PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Aguirre

Publications and source records attributed to L Aguirre.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Effects of short-term zinc supplementation on cellular immunity, respiratory symptoms, and growth of malnourished Equadorian children.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of zinc supplementation on respiratory tract disease, immunity and growth in malnourished children. DESIGN: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: A day-care center in Quito, Ecuador. SUBJECTS: Fifty children (12-59 months old) recruited by height-for-age and weight-for-age deficit. INTERVENTIONS: Twenty-five children (supplemented, S group) received 10 mg/day of zinc as zinc sulfate, and 25 (nonsupplemented, NS group) received a placebo during 60 days. All were also observed during a 60-day postsupplementation period. Two children of the S group dropped out. Daily the clinical presence of cough, respiratory tract secretions, and fever, was recorded. On days 0,60 and 120, the cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to multiple antigens, and anthropometric parameters were assessed. On days 0 and 60 serum zinc levels were also measured. RESULTS: On day 60, DTH was significantly larger (20.8 +/- 7.1 vs 16.1 +/- 9.7 mm), and serum zinc levels were significantly higher (118.6 +/- 47.1 vs 83.1 +/- 24.5 micrograms/dl) in the S group than in the NS group (P <0.05 for each). The incidence of fever [relative risk (RR): 0.30, c.i. = 0.08- 0.95, P =0.02], cough (RR): 0.52, c.i. = 0.32-0.84, P = 0.004) and upper respiratory tract secretions (RR):0.72, c.i. = 0.59-0.88, P = 0.001) was lower in the S group than in the NS group at day 60. At the end of the postsupplementation observation period (day 120), the incidence of fever and upper respiratory tract secretions was the same in both the S and NS groups. The incidence of cough was higher at day 120 in the S group than in the NS group (RR): 2.28, c.i. = 1.37-3.83, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports a role for zinc in immunity, and immunity to respiratory infections, while pointing out the need for larger studies.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1982

The influence of indomethacin and possible role of prostaglandins on calcium renal excretion.

Our aim was to evaluate the possible role of prostaglandins (PG) on renal calcium excretion in humans through the PG inhibitory effects of indomethacin. Renal calcium excretion was evaluated by a technique of impulse analysis which gives a function W(t) specific of the tubular calcium transport. Several parameters were derived from this function: (1) the fractional excretion of filtered calcium as % of total dose (FECa % TD); (2) the peak excretion rate, and (3) the mean transit time (MTT, min). The aforementioned parameters were determined in 7 healthy subjects in basal conditions and again after 10 days of treatment with 100 mg indomethacin daily. FECa was significantly (p less than 0.02) higher with indomethacin (8.18 +/- 0.97) than under basal conditions (5.02 +/- 0.57). The peak excretion rate and MTT remained unchanged after indomethacin. These results indicate that indomethacin increases renal calcium excretion. As indomethacin did not produce any significant change in glomerular filtration rate (125 +/- 7 ml/min before vs. 129 +/- 9 ml/min after) one can assume that PG play a role in tubular calcium reabsorption. However, the mechanism remains to be elucidated: direct action or mediated through the cyclic AMP system.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Restored synergistic entero-hormonal response after addition of dietary fibre to patients with impaired glucose tolerance and reactive hypoglycaemia.

Although some dietary fibres (DF) improve glucose tolerance by slowing carbohydrate absorption, other mechanisms are certainly involved. Some of the entero-hormonal responses after DF were investigated in six patients with impaired glucose tolerance and reactive hypoglycaemia. All patients received two different breakfasts, each containing 25 g of starch supplied either as white bread (WB) or a fibre-enriched bread preparation (FB): 4 g hemicellulose and 4 g guar. Metabolic and hormonal responses were evaluated over 5 hours. Compared to WB, the FB had a blunting effect on the resulting blood glucose peak (116 +/- 9 mg/100 ml with FB vs. 148 +/- 15 with WB P less than 0.025) or trough (88 +/- 3 mg/100 ml with FB vs. 79 +/- 5 with WB), and upon the insulin response at 60 min (20 +/- 4 micro U/ml with FB vs. 70 +/- 20 with WB). Gut glucagon immunoreactivity was diminished with FB at 90 min (185 +/- 39 vs. 242 +/- 42 P less than 0.05) and 150 min (180 +/- 39 vs. 242 +/- 40). Pancreatic glucagon was initially similar after FB and WB, but a significant rise was observed with FB at 180 min (116 +/- 17 pg/ml vs. 67 +/- 18 P less than 0.05). The improvement of the blood glucose pattern with DF, especially the suppression of reactive hypoglycaemia, seems to depend partly on reduced and delayed response of the entero-hormonal axis. This in turn results in a better synergistic secretion of insulin and glucagon in the late post-prandial period.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[The influence of indomethacin and possible role of prostaglandin on renal calcium excretion (author's transl)].

