Pregnancy and fasting during Ramadan.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Reeves.
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To evaluate the effect of extreme altitude on cardiac function in normal young men, electrocardiograms were recorded at rest and during maximal exercise at several simulated altitudes up to the equivalent of the summit of Mt. Everest (240 torr or 8,848 m). The subjects spent 40 days in a hypobaric chamber as the pressure was gradually reduced to simulate an ascent. Changes in the resting electrocardiogram were evident at 483 torr (3,660 m) and were more marked at 282 torr (7,620 m) and 240 torr (8,848 m). They consisted of an increase in resting heart rate from 63 +/- 5 to a maximum of 89 +/- 8 beats/min; increase in P-wave amplitude in inferior leads; right-axis shift in the frontal plane; increased S/R ratio in the left precordial leads; and increased T negativity in V1 and V2. No significant arrhythmias or conduction defects were observed. Most changes reverted to normal within 12 hours of return to sea level, with the exception of the frontal-plane axis and T-wave alterations. Maximal cycle ergometer exercise at 282 torr (7,620 m) and 240 torr (8,848 m) resulted in a heart rate of 138 +/- 7 and 119 +/- 6 beats/min at the 2 altitudes, respectively. No ST depression or T-wave changes suggestive of ischemia occurred despite a mean arterial oxygen saturation of 49% and a mean pH of 8 during peak exercise. Occasional ventricular premature beats were observed during exercise in 2 subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The carcinogenic potential of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) was evaluated in cynomolgus monkeys. Monkeys received IQ, beginning at the age of one year, at doses of 10 or 20 mg/kg by gavage. Thus far, IQ has induced hepatocellular carcinoma in three monkeys with a latent period of 27 to 37 months. Metastases to the lung occurred in two of the three monkeys. Microscopically, the hepatocellular carcinoma in all three cases demonstrated a trabecular pattern. These data demonstrate that IQ is a potent carcinogen in nonhuman primates and support the idea that it is a potential carcinogen for humans.
Since 1984 the University of Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago has been offering the course "Women's Health: A Primary Health Care Method." The objectives of the course are to develop a model to meet the health needs of urban women in industrialized countries and to teach post-graduate students from various health-related programs to work as members of interdisciplinary teams with groups of women in communities. This activity involves the use of the negotiated process method, the purpose of which is to train students and the community group to work together and separately on solutions to identified health problems. During the course given in 1985 this method was applied to analyzing the problem of battered women in a Latin American community. Although the results were satisfactory, other similar experiments should be conducted to determine its usefulness more precisely.
An altered state of cell hydration is a hallmark of a number of RBC disorders. The two parameters most often used to characterize the state of cell hydration are (a) the complete cell density distribution profile, and (b) the fraction of cells with densities greater than a defined value. Buoyant density cell fractionation with a variety of polymers has long been the preferred method for obtaining data on cell density distribution. Although this method provides accurate and quantitative information on the state of RBC hydration, its applicability has been limited due to the time-consuming experimental procedure involved in generating the data. A recently developed light-scattering method has been used in the present study to quantitate RBC density distribution. This new method accurately quantitates both the cell density distribution profile and the fraction of dense, dehydrated cells in various RBC disorders. The ability of the automated method to generate this information rapidly makes possible objective testing of different hypotheses concerning the contributions of cell hydration and dehydration to the pathophysiology of various RBC disorders.
Our published dietary and pharmakokinetic studies in 15 patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and 15 age- and sex-matched controls suggested that a combination of subnormal antioxidant intakes and chronic induction of the cytochromes P450 facilitates the pancreatic problem. We have now attempted to determine the relative importance of these two factors by studying a group of 15 institutionalized patients with epilepsy (EP), but without abdominal pain, who were on long-term treatment with anticonvulsant inducers of cytochromes P450 so that their clearance of theophylline (which reflects cytochromes P450 activities, and thereby provides an index of antioxidant demand) was as high as in the patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) (mean +/- s.d., 123 +/- 59 ml/kg/h versus 120 +/- 62 respectively), and significantly higher than in controls (74 +/- 16 ml/kg/h, P less than 0.02). Canonical variate analysis of the drug kinetic and dietary data provided two functions with which to separate the three groups. The first function, heavily weighted on selenium, separated the controls from the other two groups whose values were lower; the second function, equally weighted on methionine and vitamin C, separated the EP group from the CP group whose values were generally lower. The results suggest that enzyme induction per se is not the critical factor in the development of CP. Instead, suboptimal availability of antioxidants in the face of increased demand--in particular of those substances that protect cells against non-biological free radicals--may be the key consideration, a deduction reinforced by observations in patients with epilepsy who went on to develop chronic pancreatitis.
