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Biomedical subjects

J E Ellis

Publications and source records attributed to J E Ellis.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Right heart dysfunction, pulmonary embolism, and paradoxical embolization during liver transplantation. A transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiographic study.

In 16 adult patients, we performed continuous intraoperative two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2DTEE) to help elucidate the mechanism of myocardial dysfunction that accompanies liver transplantation. In 4 of the 16 patients "paradoxical" motion of the interventricular septum consistent with right ventricular failure was seen. An additional three of the 16 patients showed right atrial enlargement and right-to-left deviation of the interatrial septum. Two patients showed evidence of paradoxical embolization (one of whom had right ventricular and right atrial enlargement), and a third patient (who had right atrial enlargement) embolized a large right atrial thrombus into the pulmonary circulation. Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated that isolated right ventricular failure might account for some of the hemodynamic instability seen during liver transplantation. Venous, pulmonary, and paradoxical embolization of air and thrombi documented by transesophageal echocardiography likely contribute to right heart failure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Transesophageal echocardiographic monitoring of myocardial ischemia during vascular surgery.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was used to detect segmental ventricular wall motion abnormalities (SWMAs) associated with ischemia in 49 high-risk patients who had 50 major vascular procedures, including 23 infrarenal aortic, five suprarenal aortic, 14 carotid, seven distal, and one axillofemoral reconstructions. A modified gastroscope tipped with an echocardiographic transducer was inserted into the esophagus and positioned behind the heart to obtain a reproducible cross-sectional view of the left ventricle at the level of the papillary muscles. Twelve patients (24%) had SWMA at baseline, probably representing areas of old infarction. Fourteen patients (28%) had new intraoperative SWMAs. Ten of 14 patients were successfully treated and wall motion was normalized. One of the four patients with persistent SWMA suffered a nonfatal subendocardial infarct; another patient suffered intraoperative cardiac arrest and died. No infarcts were documented in the 10 patients successfully treated. The mortality rate in the entire high-risk group was 6%. Alterations in ventricular wall motion were noted in almost 50% of high-risk patients undergoing major vascular surgery. Seventy-one percent of acute SWMAs were reversed without any evidence of myocardial infarction. TEE allowed early recognition of evolving myocardial ischemia and facilitated immediate and specific fluid and pharamcologic interventions. Continued application of this technique may reduce the incidence and morbidity of perioperative cardiac complications.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1986

The addition of nitrous oxide to halothane decreases renal and splanchnic flow and increases cerebral blood flow in rats.

Thirteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were anaesthetized with halothane and catheters were placed in the femoral artery and left ventricle. The animals breathed spontaneously through a tracheostomy throughout the investigation. After the surgical preparation, the inspired halothane concentration was maintained at 1.5 vol% (F/O2 = 0.3). After a 30-min stabilization period, strontium-85 radiolabelled microspheres (15 +/- 1 micron) were injected to the left ventricle for determination of cardiac output and regional blood flows. In six rats, nitrous oxide was then substituted for nitrogen in the inspired gas mixture. Ten min thereafter, 141Ce-labelled microspheres were injected and the haemodynamic measurements were repeated in all animals. The administration of the nitrous oxide to halothane-anaesthetized rats resulted in a decrease in cardiac output and decreases in blood flow to kidneys, liver, small bowel and spleen. Cerebral perfusion was increased.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Serologic and hematologic values of bison in Colorado.

Recent economic and aesthetic interest in North American bison (Bison bison) has lead to increased interstate transport of these animals. Serologic and hematologic standards for bison are needed to detect disease in transported animals as well as within herds. This paper describes variation in blood physiological parameters in bison caused by variations in diet and season. Blood was taken from six bison and analyzed for serologic and hematologic parameters. Significant variation was found in blood urea nitrogen, chloride, cholesterol, creatinine, eosinophil, glucose, hemoglobin, lactic dehydrogenase, leukocyte, packed cell volume, potassium, serum globulin, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, SGPT, and sodium levels between animals receiving a high energy-high nitrogen diet and animals receiving a low energy-low nitrogen diet.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Wolman disease in a Pakistani infant.

In an infant with Wolman disease, confirmation of the diagnosis was made before death or radioological and enzymological criteria. It is the first case reported in a Pakistani infant.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fetal development in rhesus monkeys exposed prenatally to cocaine.

Using a timed-breeding protocol, one group of female rhesus monkeys was implanted subcutaneously with osmotic minipumps containing 0.3 mg/kg/h cocaine (N=18) or saline (N=18) from day 24 postconception through gestation. Another group received cocaine (N=12) or saline (N=8) from conception through day 42 of gestation. Mean levels of cocaine in maternal serum were approximately 150 ng/ml during pregnancy. A total of 56 pregnancies were documented in 42 adult monkeys, and 39 pregnancies completed full-term. Maternal food consumption and body weight increased during pregnancy, and there were no significant differences among experimental groups. Although both groups with a history of cocaine exposure had lower survival rates compared to pair-fed controls, of the fetuses that survived, fetal heart rate, fetal biparietal diameter, and mean gestational length were in the normal range for all experimental groups. Similarly, body weight, biparietal diameter, body length, and modified Apgar scores at birth did not differ significantly among experimental groups. The results indicate that surviving fetuses exhibited normal growth.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterization of Pneumocystis carinii preparations developed for lipid analysis.

