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Biomedical subjects

J Raposo

Publications and source records attributed to J Raposo.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Comparison of whole-blood glutathione peroxidase activity, levels of serum selenium, and lipid peroxidation in subjects from the fishing and rural communities of "Rabo de Peixe" village, San Miguel Island, the Azores' Archipelago, Portugal.

The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), serum selenium (Se), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were measured in the whole blood of 148 healthy adults aged 20-60 yr from the fishing and rural communities of "Rabo de Peixe," The Azores, Portugal. The subjects did not live in the same household and had different socioeconomic profiles and dietary habits. The serum lipid profile and selected life habits were also considered in this study. No significant differences in the activity of GSH-Px were found in the interpopulation or intrapopulation analyses, classified by age or lipid profile. An age-dependent GSH-Px increase was noted in the younger male (M) subgroups (20-39 yr). The Se levels were higher in fishers (f) of both genders (M, F) than in subjects living in the rural (r) environment: 110+/-25 microg/L (f, M), 89+/-20 microg/L (f, F), 88+/-22 microg/L (r, M) and 80+/-17 microg/L (r, F). In the fishers, but not in the rural population, Se was higher in the males, but it did not show significant variation with age. The levels of TBARS were lower in the f than in the r male group. The Se level was lower and TBARS higher in the hyperlipemic women in the f group, compared to the corresponding controls. Our results suggest that the fishers (mainly men) show a better antioxidant status than that of their rural counterparts, due to differences in dietary habits between the study populations and between genders.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Aplastic anemia. Alternative treatment by bone marrow transplantation].

We report a case of a 25-year-old woman, with the diagnosis of severe aplastic anemia without a histocompatible sibling donor for bone marrow transplantation. The patient has been treated successfully with a combination of two immunosuppressive agents, cyclosporine and antilymphocyte globulin, after not responding to primary therapy with corticosteroids and growth factors. She showed a complete response to treatment, with transfusional independence, after a follow-up of 14 months. The pathophysiology of aplastic anemia, the mechanism of action and secondary effects of these treatments are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with trans-retinoic acid. Experience of the Santa Maria Hospital, Medical School of Lisbon].

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia that is usually associated with a fatal hemorrhagic diathesis. All trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) is an active metabolite of vitamin A that differentiates the malignant cell clone, corrects the coagulopathy, and induces complete remission in the vast majority of patients with APL. Between June 1992 and September 1993, 8 patients with APL (4 previously untreated, 3 in first relapse and 1 in second relapse) received ATRA. Complete remission was achieved in 7 patients; in 5 with ATRA alone and in 2 with ATRA followed by cytotoxic chemotherapy due to the development of asymptomatic hyperleukocytosis. The earliest signs of response were the correction of the coagulopathy and an increase in the white blood cell count. Sequential morphological and immunophenotypical analyses of the bone marrow revealed differentiation of the malignant cell clone, in the absence of bone marrow hypoplasia. 4 of 5 patients treated only with ATRA until complete remission had late leukopenia. The most frequent adverse effects were dryness of skin and mucosae, hypertrigliceridemia and hypercholesterolemia, and a moderate increase in liver transaminases. An increase in the white blood cell count was common, and in two cases exceeded 35.0 x 10(9)/l. One of these patients developed multiple thrombosis of the extremities after cytotoxic chemotherapy. We frequently observed an increase in lactic dehydrogenase levels that was concomitant with the peak in the white blood cell count. The only patient on whom complete remission was not achieved was 60 years old, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and died in the third week of therapy with a pulmonary distress syndrome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Superoxide radical generation by Amadori compounds.

Several D-sugars were incubated with L-lysine or with L-arginine for 10 days. The resulting compounds are able to reduce nitrobluetetrazolium (NBT). This is prevented by superoxide dismutase (SOD), indicating that the superoxide radical is generated by the resulting Amadori compounds. The formation of superoxide radical in vivo, as a result of nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins, may be considered to be a contributory factor to the appearance of chronic complications of diabetes.

Carbohydrate Metabolism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Oxygen radical generation by Maillard compounds.

Amino sugars such as galactosamine are hepatotoxic. It has been verified that toxic hepatitis induced by galactosamine is similar to that of CCl4 poisoning, and that both were inhibited by O2* scavengers. Fructosamine results from the union of glucose with the epsilon-amine of lysine. A test for fructosamine quantification is based on nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction, in which O2- is involved, the reduction being inhibited in the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Given these facts, we attempted to elucidate if galactosamine and glucosamine reduce NBT and if that reduction is inhibited by SOD. This was confirmed. Subsequently, we incubated aminoacids (glycine, lysine, alanine) with glucose and galactose for 7 days and studied the action of the incubation products on NBT, using amino acids and sugars as controls. We found that NBT reduction increases proportionally to the length of incubation time of glucose/galactose with lysine, but not with other amino acids. Reduction of NBT by the Amadori compounds formed is inhibited by SOD. We suggest that oxygen radical generation by Amadori compounds must be taken into consideration as one cause of damage in diabetes of long duration.

Amino Sugars↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hodgkin's disease in a patient with sarcoidosis].

We present the case of a 37 years old woman with mediastinal lymphadenopathy since the age of 13. At de age of 14, the patient presented a left cervical lymphadenopathy and the onset of episodic nodose erythema. One year later, histological examinations of an enlarged lymph node revealed sarcoidal granulomata. Corticotherapy was prescribed and the patient became asymptomatic. At the age of 31, the patient complained of asthenia and fever with left parotid tumefaction. Corticotherapy was therefore resumed with good response. Three years later, the patient presented left parotid tumefaction, left cervical lymphadenopathy and painful eye congestion. The patient was submitted to parotidectomy and lymphadenectomy. One month later, an ulceration with progressive enlargement developed in the surgical scar, and the patient suffered from asthenia, anorexia, weight loss, fever, nocturnal sweating and cervical and axillary lymphadenopathy. At Santa Maria Hospital, the patient's condition was diagnosed as Hodgkin's disease, mixed cellularity subtype, stage II Bb with local cutaneous involvement. The prescribed treatment was MOPP/ABV-8 cycles- and complete remission was achieved. The patient is still asymptomatic after a follow-up of 6 years. Cutaneous involvement in Hodgkin's disease is rare and generally associated with advanced disease and poor prognosis, facts that did not occur in this case. The differential diagnosis between sarcoidosis and sarcoid reaction in Hodgkin's disease, the accidental coexistence of both entities and the evolution of sarcoidosis into lymphoma are also discussed. The sarcoidosis immune defect may be the result of the same immune disorder. No relationships between sarcoidosis and cutaneous involvement in Hodgkin's disease were found in the literature.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