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Biomedical subjects

C Shapira

Publications and source records attributed to C Shapira.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Activated protein C resistance (factor V Leiden) associated with thrombosis in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate activated protein C resistance phenotype and genotype among patients with thrombosis during pregnancy and the puerperium. STUDY DESIGN: This observational study was conducted prospectively during a 2-year period (July 1993 to June 1995) in a preselected population. All patients admitted to our high-risk pregnancy unit with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary emboli, transient ischemic attack, and cerebrovascular accident during pregnancy and the puerperium were included. Prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen levels, protein C, protein S, antithrombin III, functional test for activated protein C resistance, and factor V Leiden mutation by polymerase chain reaction were performed on each patient. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were included. Seven (46.6%) patients were positive for activated protein C resistance (factor V Leiden). All other coagulation studies were negative for all patients. All patients with activated protein C resistance had a venous thrombotic event, deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary emboli, and only one had a cerebrovascular accident on the basis of sagittal sinus thrombosis. Only two of the activated protein C resistance-negative patients had venous thrombosis (pulmonary emboli). The remaining six patients had transient ischemic attacks or cerebrovascular accidents. For the subgroup with venous thrombosis during pregnancy and the puerperium, the incidence of activated protein C resistance (factor V Leiden) was 78%. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the incidence of factor V Leiden in a selected population in whom thrombotic events developed during pregnancy and the puerperium. This small-scale study provides justification for a large cohort study that will identify women with factor V Leiden and determine their risk for thrombosis during pregnancy and the puerperium. We believe that factor V Leiden should be evaluated in conjunction with thrombotic events in the pregnant woman.

Adult↗

The outcome of patients with acute myocardial infarction ineligible for thrombolytic therapy. Israeli Thrombolytic Survey Group.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) excluded from thrombolytic therapy on a national basis and to evaluate the prognosis of these patients by reasons of ineligibility and according to the alternative therapies that they received during hospitalization. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a national survey, 1,014 consecutive patients with AMI were hospitalized in all the 25 coronary care units operating in Israel. RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty-three patients (38%) were treated with a thrombolytic agent and included in the GUSTO study. Ineligible patients for GUSTO were treated: (1) without any reperfusion therapy (n = 449), (2) by mechanical revascularization (n = 97), or (3) given 1.5 million units of streptokinase (n = 85) outside of the GUSTO protocol. The inhospital and 1-year post-discharge mortality rates were 6% and 2% in patients included in the GUSTO study; 6% and 5% in those mechanically reperfused; 15% and 10% in those treated with thromoblysis despite ineligibility for the GUSTO trial, and 15% and 13% among patients not treated with any reperfusion therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Ineligibility for thrombolysis among patients with AMI remains high. Patients ineligible for thrombolysis according to the GUSTO criteria, but nevertheless treated with a thrombolytic agent were exposed to an increased risk.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Fosinopril reduces ADP-induced platelet aggregation in hypertensive patients.

Platelets are intimately involved in atherosclerosis, and hypertension is a known risk factor for coronary artery disease. The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were demonstrated to reduce hypertension and attenuate atherosclerosis. Because increased platelet aggregation was shown in hypertensive patients, the effect of a new ACE inhibitor, fosinopril, on platelet aggregation was studied. Fosinopril therapy (10 mg/day for 4 weeks) in 18 male hypertensive patients showed > or = 31% reduction in ADP-induced platelet aggregation. In vitro studies showed that fosinopril had similar inhibitory effect on ADP-induced platelet aggregation. No inhibitory effect could be detected with collagen as the aggregating agent. Finally, inhibition of platelet aggregation by fosinopril was less effective in platelets derived from hypertensive patients as compared with platelets derived from normal subjects. We conclude that fosinopril possesses a significant inhibitory activity on ADP-induced platelet aggregation both in vitro and in vivo.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Low density lipoprotein isolated from patients with essential hypertension exhibits increased propensity for oxidation and enhanced uptake by macrophages: a possible role for angiotensin II.

