured at all infusion steps. RESULTS: Fundus pulsation increased during infusion of isoproterenol with statistical significance versus baseline at the lowest dose of 0.1 microgram/min. Neither peripheral vasoconstriction nor peripheral vasodilatation affected the ocular fundus pulsations. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of fundus pulsations is a highly reproducible method in healthy subjects with low ametropy. Changes of local pulsatile ocular blood flow were detectable with our method following the infusion of isoproterenol. As systemic pharmacological vasodilatation or vasoconstriction did not change fundus pulsations, further experimental work has to be done to evaluate the sensitivity of the laser interferometric fundus pulsation measurement in various eye diseases.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1996

[The effect of cimetidine and famotidine on esophageal motility].

An effect of cimetidine and famotidine on the lower esophagus sphincter pressure and esophageal body motility has been investigated. The studies involved 30 patients with duodenal ulcer. The lower esophagus sphincter pressure, mean force and mean duration of spasms as well as wave transmission velocity in esophageal body, 1-13 cm above the sphincter, have been recorded with Polyphysiograph R-611. The lower esophagus sphincter pressure and esophageal body motility have been recorded 15 minutes prior to and following the administration of 200 mg cimetidine or 20 mg famotidine. It was shown that cimetidine has net changed the lower esophagus sphincter pressure and esophageal body motility parameters. Famotidine increased the lower esophagus sphincter pressure from the initial 2.31 +/- 1.19 kPa to 3.51 +/- 1.61 kPa (p < 0.05) and had no effect on the esophageal body motility parameters. It may be concluded that within H2-receptor antagonists famotidine may be considered a drug of choice in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Comparison of non-invasive methods for the assessment of haemodynamic drug effects in healthy male and female volunteers: sex differences in cardiovascular responsiveness.

1. The study was performed to determine the sensitivity and short-term and day-to-day variability of a novel technique based on laser interferometry of ocular fundus pulsations and of non-invasive methods for the quantification of haemodynamic drug effects. An additional aim was to assess sex differences in haemodynamic responsiveness to cardiovascular drugs in male and female healthy volunteers. 2. Ten males and nine females (age range 20-33 years) were studied in a double-blind, randomized, cross-over trial. Simultaneous measurements from systemic haemodynamics, laser interferometry of ocular fundus pulsations, systolic time intervals from mechanocardiography, a/b ratio from oxymetric fingerplethysmography and Doppler sonography of the radial artery were used to describe the haemodynamic effects of cumulative, stepwise increasing intravenous doses of phenylephrine, isoprenaline, sodium nitroprusside and of placebo. 3. Laser interferometry detected the isoprenaline-effects at the lowest dose level of 0.1 micrograms min-1 with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The reproducibility of measurements under baseline was high, no changes were observed after systemically effective doses of phenylephrine or sodium nitroprusside. Systolic time intervals were sensitive and specific for isoprenaline-induced effects, PEP and QS2c-measurements had high reproducibility. Fingerplethysmography proved a sensitive measurement for the detection of the vasodilating effects of sodium nitroprusside, but was not specific, and showed low reproducibility. Measurements from Doppler sonography had lower reproducibility and sensitivity compared with the other applied methods. 4. There was a significant sex difference for several of the haemodynamic parameters under baseline conditions; however, the responsiveness to the drugs under study was not different, when drug effects were expressed as %-change from the baseline. 5. Laser interferometry is a valuable non-invasive, highly sensitive and specific approach for the detection of pulse pressure changes. A battery of non-invasive tests appears useful for the characterization of cardiovascular drugs. Gender differences may not pose a relevant problem for the study of acute haemodynamic effects of cardiovascular drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Exclusive radical radiation therapy in breast carcinoma.

We present the results of 186 breast cancer patients treated initially for locoregional disease by radiotherapy alone, combining cobalt therapy with external electron beam or interstitial iridium implants. According to the TNM classification, the patients were distributed as follows: 3 T1N0, 2 T1N1, 33 T2N0, 36 T2N1, 16 T3N0, 26 T3N1, 6 T3N2, 14 T4N0, 29 T4N1, 9 T4N2 and 12 T4N3. The 5- and 10-year survival rates (52.7% and 36.5%, respectively, for all patients) were directly correlated with the size and location of the breast tumor, and the extent of lymph node involvement. Locoregional recurrence was observed in 39.8% of the cases, metastasis alone in 26.8% of the cases, and a combination of local recurrence and distant metastasis in 14.5% of the cases. The local recurrences and metastases were directly correlated with the extent of locoregional involvement. Late complications and sequelae were mostly minor and occurred in less than 25% of the cases; severe sequelae occurred in no more than 2% of the cases. They depended on the initial tumor volume and the tumor dose. Our results, along with those in the literature, indicate that radiotherapy administered alone is a valid therapeutic option in breast cancer.

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed1987

Unusual variant of left superior vena cava.

The first computed tomography-documented case of a persistent left superior vena cava that drains directly into the right superior vena cava is presented. The venous embryology is reviewed and the differential diagnosis of other pertinent venous anomalies is discussed. The patient also had an incidental finding of a congenitally absent left lobe of the thyroid gland.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1987

Subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy: brain stem findings with MR imaging.

Magnetic resonance images of 44 patients who had varying degrees of supratentorial signal abnormalities compatible with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE) were reviewed for posterior fossa findings. Brain stem lesions frequently accompanied supratentorial SAE and were seen as multiple, fairly symmetric areas of poorly defined, increased signal intensity on axial T2-weighted images. Involvement was generally confined to the central portions of the mid and upper pons. The typical appearance of brain stem involvement by SAE and its probable pathogenesis are reviewed.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

[Cauda equina syndrome and ankylosing spondylitis. Association with acromegaly. A myelographic and tomodensitometric study of the lumbar canal].

Cauda equina syndrome is a rare neurological complication of ankylosing spondylitis. The specific myelographic and tomodensitometric anomalies are exemplified by the reported observation. This case is unusual by the moderation of the neurological manifestations, and especially by the absence of sphincteral disorders. The characteristic roentgenologic signs of ankylosing spondylitis are associated with a scalloped appearance of the lumbar spinal column and antecedent quiescent acromegaly.

Acromegaly↗
PubMed1982

[Montreal children taking the Test of Animal Affinities].

Research on the role of the animal in the development of the child does not seem to amount to a comprehensive study of the problem, although animals have a place in our lives from the early origins of the human species. An exploratory inquest in Montreal in 1980 indicates that most children desire to possess animals on a personal basis, these pets covering needs not otherwise satisfied. After that, the Test of Animal Affinities of P. Bour was used. The results of this testing with one hundred and twenty-four children aged from six years and three months through thirteen years and eight months are presented. Only the age variable is considered in this paper. Results relating to sex will be presented later. Different animals seem to characterize an age group as against the other. We have, for instance, those expressing a search for love and security and those which symbolize liberty and independance. Distinction must also be made between animals valued for companionship and those translating desires more or less conscious. The child's approach through the animal surrogate seems to lead to a better comprehension of functions to be served by animals in reeducation and psychotherapy. This would of course require a better understanding of non verbal communication and new insights into the nature of the relation established between the child and the animal.

Adolescent↗