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Biomedical subjects

J Kohn

Publications and source records attributed to J Kohn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Measurement of serum proteins during attacks of ulcerative colitis as a guide to patient management.

Serial measurements of 11 serum proteins have been made throughout 39 admissions of 36 patients to hospital for the treatment of acute attacks of ulcerative colitis. There was a striking correlation between rapid changes in C-reactive protein and pre-albumin concentrations and the clinical response to medical treatment. Measurements of the alpha1-acid glycoprotein, albumin, and total serum protein concentrations at the time of admission were found to correlate with the outcome of the attack. Measurement of these proteins provides a useful guide to the management of patients with attacks of ulcerative colitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Identification of the paraproteins and clinical significance of more than one paraprotein and clinical significance of more than one paraprotein in serum of 56 patients.

Sera from 56 patients with more than one paraprotein were investigated for immunoglobin class and light chain type of each paraprotein. The patients were divided into two groups according to the diagnosis, that is myeloma and macroglobulinaemia or others. The frequency of combinations of paraproteins was considered in the whole series and in the two groups. The laboratory and clinical findings were analysed to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of more than one paraprotein in a serum. It is concluded that a lower percentage of patients with more than one paraprotein can definitely be shown to have myeloma than might be expected from studies on monoclonal paraproteinaemia, that patients having IgA paraproteins in the serum had the poorest prognosis, and that paraproteins with lambda light chains were more likely to be associated with myeloma or macroglobulinaemia. A discriminant analysis of ESR and total paraprotein levels in the two groups of patients showed that combinations of the two parameters were not more effective at distinguishing the groups than the ESR alone.

Blood Sedimentation↗
PubMed1978

A cellulose acetate immunofixation technique.

A method of immunofixation using CAM as the only substrate is described. It consists of separating the proteins by conventional electrophoresis followed by immersion for a few minutes only in appropriate specific antiserum suitably diluted with barbitone buffer containing polyethylene glycol (PEG). This is followed by washing and staining by Ponceau S or Nigrosin. The advantages of the method used are speed, sensitivity and economy, no expensive equipment or reagents being required. The method has proved helpful in the identification and classification of minor paraprotein bands and in the analysis of multiclonal paraproteinaemias. The technique can be applied as well to other proteins of biological fluids, e.g. phenotyping.

Acetates↗
PubMed1978

Vitamin B12 binding protein as a tumour marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Grossly raised levels of tumour related vitamin B12 binding protein, reflected by rises in serum vitamin B12 and unsaturated vitamin B12 binding capacity (UBBC), were found in three of 44 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. All three were HBsAg negative and had normal serum alpha fetoprotein levels. The patients did not have underlying cirrhosis and the tumours contained characteristic intracellular inclusions. In the first patient the UBBC level fell during a partial remission induced by adriamycin therapy and in the second patient UBBC levels rose with progression of her disease. In the third patient serum B12 binding protein levels fell after tumour resection. Assay and subsequent monitoring of serum vitamin B12 and UBCC may prove valuable in the assessment and follow-up of some patients with hepatocellular carcinoma whose alpha fetoprotein levels are normal.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Method-specific variations in the calibration of a new immunoglobulin standard suitable for use in nephelometric techniques.

The putative International Federation of Clinical Chemistry immunoglobulin standard, IFCC 74/1, was calibrated against the World Health Organization (WHO) immunoglobulin standard 67/99 by three different methods: automated immunoprecipitation, Laurell rocket immunoelectrophoresis, and radial immunodiffusion. The same antisera were used in all the assays, which were performed in five expert laboratories. With the aid of linearizing transformations for the dilution curves of both materials and use of a carefully weighted statistical evaluation, values in International Units for IgG, IgA, and IgM were ascribed to IFCC 74/1. The values achieved by the three different methods were not statistically different, except in the case of IgA. IgM assays by automated immunoprecipitation were excluded owing to a high degree of imprecision.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1977

Serum alpha1-foetoprotein levels in 153 male patients with germ cell tumours.

