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Biomedical subjects

C André

Publications and source records attributed to C André.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Comparative sequence analysis and radiation hybrid mapping of two epidermal type II keratin genes in the dog: keratin 1 and keratin 2e.

In order to extend knowledge of the process of cornification across species and to be better able to recognize inborn errors in keratin synthesis in the dog, we describe the organization and chromosome mapping of canine KRT1 and KRT2E and compare these results to human and murine sequence data. The coding regions of KRT1 and KRT2E are 1,860 bp and 1,902 bp respectively, distributed over nine exons. Both genes are localized on the canine radiation hybrid map to chromosome 27 in the type II keratin gene cluster close to polymorphic markers. These genes are highly conserved across species and based on both genomic and amino acid sequences, canine KRT1 and KRT2E share greater homology with humans than with mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Antibiotic resistance rates and phenotypes among isolates of Enterobacteriaceae in French extra-hospital practice.

Antibiotic resistance among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae was prospectively surveyed by eight French private laboratories over a 5-month period in 1999. A total of 2,599 consecutive and nonduplicate strains were collected, mainly (60.9%) from patients in the community. Most strains (82.9%) derived from urine. Escherichia coli was the predominant (73.9%) organism isolated. The overall rates of antibiotic resistance were as follows: amoxicillin, 53.4%; amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, 27.3%; ticarcillin, 44.2%; piperacillin-tazobactam, 3.2%; cephalothin, 29.2%; cefuroxime, 14.7%; cefoxitin, 11.5%; ceftazidime, 3.6%; cefotaxime, 2.8%; cefepime, 0.3%; imipenem, 0.1%; gentamicin (G), 3.8%; tobramycin (T), 5.0%; netilmicin (Nt), 3.7%; amikacin (A), 0.7%; nalidixic acid, 14.3%; ofloxacin, 10.4%; cotrimoxazole, 21.1%; nitrofurantoin, 12.7%; fosfomycin, 5.2%; tetracycline, 50.1%; and colistin, 12.5%. Beta-lactam resistance phenotypes essentially comprised penicillinase production (33.9%), overexpression of chromosomal cephalosporinase (4.6%), and synthesis of inhibitor-resistant TEM/OXA enzymes (1.5%) or extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (1.5%). Aminoglycoside resistance phenotypes consisted of GTNt (93 strains), TNtA (68 strains), GTNtA (14 strains), T (4 strains), GT (3 strains), G (1 strain), and reduced uptake/permeability (3 strains). Most of the nalidixic acid-resistant strains were resistant to ofloxacin (72.8%). Antibiotic resistance rates and phenotypes varied widely according to the bacterial group and the source of the strains. Significantly higher rates were observed in private healthcare centers than in the community, due to a higher proportion of both resistant species and resistant strains. However, multidrug-resistant isolates, including five extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing strains, were also recovered from the community.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed2004

Clinical efficacy of sublingual and subcutaneous birch pollen allergen-specific immunotherapy: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study.

BACKGROUND: Both sublingual allergen-specific immunotherapy (SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) have a documented clinical efficacy, but only few comparative studies have been performed. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of SLIT vs SCIT and secondary to compare SLIT and SCIT with placebo and to evaluate the relative clinical efficacy in relation to systemic side-effects. METHODS: A 3-year randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study including 71 adult birch pollen hay fever patients treated for two consecutive years after a baseline year. Allocation to treatment groups was based on disease severity in the baseline season, gender and age. RESULTS: Clinical efficacy was estimated in 58 patients completing the first treatment year by subtracting baseline data and by calculating the ratio first treatment season vs baseline. SLIT diminished the median disease severity to one-half and SCIT to one-third of placebo treatment. No statistical significant difference between the two groups was observed. Both for symptoms and medication scores actively treated patients showed statistically significant and clinical relevant efficacy compared with placebo. SLIT treatment only resulted in local mild side-effects, while SCIT resulted in few serious systemic side-effects. CONCLUSION: Based on the limited number of patients the clinical efficacy of SLIT was not statistically different from SCIT, and both treatments are clinically effective compared with placebo in the treatment of birch pollen rhinoconjunctivitis. The lack of significant difference between the two treatments does not indicate equivalent efficacy, but to detect minor differences necessitates investigation of larger groups. Due to the advantageous safety profile SLIT may be favored.

