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J M Foidart

Publications and source records attributed to J M Foidart.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

[Preclinical features of anti-angiogenesis therapy].

Tumor angiogenesis is one of the most important fields of cancer research. It is important to identify the putative targets for antiangiogenic strategies. To date, a number of angiogenic agents have been identified: bFGF, the different VEGF isoforms, integrins, proteases (matrix metalloproteases and serine proteases),... Furthermore, several physiological anti-angiogenic agents have been isolated such as endostatin, angiostatin, 16 K prolactin,.... The recent development of mice deficient for one gene involved during angiogenesis gives a new insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating this process. It leads to the identification of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 or PAI-1 as a new target for tumor treatment. Although, PAI-1 is very attractive as a target for new therapeutic strategies, a better understanding of its mechanism of action is needed urgently.

Neovascularization, Pathologic↗
PubMed2000

[Regret after tubal sterilization].

OBJECTIVE: To examine thoroughly the profile and motivations of a group of women who regretted sterilization so much that they were prepared to undergo reversal microsurgery or in vitro fertilization treatment. MATERIAL: and methods. The study followed one hundred women from their first consultation for a period of 3 years in order to analyze the outcome of their initial decision. RESULTS: Analysis of the circumstances at the time of the sterilization indicate 3 main factors which later caused the women to regret the decision Three years after the initial consultation, 69% of the patients have withdrawn from further investigation and /or treatment for different reasons analyzed in this study. 17 of the patients have undergone reversal microsurgery and 14 have attempted one or more in vitro fertilization treatments. Of these 31 patients, 12 (38.7%) have given birth to at least one child. CONCLUSION: These results sufficiently prove that tubal sterilization is worthy of consideration as much by the patient as by the physician as a method of irreversible contraception despite the developments in tubal microsurgery or in medically assisted procreation.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗
PubMed2000

[Bronchial morphologic modification in asthma].

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways clinically characterised by recurrent bronchial obstructions at least partially reversible. Recent epidemiologic data suggest that asthmatics have an increased rate of decrease of their expiratory volumes during life. This irreversible lung function impairment is associated with fundamental structural changes of the bronchial wall in terms of conjunctive tissue and smooth muscle composition. We describe these changes and explore the different mechanisms proposed to explain these structural modifications. We also review their consequences in terms of bronchial physiology and their potential influence on bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Asthma↗
PubMed2000

[The precautionary principle and the obligation of medical action].

Since Antiquity, medicine has been based upon the principle of prudence. In recent years, the principle of precaution has stolen over the medical conscience and has especially been forced on doctors under pressure from a Society searching for a new Holy Grail; the utopia of zero risk and the fear for magical power of an omnipotent medicine. The principle of precaution should be capable of warding off all these evils of techno-scientific progress applied to Health. Thus, in a few years, a new norm has established itself first for the environment but which has today extended to the domain of medical decisions. It is essential that the medical authorities attract the attention of politics and of the judiciary to the dangers of blindly transposing the principle of precaution in ecology to the world of medicine. The risks of deviation are numerous, the eventual perverse effects would be detrimental to patients and health security would be endangered by paralysis and conservatism. Medicine is neither the Art of Curing nor the Art of not Harming, ... it is the Art of Caring! ...

Defensive Medicine↗
PubMed2000

The contraceptive profile of a new oral contraceptive with antimineralocorticoid and antiandrogenic effects.

Yasmin (Schering AG, Berlin, Germany), a new oral contraceptive containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol combined with 3 mg drospirenone, effectively inhibits ovulation, as demonstrated by measurement of plasma hormone levels (follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol and progesterone), and echographic evaluation of follicular ripening. Like other low-dose oral contraceptives, the combination of ethinylestradiol and drospirenone markedly limits cervical function, spinnbarkeit and degree of crystallization, resulting in a hostile environment for sperm penetration. Two large, randomized, multicenter, open-label clinical studies have compared the contraceptive efficacy of ethinylestradiol/drospirenone with that of Marvelon, a well-established contraceptive containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol plus 150 microg desogestrel. Both preparations provided effective contraception and good cycle control. There were no negative effects on hemostatic parameters, lipids and carbohydrate metabolism. However, in both studies, ethinylestradiol/drospirenone had a more favorable effect on body weight than ethinylestradiol/desogestrel, with mean body weight remaining lower in the ethinylestradiol/ drospirenone group, the difference between the two preparations being statistically significant. Pre-existing acne and seborrhea were improved by ethinylestradiol/ drospirenone and blood pressure was essentially unchanged. These studies show that ethinylestradiol/drospirenone provides effective oral contraception, excellent cycle control and good tolerability, with effects on body weight and skin condition that are likely to confer a significant beneficial effect on compliance, especially in women with a tendency to gain weight under oral contraceptives due to water retention.

