Biomedical subjects

Aleksandra Podlecka

Publications and source records attributed to Aleksandra Podlecka.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

CADASIL or CADVaSIL?

In the present study, morphological examination of patients from two unrelated Polish families with CADASIL was performed. Using light microscopy, there were evident changes characteristic to the disease. On electron microscopy, deposits of granular osmiophillic material (GOM) were found not only in cerebral arteries and veins but also in cerebral capillaries and vessels of the internal organs. These findings indicate that pathological process in CADASIL is generalized and involves also small vessels devoid of smooth muscle cells. Therefore, we propose to consider a replacement for the name CADASIL that better reflects the morphological picture of the disease like, for example, cerebral autosomal dominant vasculopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADVaSIL) or, to preserve the commonly known acronym, cerebral autosomal dominant angiopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Remote morphological changes in the white matter after ischaemic stroke.

Acute phase of stroke is the focus of most experimental and clinical studies on cerebral ischaemia. The scarcity of data on remote changes led us to examine the morphological pictures of brains after ischaemic insults. We paid special attention to the white matter capillaries. We microscopically evaluated 10 brains of patients who died after one month to fourteen years after the ischaemic stroke. Morphological examinations involved the application of routine histological stains and immunohistochemical reactions with antibodies against human albumin, GFAP, macrophage antigen CD 68 and lectins (Ulex europaeus, Wheat Germ agglutinin and Bandeirea simplicifolia). The results showed a swelling of the endothelial cells and their invagination into the vessel lumen. Postapoplectic cavities and white matter spongiosis decreasing with increase in distance from the cavity were observed. Immunohistochemical study showed that there was no segmental immunoreactivity to lectins on the capillary wall. Immune reaction to albumin revealed protein extravasation to the rarefied brain parenchyma. Our results indicate that progressing damage of the white matter after ischaemia may be caused not only by degeneration of axons of neurones destroyed by stroke, but also by pathological changes in small blood vessels, especially in capillaries. Hence, vascular leukoencephalopathy is probably caused by arteriolar damage as well as by microangiopathy.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Hyponatremic encephalopathy--some experimental and clinical findings.

Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte disturbance occurring in a broad spectrum of patients, from asymptomatic to critically ill. The disease is defined as a decrease in serum sodium concentration to a level below 136 mmol per liter. The brain damage from hyponatremia can be associated with either hyponatremic encephalopathy or improper therapy of symptomatic hyponatremia both in patients and in experimental models of hyponatremia in rats. This review covers the clinical symptoms of hyponatremia as well as the consequences of its correction. It also summarises the effects of experimental hyponatremia associated with vasopressin on some aspects of cerebral blood flow regulation and the morphology of cerebral tissue.

Animals↗