Biomedical subjects

E Carbonell

Publications and source records attributed to E Carbonell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Description of Acanthotrema armata n. sp. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) from Larus audouinii (Aves: Laridae), with an amended diagnosis of the genus Acanthotrema Travassos, 1928.

Acanthotrema armata n. sp. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) is described from the gut of Larus audouinii Payraudeau (Aves: Laridae) caught on the Chafarinas Islands in the southwestern Mediterranean (Spain). This trematode differs from other species of Acanthotrema Travassos, 1928 in having two spined, sclerotised pieces in the ventrogenital sac and in the position of the genital pore. Parastictodora Martin, 1950 is considered a synonym of Acanthotrema. As the diagnosis of the genus Acanthotrema was based only on its type-species, it is amended to include the characteristics of the new species and those attributed to Parastictodora.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of paediatric anxiety disorders: a review.

Anxiety disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia/selective mutism, panic disorder, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, simple phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder) are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)--citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine and sertraline--have demonstrated efficacy in treating anxiety disorders in adults. Although less information is available on the use of these agents in the paediatric population, research into the SSRIs for childhood anxiety disorders is increasing. This article reviews current literature, including case reports as well as open and controlled trials, on the effectiveness and tolerability of the SSRIs in the paediatric population. It also discusses developmental differences in children that should be considered in the utilisation of the SSRIs in paediatric patients.

Anxiety Disorders↗

PubMed2000

Importance of blood pressure control in hemodialysis patient survival.

BACKGROUND: In the general population, hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality. In dialysis patients, however, the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and mortality is controversial. We analyzed this relationship in hemodialysis (HD) patients. METHODS: The study population included 405 patients who had survived at least two years on HD. The observation period was initiated at the beginning of the third year. Predialysis BP measurements of all the dialysis treatments performed during the second year of HD was collected as the baseline data. Mean systolic BP (SBP) and mean diastolic BP (DBP) were calculated. Demographic and comorbidity data were collected at the start of the observation period (beginning of third year of HD). Mortality was analyzed at the end of the follow-up (death or December 31, 1998; total mortality), during the first two years of follow-up (years 3 and 4 of HD; early mortality) and after the second year of follow-up (> or = 5 years of HD; late mortality). RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, SBP and DBP were significantly associated with death. The adjusted total mortalities were U shaped. When early mortality was analyzed, only low BP (DBP <74.5 mm Hg) was significantly associated with mortality. When late mortality was analyzed, only high BP (SBP> 160 mm Hg) was significantly associated with mortality. In the early deaths, a cardiac cause was significantly less frequent, while withdrawal and malignancy were more frequent than in late deaths. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that hypertension is a risk factor for mortality in HD patients, and shows the importance of the length of the follow-up time to demonstrate this relationship. The low frequency of a cardiac cause in the early death group suggests that the association between hypotension and mortality in HD patients is not related to cardiovascular causes, and only reflects the association between hypotension and other severe medical conditions.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Genotoxicity and radioresistance in electroplating workers exposed to chromium.

A biomonitoring study was carried out to investigate the genetic risk associated to occupational exposure to chromium. The induction of genetic damage was measured by analysing the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes. In addition to the 40 electroplater exposed workers who participated in the study, a group constituted by 18 volunteer donors, without exposure to chromium, was analysed as a control group. Measures of chromium levels at working place and in erythrocytes and urine were obtained, as indicators of exposure. The results from this study indicate that the blood from exposed workers contained higher levels of chromium, when compared with those obtained in the control group, and that a significant increase in the frequency of both the total number of MN and the number of binucleated cells carrying MN (BNMN) was detected. Furthermore, a good direct relationship was obtained between the amount of chromium present in air, erythrocytes or urine and the frequency of MN. To determine the existence of radioresistance as consequence of chromium exposure, the response of lymphocytes to the in vitro gamma-radiation was studied. The results of this experiment show a lower induction in the increase of the frequency of MN after challenge irradiation in the lymphocytes of chromium exposed workers, which should be indicative of an adaptive response.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1999

A complete human pelvis from the Middle Pleistocene of Spain.

The Middle Pleistocene site of Sima de los Huesos in Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain, has yielded around 2,500 fossils from at least 33 different hominid individuals. These have been dated at more than 200,000 years ago and have been classified as ancestors of Neanderthals. An almost complete human male pelvis (labelled Pelvis 1) has been found, which we associate with two fragmentary femora. Pelvis 1 is robust and very broad with a very long superior pubic ramus, marked iliac flare, and a long femoral neck. This pattern is probably the primitive condition from which modern humans departed. A modern human newborn would pass through the birth canal of Pelvis 1 and this would be even larger in a female individual. We estimate the body mass of this individual at 95 kg or more. Using the cranial capacities of three specimens from Sima de los Huesos, the encephalization quotients are substantially smaller than in Neanderthals and modern humans.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

A modern human pattern of dental development in lower pleistocene hominids from Atapuerca-TD6 (Spain).

The study of life history evolution in hominids is crucial for the discernment of when and why humans have acquired our unique maturational pattern. Because the development of dentition is critically integrated into the life cycle in mammals, the determination of the time and pattern of dental development represents an appropriate method to infer changes in life history variables that occurred during hominid evolution. Here we present evidence derived from Lower Pleistocene human fossil remains recovered from the TD6 level (Aurora stratum) of the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain. These hominids present a pattern of development similar to that of Homo sapiens, although some aspects (e.g., delayed M3 calcification) are not as derived as that of European populations and people of European origin. This evidence, taken together with the present knowledge of cranial capacity of these and other late Early Pleistocene hominids, supports the view that as early as 0.8 Ma at least one Homo species shared with modern humans a prolonged pattern of maturation.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Analysis of bleomycin- and cytosine arabinoside-induced chromosome aberrations involving chromosomes 1 and 4 by painting FISH.

The genomic frequency of chromosomal aberrations obtained by chromosome painting is usually extrapolated from the observed frequency of aberrations by correcting for the DNA content of the labelled chromosomes. This extrapolation is based upon the assumption of random distribution of breakpoints from which aberrations are generated. However, the validity of this assumption has been widely questioned. While extensive investigations have been performed with ionizing radiation as chromosome breaking agent, little efforts have been done with chemical clastogens. In order to investigate interchromosomal differences in chemically-induced chromosome damage, we have used multicolour chromosome painting to analyse bleomycin-induced aberrations involving chromosomes 1 and 4, two chromosomes that differ in gene density. In addition, we have measured the effect of cytosine arabinoside upon the repair of bleomycin-induced DNA damage in chromosomes 1 and 4. Our results show that these chromosomes are equally sensitive to the clastogenic effect of bleomycin with a similar linear dose-effect relationship. However, the high gene density chromosome 1 appeared to be more sensitive to repair inhibition by Ara-C than chromosome 4. This enhanced sensitivity to repair inhibition in chromosome 1 could be mediated by preferential repair of open chromatin and actively transcribed regions.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Preface

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Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Cytogenetic damage after 131-iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. A study using the micronucleus test.

To detect the incidence and persistence of potential chromosome damage induced by iodine-131 therapy, we applied the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay to peripheral blood lymphocytes from hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer patients treated with 131I. Two groups of patients were evaluated in a longitudinal study; one group was composed of 47 hyperthyroid patients and the other of 39 thyroid cancer patients. In the hyperthyroidism group, the micronuclei frequency was determined before 131I therapy and 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after it. Furthermore, an additional sample was taken from a subgroup of 17 hyperthyroidism patients 6 months after treatment. In the thyroid cancer group, the analysis was also conducted over time, and four samples were studied: before treatment and 1 week, 6 months and 1 year later. Simultaneously, a cross-sectional study was performed with 70 control subjects and 54 thyroid cancer patients who had received the last therapeutic dose 1-6 years before the present study. In the hyperthyroidism group a significant increase in the micronuclei average was found over time. In the sample obtained 6 months after therapy, the micronuclei mean frequency was practically the same as in the sample taken 3 months before. In the thyroid cancer group a twofold increase in the frequency of micronuclei was seen 1 week after therapy. Although this value decreased across time, the micronuclei frequency obtained 1 year after 131I therapy remained higher than the value found before it. Concerning the data from the cross-sectional study, a significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei was detected in the subgroup of thyroid cancer patients treated between 1 and 3 years before the current study. These results indicate that exposure to 131I therapy induces chromosome damage in peripheral lymphocytes and that the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay is sensitive enough to detect the genetic damage by exposure to sufficiently high levels of radiation from internal radioactive sources.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Low sensitivity of the sister chromatid exchange assay to detect the genotoxic effects of radioiodine therapy.

To assess the genotoxic risk associated with 131I therapy, sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and cells with unusually high SCE counts (HFC) were determined in a follow-up study performed with 46 hyperthyroidism and 39 thyroid cancer patients treated with 131I. In addition, a cross-sectional study was also carried out with 78 control persons and 51 thyroid cancer patients that had completed radioiodine therapy from 1 to 6 years prior to the current investigation. In the follow-up analysis, the study was conducted over time and four blood samples were drawn from each patient: the first one prior to the radioiodine treatment, with the remaining three taken sequentially over the year after therapy. Concerning the results obtained for the whole population in the follow-up study, the SCE and HFC values found after radioiodine therapy did not show any significant increase, neither in the hyperthyroidism nor thyroid cancer groups. Unlike the results mentioned above, when the effect of smoking habit was considered, there was a slight but significant increase in SCE in the samples taken 3 months and 1 week after 131I therapy in the hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer non-smokers, respectively. The data obtained in the cross-sectional study did not show differences in SCE and HFC between the control group and the cancer group treated with 131I. It is noteworthy that among the different parameters analysed, smoking habit is the only factor that showed a direct relationship with SCE and HFC and, as a consequence, smokers had significantly more SCE and HFC than non-smokers. Taking into account our previous investigations showing a highly significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei for the same patients and sampling times, the outcomes obtained would suggest that the eventual genotoxic effect of 131I therapy could not be clearly detected by the SCE assay. This would reinforce the view that ionizing radiation appears to be a poor inducer of SCEs.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Comparison of survival for haemodialysis patients vs renal transplant recipients treated in Uruguay.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to compare survival among renal transplant recipients and haemodialysis patients treated in Uruguay. METHODS: All the patients transplanted in Uruguay (n=460) and all the patients who started haemodialysis (HD) in three centres in Uruguay (n=695) from 01 January 1981 to 31 December 1998 were included. Overall survival, adjusted survival and survival of the patients in the low-risk group were compared for HD patients and renal transplant recipients. Diabetic and non-diabetic patients were considered independently. The low-risk group was defined by the absence of any significant risk factor related to mortality on the Cox proportional hazard regression model (age more than 55 years at start of HD, previous history of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and smoking habit). The significant variables were also used to adjust the survival curve. RESULTS: Overall survival was significantly greater in renal transplant recipients (P<0.0001). One-, five- and ten-year survival rates were 95.2, 88.0 and 78.8% for renal transplant recipients and 90.6, 62.7 and 39.8% for HD patients. In non-diabetic patients, adjusted survival rates (for age, heart disease, cancer, and smoking habit) were similar in renal transplant recipients and HD patients (P=0.8713). In the low-risk group as well, significant differences in survival between renal transplant recipients (n=289) and HD patients (n=134) were not observed (P=0.2312). Ten-year survival rates were 82.6 and 87.9% respectively. In diabetic patients 5-year survival rates adjusted for heart disease, smoking habit, and chronic pulmonary disease were 89.2% for renal transplant recipients and 40.9% for HD patients (P=0. 0168) The relative risk of haemodialysis patients related to renal graft recipients was 2.85 (1.21-6.75). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that when the outcome is adjusted to co-morbid factors there is no difference between renal transplant recipients and haemodialysis patients survival in non-diabetic patients, while renal transplantation gives better survival rates than haemodialysis in diabetic patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

ESRD patients without co-morbid risk factors at the start of haemodialysis are ideal as survival comparison population.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to identify co-morbid risk factors in ESRD patients at the start of the treatment, to select patients in the low-risk group (LRG) and to compare overall survival, adjusted overall survival and LRG survival in three centres (A, B and C). METHODS: Population includes 531 patients entering haemodialysis from 1 January 1981 to 31 December 1996 (mean age 59.6 +/- 16.7 years). Demographics and co-morbidity data collected at the start of HD were independent variables for the analysis. Univariate and multivariate analysis of survival were used to identify significant prognostic factors (Kaplan-Meier and Cox hazard regression model respectively). According to this analysis the LRG was defined by the absence of the identified significant mortality risk factors except age. RESULTS: The overall median survival was 7.92 years, with 92.0% survival at 1 year, 65.2% at 5 years and 40.4% at 10 years. The median survival in centre C (10.83 years) was significantly higher than median survival in centre A (7.0 years) and in centre B (7.83 years). Centres A and B were afterwards analysed together (A-B). In the multivariate analysis, five variables (starting age, diabetes, cancer, smoking habit, and arteriosclerotic heart disease) were associated with survival. The variable centre (A-B or C) was not significant. The adjusted survival curve for centres A-B and C were not different. The LRG included patients of any age, without diabetes, cancer, smoking habit, and arteriosclerotic heart disease. The frequency of the patients in the LRG was 66.3% in centre C and 45.7% in centre A-B (P = 0.0004). Taking into account only the LRG, the survival comparison between centres A-B and C, did not show significant differences (P = 0.196). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that for purposes of comparison of mortality in ESRD, low-risk population is better than overall ESRD population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Helminth communities in Audouin's gulls, Larus audouinii from Chafarinas Islands (western Mediterranean).

A survey of intestinal helminth communities of Audouin's gulls Larus audouinii, from their breeding colonies in Chafarinas Islands, western Mediterranean, Spain was conducted to determine the abundance and species diversity of intestinal parasites of these birds. The sample of 58 gulls harbored intestinal helminth infracommunities composed of species that are gull generalists, including the digeneans Cardiocephalus longicollis, Knipowitschiatrema nicolai, Condylocotyla pilodora, and Aporchis massiliensis, and the cestode Tetrabothrius cylindraceus. Two nematodes are waterfowl generalists (Cosmocephalus obvelatus and Paracuaria adunca), whereas the digenean Acanthotrema armata is an Audouin's gull specialist. The relative high values of species richness and diversity of the helminth infracommunities are comparable to those of other gulls (Larus philadelphia, Larus canus), probably reflecting the specialized, nonselective fish diet of L. audouinii.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Biomonitoring of workers exposed to lead. Genotoxic effects, its modulation by polyvitamin treatment and evaluation of the induced radioresistance.

A population monitoring study was performed, by using the micronucleus (MN) assay in human peripheral lymphocytes, to investigate whether occupational exposure to lead is genotoxic to workers. In addition to the exposed workers group, two more groups were studied, an external group from a factory without exposure to lead and an internal control group, from the same factory as the exposed workers, but that were not directly exposed to lead. Measures of lead levels at working place and in blood were calculated, and blood samples were collected to carry out a MN study. The results from these studies indicate that the blood from workers directly exposed contained high levels of lead, compared with the other groups, and a significant increase in the frequency of both the total number of MN and the number of binucleated cells carrying MN appeared. In addition, a study on the antimutagenic effects of a polyvitamin rich diet was conducted by measuring the frequency of MN after the workers had a four month daily intake of a polyvitamin-polymineral complex. These results clearly show a significant reduction of the MN frequency evaluated after this treatment, obtaining values that were even lower than those obtained in the internal control group. Finally, a challenge assay was carried out to determine response to gamma-radiation as indication of any kind of radiosensitivity or radioresistance. The results of this experiment did not show any significant variation in the increase of the frequency of MN after challenge irradiation in the lead exposed workers; nevertheless this increase was significantly reduced in the sample obtained after the polyvitamin treatment indicating a radioresistance response.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Lack of genotoxicity of the herbicide atrazine in cultured human lymphocytes.

The widely used herbicide atrazine was evaluated for genotoxicity in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE), chromosome aberrations (CA) and micronuclei (MN) were scored as genetic endpoints. To detect eventual metabolic modification in the genotoxicity of this herbicide, the cultures of SCE and MN demonstration were also treated with S9 microsomal fraction. From our results we can conclude that atrazine was able to exert a weak cytotoxic effect. However, the overall evaluation of the genotoxicity data indicate that this herbicide is not effective in the three assays conducted, irrespective of the presence of metabolic activation, which would mean a general lack of effectiveness of atrazine to induce clastogenic and aneugenic damage in cultured human lymphocytes.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

The alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay applied to the analysis of radiation-induced DNA damage in thyroid cancer patients treated with 131I.

The alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE or Comet) assay appears to be a promising tool for measuring DNA damage at the individual cell level in both in vitro and in vivo studies. To provide further data on the possible applicability of this assay in human biomonitoring studies, we have evaluated the eventual genetic damage induced by therapeutic exposure to 131I, by measuring the Comet length and the amount of DNA damage in peripheral blood leukocytes from a group of 28 thyroid cancer patients who received 131I sodium iodide via oral administration. Blood samples were taken just before the treatment and 1 week after it. From the results obtained after radioiodine therapy, a small increase in the Comet length and in the grade of DNA damage is observed; however, this increase is not statistically significant because of inter-individual variability and the variable responses before and after 131I treatment. Considering our previous studies showing significant increases in the frequency of cytogenetic damage (when measured as micronuclei) in patients treated with relatively low doses of 131I, the results obtained in the present work by using the Comet assay could indicate that 1 week after the exposure most of the radioiodine-induced DNA lesions, that can be detected with this assay, have already been repaired.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Application of the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay to the detection of DNA damage induced by 131I treatment in hyperthyroidism patients.

To provide further data on the possible applications of the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or Comet assay in human biomonitoring studies, we have evaluated the eventual genetic damage induced by therapeutic exposure to 131I, by measuring the tail length of the comet and the amount of DNA damage in peripheral blood cells from 16 hyperthyroidism patients treated with [131I]sodium iodide by oral administration. Blood samples were taken just before the treatment and 1 week and 1 month after. The results show a slight but significant increase in the mean tail length in the sample obtained 1 month after treatment. When the cells were classified according to the grade of damage the two post-treatment samples showed a clear increase in the proportion of damaged cells. The results of this study indicate that the DNA damage caused by 131I can be detected with the Comet assay, but when comparing the data reported here with our previous results obtained from the same patients and sampling times with the sensitive and well-established micronucleus test, the response in the Comet assay was less clear.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Micronuclei analysis in lymphocytes of pesticide sprayers from Concepción, Chile.

To estimate the genetic risk associated with pesticide exposure in a defined population, the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes from a group of 22 pesticide sprayers from Concepción, Chile, occupationally exposed to pesticide mixtures was evaluated. After scoring 1,000 binucleated cells for each donor, no significant increases were observed either for the total number of MN or for binucleated cells with MN, when compared with a concurrent control population. In addition, when the effects of different confounding factors such as age, smoking, and drinking habits were considered, no significant effect was observed. Our conclusion is that, in this specific group of workers and under the particular conditions of exposure to pesticides, when evaluated by the micronucleus assay, no genetic risk was detected.

Adult↗