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Biomedical subjects

G Garcia

Publications and source records attributed to G Garcia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Accelerated improvement of alcoholic liver disease with enteral nutrition.

This prospective study compared the effects of tube-fed nutrition with those of a regular diet in alcoholic liver disease. The high prevalence of malnutrition in patients with alcoholic liver disease requires clarification of the benefits of aggressive nutritional support. Patients were randomly assigned a regular diet without or with tube-fed supplementation, delivering 1.5 g/kg protein and 167 kJ/kg daily. Comparisons of encephalopathy, antipyrine clearance, metabolic rate, and biochemical parameters were performed weekly for 4 weeks. Sixteen patients receiving enteral supplementation had antipyrine half-life (50% vs. 3% reduction), serum bilirubin (25% vs. 0% reduction), and median encephalopathy scores that improved more rapidly than those of controls. Initially, 15 controls did not consume adequate calories to meet measured resting energy expenditure. Aggressive nutritional intervention accelerated improvement in alcoholic liver disease. Adverse effects did not offset the demonstrated benefits of a 2-cal/mL, casein-based tube-fed supplement. These findings support the use of standard, casein-based solutions in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease and as the control condition for future studies.

Antipyrine↗
PubMed1992

Generation: a corporate-sponsored retiree health care program.

Generation is a geriatric clinic program sponsored by Southern California Edison Company for the company's retirees and their dependents. This innovative program uses a multidisciplinary team approach, including a comprehensive health and psychosocial assessment, complete medication review, retiree advisors, health promotion programs, and case management services. In its pilot phase, Generation has served more than 175 Edison retirees and dependents aged 53-96. In addition to traditional medical care, participants receive aggressive intervention regarding polypharmacy problems, health education workshops, individual and group counseling, and access to community resources. Ongoing research seeks to evaluate the program's effectiveness in providing high-quality health care services while containing costs.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Limitations of liver surface US in the diagnosis of cirrhosis.

Ultrasound (US) of the liver surface with a high-frequency, small-parts, short-focused probe has been proposed as a method of diagnosing cirrhosis. US of the liver was performed in 50 consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic liver biopsy to assess the clinical usefulness of this noninvasive procedure in diagnosing hepatic cirrhosis. Eight patients had histologically proved cirrhosis, and 42 had no histologic evidence of cirrhosis. Seven of the eight patients with cirrhosis had a normal liver surface at US, and five of the 42 patients without cirrhosis had an abnormal liver surface. US of the liver surface with this probe was not reliable in this heterogeneous patient population.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

Failure to detect hepatitis C virus genome in human secretions with the polymerase chain reaction.

Although hepatitis C infection has been clearly demonstrated to be transmitted through blood products or blood contamination, most cases of sporadic hepatitis C infection are unassociated with parenteral risk factors, and it is unclear how infection might be acquired by nonparenteral means. One potential mode of nonparenteral transmission is through body secretions. We used a highly sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction assay to determine whether hepatitis C viral genomic RNA could be detected in secretions obtained from nineteen individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Although hepatitis C genomic RNA was found in all 19 sera, hepatitis C virus RNA was not detected in any samples of saliva, semen, urine, stool or vaginal secretions from these patients. Viral titers in serum ranged from 10(2) to 10(7) polymerase chain reaction units/ml. The sensitivity of our polymerase chain reaction assay indicates that, if hepatitis C virus were in secretions, it would be present in amounts less than 1 to 4 polymerase chain reaction units/ml. This contrasts with hepatitis B virus infection, in which serum titers frequently are in excess of 10(9) copies of hepatitis B genomes/ml. Body secretions have been found to contain up to 10(6) copies of hepatitis B genomes/ml. Our findings support seroepidemiological studies indicating that nonparenteral transmission of hepatitis C through secretions is uncommon and probably much less efficient than hepatitis B virus infection.

Body Fluids↗
PubMed1991

Noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus and pregnancy in Mexico.

We analyzed 215 consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus and pregnancy, 118 (54.83%) with noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), 90 (41.86%) with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 7 (3.26%) with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). NIDDM and GDM patients had no significant difference in age and body mass index. There were no maternal deaths, nor episodes of ketoacidosis. Maternal and neonatal complications occurred with a similar frequency in NIDDM and GDM. We concluded that in our population, diabetes associated with insulin-resistance occurred in over 96% of our pregnant diabetic patients and was associated with an increased prevalence of maternal and neonatal complications. Earlier perinatal care has to be established in NIDDM patients, and obese young women should be screened to detect GDM from early gestation and advised to reduce weight before pregnancy ensues.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Formation and degradation of triademinol after the use of triadimefon in a wheat monoculture].

During two vegetation periods, the behaviour of the triadimefon metabolite, triadimenol, in different plant parts of winter wheat and in soil was investigated. The fungicide Bayleton DF (triadimefon + captafol) was applied at the beginning of earing. Different ratios of triadimenol-A/-B were found in individual plant parts. Triadimenol-A predominated in the two uppermost leaves, and triadimenol-B in the roots and in the soil. No residues of triadimenol were found in grain at harvest time (detection limit 0.01 mg/kg).

