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Biomedical subjects

E K Philipsen

Publications and source records attributed to E K Philipsen.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Ascites fluid and plasma calprotectin concentrations in liver disease.

BACKGROUND: Calprotectin, a marker of neutrophil activation, has been associated with a poor prognosis in alcohol-induced cirrhosis. The aims were to study concentrations of calprotectin in patients with various liver diseases, and to further investigate the prognostic value of calprotectin in cirrhosis. METHODS: Plasma calprotectin concentrations were determined in 84 patients with alcohol-induced liver disease, 32 hepatitis B or C infected patients, 33 patients with liver disease of other aetiologies, 7 patients with combined aetiologies and in 24 patients with malignant disease. Thirty healthy individuals were included as controls. Ascites calprotectin concentrations were determined in patients with ascites (n = 75). Follow-up for survival was performed after a median observation period of 10 months. RESULTS: Increased plasma and ascites calprotectin concentrations were observed in malignant disease compared to non-malignant disease (P < 0.0001). Plasma calprotectin concentrations were low in viral liver disease compared to patients with non-viral liver disease (P = 0.02) and to controls (P = 0.0002). Plasma calprotectin (>median) was a highly significant marker of poor survival in alcohol-induced cirrhosis (P = 0.001), but was of no prognostic value in non-alcohol-induced cirrhosis (P = 0.88). In decompensated cirrhosis high (>upper quartile) ascites calprotectin concentrations were associated with an increased mortality (P = 0.002), as were high (>median) plasma calprotectin levels (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: The prognostic importance of calprotectin in alcohol-induced cirrhosis is confirmed and demonstrated as specific for alcohol-induced liver disease. Low calprotectin levels are indicated in viral liver disease, and an association between high ascites calprotectin levels and malignant ascites was observed.

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed1999

Hepatic actinomycosis. A case report.

A case of hepatic actinomycosis contracted one year after removal of an intrauterine device during ongoing Actinomyces cervicitis is reported. During active disease, lymphocytes from the apparently fully immunocompetent patient were able to proliferate but not to produce the proinflammatory lymphokine gamma-interferon in response to Actinomyces antigen. This ability was only partly restored during antibiotic therapy.

Actinomycosis↗
PubMed1995

Serum immunoglobulin G subclasses in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease of different disease activities.

BACKGROUND: Different concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclass-producing cells in the mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease have previously been described. METHODS: To evaluate serum concentration of IgG subclasses as a tool for diagnosis and disease activity in chronic inflammatory bowel disease, we compared serum concentrations of IgG, IgA, IgM, and immunoglobulin subclasses IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 by means of the radial immunodiffusion technique in 66 patients with ulcerative colitis and in 68 patients with Crohn's disease of different clinical stages. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, haemoglobin, and serum concentrations of albumin and orosomucoid were also determined. RESULTS: The serum IgG1 concentration in patients with ulcerative colitis was 8.0 g/l significantly higher than in patients with Crohn's disease (6.8 g/l) (p < 0.005), whereas the serum IgG2 concentration in patients with Crohn's disease was 3.8 g/l, significantly increased compared with patients with ulcerative colitis (3.1 g/l) (p < 0.004). In patients with active ulcerative colitis the serum IgA level (2.03 g/l) was significantly lower than that in the patients with less active disease (2.74 g/l) (p < 0.03). No significant differences in serum concentrations of total IgG, IgG3, IgG4, and IgM were found between groups of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The differences observed in IgG1, IgG2, and IgA concentrations, however, are small. CONCLUSIONS: The serum concentrations of IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgG subclasses are of little value in the diagnostic procedures in individual patients and are not superior to conventional laboratory tests such as sedimentation rate and serum concentrations of orosomucoid and albumin.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Expression of blood group-related carbohydrate antigens in normal human pancreatic tissue.

