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Biomedical subjects

D D Bass

Publications and source records attributed to D D Bass.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Anticardiolipin autoantibodies in serum samples and cryoglobulins of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been linked to extrahepatic autoimmune phenomena. In addition, a variety of autoantibodies are found in patients with HCV. The prevalence, nature, and clinical significance of anticardiolipin (aCL) autoantibodies in serum samples of patients with HCV were therefore investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study of 48 consecutive patients with chronic HCV with no evidence of previous hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection or any other autoimmune disorder. Thirty patients with HBV and 50 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex served as control groups. Anticardiolipin antibodies in the serum samples and cryoprecipitates were measured by a sensitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The beta(2) glycoprotein I (beta(2)-GPI) dependency was determined by carrying out aCL assays in the presence or absence of fetal calf serum samples. RESULTS: High levels of IgG aCL antibodies were detected in serum samples of 21/48 (44%) patients with HCV. These autoantibodies showed no beta(2)-GPI dependency. The control groups had much lower levels of aCL antibodies (20% in the patients with HBV and none in the normal volunteers). Cryoprecipitates from four patients with HCV (three aCL positive; one aCL negative) were further isolated. In two of the three aCL positive patients, specific cardiolipin reactivity was shown in the cryoprecipitates. The group of patients with HCV and aCL antibodies in their serum showed significantly higher total IgG levels, a higher incidence of antinuclear antibodies, and viraemia (HCV RNA) than the aCL negative patients. None of the patients with HCV and aCL antibodies showed any clinical manifestations related to those autoantibodies. CONCLUSIONS: This study clearly shows a high prevalence of IgG aCL antibodies in the serum of patients with HCV and the localisation of these antibodies in some cryoprecipitates. The role of these autoantibodies on the course of HCV infection and their clinical significance has not yet been determined.

Adult↗

Fatty liver--an additional and treatable feature of the insulin resistance syndrome.

To test the hypothesis that fatty liver coexists with other metabolic abnormalities of the insulin resistance syndrome, and responds to their amelioration, we prospectively studied 48 consecutive patients with chronically elevated liver enzymes and clinical, ultrasound and histological findings consistent with fatty infiltration of the liver. Most of the patients were overweight or obese (64%) with increased waist circumference which closely relates to visceral fat. Only 10% of the patients had normal glucose tolerance: 44% had diabetes mellitus, 29% impaired glucose tolerance, and 17% were hyperinsulinaemic. The most common dyslipidaemia found was hypertriglyceridaemia and/or low HDL-C (86%). Dietary intervention and follow-up (median 24 months), supplemented by oral hypoglycaemic or lipid-lowering drugs as needed, resulted not only in weight loss (mean 3.7 kg), decreased fasting blood glucose (p < 0.005) and improvement in serum lipid profile (p < 0.02 for both triglycerides or HDL-C) but also in an improvement of serum liver enzymes in 96%, which became normal in more than half of the patients. Thus, fatty liver was strongly associated with many features of the insulin resistance syndrome, and follow-up revealed a high potential for reversibility and a benign course.

Alanine Transaminase↗

Acute hepatitis C during pregnancy. Case report and review of the literature.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon is well established (Fried 1995, Zein 1995) though not very successful. We report a case of a pregnant doctor who developed acute hepatitis C six weeks after accidental needle-stick injury from a hepatitis C virus positive patient. We review the literature that deals with such cases.

Adult↗

Celiac disease.

Celiac disease, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, classically presents as diarrhea and weight loss in childhood, but it may also have protean manifestations and appear well into adult life. The increasing availability of noninvasive blood tests that are highly sensitive and specific for celiac disease enables primary care physicians to recognize the disorder in a wide variety of clinical situations. The authors believe that the disease is more common than supposed and thus offer this diagnostic review to increase awareness.

Adult↗

Systemic alteration in blood glucose levels following localized deep microwave hyperthermia.

Blood glucose levels were temporarily elevated in normal rabbits subjected to one localized microwave hyperthermia treatment in the rectum. A major peak of blood glucose level was observed 8 hours after treatment, and a second minor peak was measured 14-17 hours after treatment. These findings indicate that localized microwave hyperthermia affects the host systemically.

Animals↗

Normal tissue response to localized deep microwave hyperthermia in the rabbit's prostate: a preclinical study.

Experiments were performed to determine the response of normal tissues of the rectal cavity and the prostate to localized 2.45 GHz microwave deep hyperthermia. Hyperthermia at 43 degrees C was delivered by means of a coaxial probe in the rectal cavity for 30 min. once or twice at an interval of 2 days. Normal tissues of the rectum, urinary bladder, and prostate were histologically examined up to three months after treatments. In almost all of the treated animals no tissue and organ injury resulted from localized deep hyperthermia at 43 degrees C. This treatment appears to be safe for the treatment of carcinoma of the prostate.

Animals↗

Myopericarditis associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

Myopericarditis is a rare but important manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease. It can be the sole or one of several extracolonic manifestations of either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Because of the therapeutic implications, we report a patient with ulcerative colitis associated with myopericarditis, with a review of the literature documenting this association.

Adult↗