Administration, Sublingual↗
PubMed2004

The prevalence of positive reactions in the atopy patch test with aeroallergens and food allergens in subjects with atopic eczema: a European multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The atopy patch test (APT) was proposed to evaluate IgE-mediated sensitizations in patients with atopic eczema (AE). OBJECTIVE: The prevalence and agreement with clinical history and specific IgE (sIgE) of positive APT reactions was investigated in six European countries using a standardized method. METHODS: A total of 314 patients with AE in remission were tested in 12 study centers on clinically uninvolved, non-abraded back skin with 200 index of reactivity (IR)/g of house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, cat dander, grass, and birch pollen allergen extracts with defined major allergen contents in petrolatum. Extracts of egg white, celery and wheat flour with defined protein content were also patch tested. APT values were evaluated at 24, 48, and 72 h according to the European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis (ETFAD) guidelines. In addition, skin-prick test (SPT) and sIgE and a detailed history on allergen-induced eczema flares were obtained. RESULTS: Previous eczema flares, after contact with specific allergens, were reported in 1% (celery) to 34% (D. pteronyssinus) of patients. The frequency of clear-cut positive APT reactions ranged from 39% with D. pteronyssinus to 9% with celery. All ETFAD intensities occured after 48 and 72 h. Positive SPT (16-57%) and elevated sIgE (19-59%) results were more frequent. Clear-cut positive APT with all SPT and sIgE testing negative was seen in 7% of the patients, whereas a positive APT without SPT or sIgE for the respective allergen was seen in 17% of the patients. APT, SPT and sIgE results showed significant agreement with history for grass pollen and egg white (two-sided Pr > /Z/ < or = 0.01). In addition, SPT and sIgE showed significant agreement with history for the other aeroallergens. With regard to clinical history, the APT had a higher specificity (64-91% depending on the allergen) than SPT (50-85%) or sIgE (52-85%). Positive APT were associated with longer duration of eczema flares and showed regional differences. In 10 non-atopic controls, no positive APT reaction was seen. CONCLUSION: Aeroallergens and food allergens are able to elicit eczematous skin reactions after epicutaneous application. As no gold standard for aeroallergen provocation in AE exists, the relevance of aeroallergens for AE flares may be evaluated by APT in addition to SPT and sIgE. The data may contribute to the international standardization of the APT.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Symptoms and quality of life of hemodialysis patients aged 75 and over].

BACKGROUND: The population of dialysed patients includes an increasing percentage of very elderly patients. Although their life expectancy continues to increase, there are few currently available data about their quality of life. OBJECTIVES: descriptive analysis of the determinants of quality of life, perceptual level of health and quality of life, and estimation of symptomatic complaints in a population of very elderly haemodialysed patients. METHOD: Study of 35 haemodialysed patients aged 75 years old and older, who answered a questionnaire divided into 7 parts, defining: the determinants of their quality of life by open-ended questions, the prevalence of complaints amongst 35 pre-determined symptoms, Folstein MMSE performance, scores on Katz (ADL) and Lawton (IADL) independence scales, SF-36 perceptual health scale, and score subjectively allocated by the patients to their quality of life. RESULTS: Maintenance of functional autonomy, independence in the decision-making process and maintaining good relationships with friends and family were major determinants of quality of life. Asthenia, the major complaint, was well reflected the reduced physical capabilities of the patients (mean SF-36 physical score: -1.1 SD). Despite the high prevalence of incapacitating painful symptoms (42%) and psychological symptoms (23%), autonomy remained satisfactory (mean ADL score: 5.6 out of 6 and IADL: 58%). The levels of perceptual health and of quality of life remained satisfactory for the majority of patients (mean mental SF-36 score: -0.06 SD, and 84% of the patients scored their quality of life > 5 out of 10). CONCLUSION: These figures indicate the considerable resources that these patients could mobilise. It also emerges as an additional argument against the exclusion, based only on the criteria of age and multiple pathologies, of the oldest patients from the access to dialysis.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Analysis of the progesterone displacement of its human serum albumin binding site by beta-estradiol using biochromatographic approaches: effect of two salt modifiers.

