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Biomedical subjects

G Granerus

Publications and source records attributed to G Granerus.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Determination of the histamine metabolite tele-methylimidazoleacetic acid and of creatinine in urine by the same HPLC system.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To develop an HPLC method with UV detection for determination of tele-methylimidazoleacetic acid (t-MelmAA) in urine of man or animals, which is reliable, simple and less expensive than existing GC/MS techniques. METHOD: The elaborated procedure enables separation of t-MelmAA from its pros-isomer (p-MelmAA) as well as from imidazoleacetic acid. As an internal standard tele-ethylimidazoleacetic acid (t-EtlmAA) is used. The acids, after being converted to their stable isopropylesters, are extracted at pH 6.0-6.5. The further separation prior to HPLC utilises a small cellulose phosphate column. The HPLC system is isocratic with a C18 column and mobile phase consisting of an aqueous solution of SDS at pH 3.5 mixed with acetonitrile (65:35). An advantage of this system is that it can be used to determine the urine creatinine concentration to express excreted t-MelmAA in mmol/mol creatinine. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The method applicability is demonstrated in repeated studies in mastocytosis patients. The broad range of excretion values, from normal up to a high level (0.9 to 30 mmol/mol creatinine), indicates that it can be satisfactorily used for evaluation of histamine turnover under various clinical conditions. The method appears to be a good alternative to GC/MS based ones.

Adult

Serum tryptase measured with B12 and G5 antibody-based immunoassays in mastocytosis patients and its relation to histamine turnover.

Serum tryptase was measured with the B12 and G5 antibody-based immunoassays in 25 adult patients with mastocytosis and in 18 controls. Twelve patients had uncomplicated cutaneous mastocytosis (urticaria pigmentosa) and 13 had urticaria pigmentosa with systemic symptoms. Tryptase levels were compared with histamine turnover estimated as urinary excretion of the main histamine metabolite tele-methylimidazoleacetic acid. Elevated B12 tryptase levels (> 20 microg/L) were found in most mastocytosis patients, including five of eight patients with only cutaneous manifestations who had a low urinary histamine metabolite excretion. This indicated a higher sensitivity for diagnosing mild mastocytosis on the basis of levels of serum tryptase as opposed to urinary methylimidazoleacetic acid. However, the serum B12 tryptase assay could not differentiate between urticaria pigmentosa patients with and without systemic disease: the measurement of histamine metabolite excretion probably reflects the mast cell burden more accurately. Serum G5 tryptase levels were generally low in both controls and mastocytosis patients.

Adult

Clinical symptoms, hormone profiles, treatment, and prognosis in patients with gastric carcinoids.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 gastric carcinoids are associated with hypergastrinaemia and chronic atrophic gastritis, type 2 occur in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 combined with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and type 3 lack any relation to hypergastrinaemia. Type 1 tumours are usually benign whereas type 3 are highly malignant. AIMS: To identify possible tumour markers in patients with gastric carcinoids. PATIENTS/METHOD: Nine patients with type 1, one with type 2, and five with type 3 were evaluated with regard to symptoms, hormone profile, and prognosis. RESULTS: Plasma chromogranin A was increased in all patients but was higher (p < 0.01) in those with type 3 than those with type 1 carcinoids. All patients with type 3 carcinoids died from metastatic disease, but none of the type 1 patients died as a result of their tumours. One type 1 patient with a solitary liver metastasis received interferon alpha and octreotide treatment. Nine months later, the metastasis was no longer detectable. She is still alive eight years after diagnosis, without recurrent disease. This represents the only reported case of foregut carcinoid with an unresectable liver metastasis that seems to be have been cured by biotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma chromogranin A appears to be a valuable tumour marker for all types of gastric carcinoid. Combination therapy with interferon alpha and octreotide may be beneficial in patients with metastasising type 1 gastric carcinoids.

Adult

Studies on renal function in patients with cystinuria.

