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Biomedical subjects

D Zamir

Publications and source records attributed to D Zamir.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Influence of excessive weight loss after gastroplasty for morbid obesity on respiratory muscle performance.

BACKGROUND: Morbidly obese subjects are known to have impaired respiratory function and inefficient respiratory muscles. A study was undertaken to investigate the influence of excessive weight loss on pulmonary and respiratory muscle function in morbidly obese individuals who underwent gastroplasty to induce weight loss. METHODS: Twenty one obese individuals with mean (SE) body mass index (BMI) 41.5 (4.5) kg/m2 without overt obstructive airways disease (FEV1/FVC ratio > 80%) were studied before and six months after vertical banded gastroplasty. Only patients who had lost at least 20% of baseline BMI were included in the study. Standard pulmonary function tests and respiratory muscle strength and endurance were measured. RESULTS: Before operation the predominant abnormalities in respiratory function were significant reductions in lung volumes and respiratory muscle endurance and, to a lesser degree, reductions in respiratory muscle strength. All parameters increased towards normal values after weight loss with significant increases in functional residual capacity (FRC) from 84.0 (2.2) to 91.3 (2.5)% of predicted normal values (mean difference 7.3, 95% confidence interval of difference (CI) 4.2 to 10.5), total lung capacity (TLC) from 85.6 (3.0) to 93.5 (3.7)% of predicted normal values (mean difference 7.9, 95% CI 4.5 to 11.5), residual volume (RV) from 86.7 (3.1) to 96.4 (3.0) of predicted normal values (mean difference 9.7, 95% CI 5.2 to 14.1), expiratory reserve volume (ERV) from 76.6 (3.0) to 89.0 (3.4)% of predicted normal values (mean difference 12.4, 95%, CI 6.3 to 18.9), respiratory muscle strength: PImax from 92 (4.4) to 113 (4.6) cm H2O (mean difference 21, 95% CI 12.2 to 31.6), PEmax from 144 (5.6) to 166 (4.3) cm H2O (mean difference 22, 95% CI 12.9 to 32.0), and endurance: PmPeak/PImax from 56 (1.4) to 69 (2.0)% (mean difference 13, 95% CI 9.7 to 16.9). The strongest correlation was between weight loss and the improvement in respiratory muscle endurance. CONCLUSIONS: Lung volumes and respiratory muscle performance are decreased in obese individuals. Weight loss following gastroplasty is associated with improvement in lung volumes and respiratory muscle function.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Characteristics of asthma in the elderly.

Asthma occurs more frequently in the elderly than is usually appreciated and may, therefore, be underdiagnosed and undertreated. This study evaluated the relationship between asthma symptoms and the degree of airflow obstruction in elderly and young asthmatics. Fifteen young asthmatics (<65 yrs) (group A), 15 aged >65 yrs with onset of symptoms before 65 yrs (group B), and 15 aged >65 yrs with onset of symptoms after 65 yrs (group C), were studied. Patients used daily diary cards, during 2 weeks, to record inhaled beta2-agonist consumption and severity of asthma symptoms. Long-standing asthma was associated with a significantly lower forced expiratory volume in one second as compared with recent onset asthma. The asthma-symptom score was highest in group A, lower in group B and significantly lower in group C. When symptoms were related to the degree of obstruction (asthma index), it was higher in the young asthmatics than in both groups of elderly patients. In conclusion, elderly patients with long-standing asthma had more severe airway obstruction than patients with recently acquired disease. Older patients particularly those with long-standing disease complained less about asthma symptoms. Within the various groups of patients, subjective symptoms of asthma were negatively related to asthma duration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The SELF-PRUNING gene of tomato regulates vegetative to reproductive switching of sympodial meristems and is the ortholog of CEN and TFL1.