The mechanisms of (i) the binding of two sex-hormones (i.e. progesterone and beta-estradiol) to human serum albumin (HSA) and (ii) the progesterone displacement of its HSA binding cavity by beta-estradiol were studied by biochromatography using three different methods. In the first time, zonal elution method was used to prove the direct competition effect between the two sex-hormone. In the second time, the competition effect between beta-estradiol and progesterone to bound on the same HSA site was analysed by the competitive bi-Langmuir approach. Finally, the thermodynamic data of these two binding processes were studied. The Gibbs free energy value (Delta(approximately)G degrees) of the displacement equilibrium was negative demonstrating that beta-estradiol displaced progesterone of its HSA binding cavity. Moreover, the effect of two chloride modifiers (i.e. Na(+), Mg(2+)) on these two binding processes were analysed. Results showed that in the salt biological concentration ranges, the Mg(2+) cation enhanced strongly the bioavailable progesterone, whereas the Na(+) cation interacted slowly on the progesterone displacement of its HSA binding site by beta-estradiol. This study showed that it must be useful to carry out more in vivo test on the magnesium supplementation effect for women who suffer from estrogen dominance syndrome.

Binding, Competitive↗
PubMed2003

Persistence of isolated flow in the internal carotid artery in brain death.

The criteria for the confirmation of brain death (BD) using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) state that flow should not be observed in the internal carotid artery (ICA). In 94 brain-dead patients examined by TCD, 19 (20%) had flow in the ICA despite cerebral circulatory arrest. There was no difference in the clinical characteristics of patients with or without isolated flow in the ICA. Shunting of blood from the ICA into the external carotid system or the arrest of blood flow at a higher level than the carotid siphon may explain our findings. Our results show that the current TCD criteria can result in a high rate of false negatives. We suggest that the TCD criteria for the diagnosis of brain death should be reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Complex spinal reflexes during transcranial Doppler ultrasound examination for the confirmation of brain death.

OBJECTIVE: Complex sets of movements of the extremities can be seen in patients with brain death (BD), and are typically observed during apnea testing or removal of ventilatory support (also called the Lazarus sign). We here describe brain-dead patients who had not shown previous movements, even during apnea testing, but presented complex spinal reflexes during transcranial Doppler (TCD) examination elicited by neck flexion. METHODS: We performed a prospective TCD study of patients with the clinical diagnosis of BD. RESULTS: Four (2.5%) of 161 brain-dead patients presented complex spinal reflexes exclusively during TCD examination. TCD showed vertebro-basilar circulatory arrest in all four. Their systolic blood pressure was significantly lower than that of brain-dead patients not presenting movements during TCD examination. CONCLUSIONS: Hypotension and mechanical stimulation play a role in the pathophysiology of complex spinal reflexes present in BD, which are not exclusively seen in terminal hypoxia. Intensive care personnel and neurologists who perform TCD to confirm BD should be aware of these movements.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Withdrawal of TNF-alpha after the fifth day of differentiation of CD34+ cord blood progenitors generates a homogeneous population of Langerhans cells and delays their maturation.

