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Biomedical subjects

D Afra

Publications and source records attributed to D Afra.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Characterization of human gliomas by a monoclonal antibody both on tissue culture and paraffin-embedded sections.

A monoclonal antibody designated OITIC3-11 was produced against GFAP positive human glioblastoma multiforme tumour cells. The specificity of the monoclonal antibody was tested on different types of human brain tumours and on normal adult brain both on tissue cultures and paraffin-embedded sections. The OITIC3-11 monoclonal antibody reacted with 16 of 18 malignant and 1 of 6 benign gliomas but did not react with meningioma, pituitary adenoma, metastatic brain tumours and normal adult brain tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Chronic extradural haematoma--report of 33 cases.

During 35 years (1955-1989) 236 extradural haematomas were operated on in the National Institute of Neurosurgery, Budapest. 33 of them were operated on after the 4th day following trauma. These cases were termed as chronic ones. There was no mortality and only two patients had permanent neurological signs. The much more favourable outcome of the chronic extradural haematoma could be explained with the slow development of the haematoma. It is remarkable that the trauma itself was not recognised in several cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Combined treatment of anaplastic astrocytoma (grade 3-4) with diacetyl-dianhydro-galactitol (DADAG).

Autoradiographic studies of labeled diacetyldianhydro-galactitol (DADAG) with tumor bearing animals revealed that the CNS accumulates high amounts of DADAG-derived radioactivity and the elimination from the brain seems to be relatively slow. This observation and the activity of DADAG against murine ependymoblastoma classified the drug as a promising agent for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. In a series of 30 evaluable consecutive patients who were operated on for anaplastic astrocytomas, DADAG has been applied during and subsequent to postoperative radiotherapy. No severe toxicity occurred. Survivals were compared with a group of patients who got irradiation alone. Statistical analysis did not show significantly better survivals in the DADAG treated group: median value was 46.5 weeks, p = 0.232.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Primary spinal intramedullary malignant lymphoma. A case report.

A rare case of primary malignant intramedullary lymphoma, localized in the cervical part of the spinal cord, is presented. The onset of clinical symptoms was associated with herpes zoster infection. Surgery led to the histological diagnosis. The clinical investigations excluded the presence of lymphoma in other sites in the central nervous system and in the extraneural organs. Postoperative irradiation and chemotherapy effected relict of neurological symptoms.

Female↗
PubMed1990

The distribution of bromine content of dibromodulcitol in the central nervous system of patients with malignant gliomas.

The bromine content of human gliomas and white matter was determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA) following p.o. administration of a single dose of 400-500 mg/m2 dibromodulcitol (DBD). In another group of patients with brain gliomas, the bromine content was measured subsequent to application of a single dose of 334 mg/m2 of sodium bromide (equivalent dose regarding the bromine content of DBD). The bromine content of these two groups was compared to the values found in a third control group of untreated patients. The amount of bromine after DBD application was three to four times higher than in the untreated samples and the average accumulation ratio of 1.8 +/- 0.4 proved to be nearly identical both in tumour and white matter. The bromine values after NaBr treatment showed a different pattern of distribution. The accumulation was higher in the tumour tissue than in the normal white matter. These findings demonstrate that the pharmacokinetic properties of DBD- and NaBr-derived bromine are different, suggesting that the increase of bromine after DBD administration could be due to covalently bound bromine in DBD.

Brain Chemistry↗
PubMed1987

Contribution to the problem of giant cell astrocytomas.

Histological, immunocytochemical, and biological features of 38 giant cell gliomas were investigated. The invasion of these tumors and its giant cells by histiocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and especially by eosinophilic granulocytes is viewed as an immune response, which may explain a favorable clinical course. Fifty-three percent of the patients were younger than 45 years at the time of surgery. The average postoperative survival of 27.4 months was clearly longer than in glioblastoma. These biological features suggest a differentiation from glioblastoma multiforme. The classification of this entity as "monstrocellular astrocytoma" is proposed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Supratentorial lobar pilocytic astrocytomas: report of 45 operated cases, including 9 recurrences.

45 cases with supratentorial, lobar--mainly temporo-parietal--pilocytic astrocytoma are analysed. The mostly highly vascularized tumours frequently present with histologically different tissue components. Formation of cysts of various size was found in 67%. The tumour usually ran a benign clinical course with a comparatively low incidence of recurrence. Malignant transformation of recurrent tumours was not observed. Radiotherapy of conventional dosage did not prove to have any influence on survival, neither post-operatively nor after re-operation. Transformation of persisting pluripotential cells of the subependymal periventricular plate after migration to the surface of the brain is being discussed as the origin of this variant of pilocytic astrocytoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Dibromodulcitol-based combined postoperative chemotherapy of malignant astrocytomas and glioblastomas.

