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Biomedical subjects

A Shakoor

Publications and source records attributed to A Shakoor.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Macular thickness mapping in exudative age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To report the feasibility of retinal thickness mapping for evaluating thickness differences in retinal areas with and without leakage shown by fluorescein angiography for patients who have age-related macular degeneration with choroidal neovascularization. METHODS: A custom-built version of the retinal thickness analyzer was used for thickness mapping. Retinal thickness was defined as the separation between vitreoretinal and pigment epithelium-choroid interfaces. Imaging was performed in 1 eye of 10 patients with the clinical diagnoses of age-related macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization. Patients either had never undergone photodynamic therapy at the time of measurement (untreated) or had received one or more photodynamic therapy treatments (treated). Average retinal thicknesses in selected areas with and without the presence of leakage shown by fluorescein angiography were calculated and compared statistically. RESULTS: Retinal thickness (mean +/- SD) in areas with leakage (315 +/- 54 microm) was significantly greater than that in areas without leakage (280 +/- 28 microm) (P = 0.03). In untreated patients, areas with leakage (345 +/- 45 microm) were significantly thicker than areas without leakage (289 +/- 23 microm) (P = 0.02). In treated patients, retinal thickness in areas with leakage (271 +/- 33 microm) and without leakage (267 +/- 34 microm) was similar. CONCLUSION: Retinal thickness mapping may prove to be useful as an adjunct to fluorescein angiography to monitor choroidal neovascularization and its treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Influence of aluminium on neurotoxicity of lead in adult male albino rats.

Influence of aluminium on neurotoxicity of lead was studied in male albino rats. Aluminium enhanced the net deposition of lead in brain. This was further substantiated by higher levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), and lower activities of acetylcholinesterase enzyme in the brain homogenates of the rats treated with both lead and aluminium as compared to those of rats treated with lead only. In lead plus aluminium treated animals, a significant neurological deficit was observed when the animals were subjected to rota-rod, traction performance (TP) and tail immersion tests.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2002

A new assembly and technique for testing insecticides.

A new design of insecticide testing assembly has been devised that is highly versatile in testing the efficacy, potency and interaction of insecticides and other test chemicals. The merits of the assembly and technique have been explained.

Insecticides↗
PubMed2000

Beneficial effects of aluminum on the progression of lead-induced nephropathy in rats.

We studied the effect of aluminum on lead-induced nephropathy in male albino rats. Five groups of male albino rats were given either water only or lead acetate (125 mg/kg body weight) and/or aluminum chloride (50 mg/kg body weight or 100 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 90 days. Aluminum was found to prevent the lead-induced increase in the relative organ (kidney) weight in a dose-dependent manner. Aluminum also prevented lead-induced increase in plasma creatinine levels of the treated animals. Estimation of lead concentration in kidneys of different treatment groups revealed that the net deposition of lead was lower in animals which were given both lead acetate and aluminum chloride simultaneously. The results showed that aluminum offers some protection against lead-induced nephrotoxicity in a time- and dose-dependent manner.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1997

New sheath for vascular access and subcutaneous drug administration: multicenter clinical trial for pain prevention after cardiac catheterization.

A new vascular sheath design (anesthesia infusion sleeve, or AIS) was developed to enable administration of local anesthetics or other medications into the subcutaneous tissue around an arterial or venous insertion site without any additional needle sticks or manipulation. Design, animal testing, and an initial small single-site clinical study have previously been published. The current study was multicenter and randomized 80 patients to use of a standard sheath for vascular access or the AIS. Pain associated with sheath placement, postprocedure pain, and pain associated with sheath removal before and during manual compression was recorded. Baseline pain was identical in both the standard and AIS groups. Pain during infiltration and with initial femoral artery compression was significantly lower in the AIS group. A quality of life questionnaire indicated that the AIS sheath was associated with less discomfort and was preferred over a standard sheath in patients who had had a previous procedure performed. The AIS represents a simple addition to standard sheath design, offering superior pain control during removal compared to the standard technique, without the need for systemic analgesics or additional needle punctures.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

New vascular sheath for subcutaneous drug administration: design, animal testing, and clinical application for pain prevention after angioplasty.