Total and separate renal functions were evaluated in 40 patients with cystinuria. The average duration of the renal stone disease was 26 years (range 1-53). The patients had been subjected to a stone-preventing regimen composed of increased fluid intake, urinary alkalinization and treatment with a sulphydryl compound, tiopronin or D-penicillamine, for an average of 11.7 years (range 1-24). Urinary cystine concentration was determined regularly to monitor the treatment. All patients were examined with gamma camera renography and an assessment of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and early and late renographic results could be compared in 30 patients. The early renographic evaluation showed that 43% of binephric patients (13/30) had an abnormal relative renal function (RRF) before the start of the stone-preventing treatment. At the late evaluation, 50% of binephric patients (17/34) had an abnormal RRF, while 30% of all patients (12/40) had a GFR below the age-related normal range. Thirty percent of 74 evaluated kidneys (22/74) had a separate GFR below an estimated age-related normal range. At the late evaluation only 30% of the patients had functionally unaffected kidneys with both normal GFR and bilateral normal renography. There was, however, no case with terminal renal failure. The separate GFR of kidneys with a history of staghorn stones was significantly lower than for kidneys without that special type of stones, but otherwise there was no relationship between renal functional impairment and other estimates of the activity of the renal stone disease. In conclusion, impairment of renal function is common in patients with stone-forming cystinuria. Stone-preventive treatment appears to be effective in preserving renal function. The high frequency of renal functional impairment justifies close surveillance of this group of patients. By renographic examination, unilateral changes in renal function can be detected at an early stage and patients at risk for further deterioration of renal function can be identified.

Aged

Technetium-99m scintigraphy: more accurate assessment of ulcerative colitis with exametazime-labelled leucocytes than with antigranulocyte antibodies.

To compare two technetium-99m scintigraphic techniques - 99mTc-labelled antibodies against granulocyte non-specific cross-reacting antigen-95 and 99mTc-exametazime labelled leucocytes in ulcerative colitis - 23 consecutive patients undergoing colonoscopy were investigated in a prospective and randomized study. In each patient the two scans and colonoscopy and biopsy were performed within 10 days. Scans, endoscopy and histology were independently graded for degree of inflammation in eight different colorectal segments for each patient. Active inflammation in one or more segments was present on endoscopy in 22 patients and on histology in 17 patients. Twenty-two patients had increased uptake on the antibody scan and 21 patients on the exametazime scan. Twelve patients showed the same disease extent with both scan methods (total colitis, n=10; distal colitis, n=2). Compared with endoscopy, sensitivity for inflammation in individual segments was 0.51 for antibody scan and 0.87 for exametazime scan; specificity was 0.67 and 0.55, respectively. The predictive value for presence of inflammation was 0.66 for antibody scan and 0.72 for exametazime; the predictive value for absence of inflammation was 0.52 and 0.77, respectively. Segmental scan uptake of endoscopically or histologically visualized inflammation was consistently lower for antigranulocyte antibodies than for exametazime. It is concluded that in patients with active ulcerative colitis, inflammation is better visualized with 99mTc-exametazime labelled leucocytes than with 99mTc-labelled antigranulocyte antibodies. The antibody technique offers the advantage of in vivo labelling, but is less reliable than the exametazime method for imaging of colonic inflammation.

Adolescent

Glomerular filtration rate in primary Sjögren's syndrome with renal disease.

Renal disease in Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is often overlooked, because of a paucity of symptoms. Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) and tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) might be present. Only a few cases of SS with decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have been reported. We have studied GFR in 27 female SS-patients, mean age 62 years (37-78). GFR was measured as the single injection 51Cr-EDTA plasma clearance. Eighteen women had normal GFR (group 1), and nine (33%) had values below the lower normal limit (group 2). In group 2, dRTA was present in 8/9 urolithiasis in 6/9, previous upper urinary tract infection (UTI) in 2/9 and TIN in 5/6 patients who were kidney biopsied. Among patients with dRTA 8/18 (44%) had decreased GFR. We conclude that decreased GFR is not unusual in SS-patients with dRTA, and decreased GFR is mostly associated with TIN. Urolithiasis and UTI may contribute to decreased GFR in some individuals.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular

Obstructive effect of a closed 12F urethral catheter during the emptying phase of cystometry in patients with a spinal reflex bladder.