Human cord blood CD34+ progenitors cultured in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) generate a heterogeneous population of dendritic cells (DC), including Langerhans cells (LC). This combination of cytokines has been shown to be crucial for differentiation into LC. After day 5 of culture, TNF-alpha has been maintained in the medium in most studies despite the observation of spontaneous maturation of LC after day 12. Five-day samples of in vitro differentiated LC were cultured in parallel with or without TNF-alpha. The absence of TNF-alpha was shown to: (1) slow down proliferation without triggering apoptotic cell death, (2) enhance the percentage of LC, (3) delay or abrogate the expression of CD83, CD86, HLA-DR and CD208 molecules, and (4) maintain endocytosis by receptor and macropinocytosis. The withdrawal of TNF-alpha abrogated the spontaneous synthesis of matrix metalloproteinases. At day 12, TNF-alpha-deprived LC were less efficient in allogeneic T cell activation than LC cultivated with TNF-alpha. These data indicate that the suppression of TNF-alpha after day 5 maintains cells in an immature state and provides a population with 80% of LC at day 12.

Antigens, CD34↗
PubMed2003

Fine-scaled geographical population structuring in a highly mobile marine species: the Atlantic cod.

Compared with many terrestrial and freshwater environments, dispersal and interbreeding is generally much less restricted in the marine environment. We studied the tendency for a marine species, the Atlantic cod, to be sub-structured into genetically differentiated populations on a fine geographical scale. We selected a coastal area free of any obvious physical barriers and restricted sampling to a 300-km region, well within the dispersal ability of this species. Screening 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci in 6 samples we detected a weak, but consistent, differentiation at all 10 loci. The average FST over loci was small (0.0023) but highly significant statistically, demonstrating that genetically differentiated populations can arise and persist in the absence of physical barriers or great distance. We found no geographical pattern in the genetic differentiation and there was no apparent trend of isolation by distance along the coastline. These findings lend support to the notion that low levels of differentiation are due to passive transport of eggs or larvae by the ocean currents rather than to adult dispersal, the latter being strongly dependent on distance.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

A chromatographic approach to analyze dansyl amino acid-HP-beta-CD association using macrocyclic antibiotic as the stationary phase.

The retention mechanism for a series of D,L-dansyl amino acids in high-performance liquid chromatography is investigated using a teicoplanin stationary phase and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) as the mobile phase additive (0-16mM). A theoretical treatment is developed to determine the HP-beta-CD influence on the equilibrium between the teicoplanin phase and the aqueous medium, respectively. From the experimental data, the association constants of the D,L-dansyl amino acids-HP-beta-CD inclusion complexes are determined and discussed in relation to the enantiomer structure. A thermodynamic study confirms that both the retention and complexation mechanisms are independent of the dansyl amino acid molecular structure and its absolute carbon configuration.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2003

A double-blind placebo-controlled evaluation of sublingual immunotherapy with a standardized ragweed extract in patients with seasonal rhinitis. Evidence for a dose-response relationship.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing consensus on the benefits of sublingual-swallow immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic diseases. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study was undertaken to assess the efficacy and safety of sublingual immunotherapy with standardized ragweed pollen extract tablets, in patients with an allergic rhinitis. A total of 110 outpatients were randomized (immunotherapy [I]: 55; placebo [P]: 55), of whom 99 were analyzable for efficacy (I: 48; P: 51) and 106 analyzable for safety (I: 53; P: 53). After a 28-day progression phase, the patients received a maintenance treatment during 6.5 months. Efficacy variables included a global assessment of efficacy (patient/ investigator), symptoms and medication scores as well as the frequency of asthma attacks. RESULTS: In the active treatment group, 43 patients completed the study, versus 49 on placebo. During the whole period of pollination, the difference favoring immunotherapy was highly significant for the global assessment by the patient (p = 0.004) and by the investigator (p = 0.005). Adverse reactions were reported more often in the active treatment but mild or moderate, and they abated after dose adjustment. A subgroup analysis of those patients receiving the highest dose of immunotherapy (3 tablets 3 times a week) showed a highly significant response for rhinitis and conjunctivitis total scores by comparison to lower dosages. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the efficacy and safety of sublingual immunotherapy and strongly suggests a dose-response relationship.

Administration, Sublingual↗