Continuing our earlier studies with dibromodulcitol (DBD), in a series of 38 evaluable consecutive patients who were operated on for malignant supratentorial gliomas, radiotherapy with smaller daily but higher total doses of DBD has been started 3-5 weeks after surgery. This was followed alternately by a combination chemotherapy of CCNU and DBD or CCNU and Procarbazine. No severe myelotoxicity occurred. Survivals were compared with a group of patients who got irradiation alone. Statistical analysis showed a significantly better survival in the presently treated group: median survival was 55 weeks, p = 0.02. These values were very similar to those groups which were treated by intermittent DBD schedule during irradiation. This study seems to confirm our previous suggestion that the concurrent use of DBD during irradiation might be an important factor in improving survival times.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Supratentorial lobar ependymomas: reports on the grading and survival periods in 80 cases, including 46 recurrences.

We report 80 supratentorial lobar ependymomas, including 46 recurrences. All underwent operation. In the total collection 34.5% survived for more than 5 years. The behaviour of children and adults was nearly identical. Based on a histological grading into three steps of malignancy (E1, E2, E3), the ependymomas in low grade 1 showed a 5 years' survival time of 41.5%. Compared to a 28.5% survival in group E2 at the same time. Results in group E3, which histologically resembled malignant glioma or glioblastoma, are not relevant because of the small number of cases. More than 50% of the E1 recurrences showed transformation to E2. No transformation into a lower grade of malignancy has been observed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The distribution of [3H]-dibromodulcitol in the central nervous system of patients with brain tumour.

The uptake of [3H]-dibromodulcitol ( [3H]-DBD) into glioblastomas, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid was studied in 10 patients. Single-tissue samples were taken from different subjects at 4, 15 and 24 hr after [3H]-DBD administration. The level of 3H-compounds in the central nervous system was similar after a single (400 mg/m2), or 3 smaller daily oral doses of 150-180 mg/m2 of [3H]-DBD. The distribution of radioactivity was uniform in the tumour, white matter and muscle. Between 3 and 15 hr after administration of DBD the concentration of radioactivity did not change significantly and was between 5 and 13 micrograms of DBD/g tissue wet wt. At the same time the level in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) remained between 1 and 4 micrograms/ml. Meanwhile, the average concentration of radioactivity in the plasma fell from 11 to 3 micrograms/ml. The elimination half-life of the labelled compounds from the tissues was about 1 day as judged from the limited number of non-serial data obtained 4 and 24 hr after the last dose of repeated drug administration.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1983

Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with dibromodulcitol and CCNU in the postoperative treatment of malignant gliomas.

Within 4 weeks after definitive surgery, 91 patients with supratentorial glioblastomas and malignant astrocytomas were randomized to one of three treatment arms: Group 1 received radiotherapy alone; Group 2 received dibromodulcitol (DBD) during radiotherapy, and treatment was then continued with DBD; and Group 3 received DBD during radiotherapy, followed by combination chemotherapy of CCNU and DBD. No severe myelotoxicity occurred, but combined treatment with CCNU and DBD occasionally caused a transient myelosuppression. Statistical analysis of 84 evaluable patients showed a significantly longer survival period in those who received chemotherapy during and after irradiation. Median survival times in the three groups were 40, 57, and 60 weeks, respectively; the corresponding p value for Groups 2 and 3 was 0.025 and 0.0015. The ratio of patients surviving over 18 and 24 months was highest in Group 3. This study suggests that the administration of DBD during irradiation might have been the main factor in improving survival times.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1982

[Simultaneous occurrence of pituitary adenoma and thyrogenic hyperthyroidism].

Subtotal tumour removal had been performed in a 34-year-old female patient for an extensive intra- and suprasellar expansive process. The considerably increased prolactin level did not decrease postoperatively, but normalised only after a three months bromocriptine treatment. The primary hyperthyroidism has been recovering after administering methimazolum. In a second case was reported on a 65-year-old female patient, suffering from rachitic dwarfism, stenosis of the aortic valve and tumour of the hypophysis, causing acromegaly, whose diabetes mellitus of contrainsular type could have been hardly balanced with insulin of a 128-unit-dose daily, and whose hyperthyroidism was due to an autonomous adenoma of the thyroid gland, first I-131 treatment was administered and she got into an euthyroid state. Six weeks following the removal of the acidophilic adenoma of the hypophysis administration of insulin could have been ceased, and the results of her growth hormone became normal. The clinical picture partly corresponds with Troell-Junet's syndrome.