In spinal cord injured patients with a reflex urinary bladder urodynamic evaluation of the detrusor pressure during the emptying phase is important, but the methods are not yet standardised. The aim of this study was to examine whether the detrusor pressure is significantly affected by the presence of a catheter in the urethra. In seven patients with a spinal reflex bladder, the maximum detrusor pressure and the duration of detrusor contractions in cystometry with a suprapubic technique were compared with the corresponding measurements when a closed 12F catheter was added to mimic a transurethral cystometric technique. Four cystometries were performed with about 10 min intervals and the mean values from two cytometries without the urethral catheter were compared with the mean values from two cystometries with the catheter. After addition of the urethral catheter there was an increase of the mean maximum detrusor pressure form 8.4 to 10.5 kPa (P = 0.009). The mean duration of the detrusor contraction increased from 122 to 191 s (P = 0.031) and the mean time during which the detrusor pressure exceeded 4 kPa, in each contraction, increased from 60 to 150 s (P = 0.009). The average flow rate, calculated as the voided volume divided by the duration of a contraction, decreased from 1.4 to 0.6 ml s-1 (P = 0.009).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Is computer-aided interpretation of 99Tcm-HMPAO leukocyte scans better than the naked eye?

In order to compare visual interpretation of inflammation detected by leukocyte scintigraphy with that of different computer-aided quantification methods, 34 patients (25 with ulcerative colitis and 9 with endoscopically verified non-inflamed colonic mucosa), were investigated using 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99Tcm-HMPAO) leukocyte scintigraphy and colonoscopy with biopsies. Scintigrams were obtained 45 min and 4 h after the injection of labelled cells. Computer-generated grading of seven colon segments using four different methods was performed on each scintigram for each patient. The same segments were graded independently using a 4-point visual scale. Endoscopic and histological inflammation were scored on 4-point scales. At 45 min, a positive correlation was found between endoscopic and scan gradings in individual colon segments when using visual grading and three of the four computer-aided methods (Spearman's rs = 0.30-0.64, P < 0.001). Histological grading correlated with visual grading and with two of the four computer-aided methods at 45 min (rs = 0.42-0.54, P < 0.001). At 4 h, all grading methods correlated positively with both endoscopic and histological assessment. The correlation coefficients were, in all but one instance, highest for the visual grading. As an inter-observer comparison to assess agreement between the visual gradings of two nuclear physicians, 14 additional patients (9 ulcerative colitis, 5 infectious enterocolitis) underwent leukocyte scintigraphy. Agreement assessed using kappa statistics was 0.54 at 45 min (P < 0.001). Separate data concerning the presence/absence of active inflammation showed a high kappa value (0.74, P < 0.001). Our results showed that a simple scintigraphic scoring system based on assessment using the human eye reflects colonic inflammation at least as well as computer-aided grading, and that highly correlated results can be achieved between different investigators.

Adolescent

No relationship between histamine release measured as metabolite excretion in the urine, and serum levels of mast cell specific tryptase in mastocytosis.

To test the hypothesis that histamine release in mastocytosis patients generally occurs without activation of the mast cells, histamine turnover, measured as histamine metabolite excretion in the urine, was compared with the serum level of mast cell specific tryptase, which is released only during active discharge of mast cell granular contents. Twenty mastocytosis patients with a wide range of histamine turnover rates were investigated. Slightly increased levels of tryptase were found in seven patients with no obvious relationship to histamine metabolite excretion. In contrast, there seemed to be a connection between the tryptase level and the severity of symptoms. These results strengthen the view that histamine in mastocytosis is predominantly released from the mast cells without any accompanying active release process. This does not exclude the possibility that, in some mastocytosis patients, a limited number of mast cells, or a subpopulation, may be actively secreting histamine together with tryptase.

Adult

Effect of nifedipine on cystometry-induced elevation of blood pressure in patients with a reflex urinary bladder after a high level spinal cord injury.

In 10 patients with a reflex urinary bladder after a cervical or high thoracic spinal cord injury, the effect of nifedipine on the cystometry-induced elevation of blood pressure was studied. The blood pressure was measured every 30 s in four consecutive cystometries before and after administration of 10 mg nifedipine sublingually. In each patient there was a decrease in the maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure after the administration of nifedipine. In the whole group the mean maximum systolic pressure decreased significantly from 147 mmHg (range 119-165, SD 14) to 118 mmHg (range 99-145, SD 14). The mean maximum diastolic pressure decreased from 110 mmHg (range 96-124, SD 10) to 83 mmHg (range 71-99, SD 10). The effect of nifedipine was significant in each of the four cystometries that were performed. The decrease in blood pressure was due to both a significant decrease of the baseline pressure and a significant decrease of the blood pressure reaction during cystometry. Nifedipine may be useful in order to prevent dangerous blood pressure reactions, e.g. during cystoscopy and other diagnostic or therapeutic procedures in spinal cord injured patients with autonomic dysreflexia.

