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D Khanna

Publications and source records attributed to D Khanna.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Minimally important difference in diffuse systemic sclerosis: results from the D-penicillamine study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate minimally important differences (MIDs) in scores for the modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) in a clinical trial on diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: 134 people participated in a 2-year, double-blind, randomised clinical trial comparing efficacy of low-dose and high-dose D-penicillamine in diffuse SSc. At 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, the investigator was asked to rate the change in the patient's health since entering the study: markedly worsened, moderately worsened, slightly worsened, unchanged, slightly improved, moderately improved or markedly improved. Patients who were rated as slightly improved were defined as the minimally changed subgroup and compared with patients rated as moderately or markedly improved. RESULTS: The MID estimates for the mRSS improvement ranged from 3.2 to 5.3 (0.40-0.66 effect size) and for the HAQ-DI from 0.10 to 0.14 (0.15-0.21 effect size). Patients who were rated to improve more than slightly were found to improve by 6.9-14.2 (0.86-1.77 effect size) on the mRSS and 0.21-0.55 (0.32-0.83 effect size) on the HAQ-DI score. CONCLUSION: MID estimates are provided for improvement in the mRSS and HAQ-DI scores, which can help in interpreting clinical trials on patients with SSc and be used for sample size calculation for future clinical trials on diffuse SSc.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Increased expression of basic fibroblast growth factor in skin of patients with systemic sclerosis.

Increased collagen deposition is a hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Several fibrogenic cytokines play a role in this sclerosis. The role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), the most potent fibrogenic cytokine, is poorly understood in SSc. Skin biopsies from forearm of 13 patients with SSc and 3 normal individuals were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using avidin biotin-system to amplify the signal. In addition serum levels of bFGF were also measured in 30 patients including these 13 and 23 healthy controls. Thirteen patients with SSc were all females and had a median age of 26.5 years, median disease duration of 2.25 years. Of these thirteen, seven had diffuse and six had limited disease. The skin biopsies from patients showed increased expression of bFGF in the basal layer of epidermis, dermis (periappendageal, perivascular, matrix tissue) as compared to normal tissues. The expression of bFGF did not correlate with duration of disease or skin score. In contrast, only low levels of bFGF were detectable in 4/30 sera from SSc patients as compared to 3/23 from healthy controls (p = ns). Overexpression of bFGF in skin of patients with SSc along with normal serum levels suggests that bFGF probably acts in an autocrine or paracrine manner in fibrogenesis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Study of radionuclide distribution around Kudankulam nuclear power plant site (Agastheeswaram taluk of Kanyakumari district, India).

The activity concentration of primordial radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K have been measured in the sand samples of Agastheeswaram taluk of Kanyakumari district using gamma-ray spectrometer. The average activity of 232Th, 238U and 40K are found to be 5787.1, 1082.9 Bq kg(-1) and BDL, respectively. The total average absorbed dose rate owing to the presence of 232Th, 238U and 40K is found to be 3900.4 nGy h(-1). The annual effective dose is 4.7 mSv y(-1) and the results are discussed in this paper.

Background Radiation↗
PubMed2001

Intravenous drug abuse mimicking vasculitis.

"Mimickers" of vasculitis are well-documented in the literature. We report a case of intravenous drug abuse manifesting with signs and symptoms suggestive of vasculitis. This case highlights the need for diagnostic precision in the evaluation of suspected vasculitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Induction of mixed function oxidase activities of protein A in rat mammary tumors.

Following s.c. administration of purified protein A, to 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced mammary-tumor-bearing rats, a regenerated metabolism of the carcinogen was observed. The antitumor effect of protein A was evident from the decrease in tumor volume. The phase I and phase II enzyme activities suggest that protein A has the ability to induce the mixed function oxidases activity, which are active in the metabolism of xenobiotics.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microfilariae in a cytologic smear from cavernous hemangioma of the liver. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Wuchereria bancrofti has been found in almost every tissue except the liver. CASE: Microfilariae were found in a hemangioma of the liver on fine needle aspiration in a 40-year-old female with pyrexia associated with hepatomegaly and a peripheral blood smear negative for microfilariae. CONCLUSION: Absence of microfilariae in a peripheral blood smear does not exclude filarial infection.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypercalcaemia: a clue to Mycobacterium avium intracellulare infection in a patient with AIDS.

Hypercalcaemia is uncommon in HIV-infected patients and should suggest a different priority for differential diagnosis than would be considered in other settings. Although hypercalcaemia has long been associated with granulomatous diseases including tuberculosis, it has only recently been recognised that patients with illness due to Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI) may develop it. We report a patient with AIDS in whom unexplained hypercalcaemia was the harbinger of clinically significant MAI infection. Patients with AIDS who develop hypercalcaemia should be closely evaluated for underlying MAI infection.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

ACR remission criteria and response criteria.

As additional DMARDs have been added to the armamentarium of rheumatologists over the last 60 years, the approach to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has changed. Many clinical studies now are geared toward evaluating the concept of eradicating inflammation as a method to seek the elusive goal of sustained remission in RA. One of the first descriptions of remission in 'RA' was by Short et al in 1948, when he documented the natural progression of the disease. Since that time, various criteria have been developed to define RA remission utilizing clinical, radiographic, and laboratory measures. The most stringent of criteria is the American College of Rheumatology Remission Criteria, developed in 1980, which consists of clinical symptoms and signs of inflammation including fatigue, joint pain, morning stiffness, joint tenderness, joint swelling, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Several reports have compared ACR remission criteria to Disease Activity Score (DAS) values to identify equivalent DAS remission values, and these have been extrapolated to modified versions of the DAS, the Simple Disease Activity Index (SDAI), and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI). The ACR remission criteria and the response measures were not designed for use as the target or goal for the clinical management of individual RA patients in routine clinical practice. Nevertheless, rheumatologists yearn for the eradication of inflammation in all RA patients, and attaining remission may be achievable in the future.

Antirheumatic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Protective and therapeutic efficacies of protein A on 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced rat mammary adenocarcinoma.

Protein A of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I is a powerful immunostimulating agent. Female Swiss Portan rats fed 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthrancene (DMBA) exhibited increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity, which returned to normal levels following eight weeks of treatment with 12 micrograms protein A subcutaneously. Protein A reduced the potential of tumor induction by DMBA as observed by the noninduction of tumors until three months after discontinuation of protein A administration. The total leukocyte count was not affected. Protein A treatment for six weeks of DMBA-induced mammary adenocarcinoma-bearing rats caused the increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity to decrease but not to normal levels, indicating regression but no disappearance of the tumors. The total leukocyte count of the tumor bearers was stimulated by protein A and increased 24 hours after protein A administration; however, in the fourth week of treatment it returned to normal levels. The leukocytosis suggests that protein A could cause tumor necrosis by an inflammatory reaction, edema, and cell destruction and thus tumor regression.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Histopathological study of rat mammary adenocarcinoma after protein A administration.

Protein A was purified from Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I and administered subcutaneously for a period of six weeks to a 7,12-dimethylbenz(alpha)anthracene-induced rat mammary adenocarcinoma model, which resulted in a significant reduction in tumor volume. Considerable fibrosis, inflammatory reactions, cellular debris, and edema were the hallmarks of tumor necrosis caused by administration of protein A. Calcification, which may be the replacement of earlier necrosis, also was observed. Thick eosinophilic secretions were observed in the lumina of the breast tubules. The results suggest that inflammatory mechanisms may be activated, accounting for the tumoricidal effects observed following treatment with protein A.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