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Biomedical subjects

G Vernhes

Publications and source records attributed to G Vernhes.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Vitamin status, immunity and infections in an elderly population.

The relations between vitamin status and immunological parameters or number of infections have been investigated in self-sufficient healthy individuals aged 60 and over. A total of 411 subjects agreed to participate, but 202 were discarded from the main statistical analysis since they could have had their immune or nutritional status modified by a recent infection, vaccination or drug consumption. Plasma concentrations of retinol, alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and vitamin B6 were determined. Three indices of cellular immunity were measured: percentages of T-cell subsets, lymphoproliferative response to phytohaemaglutinin and delayed-type hypersensitivity to 7 ubiquitous antigens. A questionnaire about past infections was presented. Two results, supported by previous experimental observations, should be underlined. Vitamin B6 status was positively related to percentages of T-cell subsets: the lowest percentages of CD5 and CD4 cells were observed in the low B6 status group (50.6 and 32.6 per cent) and the highest percentages in the high B6 status group (62.0 and 41.0 per cent), with intermediate values in the medium group (57.6 and 39.5 per cent). Vitamin E status was negatively related to the number of past infections: subjects with a high alpha-tocopherol plasma concentration had fewer infections during the last 3 years (1.0) than those with a medium (2.2) or a low (2.3) concentration. In spite of these two observations, cellular immunity did not seem to be strongly related to vitamin status in the supposedly healthy population studied.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Dietary intake and other determinants of blood vitamins in an elderly population.

The relationships of diet, plasma lipids, age, gender, ponderal index, cigarette and alcohol consumption, drug use and infections to blood concentrations of retinol, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and vitamins B1, B2, B6 status were studied among 291 men and women aged 60-82 years. Statistically significant correlations between dietary intake and blood indicator levels were found respectively for beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, vitamins B2 and B6, but not for retinol and thiamin, when the effects of other parameters were controlled. The main other determinants were cigarette consumption which had a negative effect on status for retinol, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and vitamin B2; alcohol consumption for retinol, vitamin B6 (positive effect on status) and beta-carotene (decrease of plasma level); plasma lipids and use of hypolipaemic drugs for fat-soluble vitamins; ponderal index for beta-carotene and vitamin B6; gender and use of antibiotics for ascorbic acid. The apparent relation between gender and level of retinol, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol and vitamin B6 status was not any more significant after adjustment for alcohol or cigarette consumption. Tobacco and alcohol appear to be associated factors which should be controlled for in studies investigating relations between these vitamins and diseases influenced by smoking and drinking habits.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Serum concentrations of total and free thyroid hormones in moderately obese women during a six-week slimming cure.

Successive determinations of serum total (T4) and free (FT4) thyroxine, total (T3) and free (FT3) 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine and total 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) concentrations were performed by radioimmunoassay in 17 moderately obese women during a 6-week slimming cure. The 2.09 MJ/d (500 kcal/d) diet (50 per cent protein, 25 per cent carbohydrate and 25 per cent lipid) was given as three daily meals of general foods. During the cure, the body mass index (BMI) decreased by about 10 per cent, with a gradual decrease in the rate of weight loss. Moreover, the patients with the highest basal overweight had the largest subsequent weight loss. A decrease of about 15 per cent in serum T4 was observed from the second week to the end of the diet period. Inversely, serum FT4 increased transiently on day 3, then returned to the baseline. The fall in serum T3 and FT3 was obvious on day 3 and an approximate 20 per cent decrease in the two hormonal forms remained from the second to the last week of diet. Serum rT3 increased by 30 per cent during the first week, then returned to the baseline on the third week. The largest decreases in serum T4, T3 and FT3 observed during the cure occurred in the patients with the highest corresponding basal values. These findings suggest that (i) the rapid changes of the serum thyroid hormone concentrations observed during the slimming cure may be an adaptive mechanism against a further weight loss, and (ii) these changes would be related to the initial state of the thyroid hormone metabolism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Serum concentrations of total T4, T3, reverse T3 and free T4, T3 in moderately obese patients.

Serum total thyroxine (T4), 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3), 3,3',5'-triiodo-L-thyronine (reverse T3 or rT3) and free thyroxine (FT4), free 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (FT3) concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in 52 moderately obese patients and 32 age-matched control subjects with constant body weight and no dietary restriction. The comparisons of iodothyronine concentrations in the obese and control subjects gave the following results: serum T4 and FT4 concentrations were not different in the two samples (mean +/- s.e. T4: 105.8 +/- 3.0 vs 109.4 +/- 4.0 nmol/l, FT4: 10.9 +/- 0.4 vs 10.8 +/- 0.8 pmol/l). A slight but non-significant decrease in serum rT3 concentrations was observed in the obese patients (0.29 +/- 0.02 vs 0.32 +/- 0.02 nmol/l). A slight (10 per cent) but highly significant (P less than 0.01) decrease was observed in the obese patients for serum T3 (2.20 +/- 0.06 vs 2.44 +/- 0.05 nmol/l) and FT3 (6.0 +/- 0.2 vs 6.9 +/- 0.2 pmol/l). Serum FT4 and T4 on the one hand and serum FT3 and T3 on the other were positively correlated both in the obese and control subjects. No correlation was found between serum T3 and weight expressed as body mass index. The results suggest that the most important factor responsible for the decrease in the serum total and free T3 concentrations is the nutrient intake.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Venous plethysmography: measuring techniques and normal values.

A fixed procedure of strain gauge plethysmography in a control population aged between 20-30 years allows normal values for venous parameters (venous distensibility, emptying, and resistance) and capillary filtration coefficient, to be determined. High speed recording reveals two phases in venous emptying, one passive, purely elastic, and a second active phase, resulting from venous constriction.

Adult↗