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Biomedical subjects

G Danta

Publications and source records attributed to G Danta.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Neurocysticercosis: an under-recognized cause of neurological problems.

Neurocysticercosis is an uncommon, and under-recognized condition in Australia. Changes in immigration patterns may lead to a rising prevalence in this country. Epilepsy is the most common presentation, but it has many other variable forms of neurological manifestations. Eight cases are described, all in immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia or Central America; the disease was presumably acquired before arrival in Australia. Six patients had symptoms for two to 30 years before the diagnosis was made and, in some cases, the first neurological manifestations appeared decades after initial infection. In patients with active disease a successful outcome followed therapy with praziquantel and corticosteroids. We advise that all patients requiring treatment be admitted to hospital for corticosteroid and anticonvulsant therapy to minimize the clinical deterioration which may result from therapeutic destruction of larvae.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Inhibition of allergic encephalomyelitis by the iron chelating agent desferrioxamine: differential effect depending on type of sensitizing encephalitogen.

Induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats by injection of guinea pig (GP) spinal cord homogenate (SCH) plus adjuvant (SCH-CFA) can be inhibited by treatment with the iron chelating agent desferrioxamine (DFOM). Interestingly, induction of EAE with purified myelin basic protein (BP-CFA) is not inhibited with DFOM. This dichotomy does not appear to be due to any quantitative differences in the two inocula since minimal clinical EAE produced by threshold levels of BP is not inhibited with DFOM. Passive EAE is not inhibited irrespective of the type of encephalitogen used to sensitize the donors. This suggests that the inhibitory effect of DFOM is acting on the afferent limb of the immune response to SCH-CFA. Injection of BP-CFA and SCH-CFA into the same site, mixing BP with central nervous system (CNS) lipids, or incorporating BP into liposomes, all induce EAE which can be partially inhibited by treatment with DFOM. These results support the hypothesis that the close association of lipids with the encephalitogen (i.e. BP) in SCH required extensive lipid breakdown before adequate antigen presentation can occur, and it is at this level that DFOM exerts its inhibitory effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Immunoglobulin deficient rats as donors and recipients of effector cells of allergic encephalomyelitis.

Lewis rats, treated from birth with a rabbit anti-rat IgM antiserum are B-cell and immunoglobulin deficient. When sensitized with myelin basic protein (BP) and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), these rats do not make detectable antibodies to BP, nor do they develop clinical or histopathological evidence of allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). We show here that transfer of anti-BP antibody containing serum to BP sensitized Ig deficient rats results in subsequent development of EAE. We also demonstrate that BP sensitized Ig deficient rats which do not develop EAE, nevertheless generate effector cells capable of transferring disease, and thus specific T-cell function is not inhibited by the anti-Ig treatment. Finally, Ig deficient rats were shown to be perfectly adequate recipients of passively induced EAE.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Occipital neuralgia.

The findings in 23 cases of occipital neuralgia are presented. The clinical features of the condition are pain and sensory change in the distribution of the relevant nerve, localised nerve trunk tenderness and a clear response to local forms of therapy. The clinical picture is often complicated by migrainous and trigeminal nerve features and the mechanisms by which these come about are discussed. Occipital neuralgia is generally neglected in both the standard textbooks and the literature. The condition occurs sufficiently commonly to warrant more consideration in the differential diagnosis of head pain than it has received to date.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Cardiac abnormality in polymyositis.

Thirteen patients with polymyositis were investigated for the presence of cardiac disease by clinical examination, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, and systolic time intervals. 5 patients had evidence of cardiac involvement. Compared with the other 8 patients, their polymyositis was more long-standing, more severe, and had remained active. Electrocardiogram usually showed arrhythmias and conduction disturbances, and 4 of the 5 patients had abnormal systolic time intervals indicating left ventricular dysfunction. Left ventricular involvement in polymyositis is more frequent than previously recognized and systolic time intervals are a simple, noninvasive method of detecting this.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Intestinal giardiasis, steatorrhoea and peripheral nerve dysfunction.

Two patients presented with similar peripheral neuropathic symptoms. Muscle denervation was shown by electromyography and muscle biopsy. Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies were normal. Both patients had intestinal giardiasis: 1 had asymptomatic steatorrhoea, and the other had diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Treatment with metronidazole abolished the gastrointestinal symptoms. After a delay of several months the neurological symptoms also gradually improved. No other cause of peripheral neuropathy was apparent on investigation, and the relationship between the intestinal giardiasis and the peripheral neuropathy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

An investigation into reading epilepsy.

In summary, our main findings were firstly, that faulty visuolingual processing at the level of Brain's visual word schemas, with its intimate connection with the verbal memory pool, is the abnormality that is essential for initiation of spike activity in reading epilepsy. Secondly, visual input is not essential in production of reading epilepsy. Thirdly, we have demonstrated a subconscious voluntary control mechanism operating in our patient. Lastly, we have illustrated alternatives to drug therapy, which, in our patient and in other cases, has not been shown of great value.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Serial nerve conduction studies in patients with maturity onset diabetes mellitus.

Serial study of peripheral nerve conduction in 18 patients with recently diagnosed maturity onset diabetes mellitus during a period of treatment of hyperglycaemia for 21/2 years showed improvement in motor conduction progressive increase in mixed nerve conduction velocity, but at the same time progressive fall of amplitude of sensory nerve action potentials. It is argued that two independent metabolic processes may underlie peripheral nerve dysfunction in these patients, only one of which is benefically affected by control of hyperglycaemia.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1975

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia.

The clinical features and investigative findings of 50 patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) were analysed. The group was found to be clinically, genetically and histologically heterogeneous. With the possible exception of patients with "ophthalmoplegia plus," namely those who in addition to muscular weakness had evidence of central and/or peripheral nervous system abnormality, there was no apparent justification for separating out from among the group patients' subgroups which were distinctive enough to be recognized as syndromes. CPEO therefore seems to represent a number of different degenerative disorders whose common denominator is ophthalmoplegia and for which there are to date no adequate criteria for further classification.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Electrophysiological study of amyotrophy associated with acute asthma (asthmatic amyotrophy).

A girl developed acute amyotrophy of the left arm five days after onset of an acute attack of bronchial asthma. Slow improvement in muscle power began nine months later. There was severe denervation with preservation of sensation and normal motor nerve conduction velocities when these were measurable. The patient is similar to 10 patients reported by Hopkins (1974).

Asthma↗
PubMed1975

Familial carpal tunnel syndrome with onset in childhood.

Within three generations of one family four patients were found to have the carpal tunnel syndrome. In father and son, symptoms commenced in the first decade, and in both patients the median nerves were found to be constricted under the transverse carpal ligaments. The only other operative finding was considerably thickening of the transverse carpal ligaments in the father. Thickening of the transverse carpal ligaments is unusual in patients with the carpal tunnel syndrome but is a common finding in the relatively few patients with familial carpel tunnel syndrome so far described in the literature. It is suggested that thickening of the ligaments may constitute a familial disorder that can give rise to the carpal tunnel syndrome in childhood or later in life.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Judgment of the visual vertical and horizontal in patients with Parkinsonism.

Judgment of the visual vertical and horizontal in the upright body position was abnormal in 19 (29 percent) of 66 patients with Parkinson's disease. The magnitude of errors correlated with the degree of rigidity and of tremor in the limbs, but not with bradykinesia or other clinical features. The results suggest that the effect on visual perception of the vertical and horizontal coordinates in patients with parkinsonism is brought about by specific changes in the basal ganglia and is not, as in the case of other visual-motor tasks, determined merely by the overall severity of cerebral pathology.

Adult↗