The expression of type 1, 2 and 3 chain carbohydrate structures in 15 normal pancreata was investigated by immunohistochemical methods using well-defined monoclonal antibodies. Surgical biopsies of pancreata were obtained from kidney donors while the organs were still perfused. Type 1 chain structures were abundantly expressed including monosialylated(ms)- and disialylated(ds)-Le(a) antigens, which have previously been associated with cancer. Type 2 chain structures were represented by H and Le(y) antigens and to a lesser extent by the precursor structure N-acetyllactosamine, whereas Le(x), dimeric Le(x), and ms-Le(x) were only sporadically observed, in contrast to fetal pancreatic tissue, in which Le(x) has been found to be abundantly expressed. H chain 3 antigen was found in nearly all specimens, whereas precursor structures Tn, sial-Tn and T antigens were absent. Desialylation unmasked the T antigen in all specimens. Absence/masking of Tn, T and related antigens is of special interest, since these antigens are associated with tumor development in other tissues, and may be of importance in pancreatic cancer diagnostics in the future.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The effect of insulin withdrawal on intermediary metabolism in patients with diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis.

Insulin was withdrawn from 7 patients with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes and 4 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis, both groups without residual beta-cell function. Median plasma glucagon concentrations rose slightly, but significantly after withdrawal of insulin in Type I diabetic patients (from 14 (range: 11-16) to 19 (14-25) pmol/l by 6 h), but not in the patients with secondary diabetes. This was accompanied by a significantly higher increase in blood glucose concentration from 5.1 (4.9-5.7) to 15.2 (12.9-18.1) mmol/l by 6 h in Type I diabetic patients compared with patients with secondary diabetes (from 4.9 (4.3-6.7) to 13.1 (10.9-13.5) mmol/l) (p less than 0.01). Beta-hydroxybutyrate increased to a similar extent in the two groups, whereas no significant increases were found in glycerol and lactate in any of the groups. Increased secretion of glucagon is not essential for the development of hyperglycemia and ketonemia in patients with diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis, but may augment the degree of hyperglycemia in Type I diabetic patients compared with patients having secondary diabetes.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗
PubMed1990

Glucose counterregulation in diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis.

Glucose counterregulation and hormonal responses after insulin-induced hypoglycemia were investigated in six patients with diabetes mellitus secondary to chronic pancreatitis, in seven with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus, and in seven healthy subjects. Glucose counterregulation was identical in type I patients and in the patients with chronic pancreatitis, whereas both groups had impaired glucose recovery compared with the healthy subjects. The patients with chronic pancreatitis had no glucagon response to hypoglycemia, whereas epinephrine increased significantly. In an additional experiment, glucose recovery did not occur after hypoglycemia during concomitant beta-adrenoceptor blockade in these patients. In conclusion, glucose counterregulation is preserved but slightly impaired in patients with diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis, and the combination of total glucagon deficiency and pharmacological blockade of the metabolic actions of circulating epinephrine abolishes glucose counterregulation after hypoglycemia.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1990

A comparative study of microvascular complications in patients with secondary and type 1 diabetes.

The prevalence of retinopathy, albuminuria, and neuropathy were assessed in 25 patients with insulin-requiring diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis and in 25 patients with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, matched for age at diabetes onset (secondary, 39 +/- 11 (+/- SD) years vs Type 1, 38 +/- 11 years) and duration of diabetes (10 +/- 6 vs 10 +/- 7 years). The prevalence of retinopathy was significantly higher in Type 1 diabetic patients (52%) than those with secondary diabetes (20%) (p less than 0.02). Median urinary excretion of albumin was 9 (range 1-206) mg 24-h-1 in patients with Type 1 diabetes and 7 (1-90) mg 24-h-1 in patients with secondary diabetes (NS). One secondary diabetic patient and five Type 1 diabetic patients had microalbuminuria (NS). Vibration perception threshold (measured at the big toe) was identical in the two groups of patients, and no patient had a threshold indicating somatic neuropathy (biothesiometry greater than 20 V). Retinopathy is more frequent in patients with Type 1 diabetes than in patients with insulin-requiring diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis. Retinopathy is so frequent in the latter group, however, that regular ophthalmoscopic examination is still required.

Albuminuria↗
PubMed1990

The relationship between some beta-adrenergic mediated responses and plasma concentrations of adrenaline and cyclic AMP in man.

