PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Djerassi

Publications and source records attributed to L Djerassi.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Hemolytic crisis in G6PD-deficient individuals in the occupational setting.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency affects an estimated 400 million people. Most of the individuals affected live in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, or are African-Americans. The ethnic distribution of G6PD-deficiency is extremely variable in Israel--where the Jewish population has been repatriated from more than 60 different countries--its prevalence being from 0% to 58%. Five cases of hemolytic episodes arising from the loading of trinitrotoluene (TNT) were detected. Hemoglobin levels dropped between 4 and 10.2 g/dl. Reticulocytosis reached 4%-26.2% of red blood cells, while bilirubin levels rose to a peak of 5.1 mg/dl. Methemoglobin was 1.5%-8.6% and sulfmethemoglobin 0.9%-4.93% of total hemoglobin. Urinary urobilinogen was increased in all. All five workers showed absolute G6PD deficiency. In one worker a urinary metabolite of TNT 2-6 dinitromono amino toluene, was detected.

Anemia, Hemolytic↗
PubMed1991

On the limitation of brainstem auditory evoked potentials for indication of susceptibility to noise.

The efficiency of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEP) as an indicator of susceptibility to hazardous noise was investigated. In earlier studies, subjects were exposed to very intense occupational noise and temporary threshold shift (TTS) was produced by high intensity noise of 115 dB. Correlations between experimental TTS and the BAEP changes were investigated. BAEP indices, which significant correlations with the eventual hearing loss, were found. Similar criteria, which were found significant in the earlier work, were investigated in 94 industrial workers with normal hearing, without past exposure to noise, using a more moderate TTS-producing noise of 110 dB SPL. Under these conditions, no significant correlation between the noise susceptibility index and BAEP changes during TTS was found. The results of this study demonstrate the limitation of determining individual susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss using BAEP. TTS-producing noise levels must be high enough. Their predictive value holds only for hearing losses typical of high intensity occupational exposures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of hypertension treatment on and off the worksite.

A survey was carried out in two plants in Haifa, Israel on the prevalence of treated and controlled hypertension. In both plants hypertension treatment was being carried out by family physicians at regular family clinics. In factory A, after screening, a programme of follow-up and treatment by the plant doctor and nurse was introduced. In factory B all hypertensives continued to be referred to their family physician for treatment and follow-up. One year later all previously detected hypertensives were reassessed. The percentage of treated hypertensives had increased from 70.9% to 100% in factory A, and from 55.0% to 62.1% in factory B. The percentage of controlled hypertensives among those treated had increased from 52.7% to 83.7% in factory A, and from 28.0% to 38.9% in factory B. Thus, the percentage of all hypertensives who were controlled increased from 37.3% to 83.7% in Factory A and from 15.4% to 24.1% in Factory B. The introduction of on-site treatment and follow-up of hypertension by a doctor-nurse team was associated with marked improvement of all aspects of hypertensive care.

Family Practice↗
PubMed1988

Immunological profile of chest x-ray-negative, asymptomatic asbestos workers.

Several immunologic parameters, both humoral and cellular, were studied in the serum and peripheral blood lymphocytes derived from chest x-ray-negative, asymptomatic asbestos workers. All humoral and cellular parameters were intact, except the con-A-induced T cell suppressor activity and T cell division in autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction, which were significantly elevated in the asbestos plant workers. The significance of these increased T cell activities in asbestos exposed people is not clear, and further clinical and immunological follow-up is warranted.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