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Biomedical subjects

L Brandt

Publications and source records attributed to L Brandt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Prednimustine in adult acute myeloid leukaemia.

In 23 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and over the age of 64, four remissions (17%) were obtained with Prednimustine as a single drug. The daily dose was 24--60 mg orally. In 14 patients aged between 35 and 64 years who were treated with Prednimustine 60--80 mg daily and vincristine 2.25 mg i.v. every 7--10 days, six remissions were obtained (43%). Upon remission, patients were given ,0--40 mg of Prednimustine daily as maintenance therapy. Drug-induced pancytopenia preceding remission was not recorded in any patient. There were no side effects of major importance during maintenance therapy, and the median duration of remission was 8 months. It is concluded that the low toxicity of Prednimustine in normal bone marrow cells is of value, especially in elderly patients with AML.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Relief of pruritus as an early sign of spinal cord compression in Hodgkin's disease.

In a patient with advanced Hodgkin's disease (HD) associated with generalized pruritus, an unexpected relief of itching was found to be an early sign of spinal cord compression. Following irradiation of an extradural mass at the Th II level, itching recurred. Although the mechanisms bringing about itching in HD are unknown, the relief and recurrence of the symptom in our patient are in line with a peripheral origin of pruritus in the disease. Spontaneous relief of pruritus in HD despite other signs of active disease should prompt a neurological examination, since early recognition and treatment of spinal cord compression in lymphoma are important to avoid residual neurological disability.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Heat production by lymphocytes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Using microcalorimeters of the thermopile conduction type heat production was measured in lymphocytes from peripheral blood in 8 normals and 10 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The heat production per CLL lymphocyte was lower (1.8 pW/cell) than that found in normal lymphocytes (2.6 pW/cell). Due to the high numbers of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood the estimated heat production of the intravascular lymphocyte pool in CLL was considerably higher than in normals. Since the circulating lymphocytes constitute a minute fraction of the total lymphoid mass in CLL it is suggested that the accumulation of metabolically active lymphocytes in blood and tissues may explain the common clinical signs of hypermetabolism in this disease. The results also indicate that calorimetry may be a useful technique for metabolic studies in suspensions of malignant cells.

Body Temperature Regulation↗
PubMed1979

Effect of a calcium antagonist on experimental constriction of human brain vessels.

In search for a potent dilatator or deactivator of constriction of cerebrovascular smooth muscle, the effects of a specific antagonist of the calcium influx necessary for the excitation-contraction coupling process was studied on isolated human pial arteries. The arteries were constricted by addition of noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, human plasma or blood. All these agents induced a strong contraction which could effectively be reduced by addition of the Ca++-antagonist, nifedipine, to the organ bath. It is suggested that calcium antagonists might be of value in the treatment of cerebrovascular spasm following a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Calcium↗
PubMed1979

Effects of nifedipine of pial arteriolar calibre: an in vivo study.

In cats the response of individual pial arterioles to perivascular microapplication of the Ca++-antagonistic drug nifedipine was studied using the image-splitting technique developed by Baez. It has previously been shown that the coefficient of variation for repeated measurements of pial vessel diameter using this system is 1%, under conditions of steady arterial pressure and blood gas tensions. All investigated pial arterioles invariably responded with a dilatation at an injected nifedipine concentration of 10 microM. The dilatatory response was inversely proportional to the resting vessel calibre, i.e., arterioles less tham 70 microns responded with a significantly stronger dilatation as compared with arterioles greater than 100 microns in diameter. In experiments where a minor subarachnoid hemorrhage was made by the injection micropipette injuring capillaries just before the perivascular microapplication of nifedipine, a dilatatory response invariably ensued in spite of the perivascular blood which in itself constricted the arterioles under examination.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Double stranded RNA in heterogeneous nuclear RNA from normal and chronic lymphocytic leukemic lymphocytes.

Tritium labelled heterogeneous nuclear RNA (HnRNA) from normal and chronic lymphocytic leukemic (CLL) lymphocytes was investigated before and after fractionation into non-poly(A) containing (-HnRNA) and poly(A) containing (+HnRNA) HnRNA with respect to double stranded RNA (dsRNA). Statistically significant higher amounts of rapidly labelled RNA were recovered from CLL lymphocytes when compared to normal cases. Within the CLL cases a significant linear correlation (r = 0.95) was found between white blood cell counts and the amount of dsRNA in total HnRNA. After fractionation into (-) and (+) HnRNAs the ratios of dsRNAs, expressed as the dsRNA in (-) HnRNA divided by the dsRNA in (+) HnRNA, was lower than the corresponding values in normal cases for all the CLL cases except one. The relationship between (+) HnRNA and the total dsRNA level was different when comparing CLL and normal lymphocytes indicating a RNA processing abnormality.

Humans↗
PubMed1978

Lymphoma of the small intestine in adult coeliac disease.

Five out of 74 patients with adult coeliac disease (ACD) diagnosed from 1965 through 1977 developed intestinal lymphoma. The age at diagnosis of ACD was 54-63 years (mean 58) and in all patients an initial improvement was noted on a gluten-free diet. The interval between the diagnoses of ACD and lymphoma was 0.5-6 years (mean 3). In 4 patients the diagnosis of lymphoma was preceded by relapse of diarrhoea and loss of weight despite an adequate diet; 2 patients developed perforation of the bowel. In all patients who subsequently developed lymphoma a pronounced lymphocytopenia, 0.4-1.3 X 10(9)/l, was found at the diagnosis of ACD. It is suggested that ACD patients over 40 who have relapse of malabsorption symptoms despite an adequate diet should be investigated for the presence of an intestinal lymphoma. The suspicion of a malignant transformation may be especially strong if a previous, pronounced lymphocytopenia has been recorded. Three patients died 1-12 months after the diagnosis of lymphoma. However, 2 patients are in good condition 14 and 20 months, respectively, after laparotomy and removal of the tumour, indicating that an early diagnosis and treatment may have a reasonably palliative effect in some cases.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Hepatic injury in adult coeliac disease.

In an attempt to determine the frequency of liver injury in adult coeliac disease (A.C.D.) the case records of 74 consecutive patients were examined. In 13 cases histological sections of the liver were available and in 5 of these there were signs of reactive hepatitis. Histological signs of distinct hepatic injury with cirrhosis and/or chronic active hepatitis were found in 7 other patients. In 5 of these serum-IgA was normal, whereas 16 out of 20 control patients with liver cirrhosis not associated with A.C.D. had raised serum-IgA. Serum-aspartate-aminotransferase and serum-alanine-aminotransferase were determined in 53 patients; 29 had raised concentrations. In 19 patients serum-aminotransferases were repeatedly determined before and during the dietary regimen and there was a significant reduction in enzyme concentrations during treatment. The median concentration of serum-alkaline-phosphatase was also reduced during treatment but not significantly. The histological evidence of liver injury in 16% and the abnormal liver-function tests in 39% of the patients indicate that hepatic injury is common in A.C.D. Since liver-function tests or liver biopsy specimens were available for only about two-thirds of the patients, liver damage in A.C.D. may be more common than indicated by these results. The effect of a gluten-free diet on aminotransferase concentrations indicates that the liver injury may be reversible and suggests that in some A.C.D. patients progressive liver damage may be prevented by suitable treatment. Since A.C.D. is not always recognised, the diagnosis should be considered in patients with liver disease of unknown aetiology.

Aged↗