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Biomedical subjects

C Rodrigues

Publications and source records attributed to C Rodrigues.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Percutaneous approach for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary stenosis. New perspectives with the use of coronary stents].

We describe a case of coronary stenosis located in an unprotected left main coronary artery, treated primarily and electively with the placement of a coronary stent. As a function of the large mass of myocardium involved, this patient would be considered a classical candidate for direct surgery, because the inherent risk involved with conventional balloon angioplasty, mainly due to the eventual occurrence of acute closure during the procedure. Since the previsibility of the immediate results with the use of coronary stents was significantly improved, we propose this new therapeutic approach for this traditionally surgical case, that has been performed with success and without any complication. This strategy for the treatment of unprotected left main lesions with the elective placement of Palmaz-Schatz stents, has not yet been proposed or applied in our country, and may represent a new universe of indication of percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease, no longer approaching the left main stem only in special or emergency situations, usually a result of complications of left main manipulation during angioplasty of the coronary system. The patient involved in this case did not show any contraindication for the treatment with conventional open heart surgery.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Detection and typing of human papillomavirus in biopsy and cytological specimens by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis: a method suitable for semiautomation.

Screening for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types allows the detection of women at a high risk of cervical squamous carcinomas, thereby defining a subset of patients targeted for more intensive screening and follow-up. Thirty-four cervical biopsy specimens and isolated cells from cervical smears of normal women or women diagnosed with high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) were screened for the presence of HPV by in situ hybridization (ISH) and/or by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The exact HPV type was determined using a novel restriction typing method. The detection of HPV was facilitated greatly by the use of a PCR-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based method. HPV was detected by PCR in 32% of the biopsy specimens, whereas only 23% had a positive staining by ISH. In one case, a double infection was detected by ISH as well as by PCR. In two cases, the presence of HPV was detected by both methods but the exact type was different. Analyzing cells isolated from cervical smears by the PCR-ELISA technique or by PCR followed by agarose gel electrophoresis, HPV was detected only in patients with HGSIL and not in the control group. The PCR system is more sensitive than conventional ISH, and the PCR-ELISA system presented in this study is efficient in screening large series of cytological samples. Furthermore, this system allows exact HPV typing on the microtiter plate. These innovations may allow the application of HPV detection and typing as a routine screening method to identify patients with a high risk of developing cervical neoplasia.

Automation↗

Fatty acid patterns of film-forming yeasts and new evidence for the heterogeneity of Pichia membranaefaciens.

Total fatty acids (C14:0 to C18:3) of 50 strains assigned by classical identification methods to Pichia membranaefaciens (28), P. anomala (15), Dekkera anomala (2), D. bruxellensis (2) and Candida vini (3) were determined and data analysed by multivariate statistical procedures. Principal components cluster analysis defined six groups of strains. Thirteen strains of P. anomala formed a well-defined cluster, whereas P. membranaefaciens was split into three groups. The taxonomic status of the P. membranaefaciens strains was evaluated by determination of the G + C content and DNA-DNA hybridization. The results provided evidence in support of P. membranaefaciens encompassing distinct species. Only eight strains were certified as P. membranaefaciens and six were included in the same cluster, indicating that numerical analysis of fatty acid profiles points to genetic differences which remain undetectable by conventional phenotypic tests.

Base Composition↗

[Coronary angioplasty through the transradial approach].

We describe a coronary angioplasty procedure performed by transradial approach, on a 53 year old male with a reestenotic lesion in his right coronary artery, done 19 months after the initial dilatation. This is a new technique and has not been applied in our country.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

[Intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy. Its etiopathogenesis, prognosis and therapy].

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a rare disease of unknown cause, recurrent, characterized by pruritus and, in some cases, mild jaundice. This cholestasis usually appears during the second half of pregnancy, and resolves in the early puerperium. ICP results in the elevation of serum total bile acids concentrations, mainly cholic acid, and abnormal routine liver function tests. Although maternal outcome is invariably good, an increased fetal risk has been reported, namely premature deliveries, fetal distress, and perinatal mortality. To avoid these deleterious consequences, strict fetal monitoring must be carried out during the final weeks of pregnancy, and the decision for delivery taken as soon as term or fetal maturity are achieved. The ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), that has been beneficial in other cholestatic liver diseases therapeutics, may become a promising drug in the treatment of ICP; nevertheless, due to the scarce experience with its use during ICP, and because its metabolism and mechanism of action is still poorly understood, it seems reasonable to test the effect of UDCA in these patients.

