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Biomedical subjects

L Alexa

Publications and source records attributed to L Alexa.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Epstein-Barr virus-associated adult respiratory distress syndrome in a patient with AIDS: a case report and review.

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been associated with fatal pneumonitis in immunocompetent patients. We present a case of fatal adult respiratory distress syndrome caused by EBV infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), to our knowledge the first such reported case, along with a survey of archival autopsy cases to assess baseline expression of EBV in AIDS patients. DESIGN: The case patient's autopsy material was studied exhaustively for infectious agents by culture, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry, with negative results. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung, spleen, lymph node, and liver tissue were further studied by in situ hybridization using a probe for EBV early RNA (EBER, Kreatech). The same method was applied to lymphoid tissues from eight other archival AIDS autopsy cases. Case patient tissues were also examined by electron microscopy. RESULTS: Strikingly numerous lymphocytes were positive for EBV early RNA in the case patient's spleen, lymph nodes, and hepatic portal areas. In addition to positive lymphocytes in the lung, EBV-infected pneumocytes were also present. Electron microscopy also demonstrated viral material in lymphocytes and pneumocytes. Of the archival cases studied, only one spleen was found to have rare positive lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: Primary or reactivation EBV infection may represent a previously underreported cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients. Autopsy tissues from AIDS patients do not routinely show overexpression of EBV early RNA by in situ hybridization, making this technique ideal for assessing the contribution of EBV to terminal events in these patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A population study on the possible involvement of trace minerals in water in cardiovascular diseases].

Starting from the hypothesis of a possible protection exerted by oligominerals in cardiovascular diseases, 660 water sources were analysed as to their content in mineral matter. It resulted that the population drinks a very hard water with a low content in zinc, manganese, copper and chromium oligominerals. By correlating these characteristics with the mortality rate by cardiovascular diseases, low in the territory under study, it became evident that no association between these factors can be made, the relative protection being probably due to other factors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The trace element (Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr) intake via drinking in the rural population of Iaşi County].

The drinking water from wells in 55 villages of Iaşi district was investigated in order to estimate the intake of mineral substances. The results pointed out that the content in oligo elements of water in these villages (250,000 inhabitants) was below required minimum (in 91.18% of villages for zinc, in 81.48% for manganese, in 92.7% for copper and in 98.80% for chromium).

Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychophysiological assessment of cardiovascular risk factors.

An overview of recent data concerning the evaluation of overall risk for CHD shows the drawbacks of existing formulae. On this basis a more complete screening score and a new mathematic formula for computing the probability of risk for CHD have been assessed. Besides the primary and classical risk factors the latter also includes psychophysiological variables concerning stress and coronary prone behaviour. Five modalities to estimate the overall risk have been used in cases with various risks and the new formula has been applied to a group of 93 textile workers. The results certify the good differentiation power of the proposed formula.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neurobehavioral and biochemical response to manganese and selenium exposure in rats.

Aiming to extend previous findings, male Wistar rats were treated per os for 13 weeks with manganese chloride in two doses: 300 mg/kg body weight (group I) and 20 mg/kg b.w. (II), the former was associated (III) with a microdose (1 ppm) of natrium selenite. The findings show an impairment of active avoidance learning in group III, a decrease of swimming performance and histological lesions in several brain areas (both especially in group III), changes of the aggressive behavior and decreases in the brain tissue of superoxide dismutase activity (I & II) and of lipid peroxidation (in all groups).

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Illumination in schools, a health problem for the developing body].

The relationship between lightening degree in schools and vision problems was investigated in a series of 500 pupils (aged between 11 and 14 years) from both rural and urban areas, schooled in 21 different classrooms. The tests revealed that natural lightening is observing the health standards in a percentage of 100% in the urban classrooms and is deficient with 16.64% in the rural ones. Artificial lightening is inappropriate in all investigated classrooms (both rural and urban). Vision, estimated by visual acuity test, proved to be more affected in the rural areas (14% of the children) where lightening conditions are more deficient, than in the urban pupils (12.8%). It was also noticed that the active detection index of vision disturbances is lower in the rural as compared to urban pupils (5.7% and 28.12%, respectively). School lightening should be a priority in the public health programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Multidisciplinary epidemiological observations on the role of mineral elements and other environmental factors in inducing essential arterial hypertension].

The results of a pluridisciplinary epidemiological study carried out on a series of 225 adults from rural areas, in whom the prevalence of arterial hypertension disease (AHTD) and borderline (AHTB) was of 19.0% and 14.4%, respectively, are presented. In 19.0% of the carriers of over five associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the classical lipid constants (triglycerides-TG. total lipids-TL. total cholesterol-TC. HDL-cholesterol-HDL-c), plasma (PML) and erythrocyte magnesium level (EML), as compared to the degree of drinking water mineralization were determined. The environmental conditions, also expressed in water hardness (21.650 G) or magnesium water intake (85.13 mg/l) correlate in 41.0% of the subjects with a decrease in PML (1.8 mg/l) and in 70.48 with a decrease in EML (4.8 mg/l) through the association of some behavioral or metabolic risk factors: stress, consumption of atherogenic foods, excess alcohol and lipid dysmetabolism (TG: 130-140 mg/l = 59.5%; TL: 8 g%-30.9%; TC: 220 mg/l = 19%; HDL-c: 35 mg/l + 1.9%).

Adult↗