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Biomedical subjects

J Chambron

Publications and source records attributed to J Chambron.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

In vivo dynamic MR imaging of MBP-induced acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Lewis rat.

A dynamic in vivo study by MRI consisting of the measurement of relaxation times and in the visualization of the BBB permeability by Gd-DOTA was performed in an MBP-induced acute EAE model of Lewis rat. Fourteen rats were immunized with an MBP/CFA mixture, eight by CFA alone, and three control rats were used to test the harmless effect of repeatedly performed MRI examinations. Beginning on the 8th or 9th days and in parallel with the emergence of clinical signs, rats immunized by the MBP/CFA mixture showed slight increases of relaxation times and of the BBB permeability. These abnormalities, which always remain localized in the periventricular regions, become more pronounced toward the 10th and 11th days, just before (or at the same time) as paraplegia manifestations. After a plateau of a few days, they diminish with the clinical signs. This close correlation found in vivo establishes the essential role of BBB in the pathogenesis of clinical signs of this EAE model.

Animals

Viscosity of water in hibernating and nonhibernating mammals estimated by proton NMR relaxation times.

Longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times were measured in vitro at 37, 30, 25, 15, and 5 degrees C on serum, brain, liver, kidney, and heart samples from a hibernator, the European hamster, active in summer (SA), active in winter, or in the hibernating state in winter; from a less efficient hibernator, the golden hamster; and from a homeotherm, the rat. T1 and T2 relaxation times varied between species and in the European hamster between the active and hibernating subjects. Despite the major relaxation time differences between the organs, NMR relaxation time measurements showed a general trend to an increase in the viscosity of water for the European hamster in the active state. Although these modifications were not directly related to the process of hibernation itself, the relaxation times observed in the hibernating animals were closer to those seen in the rat. This evidenced that changes of physical properties of water reflect a better adaptation to low temperatures of the hamster, as compared to the nonhibernator, given that the low water viscosity of SA hamster allows the decrease of the viscosity with temperature during the hibernating state. These in vitro studies permit the study the viscosity which is an important physicochemical parameter involved in NMR longitudinal relaxation time of water proton. More detailed studies of other physiological parameters must be undertaken by further in vivo measurements.

Animals

Photoacoustic detection of triplet state and singlet oxygen in highly absorbing samples.

A photoacoustic (PA) effect theory taking into account two heat sources corresponding to the radiationless relaxation processes of two states of different lifetimes and to the heat diffusion across the sample is herewith presented. Results obtained demonstrate that the amplitude and the phase of the PA signal depend on the sample's thermal properties, on its optical absorption coefficient, on the lifetime of the long-lived excited state, and on the ratio of the two heat sources. This ratio can be expressed as a function of the product of the energy of the excited state times the quantum yield of its production. Simulations of PA amplitude and phase variations vs light modulation frequency exhibit new features of the PA signal:phase inversion and fast decrease of the amplitude. Experimental verifications were carried out on solutions and gels. Fitting of the amplitude and phase variations allow us to measure the lifetime and conversion yield of the intermediate state which can be a triplet state or singlet oxygen, O2(1 delta g). The addition of an acceptor, specific to O2(1 delta g), induces changes in the amplitude of the PA signal which can be used to study the production and deactivation of this excited form of oxygen. This work demonstrates the usefulness of PA in the detection of metastable excited states such as the triplet state and singlet oxygen and in their quantitative analysis.

Coloring Agents

Nuclear magnetic resonance T2 relaxation times in multiple sclerosis.

An original method was used to carry out the mathematical analysis of T2 transverse magnetization decay curves and the measure of T2 relaxation times on multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The presumably normal white matter (WM) of these patients presented higher T2 relaxation times (98.6 msec), in comparison with that found in a population sample (88 msec). In this case, magnetization decay curves remain mostly monoexponential and are characterized by a single T2. On the other hand, areas of increased signal (AIS) curves are always better fitted by a biexponential function characterized by a short (82 msec) and a long (greater than 200 msec) T2. The spreading out of long T2 varies from one AIS to another in the same patient and among different patients; values of long T2 also vary with time, but without any correlation with the clinical state. In fact, no correlation was been established between relaxation times and clinical parameters. Quantitative MRI therefore enables a different approach to interpret MRI images; results suggest that several histobiochemical parameters play a role in the pathogenesis of an AIS and that MS is a dynamic and constantly evolving disease.

Adult

In vivo determination of multiexponential T2 relaxation in the brain of patients with multiple sclerosis.