Cholestasis, Intrahepatic↗

Chloramphenicol resistance in Salmonella typhi. Report from Bombay.

Chloramphenicol resistance to Salmonella typhi in 1989 was 16% in Hinduja Hospital. From Jan to June 1990, this resistance has increased to 81%. 74 strains of blood culture isolated of S typhi obtained from Jan to June were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity testing by disc diffusion technique of Kirby and Bauer 60 strains were found to show a block resistance tochloramphenicol, Ampicillin, Co-trimoxazole, Streptomycin, Tetracycline and Carbenicillin. All strains were sensitive to quinolones. Resistance was record and MIC done in 50 resistant strains by modified National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards [NCCLS] according to recommended break points and resistance to Chloramphenicol was confirmed. Of the 47 strains isolated, 34 had received treatment with either chlorampheniicol, Ampicillin or Cotrimoxazole in adequate dosages. In 39 of these 47 patients, Salmonella typhi was isolated after 14 days duration of fever. Plasmid analysis revealed presence of 100 megadalton plasmid in majority of cases. Most patients responded to fluoroquinolones but amongst the admitted patients complications such as Myoglobinuria in 2 cases, perforation in 4 cases, acute Renal failure in 2 cases and typhoid spine in 1 case were seen. Phage typing results of 19 strains were E-8, 0-6.

Chloramphenicol Resistance↗

Normally saprobic cryptococci isolated from Cryptococcus neoformans infections.

We report two cases in which Cryptococcus laurentii was isolated from surgically resected pulmonary lesions but the cryptococcal cells is tissue reacted positively with a specific fluorescent antibody (FA) conjugate for Cryptococcus neoformans. Both patients had no apparent host defense defects. In both cases, multiple cryptococcal isolates were obtained from tissue, and yeastlike cells consistent with C. neoformans were seen in direct histology. The isolates were identified by assimilation patterns and standard procedures including phenoloxidase reactions. Since C. laurentii was consistently isolated by using stringent procedures, it was considered unlikely that the fungus represented surgical or laboratory contamination. Its presence may be the result of dual infection not detected by FA, but other possible explanations exist. The results show the value of the FA test in diagnostic mycology and call into question previous reports of cryptococci other than C. neoformans as agents of infection.

Adult↗

Specificity of antibodies secreted by hybridomas generated from activated B cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Hybridomas have been prepared from active B cells in lymphoid tissue draining lesions of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), by fusion of fresh mesenteric lymph node suspensions with the murine JK myeloma. Two hundred and fifty nine immunoglobulin secreting hybridomas have been obtained from nine patients. The antibodies have been screened for binding to food antigens, sections of human gut, and bacteria including two unidentified acid fast isolates from CD lymph nodes. Autoantibodies, and antibodies to food antigens implicated by others in the aetiology of CD were rare, comprising 1.2%, and 2.5% respectively. Most donors yielded none of these. Thus neither food antigens nor autoantigens are major antigenic stimuli in nodes draining inflammatory bowel disease. On the other hand between 19% and 83% of supernatants from different donors bound to one or more bacterial genus. The mycobacteria and the CD isolates were amongst the genera to which most antibodies bound, though binding to E coli was more frequent. Significantly more CD than UC derived supernatants bound to BCG. As mycobacteria are not though to be part of the normal bowel flora, the high percentage of hybridomas secreting antibodies which bind to this genus is surprising.

Adult↗

Short-term effects of various phenols and acids on the Fischer 344 male rat forestomach epithelium.

A series of phenols and acids was fed to rats for 9 days to determine effects on the [methyl-3H]thymidine labelling index and the histological appearance of the forestomach. A variety of proliferative effects in the rat forestomach were observed which paralleled changes in the [methyl-3H] thymidine labelling index. The 3-tert-butyl isomer of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) was as effective as the food grade mixture. In the 4-hydroxybenzoic acid ester series, activity was not found either with the free acid or the methyl ester. With the ethyl, n-propyl and n-butyl esters activity in the perfundic region of the forestomach increased with alkyl chain length, the n-butyl ester being nearly as effective as BHA. In contrast, 4-methoxyyphenol and propionic acid demonstrated their greatest effects in the midregion of the forestomach, the action of propionic acid not being apparent until 21 or 27 days of treatment. It was also found that after a 9-day treatment involving coadministration of BHA and acetylsalicyclic acid, the overall effect of the antioxidant on the forestomach was greatly reduced.

Animals↗