Acromegaly↗
PubMed1982

Medulloblastoma: survey of factors possibly influencing the prognosis.

In a series of 310 cases the role of the factors age, sex, location of the tumour (midline or lateral), and medulloblastoma type (classic or desmoplastic) were analysed with regard to the prognosis. The influence of therapy is not considered because of the inhomogeneity of the material and the view nowadays that treatment is insufficient. The occurrence of lateral (or hemispheric) medulloblastomas increases in the group of the 11-15 years old patients. The proportion of the desmoplastic type is greater in adults than in children, but they are distributed almost equally medially and laterally. There seems to be no definite correlation between sex and the survival time. The mean survival time increases with age. With regard to the histological subclassification into children and adults, the mean survival times are nearly identical. The only obvious factor with a decisive influence on the prognosis seems to be the time of appearance of the tumour. Additionally, the data support the conclusion that a desmoplastic medulloblastoma should be considered as a histological variant without clinical relevance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Cysts in malignant gliomas. Identification by computerized tomography.

The clinical course, computerized tomography (CT) scans, and postmortem reports for 265 patients treated for malignant brain tumors were reviewed. Forty-one patients underwent reoperation for tumor recurrence and one had needle aspiration as a diagnostic procedure; of these patients, seven (3% of 265 and 17% of 42) were diagnosed as harboring tumor cysts and 10 (25% of 41) as having necrotic tumor centers. The CT scans on the 17 patients harboring tumors with surgically confirmed cysts and necrotic centers were reviewed; criteria for distinguishing between cysts and central necrosis are suggested. The relative benefits of repeated aspiration and surgical therapy for these cystic lesions are discussed.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed1978

Supratentorial recurrences of gliomas. Results of reoperations on astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas.

On the basis of our previous investigation regarding histological transformation of recurrent astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas we report the clinical results of reoperations. The present observations deal with 121 cases: grade 1 astrocytomas (45), oligodendrogliomas (12), grade 2 astrocytomas (47), and oligodendrogliomas (17), respectively. In all these a second reoperation was performed in 14 cases. Operative mortality was relatively high, but without significant difference in the two groups of maligancy: 24.5% and 29.6%. Survival times in both groups showed striking individual differences. We achieved post-reoperation survivals exceeding one year in 18 and 14 cases, respectively. The results of second reoperations were generally poor. We find no remarkable differences in survival time following reoperations in primary grade 1 and grade 2 tumours. Similarly, malignant change proved to be not decisive for survival times. On the contrary, most of our patients with unchanged grade 1 astrocytomas, reoperated on after a longer interval, achieved a short second survival only. Prolongation of life expectancy by radiotherapy is doubtful. Irradiation seems to be necessary with malignantly transformed tumours if the patient did not have any treatment before reoperation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

[Cytophotometric investigations of the nuclear DNA content in ependymomas and plexuspapillomas (author's transl)].

Report on Feulgen-cytophotometric DNA investigations in 10 ependymomas and 2 plexuspapillomas. All ependymomas represent in their karyograms aneuploidic stem lines. In most of them one observes duplication peaks (G2 cells) as expression of proliferation behaviour. The histological benign ependymomas exhibit stem lines between the hyperdiploid and hypotetraploid values. With increasing malignancy the stem lines are elevated in higher ploidy levels and a reduction of a predominant stem line is recognizable. One of the ependymomas represents a distribution of DNA values like in a "mosaic" tumour. The measurements in the plexuspapillomas in good conformity with the histologic picture reflect the DNA distribution of a benign euploid neoplasm.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Supratentorial recurrences of gliomas. Morphological studies in relation to time intervals with astrocytomas.

We report 137 recurrent supratentorial astrocytomas. The primary tumours diagnosed on the basis of a grading system with three stages were 72 astrocytomas I and 65 astrocytomas II. In the first group 14% of the recurrences were not changed, 55.5% became astrocytomas II, and 30.5% became glioblastomas. In the second group 55.4% were unchanged, and 44.6% became glioblastomas. The postoperative intervals untile reintervention or death were statistically examined. It seems that the recurrence time chielfy depends on the nature of the primary tumour. The transformation of an astrocytoma I to a glioblastoma takes longer than the transformation of an astrocytoma II into a glioblastoma. In about two thirds of all astrocytomas an increase of malignancy is to be expected. From the histological picture it is not possible in an individual case to predict the likelihood or speed of malignant change. With regard to the effect of irradiation the authors conclude that radiotherapy most probably does not produce malignancy.

Adolescent↗