--alpha1-Foetoprotein (AFP) levels have been measured by radioimmunoassay in the serum of 153 male patients with gonadal and extragonadal germ cell tumours. Thirty-five patients with pure seminoma, and 34 patients with teratoma but without any postoperative evidence of residual or recurrent tumour, consistently had normal serum AFP levels (less than 25 ng/ml). Of 84 patients with active teratomas, 56 (67%) had serological evidence of AFP production. Ten patients with histological evidence of pure yolk sac (endodermal sinus) tumours all had raised levels. Teratomas containing yolk sac (elements may or may not be associated with raised serum levels. Trophoblastic (choriocarcinomatous) elements in a teratoma were not normally associated with high values. Fourteen patients with teratomas had elevated levels in the absence of histologically detectable yolk sac elements. Serum AFP levels often became elevated before clinical evidence of recurrence, so that AFP can act as an effective marker of the course of the disease and its response to therapy in many patients, but recurrent or progressive disease may be present in the absence of raised levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Metastatic orchioblastoma: alpha1-fetoprotein in diagnosis and combination chemotherapy in treatment: a case report.

A case in which orchioblastoma metastasised to a lymph node at the left renal hilum is described. The metastasis was not detected by bipedal lymphography, but was associated with a rise in the serum level of the alpha1-fetoprotein. The metastasis responded to combination chemotherapy, including adriamycin, and residual tumour was excised at laparotomy. Tumour regression was associated with a fall in serum alpha1-fetoprotein which may be of value as a tumour marker substance in the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy in this tumour.

Doxorubicin↗
PubMed1976

Serum-alpha1-fetoprotein in patients with testicular tumours.

Serum-alpha1-fetoprotein (A.F.P.) was assayed in 88 men with testicular teratomas and 34 with seminomas. 61% of teratoma patients with clinically evident disease had serum-A.F.P. greater than 25 ng/ml, whilst it is highly unlikely that any patient with a pure seminoma had a titre above this level. A.F.P. concentrations correlated with response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and predicted relapse in some patients. Serum-A.F.P. should be measured in all patients with testicular tumours.

Dysgerminoma↗
PubMed1976

Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels in extrahepatic biliary atresia, idiopathic neonatal hepatitis and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (PiZ).

Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels were measured using a sensitive radioimmunoassay in 77 infants presenting with persistent conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia. A breed range of alpha-fetoprotein concentrations occurred in both the 23 infants with extrahepatic biliary atresia and the 35 with idiopathic neonatal hepatitis but the 13 with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency had uniformly low levels. High alpha-fetoprotein concentrations (above 10 000 mug/1) favoured the diagnosis of neonatal hepatitis especially in the first ten weeks of life, but the overlap between neonatal hepatitis and extrahepatic biliary atresia was large and alpha-fetoprotein determination cannot be recommended as a reliable method for distinguishing the two conditions. Serial alpha-fetoprotein values showed no consistent relationship with standard liver function tests and gave no guide to prognosis. There was an association between alpha-fetoprotein production and needle biopsy evidence of hepatic giant cell transformation. The uniformly low alpha-fetoprotein levels in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficient infants with neonatal hepatitis is a new observation and possible mechanisms for disordered glycoprotein release are discussed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

Prognostic value of serum alpha-fetoprotein in fulminant hepatic failure including patients treated by charcoal haemoperfusion.

Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels have been measured sequentially by a radio-immunoassay method in 64 patients with fulminant hepatic failure. In 15 of the 64 patients (23%) AFP levels were raised but in only two did they exceed 500 ng/ml. Of the 23 survivors 11 (48%) had raised AFP levels compared with four of the 41 (9-8%) fatal cases (P less than 0-005). This rise in AFP levels was found early after the development of grade IV coma and constitutes an encouraging prognostic sign at a time when the liver function tests and EEG are unhelpful. A radioimmunoassay must be used if these small but significant rises in plasma concentration are to be detected. Twelve patients survived without showing a rise in plasma AFP at anytime during the illness. The four fatal cases who had raised AFP levels all had serious complications of fulminant hepatic failure. Charcoal haemoperfusion did not seem to increase the survival of AFP negative patients.

Adolescent↗