In patients with essential hypertension, the increased risk for atherosclerosis is related not only to the blood pressure levels per se, but also to other, unknown, factors. Recent observations have indicated that oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and macrophage uptake of oxidized LDL are implicated in human atherosclerosis. We tested both the susceptibility of LDL, derived from hypertensive patients, to lipid peroxidation as well as its uptake by macrophages, in comparison with control LDL obtained from healthy subjects. The LDL that was derived from 25 patients with essential hypertension demonstrated increased propensity for lipid peroxidation with a 63%, 91% and 69% elevation in the content of the lipoprotein malondialdehyde, peroxides and conjugated dienes, respectively, in comparison with control LDL. Minimally modified LDL (MM-LDL) (prepared by 6 months' storage of the LDL at 4 degrees C) derived from the hypertensive patients also demonstrated increased lipid peroxidation with a 94%, 130% and 96% elevation in lipoprotein malondialdehyde, peroxides and conjugated dienes, respectively, compared with the control LDL. The susceptibility of the patients' LDL to lipid peroxidation decreased by 32% and 44% (measured as malondialdehyde) after 3 weeks of therapy with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors captopril and enalapril, respectively, with no parallel reduction in the patients' blood pressure. The patients' LDL was shown to contain increased content of lipid peroxides and unsaturated fatty acids, which may explain its increased susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. In vitro experiments revealed that LDL can bind angiotensin II, and that angiotensin II has a stimulatory effect on copper-mediated oxidation of LDL, as well as on LDL degradation by macrophages. These results were secondary to cell-mediated oxidation of the LDL and to its cellular uptake via the scavenger receptor. We conclude that LDL derived from patients with essential hypertension is more susceptible to lipid peroxidation than control LDL, and this may be secondary to angiotensin II stimulation of LDL lipid peroxidation in these patients. Furthermore, this LDL demonstrates enhanced cellular uptake by macrophages in comparison with normal LDL which can also be related to angiotensin II-mediated LDL oxidation. Both these phenomena have been shown to be associated with accelerated atherosclerosis, and thus suggest a new mechanism for increased atherogenecity in hypertensive patients.

Adult↗

[Increased propensity to oxidation of LDL of hypertensives].

Increased incidence of atherosclerosis has been noted in hypertension, but prevention of ischemic heart disease has not been achieved. We studied the propensity to oxidation of LDL obtained from 15 nonsmoking hypertensives (mean age 51 +/- 10) before drug therapy, and compared the results with those of LDL obtained from a similar group of normotensive controls. After oxidation with copper ions (10 microM) there was substantially increased oxidation of LDL derived from the hypertensives in comparison to that of the controls. The mean values (nmol/mg protein +/- SD; n = 15) were: malondialdehyde 55 +/- 11, peroxides 224 +/- 52, and conjugated dienes 250 +/- 56, compared to values of 26 +/- 5, 123 +/- 31 and 175 +/- 44, respectively, in the control group (p less than 0.01). It is concluded that the increased propensity of LDL to oxidation in hypertension may be the link to atherosclerosis.

Adult↗

Renal scintigraphy in initial evaluation of renal colic.

To determine the role of renal scintigraphy (RS) in patients with suspected acute urinary tract obstruction, a prospective study was performed comparing RS with emergency intravenous excretory urography (IVU) in 36 examinations. Thirty patients were diagnosed as having renal colic: 28 had dilation of the urinary tracts with (89%) or without (11%) visualized stone; 2 patients with stones did not have stasis at the IVU. An abnormal RS was found in 28 patients with abnormal IVU, while it was normal in the 2 nonobstructed patients (sensitivity = 93%). The radiopaque stones in these 2 patients were seen on plain x-ray film of the abdomen. The results of this study support the use of RS combined with a plain film of the abdomen in the initial evaluation of renal colic.

Adult↗