Pneumocystis carinii organisms were isolated from viral antibody-negative rats that had been infected by intratracheal intubation of organism preparations tested negative for common bacteria and fungi. Infection scores of lungs from infected animals at the time of parasite isolation was > 5 (100-1,000 organisms/oil immersion field). Electron microscopy of heavily infected lungs revealed that the pathogens adhered to Type I pneumocytes and to each other, resulting in obstructions up to several cell layers thick, which extended into the alveolar lumen. Protocols for purifying the organisms were developed to optimize separation from each other and from host cells, and to optimize preparation purity, recovery efficiency, and organism viability. The study tested mucolytic agents, sieving, various centrifugation speeds, lysis of host cells by osmotic shock and filtration through membranes of different pore diameter. Final preparations contained no intact host cells as determined by light microscopy. Only minor amounts (< 5%) of host debris were detected by electron microscopy. Most organisms and their pellicles were ultrastructurally intact but no longer adhered to one another. The final preparation was characterized biochemically by quantitation of the specific lung surfactant marker surfactant protein A, which indicated > 99.5% purity. The total non-P. carinii protein in the final preparation (< 6%, depending on the level of infection) was estimated by the protein content of pelletable material resulting from processing uninfected lungs in an identical manner. Elimination of free cholesterol and phospholipids from host lung tissue was monitored during the purification process. Exogenous stigmasterol, added as an extracellular marker, decreased during the purification process and was undetectable in the final organism preparation. Yields of 10(8)-10(9) organisms/rat were routinely obtained. Viability, assessed by the calcein acetoxymethyl ester-propidium iodide assay, was 80-95%.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence for the presence of "metabolic sterols" in Pneumocystis: identification and initial characterization of Pneumocystis carinii sterols.

Mixed life cycle stages of rat-derived Pneumocystis carinii were isolated from host lungs and their sterols were compared with those present in lungs from normal and immunosuppressed uninfected rats. Gas-liquid chromatography consistently detected, resolved, and quantified 9, 10, and 20 sterol components in the total nonsaponifiable neutral lipid fraction of lungs from normal rats, lungs from immunosuppressed uninfected rats, and P. carinii preparations, respectively. In all samples, cholesterol was the most abundant sterol present, comprising 97%, 93%, and 78% of total sterols in lungs from normal rats, lungs from immunosuppressed uninfected rats, and P. carinii, respectively. Tentative identifications of several rat lung and P. carinii minor sterols were made based on gas-liquid chromatogram retention times and fragmentation patterns from mass spectral analyses. Campesterol (ergost-5-en-3-ol), cholest-5-en-3-one, and beta-sitosterol (stigmast-5-en-3-ol) were among the minor components present in both types of lung controls, and were also components of P. carinii sterols. In contrast to lung controls, the sterols of P. carinii were enriched in C28 and C29 sterols with one or two double bonds, and a hydroxyl group at C-3 (ergost-5-en-3-ol, ergost-7-en-3-ol, ergosta-dien-3-ol, stigmast-5-en-3-ol, stigmast-7-en-3-ol and stigmasta-dien-3-ol). Steryl esters of P. carinii, probably stored in cytoplasmic lipid droplets, were dominated by those present in the host lung.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Composition of Pneumocystis carinii neutral lipids and identification of coenzyme Q10 as the major ubiquinone homolog.

The lipids of purified preparations of Pneumocystis carinii carinii freshly isolated from infected rats were analyzed and compared with those of whole lungs from normal and methylprednisolone-immunosuppressed uninfected rats. In this study, the neutral lipid fraction was examined in detail; the relative concentrations of individual classes making up this fraction were quantified. Of particular interest was the nature of the organism's ubiquinone (coenzyme Q, CoQ) fraction because atovaquone, a hydroxynaphtho-quinone (566C80) analog of ubiquinone, is efficacious in the treatment of P. carinii pneumonia. The ubiquinone concentration in both P. carinii and lung tissues was relatively low compared to that present in rat heart and liver tissues. Two homologs were identified in the organism: CoQ10 was the predominant homolog with lesser amounts of CoQ9 present. In contrast, the lungs of normal and immunosuppressed uninfected rats had CoQ9 and lesser amounts of CoQ8, but no detectable CoQ10. Furthermore, radiolabeled mevalonic acid was incorporated in vitro into the ubiquinone fraction of P. carinii indicating that the organism has the de novo branch of the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway leading to polyprenyl formation. Hence, it was concluded that CoQ10 (if not both CoQ10 and CoQ9) in P. carinii was not scavenged from the host but was synthesized by the organism. Although lung tissues contained substantial free fatty acids, the organism was enriched in these lipids. The high concentration of free fatty acids and relatively low level of triglycerides in P. carinii suggest that fatty acids may represent major carbon sources for ATP production by the organism.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-La (SS-B): a diagnostic criterion for Sjögren's syndrome?

We examined the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of antibodies to Ro (SS-A) and La (SS-B) in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) by counterimmunoelectrophoresis and immunodiffusion. Anti-Ro was found in 56% and anti-La in 42% of patients with SS and in 38% and 6% respectively in SLE. Anti-La was rare (less than 1%) in other connective tissue diseases. As a more stringent test of diagnostic specificity, 88 patients whose sera contained anti-La and/or anti-Ro were carefully examined for evidence of Sjögren's syndrome. Of 35 patients whose sera contained anti-La, 29 (83%) fulfilled criteria for SS, and four out of 6 of the remainder showed some evidence of early disease. Of 53 patients with anti-Ro (without anti-La), only 42% had Sjögren's syndrome, 45% had SLE and 13% other connective tissue diseases. These data confirm that anti-La, but not anti-Ro, has a high diagnostic specificity for Sjögren's syndrome and merits inclusion as separate diagnostic criterion for the disease.

Adult↗