In vivo measurement of T2 relaxation times in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is potentially useful for the evaluation of the disease activity. Seven patients with definite MS were investigated over a period of three years (19 examinations), using a whole-body MRI scanner operating at 0.15 T with a specially designed high-power radio-frequency head coil. A modified CPMG sequence with a 180 degree pulse interval of TE = 6 msec and 128 echoes was used for the T2 relaxation measurement of the areas of increased signal (AIS) and white matter (WM). A biexponential T2 analysis of each pixel of the spin-echo images was computed. The T2 relaxation processes were found to be a monoexponential function in WM. The T2 relaxation times of apparently normal white matter in MS patients was significantly longer than in control subjects. The T2 relaxation curves of the AIS were found in most cases to fit a biexponential function characterized by a short and a long T2. T2 long relaxation times of AIS were spread out over a wide range (150-560 msec). The study of T2 long histograms shows that some AIS can be divided into two or three parts depending on the T2 long values. Each of these parts may correspond to a pathological process such as edema, demyelination and gliosis. Evolution of T2 relaxation times over a period of time cannot as yet be correlated with modifications in the clinical state.

Adult

Left ventricular ejection fraction in obstructive sleep apnea. Effects of long-term treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

The effects of treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were assessed in 29 patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a prospective study using multiple gated equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography. All patients were evaluated before CPAP treatment was initiated and were reevaluated after one year (mean +/- SE, 415 +/- 6 days), of home treatment with nasal CPAP. The mean LVEF increased from 59 +/- 1 percent to 63 +/- 1 percent (p less than 0.005). The degree of improvement in LVEF was correlated with baseline LVEF (r = 0.54; p less than 0.003), meaning that the lower the baseline value, the greater the increase with treatment. The changes were not different when subgroups of medicated and unmedicated patients were considered separately. These results show that long-term nasal CPAP treatment results in improved left ventricular function in OSA.

Evaluation Studies as Topic

Analytical and clinical evaluation of a new one-step non-analogue radioimmunoassay for serum-free thyroxine.

We evaluated analytically and clinically the new one-step non-analogue free thyroxine (FT4) assay (Amerlex-MAB from Amersham), using a labelled monoclonal thyroxine-specific antibody as tracer, in comparison with the Gammacoat two-step FT4 kit (Baxter). Analytical performances of the new kit were excellent: within and between run coefficients of variation were less than 5% in the working range. Clinical sensitivities for hypo- and hyperthyroidism were comparable for both kits (FT4 Amerlex-MAB 95% confidence interval: 12-25 pM). When serum was supplemented with albumin we observed a slight decrease in FT4 values measured by both kits. When oleate was added to serum we noted a moderate increase with the Amerlex-MAB kit up to 10 mM oleate added and a much more marked increase with the two-step kit. Results obtained with patients from particular euthyroid populations, known to have low albumin or high free fatty acids concentrations or to have perturbed FT4 results when measured by an analogue-based method, agreed with those of the in vitro studies. With these patients the specificity of the Amerlex-MAB FT4 results was good but slightly decreased compared with the two-step FT4 method, except for heparin-treated patients who were all classified according to their euthyroidal status (17/17 instead of 13/17 with the two-step kit).

Antibodies, Monoclonal

In vitro and in vivo effects of increased concentrations of free fatty acids on free thyroxin measurements as determined by five assays.

To compare in vitro and in vivo effects of increased concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA) on free thyroxin (FT4) values, we measured FT4 in three pooled sera supplemented with oleate and in serum from 18 euthyroid patients before and after an infusion of fat emulsion (Intralipid). We used five FT4 RIA kits: two two-step methods [Gammacoat, Baxter (GC); Ria-gnost, Behring (RG)], two analog RIAs [Amerlex-M, Amersham (AM); Coat-Ria, BioMérieux (CR)], and one kit with labeled antibodies [Amerlex-MAB*, Amersham (AA)]. In vitro, at the maximum oleate addition of 5 mmol/L, FT4 increased when measured by the GC and RG kits, decreased by the AM kit, and showed no significant change by the CR and AA kits. In vivo, post-Intralipid, FFA concentrations rose significantly and the FT4 changes agreed with the results of the in vitro experiments, except for the RG kit, for which FT4 increased in only nine patients. We conclude that in vitro oleate addition is useful to predict the in vivo effect of increased FFA on FT4 values; moreover, in serum from euthyroid subjects with high concentrations of FFA, FT4 analyzed with the CR or AA kits should better agree with normal results for thyrotropin than FT4 values measured with the other kits.

Chromatography, Gas

[MRI study of hypoplasia of the abdominal aorta in a 3-month-old infant].

The authors report coarctation of the abdominal aorta in an infant aged three months. A complete study of the lesion was made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which confirmed involvement of the renal and iliac arteries, dilatation of the celiac trunk and of the superior mesenteric artery, and the absence of visualization of the inferior mesenteric artery. MRI is seen to be a valuable tool for monitoring this type of anomaly and allows angiography to be avoided.

Aorta, Abdominal

Myocardial gated tomoscintigraphy with 99Tcm-methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (MIBI): regional and temporal activity curve analysis.