Our aim was to evaluate the possible role of prostaglandins (PG) on renal calcium excretion in humans through the PG inhibitory effects of indomethacin. Renal calcium excretion was evaluated by a technique of impulse analysis which gives a specific index of tubular calcium transport. Several parameters were derived from this specific transport function W(t): 1) the fractional excretion of filtered calcium as % of total dose (FECa % TD); 2) the peak excretion rate; 3) the mean transit time (MTT, min). The aforementioned parameters were determined in 7 healthy subjects in basal conditions and again after 10 days of treatment with 100 mg indomethacin daily. FECa was significantly (P less than 0.02) higher with indomethacin (8.18 +/- 0.97) than under basal conditions : (5.02 +/- 0.57). The peak excretion rate and MTT remained unchanged after indomethacin. These results indicate that indomethacin increases renal calcium excretion. As indomethacin did not produce any significant change in glomerular filtration rate (125 +/- 7 ml/min before v.s. 129 +/- 9 after) one can assume that PG play a role in tubular calcium reabsorption. However the mechanism remains to be elucidated : direct action of mediated through the cyclic AMP system.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Evidence and mechanism for pectin-reduced intestinal inorganic iron absorption in idiopathic hemochromatosis.

The intestinal absorption of iron was measured in 13 patients suffering from idiopathic hemochromatosis by using a double radiotracer technique. For each patient, iron absorption was determined in the fasting state, i.e., under basal conditions, and after an oral indigestible fiber load (9 g/m2 of body surface) with either pectin (group I: eight patients) or cellulose (group II: five patients). The results were compared with those from a group of seven normal control subjects investigated under basal conditions. The patients with haemochromatosis (groups I and II) had a significant increase in the basal value of fractional iron absorption as compared with controls. In the patients of group I, the pectin induced a significant fall in fractional iron absorption (P less than 0.02). In group II, iron absorption rates remained unchanged whether or not cellulose was given. Furthermore, we found in vitro that pectin had a high iron binding activity, while cellulose bound none. From the present study, we conclude that pectin but not cellulose reduces iron absorption by forming unabsorbable complexes with dietary iron. Thus, enrichment of the diet with foods providing significant amounts of noncellulosic dietary fibers, such as pectin, may be useful in the management of hemochromatosis patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Intestinal and renal handling of calcium in human diabetes mellitus: influence of acute oral glucose loading and diabetic control.

The intestinal absorption and the urinary excretion of calcium were compared in two groups of diabetic patients during periods of satisfactory and poor control. In a first group of ten patients, periods of isolated high glycosuria were obtained by giving an oral glucose load. The second group consisted of ten patients with a severe endogenous insulin deficiency. The subjects of this latter group were investigated before and after a few days of insulin therapy. In group I, the oral glucose load induced a significant increase in the intestinal calcium absorption and had a tendency to lower the urinary calcium excretion. Furthermore, an inverse relationship was found between the changes in the intestinal calcium absorption and the variations of the urinary calcium excretion. In group II, both intestinal absorption and urinary excretion of calcium fell significantly after recovery of satisfactory metabolic control by insulin therapy. From the results as obtained in group I one can conclude that glucose enhances the calcium transfer from the luminal to the serosal pole of both intestinal and renal tubular cells. During severe ketosis as observed in group II, calcium metabolism is considerably accelerated and the increase in the intestinal calcium absorption rate may be interpreted as compensatory mechanism for the high urinary loss of calcium.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Simultaneous vaccination of cattle with foot-and-mouth disease and vesicular stomatitis live virus vaccines.

Four- to six- month-old cattle were simultaneously vaccinated with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and vesicular stomatitis (VS) live virus vaccines by injection of FMD vaccine in one side of the body and VS vaccine in the other side. These cattle were again vaccinated with FMD and VS vaccines given simultaneously three and nine months after the first vaccination. The antibody levels of the vaccinated animals were studied by serum protection test in suckling mice and results were compared with those obtained when cattle are vaccinated either with FMD alone or with VS vaccine alone. It appears that an interference mechanism is responsible for the lack or the low levels of antibody formation observed in the animals simultaneoulsy vaccinated with the two vaccines.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Colonic stomas.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cecum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of indigestible fibers on glucose tolerance.

In eight patients exhibiting chemical diabetes mellitus with a poststimulative hypoglycemia, we observed that the pattern of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was improved when indigestible fiber was added to the oral glucose load. As compared with a standard OGTT, the peak blood glucose, expressed as per cent change from baseline, was particularly blunted by pectin or by cellulose phosphate but remained unchanged with cellulose supplementation. The time interval required to reach the blood glucose peak was significantly prolonged with pectin. The rate of blood glucose rise was reduced to a greater extent by pectin than by cellulose phosphate, which in turn was more efficient than cellulose. The blood glucose nadir expressed as per cent change from baseline was blunted by pectin, while the results were not significantly different after addition of either cellulose phosphate or cellulose. On the other hand, the plasma immunoreactive insulin did not show any significant change whether the glucose was given with or without one of the aforementioned types of fiber. From these results, it is concluded that an additional fiber intake may be of interest in the management of chemical diabetes. The use of pectin may diminish the poststimulative hypoglycemia.

Blood Glucose↗