Captan↗
PubMed1991

Obesity in Hispanic Americans.

The prevalence of obesity among Hispanic American populations is generally greater than among white populations in the United States. Among Mexican Americans, the prevalence of obesity was higher than among either Cuban Americans or Puerto Ricans. It is well known that the prevalence of diabetes increases with increasing levels of obesity or body mass index. However, it does not appear that the high prevalence of obesity in Mexican Americans completely accounts for the higher prevalence of diabetes seen in this ethnic group. Among Mexican Americans, the association of selected cardiovascular disease risk factors, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol subfractions and systolic blood pressure, was similar to that seen among other U.S. populations. Individuals with diabetes had higher values than seen among those without diabetes. In a comparison of nutrient intake in two Mexican-American populations, one rural and one urban, there were no major differences other than higher calorie intakes in the rural population compared with the urban population. In addition, the diet in the rural population, based on higher levels of the Keys score, was more atherogenic than that of the urban population.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) and esophageal webs: a new association.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a well-defined, blistering disorder of the skin associated with autoantibodies to type VII collagen. Although esophageal pathology is common in children with hereditary dystrophic forms of epidermolysis bullosa, esophageal problems have not been reported previously in patients with bona fide EBA. In this report, a 71-yr-old white female with longstanding EBA presented with recurrent dysphagia and multiple esophageal webs that responded to esophageal dilatation.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Biliary extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy.

Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has become standard therapy for the treatment of kidney stones since its introduction in 1980; a similar technique is now being used for many patients with gallstones. This article reviews the technique of biliary ESWL, examines the results of clinical studies to date, and makes recommendations as to who may ultimately benefit from this procedure.

Bile Duct Diseases↗
PubMed1989

Purification and characterization of a cofactor that controls the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate cycle in liver and other tissues of rat.

We have recently reported the presence, in rat liver, of a cofactor characterized as a protein of Mr 10(5), which cooperates with GSSG to prevent the inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by NADPH. The inhibition that this coenzyme also exerts on 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase is similarly prevented by a cofactor-GSSG system. The activity of the cofactor increases in the livers of rats fed on carbohydrate-rich diets. Purification of the components in rat liver homogenate by ion-exchange chromatography and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the deinhibitory effect on both dehydrogenases is exerted by the same cofactor. The purified cofactor appeared as a unique protein of Mr 37.10(3) in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Rat kidney and adipose tissue were the only nonhepatic tissues showing a cofactor-GSSG deinhibitory effect on both dehydrogenases of the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate cycle. The deinhibitory activity, also corresponding with a cellular component of Mr 10(5), was only diet-inducible in adipose tissue. The neutralization of the kidney and adipose tissue deinhibitory activity by rat liver cofactor antibodies suggested that there was a structural relationship between the cofactors prepared from these tissues.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1989

Chronic viral hepatitis.

Chronic viral hepatitis is a common clinical problem; it must be differentiated from other forms of chronic liver disease by history, laboratory data, and liver biopsy. This article reviews the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, delta hepatitis, and nonA and nonB viral hepatitis and emphasizes the controlled trials when available.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1989

Functional affinity of antibody to the Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide.

The functional affinity, or avidity, of antibody to the capsular polysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae (Hib-PS) was measured in serum samples from 12 adult male subjects before and after immunization with Hib-PS vaccine. Mean avidity increased from 0.74 nM-1 to 1.5 nM-1 after immunization (P less than .05, paired Student's t test). The Bureau of Biologics reference antiserum had an avidity constant of 12 nM-1, which was the highest of all 25 serum samples studied.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1989

Priming for rotavirus neutralizing antibodies by a VP4 protein-derived synthetic peptide.

In the rotavirus SA11 surface protein VP4, the trypsin cleavage sites associated with the enhancement of infectivity are flanked by two amino acid regions that are highly conserved among different rotaviruses. We have tested the ability of synthetic peptides that mimic these two regions to induce and prime for a rotavirus neutralizing antibody response in mice. After the peptide immunization schedule, both peptides induced peptide antibodies, but neither was able to induce virus antibodies, as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or a neutralization assay. However, when the peptide-inoculated mice were subsequently injected with intact SA11 virus, a rapid and high neutralizing antibody response was observed in mice that had previously received the peptide comprising amino acids 220 to 233 of the VP4 protein. This neutralizing activity was serotype specific; however, this peptide was also able to efficiently prime the immune system of mice for a neutralizing antibody response to the heterotypic rotavirus ST3 when the ST3 virus was used for the secondary inoculation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Determination of tissue type plasminogen activator in the glomeruli of patients with IgA nephropathy.

The detection, by immunofluorescence, of tissue type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in the glomeruli of 50 patients with IgA nephropathy was described. Patients with t-PA deposits revealed a higher frequency in the glomerular deposition of fibrin and/or fibrinogen than did patients without t-PA deposits. There also was a distinct relationship between the level of serum t-PA and the degree of renal tissue injury in patients with glomerular t-PA deposits. It was concluded that the deposition of t-PA along with fibrin and/or fibrinogen might reduce the effectiveness of fibrinolysis in the glomeruli of patients with IgA nephropathy.

Adult↗