Vegetative and reproductive phases alternate regularly during sympodial growth in tomato. In wild-type 'indeterminate' plants, inflorescences are separated by three vegetative nodes. In 'determinate' plants homozygous for the recessive allele of the SELF-PRUNING (SP) gene, sympodial segments develop progressively fewer nodes until the shoot is terminated by two consecutive inflorescences. We show here that the SP gene is the tomato ortholog of CENTRORADIALIS and TERMINAL FLOWER1, genes which maintain the indeterminate state of inflorescence meristems in Antirrhinum and Arabidopsis respectively. The sp mutation results in a single amino acid change (P76L), and the mutant phenotype is mimicked by overexpressing the SP antisense RNA. Ectopic and overexpression of the SP and CEN transgenes in tomato rescues the 'indeterminate' phenotype, conditions the replacement of flowers by leaves in the inflorescence and suppresses the transition of the vegetative apex to a reproductive shoot. The SELF-PRUNING gene is expressed in shoot apices and leaves from very early stages, and later in inflorescence and floral primordia as well. This expression pattern is similar to that displayed by the tomato ortholog LEAFY and FLORICAULA. Comparison of the sympodial, day-neutral shoot system of tomato and the monopodial, photoperiod-sensitive systems of Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum suggests that flowering genes that are required for the processing of floral induction signals in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum are required in tomato to regulate the alternation between vegetative and reproductive cycles in sympodial meristems.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Mucicarminophilic histiocytosis (benign signet-ring cells) and hyperplastic mesothelial cells: two mimics of metastatic carcinoma within a single lymph node.

We describe a unique case of simultaneous signet-ring histiocytes containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (mucicarminophilic histiocytosis) and hyperplastic mesothelial cells within a single supraclavicular lymph node. Both types of cells expanded the nodal sinuses and were initially suspected of being metastatic carcinoma. Histologic features suggested the correct diagnoses, which were confirmed by histochemical and immunohistochemical staining. It is important for pathologists to be aware of these phenomena, so as to avoid a misdiagnosis of metastatic carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Inhaled budesonide for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

A significant, large minority of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) respond favorably to corticosteroid treatment; but the benefit may be outweighed by its side effects. Long-term administration of inhaled steroids is a safe means of treatment. We hypothesized that treatment with inhaled budesonide would improve clinical symptoms and pulmonary function in subjects with COPD, and that the response to an inhaled B2-agonist would individualize steroid responders. In 44 patients with stable COPD in a double- blind crossover trial, we compared a 6-week course of inhalations of 800 micrograms/d budesonide with a placebo, separated by a 4-week interval when no medication was taken. In 33 out of 42 responders to the B2-agonist who remained in the study, there was a significant improvement in FEV1 of greater than 20% following budesonide inhalation, as compared to placebo. There was also a significant difference between the 2 periods of treatment as to the mean number of B2-agonist inhalations. We conclude that about 1/4 of patients with stable COPD respond to bronchodilators, and treatment with inhaled steroids improves spirometry data and inhaled B2-agonist consumption in about 3/4.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1997

TAO1, a representative of the molybdenum cofactor containing hydroxylases from tomato.

Aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase are a group of ubiquitous hydroxylases, containing a molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) and two iron-sulfur groups. Plant aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase activities are involved in nitrogen metabolism and hormone biosynthesis, and their corresponding genes have not yet been isolated. Here we describe a new gene from tomato, which shows the characteristics of a MoCo containing hydroxylase. It shares sequence homology with xanthine dehydrogenases and aldehyde oxidases from various organisms, and similarly contains binding sites for two iron-sulfur centers and a molybdenum-binding region. However, it does not contain the xanthine dehydrogenase conserved sequences thought to be involved in NAD binding and in substrate specificity, and is likely to encode an aldehyde oxidase-type activity. This gene was designated tomato aldehyde oxidase 1 (TAO1). TAO1 belongs to a multigene family, whose members are shown to map to clusters on chromosomes 1 and 11. MoCo hydroxylase activity is shown to be recognized by antibodies raised against recombinant TAO1 polypeptides. Immunoblots reveal that TAO1 cross-reacting material is ubiquitously expressed in various organisms, and in plants it is mostly abundant in fruits and rapidly dividing tissues.

Aldehyde Oxidase↗
PubMed1997

The effect of incentive spirometry and inspiratory muscle training on pulmonary function after lung resection.

BACKGROUND: A predicted postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of less than 800 ml or 40% of predicted is a common criterion for exclusion of patients from lung resection for cancer. Usually, the predicted postoperative lung function is calculated according to a formula based on the number of lung segments that will be resected. Incentive spirometry and specific inspiratory muscle training are two maneuvers that have been used to enhance lung expansion and inspiratory muscle strength in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and after lung operation. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who were candidates for lung resection were randomized into two groups: 17 patients received specific inspiratory muscle training and incentive spirometry, 1 hour per day, six times a week, for 2 weeks before and 3 months after lung resection (group A) and 15 patients were assigned to the control group and received no training (group B). RESULTS: Inspiratory muscle strength increased significantly in the training group, both before and 3 months after the operation. In group B, the predicted postoperative FEV1 value consistently underestimated the actual postoperative FEV1 by approximately 70 ml in the lobectomy subgroup and by 110 ml in the pneumonectomy subgroup. In group A, the actual postoperative FEV1 was higher than the predicted postoperative FEV1 by 570 ml in the lobectomy subgroup and by 680 ml in the pneumonectomy subgroup of patients. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing lung resection the simple calculation of predicted postoperative FEV1 underestimates the actual postoperative FEV1 by a small fraction. Lung functions can be increased significantly when incentive spirometry and specific inspiratory muscle training are used before and after operation.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The dominant developmental mutants of tomato, Mouse-ear and Curl, are associated with distinct modes of abnormal transcriptional regulation of a Knotted gene.

The Curl (Cu) and Mouse-ear (Me) mutations of tomato cause two seemingly unrelated developmental syndromes with a wide range of pleiotropic phenotypes. Yet, the distinct morphogenic alterations in shoots, leaves, and inflorescences conferred by the two mutations appear to be caused by unchecked meristematic activity that characterizes dominant mutations in Knotted1 (Kn1)-like genes of monocot plants. We have been unable to separate the two closely linked Cu and Me mutations, and they may lie in the same gene. A homeobox-containing class I Kn1-like gene, TKn2, also maps to the same location. Significantly, the dominant mutations are associated with two aberrant modes of TKn2 transcription. Overexpression of the two in-frame wild-type transcripts of TKn2 is associated with the Cu mutation, whereas misexpression of an abundant and oversized fusion mRNA is associated with the Me mutation. Available molecular evidence strongly suggests that the defective Me-TKn2 transcript is generated via a novel splicing event that merges transcripts of two closely linked genes. The translated fusion product is comprised of most of the 5' end of the adjacent PPi-dependent fructose 6-phosphate phosphotransferase (PFP) transcript spliced in-frame to coding position 64 of the TKn2 transcript, leaving the TKn2 homeobox intact. We suggest that class I Kn1-like genes were selected early during evolution to regulate basic programs of aerial meristems and that subtle alterations in their function may be the basis for the wide diversity in growth parameters of shoot systems, leaves, and inflorescences among plant species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

The I2C family from the wilt disease resistance locus I2 belongs to the nucleotide binding, leucine-rich repeat superfamily of plant resistance genes.

Characterization of plant resistance genes is an important step in understanding plant defense mechanisms. Fusarium oxysporum f sp lycopersici is the causal agent of a vascular wilt disease in tomato. Genes conferring resistance to plant vascular diseases have yet to be described molecularly. Members of a new multigene family, complex I2C, were isolated by map-based cloning from the I2 F. o. lycopersici race 2 resistance locus. The genes show structural similarity to the group of recently isolated resistance genes that contain a nucleotide binding motif and leucine-rich repeats. Importantly, the presence of I2C antisense transgenes abrogated race 2 but not race 1 resistance in otherwise normal plants. Expression of the complete sense I2C-1 transgene conferred significant but partial resistance to F. o. lycopersici race 2. All members of the I2C gene family have been mapped genetically and are dispersed on three different chromosomes. Some of the I2C members cosegregate with other tomato resistance loci. Comparison within the leucine-rich repeat region of I2C gene family members shows that they differ from each other mainly by insertions or deletions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

[Gastrointestinal angiodysplasia as a cause of hemorrhage in the digestive tract and treatment].

Gastrointestinal angiodysplasia is a cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in the elderly, for which surgery has been the only treatment. Estrogen has been reported beneficial in some cases in the past decade. Recurrent bleeding due to angiodysplasia occurred from the small intestine in a 75-year-old woman, and from the right colon in a 91-year-old man. The diagnoses were made by angiography in the first case and colonoscopy and erythrocyte- scanning in the second. There was aortic stenosis in both, a combination which has been reported in other cases. Both patients improved with estrogen therapy. However, after temporary stabilization, gastrointestinal bleeding recurred in the second patient and he was successfully operated on.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Giant mesenteric cyst mimicking ascites].

Mesenteric cyst is a rare, benign lesion. A 59-year-old woman was admitted with abdominal distension. Physical examination and abdominal ultrasound indicated remarkable ascites. Aspiration revealed a clear transudate and computerized tomography showed a giant mesenteric cyst. At operation the cyst was removed. Giant mesenteric cysts can mimic ascites. This diagnosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of abdominal distension, even when ultrasound examination indicates ascites.

Ascites↗