Adolescent

Determination of split renal function from gamma camera renography: a study of three methods.

Three different methods for calculation of the split kidney function from gamma camera renography with 99Tcm-DTPA are surveyed in this study, the integral, the slope and the uptake index methods. The reproducibility in calculating the relative renal function was very good with all three methods (coefficient of variation 2-4%). Single kidney glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was assessed by the three methods and 51Cr-EDTA clearance prior to nephrectomy, giving the accuracy of each method. The slope and uptake index methods showed high accuracy (0.9-2.0 ml min-1), while it is significantly reduced with the integral method (4.6 ml min-1), compared to the postoperative 51Cr-EDTA clearance. The uptake index method enables calculation of a ratio between the kidneys (alpha/UI)SR, which relates each kidney's intrarenal blood volume (alpha) to its renal function (UI). This ratio was compared in a group consisting of 38 patients with kidney tumours and in a control group of 32 patients. It was rather constant in the control group but significantly higher and within a wider range in the group with renal tumours. These discrepancies may indicate an abnormal intrarenal blood volume. Furthermore, the correlation between results assessed by the three calculation methods in the control group was good, while the correlation in the group with renal tumours deteriorated.

Adolescent

Gamma camera renography with 99Tcm-DTPA: the impact of variations in input plasma curve on estimated GFR.

In an attempt to improve the reliability in estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from gamma camera renography without blood sampling, we have investigated the impact of plasma input region of interest (ROI) size and location and the effect of the time delay between the circulation peak in the renal curves and in the plasma curve. An uptake index (UI) was calculated using plasma ROIs of five different sizes (8-56 cm2) and compared with measured 51Cr-EDTA clearance. The spread of the estimated GFR was not affected by the variations in plasma ROI size but different relations were obtained between UI and GFR. The plasma ROI markedly affected the estimated GFR (a deviation of 3.5 cm from the maximal region led to an overestimation of the GFR of 36%). Furthermore, the most reliable GFR estimate (S.D. 10.5 ml min-1) was achieved by including the whole circulation peak in the calculation time interval of the time delay-adjusted renogram, except the first frame. The time delay adjustment also enabled the calculation of a factor alpha, which represents the ratio between the blood volume within the renal ROI and that within the plasma input ROI. An abnormal alpha/UI ratio would suggest an unreliable GFR estimation.

Adult

Reliability of ACE inhibitor-enhanced 99Tcm-DTPA gamma camera renography in the detection of renovascular hypertension.

Twenty consecutive patients with renovascular hypertension, proven by cure or improvement of hypertension at 1-year follow-up after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty or surgical repair, were studied before intervention by means of gamma camera renography with 99Tcm-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99Tcm-DTPA) at baseline and after angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition. Sixteen patients underwent bilateral renal vein catheterization for measurement of renal vein renin release and extraction ratios of para-amino-hippurate (PAH) and 51Cr-EDTA before and after acute ACE inhibition. With the limit for a significant change in relative side distribution of 5% or more after ACE inhibition on gamma camera renography 13 patients responded (Group 1), while seven patients (Group 2) had unchanged side distribution. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), measured with 99Tcm-DTPA, in the affected kidney decreased in Group 1 from 26 +/- 16 ml min-1 to 11 +/- 12 ml min1 (P < 0.0005), while GFR was unchanged in the affected kidney in Group 2, 26 +/- 13 ml min-1 versus 29 +/- 13 ml min-1. Extraction ratios of PAH and 51Cr-EDTA for the affected kidney in Group 1 decreased from 80 +/- 18 to 73 +/- 21% (P < 0.05) and from 16 +/- 5 to 7 +/- 5% (P < 0.005), respectively, while in Group 2 the PAH extraction ratio was not significantly changed, 86 +/- 5 versus 81 +/- 14%, but the 51Cr-EDTA extraction ratio for the affected kidney also decreased from 16 +/- 3 to 8 +/- 4% (P < 0.005). All patients had lateralization of renal vein renin to the affected kidney.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult