PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Peña

Publications and source records attributed to C Peña.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Sex differences in the differentiation of psychiatric symptomatology.

A study was conducted using data obtained from the first stage of a community survey in Spain, in which the 60-item version of the GHQ was administered to 1224 adults. Three hypotheses concerning respondents aged under 55 years were tested. The first was that in the context of a principal-components analysis, a greater proportion of the explained variance would be accounted for by the first (general) factor in women than in men. This was supported. The second hypothesis was that the intercorrelations between the GHQ-28 subscales would be greater for women than for men. This was refuted. The third hypothesis was that the differentiation between anxiety and depression would be greater in men than in women. This was supported. The differences investigated were found not to apply among respondents aged 55 years and over.

Adult↗

Patterns of psychotropic drug use in a Spanish rural community.

Psychotropic drug use was investigated using a two-stage survey of a random sample of persons aged 17 and over from a rural Spanish community. It was found that 6.9%, 11.8% and 25.1% of the population were consuming psychotropic, analgesic and somatic medicines respectively. Women presented a higher rate of psychotropic use than men (prevalence for women 10.7%, for men 2.6%). This female predominance was found to be significantly related to sociodemographic and medical factors. Psychotropic use was also associated with the physical health of the respondent. The coexistence of physical and mental illness generated an increase of consumption, whereas the absence of both types of illness was associated with a very low rate. The rates for physical and for mental illness alone were intermediate and were almost equal.

Adult↗

Presence of benzodiazepine-like molecules in mammalian brain and milk.

From bovine cerebral cortex extracts, used to isolate n-butyl beta carboline-3-carboxylate (8), fractions active in displacing [3H] flunitrazepam binding were purified and shown to contain benzodiazepine-like molecules. These were recognized by UV spectra, retention time in HPLC, and interaction with a specific monoclonal antibody. Such molecules were localized in synaptic vesicles and cytosol of synaptosomes. Similar molecules were also found in cow milk. The possible dietary origin of these benzodiazepine-like molecules is discussed.

Animals↗

Malignant schwannoma of the gingiva.

A case of malignant schwannoma on the buccal-attached gingiva in the right mandible is described. There was no evidence of multiple neurofibromatosis and the tumor was totally excised. Numerous closely-packed spindle-shaped cells showing marked mitotic activity were seen. The recognizable pattern of neurilemmoma could be observed focally in a small area of the tumor. At two years follow-up, the patient has remained symptom-free with no signs of metastasis.

Adolescent↗

A community mental health survey in Cantabria: a general description of morbidity.

A two-stage mental illness survey of a random sample of persons aged 17 years and over from a rural community in Cantabria, Spain, is described. In the first stage newly qualified doctors and final year medical students interviewed 1223 respondents (583 males and 640 females) at their homes, using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-60) and other psychopathological and social questionnaires. In the second stage senior psychiatrists carried out an at-home interview on a sample composed of all those who in the first stage scored above the cut-off point on the GHQ, and of a similar number of persons selected at random from two independent batches of below-threshold scorers on the GHQ. Because of this design the prevalence figures have to be weighted in order to represent the whole first stage sample. Of the total population, 14.7% (8.1% of the men and 20.6% of the women) had psychiatric disorders as defined by the PSE-ID system. In males depression accounted for about twice as many cases as anxiety states, but in females there was a predominance of a combination of anxiety, phobic and obsessive conditions. Men presented a higher prevalence of disorders over the age of 35, with a peak around the age of forty, while in women the rise of prevalence was over the age of 45. There was, however, no significant association with marital status. Unemployment was related to mental illness in males but not in females, while the reverse was true of the type of work. In both sexes the presence of children under fourteen in the household was not related to a rise in prevalence. Women exhibited a high rate of mental illness in the low educational level and in the low social and religious integration groups, but in men a rise in prevalence was found in the low social status, low educational level and low social integration groups. Lastly, in both sexes the presence of physical illness was related to mental disorders.

Adult↗

Human growth hormone. Immunochemical characterization of polypeptide fragments purified by reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography.

Using HPLC it was possible to obtain fragments of human growth hormone, enzymatically or chemically cleaved, with a purity not previously attained. The immunoreactivity of these fragments was assayed with polyclonal or mouse monoclonal antibodies to the native hormone. Antigenicity was found in the peptide sequences derived from the two thirds of the molecule from the amino terminal end. No immunoreactivity was found in the sequence 135-191.

Amino Acids↗

Isolation and identification in bovine cerebral cortex of n-butyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate, a potent benzodiazepine binding inhibitor.

A substance having benzodiazepine-binding inhibitory activity has been extracted from 18 kg of gray matter of bovine cerebral cortex and purified to homogeneity. This substance inhibits competitively [3H]flunitrazepam and ethyl beta-[3H]carboline-3-carboxylate binding with high affinity (Ki, 3 nM), but it is inactive upon 3H-labeled Ro 5-4864, [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate, [3H]prazosin, [3H]clonidine, [3H]dihydroalprenolol, and upon high-affinity [3H]muscimol binding. This inhibitor has been identified as n-butyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta-CCB) by fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy (Mr, 268) and electron bombardment fragmentography, ultraviolet and fluorescence spectra, coelution in HPLC with standard beta-CCB, and by the exact correspondence in Ki with beta-CCB on the displacement of [3H]flunitrazepam binding. The possible artificial formation of beta-CCB has been discarded by a series of control experiments including addition of tryptophan to the starting homogenate, extraction from liver, isolation and purification by an alternative procedure avoiding organic solvents, and by the impossibility of making beta-CCB from beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid or its methyl ester in the conditions of our extraction and purification procedures.

Animals↗

Two stage design in a community survey.

By comparison with the PSE-ID system, we showed that the GHQ-60 could be used with good results as a screening instrument in the first of a two stage community survey. Unlike the sensitivity and negative predictive values, the specificity and positive predictive rates reach low figures in this study. The global efficiency and positive and negative predictive values of the test are significantly improved by raising its cut-off score, but at the expense of great reduction in sensitivity. The revised scoring system failed to provide better prediction of 'caseness' than conventional scoring. The GHQ does not distinguish fully between persons in the community afflicted by 'transient states of distress' and those whose symptoms would classify them as 'cases' by the PSE.

Community Psychiatry↗

[Anthropometric study of the body composition of a childhood population in Madrid].

Results of some anthropometric variables related to body composition of school children, in Madrid, aged 6 to 14, are reported. Measures were taken by a well-trained staff with accurate instruments and following international proceedings. Data directly obtained were: arm circumference and skinfolds thickness: bicipital, tricipital and subscapular. Results deduced from the former ones, show the composition of an hypothetic mid-arm section and they are: total surface, fat surface, % fat, fat free surface and % fat free substance. These values obtained from a population with an adequate feeding under control, are a data contribution for future studies on collectivities with similar characteristics.

Adolescent↗

Antibodies against animal growth hormones appearing in patients treated with human growth hormone: their specificities and influence on growth velocity.

The appearance of anti-human growth hormone (hGH) and anti-non-hGHs antibodies in 27 patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism, treated for periods of 6-18 months with three different preparations of hGH, was investigated. The preparations induced antibodies to GH in 21 out of the 27 patients: 10 patients produced exclusively an anti-non-hGH response, whereas 11 generated both anti-non-hGH and anti-hGH antibodies. The levels of antibodies against hGH had low correlation with decreased growth velocity, whereas those for the antibodies against non-hGHs did not correlate with decreased growth velocity.

Adolescent↗

Amino acid sequences around the cystine residues in alpaca growth hormone.

Half-cystine peptides were isolated from the enzymatic digest of reduced and carbamidomethylated alpaca growth hormone. From their amino acid composition and determination of the end terminal residues we propose the amino acid sequence around the two disulphide bridges, partially based on homology with other mammalian growth hormones. The proposed sequence is identical to that of equine growth hormone and very similar to those of rat, bovine and ovine hormones.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The same region of human growth hormone is involved in its binding to various receptors.

The Fab fragments of three monoclonal antihuman GH (anti-hGH) antibodies, among five tested, inhibited the binding of the hormone to the receptors of the human lymphoid cell line IM-9 and liver membranes of the pregnant rabbit. The results were similar for the receptors of human lymphocytes and rabbit liver, suggesting that both receptors reacted with the same region of the hormone. The Fab fragments of the most inhibitory antibody also inhibited the down-regulation by the hormone of the receptors on human lymphocytes. The fragments of this antibody completely blocked the binding of the hormone to the receptors of the rabbit liver, despite the fact that this carries two or more classes of receptors. Therefore, all of these various receptors apparently interact with the same region of the hormone. Three synthetic peptides extending from residues 19-128, 73-128, and 98-128 failed to inhibit the binding of hGH to its lymphocyte or liver receptors however, these peptides reacted significantly with the monoclonal antibody, which was the strongest inhibitor of the interaction of hGH with the cellular receptor, confirming that the receptor-binding site of the hormone is in the amino-terminal part of the molecule and suggesting indirectly that the short sequences 98-128 participates in the constitution of the receptor-binding site of the hormone.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Human, bovine, and equine growth hormone antibodies in patients treated with human growth hormone.

The immunological behavior of sera from hypopituitary patients treated with human GH (hGH) has been studied by homologous and heterologous RIAs using 125I-labeled hormones. Along with antibodies against hGH, antibodies exhibiting antibovine and antiequine GH (anti-bGH and anti-eGH, respectively) activities were also found. Displacement experiments showed that hGH was an effective competitor of 125 I-labeled hGH, whereas bGH and eGH were quite inefficient. Conversely, when the tracer was 125I-labeled bGH, both bGH and eGH were good displacers, while the human hormone was poor. The values of the affinity constants of the various antibodies found in human sera were similar to each other and to those found after immunization of rabbits. These results suggest that the antibodies against bGH and eGH belong to a population separate from those directed against the human hormone. The mechanism by which hGH can express determinants of other animal growth hormones is obscure, although the high degree of conservation of structure in these molecules during evolution must be involved.

Adolescent↗