Androstenes↗
PubMed1999

Murine matrix metalloproteinase 9 gene. 5'-upstream region contains cis-acting elements for expression in osteoclasts and migrating keratinocytes in transgenic mice.

Knowledge about the regulation of cell lineage-specific expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinases is limited. In the present work, the murine matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) gene was shown to contain 13 exons, and the 2.8-kilobase pair upstream region was found to contain several common promoter elements including a TATA box-like motif, three GC boxes, four AP-1-like binding sites, an AP-2 site, and three PEA3 consensus sequences that may be important for basic activity of the gene. In order to identify cell-specific regulatory elements, constructs containing varying lengths of the upstream region in front of a LacZ reporter gene were made and studied for expression in transgenic mice generated by microinjection into fertilized oocytes. Analyses of the mice revealed that the presence of sequences between -2722 and -7745 allowed for expression in osteoclasts and migrating keratinocytes, i. e. cells that have been shown to normally express the enzyme in vivo. The results represent the first in vivo demonstration of the location of cell-specific control elements in a matrix metalloproteinase gene and show that element(s) regulating most cell-specific activities of 92-kDa type collagenase are located in the -2722 to -7745 base pair region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Purification of active matrix metalloproteinase catalytic domains and its use for screening of specific stromelysin-3 inhibitors.

The matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) stromelysin-3 (ST3) has been shown to be involved in malignant tumor progression and therefore represents an attractive therapeutical target. In order to screen for ST3 synthetic inhibitors, we have produced and purified the catalytic domain of ST3, matrilysin, stromelysin-2, and membrane type-1 MMP from inclusion bodies in a bacterial system. Our strategy allowed the purification of MMPs directly in the active form, thereby avoiding in vitro activation. A total of 140,000 synthetic compounds from the Bristol-Myers Pharmaceutical Research Institute chemical deck were tested, using a substrate-based colorimetric enzymatic assay, in which ST3 activity was evaluated through its ability to cleave and inactivate alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor. One ST3 inhibitor belonging to the cephalosporin family of antibiotics was thereby identified.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Shemin pathway and peroxidase deficiency in a fully habituated and fully heterotrophic non-organogenic sugarbeet callus: an adaptative strategy or the consequence of modified hormonal balances and sensitivities in these cancerous cells? A review and reassessment.

There are many arguments for considering a specific fully habituated (auxin and cytokinin-independent) and fully heterotrophic non-organogenic (HNO) sugarbeet callus cell line as terminating a neoplastic progression, and thus to be made of cancerous cells. The similarities with animal tumour and cancer cells are recalled. All types of habituated tissues examined in the literature share at least three common biochemical characteristics: low apparent peroxidase activity, high content of polyamines (PAs) and low production of ethylene. However, results concerning their auxin and cytokinin levels are not consistent. Peroxidase synthesis in the achlorophyllous HNO callus appears to arise from aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthesis through the Shemin pathway, commonly used by animals and fungi. This pathway is limited by disturbed nitrogen metabolism that diverts glutamate (directly used for ALA synthesis in green higher plants) from the Kreb's cycle into PA synthesis. There is no argument to suggest that the low ethylene production is caused by a competition with PAs for their common precursor, S-adenosylmethionine. The results we report here indicate modified anabolic and catabolic pathways of auxins and cytokinins but also the possibilities of unusual compounds playing similar roles (dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol glucosides, for instance). A higher turnover of PAs is shown in the HNO callus, which could suggest a role for H2O2 and gamma-aminobutyric acid, products or intermediates in the PA catabolic pathway, as secondary messengers. The habituated cells retain some sensitivity towards exogenous auxins and cytokinins. Their increased sensitivity to PAs and ethylene suggests modified hormonal balances for the control of these actively dividing cells.

Aminolevulinic Acid↗
PubMed1999

Vimentin contributes to human mammary epithelial cell migration.

Vimentin expression in human mammary epithelial MCF10A cells was examined as a function of their migratory status using an in vitro wound-healing model. Analysis of the trajectories of the cells and their migratory speeds by time lapse-video microscopy revealed that vimentin mRNA and protein expression were exclusively induced in cells at the wound's edge which were actively migrating towards the center of the lesion. Actin labeling showed the reorganization of actin filaments in cells at the wound's edge which confirmed the migratory phenotype of this cell subpopulation. Moreover, the vimentin protein disappeared when the cells became stationary after wound closure. Using cells transfected with the vimentin promoter controlling the green fluorescent protein gene, we also demonstrated the specific activation of the vimentin promoter in the migratory cells at the wound's edge. Transfection of the antisense vimentin cDNA into MCF10A cells clearly reduced both their ability to express vimentin and their migratory speed. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that vimentin is transiently associated with, and could be functionally involved in, the migratory status of human epithelial cells.

