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Biomedical subjects

L J Levy

Publications and source records attributed to L J Levy.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

The visual evoked potential in clinical hepatic encephalopathy in acute and chronic liver disease.

Flash visual evoked potentials were measured in 19 patients with chronic liver disease and in 19 patients with acute hepatic damage secondary to paracetamol overdose with and without clinical hepatic encephalopathy. The flash visual evoked potential showed a series of changes which correlated with the clinical grade and the delta activity of the electroencephalogram in chronic liver disease, and with the delta activity of the electroencephalogram but not with the clinical grade in acute hepatic damage. The changes observed in the flash visual evoked potential in the encephalopathy of chronic liver disease were different from those seen in the corresponding clinical grade of acute hepatic damage, suggesting different pathogenetic mechanisms for encephalopathy in these two conditions.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

Chronic liver disease. A case control study of the effect of previous blood transfusion.

A means of assessing hepatitis NANB virus infection, via blood transfusion, as a cause of chronic liver disease was investigated in a hospital in each of two cities in England. Patients with chronic liver disease were matched for age and sex with other patients in the same hospital and histories taken included details of previous operations and blood transfusions; if these were within ten years of the study enquiries were made of hospital records officers. All positive histories were found correct, but about one third of previous transfusions had been omitted by both case and control patients. Sixty-seven male and 35 female patients with chronic liver disease and their controls were included in analyses. The only clear difference which emerged related to residence for more than a year in the Middle or Far East by male case- (40%) or control- (21%) patients (P less than 0.05). The exclusion of patients with this history left only 34 pairs in which five (15%) of the case patients and one (3%) of the control patients had a transfusion history: this difference was not statistically significant. Although the study results have shown no clear evidence of blood transfusion as a major cause of chronic liver disease in Britain, the study method, with sufficient numbers to allow analyses of newly diagnosed patients with confirmed transfusion histories, could be used to provide an ongoing assessment of the risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Plasma gamma aminobutyric acid concentrations provide evidence of different mechanisms in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy in acute and chronic liver disease.

Plasma gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations were measured using a radioreceptor assay in 24 patients with acute liver disease with and without clinical encephalopathy; 15 patients with chronic liver disease with and without clinical encephalopathy, and 16 control subjects with no evidence of liver disease or hepatic dysfunction. Plasma GABA concentrations were significantly elevated in the patients with acute liver disease and clinical encephalopathy as compared with the controls. There was a positive relationship between the clinical grade of encephalopathy, the changes in the EEG and the plasma GABA concentrations. Plasma GABA concentrations in patients with chronic liver disease did not relate to the clinical grade of encephalopathy or the changes in the EEG. It is concluded that elevated plasma GABA concentrations are in keeping with the pathogenesis of encephalopathy in acute liver disease, but not in chronic liver disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1987

The use of the visual evoked potential (VEP) in delineating a state of subclinical encephalopathy. A comparison with the number connection test (NCT).

Visual evoked potential determinations and the number connection test were performed for 49 patients with stable chronic liver disease and portal hypertension but without clinical evidence of hepatic encephalopathy. The latencies of the evoked potential components N2, P2 and N3 were significantly prolonged compared to the controls. Seven patients had a prolonged N2, 10 had a prolonged P2, and 14 patients had a prolonged N3 latency. Only five of these patients had increased theta activity of the electroencephalogram. When age norms were applied, the number connection test was significantly prolonged only in the 16-36-years age group. It is concluded that the visual evoked potential identifies a group of patients with neurophysiological abnormalities and may be useful in identifying those at risk of developing overt encephalopathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Evidence for gamma-aminobutyric acid as the inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid binding in the plasma of humans with liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy.

1. Gas-liquid chromatography and a radioreceptor assay were used to measure plasma gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in patients with liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy. 2. There was a significant correlation between the results obtained by the two methods, and compared with controls plasma GABA was elevated. 3. These findings suggest that the increased GABA binding inhibitory activity of plasma of these patients is probably due to GABA itself.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1986

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma presenting as fulminant hepatic failure in a young woman.

A 29 year old Caucasian female, with no history of chronic liver disease, presented with fulminant hepatic failure, the cause of which was not established until post-mortem when it was found that she had a rare form of hepatocellular carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the only detailed report of hepatocellular carcinoma presenting in this manner.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

Clinical, biochemical, and ovarian morphologic features in women with acanthosis nigricans and masculinization.

Nine women with acanthosis nigricans and masculinization, who did not appear to have any of the reported syndromes associated with acanthosis nigricans, were studied to characterize the clinical, biochemical, and ovarian morphologic features of their disorders. These patients had the clinical and biochemical profiles of polycystic ovarian disease. All acanthosis nigricans subjects had significant insulin resistance when insulin binding to both circulating monocytes and erythrocytes was compared to the control subjects. Microscopic examination of the ovaries revealed no evidence of recent normal ovulation, sclerosis of the ovarian cortex, follicle cysts, and stromal hyperthecosis. The authors conclude that ovarian stromal hyperthecosis and insulin resistance are consistent findings in the present type of patient. This study provides further evidence supporting a relationship between insulin resistance and human ovarian function.

Acanthosis Nigricans↗