The kinetics of the reaction between the stable free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and methylated urates was studied. Urates that had methyl groups on the 1,3,9, or on the 1 and 3 or 1 and 9 nitrogens reacted with DPPH 15 to 77% faster than uric acid. Urates substituted with methyl groups on the 7 nitrogen or on both the 3 and 9 nitrogens reacted with DPPH at rates that were less than 0.1 that of uric acid. 3,7,9-Trimethyluric acid and 1,3,7,9-tetramethyluric acid reacted with DPPH at barely detectable rates. DPPH reacted with uric acid, the monomethylated urates, and some of the dimethylated urates in a ratio of 2:1. DPPH reacted with other dimethylated and trimethylated urates in a ratio of 1:1. Semiempirical MNDO calculations indicate that the most stable radical of uric acid is formed by hydrogen abstraction from the 3, 7 or 9 position. The most stable species resulting from loss of a second hydrogen lack hydrogens at the 3 and 7 positions or the 7 and 9 positions. For maximum reactivity with DPPH, methylated uric acid derivatives must have a hydrogen at nitrogen 7 and one of the hydrogens at either the 3 or 9 position.
Aqueous preparations of linolenic acid, bovine serum albumin, and bovine erythrocyte membrane fragments were bubbled with ozone in the presence or absence of uric acid. Ozonation of the membrane fragments or the bovine serum albumin did not result in protein degradation. After 15 min of ozonation, the absorbance of the thiobarbituric acid-reactive material increased by 0.34 in the linolenic acid preparation and by 0.08 in the suspension of membrane fragments. In the presence of uric acid, these changes in absorbance were reduced to 0.14 for the fatty acid and to 0.01 for the membrane fragments. This result indicates that uric acid protects lipids from ozone-induced oxidation.
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Bone mineral metabolism was studied in five infants aged 8 to 22 months with severe osteopetrosis. There were findings consistent with biochemical osteomalacia. These included hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, high serum acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activity, high levels of serum parathyroid hormone, and high urinary cyclic AMP. Serum 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 level was high in the one patient tested. Radiographs in all infants revealed rachitic changes in the metaphyses. However, dense bones on radiographs, calcium balance studies, and radio-calcium absorption studies demonstrated markedly positive calcium balance. Iliac crest bone biopsies showed increased quantity of woven bone with abundant numbers of osteoclasts, excessive amounts of osteoid, myelofibrosis, and a decreased number of Howship's lacunae. The wide bands of unmineralized osteoid did not take up tetracycline. In vitro bone resorbing activity due to osteoclast activating factor from cultured stimulated leukocytes was normal. Bone turnover however, was now as evidenced by low urinary hydroxyproline levels. We interpret these findings as indicating there is decreased bone remodeling and resorption in spite of increased humoral stimuli and osteoclasts. Since calcitonin levels were normal for age, the most likely cause of the impaired bone remodeling sequence was defective osteoclast function. We postulate that there may be a common genetic defect in phagocyte cells, including monocytes, neutrophils and osteoclasts, which accounts for the abnormalities of mineral metabolism and previously reported hematologic, neurologic, and infectious complications.
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A confidential self-administered questionnaire was given to all blood donors prior to donation (n = 95,917). The questionnaire describes groups at increased risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and requires the donor to designate his blood either for laboratory purposes or for transfusion. In a previous communication, we reported that donors in the former group had a much higher prevalence of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than age, sex and clinic matched controls or a group of "miscellaneous" donors who did not fill out the form properly. In this communication, we report results of tests for other viral markers performed on the three designation groups, namely laboratory-designated, miscellaneous and controls. We found that the former two groups had a higher prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and cytomegalovirus (anti-CMV) than controls, but there were no differences in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels among the groups. In addition, the laboratory-designated group had a higher prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) than the general donor population. These data indicate that a questionnaire designed to ascertain AIDS high-risk donors is valuable in excluding donors who may be carriers of other viruses as well.