Actins↗
PubMed1999

Successful treatment of pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis with progestins: a case report.

The diagnostic approach, clinical evolution, and treatment of a patient with primary pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis are reported. This patient presented a restrictive respiratory syndrome resistant to conventional glucocorticoid therapy. The diagnosis, based on clinical and histologic examinations, was confirmed by immunohistochemical localization of one of the desmins, the smooth muscle cell actin, and HMB45 antigen. The patient received treatment with an anti-estrogenic agent (tamoxifen citrate) and high doses of medroxyprogesterone acetate, an antigonadotropic progestin. Respiratory function improved rapidly with clinical relief.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Multiple benefits of antenatal corticotherapy. Current status in th Belgian French community].

The benefit of antenatal administration of corticosteroids (betamethasone or dexamethasone) in the newborn prematured babies before the 34 week of gestation has been well demonstrated: reduction of respiratory distress syndrome but also a decrease in the incidence of severe intraventricular hemorrhages, episodes of necrotising enterocolitis and neonatal mortality. In this article, we report the impact of this treatment in the Belgian French Community in the population of infants with a birth weight below 1,500 g, born between 1990 and 1994 in the seven neonatal intensive care units. Based on this epidemiological study (compared with international publications) we propose the routine use of corticosteroids during the antenatal period, with the aim of seeing an increase in the use of this treatment, which, although costing little, produces clinical benefit.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed1999

[Premenstrual tension syndrome or premenstrual dysphoria].

Premenstrual Tension Syndrome (PMS) has always existed: it has been first described by an endocrinologist from New York in 1931. It is responsible for significant and psychological disorders which justify the study of its pathogenesis. Hormonal dysfunction has been demonstrated among women who are at risk for PMS; nevertheless, it has been shown that neurological transducers are also affected, such as GABAergic, serotoninergic and endorphinic systems. Interactions between the two systems allow to raise the hypothesis of an inbalance between GABAergic and progesterone derived neurosteroids in a psychoneuroendocrinological model. Based on this hypothesis, psychological symptoms can be efficiently treated by anxiolytic or antidepressant treatment. On the other hand, progesterone derivatives and, sometimes, diuretics, are useful on physical symptoms. As far as we know there is so far no single treatment of demonstrated efficacy in the PMS.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1999

[Successful PMA. Review of the activities of the Center for Medically Assisted Procreation of University of Liege, 1985-1997].

Assisted reproductive treatments (ART) hold an increasing place in the field of female infertility but also of male infertility with the development of new micromanipulative technologies. From January 1985 to December 1997, more than 3,000 ovarian punctures were achieved at the CPMA of the University of Liege and more than 40,000 oocytes were recovered. Global results show a take home baby rate of 23% per ovum pick-up and 27% per embryo transfer. Embryo cryopreservation offers an efficient solution to the problem of supernumerary embryos and opens the way for IVF-derived procedures such as oocyte or embryo donation, surrogate mother. The transfer of frozen-thawed embryos increases the total ongoing pregnancy rate per cycle of 31%. One of the aims of our Centre in the near future is the development of new technologies such as control of chromosomal abnormalities or genetic defect in preimplantation embryos and clinical applications of oocyte or ovarian tissue freezing.

Belgium↗
PubMed1999

[Gestational diabetes: definition, screening and management].

Defined as glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus represents in fact an heterogeneous clinical entity which may concern 1 to 4% of all pregnant women in our country. Its adverse effects on the mother and her child, the need for a universal screening and the mode of screening are still controversial. Screening may be made either by a first test with a 50 g oral glucose load (the so-called O'Sullivan test), confirmed if positive by a 100 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), or at first glance by a 75 g OGTT performed between the 24th and 28th weeks of gestation. The treatment of gestational diabetes is based on diet. In case of diet failure to obtain good glucose control, insulin therapy should be proposed.

Diabetes, Gestational↗
PubMed1999

[Prevention of prematurity in the French community at the approach of the year 2000].

The actual results confirm the dominating influence of psychosocial factors on prematurity and low birth weight. The study performed in Liège indicates that these factors must be taken into account for better care of the future mother. The systematic use of a prenatal questionnaire on psychosocial factors draws attention towards the personal situation of the future mother. Detection of some organic or psychosocial risk factors must prompt prophylactic measures even in the absence of any sign of pathologies. Prevention of prematurity has, over the last 30 years, been the primary objective of prenatal follow-up. Its importance must be further emphasized.

Belgium↗