A new vascular sheath design (anesthesia infusion sleeve or AIS) was developed to enable administration of local anesthetics or other medications into the subcutaneous tissue around the insertion site without any additional needle sticks or other manipulation. Design of the system was based upon anatomic measurements of femoral artery depth in 150 patients. Animal studies of prototypes verified subcutaneous delivery using both radiographic methods and direct dissection. The pharmacokinetic profile of plasma lidocaine was also studied in three pigs to document subcutaneous delivery with the AIS. Subsequently a clinical trial of the AIS versus a standard sheath was done in 20 patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Pain associated with sheath removal was graded using a verbal scale at baseline, during infiltration of the area, and at 1-min intervals during compression for 15 min. Baseline pain was identical in both groups, whereas, during infiltration with lidocaine, pain increased in the standard sheath group and decreased in the AIS group. Pain increased slightly in both groups with initial compression; however, it was significantly less in the AIS group. This difference persisted for several minutes after initial compression. The AIS represents a simple addition to standard sheath protocol offering superior pain control compared to standard technique for sheath removal without the need for systemic analgesics or other medications.

Anesthetics, Local↗
PubMed1996

Studies on end-to-end colonic anastomosis in the dog: a comparison of techniques.

For end-to-end anastomosis, many techniques suitable for the small intestine end up catastrophically when applied on the colon. An experimental study involving 18 healthy adult dogs was conducted to find a model technique out of the best considered techniques for small intestinal end-to-end anastomosis viz., simple interrupted approximating sutures (group I), double-layer inverting sutures (group II), and Gambee sutures (group III). The results depicted a nonsignificant difference among groups as far as paralytic ileus and omental adhesions are concerned. Similarly, haematologic and physiologic values did not deviate from a normal pattern after any surgical intervention. Barium sulphate radiographs taken at postoperation (PO) day 14 revealed significantly lesser reduction (P < or = 0.001) in lumen diameter (26.14 +/- 1.87%) at the site of anastomosis in group I as compared to 30.16 +/- 1.20% and 38.91 +/- 1.87% reduction in groups III and II, respectively. Similarly, gain in tensile strength was maximum (26.55 +/- 1.33%) in group I and minimum (19.73 +/- 2.62%) in group II on PO day 14. The current study showed superiority of the simple interrupted suture technique for colonic end-to-end anastomosis over the other two techniques studied.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1996

Clinical perspectives of intravenous ketamine anaesthesia in peafowl (Pavo cristatus).

A total of 29 peafowl (Pavo cristatus), rectified surgically for infraorbital abscesses (n = 22), lacerated wounds (n = 4), and fractures of tibia (n = 2) and radius (n = 1), were anaesthetized by the intravenous administration of ketamine hydrochloride (Inj. Calypsol, Gedeon Richter, Hungary) in a dose of 15 20 mg/kg body weight. Divided doses (10 mg + 5 mg + 5 mg) were used with an interval of 1-2 min. No premedication was undertaken in any of the birds. Anaesthesia lasted for about 15 min and the birds gained their feet completely after 30 min to 3 hours. The respiration rate was markedly depressed (8-10/min) and the respiratory pattern was deep abdominal. Only a slight increase was observed in the heart rate. Analgesia was incomplete and muscle relaxation was not satisfactory. Mild salivation was also noticed in some of the birds (n = 3). Recovery, although not smooth, was uneventful.

Abscess↗
PubMed1993

Audiometric changes following spinal anaesthesia.