Myocardial gated tomoscintigraphy with hexakis-(2 methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile) labelled with 99Tcm, is more suitable to resolve precisely the size of myocardial infarct than nongated 201Tl tomoscintigraphy. Gated tomography gives short axis slices at eight points in the cardiac cycle. A quantitative method to analyse heart wall activity and its motion is proposed. In two groups of patients, one with inferior infarct and the other with anterior infarct, the time-activity curves show a maximum in systole for healthy regions and a flattened curve in akinetic regions. Gated tomoscintigraphy assesses more accurately the size of the injured regions because there is no averaging between systolic and diastolic activity as in 201Tl tomoscintigraphy. This method should permit a better follow-up of patients with myocardial infarct.

Humans

[Value of cine magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis and quantification of valvular regurgitation. Comparison with angiography and Doppler echocardiography].

Thirty-three patients presenting with regurgitation of the mitral valve (19 cases), tricuspid valve (14 cases) or aortic valve (11 cases) documented by angiography (n = 20) and/or doppler-echocardiography (n = 28) were examined by cine-MRI in order to test this method in valvular regurgitation. Sixteen ECG-synchronized cine-MRI images were acquired by the GRASS technique every 40 ms on appropriate projections, with a resistive 0.28 Tesla Bruker magnet. The semiology of normal and pathological blood flow images at cine-MRI is described. Valvular regurgitations present as "signal void" jets the chronology and spatial extension of which depend on the severity of the lesion. The differential diagnosis with physiological flows is discussed. The diagnostic sensitivity of the method was 29/29 when compared with angiography and 29/33 when compared with doppler-echocardiography (2 cases of 1/4 mitral regurgitation and 2 cases 1/4 tricuspid regurgitation were not visible at cine-MRI). The specificity of this method, as can be judged from 104 patients explored, also seems to be satisfactory. The severity of regurgitation was graded from 1 to 4 with the three methods, on the basis of strict criteria. The differences in grade evaluation exceeded +/- 1 point in only one case of mitral regurgitation which was greatly underestimated by the doppler method as compared with angiography and cine-MRI. Thus, cine-MRI is a reliable method to evaluate valvular regurgitations and their severity. It solves the practical problem raised by non-echogenic patients when catheterization is to be postponed or avoided.

Adult

[Familial hyperthyroxinemia with dysalbuminemia: screening of 21,000 patients at the occasion of thyroid evaluation].

Serum samples from 21,342 patients undergoing evaluation of thyroid status were screened for familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia (FDH) using a specific test based on the measure of charcoal uptake of 125I thyroxine (T4) from serum diluted 1:100 with addition of unlabelled 10(-6) M T4. We found 17 cases of FDH: a higher incidence (8:10,000) than previously reported in the general population (1:10,000). The results of thyroid function tests of patients with FDH are presented: total T4 concentration is increased in only 14 subjects; thyrotropin and free T4 measured by an immunoextraction method are the most useful assays to evaluate the clinical status of these patients.

Humans

[Comparison of the left ventricular stroke volume and fraction measured with MRI and contrast ventriculography].

27 patients who underwent a contrast ventriculography in right anterior oblique at 30 degrees (for various cardiopathies) were studied by MRI with a mean delay of 5.7 +/- 6.2 days. After location of the medio-ventricular area, a diastolic horizontal section (apex of the R wave) and a systolic section (descending portion of the T wave) are carried out using the spin ultrasound technique. The same calculations are used for MRI au X-Ray contours (modified area-length method) by two strictly independent operators. With MRI, the LVSF is under estimated (40.4 +/- 19%) as compared angiography (46.1 +/- 18%). The linear correlation is 0.79 and in half of the patients (13 in 27) the deviation of the LVSF exceeds 10 p. cent. The volumes also tend to be underestimated with MRI (97 +/- 50 and 64 +/- 51 ml for the diastole and systole respectively) compared with angiography (123 +/- 66 and 73 +/- 62 ml), but the difference is only significant for the diastole and the linear correlation coefficients are improved at 0.82 and 0.90. Underestimation of the parameters measured with MRI is the consequence of multiple factors including the imprecise determination of the true telesystole, the marked effect of the partial volume related to the thickness of the section, and especially the obliquity of the plane studied on MRI, compared with the long axis of the heart. The error made by using a calculation algorithm, conceived for projective methods showing the long axis of the modeled ellipsoid, also explains the underestimation of volumes obtained with MRI, tomographic method. The simple technique used here seems especially interesting in the analysis of segmental contraction. Finally, the development of cine-MRI will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial in the study of ventricular contraction and relaxation.

Adult

[MRI study of parathyroid adenoma. Value of T2-weighted sequences].

The authors report a series of 22 patients operated for primary hyperparathyroidism. The parathyroid adenoma was located preoperatively by MRI and ultrasonography. Measurement of the relaxation time was performed in vitro at 37 degrees C in a 0.47 Tesla field during the 30 minutes following resection. The relaxation times obtained at a precession frequency of 20 mHz were 0.844 +/- 0.16 sec for T1 and 0.082 +/- 0.025 sec for T2. MRI had a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 88% for the localization of the parathyroid adenoma, while ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 98%.

Adenoma