To test the hypothesis that increments in plasma cyclic AMP during beta-adrenergic stimulation reflect integrated second messenger function of the tissues activated by the agonist, graded adrenaline infusion resulting in plasma adrenaline concentrations within the physiological range was performed in 8 healthy subjects with and without concomitant beta-adrenoceptor blockade by iv propranolol. A significant correlation was found between increments in plasma adrenaline and plasma cyclic AMP in the experiments without beta-blockade; during concomitant beta-blockade the increase in plasma cyclic AMP concentrations at low adrenaline infusion rates was prevented, whereas a small increase in cyclic AMP was found at high adrenaline infusion rates, probably owing to incomplete beta-receptor blockade. Likewise, the adrenaline-induced increments in blood substrates (glucose, lactate, glycerol and beta hydroxybutyric acid) were significantly reduced but not completely prevented by beta-blockade. We conclude that an altered relationship between beta-agonist concentrations and plasma cyclic AMP may provide evidence for the existence of differences in beta-adrenergic sensitivity in man.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1989

A preliminary trial of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin to a patient with euthyroid ophthalmopathy.

A patient with serious euthyroid infiltrative ophthalmopathy was treated with oral glucocorticoids for five years. The course of the disorder was characterized by recurrent exacerbations during attempts to reduce the dose of systemic glucocorticoids. Intravenous infusion with high-dose immunoglobulin gave immediately favourable regression of the lesion, without side-effects. Possible modes of action of high-dose immunoglobulin treatment are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Gastrointestinal permeability to polyethylene glycol: an evaluation of urinary recovery of an oral load of polyethylene glycol as a parameter of intestinal permeability in man.

The permeability of the gastrointestinal tract was investigated by means of polyethylene glycol (PEG), given orally. The PEG solutions contained oligomers with molecular weights from 414 to 1206. The urinary recovery of ingested PEG was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Considerable inter- and intra-individual variations in recovery were found in a reference group of 33 healthy subjects. Intake of food did not change the recovery of PEG, 6.11% (SEM 0.52, n = 13) compared with that for the reference group, 6.45% (SEM 0.39, n = 33). The PEG recovery in a group of ileostomy patients was 5.86% (SEM 0.62, n = 13). No correlation was found between PEG recovery and small bowel transit time. The lipophillic properties of PEG were determined by measuring the partition coefficients in 1-octanol/water and in methylhexanoate/water systems. From these results, correlated with the values for the hydrodynamic volumes of PEG, it was concluded that the intestinal permeation of PEG observed was probably determined by the hydrophillic/hydrophobic properties of the mucosal membrane, rather than by the presence of intercellular junctions or paracellular pores. The PEG molecules with molecular weights from 414 to 1206 were, therefore, not suitable as solitary probes for permeability studies in man.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1988

Blood group related carbohydrate antigens in human fetal pancreas.

Many tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens are related to the blood group systems. Since several of these antigens are developmentally regulated, a systematic knowledge of the expression of blood group related carbohydrate antigens during organogenesis is important. By immunohistochemical methods we investigated the expression of carbohydrate structures related to the ABH, Lewis, T and Tn blood group systems in 28 fetal pancreas, from 13th-40th gestational week using a comprehensive set of well-defined monoclonal antibodies, reacting with type 1, 2, 3, and 4 chain carbohydrate structures. The following antigens were found in fetal pancreas: Type 1 chain: Lea, Leb, monosialylated Lea and disialylated Lea, type 2 chain: N-acetyllactosamine (the immediate precursor to blood group H antigen), branched N-acetyllactosamine, H-antigen, Lex and Ley; type 3 chain: H-antigen. The T-antigen was well expressed, whereas this was not the case with the Tn-antigen. As expected the A-antigen was found in 10 of 24 cases. The A-related antigens: ALeb, ALed and ALey were only found in a few of these ten specimens whereas type 3 chain A-repetitive was found in all of them. Since msLea, Lex, Ley and T-antigen have been described as tumor-associated antigens, we conclude that several carbohydrate tumorrelated antigens are expressed in fetal pancreas.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Subcutaneous abscesses and pulmonary infiltrate due to actinomyces infection. Case report.

Although Actinomyces israelii is part of the normal flora of the mouth, local trauma or poor dental hygiene may precipitate invasive infection. Hematogenous dissemination is rare. A case of pulmonary and subcutaneous actinomycosis is presented. The characteristic appearance of actinomycotic abscesses, and the importance of correct handling of tissue specimens and adequate information to the microbiologist are emphasized.

Abscess↗