A prospective study on audiometric changes following spinal anaesthesia with different gauge spinal needles was carried out in 125 patients; the patients were randomly divided into five groups according to gauge of needles used i.e., 20, 22, 23, 24 and 25 with twenty five patients in each group. Twelve percent and 8% decrease in audiometric values were recorded on first postoperative day at 250-500 Hz frequencies with 20 and 22 gauge needles respectively and these changes were highly significant (P < 0.001); these audiometric alterations returned to within normal limits by the 5th postoperative day. Eight percent decrease in audiometric values were observed on first postoperative day at 250-500 Hz frequencies with 23 gauge needle which was also statistically significant (P < 0.05); these changes returned to near normal limits by the 5th postoperative day. There was no significant decrease in the audiometric values following spinal anaesthesia with 24 and 25 gauge needles.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

International comparative study of childhood malignancy comparative study of pediatric malignancy between Kurume and Karachi (K-K Project 1991).

UNLABELLED: A study was undertaken to compare Pediatric Malignancy at Kurume (Japan) and Karachi (Pakistan) with reference to international data collected over the years, in order to identify essential differences between developed and developing conditions and factors influencing the etio-pathogenesis of pediatric cancer. The study was retrospective encompassing all types of cancer in children over a period of three years i-e 1988-1990. Essential factors related to present study were: 1. POPULATION: The population of Karachi is about 10 million while that of Kurume is only half a million. 2. Socio-economic conditions: The average socio-economic condition of people in Karachi is poor while in Kurume it appears to be good. 3. Educational status: Only 25% people in Karachi are educated beyond middle class while Kurume reveals a 100% education up to high school level. 4. Environmental conditions: The environmental conditions of Kurume and surrounding areas are very clean and free from pollution, sewage problems and traffic hazards. Karachi and its surroundings on the other hand pose very serious air and water industries! It was concluded that whereas genetic predisposition predominates, the environmental conditions, educational and socio-economic status of a society immensely influence the pattern and trends of pediatric carcinogenesis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Prospective study of changes in serum calcium after diethyl-ether anaesthesia.

Changes in serum calcium after diethyl-ether anaesthesia given for various routine surgical operations, were studied in 30 patients. Mean (+/- SD) concentration (mg%) of serum calcium before induction of anaesthesia was 10.37 +/- 0.77. Serum calcium decreased by 0.05 per cent after 10 min of induction and by 3.33 per cent at the end of anaesthesia which was highly significant (P less than 0.001). There was a correlation (r = 0.63; P less than 0.01) between decline in serum calcium and duration of ether anaesthesia. Serum calcium returned to near normal levels after 24 h of ether anaesthesia. In view of the fall in serum calcium, it is emphasized that ether should be either avoided in patients with known or suspected hypocalcaemia or be used for as short a time as possible with due precaution and calcium supplementation.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prospects of breeding for salt tolerance in rice.

Variations with regard to salt tolerance were observed in rice varieties, Blue bonnet, IR-8, Jhona-349, and Magnolia. Crosses (F1) between relatively salt-resistant (Jhona-349) and salt-sensitive (Magnolia) varieties were highly resistant to salinity. The F2 population resulted in some salt-resistant combinations. In the F3 and F4 populations, some desirable salt-resistant progenies were selected. Results obtained suggest that selection for salt tolerance may be possible within hybrid populations.

Genetic Engineering↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural and induced genetic variability in wheat.

An account is given of the genetic variability in primitive wheats collected from the northwest Pakistan. Apart from genetic sources for disease resistance, drought tolerance, and other plant characters, new sources of possible height reduction in wheat were identified and described. The taller-growing primitive wheats have better emergence, perhaps largely because of their longer coleoptiles. A detailed account is given of comparative genetic studies of height-reducing genes, through both conventional genetic analysis techniques and induced mutation breeding procedures. Both approaches demonstrated the effect of height genes on grain size. At the present time there is a linear relationship between plant height and 1000-kernel weight. Possibilities of achieving a break-through in wheat yields through increased kernel size in short wheats are discussed.

Genetic Engineering↗